Douglas Wells

“ Cuba is the scene of splendid deeds! The struggle of her people for the Heaven-born boon of independence has commanded the whole world’s admiration, just as the Starry Flag Weekly’s series of Cuban war stories will win the hearty applause of all American readers. Hal Maynard and Juan Ramirez played manly, dashing parts in that hot-blooded struggle. ”

“ It is forbidden to a Cuban to join our patriot army unless he can bring with him a gun and some ammunition. When I can do that, I shall leave Havana and take to the long grass where the insurgents, if not as thick as locusts, are fighting as bravely as lions. Beyond that I can tell you little, except that I have no living relatives. All have died of starvation, and my greatest dread is that I shall starve before I am ready to strike out for the long grass. ”

“ Through the bushes the muzzle of Hal’s rifle protruded.
As he aimed at one of the sentinels, a curious thrill swept over the American.
He was about to take a life, and unfairly, it seemed, since he must fire from ambush upon an unsuspecting foe.
Yet, even as he hesitated, the remembrance came back to him of the evening before, when a Spanish officer had proposed to send him over the fatal ferry to Morro Castle.
The enemy would not hesitate; he must not. Besides, war consists of killing; war is gauged only by its successes. ”

“ Outside the inn were tethered some two score of horses, while soldiers lolled about over the ground, some eating bread, while others puffed at cigarettes.
“Twenty of our own brave Cuban fellows could stop that gayety forever,” growled Ramirez, savagely.
“But there are at least forty of the enemy,” observed Hal.
“It is no matter. Twenty of our men would do. But hush! There is the gleam of a soldier’s musket—a sentinel. Senor, do not make a sound that will betray us.” ”

“ A moment later the little steamer’s prow was cutting the muddy, blood-stained waters of Havana harbor.
Close to the wreck of the United States’ once proud battleship Maine passed the Fern.
Standing on deck, General Lee and his immediate party had bared their heads in silent respect and grief for the two hundred and sixty-six sailors whom Spanish treachery had destroyed.
General Lee believed that he had succeeded in bringing the last American away.
He certainly had, so far as he knew. He had done his duty like an American. ”

“ In the lead of all the Spaniards, Hal could make out the uniform of the Spanish colonel.
“He seems mad,” observed Hal, quizzically. “If those soldiers were close at hand, unarmed though they are, they would make things hot for us.”
Ramirez nodded, his face darkening.
“Mi amigo,” he suggested, tremulously, “suppose we stop and give them fight.”
“With these horses and all these guns destined for the insurgents?” demanded Hal. “My friend—nit! We have no right to risk losing such splendid supplies.”
“At least,” begged Ramirez, “let us halt and fire a half a dozen shots into them.” ”

“ After waiting a moment for the attack, Hal felt a sudden thrill of misgiving.
His hand had touched, accidentally, on something under his coat.
That recalled him to his duty, to the reason for his being in Havana, to the cause of his being left behind.
Hidden away in his clothing was a bag. It contained two thousand dollars, the property of another, confided to his care.
“This mob is made up of worthless fellows,” muttered the boy. “They don’t know any better than to do as they are doing. They are so ignorant that not one in a dozen of them would know his own name in print. ”

“ For a few seconds the squad seemed uncertain whether to flee or fight.
Hal kept his little force out of sight by making them crouch behind the bushes.
“I have waited a year and more for such a chance as this,” sobbed one of the pacificos, kissing the barrel of his rifle, and Hal, looking the emaciated wretches over, had no doubt that they would fight to the last breath.
Juan slipped back to where the horses were tethered, returning with more cartridges. ”

“ He shook so with impatience as to make the bushes rattle.
“Steady,” whispered Hal.
Ramirez, by a tremendous effort at patience, got a better grip on himself.
Nearer, still nearer, came the six troopers and their captives.
Hal himself found it hard to restrain the temptation to fire, though he held himself in check to the last.
But at last the whispered word came: “Fire!”
Two jets of flame shot out from the bushes; two troopers reeled from saddle and fell.
Crack! crack! Two more were down.
Crack! crack! A fifth trooper fell, all within the space of five seconds. ”

