Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-13

flag into which he was patriotically heading
and offered his pistol to Eel Rey"
All - exclaimed Pedro. his eyes fairly
swapping with establishment "it is General
Hcrran! Bueno. Senor General. we go to
bring Panama back to Colombia"
That is we'll" replied the orher. diplo-
mat'ealy ignoring the implied reproach +;
with such brave men you win surely sue
coed. Sennr CAPTAIN"
And the Yankees"" queried Pedr,, smack
ing his lips after long drausht from the
Generals bottle.
doubtless you VIII find them in Panama"
The news that this was General Herran.
tn" man whom Panama had made famous
spread like wdfre among the VOLUNTEERS
who crowded together exctedly. bent on hear
ing the latest bulletin from the land ,hev
were pledged to recapturc.
Shouts or amaZement. ind gnation derison
"chocd along -" tra!l--oXprossons of hos
ulity that might have appa He'd one less cool
than Herran But he pretended uoi 10 no.
tic" these demonstratinns and devoted him
self 10 Pedro, who, he perceived was moved
by his flatter!.
''lrs a bad business. Senor Captain" he
assured him confdentially Bur the coun
try II safe with such brave Volunteers 70
defend it
And you. Senor General, you tight with
''Tt will be an honor" sraciousI,. r.u,iad
the hero Of Panama "But first | must see
His EXcellency. the President, in Rogo,a
Will tell him how You are hurryng to the
rescue of the lsthmus."
where are your soldiers"
some of them you will meet on the way
to Honda
An officer was with you just now Where
is he?'
In the throng of volunteers surrounding
them it was impossible to djstiuguish David
who had doubtless seized the opportunity
created by the sudden recognition OF Herran
10 force his way up the side Of the trail as
the general had suggested
"taramhH ~ exclaimed Herran 'H. has
gone on ahead. He knows the presiden,
awaits us and the dispatch Of great I'M
portanc@ 10 the republic that ". bring him
I must hurry. Pardon Senior Captain il
am forceh 20 leave you so quickly Per
hapS We meet soon again In Panama"
with a fine show of Difference H,rran ga
luted III" King of the RootbIacls waose eyes
sparkled proudly at this recognition of his
rank from "A brother officer, and who signi-
fed his appreciation OF the tribute by a wave
of the hand TO mis- followers and a command
to them not 10 delay the general.
"SeEores." he shouted. make way for the
great Senor General. He comes for IN. re-
public. After he has seen Don Jose he Will
go with us to bring back Panama"
The order was given with all the flourish
that had won renown for Pedro as a polisher
OF boots and was received by the volunteers
vita their WoDted cheerfuness and enthu-
siasm. Unfortunately. the birro who had
the honor Of carrying Ell Rey" so un-
\
allowed himself TO be jostIed into 200 close
proximity with the bearers OF the hag He
then became sO hopelessly entangled N his
countrNS colors that, uttering a dismal bray,
he was tumbled headlong down the slippery
hui, dragging the amazed and protesting
Pedro with him
Fronting by this accident General HerraH
spuTrsd his own horse through the ranks of
the volunteers. gaining at last. after much
energetic pushing and showing the top Of the
hill, Here he paused to look back with an
inward chuckie, at the excited throng of men
and boys from whom he had escaped and TO
pick up again his fellow-tra veler David.
But, whatever the explanation. David was
not TO he found. There were no cross trails
from the main Boguta road into which he
might have blundered, and his disappearance
therefore. became more OF a puzzle as Her
ran Travelled mile after mile, at the best
speed Of which his horse was capable, with
out trace of him
In a way General Herran felt responsible
for the safety of the man with whom he had
been travelling, the more so that this man
was foreigner, belonging to Il nation whose
citizens Were, not welcome just then in Colom-
bia. Had David been other than Ameri-
can, Herran would have taken his dissp-
pearance puzElins though it vas. with the
cheerful indifference peculiar Ia him But
the fact that he was American, alone in
a hostile country, appealed to a chiyalrous
strain in his nature. urging him to do the
best he could for his rescue
Acting on this, General Herran rode with
out stopping until nightfall, reaching just
after dark--dusk comes swiftly enough in
the Fopics--one of the primitive little hos
telries kept Tor the accommodation Of tray-
alefe = - }ren Soeotsr Hsre, - =