Herbert Strang

“ These villains stole upon me, threatened me with death, and forced me to invent the telegram to decoy you from your room."
"It was false?" cried the General.
"Every word of it, Excellency."
The General gave a gasp of relief. One of his bitterest reflections had been that he had lost 60,000 pesos. Then his anger blazed against Machado.
"You are a cur as well as a traitor, I see," he said. "A man of any courage would have defied these wretches. If I had my hands free I would whip you like a dog."
"It is easy to talk like that," said Machado, stung by the General's contemptuous tone. ”

“ Bolivar was instrumental in founding five republics, among them that of his native province of Venezuela, of which he was the first President.
Ten years of one of the grimmest struggles known to history gave freedom to Venezuela and her sister republics; but in the north, as in many other parts of the Continent, freedom has for the past century spelt, not liberty, but licence. Centuries of slavery, in fact if not in name, had rendered the mixed races of South America unfit for self-government. The mass of the people merely exchanged one set of corrupt rulers for another ”

“ The sentry passed more than once. Suddenly he made up his mind to a desperate venture. The room next to Machado's was in darkness. It was, he knew, a cloak-room. There was a door between them. He would enter the enclosure boldly between the nearest tent and the house, when the sentries were next engaged in chatting. They would never dream that an unauthorized person had dared to come into the very jaws of the lion. There were many Indians among General Carabaño's men, so that the sight of Azito would not necessarily alarm the sentries. ”

“ You will agree, then, señor, that I cannot undertake to provide refreshment for so large a party as yours unless formal demand is made, which, backed by the armed force at your distinguished disposal, would undoubtedly exonerate my Company from all responsibility."
"You express yourself admirably, señor," said the visitor with a smile. "May I compliment you on your command of our language? As to a formal demand, I oblige you with the greatest pleasure. I demand now, formally, that you supply my troop with food."
"That is sufficient, Señor Capitan," said Mr. Jackson, returning the smile. ”

“ A light through the open door of the house was reflected on the surface of the lake. To his joy he saw that De Mello's little sailing yacht lay at the jetty. He had feared it might have been removed. Creeping along by the front wall of the stables he came to a spot whence he could see the door. A sentry was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, his head bent forward as in slumber. It might be possible to get to the jetty without waking him. Will returned to the men, and whispering "Remember!" to Machado, he led the way towards the terrace whence a few steps led down to the jetty. ”

“ No engine had yet run over the newly-laid track at a greater speed than twenty-five miles an hour: surely the driver would not risk a smash. But Captain Espejo was at the man's elbow, continually urging him to go faster. The heavy wagons rattled on behind, the men swaying this way and that, shouting, peering through the trees to the left to catch a glimpse of the hydroplane.
The sun beat down fiercely. Hot though the air was, it blew cold upon the occupants of the hydroplane as she whizzed along. Will and Ruggles were bathed in perspiration. José was oiling the engine. ”

“ Ruggles entered, bringing with him a wretched-looking object. Will recognized him instantly as the man he had saved from the jaguar in the early morning. The Indian's face brightened as he saw his rescuer. He fell on his knees before him and begged for food. When he had eaten, with the ferocity of a starving man, what was given him, he said in answer to Will's questions that he had run away from Captain Espejo, who treated him cruelly. After the adventure with the jaguar he had recrossed the river, and unluckily stumbled upon the very man he had most wished to avoid. ”

“ Hesitating no longer, Ruggles did what was required of him. The hydroplane flew on. In half-a-minute it had gained a furlong on the train. Fearing that their prey was escaping them, the men on the trucks fired a volley, some resting their rifles on the sides, others even venturing to mount, being held up on the jolting vehicles by their comrades. More bullets struck the windscreen; Will did not notice that Azito's right arm dropped by his side. The Indian did not utter a sound. ”

“ A SCRIMMAGE AT RAILHEAD He had just thrown the door open, and ordered the peons to lift out the bags of money, when there was a sudden outcry. Looking round, he was amazed to see a swarm of armed men rushing upon him, the nearest no more than two yards away. Before he or any other of the staff could lift a hand to defend himself, he was hurled to the ground, O'Connor and Ruggles lying beside him. Will, who happened to be a little nearer to the engine, made an attempt to bolt, and succeeded in springing down the embankment, only to find himself in the midst of a score of the assailants. ”

“ I am not strong enough to follow up the defeated rebels. I cannot leave the city totally unguarded, and my whole force is inferior in numbers to those of General Carabaño and Colonel Orellana. I can expect no help from Caracas at present, and, as you are doubtless aware, there are no garrisons in the smaller towns touched by the railway. Besides, I have no doubt that General Carabaño has entrained his men, and returned to the place from which he started, and since the culvert is broken, it is impossible to follow him up by train. ”

“ Will ran a few yards up the street, one or two bullets whizzing perilously close, then darted into an alley on his right and made at full speed towards the river.
The city seemed to be deserted. All the civilians had barricaded themselves in their houses. When Will reached the quay, he saw the smoke of the steamer about a mile away. Springing into the hydroplane, he started it down-stream, and on meeting the vessel, swung round and explained in a few hurried sentences to the officer in command what was happening. The officer, who appeared to be a capable soldier, was alive to the situation. ”

