Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1917-10-12
II SIOry Of "Ameyzca
First" UHmaSking
AMe,1ca'S Secret F0eS
Movrhsed From he Ahohos Pchzrr
SERIAL Of ME Sane Name
Rchea5ed BY Pafhe
oves M S0v . Eo--s

public eye nowadays lent q special in
terest to this adventure which over
Swallowed all others and kept the news
paper men In expectation Of more to
come.
The activity Of these news gatherers
was turned to good account by the gov
eminent officials.
"A newspaper man lets nothing get
by, whether he understands 1t or not"
judiciOusly remarked the president
when Colonel Dare came to him COM
planning of the nuisance and pleading
against this intrusion into his privacy.
These fellows may become the right
arm Of the nation In smoking the ST.
lent Menace out. Give them free reign,
colonel, keeping your counsel, Of
course"
Then the presidents c%ountenance
changed. Colonel Darei" His voice
was vibrant with deeply stirred emo
lions. without attaching any blame
on you or your associates, we must i'd
NIT that the Foreign Alliance has sue
ceeded in it's initial attempts. What
ever may be behind it all, the secret
Canal defense pans and the chemicals
necessary to interpret these plans are
In their possession. Some hostile for
eign agency now knows something we
ourselves do not .know-the one weak
spot in our fertilization of the canal.
II the canal is wrenched from our con-
troll the position of America as the
nrbiter In world affairs will alter-frOm
an aggressive nation, which we now
are, we will be forced to a humiliating
defensive. Our military forces on the
isthmus have been brought to the high
est standard Of efficiency as many of
our battleships as can be spared from
the northern coasts will sail today I'M
der full steam in both ocean to guard
each entrance to the canal. From this
day on we can do nothing more than
await developments there and-pre-
pare for any emergency here. 1t is my
wish that you cooperate unreservedly
with the secretary of war and the chief
Of the army staff in mobilizing n mil
lion volunteers for army service. My
call of which you have been informed
will be issued today"
Colonel Dare, overwhelmed by the
undated confidence of the chief mag
istrate of the country, solemnly pledged
his word.
After dinner that night, Colonel
Dare called all the visiting newspaper
men into his study and informed them
that at any moment he expected the
secretary of war, the chief of the army
staff and one or two of his junior Off
GERS, including Major Brent, to arrive;
that the purpose of their visit was to
discuss informally the question of rails
ing a million volunteers how to handle
the movement of troops how to dis
pose of them s~trategically and equip
and train the recruits properly and
quickly; that eventually a written
statement would be forthcoming. He
asked them to favor him personally by
quitting the premises so that the mem
bers Of his family would not be sub
jected to the constant annoyance Of
answering door bells and telephone
calls and the conference proceed undis-
turbed.
The reporters smilingly obliged the
colonel by quartering themselves in the
summer house in the Dare gardens.
When he was told of this arrangement
he laughed, in spite of the seriousness
Of everything, at the subtle and deter
mined methods of the American pro-
fesslOnal collector and puryeyor of
news.
They've got u n-notiOn, colonel"
Adams Informed him, that you're goin'
over II Hot of National Guard figures
tonight what1l show u-up Jest how
the country's fixed to dig up a million
rockies. They w-want to get at them
figures which they think you amt
goln' to give o-out."
"Huhl % exclaimed the colonel guard
eddy.
'Then there's that t-there Silent
Menace" inslnuated Adams. These
wrIter-chaps g-got a bet up that he's
goin' to be on the job and beat t-them
to It on this fgger business"
"The Silent Menacel" echoed the
colonel, sharply. REPORT that, sir, to
Major Brent at once. Hes"
II heard 1t, colonel" called n voice
from an adjoining room and the major
now Joined them, laughing lightly. mo
outsider will enter this house tonight.
II Is guarded inside and out by picked
men from the garrison"
In view OF the distinguished charac-
ter Of the nights visitors, both the
major and the orderly dressed with
more care than usual. Particularly
Adams, who was VIGOROUSLY indiifer-
ent TO his apparel. Some Of the men
In the mess rallied him most unmerci-
fully at times, clubbing Kim the "mess
bum" He was clearly enough I'm his
habits and was even known to shave
several times a day, especially when
assigned to some duty where he would
meet the ~cOlonel's daughter. But he
would not, or could not shake or GER
tain tramplike mannerlsms In clothing
his really splendid figure.
j When the visitors arrived the colo