Newspaper Page Text
WEBSTER '-MAN'S MAN V Peter B. Kyne Author of "Cappÿ Ricks," "The Valley of the Giants," Etc. "In return for tills favor to the pro visional government of Sobraute, you shall have the note of the provisional government, signed by the provisional president, myself, and the provisional cabinet, Dr. Pacheco, Colonel Cara* veo, and two other gentlemen whom you will meet in due course unless in the lnterlm..t hev should h<vkl11p_d. And as a' Bonus for'"saving - Oils' country from a brutal dictator, who Is pillag ing its resources for his personni prof it, you shall have a deed of gift to that mining concession you and your friend, Genry, are so desirous of work ing; also the title shall be certified by the government and the Supreme court of Sobrante and absolutely se cured to you against future aggres sion in the event that the new regime a "Tell Me Your Plan of Campaign." should be overthrown at some future date. Also you have my profound gratitude and that of my people." "Tell me your plan of campaign," Webster suggested. "In a secret rendezvous In the mountains I have 1,000 picked men— my father's veterans. They are armed with modern rifles and machetes. The nitrate company, which has been suf fering from heavy export duties Im posed by Sarros, has loaned me all the rolling stock of the railroad for one night It will be mobilized nt San Miguel de Padua by next Saturday night; my troops will arrive late the same afternoon and entrain at once. "In the Interim ail telephone and telegraph communlcattons with Bue naventura will be severed. The night previous our steamer will have dis charged her cargo of men and muni tions at San Bruno; a chain of out posts will at once be established and all communication with the capital will be shut off. "On Saturday night, also, the Con solidated Fruit company's steamer, La Estrellita, will make port with 3Ü Americans in her steerage. These men will be road-makers and miners Imported by Sir. J. S. Webster, and In order to make certain that they will come, you have already ordered them by cable. We have arranged with the port doctor to give La Es. treilita a clean bill of health the very' night she arrives. Hence the ship's authorities will not be suspicious, I hope, when we remove our men after dark and house them In Leber's ware house, where they will spend the night unpacking those spades, picks and shovels of yours and getting the fac tory grease off them. "At 4 o'clock in the morning vari ous citizens of Sobrante, with rebel lion in their hearts, will begin to mo bilize at Leber's warehouse, where they will be Issued rifles and ammuni tion and where they will wait until the action is opened to the south by the detachment from San Bruno, which, having mnrched from San Bru no the night before, will have arrived outside the city, and will be awaiting the signal from me. I will attack from the west—cautiously. "Now, there are 5,000 government troops In the city and in various can tonments on the ou tskirts . These.enn_ fôhments are tcT be rushed and set afire; I figure that the confusion of our sudden attack will create a ric-t— particularly when I do something that isn't very popular ns a war feature down this way, and that is charge— and keep on coming. "The government troops will start to fall back on the city, only to find themselves flanked by a fierce artil lery fire from the San Bruno contin gent ; the troops from the arsenal, the guards at the palace and the Fif teenth regiment ot infantry t noS-Slâ* _ ____ I (lotied at tlie Cuârtel de Infanteria, | next the government palace, will be dispatched post haste to repulse the attack, and 400 men, with the machine gun company waiting in Leber's ware house, will promptly move upon them from the rear and capture the arsenal. There are a few thousand rifles and a lot of ammunition stored there ; 1 miss my guess if, as soon as the news of its capture by the rebels spreads through the city (and I shall have men to spread it), 1 shall not have a few thousand volunteers eager to help overthrow Sarros. "Once cut off from the arsenal and the palace, Sarros must fight his way out of the city in order to have the slightest chance to suppress the rebel lion, for he will have no refuge in the city. And with the railroad and all the rolling stock in our hands, with out n commissary for his troops, with out a base of supplies, even should the government troops fight their way through, they leave the city in my hands and I'll recruit and arm my men and hunt them down like Jack rabbits at my leisure. Once let the arsenal and the paluce fall into my hands, once let me proclaim myself provis ional president, once let the people know that