General Yozarro

“ Captain Guzman and Martella sat motionless, watching the tug rushing down upon them and ready to leap ashore the instant they came within reach.
All a-tremble with the intensity of his rage, General Yozarro stood to the rear and beside the six-pounder whose muzzle was pointed toward the little boat. He measured with his eye when the right instant came, and snapped the lanyard. A spout of smoke and flame shot from the muzzle and the boom rolled across the river and was echoed from the further shore, as the solid missile sped on its errand. ”

“ It was the fact that General Yozarro maintained a pursuit which, in the nature of things, was hopeless, that caused Major Starland misgiving. It must be that the Dictator was counting upon some move in his favor by the Captain of the tug, which held the former to his course, and the latter was biding his time. [Pg 224] Studying hard, the American could think of no scheme which promised the slightest success in this direction, but none the less, he was convinced that something was on foot, and that it could be frustrated only by alertness on his own part. ”

“ Captain Ortega seemed to think the subject entertaining, for he lit another cigarette—first offering the box to the American—crossed his legs, leaned back at his leisure, looked smilingly up in the American’s face, and said in an even voice:
“It may be treason, Major, but General Yozarro is a coward! He spoiled everything by refusing to attack, when nearly every man in his boat was eager for it. When I was on the point of calling to him that the gun was empty, he tumbled back in the boat at your threat. ”

“ Both laughed over the insignificant incident, and Miss Starland took care as they descended that her own merriment continued. General Yozarro, thus warned, finished his imprecations, and met them with his usual smiles and graciousness. In his snowy suit, sombrero in hand, he was the acme of cool politeness and courtesy. Had not Miss Starland identified his voice unmistakably, she could not have believed what her ears had told her. ”

“ Zalapata. Captain Ortega and no one else won that battle.”
“General Yozarro knows his worth,” said Martella; “he would have made him a general long ago if it was not that he is jealous of him. He is the only one I know who doesn’t fear General Yozarro. They often quarrel, for the Captain is plain of speech to every one. Yozarro has announced that he means to make him admiral of the fleet which he intends to build up. ”

“ General Yozarro had declared that he would not permit the boat of his enemy to reach the capital, and he intimated that as soon as he was released from the care of the ladies, he would be quick to open the naval battle.
“He steamed up stream,” reflected Miss Starland, “but he will not go far; he is seeking [Pg 117] a favorable position near by and the conflict will be a fierce one.” ”

“ None of the three could make a satisfactory forecast of the policy of General Yozarro. It seemed to the American that he might be able to secure two or three pieces of cannon and open a bombardment of the boat from the shore, but this presupposed an unreasonable delay. Captain Guzman said:
“He has no way of getting cannon this side of Atlamalco, and that would take a day or two; he has no wish to destroy his own property, and, if he had such a wish, he couldn’t do it, for only by accident would he hit the boat.” ”

“ The Señorita locked the door and the two faced each other.
“What do you make of it, Manuela?”
“Only one thing can be made of it; it is as I said; General Yozarro is determined you shall remain here for some time to come and he gives no more thought to the foolhardiness of his action than if he were a child too young to walk.”
“What of the story of a war between the republics?”
“I do not believe a word of it.”
“Meantime, what are we to do?”
“Sit down, fold our hands and be good; but,” she added with a flash of her eyes, “that is the last thing to do; I long to meet my uncle face to face. ”

“ He had learned that General Yozarro was a widower—though as in the case of Bambos that would have made little difference in his wayward promptings—and he decided that it would be well to shorten the visit of Miss Starland or to bear her company, so long as she stayed in Atlamalco. He would be welcomed by the young women themselves, and, although Yozarro might wish him to the uttermost parts of the earth, he, too, would be gracious. So the sail of the American and Captain Guzman up the forked river becomes clear to the reader. ”

