Rocky Ford enterprise., 1915-01-08


mains of a fire and. better still. scat
hardtack, whole pineapple and an
remaining in 1t.
Despite the suggestions Of the prox-
unity of the Spaniards. Holton sat
down and ate the most satisfactory
meal of his life.
Having eaten, he retired a little dis
tance and lay back in the shadows.
The sun warmed him, and the stiffness
caused by the damp of the night left
| him. II, as he had feared. fever had
been in his blood, it had gone now and
this inspired him wonderfully.
He was about to descend when the
flash of something below caught his
eye almost beneath his feet. He looked
| closely and caught the flash again, fol-
| lowed by another flash, then by sew
eral. A flash id this jungle meant pol
ished metal of some sort. and metal of
any sort here meant only one thing
soldiers.
He strained his eyes downward and
then caught glimpses of a trail, partial
ly hidden from his view by bushes. On
the side of the trail nearest to the
eastward the land fell sharply away
into wide valley. the opposite sides
of which were bush and tree-covered
hills just as on his side.
And now as he looked, the situation
dawned clear upon him. For he could
see men moving. falling back along the
trail, and eventually debouching into
bushes on either side.
Holton's heart beat quickly. He re-
membered what the Spaniards had said
of Americans marching from the direc-
tion Of Siboney. and he knew that
right before his eyes the Spaniards
were arranging an ambush for them.
But what could he do? Almost any
moment a detachment OF Spanish SOL
| diers might come upon him. His
slightest movement would tend to at
tract the attention of some of them.
What was happening? Suddenly
from the distance there came what
sounded to Holton like the clatter of
steel on steel. He at once recognized
1t as the sound a scabbard makes
when 1t strikes against spur.
Hastily he looked down at the Span
ish position. but not sign of soldier
could he see. The trail was deserted,
the surroundings were as quiet. as
peaceful as the heart OF a jungle. 1t
was too quiet. Holton thought.
Suddenly the situation dawned clear
his countrymen were walking into a
deadly trap! And he was powerless to
help them.
Then. as though a voice had whis-
pered In his ear. he started up. Was
he helplessf Yes. II he was consider
ing himself. II fear of consequences
TO him personally were to be weighed.
he WIS perfectly helpless. But not
otherwise. Providence could not have
smiled more benigniy upon the Ameri
cans than in placing him Just where
he was-provided he justified the
providential processes with the nerve
| OF hero.
He rolled half on his eide. loosened
his revolver In its holster. and then
drew 1t out. No more sounds come
from the trail. and yet. somehow. there
was the impression of movement down
there, a subconscious feeling of the ap-
proach of men.
Holton. his eyes strained ahead. his
ears alert for the slightest sound,
started convulsively as q campaign hat
appeared for an instant through rift
in the high grasses on the valley side
OF the trail.
Then, fiattening himself rigidly upon
the ground, he pointed his pistol in
the direction of the Spaniards beneath
him. and pulled the trigger. The sharp
report of the forty-four tore through
the dead stiffness with nerve-racking
vtn Iatf 81,
ley in hundred echoes. And then, as
though both nature and man had been
shocked into inanition, there followed
few seconds OF pulseless silence.
Again Holton's pistol rang out. This
time. from the direction of the hidden
advancing forces, there came several
short. sharp commands. AS Holton
lay hidden. thankful that the Spaniards
had evidently attributed the shots to
some overanxious soldier on their own
| side, he saw two Cubans steal along
the trail and behind them a gigantic
young sergeant in the uniform of a
Rough Rider.
Close behind him were four men.
They were picking their way stealth
lily. There was no question that Hol-
toms shots had the desired effect.
Then, as he looked, several long.
lancelike lines of flame darted out of
the bushes in which the Spaniards lay.
The valley resounded with a racketIns
uproar. He saw the big Rough Rider
sergeant stop short with look of sur
prise upon his face, saw his jaws set
grimly. saw him advance a step. and
then heave forward on his face. block
ing the trail with his body.
The bushes beneath Hoiton were
now darting sheets of fame and the
gases from the smokeless powder drift
cd inward and into hfu poufriIo