Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1921-01-21

an eye and q tooth for toOth
Sarros bowed. II am at your serv-
Ice" he replied carelessly.
"Then at daylight tomorrow morn
ing shall make settlement" Ricardo
beckoned his men to approach. rake
this man and confine him under a
double guard in the arsenal" he or
dered. present my compliments to
the officer in charge there and tell
him II Is my wish that priest pc
provided for the prisoner tonight. and
that tomorrow morning. at six o'clock,
n detail of six men and a sergeant
escort this man to the cemetery In
tho rear of the Cathedral de Ia Cruz. |
I will meet the detail there and take
command of It."
Two of Ricardo's imported fighting |
men stepped to the prisoners side.
seized him. one by each arm, and lift
ed him 20 his feet; supported be-
tween then- he limped away to his
doom. while his youthful conqueror
remained seated on the dead horse,
his gaze bent upon the ground, his
mind dwelling. not upon his triumph
over Sarros hut upon the prOdigiOus
proportions of the task before him:
the rehabilitation of a nation. After
while re rose and strolled over to-
ward the gate, where he paused to
note the grim evidences of the final
stand of Webster and Don Juan Cafe
tero before passing through the por-
tai.
Ricardo had now, for the first time.
an opportunity to look around him;
so he halted to realize HIS hOme-com-
ing. to thrill with this. the first rear
view Of the home OF his boyhood. Inc
spacious lawn surrounding the palace
had been plowed and SCARED Win
bursting .slrrapnel from the field guns
captured in the arsenal, although the
building itself had been little damaged
not having sustained direct nit ne
cause of Ricardo's stringent orders
not to use artillery on the palace I'M
less absolutely necessary to smoke
Sarros out. Scattered over the grounos
Ricardo counted some twenty-odo
government soldiers. all wearing. that
pathetically fiat, crumpled appearance
which seems inseparable from the
bodies of men killed in action. The
first shrapnel had probably COM
menced to drop in the grounds just as
a portion of the palace garrison had
been marching out to join the troops
fighting at the cantonment barracks
/
| d dTiiaht.s dh1y to be killed as they ran.
From this grim scene Ricardo raised
his eyes to the palace. the castellated
towers of which. looming through the
tufted palms. were rejecting the set,
ting sun. Over the balustrade Of one
of the upper balconies the limp BODY
of Sarros sharpshooter. picked OIL
from the street. dropped grotesquely
his arms hanging downward as If in
ironicaI- welcome to the son of Ruey
the Beloved The sight induced In
Ricardo a sense of profound sadness
his Irish imagination awoke; to him
that mute figure seemed to call upon
him for pity, for kindness. for for
bearance. for understanding and sym
pathy. Those outflung arlna Of the
martyred peon symbolized to Ricardo
Ruey the spirit Of liberty. shacklet
and helpless, calling upon him for de
liverance they brought to his aler1
mind clearer realization of the dut,
that was his than he had ever had be
| fore. He had great task to perform
a task inaugurated by his father, ant
which Ricardo could not hope to fin
ish in his lifetime. He must solv,
the agrarian problem; he must de
velop the rich natural resources of hi.
country; he must provide free, com
! pulsory education and evolve from
the ignorance of the peon an intelli
gence that would build up that which
Sobrante. in common with her siste
| republics. so wickedly lacked-th,
great middle class that stands Away
| as buffer between the aggression
and selfishness of the upper class an,
, the heIplessness and childishness o
, the lower. d.
Ricardo bowed ais head. Help me
! o Lord" he prayed. "Thou hast givel
me in Thy wisdom mans task. Hell
: me that 1 may not prove unworthy
: Mother jerks, grown impatient at tn
( lack of news concerning Webster, LEI
D Dolores to her grief n the room acros
: the hall and sought the open air, 10
r of late she had been experiencing wit
recurring frequency slight feeling O
5 suffocation. She sat down on the broa
: granite steps. helped herself to
much-needed "bracer" from her brand
8 flask and was gazing pensively at tn
4 scene around her when Ricardo cam
!, up the stairs.
0 "Ellow Mother jerks saIuted hin
j "We're ave you been, Mr.. Bowers?"
: II have just returned from capturin
e Sarros, Mrs. jerks. He is on his wa
to the arsenal under guard"
$ "Gor' strike me pink =" the old lad
e cried. save lived TO see this day
/; Her face was wreathed i'm a happ
I smile. II wonder 'ow the beggar feel
: to ave the shoe on the other foot. eh-
t the 'eartless 'ound; I'm '0pin' thl
j General Ruey will ave the blighte
!. shot,"
a "You need have no worry on this
+ score. Mrs. jerks. I'm General Rue.
I Andrew Bowers was just my summs
v name. as it WERE"
e angels guard me! Wot t!se bloom
II I'm ell surprise won't we ave mex
/. wot branch o. the Ruey tribe do 70
, belong tor Are you a nephew O. hi