The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-02-24


amazement the prospective corpse took
to his heels and advised me to do the
same--"
Ricardo Ruey sprang for JOh7
Stuart Webster. "By George" he said
In English, I'm going to hug you, too.
/ really ought to kiss you, because I'm
that man you saved from assassina-
ton, but-too long in the U. S. A., l
suppose; I've lost the customs Of my
country"
"Get out" yelled Webster, Tending
him off. "By the way. Ricardo-Tm
going to call you Rick for short-do
you happen to have any relatives in
this country"
Eyes, a number of second and third
cousins"
Coming down on the steamer, I
didn't like to appear curious, but all
the time / wanted to ask you one
question"
ASK 1t now"
"Are you a ~SObrantean"
81 was born In this country a1d
raised here until l was fourteen"
"But you're-why, hang 1t, You're
not a LatinY"
mo, I'm a mixture, with Latin pre-
dominating. My forebears were pure
Castilians from Madrid, and crossed
the Western ocean in caravels. It's
been a matter Of pride with the house
of Ruey to keep the breed pure, but
despite all precautions, the family tree
has been grated once with a Scotch
thistle, twice with the lily of France,
and once with the shamrock Of Ire
land. My mother was an Irish woman"
you alibi yourself perfectly, Ricar-
do, and my curiosity Is %appeased. Per-
NIT me to continue my tale" he added
in Spanish. and forthwith he related
with humorous detail his adventure at
the g%angplank of the steamer that had
borne him and Ricardo Ruey south.
Ricardo interrupted him. 1--WE know
all about that, friend Webster, and WI
knew the two delightful gentlemen had
been told off to get you-unOfficially.
The SObrantean revolutionary junta
has headquarters in New Orleans. It
Is composed Of political exiles, for
Sarros, the present dictator Of So
brante, rules with an iron hand, and
has a cute little habit Of %railrOading
his enemies to the cemetery via the
treason charge and the firing squad.
He killed my father, who was the
best president this benighted country
ever had, and / consider it my Chris
tian duty to avenge my father and q
patriotic duty to take up the task he
left uafinished-the task Of making
over my country.
"In Sobrante, as in most Of the oun
tries in Central America, there are
two distinct classes of people-the
aristocrats and ~peOns-and the aristo
crat fattens on the peon, as he has
had a habit of doing since Adam. We
haven't any middle class to stand as
a buffer between the twO-which
makes it a sad proposition. My father
was an idealist and a dreamer and he
dreamed of reform in government and
a solution Of the agrarian problem
which cOnfronts all Latin-America. He
trusted one Pablo SarroS, an educated
peon. who mad commanded the gov
eminent forces under the regime my
father overthrow. My tender-hearted
parent discovered hat Sarros was
plotting to overthrow him but instead
OF having him shot, he merely removed
him from command. Sarros gathered
a handful of bandits, joined the old
government forces my father had or
quered, hired a couple dozen Yankee
artillerymel and-he Won out. My
father was captured and executed the
palace vas burned, and my sister per-
ished In the flames. I'm here to pay
off the score"
"a worthy ambition! So you organ
lied the revolutionary junta In New
Orleans. eh?"
Ricardo nodded. WORD of ii reached
Sarros, and he sent his brother Raoul,
chief of the intelligence bureau, to In
vestigate and report. AS fast as he
reported. Colonel CaraveO reported to
me. My fathers sol possesses a name
to c%onjure with. Consequently 1t was
to the interest Of the Sarros admins
tration that l be eliminated. They
watched every boat; hence my scheme
for eluding their vigilance-which,
thanks to you. worked like a charm"
But" Webster complained, "Tm not
sitting In the game at all, and yet Pm
caught between the upper and neither
milIstones."
THAT is easy to explain. You inter-
fered that morning In Jackson square;
then Raoul Sarros met you going
aboard the steamer for ~Buenaventura
and you manhandled him, and natural
ly, putting two and two together, he
has concluded that you are not only
his personal enemy but also a friend
and protector Of mine and consequent
ly an enemy of the state"
"And as a consequence I'm marked
for slaughter"
ut would be we'll, my friend" Doc
tor Pacheco suggested, ITO return to
the Uaited States until after Ricardo
and his friends have eliminated your
Nemesis"