The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-02-17
Chapter1i
.AoM sHouLDnI FAiLanl


Chapter II
st4oW SHoULDrI FAiL2n
WYE shall really burn our boats
Z w behind rs BY doing that"
uaused Sergeant Major Vittorelli
stiIi pefhapsa ittledoubtfully. az he
stood before Major Riec0li. thesame
day IN the hut used by the latter
when he visited the post.
I we shall Are youafraid, vittor-
elii3 You--a Corsican7"
sfsam afraid OF nothing; mon Com.
niandant" replied vittorelii. with
mere truth than modesty. 'sBnt II
would bfeabdy heart if.you failed
'sEaill II lam q Man Of Destiny,
ana howfshould Ifail? Once inside
the citadel. everything will bef easy,
Getting inside has been the difaeulty
for the last thousand years. Ma
ture has made the place impregna-
bic. and man has improved on Ma
lures handiwork B. And we are
going 10 march IN unopposeds Not
merely nnopposed either-buti ae
tllally invited"
"a spiders web. mon Comman.
dante
"Well? Are we flies2 Or are we
wasps, hornets?"
"And the men, mon Comman
dant2" ventured Vittorelli, who
though ignorant, rash. egotistieal
and impetuous, "a well as being the
fantastically devoted and admirine
disciple OF Riccoli, was sane and pos
sessed Of a shfewd peasant mother
Wit ana common sense. "Can we b
certain that all the N.C.Ofs. corpo
raIsa and Iegionnatyes win be amen
abIs, lobedient?"
Twill be a bad day for anyone
who IL not, vittorellis" smiled RE
coli.
"It would be . bad day for MS mon
Commandant = the day on which
some Of them, even a. minority Of
them. decided TO remain-er-tr ia
their-er. ="
Decided not to throw IN their
LOT with mine ana seize their glori.
Gus chance. the chance Of rising
from slavery To power. position,
wealth. Only FOOLS cIods. towards,
Weak1ings -"
'-There are such people, mon Com
mandant."
"Yes--as Captain voulet discov.
cred when he tried TO found his EN-.
pire Of the Sahara In 1897. But he
was mad. Of course. Hopelessly
mad. A megalomaniac. And then he
had a partner. too. Captain Chan
oine. who faiied him. That was
where voulet went wrong -one oi
his mistakes. anyhow.
sand we can learn something
from the mistakes of voulet And
then again he was dealing with stu.
pid unambitious ofElcerss and was
compelled to show his hand too soon,
had luck and bad management
ruined hts scheme; and part Of his
bad luck that he had no inaccessible
impregnable base from which to
operate He simply went out into the
blue-Out into the desert--and ron
cannot found an Empire on sand.
and direct Il from under q palm
tree.
'Here we shall have Tor our base
and the heart Of our emplre--a cltA'
del. q city. and . country that has
never been conquered.
"Yes. Captain voulet was both IN.
lucky and a fool. I am man Of
destiny and not q fool. Fate, has led
me here to the very spot ana created
the very circumstances necessary Cor
The fuiflIment OF that destiny"
without doubt. mon Comman.
danE. But the men? Il seems to me
that success VIII depend upon one OF
two things; on the one hand wheth-
er the I6OionnaiTes are KEEP. In igno.
rance long enough; or. on the other
hand. whether they can be won over
to-er-abandon their old allegiance
and follow you"
@0f course. mon enfaMt. know eli
about that: I intend. first OF all, to
get them inside the Citadel. They'll
simply obey orders and carry on. In
the ordinary course OF duty. TN the
moment comes for seiEing the place.
Tue garrison OF this post will march
as escort with me across the Mekaz.
rem country to Mekaxzen. and into
the Citadel. All they win know or
eare-if they know or care anything
&C all--is that their Commandant -
on q diplomatic mission to parley
with the Kaid.
swhen the time. and my plans. are
ripe for the seixing OF the Citadel.
they win simply obey orders