The Tomahawk., 1916-10-12

bound for that port. But he rcrst taik
to his principals in Mexico. There
was the wireless Of the Esmlranga,
and there was his secret cipher which
no Yankee could read. Might the op-
orator handle his messages?
TO be sure. The representative OF
the Mexican government which was to
paw handsomely for the transportation
OF the cargo aboard the Esmiranaa
might do entirely as J e wished.
So it transpired that Special Agent
Billy Gard began talking to the Amerl-
can battleships in southern seas when
the Esmiranga was not much more
than halfway across the Atlantic. He
amused himself writing messages
much as man passes. the time OF
voyage in playing solitaire. SO IL
happened that the United States gov
eminent had all the details of the ap-
proach of shipload of ammunition
Of American origin destined to Hu-
erta. upon whom the screws were
lust then being put for insulting the
Stars and Stripes. So it was evident
that if this ammunition were allowed
to land, it might be used against Amer-
lean troops, who we're at any moment
to be thrown into Mexico.
Yet the United States might not pre-
vent a German ship from entering the
harbor at Vera Cruz. The only meth
cd of stopping that ammunition was
to seize the port and custom house and
thereby come into possession OF me
cargo if it were disembarked.
The wireless Of the Esmiranga sput-
tered out a message which, when in
terpreted in accordance with the con-
federate cipher and tie ksyword OF
Russian whiskers," conveyed the in
formation that the vessel was ap-
preaching the Mexican coast and that
her intention was to steam under the
very noses Of the American dread
naughts into port. The facts were re-
ported to Washington, where the al
tentative of Selling the port was stern
ly faced. Orders were given to act.
The next day American marines
went, some to glory and some to death,
past that most tragic spot in all Amer
lea, the fortress prison of San Juan de
Ullao; into those streets frequented by
the sacred scavenger buzzard of the
Aztecs; beneath the walls Of the an.
cient parochial church beside the
Plaza de la Constitution where the
first American boy was destined to die
at the hands of a sniping greaser; into
the gate city that had known Cortez
and Macmillan, and had loaded the
galleons of Spain with more silver and
gold than had ever before been
amassed anywhere in the history OF
the world.
But the Esmiranga did not come in
to discharge her ammunition that it
might fall into the hands of the Amer
leans. Instead, it haunted Mexican
waters for while as creature of un-
rest, uncertain where to land. Finally
it put into Mobile, where it's captain
was left at still greater loss, for the
supposed Mexican gun-runner went
ashore and was seen no more. San
chez, the Mexican consul, left by train
for his native land. Huerta, in the
madness of his career, extended no in
structions.
The ultimate disposition of the Els:
miranga's cargo completes the record
of another of these fascos in the game
of pandering to revolutionists in Lat
in America. The outcast cargo
knocked about the Caribbean for
awhile like party dressed up and no
place to go. The constitutionalists
came into possession of Tampico and
sought way to deal with the captain
of the Esmiranga, who was still I'M
paid for transporting his cargo and
willing to listen to almost any propo-
sition. But the constitutionalists
bought no pigs in pokes and insisted
on an examination of the cargo. Prob
ably they had themselves bought of
Valentines and knew the nature of his
stock in trade. They found way to
open some of the boxes and there dis
covered such an array of antique arm
ament that even they scorned it's use.
Valentines and the Russian who came
to New York to buy for Huerta had
taken no pains to give that warlike
gentleman even the value of a portion
of his money