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I JJ ' ATALL or .Tlf CU 1 'BAR
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. J' Copyright , 18J7. ! by 1" 'l'cnnrson NeelY.
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! ' ! IIf' CHAPTER XV.-Continued.
f Smithers believes there Is no fur. :
; t ther necessity for torturing the poor
; devil whom the fortunes of war have
. : thrown Into his power , and 1..13 willing
' . i to compromise the maUer. So he suddenly .
I denlr pushes the half-strangled guard
back into the compartment , and fiIHI-
Ing a means of opening the door , passes -
es Inside just as the carriage ceases
to move.
' l--- ' Ah Sin has not been backward
, . ' ' about managing his share of the busl-
I' ness , and he utilizes the piece of Iron
in his hand to such good purpose that
, _ the car maltCs no effort to return toward -
I. , . ward the bottom of the Incline.
, 1. . - As for Jack , he has his work cut I
'
' " '
ir' 11 out also.
r : ' , When the vehicle of transportation
, ceases to move , he reaches the ground
. alongside , and hastens toward the
' 1 compartment In which the party may
, be found In whom he Is so deeply In-
terested.
. ' Now he reaches the door.
. Ito Is on the other side from that
. selected by Smithers , so that he sees
nothing of that worthy gentleman'S
little engagement with the train guard
'Vhy do we stop , guard ? " asks a
voice , and Jack readily recognizes It
, as belonging to the very being who
fills his thoughts.
She Is there within arm's length of
him at the moment-what ecstasy the
fact brings to him-his Highland bride ,
the girl who really bears his name ;
. . 1 - and ret ; a cruel fate compels him to
" " .
' dlssem ble.
% . , _ "There has been an accident-a
r coupling proved false , and the , train
t . has gone on , leaving our carriage be-
'
' ; hind , " Is what he says.
Re hears feminine exclamations of
alarm , and the gruffer tones of a In ma's
" . voice. Then out comes the white
; head of the painter.
"What Is all this , guard ? You say
wo are left behind In the wilds. Cas-
pita ! this Is , indeed , n. nice kettle of
fish. "
Senor Roblado Is evidently In a towering .
, erlug rage nt being subjected to such
"
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, - 'o . . . , - '
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11- -.I. ?
I -
"Caramba , you are not the guard we
had at the last station I"
delay. lIe opens the door and sprIngs
out Into the night.
. Immediately he makes a discovery.
He looks at the disguised 'Squire
John as though something very singu-
! lar has flashed into his mind.
"Carramba you are not the guard
we had at the last station ! " ejacu-
lates Rohlado.
"I lenow It , " replies Jack , simply.
"Then who are you ? " demands this
}
r
reP : 'rlgh t , IS99 ! ) ! ) . by Street lUll Smith.
fiery don , as If suspecting tl'eachQl'Y.
"A passenger by time train , like yourself -
self , senor , and one who Is as much
Interestcd In looking after our safety
as you may be. "
Hoblado cools down n. lIttlo.
\Vhat would you advise , senor ? "
asks the don , eagE.d . .
"A danger sIgnal both up and down
the line , that we may warn them , no
matter from what direction they
come "
"You mean lanterns ? "
"If they can bo had ; but otherwise
fires will do just as well "
"A splendid thought. I congmtu-
Into you on your Idea , senor. Let us
waste no time In accomplishing it. Ah ,
who Is this ? " as Ah Sin comes creep-
Ing from under the car and falls In behind .
hind his master.
"A servant of mine , senor , who Is
worth his weight In gold In n crisis
like th Is. "
"lIe can help ) with the fires. nut I
would IIIco to know what has become
of that guard. He shall bo punished
for deserting us. "
"Harlt ! I hear voices. Possibly It
Is the guard and the gentleman who
traveled with me. Look , yonder they
come round the end of the car.Vo
shall have COmllanj'-plenty of hands
to build the fires , senor. "
Sure enough Smithers comes hurry-
Ing to the spot , accompanied by the
guard , whom he seems to have utterly
hypnotized , sluice the fellow shows an
eagerness to obey his slightest wish
that Is really ridiculous 10 Jacle.
CHAPTER XVI.
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Under One Flag.
A hasty council of war is convened ,
and the remarkable situation dlH'
cussed. All seem to he of one mind ,
that their only course under the cl1'-
cumstancefJ Is to keep on the watch
and guard against the approach of n.
train.