“ The hydroplane swept round the first "twist" in the stream, and passed from the sight of the look-out. Another shot rang out, and half-a-minute later two more.
"A waste of ammunition," said Will, smiling.
"Stop, señor!" cried Machado in terror, from his place in the bottom. "We shall all be killed. His Excellency will be shot."
"Hold your tongue," growled Ruggles, "or we'll set you and his Excellency up as targets." ”

“ Then he dismissed him, and the four Englishmen, by the light of a lamp hanging from the roof of the tent, sat discussing the affair of the day and the steps to be taken on the morrow.
"I think we had better put the camp in a state of defence," said O'Connor. "If we don't protect ourselves, nobody will."
"That won't be much good," said the Chief, "we shall be shifting camp soon, and it'll be more than life's worth to attempt to fortify ourselves every time. Nothing short of a wall all round would be any good, and it would be tremendous work to build that: there's such a lot of us." ”

“ Even now I doubt not the engine is getting up steam. The hydroplane cannot go fast in the dark. The train will be first at the junction. We shall be rescued."
"That will be Captain Espejo's service, not yours."
"But we shall be taken on board the hydroplane, Excellency. The painter is broken; they cannot tow us, or if they can, they will not wish so to check their speed. Suppose I am able to damage the engine, Excellency?" he whispered, so that Azito could not hear him. "Then their chance of outstripping the train is gone." ”

“ It was the third day, the last, of the time allowed by General Carabaño for the ransom of his prisoners. Anything that could be done for them must be done at once.
"You and I will go to the hacienda," said Will to the Indian, "and see if we can find out where the señores are."
"I go alone, señor," replied Azito. "I can move as quietly as a snake. No one will hear me. Was it not I that made the hole in the wall? ”

“ We can go faster as soon as we reach the tributary--but not too fast, for goodness' sake: we don't want to strike a snag. At ten miles an hour we shall be at the junction by the time it's light, and then we shall have a straight run to Bolivar."
"But suppose they run to the junction by train and get there before us?"
"I hadn't thought of that. What a fool I am! That would be the end of us. We shall have to go pretty fast after all. Not yet; this stream's dangerous. It's lucky we haven't far to go before we get to the tributary."
"Look out!" cried Ruggles. ”

“ If we had it, it would be quite easy to approach Santa Marta from the river; they would think it was the mad Englishman on one of his jaunts. If we could only capture the signalman there, and you took his place, we could quite rely on your ability to keep the people at Bolivar from becoming suspicious. I compliment you, señor, on your extreme ingenuity in conducting the communications with Bolivar during the past few days. It required a man of genius to prevent the railway people from smelling a rat. ”

“ An idea struck Will.
"I have my hydroplane at the quay, Excellency," he said, "and if the steamer left only an hour ago I can easily overtake it if you will give me an order recalling the troops. In less than three hours they will be at your Excellency's disposal."
The Jefe grasped both his hands and shook them warmly.
"I cannot sufficiently thank you, señor. You will do the State a great service. If the troops return within that time they will be here almost as soon as General Carabaño; it may be our salvation. Do not delay, I beg you." ”

“ Officers and orderlies were galloping in all directions, troops hastening from one part of the city to another, many of the men being civilians armed for the nonce. Shopkeepers were barricading their windows; peons were throwing barricades across the principal streets; here and there were the inevitable loafers, lolling against the walls and smoking as if all was peaceful and serene. Will hurried along, towards the Alameda, and came to the Town Hall, the portico of which was thronged. He pushed his way in, with the station-master, and sent up his name. ”

“ A man sat dozing on a chair outside De Mello's room, which was no doubt occupied by Carabaño. Another lay fast asleep on the floor at the patio door of Machado's room. But for these the patio was empty. To enter it seemed too risky; Will stepped back into the cloak-room and listened at the door of communication. There was no sound. He waited, pressing his ear against the door. Now he heard slight snores: somebody was in the farther room, asleep. He gently tried the handle. The door was not locked. Grasping his revolver, Azito having his machete, he quickly opened the door and went in. ”

“ There could be no doubt that General Carabaño had crossed the city and was now falling on the rear of the garrison. Will had had no military training or experience, but he realized how critical the situation was. If Captain Guzman's defence was broken, it was doubtful whether, even with the aid of the reinforcements, the city could be saved. The officer, Colonel Blanco, ordered his men to double and to refrain from shouting.
"Go back, señor," he cried to Will: "you will be in danger." ”

“ The pace of the vessel was quickening; but Ruggles could not drive the hydroplane at speed, for though he was able to steer safely between the banks of the canal, it was so short, and the stream beyond so narrow, that there was a danger of running the vessel against the farther bank if he went too fast. But the speed was great enough to shake off the pursuers, and in another minute the hydroplane swept round the corner of the canal, her head turned in the direction of the tributary of the Orinoco.
"Go on slowly," cried Will to Ruggles. "They won't dare to pursue us now. ”

“ When O'Connor had set off with Ruggles on horseback, Mr. Jackson asked Will to go with him to his tent to talk things over.
"This is serious," he said. "I'm afraid we've only postponed the evil day. Whether this revolution succeeds or not we shall hear more of the rebels. The Government can't help us."
"Still, we couldn't be much worse off than if you had given in to the fellow. They'd have collared all our cash; and all our peons would have mutinied--all they didn't impress, that is." ”