The Washington times., 1911-04-25
CHAPTER XVIII.

~ UT the lie had been but half an
x untruth At the time of the fir
ID ing upon the guards by the
militia, Roias was within three
miles of the plaza, and with HIM was
the bulk of the insurgent forces. The
I equipped, and sent south to join his
regulars had swelled the rebel leader &
ranks. No sooner had each militia regi-
ment reached the field than 1t had gone
over to the enemy en- masse.
The regulars, left without support by
this wholesale detection. had been un-
able to withstand the attacks of the in
surgents. Ursula had tripmphed with
ease. and Rojas, leaving his gen
army toward the frontier, had made
all haste to reach the capital and
eject the President. En- route he
issued manifesto, declaring himself
Dictator of Anahuac; and as such was
he accepted by the citizens.
This. then, was the situation at the
Time when the fighting began In the
Plaza de la keforma: The usurper
Rojas was a short distance on the
southern road. at the head OF his army.
Scarce two miles 10 the north, Lazard
had heard the firing, and was sparing
nothing Of man or beast to get a battery
of Gatling guns into the city before
Malone could turn the tables. These
were the Gatlings which had been
- " AHdHudC ITOIn BILOXI, OH
the Miranda j.. to be finally landed at
the mouth of the Bio de Manoah.
Had the mercenary but known II az
with whip and bitter spur and frantic
oath he urged on the patient burros
that drew his battery, not half a mile
ahead of him Colonel Kilrae, minister
OF war. was riding like the wind and
praying that he might come to Malone
ere II should be too late. As for the
guards. struggling against odds there
erless; their colonel was dead, Kilrae
was absent, and Malone could not be
found. For those who drummed mad
reveilles upon the door of the presi-
dents apartments got answer neither
from the master nor from his man,
Burke. The governmental party was
paralyzed by the apparent desertion Of
its heads.
Colonel Kilrae, dashing through the
streets and past the Federal barracks,
came upon the tall-end of the treacher-
Gus militia regiment, wedged tightly.
with the commingling rabble, at the
mouth Of the Paseo Mayor. Over their
heads he could see something Of the
battle in the great plaza. At the mo-
ment the guards had rallied, and
charged again. The mob and unframed
troops broke and melted away before
them: the Latin, physically no coward.
lacks the moral stamina, the fighting
fiber, of the Saxon and the Celt, and
can seldom stand and fight him face to
race for any length Of time. The guards
swept the plaza, and the harried mob
dashed wave-like against their fellows
who packed the street openings.
Kilrae spurred his horse, trying to
force a way to the square; but the mob
turned upon him. Recognizing him, one
or two men tried to hamstring his ami
NAL, and fired upon him, but ineffect-
ually. Realizing that to persist was to
court death. the minister of war wheeled
and dashed in a detour through side
streets, coming upon the plaza in the
rear of the Green House. On his way
he passed the municipal electric plant.
and paused long enough to see that the
lights were turned of.
With the city thus plunged in dark
ness, fresh terror came to the mob. As
Kilrae Joined the guards, and was greet
ed with cheers from the decimated
ranks. the day was all but won for
Malone. In another half hour the Bull
dogs would have restored quiet to the
city; the streets would have been de-
serted by the rabble and policed by
men who, having looked upon their
dead, were in merciless humor.
But even as they had gained this
initial init victory. and; leaving the plaza
of the, Green House. they heard wild
cheering from the Paseo Mayor. Ere
they OWNED its cause. the crowd part
ed ana gave way to Lizards battery,
WHICH ndd unllmDere0 ana made ready
for action before the guards had
crossed half the plaza in a charge upon
II.
The drumming guns spattered a hall
OF death into the charging ranks No
men might face that pitiless shower of
lead, and the Bulldogs went down.
moved as by an invisible scythe. And
as they halted, unconvinced that they
must stomach defeat, cheering broke
out anew in the Paseo de la Indepen-
dencta, and through the mob's living
walls, with an impetuous rush, came a
regiment of insurgent infantry They
fell upon the flank of the guards, put
ting them to instant rout: between the
two fires, few managed to escape. Such
as did retreated to the friendly walls
of the Green House. while the mob
snapped viciously at their heels, a pack
Of cowardly hounds newly heartened,
finding courage in increased numbers.
In the guard-room of the Bulldogs,
Colonel Kilrae paused and loked about
him. The remnant of the regiment that
had gained this shelter was in numbers
less than a score: and OF these there
was not one but hled from unstanched.
nnnoticed wounds. Kilrae himself
limped with bullet In the thigh. and
his sword arm hung useless nv his side.
Already the room reeked with the sick
eninG odor of fresh blood and the stencil
of powder.
(The Continuation of This Story win