So , while the senor and Smithers
walk down the line a dozen or so
yards , with the avowed Intention of
building a bonfire there , Jack , Ah Sin
and the guard start upward to do the
same above the stalled carriage.
As the light from this Is thrown
around , dispellinG the gloom , It will be
easier work collecting the wood
Ah Sin proves a master hand at this ,
and his employer 113 quite content he
should have charge of the fires , onto
they get going , since It will keep ) the
Chinaman away from the carriage ,
and hence lessen the danger of his appearance ) -
pearance arousing sudden suspicion In
the mind of the senor.
Besides , Jacle's curiosity has been
aroused , and he longs to know what
magic the wonderful Smithers has exercised .
erclsed in order to make such n devoted -
voted ally out of the guard
Time opportunity comes when he can
address the chap , and he does not hes-
Itate ; for he has already learned that
the guard has a fair comprehension of =
"English as she is spole. "
"You have seen my friend ; you understand -
derstand the truth. Is It so ? " he asks ,
and the guard with a smile and a
shrug makes answer , as he involuntarily -
tarlly raises a hand to his throat ,
which doubtless still feels the effect
of the detective's hard fingers.
"JIola , senor , I understand. Any-
thing ho says , that will I do. Wo are
as one When n. man saves the life
of P.3dro Agrllla , there Is nothing I
would not for him do. And you are
his friend , senor ; have no fear that
I the truth will ever tell "
Ah , Smithers has therefore told him
about the dreadful doom from which
he has been snatched , as It were , by a
miracle , and for the resent , at least ,
the fellow In his gratitude Is ready and
willing to serve them faithfully. What
ho might do whoa the idea grow a
little more familiar to him remains to
bo seen.
.JucIe moves down toward the others ,
IH Ah Sin iuay he trusted to loop
things going. As ho passes the carriage .
I'lngo ho sees two heads ut the open
door , and needs no spirit of divination
to tell him who the Interested spectators '
tators miry be.
While ho Is just In front t. of them ,
one or the girls asks him If there io I : ;
' . ] \'Iden tl ' ' Ills.
any dungel' Evidently they 1\1'0 (
tUl'boll , as the bravest fomlnlno mind
might well 110. "
.J\iunltu \ does most of the questioning .
ing but her Scotch stepsister occasionally ! -
ally Introduces a few wcmls , atlll evi-
deafly gl'IHJIS ! the situation fm' better
than .Juclt had believed posslllle.
lie Is more than charmed with her
apparently ) ! brave demeanor In the face
of hanger , and not forgottlng his ( do
sign of Iwoplng his identity a secret ,
answers as grullly as llosslblo. Seizing
i &
? 4M. .
= = ' ' w
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Spencer eyes him curiously.
time first opportunity , he hurries down
to whel'o the others are engaged. I
Another form can be seen flitting .
about In the light of time fires-evl -
fiI'OS-O\I-1
dently Col. Spencer has been aroused .
from his nap In the cozy corner of the
carriage , and brought to a realization
of the deadly danger menacing them
In case a train comes along
Long ore now lIowaru Spencer has
learned of hill fallacy with regard to
the death of Jack 'j'ra\'el's Senor Uo
hlado has regaled him with a full arid
exceedingly vivid account of the singular -
Inr events that followed EO fast upon
his accident In the Canon gate , Hence
he knows Jack Is alive , und that
through the most peculiar ) freak of
fortune In the world he was permitted
to wed sweet Jessie Cameron , just as
the outrageous will and and testament
of his Quixotic relative I'cqull'ed. This
being the case , It may he safely as
sumed that Spencer nurses an addi
t.lonal grievance against the man ho
has wronged , and that when the , very
first opportunity springs up ho will
avail himself of It In the hope of win-
ning 'Squlro John's widow.
As to that , .1acle hopes to have n
voice In time matter himself.
The three are aparently ) discussing
some knotty question connected with
the peculiar situation when Jack
comes up.
'fhey turn to him as though resolved ;
to have his Idea on the subject , and
Jack experiences an itching ! of the fin-
gers when ho finds himself near the
man who envies him the possession
of Jessie Cameron , for something tells
him that sooner 01' later they will have
to fight It out between them
Silencer eyes him curiously , but
gives no evidence of SUslllcion.
