Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-12
Continued from page II

landWard. heSe seemed unreal enough;
but the pressure on his knees was real
"Give it to her, George. muttered Barnes:
but the telegrapher did not hear. Nor did
he more than half listen when the girl re-
sumed her passionate pleading. He stared
into the luminous darkness, and muttered
with great conviction:
"Well, I'll be hanged" as though punctu-
ating the fervent speech of Encarnacion Paz
herself.
"Senor, you love your native land?' she
was saying. "Of course! Then you will not
blame me for loving mine. And yet you
can understand it, Senior? To you your land
is dear because it is the home of freedom;
but to us Venezuelans our unhappy country
is the dearer because she is in chains We
are ready to fight for her-to die for her, if
need be! And when we see her despoiled,
ruined by selfish men like Paroles, then,
Senior. we forget everything save that we
wish to succor her. Men sneer at us for
nation of revoutionists; but we are only un-
happy children. And even child can re-
sent oppression. have been child, Senior.
and | know. Only yesterday | was a child.
But when | learned from Ramon yonder
that this ship would carry away from my
country a fortune in gold that had been
stolen by Paredes-then, Senior. | became
woman overnight, woman with bleeding
of the gold in the name of Venezuela"
"Give it to her, George" said Barnes
again, as though repeating a ritual.
But again Gring did not seem to hear, and
the girl flung about on her knees and
stretched out her hands to the engineer.
"Senor." she breathed. "if it were your
country, would you not do SOP"
Then Gring found his tongue. "But it
can't be done, Senorita! It's piracy you're
asking us to take hand in. And there's
gunboat over there. She may spot us at any
minute, and we'd have a sweet time ex-
planning, anyhow. But launch full of loot
i see our finish" Again he lapsed into the
reinsurance of his native speech.
But SenOnta Paz rose as though the mat
ter were settled. "God who has touched
your heart will bring us safely past, Senior"
she said quietly. There is yet time before
dawn; and, once at Los Roques, who can
trace u.s." She laid tiny hand on his
arm. Come, Senor-it is necessary to re-
lease Ramon and the others.
Her touch seemed to awaken Gring as
from trance He shivered. stared, blinked
his eyes, laughed his old chuckling laugh,
then swore magnihcently at Barnes "What
the Sam Hill are you standing round for?
Don't you hear the lady talking Get busy
and cast off the laShings.'
TT remained for Norton. the A. P. man at
La Guayra, to chronicle the inexplicable
deSertion of the steamship Conception,
picked up at dawn by the gunboat Santa
Anna, within two hundred miles of the coast.
So far as his story goes, the crew reached Los
Roques and scattered through the island.
One of them. being interviewed, told a tale
of water coming into the ship so that all
forsook her. Questioned as to the fate of
Captain Ramon. he protested ignorance of
anything beyond the fact that he had fled
for his life and had come to Los Roques in
boat He knew nothing of the gold con-
corning which there was much talk-how
should he know?
And that remained the sum of human
knowledge in the matter nothing. Two
things were certain,-that the gold was gone
and that Lebaudy & Son did not make good
the loss to the fleeing Paroles. Further than
this, Norton's story is characterized by
lack of information. He seems to know
nothing of Encamacion Paz, the peasant
girl. or of the six who did her bidding under
the tropic stars.