The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-05-12
CHAPTER XVII.

louEIlOul tHe night there WIS spO
radio firing here and there In the city
as the Ruey followers relentlessly
hunted down the isolated detachment
Of government troops which had es
capped humiliation and capture In the
final rOut and fallen back on the city
where, cOncealing themselves accord.
ing to their nature and inclination
they INDUCED In more or less shipping
from windows and the roofs Of build
ings. The practice Of taking no priS.
few presidents had done more than
Sarros to keep that custom alive; err
go, firm In the conviction hat TO sur
render was tantamOunt TO facing a fir
Ing squad ut daylight, the majority of
these s~tragglers, with cOnsummate
courage, fought to the death.
The capture of Buenaventura was
alone sufficient to insure q brief revo-
luton, but the capture of Sarros was
ample guarantee that the resistance to
at an end. However, Ricardo Ruey
felt that the prompt execution Of Sar-
ros would be an added guarantee Of
peace by effectually di~scOuraging any
opposition TO the rebel cause In the
outlying districts, where q few isolated
garrisOns still remained In ignorance Of
the momentous events being enacted In
the capital. For the time being, Ricar-
do was master Of life and death In So
brante, and all of his advisers and sup
porters agreed with him that a so
called trial Of the ex-dictator would be
a rather useless affair. His life was
forfeit a hundred times for murder and
treason, and to he ponderOus over his
elimination would SAVIOR Of mockery.
Accordingly, at midnight, a priest en-
tered the room In the arsenal where
Sarros was confined, and shrived him.
Throughout the night the priest re-
NAMED with him, and when that ear
ly morning march to the cemetery
commenced, he walked beside Sarros,
repeating the prayers for the dying.
Upon reaching the cemetery there
was a slight wait until a carriage
drove up and discharged Ricardo Ruey
and Mother jerks. The sergeant In
command of the squad saluted and was
briefly ordered to proceed with the
matter In hand; %whereupon he turned
to Sarros, who with the customary
sang froid of his kind upon such oc-
~casions was calmly smoking, and
hnu-nI dnnraro TIN DIV Corrnc arty1oIIv,
smiled upon him. "Adios, amigos" he
murmured. Then, as an afterthought
and probably because he was sufficient
Of an egoist to desire to appear a mar
tyr, he added h%eroically: II die for
my country. May God have mercy on
my enemies"
IF you'd cared to play q gentleman's
game, you blighter. you might ave
lived for your bally country" Mother
jerks reminded him In English. "Won-
der II the beggarIl wilt or will e go
through smilin' like my sainted Emery
the syme spot"
She need not have worried. It re-
Quires a strong man to be dictator Of
a roman candle republic for Is years,
and whatever his sins Of omission or
commission. Sarros did not lack ami
maj courage. Alone. and unattended he
limped away among the graves to the
wall on the other side Of the Gene
terry and placed his back against 1t,
negligently, in the attitude Of a devil
may-care fellow without a worry In
life. The sergeant waited respectfully
until SarrOs had finished his cigarette I;
when he tossed 1t away and straight
ened to attention, the sergeant knew
he was ready to die. At his command
there was a sudden rattle Of bolts as
the cartridges Slid from the magazines
into the breeches there followed q mo-
mentary halt, another command: the
squad was aiming when Ricardo Ruey
called sharply:
Sergeant, do not give the order to
fire"
The rifles we're lowered and the men
gazed wonderingly at Ricardo. Hes
too brave" Ricardo complained.
him, I can't kill him as I would
a mad dog. I've got to give him a
chance"
The sergeant raised his brows ex-
pressively. All, the ley fuga, that pop
ular form of execution where the pris-
oner Is given q running chance, and the
firing squad practices wing shooting.
If the prisoner manages, m%iraculously.
to escape. he is not pursued!
A doubt, however. crossed the SER
geant's mind. "But my general" he
expostulated, "Senor Sarros cannot &C
cept the ley fuga. He is very lame.
That is not giving him the chance your
Excellency desires he should have"
"I wasn't thinking of that" Ricardo
replied. 81 was thinking I'm killing
him without a fair trial for the rea-
son that he's so Internally ripe for
the gallows that n trial would have
been Il Joke. Nevertheless, I am real
ly killing him because he killed my