George Waldo Browne

“ His companion glanced in the direction pointed out by Ronie, and a glad cry escaped his lips.
"Boat, ahoy!" he cried. "Help! H-e-l-p!"
Then they listened for a reply, fearing lest the other should fail to catch their faint appeal, for both were so hoarse and exhausted that their united voices could not reach far.
"It is a sloop," declared Jack. "It is coming straight down upon us. They cannot miss us—ay, they are veering away! They have not heard us—they have not seen us—they are going to pass us. Once again, lad, shout for your life. It is our only hope." ”

“ No doubt the craft was one of Castro's spies. They are looking far and wide for the Libertador, but they cannot find her," he concluded, showing evident pleasure at the thought. Then he asked, as if a new thought had come suddenly to him:
"What do they say of us in the Great Republic?"
"The sympathy of the United States is ever with the down-trodden," replied Jack, cautiously. "But we are not able to say just how our nation looks upon the revolution here, except that it will see fair play, for you must remember it has been nearly a year since we left home." ”

“ While Riva Baez was struggling with his wounded horse, whose sudden plunge had nearly unseated him, Ronie was also active, but in quite another manner. The flash of the shots from the treetops had not sent out its blaze of lurid light before he had discovered a pair of dark forms crouching in the foliage overhead, and the double report had not died away before he had covered one of these with his rifle, his clear, ringing voice exclaiming:
"Hold, there! Move an inch, and I will send a bullet through your head!" ”

“ These grew rapidly louder and more fraught with terror.
"He is close at hand," panted Jack, and the next moment they came upon a startling sight, which, for a brief while, held them spellbound. The underbrush had here been beaten down, and bruised into fragments by the furious trampling back and forth of a huge specimen of that king of the South American forest, the jaguar. The cause of the anger of this terrible brute, equal in size and ferocity to the tiger of the jungles of Asia, was the sight of a human being—a man—suspended in midair, almost over the head of the maddened creature. ”

“ He had no time to think of this, or even to question whether the gun was loaded or empty before the dark form of the jaguar shot into the air, and the maddened creature came like a cannon ball toward the twain.
"Jump for your life!" cried Jack, and so closely followed the animal upon his words that, as the couple separated, Ronie springing to the right and he to the left, an outstretched paw of the creature brushed a shoulder of each as it sped past them! ”

“ Give it plenty of room, lad, we can afford to."
Then, in silence they watched the dying struggles of the brute, as it beat earth and space with its lacerated body, now groveling in the dust, now bounding upward in blind endeavor to reach an enemy it could not see, each moment growing weaker, until it lay at last quite still, scarcely less terrible to look upon in death than it had been in life.
"Your shot saved us," said Jack, frankly. "It was well done, lad, exceedingly well done, and it alone has saved us from the claws of the jaguar." ”

“ Ay, in South America the word 'republic' loses the significance of liberty that it bears in other lands. It is natural a people condemned to lifelong poverty, for no fault of their own in most cases, should be ever ready to listen to the call to arms as a summons to a holiday. So you see it is easy to raise an army of this sort, and it is small wonder Venezuela has been bothered with so many outbreaks against its peace and progress. But here we are close upon the spacious abode of the coffee planter, who is the principal man of this vicinity, unless there happens to be another of his class. ”

“ The only cheerful sight that greeted their gaze was the crimson streak marking the eastern horizon, and which announced the breaking of a new day.
"I would give a good deal to know where Harrie is at this moment," said Ronie.
"We can only hope that he is able to look after himself," replied Jack. "And we can only make the most of our situation. As for me, I feel better on this sand bar than I have felt on board such ships as we have known since leaving Colon."
"If this is a sample of Venezuela," said Ronie, "I am heartily sick of it already." ”

“ Did you see anything of Captain Rhoades and his bold riders?"
"We heard of him," replied Jack. "We have been looking for them. Are you expecting them this way?"
"No one can tell where El Capitan will strike next, señor. He is very brave, and he moves about as if he and his men had wings."
"Is it possible that Castro's hirelings have penetrated into this region?" asked Jack, as a feeler.
"Possible it may be, but not probable. He has been whipped on every hand, and I have no doubt General Matos will ride into Caracas its conquerer before we are much older." ”

