Roy Norton

“ The night brought with it a faint, chill breeze which now and then gained strength to whip outward, flapping, the folds of the riddled flag on the parapet. Sometimes when José looked the American, silhouetted against the distant flare, seemed watching it, as if thinking vastly of something left behind. Once in the night the mestizo was awakened by the sound of firing, and knew that the revolutionists had attempted to encroach on the tower and had been driven back by the white man's vigilance
THE sun came up, and after the chill of the night they suffered from the increasing heat. ”

“ About Wild Bob Drake—I got to know him at West Point. Strange place you might think for a man who had contempt for our flag. Don't make a mistake, however, because above all else one learns at the Point a veneration and reverence for the banner. No—that is badly expressed; for every American has that reverence somewhere in his soul, and West Point merely accentuates it. ”

“ The señor, shouting victory and defiance at the top of his voice, was throwing those other queer things he had manufactured, and there were other explosions, with clouds of dust, and shrieking pieces of metal and deadly shocks, and when the air cleared there was no man to be seen in flight. ”

“ The white man had lighted some of his flare and thrown them wide, to discover that under cover of darkness the Mexicans were preparing to pile huge heaps of wood and timber round the foot of the tower for the purpose of smothering them out, or attacking through the screen of smoke. Again the hand grenades had been thrown, and in the dim light both the Indian and the white man fired at anything that could be seen moving. ”

“ Wild Bob swore when he saw it, steadily, doggedly, cursing everything from the Captain who had done the murder upward to general Vasquez and the Mexican flag. Then he seemed to be pondering something, and rendered apprehensive by the continued lull. Off at the mill they could hear the sound of axes, and the tearing of timbers, and it was the Indian who suggested the meaning.
They make from the big timbers, Señor Roberto a ram with which the door to batter down. From other timbers they make the roof so that they not shot may be as they come. ”

“ War would be inglorious and advancement slow. Patriotism is rubbish. Pap fed to fools by those who, in any event, would never fight! Nothing to it. One flag's as good as another. Country's owned by a few millionaires and— Beg pardon, Ward! I forgot that you are one of the patriots.' He ended with a sneer, laughed harshly, then got to his feet with a yawn, and I was not sorry that he thus expressed a desire to retire. ”

“ The Indian, who had crawled up after him, says he saluted it when it was raised.
“'José,' he said, 'she's a good old flag. Once she goes up, she never comes down. Men die to make that rule good. Damn that Casa del Oro! They can have it. But they don't get this—the rag!'
“The parapet on top was about four feet high. They sat with their backs to it, and Wild Bob bandaged the old Indian's shoulders, swearing at him affectionately for remaining steadfast, and sometimes saying 'Whew!' when the bullets whined as the flag over their heads was used for a target. ”

“ And honorably we buried him up there beside the tower, wrapping round him and his companion alike, as a noble winding sheet, the flag they had so ably defended.”
Suddenly the Major turned in his chair, and leaned far forward toward Rodney, who shrank back as if ashamed of thus being brought to attention.
“'A little while ago,' said the Major very softly and very tolerantly, 'you called it a piece of bunting for which fools fight. May God make us all, in time of our country's need, fools, such fools as Wild Bob!” ”

“ He locked the inner door, barred it, and examined the old man's wound, which, though not serious, was bleeding. Outside the sounds of hammering increased, and, hastily telling José to bathe from one the barrels that were constantly kept in a corner for fire emergencies, he seized a rifle and ran up the worn stone stairs that led in a spiral to the roof of the magazine. From this vantage, leaning over one of the old stone embrasures, he opened fire with such deadly effect that the revolutionists broke for cover, leaving two or three of their men on the ground. ”

“ They found out that Mexico was in revolt, and that this band of patriots had swooped down on the property to exact from it all the gold, all the money, all the supplies, on hand. The mine manager stammered and sweated, and threw out his hands in a fit of exasperation, and Patton saved an outburst, which would certainly have robbed them of any chance of escape, by grinding his boot heel on the manager's toe, and speaking rapidly to drown his exclamations. ”

“ The Captain congratulated Bob on his judgment, thanked him in the name of the renowned leader for his compliments, assured him that there never was such a soul of honor in the glories of war, and wanted to know when he could begin to carry away the pelf.
“'Of course,' Bob asked, 'your General will give us a receipt for the amount of stuff he takes, so that when your glorious revolution succeeds we can be reimbursed from the state funds?'
“Nothing is easier for a revolutionist than a promise. If his cause fails, of course he can't pay. If it wins, maybe he pays, and most likely he doesn't. ”

“ He began to talk at intervals, and sometimes he hummed tunes, and sang in an aimless way, very terrifying to the stolid, patient old man, who watched and listened.
“'José, Old Hoss,' he said once, 'if Patton or Shepherd got through, our boys won't wait to come. They're Americans, off up there. They won't let even a pair of poor worthless devils like us be shot down or tortured like dogs without doing their best. It isn't in the breed. They'll come for the flag, if nothing else. They won't let it be defiled. ”

“ They saw that Vasquez himself had come to superintend the operations, and for a long time, grim faced and determined, the American lay with a rifle in his hand watching him, and heedless of the others.
“'I'll get him if ever he gets careless and comes twenty yards this way,' he said over and over to that poor, faithful old man who lay in the shade of the wall, twisting and biting his lips to suppress his groans. 'Then if we go out, José, we'll at least know we took him along. ”

“ He was a natural fighter, and all his boyhood and youth had been passed in such totally independent environments that he could not understand and would not submit to what he regarded as mere imposition. ”

“ The mine management had walled in the windows to make the tower fireproof, and constructed double fireproof doors of old boiler plate: for a few tons of dynamite are unpleasant neighbors in a camp where there are many ignorant and careless miners.
“The revolutionists agreed to submit the proffer to their leader, and departed, leaving one man on guard outside the door. ”