“ Readers of the STARRY FLAG WEEKLY will have the most accurate and truthful pictures of the war, and those who are familiar with this author’s thrilling style will understand that, while there may be other Cuban stories published, none will be equal to those which will appear in the STARRY FLAG WEEKLY.
Hal Maynard will be the hero, a bright, typical, dashing American boy. As Napoleon once said that every soldier of France carried in his knapsack a marshal’s baton, so every American boy has implanted in him the seeds of heroism, awaiting only the sunshine of opportunity for development. ”

“ How can any American live without finding life one [15] long thrill of pride that he is part and parcel of the Stars and Stripes?”
“Bah!” retorted Vasquez, impatiently. “Shall I tell you what your greatest fault is?”
“If you care to.”
“You Americans are not honest,” went on the Spaniard. “You lie, cheat and steal, always pouring the pesetas or dollars into your pockets, and laughing at the more simple more honest people of other nations from whom you derive your dishonest profits. Nowhere do you find easier victims than the old-fashioned, simple, trusting, generous, honest Spaniards.” ”

“ But Hal did not laugh now. His voice rang with a scorn and contempt that were too deep for merriment.
“Your employer owed me money,” went on Vasquez, plaintively.
“He has paid you far more than he ever owed you. That I know from the dealings I have had between you. As near as I could place it, you have robbed him, in three years, of at least twenty thousand dollars more than you were entitled to. Yet you prate about honesty!”
“He owes me two thousand dollars,” insisted the Spaniard, doggedly. “Senor Richardson escaped from Cuba yesterday, and left me sighing in vain for my money. ”

“ Ramirez obeyed, though the suspense made him tremble.
His eyes flashed like jewels as he saw the four Cubans and their guard come nearer.
“Surely they are near enough now to open fire,” he whispered hoarsely.
But Hal shook his head emphatically. “No, no, my comrade! When we fire, we must take no chance of missing. Now, not another word, but you will hear me whisper ‘fire’ when they are within a hundred feet. You take the fellow in the front rank on the extreme left.”
Juan protruded the muzzle of one of his weapons through the bushes that screened them from sight. ”

“ More than that, I shall take a comrade with me.”
“Here is all the money I have in the world,” added Hal, turning his funds over to Juan. “Henceforth, it belongs to Cuba.”
“Let us lose not a moment’s time,” urged Ramirez, his eyes dancing with delight. “Senor, I am afraid to move, for fear I shall wake up and find it all a dream. I cannot delay for a second.”
“Nevertheless,” broke in Captain Blodgett, “I hope you will dally here for a little while. Young men, you are starting into an island where starvation reigns. ”

“ Even if pacificos had the courage to remain out here in the country, on what could they subsist? There is not enough food out here to feed a rat.”
“They would have almost as much to eat here as in the cities,” remarked Maynard, growing misty-eyed over the remembrance of the thousands of starving Cuban reconcentrados he had seen in Havana. “But we must go on, Juan. The more I think, the hotter my blood becomes. I shall not be happy until I stand under the Cuban flag.”
Ramirez stretched out his hand, grasping our hero’s warmly. ”

“ Ramirez’s black eyes danced as he nodded.
Then, craning his neck forward, he whispered, sharply:
“Pedro! Pedro Escarillaz!”
In an instant, the sentinel halted, turning his head.
“If money will do you any good, Pedro Escarillaz, come here.”
Quick as a flash, the soldier’s rifle flew to his shoulder.
Then, reconsidering, he walked slowly toward the grove.
“Who called?” he asked.
“Men who have money,” answered Juan. “If you happen to be hungry, you will be glad that we have called you.”
Hal felt thunderstruck.
“Is this Cuban crazy?” he wondered, hardly knowing whether to run or stand his ground. ”