Ricardo Ituey, the beloved, lives again in the person of his son, and I tell you, Webster, this country Is saved. How do you like my plan of campaign?" "It couldn't be any better If I hnd planned it myself. You might accept my suggestion and armor that little motor truck of mine. It arrived on yesterday's steamer." "And some armor sheet steel with It—sheet steel already loop-holed for the barrels of the two machine guns it will carry!" Dr. Pacheco cried Joy-» ously. "Have you provided a chauffeur, Doctor?" "I have—likewise an armored sheet steel closet for him to sit in while chaffeuring." "How about that loan to the pro visional government?" Ricardo de manded pointedly. Webster did not hesitate. After all, what was money to him now? Billy had gone away, his hopes raised high, already a millionaire after the fash ion of mining men, who are ever ready to count their chicks before they are hatched, provided only they see the eggs. Besides, there was Dolores. Full well Webster realized that Billy, tossed back once more into the Jaws of the well-known wolf of poverty, would not have the courage upon his return to Sobrante to ask Dolores to share his poverty with him; should the revolution fail, Ricardo Ruey would be an outcast, a hunted man with a price on his head, and in no position to care for his sister, even should he survive long enough to know he had a sister. She would be alone In the world if he, John Stu art Webster, failed her now—more than ever she needed a man's strength and affection to help her navigate the tide-rips of life, for life to a woman, alone and unprotected and dependent upon her labor for the bread she must eat, must contain, at best, a full meas ure of terror and despair and loneli ness. He pictured her through n grim processional of years of skimping and petty sacrifices—and all because he, John Stuart Webster, had hesitated to lend a dreamer and an Idealist a pal try $40,000 without security. No, there was no alternative. H his friendship for Billy was worth a sou, It was worth $40,000; If his silent, unrequited love for Dolores Ruey was worthy- o f her, no s ao rtflco-.orL Ms part could' be too' great;' provided iT"guar anteed her happiness. "Ruined again." he sighed. "Tills is only another of Lhose numerous oc casions when the tail goes with the hide. How soon do you want the money?" Ricardo Luiz Ruey leaned forward and gazed very earnestly at John Stu art Webster. "Do you really trust me that much, my friend?" he asked feel ingly. "Remember, I am asking you for $40,000 on faith." "Old sport," John Stuart Webster answered, "you went overboard in Buenaventura harbor and took a oliance among those big, liver-colored, hammer-headed sharks. And you did that because you had a cause you thought worth dying for. I never knew a man who had a cause that was worth dying for who would even es pouse a cause worth swindling for. You win—only 1 wnnt you to under stand one thing, Ricardo; I'm not doing this for the sake of saving that mining concession the Sarros govern ment gave my friend, Geary. I'm above doing a thing like this for mon ey—for myself. It seems to me I must do It to guarantee the happiness of two people I love: My friend, Geary, and the girl he's going to marry. I reject your promissory note and your promise of a deed of gift for that con cession, and accept only your grati tude. There are. ru string to. this I | a I loan, because it isn't a loan at THT. It's a bet. If you lose, I'll help you get out of the country and absolve you of any indebtedness to me. How ever, If you should win, I know you'll reimburse me from the national treas ury." "And you do not desire a bonus?" "Nothing that will cost the citizens of this country one penny of their heritage. I'm going to bet this mon ey—bet it, understand, not loan it. However, if you want to be a sport and grant me a little, favor in return, you can." "Fire away." "After ' I give you tills money, I don't want the doctor and the colonel to kiss me to show how grateful they are." "You wonderful fellow! .Tack Web ster, if I hnd a sister I should want her to marry you." "Show how little you'd think of your sister—staking her to a senti mental jackass. Shall I cable the money to New Orleans in the morn ing?" "That will do very nicely." "To whom shall I cable the mon ey?" "Send it to the Picayune National bank of New Orleans, with instruc tions to credit account No. 240, J. E. I\, trustee. In Wiis little game we are playing, my friend, it is saf er to deal in numbers and Initials rather than names. The local cable oflkii leaks. q.ui_ta reg.nl a lit" ''Yery' wolf, IllonriTo, ITT attend to it first thing in the morning. Go to it and win, or there'll be