"Senor , wo were just debating hero
whether this thing that has happened
to us can he an accident or some deep
design on time part of those who secretly .
cretly plan to destroy the government
of Spain on this Island. I had not
thought at that until your friend mentioned -
tioned It. "
It Is , ot' course , Senor HolJlado who
says this
"I myself have wondered whether
the rebels can hire any special desire
-
to l1Iulto wuy with Homo of us. It loolt
8URlllclollA ( , I n11l bound to confess , "
romllrltf4 ,1l1ele , eool1 ' .
Hoblndo huts guilty consclenco-ho
ImowH full well there mire good reasons
why the patriot followers of Gomez
and 1\llIc'o shoull ! halo hl11l 111\0 poison :
-Illlll tick , who has purposely ! sent
Iho shaft , sees the start told sudden \ (
pallor that mark Its rocoptlon.
Undoubtedly the worthy sonar has n
pretty ] good notion that Ir this thing
hus h hUJlllonoll IIr design Instead of ac
cldent , ho Is the party at whom the
blow Is IIlmoli.
"Gentlemon , I trust t you are all
ar11led , so that shoulll wo ho attacked
the ladies mar ho doftHlllell , " he says ,
hastily , at which there Is a general
showing of I11'our11l8 that might appear
ridiculous In manr countries , hut
which Is certainly not out of place III
'
poor } , distracted Cuba.
Senor Hoblado shows some relief °
when nSRl11'oli that the revolver which
he so quickly brings to light Is at once ,
matched hy every one of the others
lu'osent.
"Co811Ita ! n bravo collection indeed ,
sonars. With valiant 11I0n hehlnd them ,
I nm slue wo need have : little fear at
the result , unless- "
Time white its Irod nl'tlslnlld Spanish i
diplomat never I1nlshes that Iwntencc.
Whll\ ho Is in the midst of It , there
snlldonlj' salutes their Rlul'tlell cars n.
heavy , rmnllllng so111111. The very earth
seems (0 ( Clulvel' ( tinder their feot.
'I'h\11)(101' ( ! " exclaims Senor Hoblado
on the spur of time momcnt.
"nah ! look at the sky , " echoes
i
JncIe
Not a cloud IR to ho seen ; the silvery .
very stars peep down upon thom with
a brightness that has to by ( witnessed
In trolllcni clinic In order .
n ! to ho rtp-
prcclntell. !
"You are right-It ( cannot lJo thun-
dOl' . since there are no signs of n
stonn \Vhat , thou ? " says the senor ,
In no little excitement.
"Harle ! "
As Smithers utters the one word ,
they all strain their henrlng. A gentle
southern zOIlhy chances to ho blowing ,
rind this brings to their ears faint ,
far at'ny sounds that , while confused
at first resolve thell1f1elvos Into shouts
and rifle shots , together with all the
other various ! noises that signalize n
battle : roynl , ,
Senor Itoblado no longer gropes In
uncertainty lifter thc truth. It has
Unshed import his mind as the meteor
leaps through spuco.
1'01' Dies ! listen to that sonars.
Yonder mon neet In deadly stl'lfo. And
that fearful OXllloslon-I tell you It
was drnunilte. They have blown up
the train , these fiends incarnate who
fight against Spain ! " he cries In IL
husly voice , that trembles In spite ot
the mnn's positive nerve
'Under those conditions It seems to
me our accident , then , hits turned out
11 most remarkable llleco of good luck
for us , " remarks Jack , with n. coolness
that Is rofreshlng.
"Qulen sabo' ! At least wo are alive ,
and that Is f1omethln to ho thankful
fOl" But , gentlemen , I have reason to
believe they seek IlIO over yonder , and
upon ) learning the truth will como this
way In force. "
"That will ho bad , " declares Smith-
ers , who has hard work to hide time
i
grin that ( causes his facial muscles to
twitch.
"VCI'y bad Indeed But , senors , It' !
they should come , that Iii no reason
wo must give In like wealdlngs I myself .
self will sot you an oxamvlc They
shall only enter yonder carriage ,
where the ladles are , over my hody. " ,
( 'fa ho continued. ( )
Looking Ahe < ld.
l\Tabel-"Yoll don't know George ,
papa He's generous to a fault. "
\11' Nurox-"I'l1l glad to hear It.
Perhaps ho'll ho generous to some or
yours.-Judge.
The fool who knows his foolishness ,
Is wise at least ao far ; but a fool who
thinks himself wise , he Is n. fool indeed .
deed , I3uddha.
\Vo must climb before wo can have
our vlslons.-Dr. L. S. 1\1cCollester. \