“ The climate is delightful; the first impressions of the capital pleasing.
Caracas has a population of about eighty thousand, it being the usage that only one family shall occupy a house. It is a city of culture and fashion, of public statues to scholars and artists, as well as warriors, for not all of the history of this interesting republic is filled with war. While a land of hotheaded people, whose career has been largely filled with riots and revolutions, here and there are to be found evidences of a high civilization, producing marked contracts of the rival forces of man. ”

“ There was that air of mystery about the sloop and those who manned her, which already created a feeling in the breasts of our twain of doubt as to the honesty of the craft. What was this single American doing in these waters with a Venezuelan crew, not one of whom did they believe could speak a word of English, and certainly not one of whom appeared as if he would shrink from cutting a man's throat in case that person stood between him and any purpose he may have had in view.
"Captain Hawkins," said Jack, frankly and fearlessly, "we wish to ask whither you are bound. ”

“ With rare presence of mind the woman on the gray horse wheeled her spirited animal quickly around to make a bold dash for freedom. There were horsemen behind her, but that was her only way of escape, if she could hope to get away at all. In a moment the entire scene had become one of wildest excitement, and above the clatter of hoofs and the cries of his men, rang the voice of the leader, as he swung his own horse around, calling upon his panic-stricken followers:
"Don't let her escape! Shoot her if must be, but stop her!" ”

“ In June General Matos, encouraged by the success of his followers, announced a provincial government, with himself as president.
This bit of news reached Colonel Marchand at the close of a warm day's fight with his old-time enemy, El Capitan. As usual, it had been a draw game, and the colonel was sitting in his hammock feeling in anything but an amiable mood.
"By the soul of Bolivar!" he exclaimed, slapping his knee by way of emphasis, "he is like a ground mole, that runs for its hole the moment an enemy is in sight. I wish we might meet a foe worthy of our steel. ”

“ I have spoken the truth. Had I a dozen lives depending on my answer, it would be the same. Kill me if you wish. I can die without a regret, knowing that Francisco is not here to witness my death or suffer at your hands, El Capitan."
"She is Francisco's mother," whispered Ronie, anxiously.
"Ay, lad; and he is Rhoades, the insurgent leader."
"Must we let him butcher her in cold blood and remain inactive?" asked Ronie, whose hot nature was aroused by this unwarranted treatment of a helpless captive.
"Hist!" warned Jack. "We are watched by an enemy in yon coppice." ”

“ Had they been forgotten by their captors, or was it a premeditated plan to kill them by starvation and thirst? Such questions as these filled their minds and occupied most of their conversation.
"I wonder where Colonel Marchand thinks we are?" asked Harrie.
"I tell you what let's do, boys," suggested the fertile Jack Greenland. "Let's remind them that we are human beings, and that we must have food and drink or perish. Now, together, let us call for water!" ”

“ Without making any reply to this, Ronie stole silently forward upon foot, soon finding himself in the midst of the beehive homes of the small coffee planters. But not a soul seemed to occupy the primitive dwellings without doors or windows, but left free for the passage of the night breeze.
"It is singular no one should be awake," he mused, "but the houses appear to be as deserted as if they had never been occupied. There is a mystery about this I do not understand. I am inclined to risk my chances and enter one of them. ”

“ On the rim of the distant horizon shone with a soft luster the glorious radii of the gem of the Antipodes, the Southern Cross.
Harrie was promptly on hand to keep his meeting with the strange youth, but no earlier than the other, who greeted him in his musical voice:
"Señor is in good season. It is well, for our time cannot be long in which to talk. While we speak let us walk slowly back and forth, arm in arm, so we shall not be overheard." ”

“ Riva Baez expressed little surprise when Ronie told him that Caro was a deserted settlement, though he could offer no satisfactory explanation for the fact.
"El Capitan may have taken them all captives, or butchered them in cold blood."
"There is nothing to show that violence has been done them. The huts are simply deserted, just as if the owners had been called suddenly away for a brief absence."
"True, Sergeant Rand. Shall we stop here a while or push on toward the next place?"
"We have no time to waste at this stage of action," replied the energetic young American. ”