several new faces whining around the devil, not the lenst of which will be mine. When you charge, remember you're charg ing for my $40.000—and go through with it. I worked rather hard for that $40,000, and if I must lose it, 1 do not want to do it in a half-hearted fight. Give me, at lenst, a bloody run fof my money. I'll have a reserved seat somewhere watching the game." "If you'll take my advice, you'll go aboard La Estrellita and stay there until tlie issue is decided. When the first gun is fired, it signals the open season on mining «yigineers who butt In on affairs of state." "What I And me with a healthy bet down on the result 1 I hope I'm a better sport than that." "You're incorrigible. Be careful, then, and don't get yourself potted by a stray bullet." "Shall 1 see you fellows before the blow-off?" "I scarcely think so." "Then if you're through with me, I'll bid you all good-by and good luck. I'll have dinner with you in the pul ace Sunday evening." "Taken."' "May I bring a guest?" "By all means." Webster shook hands with the trio and departed 'for his hotel. For the first time in ninny years he was heavy of heart, crushed. "Neddy Jerome was right," he soliloquized. "This is the last place on earth for me to have come to. I've made Neddy sore on me, and he's lost patience and put an other man In the joh he promised me; I've raised Billy's hopes sky-high and had to bet $40,000 to keep {hem there; I've been fool enougli to fall in love with my friend's fiancee ; I'm a hu man cat's paw, and the finest thing 1 can do now is to go out next Sunday morning with that machine gun com pany from Leber's warehouse and get killed." CHAPTER XIV. The following morning Webster in formed Dolores fully of his interview with her brother and his confreres the night before, concealing from her only the fact that he was financing the revolution and his reasons for financ ing It. He was still depressed, and Dolores, observing his mood, forbore to intrude upon it. Accordingly she claimed the prerogative of her sex— a slight headache—and retreated to her room, in the privacy of which she was suddenly very much surprised to find herself weeping softly because John Stuart Webster was unhappy and didn't deserve to be. It was impossible, however, for Webster long to remain impervious to the note of ridiculousness underlying the forthcoming tragic events. Here was a little 2x4 poverty-stricken hot bed of Ignorance and Intrigue calling itself a republic, a little stretch of country no larger than a couple of big western counties, about to indulge in the national pastime of civil war and unable to do it except by grace of an humble citizen of a sister re public! Five or six thousand Ignorant, ill equipped, Ill-drilled semi-brigands call ing themselves soldiers, entrusted with the task of enabling one of their num her to ride, horse and dog, over 1,000, 000 people ! How farcical ! No wonder Ricardo, with his northern viewpoint, approach ed his patriotic task with gayety, al most with contempt. And when Weit ster recalled that the about-to-be-born provisional government had casually borrowed from him the sum of forty thousand dollars In order to turn the Domestic Storm Warnings. The following pleasant recipe fot being happy, though married, was giv en by an old village woman to her daughter, who was married recently : "Do as your futher and I did, my dear. Whensoever he came home feel ing contrary, he wore his hat on the back of his head, and that were a 6lgn. And then I never said a word. And whensoever I felt cross or crook ed, 1 threw my shawl over my left shoulder, and then he never dared say a word." (E b F\ OTffl V Wt 1 U/ r ' r* A if ! i'i jji! S ftVY v : Informed Deforce Fully of His Inter view. trick—borrowing it, forsooth, in much the same spirit as n commuter board ing his train without the necessary fare lia ils a neighbor and borrows ten cents—his natural optimism assorted itself and ho chuckled as in fancy he heard himself telling the story to Ned dy Jerome and being branded a liar for his pains. "Well, I've hnd one comfort ever since I first saw that girl," he re flected philosophically, "While I've never been so unhappy In all my life before, or had to tear my soul out by tin) i'dnis so often, things have been coming my way so fast from other di rections that I haven't had much op portunity to dwell on the matter. And for these compensating offsets, good Lord, I thank Thee." lie was John Stuart Webster again when Dolores saw him next; during the succeeding days his mood of cheerfulness and devil-may-care Indif ference never left him. And through out that period of marking time Do lores was much in his society, a con dition which ho told