The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1915-08-19
APR soner In
Cuba
By MARTHA v. MONROE

Oue DAY Wnlle he was on picket duty
the sun was hot. the insects were buzz
ing about him, and there was absolute
ly nothing to interest him. He sat
down on Il stone The hills, the blue
sky with fieecy cloud floating over it,
a meadow directly before him, all be-
came jumbled together.
The next thing Frank knew a Span
lard was kneeling over him holding a
! knife within an zach of his throat. As
soon as his eyes We're opened, for he
had been asleep, the Spaniard, who
had possessed himself of the Ameri-
cans muSket made signs to him to
get up. When he had obeyed the or
der his captor pointed down the hill
| side. The pickets were badly posted,
and Franks supports did not see him
till he had gone some distance. 1t then
took them some time longer to consid-
er what their comrade was doing walk
ing down the hill followed by a man,
but supposed he was going down to
the brook for Il drink of water. BY
the time they understood that Frank
was being marched away a prisoner
his captor was directly between them
and him, and they could not put a
bullet into one without endangering
the other. Then captive and captor
disappeared in Il wood.
Frank Dorrance was taken to little
village near by and lodged in low
building, or, rather, clubhouse. 1t was
not fitted for a Jail, but guard was
posted about it, and Frank would be
shot if he attempted TO escape.
Frank was handsome fellow, the
very opposite of a Spaniard. His hair
was very light and his eyes very blue.
The house i'll which he was confined
was directly back of a little store
where pins. needles, thread, cakes, can
dy and fruit were sold. The day after
his capture, looking out through win
dow, he saw a Cuban girl at desk
in the back of the store evidently
working on accounts. Presently she
looked up, and their eyes met.
A handsome boy of nineteen, looking
into the eyes of pretty girl of fifteen
This girl looked away, but not for long.
She was the only daughter of a man
who was fighting for Cuba against the
Spaniards. She and her mother attend
ed to the store, supporting a family of
small children. One day their neigh
bors began to crowd the store, making
purchases. There We're not more than
Il hundred people in the village, and it |
seemed that at least third of these |
were in constant need of something to /
be bought at the store Many of these
persons carried home their purchases, |
but the children of the storekeeper
were constantly going out with bun
dies.
This was noticed by the only Spanish |
sympathizer in the town, who lived
opposite the store, and he wondered
how it could be that the sleepy little
shop could so suddenly have wakened
up. The villagers were no richer, nor
was there any evidence that their ne
,essities were any greater than before,
md yet they were all buying, some of
hem many times a day. AS for the
soldiers, they were all Spaniards and
strangers, and, being hated by the peo-
Die as their enemies, they knew little
md cared less what was going on in
he town.
Meanwhile there were SnatcheS of
ovemaking between Frank Dorrance
md the Cuban girl, though there was
10 means of communication between
hem. Frank had picked up a few
words of Spanish and, having no ink,
ut his finger with a knife brought him
or meals, and with the blood made
n apology for small message. But
he girl made signs for him to desist,
fearing that he would be seen
" the guard. ;
One night Frank was awakened by
sound under the floor.
it was caused by rats, he I
urned over and went to sleep again. {
But the scratching continued and '
ounded like an animal burrowing. I
frank listened awhile, then got up and
nut his ear down to the floor. He {
card some one digging.
He sat on the side of his bed and
ried to think out what it meant. \
The floor was old and rotten. Sud- +
emily he began to feel of it and found :
irectly above the sound q board that 6
e could pull up. This he did, and, {
hough the noise he made was slight,
he scratching ceased. But it soon be- +
an again. and Frank began to scoop i
p the dirt under the floor where he !
ad removed the board. 1t was not
ing before some of the earth gave way :
nd Franks hand came in contact with
mother hand much softer and smaller :
nan his own.
"Senori"
"Senorital'
1t dawned on the soldier that the lit
e Cuban girl had burrowed under the
round to come to him. She had pre-
AIRED herself with enough English to
III him to crawl through the tunnel
ne had made for her exit He put on .
is clothes and followed her into the
ore. There one of her mothers dresses
-as provided for him. and in the u
corning, clad as a woman, he walked
way to freedom. And his liberator u
With him