The Washington herald., 1913-07-13

most of whom were sQuatting on the
ground in Oriental fashion, while at the
sides and the back. fringe Of men and
boys pressed closely.
The advantages of the cotton tree as
post of observation were discovered
carly. and by the time night came on
each of its branches swarmed with
sGuirming "roosters," the lower and
stronger limbs bearing grown-ups, with
youngsters and pickaninnes hanging
from the tapering branches all the way
to the top. Others had been drawn 10
the undoubted merits possessed by the
two nipa huts. whose roofs creaked with
natives OF all sizes, who clung to OF
clawed the thatch with one hand while
they held on in layers to a convenient.
foot above them, all the way up to the
ridge pole, early straddled by a line of
youths who obligingly permitted their
bare ankles to serve as mooring buoys
on either side.
The presidente had told the soldiers
that he was going to have a really noisy
time, but he hadn't informed the people
that fireworks were on the program The
soldiers, on the other hand, had pre-
pared a little celebration of their own,
without taking either the populace or the
presidente into their confidence.
When all was ready for the curtain
to go up, and the air was filled with
the hum of voices, discussing the per-
formance that was about to take place
and the reasons why the Fourth of July
should be added to the already long list
of church and secular holidays: when
Sonora Tao had handed back to her
husband the cigar from which she and
the little Juanito and Juanita had light
ed their own weeds. something happened.
pened.
From the convento came a strange. aw-
full sound. Those who had heard the
big guns fired at the battle of Manila
Bay thought they recognized 1t as the
discharge of a cannon at short range,
and, crouching, glanced about fearfully
to see If any building had fallen. Women
fell forward or dropped upon their knees.
crying. "Jesusi Maria, Jose! Save us,
save u.s." Men who had been sitting on
the ground jumped to their feet shout
ing, ALE! Caramba, Cosa! Heaven and
earth. what is this awful thing?"
Set on Gigantic Bomb.
None knew except the soldiers back in
the convento that one of these prema-
turely had set on a gigantic bomb, which
was to have been a feature Of the fire.
works that were to have. followed the
theatricals.
While the whole plaza was In that ex-
cited condition the top Of the cotton
tree became agitated. The boys on the
upper branches began to hurry toward
the ground As they went down scram-
bling. some lost their foothold and land
ed on ths already overburdened lower
limbs Branches cracked and crashed:
one after another they left the tree with
their superior crops, and soon around
the bottom Of the trunk lay a struggling
confusion of arms and legs.
With the exception of a few branches
at the top, the tree soon was denuded.
Naturally. many persons were hurt be-
cause not only had many who had
perched in the tree fallen from q con-
siderable height, but the space under
meath had been fully occupied. and those
coming down had no opportunity to
choose between somebody's head and q
bare foot Of open ground
When all eyes were watching and mar
yelling at the stripping Of the cotton tree.
and the injured were struggling away
from its base in all directions. curiosity
as to what had been happening COM
itself to the youngsters on the
roofs of the nipa huts. Those on the
near side of the nearer structure began
to slide down. and in a trice that coign
Of vantage was bare. "A nipa hut Is not
designed ordinarily to sustain weight On