The Holly chieftain., 1914-12-04

tAe eepstone upon the spell he had
bsen weaving among the ofnesss Of
the Cuban army.
~Rrothers." he began, Fl came here
tonight to counsel prudence, and. In
tact. ! do % counsel you now"
Holton's faee Alled with amaze
nsnt What vas hs getting att In
. few Domsnts he Sosnd out
Il Do most earnestly counsel pFs-
dsoce." he continued. There are
things that must b. borne. The sol-
diers Of the United States have como
here. Well. good. We brought them
here. At least. % 1t would appear.
"Of course. We believe that these
men were sent here because Of the
great yearning Of the United States
to see us . FREQ. unshackled country.
And 70 they have come down here to
set us free. and then. having done 20.
to retire with . blessing. and to con-
template with pride the growth of
the republic. free and untrammeled.
80 much We know. The Spaniards
will bs driven from the island. and
then will these Americans turn to us
and say. Behold. here IL your coun-
try: take It and develop It. and make
It great. and may God be with you.
30 say prudence.
But. on the other hand. there are
some of us who may possess we'll
formed doubts ~ to the truth of the
beautiful word picture have painted
for you. Yes. there are many who
doubt damnably.. Has the United
States ever been known to talk one
way and act another! To those who
know the political history Of that
srest nation. need say no more. To
those who do not, say that govern
mental policies in the United States
are fickle jades. blown willy-nilly by
the winds Of public opinion-they are
valueless ~ things to depend upon;
they are trivial even to consider. And
yet"-he raised his hand to still ris-
ing growl of voices-"and yet, still
counsel prudence"
"Whyf" roared q hoarse voice from
the darkness.
Why? l can answer you simply.
Because we are weak. We have been
in the field fighting for several years.
But we are not soldiers. At least, the
Americans say 30. You have heard
them One moment" as the murmur
arose again. ooh. no, we are not
soldiers. But the Americans are. We
know that. They are soldiers who
have sold cloth and beans and sugar,
and perchance may have sold guns!
And 30 they are soldiers-soldiers
that we do well to fear. So again
advise prudence, always prudence.
III they leave us our country, good;
but II they elect to retain 1t a. an.
other OF their possessions, why, good,
also. For what can we do? They
will be kind to US. They will feed
us so that we do not starve. and they
will put trolley-cars-"
A hercs yell interrupted him. and.
although he raised his hand. he could
not agatn regain attention. Nor had
he need to. He had done his work,
and done 1t well.
One man arose, holding aloft .
sword. s
= my countrymen." he yelled, III by
tomorrow night l have not plunged
this into the breast Of nve Americans,
! shall plunge 1t into my own throat"
A wild cheer greeted his words.
Then came lull suddenly. AZ though
the men were seeking outlet for their
emotions. And Cesnola was there to
give It to them
He held out his hand. All eyes
were fastened ON him. The first word
had fallen from his mouth when the
voice Of woman, raised in thrilling
cadence. wiped additional utterance
from the spy's lips.
As Holton looked the girl sprang
to the speakers side and held out
her hand. And as she stood thus, the
naval officer never forgot the picture.
my countrymen," she cried at
length, Il have listened to all who
have spoken, and have observed you.
/ have wondered whether the fever
has got into your brains, and whether
you are children led hither and thither
by the idle words Of plotters."
Cesnola sprang In front OF her and
pushed her roughly aside.
II resent this intrusion" he shout.
ed. 4 resent the presence Of this
woman"
What more he would have said may
only be surmised, for the girl, her eyes
blazing. turned to the audience, and,
with finger quivering at the spy. she
said:
That man pushed me, my country
men. Is there no one to avenge mel"
Her voice was quiet, almost unemo-