“ We shall be killed, of course, but perhaps we can settle three or four of their men first.”
“See here,” remonstrated Hal. “I’m ready for fighting, but not for suicide.”
“It is the way we Cubans fight,” rejoined Juan, proudly. “We care not what the number of the enemy. We always fire when we see one.”
“We’ll fire, then, if you say so,” agreed Hal. “If you asked my opinion, though, I should say that we had better wait until we have had a chance to offer ourselves at the nearest Cuban camp.”
Juan fixed his wide open eyes on our hero for an instant. ”

“ In another half hour the foe were left five miles to the rear.
Our young friends, too, had come to the end of the plain. Before them stretched a gradual slope leading up into the hills.
“I think we can halt to breathe our horses,” proposed Hal. “What do you say?”
Ramirez nodding, both threw themselves out of saddle to stretch their legs.
“It’s odd that we haven’t met a single passer-by,” commented Hal.
“What else would you expect?” demanded the Cuban, shrugging his shoulders. “Spain has burned down all the country homes, and driven the people into the cities. ”

“ There are already many Americans who take a different view. With Maximo Gomez and Calixta Garcia there are scores, if not hundreds, of American citizens. I have not heard that they make poor soldiers. Ramirez, I owe my life to you. You are a Cuban. Therefore, I owe my life to Cuba. I have no family ties; no obligation except to my employer. Captain Blodgett has undertaken to deliver the money to him. There is nothing to hold me back. You have remained in Havana because you did not have the twenty-five dollars with which to buy a gun. ”

“ Hal Maynard’s bound and weighted form sank below the foul waters.
He had gone to share, in a different way, the fate of the Maine heroes!
CHAPTER VI.
CUBA’S NEW RECRUIT.
Rub! rub! rub!
Chafe! chafe! chafe!
Under the shed over a wharf one human figure bent over another.
Rub! rub! rub!
With the quiet but energetic heroism of common humanity, the rescuer strove to bring back the spark of life to a young man only just snatched from the engulfing waters.
“It is odd, strange!” muttered the rubber, pausing for an instant to look at the lifeless figure. ”

“ Of what avail is lying? Do you think you are talking to some of your own stupid Yankees? Confess!”
“How can I,” retorted Hal, “when there is nothing to confess?”
The official scowled, snorting impatiently:
“Time is valuable. We have too many cases like yours to attend to. The island is full of treason. Instantly tell me all you know about this letter, and the plans at which it hints, or take the consequences.”
“There is nothing that I can tell you,” rejoined Hal, earnestly. ”

“ Can they be obtained here in Havana?”
“When one has the price, senor.”
“And what is that price?”
“Well, if I had twenty-five dollars I could buy a rifle and a pocketful of cartridges. But, why speculate? Twenty-five dollars is not to be found.”
“You are right,” responded Hal. “Let us find the brig.”
Ramirez guided him from the wharf and led him down a dark street, halting every few steps to make sure that they were not being followed.
Of a sudden, the Cuban, every instant alert, dragged our hero into a doorway.
“Here comes the patrol,” whispered Juan. ”

“ As Hal’s little command and considerable train moved forward, our hero heard the story of the pacificos.
Some fourteen months before they had broken away from Havana. Since then they had lived in hiding in the woods, subsisting mainly on roots and fruit.
Once in a while they had received morsels of meat from passing bodies of Cuban soldiers.
But the law of the Republic of Cuba forbade them to join the army without weapons and ammunition, which was the only reason they had remained pacificos. ”

“ It was at the door of this building that all trace had been lost of countless Cuban insurgents, the members of their families, and of others who had in any way been suspected of sympathy with the cause of the rebels.
From here, in the late hours of night, countless doomed ones had been led away, ostensibly to imprisonment in Morro Castle or Cabanas Fortress—with this horrible peculiarity, that they had never reached their destinations or been heard from again!
To the Prefatura! For an instant, contemplating the letter which the captain now held in his hand, Hal felt his heart sinking utterly. ”