Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-26
CHAPTER I-Continued.

Oue week later L sat IN a sadie, on d
ranch in Texas which I had inherited
along with other things from my father.
l would see about this boy. No one
except the manager knew who 1 was.
and he, under penalty of dismissal, kept
invfolate my secret. 1 flung myself into
the work of the ranch with a sort of
fierceness, for 1 was bitter. bitter at the
world, bitter at myself. Had l not loved
her? God knows l had. 1t had been
and still was (my heart spoke true enough
this time) the one serious passion of my
life. All, that letter which took away
from me hope of happiness. 1 went about
my work silently and with the earnest
ness born of desire to forget rain or
under sun or stars, in sand or alkali or
flowers, l rode with the best Of those
hard-riding cow punchers. or, if need be,
fought the worst with my fists. The hard
limitless prairies. hardened my frame and
deepened my nature. l was with men,
earning my wage as man, rated man
Thus passed eighteen months. AT the
end of that time companions who had
sweated under the sun by my side in the
heat of the round up and cutting out, or
branding. or tanned unridden horses with
me, or felt the weight of my hand in fair
fight, did not call me boy"
But this was not what 1 wished, this
Measure of ranch life I had taken, YET
remained unsatisfied; therefore l depart
ed, asking myself what / must have STILL
but receiving no answer. unless it was
in the picture of E,lizabeth's fair face
conjured up by memory.
AS for the map, IL urville and all the
rest of the Forge adventure. ] had grad
ually forgotten him in my nearer, more
vital affair. The map was safe at home
in some drawer where l had tossed it: il
H..
unknown to but three men-Maitland, my
self and now Harrington. After all, what
adventure could arise from it?
Passengers were few upon the steamer
A voyage across the Gulf of Mexico under
a broiling July sun is not lightly to be
undertaken. OF the few. however, Har-
rington and l drew together with two
gentlemen who proved to be congenial
and with whom we fell into that easy
and amiable acquaintanceship which is
bred of experience and travel
That afternoon the four of us sat or
deck under an awning on the shady side
of the boat in an endeavor to get some
comfort from the breeze created by the
boat, though this was little The sur
shone down out of a cloudless sky upor
the water in a glare that made the eyes
ache; rope, rod and rail burned to the
touch; the deck reflected the suns rays
the staterooms We're sitting. Far out
across the water there flashed into sight
from time to time a school of flying fish
overhead the wireless sputtered at inter
walls, seeming only to Intensity the heat
by it's cracking chatter.
And SO his luck. his famous Lonagar
luck, held good once more" 1t was
Brumley, the war correspondent, con-
Guiding a story of a notorious gun run
ner which he had been narrating. ''Tha,
was last year; I've not seen or heard OF
him since. In all probability he's down
yonder somewhere this present minute
running contraband stuff to revolution
lists" And he jerked his thumb south
ward
Then he's earning his money this
weather" said Billy, hopping his face
The fourth of our number, huge Next
can, a prosperous coffee raiser and ship
per. heaved himself up in his cane chair
and removed his black cigar from his lips
His eyes moved restlessly from one to
another of us as he stroked his great
white muStache.
NO, gentlemen. Lonagan will run nc
more guns said he What you call his
famous Undergraduates been blown away
in powder smoke"
"Ah. they finished him at last?''
"A month ago-Castro."
You're sure of it?''
LAS sure as that"-he snapped his fin
gers with a resoundng crack-"for l OBJ
served all. FL presidente finally tricked
him-sent Del Hervalle to pretend he was
an fnsurrecto, to bargain and TO plan a
landing of weapons, and for once Iona
gan moved hastily. Del Hervalle urged
haste and paid high. So, gentlemen. they
took him. Then Castro-but all the world
knows Castro. Six months ago it oc-
CURED. and L CHANGED to be in Caracas
where am not yet known Being Next
can l learned many things which would
have been impossible for an American tic
acquire-you understand, gentlemen-and
could do many things unquestioned which
you could not have done. But neither was
it known that l have offices and live much
of the time in New York, or perhaps Cas-
tro might of me also have asked ques-
tons. Lonagan was shot one morning
against the cathedral wall. FL presidente
himself was there to observe the denoue.
ment, for Lonaga had caused him con.
siderable anxiety at one time and another
and the good dictator wished to see with
his own eyes that the man was dead.
also found occasion to be present. Alas
could render no assistance none and
could only stand with my hands in my
pockets and smoke a cigar, and think
that it would be well if Castro, too, were
placed with his back to the wall.
'Lonagan l had met in my Office once
perhaps twice or three times, on impor-
tant matters of business-I may say that
much now he is dead. What matter to
me where coffee grows? / have planta-
tons in Mexico. Honduras, Costa Rica
Brazil; and politics sometimes may even
disturb coffee. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SO Lon
agan was shot at last. With a lump of
tobacco in his cheek such as he ALWAYS
ate he went to the wall. 1t was sad-a
brave man. and always the tobacco. He
perceived me- He winked an eye SLOWLY
thus, as il it We're jest When the af-
fair was concluded / returned to the
hotel, where peon handed me a scrap of
letter-observe." From his breast pocket
the narrator drew a bill book and extract
ed dirty leaf Of paper. 1T is in Iona
gans handwriting. l will read. 1t was
Hervalle who double-crossed me.-P L.
Thus a brave man died.
He sank back in his chair, still holding
the paper in his fingers and gazing re-
fiectively out across the sea. We had
had a peep at an obscure tragedy, at one
of the swift and merciless moves in the
endless game played beneath the placid
surface of world affairs.
Del Hervalle = don't think l know
him. Brumley remarked, twisting the
point Of his Van Dyck beard. But men
sight again down there: besides. I've been
in China the past year"
The Mexican replaced Lonagan's letter
and put away his wallet. Nothing is
known Of this Del Hervalle unless Castro
knows it." he said, for since this sue
cessful coup he is high in ell presidente' S
favor. OF all gun runners Castro feared
and hated LOnagan most-it was a bulls
eye that which Del Hervalle made; and
then there We're other matters in which
he had been previously skilIful While
still in Venezuela | made a point IN oh