Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1918-08-16


Gomez was counted one of the worlds
ablest guerrilla leaders; and indeed
1t had required the quenchless enthu-
siasm Of a real military genius to fuse
into a homogeneous fighting force the
ill-assOrted rabble Of n~ondescripts
whom Gomez led, to school them to
prlvati0n and to render them sufficient
ly mobile to defy successfully ten
times their number of trained troops.
This, however, was precisely what the
old Porto Rican had done, and in doing
it he had won the admiration of mill
tary students.
With n bluntness not unkind he
asked O'Reilly what had brought him
to Cuba.
When O'Reilly explained the reason
for his presence the old fighter nod
ded.
80? You wish to go west, eh?"
"Yes, sir. l want to find Colonel
Lopez"
Lopez? Miguel lopez? the gen.
eral inquired quickly. well, you won't
have to look far for him." General
Gomez lea.hery countenance lightened
into a smile. "He happens to be right
here In Cubitas." Calling Judson to
him, he said: "Amigo. take Mr.. O'Reilly
to Colonel Lopez; you will find him
somewhere about. I am sorry we are
not to have this young fellow for a
soldier; he looks like a real man and
quite equal to five qulntos, eh2"
1t was the habit of the Cubans to
refer to their enemies as quintos-
the fifth part of a man! With a wave
Of his hand Gomez returned to his
reading.
Col. Miguel Lopez, a handsome, ami
mated fellow, took O'Reilly's hand in
a hearty clasp when they were intro
duced; but a moment later his smile
gave way to Il frOwn and his brow
darkened.
"Sol You are that O'Reilly from
MatanZas," said he. II know you now,
butt never expected we would meet"
"Esteban Yarona told you about me,
did he nOt?"
The colonel inclined his head.
I'm here at last, after the DEVILS
own time. I've been trying every way
to get through. The Spaniards stopped
me at Puerto Principe--they sent me
back home, you know. I've been per-
fectly crazy. l. YOU" O'Reilly
swallowed hard. "You know where
Esteban is? Tell me-"
"Have you heard nothlng?"
Nothing whatever. That Is, moth
ing since Rosa, his sister You I'M
derstand, she and l are-engaged-"
"Yes, yes; Esteban told me all about
you"
Something In the Cuban's gravity Of
manner gave O'Reilly warning. A sud-
den fear assai'ed him. His voice shook
as he asked:
"What Is 1t? Not bad news?"
There was no need for the officer
to answer. In his averted gaze
O'Reilly read confirmation Of his sick
est apprehensions.
"Tell me! Which one?" he whis-
pered.
"BOthl"
OReilly recoiled; q spasm distorted
his chalky face. He began to shake
weakly, and his fingers plucked aim
lessly at each other.
Lopez took him by the arm. "Try to
control yourself" said he. "Sit here
while l try to tell you what little I
know. Or would it not be better to
wait awhile, until you are calmer?"
AS the young man made no answer, ex-
cept to stare at him in u white agony
Of suspense, he sighed:
II will tell you all I know-whlch
isn't much. ESteban Varona came to
me sops after he and his sister had
fled from their home; he wanted to
join my forces, but we were harassed
on every side, and I didn't dare take
thS 81 hO holliuh NOulu hdtc Su-
dured the hardships we suffered. SO
I convinced him that his first duty was
to her, rather than to his country, and
he agreed. He was a fine boy! He
had spirit. He bought some stolen
rifles and armed a band of his own
which wasn't a bad idea. l used to
hear about him. Nobody cared to
modest him, l a tell you, until finally
he killed some Of the regular troops.
Then Of ours they went after him.
Meanwhile he managed to destroy his
own plantations, which Cueto had
robbed him Of. You know Cueto?"
ayes"
swell, Esteban put an end to him
after a while; rode right up to La
Joya n night, broke in the door, and
macheted the scoundrel In his bed. But
there was a mistake of some sort. 1t
seems that n body OF Cobo's volun-
teerS We're somewhere close by, and
the two parties met. l have never
learned all the details Of the affair, and
the stories of that fight which came to
me are too prcposter0us for belief.
Still, Esteban and his men must have
fought like demons, for they killed
some Incredible number. But they
were ~hunaan-thcy could not defeat a