“ Then the Major added a bit of information which perhaps was superfluous:
[Pg 228]
“We Americans always hit what we aim at.”
General Yozarro saw that it would never do. He was heard to speak sharply to the man at the tiller, and the small boat immediately veered off. Daring as some of the inmates might be, they had not the courage to advance straight against the throat of a gaping six-pounder.
“Martella, take charge of the other gun!” called the Major to the deserter, who, as quick as himself to note the danger, had stepped to the side of the second piece of ordnance. ”

“ Are you blind, Captain? Do you not see which way the wind blows? General Yozarro does not wish his relative, Señorita Estacardo to come to him, because she would be troublesome; you know of some of the General’s conquests among the other sex; he is in love with [Pg 166] the beautiful Señorita from the North, but she has friends and he must protect every step. If he sent you a written order, it might return to vex him, when the relatives of the Señorita call upon him to explain, but what does he care for poor devils like us upon whom he will be able to lay the blame of a misunderstanding? ”

“ From Zalapata the yacht steamed to Atlamalco, the home of Manuela Estacardo. There the party was received by the other impressionable type of the tropics, General Pedro Yozarro, who left nothing undone to make their visit pleasant in the highest degree. The novelty of her experience was its chief enjoyment to Miss Rowland, who found a thrill in the life, with its conditions the opposite of those to which she had always been accustomed. She and her aunt were received into the household of General Yozarro, who immediately became their humble slave. ”

“ She could not believe that the path was as free from danger as the Señorita supposed. None the less, she was resolved to make the venture. There was one comforting feature about it all: if they were followed and brought back under some pretext by the soldiers of General Yozarro, no unpleasant consequences would result therefrom to them. The man would be ready with some plausible justification of his course, but would be as effusive in his courtesy as ever. ”

“ Captain Guzman took it upon himself to say:
“General Yozarro and Captain Sepulveda—if he is there—are the biggest cowards in the Atlamalcan army, but the others are fighters. I know three of them who are worse than tiger cats. They are eager for a chance to attack us.”
[Pg 222]
“And they should have it, but for two reasons: it will be too great a trial for my sister. We could beat them off, except for the danger in our rear.”
The two looked inquiringly at the American.
“That Captain at the wheel is one of the bravest of men. He is devoted to General Yozarro, or at least holds him in fear ”

“ American citizens are not in the habit of surrendering at the demand or whim of any South American nobody.”
Removing his hat, the Major bowed low and smiled.
“Does he speak the truth?” bluntly asked General Yozarro, turning to Bambos. The face of the American flushed at the slur, but he held himself in hand.
“He does; he remained at my request,” said General Bambos with a nod.
“There were others who took part in this crime; one of them was Captain Guzman of your staff, General.” ”

“ Valentin, I want to make General Yozarro angrier than before,” added Martella with a grin.
“He cannot be any angrier than he has been ever since I gave him your message; but I accept the situation. He cannot condemn his men for being overpowered when he leaves them no weapons with which to fight. You needn’t fret about the firemen or me—”
Just then the gong clinked in response to the switching in the pilot house above. ”

“ You know that though General Yozarro may be aware I have left his service, it is not likely to be known to Captain Navarro.”
“It is a fearful risk, Martella. You are a good deal braver than I thought; I accept your offer; but you have no acquaintance with [Pg 161] the ladies; they will not come away with you.”
“You can write me a few lines to hand to the American Señorita that will explain it all to her.” ”

“ I give you the choice; if he is not turned over to me to be shot, you shall be shot in his stead.”
With all his contempt for this man, Jack Starland had never dreamed of anything like this. The words of Captain Ortega came [Pg 274] back to him. There was a certain shadowy strength in the position of General Yozarro. No flag of truce had been called into use, and the American, after having forcibly captured the boat of the other, had voluntarily placed himself in his power, following the suggestion of General Bambos and his own impulses. ”

“ Then, whipping out his revolver, Starland backed from the cabin, ran down the steps to the bow of the boat, and before any one suspected his purpose, shouted to his own executive officer:
“Captain Winton, I am betrayed! Open fire, and sink this tug!”
[Pg 276]
Then he wheeled about and with leveled weapon, added:
“I will kill the first man who attempts to lay a finger on me!”
General Yozarro and his officers showed more promptitude than would have been expected. Seeing that a conflict was inevitable, they set out to win by their own quickness. ”

