The Washington herald., 1920-10-23

played guitar and swung con-
tentedly in the breeze. Thus sur
rounded by the routine of his high
duties and the visible tokens of
agreeable domestiCity. the coIlec.
tors heart was further made happy
/ by the power placed in his hands to
brighten the fortunes of the limo
cent" Felipe.
Felipe came and stood before the
collector. He was a lad of twenty,
not ill-favored in looks. but with
an expression of distant and pom
dering vacuity. He wore white
cotton trousers, down the seams of
! which he had sewed red stripes
with some vague aim at military
decoration. fiimsy blue shirt fell
/ open at his throat; his feet were
/ bare: he held in his hand the
cheapest of straw hats from the
/ States
Senior Carrera," said the collec-
tor. gravely. producing the SNOWY
commission, Il have sent for you at
the presidents bidding This docu-
ment that l present to you confers
upon you the title OF Admiral OF
this great republic, and gives you
+ absolute command of the naval
/ forces and feet of our country.
You may think. friend Felipe. that
we have no navy-but yes, The
sloop the Estrella del Noche. that
my brave men captured from the
coast smugglers, is to be placed
under your command. The boat is
= to be devoted TO the services Of
your country. You will be ready
at all times TO convey officials of
! tho 80
coast where they may be obliged to
visit. You will also act as a coast
guard to prevent, as far as you
may be able, the crime of SNUG
! Cling. You will uphold the honor
and prestige Of your country at sea
and endeavor to place Anchstia
among the proudest naval powers
! OF the world. These are your in
| structions as the Minister of War
| desires me to convey them to you.
! Por Dios! l do not know how all
this is TO be accomplished, for not
one word did his letter contain in
! respect to a crew or to the ex-
penses of this navy. Perhaps you
! are 10 provide a crew yourself,
| Senior Admiral-I do not know
! but it is very high honor that has
descended upon you. l now hand
you your commission When you
are ready for the boat l will give
orders that she shall be made over
into your charge. That is as far as
my instructions go"
Felipe took the commission that
| the collector handed to him. He
| gazed through the open window at
the sea for moment, with his Gus
| tomary expression of deep but vain
| pondering. Then he turned with
| out having spoken a word, and
walked swiftly away through the
| hot sand of the street.
"Pobrecito loco" sighed the coll
| lector; and the parrot on the pen
racks screeched Loco - loco! -
| loco!"
The next morning a strange pro-
cession filed through the streets 10
the collectors office. At itsf head
was the admiral of the navy. Some
where Felipe had raked together a
pitiful semblanCe of a military uni
| form-a pair of red trousers, a
dingy blue short jacket heavily Or
namented with gold braid. and an
/ old fatigue cap that must have been
cast away by one OF the British SOL
diers in Belize and brought away
1 by Fellpe on one OF his coaStinG
voyages. Buckled around his waist
was an ancient ships cutlass, con-
tributed TO his equipment by Pedro
Lafitte. the baker, who proudly as
serted its inheritance from his an
cestor, the illustrious buccaneer. AT
the admirals heels tagged his new
, ly- shipped crew-three grinninK,
glossy, black Caribs. bare to the
waist, the sand squirting in showers
from the spring of their naked
feet.
Briefly and with dignity Felipe
demanded his vessel of the eollec-
tor. And now a fresh honor await
ed him. The collectors wife, who
/ played the guitar and read novels
in the hammock all day, had more
than a little romance in her placid.
yellow bosom. She had found in an
old book an engraving of a flag
that purported to be the naval nag
of Anchuria. Perhaps il had 50
been designed by the founders. of
the nation; but, as no navy had ever
been established, Oblivion hac
claimed the flag. Laboriously with
her own hands she had made a flag
after the pattern--a red cross upon
blue-and-white ground. She pre-
sented. it to Felipe with these
words: Brave sailor, this flag is