The Washington herald., 1921-03-20

IN z o. I shall not be going back to Mex-
I'M leo. Whatever happens to General
Castillejo. that Is not just the place
for me-. That affair of the generals auto
mobile has spoiled everything. so far as
am cohcerned"
Isidro Maltrana had been promising the
story Of the generals automobile during all
that evening, seated with Q group Of Span
ish friends In Q small restaurant Oh lower
Rroafw.y In New York. The party had
lasted for several hours already. and the
room was heavy with cigaret smoke and
the small Of unwashed dishes from the
Kitchen
Maltrana had been telling the story Of his
rfs as an adventurer and wandering Jour
nalist In the various republics Of South and
Central America, chapters In q Coincide HUI
maine that he had actually lived, and which
had been famous In Europe and Spanish
America from the many novels his rowing
career bad inspired.
The most celebrated canafIle In Ma
drid." he had styled himself 'once, In sum
marking his character as a wielder Of q mer-
cenary pan. letting his genius out for hire
to the highest bidder. fighting duels for
causes he did not believe in. heaping abuse
upon men and things which. underneath. he
respected. all in consequence Of that struggle
with poverty and oppression which had been
portrayed In q novel called = The Horde"
Eleven years before he had ianded on the
American continent at Buenos Aires Essen
tally a bohemian, never satisfied with what
he had, he was always moving on in search
OF something better, passing meanwhile.
from failure to failure. In speaking Of this
part Of his LIES historysMaltrana had COM
pared himself. with some pride. to the old
sConquistadores such as Captain orellana,
who one day set out from Peru, coursed
down one stream into q larger one, and
finally reached the Atlantic at the mouth Of
the Amazon
In Argentina he had tried farming. gone
bankrupt, and returned to journalism to
make . living. going from republic to repuo-
lie. but always northward-
~ was the friend Of several presidents"
Maltrana had connded- Some used me for
q but1oon to amuse them; others treated me
- q secret councillor Of state. did publicity
work for the First Ladies' OF the Lands. de-
scribing their new dresses, imported from
Paris, and their dinners and balls. just as
wrote speeches, constitutional amendments,
and proclamations for their husbands to pre-
sent to Parliament or to the public From
some of these men I ran away for fear Of
being shot-I knew too much, you see.
Other times, they would be assassinated. and
I would lose my job"
FINALLY" Maltrana had been saying. Il
reached Mexico and there I seemed to be
making good
II had become q sort Of secretary and gen
srai publicity agent for the generals leading
the revolution against Pornrio Diaz- No
one was my equal In drawing up 'proclama-
tons to the People Of Mexico addresses of
The Commander In Chief to his Troops,
stratesical analyses Of great victories Of the
.tnsurrectionists over 'federals,' with COM
PARSONS with the battles Of Napoleon. Gao
sar, and the great captains Of history.
EVERY one praised me for my lyric style
ana my enormous erudition. My, how much
that Maltrana knows!' How much that
Maltrana must have read
II passed the regimes Of Madero and
Huerta with increasing reputation. Under
Carranza I had gotten to be the most int-
mate confidant Of General Castillejo. who
had promised to make me his general pur-
chasing agent In the United States on q ten
Der cent commission the moment he became
prestdent of Mexico four years hence. And
really believe that everything would have
turned out well had Z not been for the
recent revolution. which puts an entirely
nsv aspect on that episode Of the generals
automobile"
Tell Us about that" his friends now In
ststed. you started to several times"
well" said Maltrana, as was saying.
csstfllejo was an interesting chap. He was
only twenty-five when first met him, but
he was already one Of the most intimate
and influential friends Of Carranza-. That
Vas the way with all Carranza's chief as
sistants. When the old man got his cabinet
ana leading advisers together for q confer
ready TO examine class
General Castillejo was a short, lean little
mar. as spry a. q squirrel and with lots Of
muscle for q man Of his size. The most
striking feature of his milk-chocolate face
was his eyes. sharp. sparkling, dom.neerins
when you looked squareiy into them. Tha'
Wal not 20 easy to do, however. for there
was always q mobile. fugitive leer on hi'
eountsnance. as II he were trying 20 hid
some sy1 thought His sianting eyes ant
DARK skin were scarcely in harmony. though
with his frank. keen. almost European pro
Ale. He was, on the whole. one or thos'
txn>a quite common In our Spanish Amer