“ I know that your real business with General Yozarro was to meet the Señorita, your sister, and I know all that Martella knows.”
“And what is that?”
“Señoritas Starland and Estacardo were passengers on the boat, but ten miles down the river they went ashore, and, under the escort of two soldiers, set out for the summer home of General Yozarro.”
“Where is that?”
“A mile from the river among the mountains; [Pg 78] the air there is cooler than at Atlamalco, and General Yozarro spends much of the hot season at Castillo Descanso, or ‘Castle of Rest.’ Señorita Estacardo is his niece; he is a widower ”

“ If he would only do that which is just, wars would cease and [Pg 91] blessed peace would brood forever over all nations and peoples.
Major Starland took another tack. There had been hostilities between Zalapata and Atlamalco in the past, with no special advantage accruing to either side. On the whole perhaps the latter Republic had been the gainer, since the last treaty ceded to General Yozarro a small strip of territory on which Castillo Descanso stood, the same having been a bone of contention for a long time. ”

“ The young woman could not touch upon these themes, lest he accept it as encouragement; so she contented herself with parrying them. She began to long for the time when she should turn her back upon Atlamalco forever.
On a certain balmy forenoon, General Yozarro, his niece and Miss Starland rode out from the town and over the trail leading into [Pg 99] the Rubio Mountains. They were on their way to Castillo Descanso, which had been the cause of much fighting between the republics, and which had finally fallen into the possession of the Dictator of Atlamalco. ”

“ He listened thoughtfully, admitted his grief that his new-born hope should be crushed, but declared he would [Pg 96] accept the facts like an honorable man and take every pains that their visitor should not be annoyed in any way by him.
Nothing could have been more delightful than the few days that followed. General Yozarro took his niece and her friend on several voyages down the Rio Rubio, and far enough westward to give her glimpses of the magnificent fauna and flora of that interesting region. ”

“ People of enlightenment will govern wisely. Captain Morando, we need men, more men, who will place the common good above their private interest."
"You speak the duty of the soldier, Señor Mendoza."
"It is so, Captain." Then turning the conversation back to the situation in the Santa Clara valley: "Have you run across Stanislaus yet? No? Nor Yoscolo? Well, I hope you will soon see both over your pistol barrel. They are a menace to the peace in our valley. Yoscolo is the abler of the two. Many a lively skirmish have my fighting peons had with the scoundrel." ”

“ It seemed that the sailboat might touch land before the pursuer could interpose to head them off. Martella decided to take his chances with the others.
The tug was now so near that Yozarro called:
“Stop or we’ll blow you out of the water!”
“Blow and be hanged!” called back Major Jack; “if you fire on an American citizen, your nuisance of a republic will be wiped off the earth.”
[Pg 205]
“You have a deserter with you; I demand his surrender.” ”

“ Gradually the boat grew hazy and indistinct, but the throbbing of the engine and the soft wash of the current lingered long after the craft itself had faded from view.
“It may be that President Yozarro is afraid President Bambos will forget he has a navy,” suggested the American.
“He does not mean to attack him, I am sure.”
[Pg 61]
“He has no cause for doing so, which is generally the reason why these wasps sting their neighbors. If they waited for a just cause there would be eternal peace. Ah, my yacht is not due for several days! I would it were here.” ”

“ Is he well?"
"He is well, and the years have small meaning to his strength."
Captain Morando talked with his host of the campaigns of General Guerrero in the Spanish trans-Mediterranean dependencies; of the newly concluded peace there; and of the retirement of the General by the age limit, but all the while his mind was fashioning love songs outside the window of the fair señorita. Through the haze of tobacco smoke the strong, kindly face of the Administrator of Mission San José de Guadalupe softened into the sweet face of the doña, with her laughing eyes and beautiful hair ”