himself was not to his liking but which, nevertheless, he could not obviate without seeming indifferent to her happiness. And to permit ids friend's fiancee to languish in loneliness and heart-break did not appear to John Stuart Wehster ns the part of a true friend or a courtly gen tleman—nnd he remembered that she hnd once called him tlint. They rode together in the cool of the morning ; they drove together on the Maleeon In the cool of the evening; chaperoned by Don Juan Cnfetero nnd a grinning Sobrnntcan, tliey went shark fishing in Leber's launch ; they played dominoes together; they discussed, throughout the long, lazy, quiet after noons, when tlie remainder of their world retired for the siesta, books, art, men, women, and tilings. And not once, throughout two weeks of camaraderie, did the heart-racked Webster forget for a single instant that lie was tlie new friend, destined to become tlie old friend ; never, to the girl's wntchful eyes, did he be tray tlie slightest disposition to estab lish their friendly relations on a closer basis. « Thus did tlie arrival of The Day find them. Toward sunset they rode out together along the liny shore nnd noted far out to sea the smear of smoke that marked tlie approach of La Estrellita—on schedule time. "You will go aboard lier tonight," Webster said very quietly to Dolores. "And you?" "I shall go aboard with you. I have arranged with Don Juan fur him to stay ashore and to come out In Lw ber's launch with the first reliable news of the conflict. If Ricardo wins the city, lie wins the revolution, and you and I will then go ashore—to dine with him in the palace. If ho loses the city, he loses the revolution, nnd we will both do well to remain aboard La Estrellita." "And in that event, what will be come of my brother?" "I do not know; I forgot to ask him, but if he survives, I Imagine tie'll have sense enough to know lie's whipped and will ri iront on San Bru no, fighting a rear guard action, em bark aboard tlie steamer that brought his men there, and escape." "I'm worried about Mother Jenks." "I have nsked Mother Jenks to dine with us at 7 :30 tills evening, nnd have ordered a carriage to call for lier. When she comes I'll tell her every thing; then, if she wishes to stay ashore, let her. She's been through more than one such fracas and doesn't mind them at all, I dare sny." And in this Webster was right. Mother Jenks listened in profound si lence, nodding her approval, as Web ster related to her the story of the advent in the country of Ricardo Ruey and his plans, but without revealing the Identity of Andrew Bowers. At the conclusion of his recital the old publionn merely said: "Gor' Dll' me !" After a silence she added: "My sainted 'Enery used to s'y the proper hodds for a white man in a bally row o' this nature was 40 to 1. Gor', but how my sainted 'Enery would henjoy bein' 'ere this night to 'elp with the guns." she sighed. "How about a little bottle of wine to drink peace to your sainted Henry and luck to The Cause?" Webster .sug gested. "That's wot I calls talkin'." Mother Je infs ''Fespömieü promptly, and Web ster, gazing reflectively at the old lady's beard, wondered why she had not been born a man. Dolores, fearful for lier benefactor's safety, urged Mother Jenks to accom pany them out aboard I.a Estrellita. but the old dame indignantly refused, and when pressed for a reason gave it with the utmost frankness; "They'll be tykln' Sarros, an' when they tyke 'itn they'll back him ag'in, the same wall he backed my sainted 'Enery and your father against, my dear. I've a notion that your father's son'll let Mrs. Col. 'Enery Jenks come to the party." At 10 o'clock Webster accompanied Mother Jenks home in the carriage, which he dismissed at El Burn Amigo —with instructions to return to the hotel while he continued afoot down the Calle San Rosario to the bay, where Leber's huge corrugated iron warehouse loomed darkly above high water mark. He slipped along in the deep shadow of the warehouse wall and out on the end of the little dock, where he satisfied himself that Le ber's launch was at its moorings; then he went back to the warehouse and whistled softly, whereupon a man crawled out from under the structure It was Don and approached him. Tuan Cnfetero. "They're all inside," he whispered and laid linger on lip. "They got in half an hour ago, an' divil a sowl the wiser save meself." "Thank you, John. Now that I know the coast is clear mid the launch ready, I'll go buck to the hotel for Miss Ruey." "Very well, sor," Don Tuan replied, and crawled back under the ware house. Half an hour later the sound of hoof beats warned him of the ap proach of Webster and Dolores In a carriage, and he