The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1920-01-03
CHAPTER XXIx-continued.'

SOO. W nat uSnl we ndus ~
was like those combats Of the gladia-
tors you hear about. The man was
brave enough; there's no denying his
courage. which was like that OF ten
men-like THAI of a fierce bull; but l.
| was superb, magnificent. The man
beloved, he roared, he grunted: he
charged me. fiinging the earth high
with his heels. but ! was banderillero.
picador, and matador in one. I was
here. was there. i was everywhere:
so swiftly did l move that no eye
could follow me. " Jacket illustrated
his imaginary movements with agile
leaps and bounds. Ine terror of his
name frightened me, I'll admit, but
1t lent me 4 desperate courage. too. l
thought of the brave men. the good
women. the innocent children he hao
slain, and I fell upon him from this
side, from that side, from the front,
from the mar. l pricked him. shout
ing: That for the people of Las Villas.
This is for the women of San Juan.
And once again for the babies you
have killed" Jacket carried out his
pantomime by prodding with a rigid
finger first one, then another of his
listeners. oh. he went mad. like a
bull, indeed. but I was another Rafael
Guerra. He shed rivers OF blood, the
ground grew slippery and the grass
became red. He stood rocking in his
tracks. finally; his breath was like a
hurricane. He was exhausted. he
was covered with foam, his limbs
we've made of lead. II was my mo-
ment. For all your sins" cried. and
with that drove yonder blade
through his heart and out between his
shoulders. thus! My brothers, his
flesh was rotton. and the steel Glove
IL as IL IL were butter"
Jacket was more than gratified at
the effect of his recital. for childT en-
screamed. women shuddered. and men
, turned shocked eyes upon one another.
: He realized that with a little further
practice and a more dilligent stten-
ton to detail he could horrify the
stoutest hearted listener. nay. cause
hysterical women TO swoon. He con-
cluded his account in a studiously
careless tone: "O'Reilly came. too
late. but he helped ME to bury the
offal. We flung it head first into an
Old well and dumped rocks upon it.
There il will lie until Cuba is free.
; That, my friends. was the end Of
cobo. exactly ss II happened"
O'Reilly saw little of his sweetheart
, that day. for Norine promptly bore
the girl OF to her own quarters and
there attended to her needs, the most
pressing of which was clothing.
Norine's wardrobe offered little to
choose from, but between them they
reduced a nurses uniform to ht%he
smaller figure. Meanwhile. with a
rapidly and a thoroughness delightful
! to both of them. the two girls came
to know each other.
While O'Reilly was similarly en-
gagged In making himself presenta bic,
he and Branch talked earnestly. with
the result that they repaired later
to Gen. Gomez.
The general welcomed them; he lis
tened with interest to O'Reilly's story
of the rescue. and 10 the account of
conditions in Mstanzas. o'Reilly con-
cluded by saying:
I've done what I came to do. sir,
but Miss varona is badly shaken by
all she has been through. She's very
nervous and fer from well. Esteban,
too. isn't recoferinE."
Gen. Gomez nodded. Miss Evans
declares he must have a change, and
I we have arranged to send him out Of
the country. His sister. poor child.
should go, too
When can they leave"
Who knows? Not for some time.
certainly. Expeditions are irregular. "
They should go at once" O'Reilly
said. positively. That's why we came
TO see you. Let us-Branch and me-
take all three Of them to the United
States"
You. too, Ell Demonio?" inquired
, the general.
YES, sir: II YOU please"
But how. How can you take two
women and a sick man
We'll manage somehow" o'Reilly
declared. 1T isn't far across to the
Bahama Banks"
True. That's the route of our tn-
derground-our undersea-railroad. As
you probably know. there is a ven-
turesonc countryInan of yours who
carries our dispatches by that way.
He devised the scheme. to keep US in
touch with our FRIENDS in New York.
ard he has done US great service. He
comes and goes in small boat. but
how or when nobody knows. The
Spanish patrols arc on the lookout for
him and there's price on his head.
-. $50, "a 10 o. g.