The Washington herald., 1919-11-15
Go o. with the story.
THE HAND OF THE CAPTAIN
GENERAL

On the stroke Of midnight OReiliy
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, Earl. What Iuck:" John
ME flashed at him.
Good"
An officer sharply commanded them
to be silent.
There ensued a long delay. intro
duced, perhaps, for its effect upon the
prisoners; then they were led into
large room where. It seemed. the en-
tire staff Of the Spanish garrison
was waiting. 1t was an imposing col
lection of uniforms. a row OF grim
faces and hostile eyes, which the two
Americans beheld. spread out upon a
table in front Of the officers were the
personal belongings Of both men.
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
acQua1nIdnCc WIN GpdhHht " AsrhA'
was able to defend himself without
the aid Of an interpreter. He began
by asserting that he had come TO
Cuba for his health, and declared
that he had endeavored at all times
| since his arrival to conduct himself
| in strict conformity with local regu-
lations. IL in any way he had offend
ed, he had not done 80 Intentionally.
He denied having the remotest con-
nection with the rebels. and demand
ed an explanation Of his arrest.
But his plausible words did not In
the least affect his hearers. General
Antuna, the comandante, q square
faced man with the airs of a courtier,
but with the bold. hard eyes Of .
fighter, leaned forward. saying:
80 you suffer from III health
senor?"
VI do, severely. Rheumatism"
The general nodded. Three days
ago you were overtaken by q rain
storm while walking through the
CITY,"
Yes, SIR"
When the rain had passed, yor
returned to your hotel. At the juno
ton Of San Rafael and Estrella streets
a pool of water had gathered ant
you leaped 1t. Am I right
NO doubt"
General Antuna consulted a repor'
before him. That pool measured 81,
feet four inches in width. Do yot
ask me to believe that Q person sui.
fsring from rheumatism could dt
that?''
Leslie Branch shifted his weight ant
wet his lips. but o'Reilly only shruE
sed impatiently. My dear general.
said he, did you never experience ,
neuralgia? Well then. was the pail
continuous? In this climate my ar
Fiction troubles me very little. Tina
is why l remain here
From among the the articles In tron
of him the general selected q solitar!
.A-caliber revolver cartridge and
holding II up. said:
What do you say to this?'
Il don't know what TO say. wher
did It come fromT'
1T was found in the cloth pocke
of your valise."
o'Reilly frowned: then "a tight OF un
derstanding irradiated his frank coun
tenante. 1T must have lain ther
ever since I left Matanzas. thre
months ago"
"Ha, Matanzas!' .nerceIy eIacu
lated a colonel. Whist were yo'
doing In Matanzas!"
| II was unnecessary to prevaricat
now. Johnnie told OF his earlier con
nection with the Carter importinl
Company. gave names. dates and fact
to bear out his statements. and chaI
lenged his accusers to verify them.
Undoubtedly some OF his hearer
were impressed, but they were by m
means convinced Of the innocence o
his present purpose. and. In fact. tn
ferocious colonel eeemed to regars
past residence in Cuba as proof con
elusive OF q present connection witt
the rebels. Johnnie gathered that b.
was suspected OF being one OF thos
| American engineers who were report
ed to have been engaged TO instruc
the enemy In the use OF explosives
his inquisitors did their best to wrin,
such an admission from him or Z,
entrap him into the use OF Some tech
nicai phrase. some slip of the tonRu
which would verify their suspicious
They even examined his hands witt
minutest care. as II to find some tell
tale callous or chemical discoiofatio,
which would convict him. Then nnail,
| to give him the lie absolute. the ag
sressive colonel seized q nickel-plate,
.atomizer from the table and bran
dished 1t triumphantly before tn
young mems eyes. .,r..
Enough OF this pretensey' he cried
| What Is this instrument. eh?"
1T Is evidently an atomizer, 4 uasa
syringe. I never saw Il before"
ITS mine.'' said Leslie Branch: ou
the colonel did not heed the interrup
ton.
"Ha, And pray explain its use.
Johnnie undertook to do 90, but ,
was plain that his words carried n,
conviction. for his rpocking linguistic
gave a loud snort Ind sestured eio
quently to his commander. .-Ther
you have NJ" he declared, proudly
.fhis imposter betrays himself.-
The other off,cers ware eye,ns tn
unfa miliar article curiously: one o
them ventured ginkerly to handle Il
they exchanged whispers.
What do you call IT." the genera
inquired. leaning forward.
| This wss the cc,oners moment. :.
win tell you" he said. with a snee
AT o'Reiiiy Il am something OF
| genius at mechanical Inventions. an,
therefore sm not for q moment ae
eeived by this feIiowss common Mes
/ This"-he paused drsmstically an
held his brother officers with n burn
/ ing glance--..this instruunent >in -,