came forth, loaded In the launch such baggage as they had been enabled to bring, nnd held the gunwale of the boat while uis passen gers stepped aboard. About a half a mile off shore Web ster throttled down the motor until the launch barely made steerage way. "It would never do to go aboard the steamer before the fracas started ashore," he explained to Dolores. "That would indicate a guilty knowl edge of coining events, and in tlie event of disaster to tlie rebel arms it Is Just possible Senor Sarros might have pull enougli, if he hears of our flight six hours in advance of hostil ities, to take us oif the steamer and ask us to explnin. So we'll Just cruise Sam Lewis Relieves in English Tongue Well-Known Tenor Has Little Patience With Singing in Foreign Language Exclusively sï um ■n. W : v Sam Lewis, the prominent Welsh tenor, who Is singing for Chautauqua audience this year, has little patience with the concert singer who tries to "foist foreign languages on Americans." Mr Lewis says—"1 believe the time is not far off v.hen American audienw a language they can understand, a foreign tongue unless It i> spei Mr. Lewis 1ms made rapid -ti appearing this season at the hea* Amber Hopkins, n and accompanist. < ar<- going to demun ! more ringing in Retsoiially, I never slug even one group in •ideally requested." ides in the music world of late years. He is of hi o.n company. Assisting artists are Allen Ament, vi linist, and Florence Beraey, pianist slowly around and listen ; the attack will come just before dawn; then shortly thereafter we can scurry out to tlie steamer and be welcomed aboard for tlie sake of tlie news we bring." She did not answer, and Webster knew lmr thoughts were out where the arc lights on tlie outskirts of Buena ventura nu t tlie open country—out where the brother she cotihl scarcely remember and whom, until a month previous, she had believed dead, would shortly muster his not too numerous followers. In the darkness Webster could hear tie* dick of lier beads as she prayed; on tlie turtle deck forward Don Tuan Cnfetero sprawled, thinking perchance of ids unlovely past and wondering wlint effect tlie events shortly to tran spire ashore would have on his future, lie wished Webster would reietit and offer him a drink some time within the next twenty-four hours. In times of excitement like the present a man needs a drop to brace him up. Five times the launch s'ipped lazi ly down the harbor along the strag gling two mile water front; five times It loafed back. The moon, which was in the first quarter, .sank. Then to Webster's alert oar there floated across the still waters the sound of a gentle purring—the music of an auto truck. He set tlie launch in toward Leber's little dock, and presently they saw the door of Leber's warehouse open. Men with lanterns streamed forth, lighting the way for others who bore between them heavy burdens. "They're emplacing the machine guns in tin* motor-truck," lie whis pered to Dolores. "We will not have to wait long now. It's nearly 4 o'clock." Again they backed out into the bay until they could see far out over the sleeping city to the hills beyond in tlie west. Presently along tlie side of those hills the headlight of n locomo tive crept, dropping swiftly down grade until It disappeared In the low lands. A half hour passed; then to the south of the city a rocket flared sky ward ; almost Instantly another flared from th(> west, followed presently by a murmur, scarcely audible, as of a muffled snare drum, punctuated prea ently by a louder, sharper, Insistent puck-puck-ptick that, had Webster but known It, wns the bark of a Mnxhn Vtckers rapid-fire gun throwing a stream of shells Into tlie cantonments of the government troops on the fringe of the city. Webster's pulse quickened. "There goes the 'tillery to the south, sor," Don Juan called, and even as lie spoke, a shell burst gloriously over the government palace, the white walls of which were already looming over the remainder of the city, now faintly visible In the approaching dawn. "That wits to awaken our friend, Sarros," Webster cried. "I'll bet buffalo nickel tlint woke the old horse thief up. There's another—and an other." The uproar swelled, the noise grad ually drifting around the city from west to south, forming, seemingly, a semicircle of sound. "The govern ment troops are up and doing now," Webster observed, nnd spew led up Ills motor. "1 think It high time we played the part of frightened refugees. Mau ser bullets kill at three miles. Some strove ilj-oii out. here In. the bay." Continued Next Friday The Old Maid's Prayer. "If only I had lived before the Christian era when the years went backwards."—Tyrlhnns (Christiania).