Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1921-02-11

nance as II erased with moist
sponge, leaving him as calmly stoical
and Indifferent as cigarstore Indian.
He fumbled in his coat pocket for a
gold cigarette case, selected ciga-
rette, lighted II and blew smoke at
Ricardo The Jig was up; he knew
Ii; and with admirable nonchalance
he declined to lower his presidential
dignity by discussing or considering IT,
He realized II would delight his cap
tor 10 know he dreaded to face the
Issue. and 1t was not a Sarros practice
to give mid and comfort to the enemy
"Spunky devil" Ricardo reflected
forced to admiration despite himself
Aloud he said: you know the code
of our people Sarros. An eye for
an eye and tooth for n tooth.
SarroS bowed. ~ am at your sery-
ice" he replied carelessly.
'"Then AT daylight tomorrow morn.
Ing shall make settlement" Ricardo
beckoned his men to approach. Take
this man and contine him under Il
double guard in the arsenal" he or
dered. present my compliments to
the officer In charge there and tell
him It Is my wish that a priest be
provided for the prisoner tonight, and
that tomorrow morning, ut six O'clock
n detail Of six men and n sergeant
escort this man to the cemetery In
the rear Of the Cathedral de Ia Cruz
| will meet the detail there and take
command Of It."
Two of Ricnrdo's imported fighting
men stepped TO the prisoners side,
seized him, one by each arm, and lift
ed him 70 his feet; supported be
tween them he lmped 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 but upon the prodgious
proportions OF the task before him;
the rehabilitation of nation. After
while he 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
lero before passing through the por-
tai.
Ricardo had now, for the first time
an opportunity to look around him;
80 he halted to realize his homecom-
ing 70 thrill with this, the first real
view of the home Of his boyhood. The
spacious lawn surrounding the palace
had been plowed and Scared with
bursting Shrapnel from the field guns
captured in the arsenal although the
building itself had been little damaged,
not having sustained direct hit be-
cause of Ricardo's stringent orders
not to use artillery on the palace un-
less absolutely necessary 10 smoke
SarroS out. Scattered over the grounds
Ricardo counted some twenty-odd
government soldiers, all wearing that
pathetlcally hat, crumped appearance
which seems lnseparahle from the
bodies Of men killed In action. The
first shrapnel had probably com
menced 10 drop In the grounds Just as
a portion Of the palace garrison had
been marching out 10 join the troops
4 fighting at the cnntunment barracks
! Evidently the men had scattered like
quail, only TO be- killed as they ran.
From this grim scene Ricardo raised
his eyes to the palace the caSellated
towers Of which. looming through the
ufted palms. We're rejecting the set
/ ting sun over the balustrade OF one
Of the upper balconies the limp body
Of SarroS sharpshooter picked on
from the street, dropped groteSquely,
his arms hanging downward as If In
| rOnical welcome 10 the son of Ruey
the Beloved The sight induced In
| Ricardo 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
j pathy, Those Outilung arms Of the
martyred peon symboi2ed to Ricardo
Ruey the spirit Of liberty. shackled
and helpless, calling upon him for de-
1 liyerance; they brought to his alert
mind a clearar realization of the duty
that was his than he had ever had be-
fore He had a great task to perform,
| task inaugurated by his father, and
which Ricardo could not hope to fin
/ iSh in his lifetime. He must solve
the agrarian problem; he must de.
velop the rich natural resources of his
country he must provide free, COM
pulsory education and evolve from
the ignorance of the peon an ntelli-
gence that would build up that which
Sobrante, In common with her sister
republics so wickedly lacked-the
great middle class that stands always
as buffer between the aggression
and selfshness Of the upper class and
the helplesSness and chlldishness of
the lower.
Ricardo bowed his head. Help me,
0 Lord he prayed. Thou hast given
me in Thy wisdom a mans task. Help
me that may not prove unworthy"
Mother jerks, grown impatient at the
lack of news concerning Webster, left
Dolores to her grief n the room across
the hall and sought the open air, for
of late she had been experiencing with
recurring frequency slight feeling OF
| fuffocatlon' She sat down on the broad
I cried the wife as she gllmpsed tf
] girl through her tears. He immediate
Iu ktoLad tho GIRL oil tho UNIV dow