“ I have bribed a sailor, who will help us get a boat. The night promises to be dark, which will materially aid us in escaping. But there is a lookout who stands in fear of his life lest he lets anything pass his gaze. It is not more than an even chance that we can succeed in evading him and the others. Do you care to take that chance with me, señors, or remain here and possibly escape with more or less harm?"
"For one," said Ronie, "I am in favor of getting away as soon as possible."
"Will it be possible for us to take our trunk with us?" asked Harrie. "We can ill afford to lose that." ”

“ Everything about this home of the coffee planter denoted wealth and comfort, in marked contrast to the humble huts scarcely beyond the vision, and of a style of architecture peculiar to the country.
"Whoever lives here must be a man of importance," remarked Ronie.
"True, lad, and being such a rich man, we are running little risk in assuming him to be a follower of Castro at this time. The cultivation of coffee is, in fact, a more certain way of earning a competence, and it may be, something above a living, than any other calling in Venezuela. ”

“ Continuing to wax eloquent, the great orator said:
"'No nation, no generous Lafayette, has come to their succor; alone, and without aid, they have sustained their glorious cause, trusting to its justice, and with the assistance only of their bravery, their deserts and their Andes—and one man, Simon Bolivar, the Washington of South America.'
"There was wild cheering then, while men sprang to their feet and clapped their hands. Then Lafayette, the generous, asked that he might send the Southern hero some token of their sympathy and appreciation of his valor. ”

“ But I am afraid some fearful fate has overtaken her. I shall not rest until I know the truth."
"You know I am with you, Ronie," said Harrie.
"Ay, lad; you can count on old Jack Greenland to stand by you both, through thick and thin."
"God bless you, Jack!" exclaimed Ronie, clasping one hand, while Harrie seized the other, echoing the words of his friend:
"God bless you, Jack; a nobler soul never lived."
When the three had hastily reviewed the troubles they had passed through they decided unanimously to return to Colonel Marchand with such haste as was consistent with safety. ”

“ Still no response—no sound to break the dreadful silence of their watery surroundings.
"My old arms are not quite tired out yet, lad; hold upon me."
"No—no, Jack. I am young and strong. I can bear up a while longer. If I only knew Harrie had escaped I should feel better."
"We can only hope that they have, and fight for our lives a little longer." ”

“ My ears are very keen, and not every one would have heard the little I did."
"It is not well for one to repeat what one hears, sometimes," said Jack, by way of reply.
"I have a mind as well as ears, señors," replied the youth. "While I can see as well as I can hear, I can think for both eyes and ears. You are not satisfied with the appearance of the Libertador?" ”

“ I was in Venezuela at the time of the downfall of that pompous patriot Guzman Blanco, and I knew something of the De Caprians. Possibly it was this fellow's father who was mixed up in the muddle, and who was killed, according to report, soon after I got away. Mind you, I say this, but it will be well for us if we are careful whom we trust. In Venezuela every man is a revolutionist, and where revolutions reign the sacredness of human faith is lost. As we seem to be in for our share of lively times, it may be well for us to look at the situation intelligently. ”

“ But half a dozen lusty fellows lifted the wounded don and bore him into the house, while others stared after them in complete dismay.
"El Capitan is rallying," said Ronie. "It's too bad for us to be in this condition. He will sweep the place, now the don has fallen."
"Why not take the lead, Ronie?" asked Harrie. "Some one must, or we are all lost."
"I am not sure they would follow me. Here comes Señor Riva."
"Sergeant Rand, Don Isadora begs me to tell you that he is better, but is not able to lead his men. He beseeches of you to do this." ”

“ It is a trait of human nature to be reaching after the things beyond our reach, while we push right over those near us. The history of South America is a most interesting one, but the most interesting chapter is close at hand, when out of the crude material shall crystallize a government and a people that shall place themselves among the powers of the world. I should not know as much as I do of Venezuela if it had not been for the two years I spent there quite recently—years I am not likely to forget. ”