Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-09-05

ing. Remember ~ midnight !" He
bowed, turned to the door, and was
gone.
On the stroke Of midnight o'Reilly
was arrested. After q thorough search
of his person and his Premises he was
escorted to government headquarters,
where he found Leslie Branch.
The invalid looked taller, thinner,
more bloodless than ever, and his air
of settled gloom admirably became the
situation.
'Hello. What luck?" Johnnie flashed
at him.
"Goodi"
An officer sharply commanded him
to be silent.
The prisoners were ordered to stand
side by side, facing their accusers.
Then each in turn was subjected to a
rigorous examination. Owing to his
acquaintance with Spanish, O'Reilly
was able to defend himself without the
aid of an interpreter.
1t was evident from the first that
Branch's case was hopeless. He read
lily acknowledged himself to be a news
paper writer, and admitted having sent
articles for publication through the
mails. This was quite enough; from
the attitude Of the military men it
promised to go hard with him. Judg-
ment for the moment was suspended,
and the two prisoners were led away.
At last O'Reilly was recalled; but
when he re-entered the big room he
found General Antuna awaiting him,
alone.
The general spoke with force and
gravity: "Mr. O'Reilly, believe you
to be a far greater menace to the in
| terests of my country than-well, than
a score of dynamite experts. believe
! you are a writer
The American smiled. "Are writer's
such dangerous people?"
'That altogether depends upon cir
cumstances. The United States is in
| clined to recognize the belligerency of
these Cuban rebels, and her relations
with Spain are becoming daily more
! strained; ill-feeling grows, and all be-
cause of the exaggerations, the men
| dacities, that have gone forth from
here to your newspapers. We are de-
! termined to put down this uprising
in our own way; we will tolerate no
foreign interference. War is never a
pleasant thing, but you journalists
! have magnified its horrors and mis-
/ represented the cause of Spain until
you threaten to bring on another and
4 a more horrible combat. Now then,
YOU understand what I mean when
say that you are more dangerous than
powder expert; that your pen can
| do more injury can cause the death
of more Spanish troops than could a
regiment of Americans with dynamite.
Your English friend makes no secret
4 of his business, so we shall escort him
I to Neuvitas and see him safely out of
4 the country, once for ALL
Sand yet you permit me to remain?''
Johnnie was surprised.
''For the present, yesl That is my
official message to you. Privately,
howeverD-the speaker eyed 0'ReiIly
with a disconcerting expressions II
would like to warn you. You are a
bright fellow, and you have way with
you-there's no denying it. Under
other conditions it would be a pleas
ure to know you better. 1t grfeves me,
therefore, to warn you that your fur
Their stay in Cuba will not be-pleas-
ant. | almost regret that there is no
conclusive evidence against you; ii
would so simplify matters. Come, now,
hadn't you better acknowledge that i
have guessed your secret?"
( O'Reilly's3 perplexity was changing
to dismay, for it seemed to him he
was being played with; nevertheless,
4 he shook his head. 81 would only be
deceiving you, sir" he said.
General Antuna sighed "Then ]
Il see embarrassments ahead for both of
u.s."
"More arrests?'
mot necessarily. Understand me,
speak as one gentleman to another,
but-you must have noticed that Amer
leans are unpopular with our troops
Eth? They are impulsive, these troop
ers; accidents cannot be prevented
Suppose something should happen to
you? There is the trouble. You came
to Cuba to enjoy it's climate; you can
not be expected to remain indoors. OF
course not. Well! Among our sol
diers are many new recruits, patriotic
enthusiastic young fellows, but-care-
less. They are wretchedly unproficient
marksmen. and they haven't learned
the danger of promiscuous rifle fire
They are forever shooting at things
merely to score a hit. Would you be-
lieve it? Oh, have to discipline them
frequently. To think of you being
abroad through the streets, therefore
worries me intensely. Suppose you
should be found dead some day. I'm
agine my feelings" The speakers
tone and expression were eloquent Of
concern. GLOW could I fix the respon
sibility?"
"By having me followed, as usual
7 DE say O'Reilly said bitterly.
oh, you will of course be Swallowed
4; and night; in fact, to be quite sure
fr+x 4 et,o s,cJ~x 81