t
How Barrows Made Good
Short Story by
Bert Foster
(Copyright. 1903, by W. Bert Foster.)
L
KNKRAL AL.1'11 KL'S COMITON
f I swore steadily u 11 the way from
1 the gate to tho terraced approach
Is(l to the broad plaxza. Then the
1 BlKht of hlit daughter and Har
rows smothered the audible sounds of his
wiath, but his face was like a thunder
cloud when he halted before them.
"My I how hot you must be, general,"
aid Harrows, as though Ms own appear
ance of coolness in clean linen and a straw
bat was not enough to madden any ordi
narily warm man
"I am," Bald the old gentleman, convinc
ingly. "Something must have happened, papa,"
aid Mary, wonderlrigly.
"I've niado a discovery!" ejaculated the
general, vigorously. "I've found out that
you might as well try to make a seven
holed Hutu out of u pig's tail as to depend
upon a confounded whlppersnupper of a
college graduate to possess any common
atnsc."
"Oh, pupa!" exclaimed Mary, springing
up and looking from her wrathful parent
to llariows.
Tho latter did not change color. "I'd.
not expect It, then, general," he drawled,
most exasperatlngly.
At tlii t (ho old rr.an almost suffocated.
"Go- ro into the house, Mary," he Blara
tnered. "Mr. narrows and I have soma
business to discuss."
The girl turned pleading eyes on Har
rows. And as that young man was red hot
at the brutality of her father's speech, he
continued to .smile most sweetly.
"There is but one thing keeping me from
breaking your head and then inquiring into
tbe meaning of your late remark after
ward, general," he said, Ills voice low.
"And thut Is your age. I'm sorry you
haven't a ton."
"Hut I Bee you're turning my daughter's
bead, Jim Harrows!" snapped the other.
"I tell you, "right from this hour, you'll
keep away from here. And now we'll talk
business you an' I. And we won't talk
long."
"No, not long," said Harrows, getting up
and looking down upon the angry old gen
tleman from his height of six feet one.
Tho old man drew a letter from his pocket
and, unfolding it, placed it In Harrows'
hand. "You read that condemn ye! I
S'poKe you remember that ou sent that
load o lumber and Lady Bird down
there to Kusibe on your own responsi
bility?" "1 did. There was a sale for tho lumber
there. And you had told me to use my own
Judgment if anything turned up," finished
Barrows, in his unshaken voice.
"That lutr.!er's wuth seven thousand five
hundred," stuttered the old man, dropping
back Into familiar idioms of speech, "f say
Botiiin' of Lady Hlrd. You you "
"If I've made u mistake, I'm prepared to
snake good," Bald Harrows, proudly.
"llow'll you make good?" demanded the
general. "You'll never earn so much money
La your whole buy, dawdling oh, d n!
Bead that letter and seo what Hpero says!"
lie stamped up and down the walk. Har
rows looked at the letter received that very
afternoon by the Central American mall.
"Tho fat's all in the lire," read Harrows,
With uuwrlnkled brow. "You ordered Lady
Bird to Eusibe and Its captain would take
it there, despite my advice. Now Gen
eral l,aguerro has sprung his mine and
holds Kusibe and all the surrounding coun
try. As we got our franchise from Presi
dent Dlo Ulanco und paid him a good
round price for it, too we've got to slick
to him, and that means that Lady Hlrd
aud lis cargo is worth about 30 cents In
confederate money. Some of you people up
there in New Orleans had better wake up."
Harrows knew that the agent of the com
pany was a man not given to crying "Wolf!
Wolf!" when there was no danger. "Isn't
there a steamer Bailing in the morning?"
he asked.
"Terre. What do you wunt to do?"
"I'll go down myself."
"Not at my expense! Not at my ex
pense!" cried the general.
"Sir!" exclaimed the young man, wheel
ing on him at last. "You haven't money
enough to pay my passage down there
Bor to pay me for another day's work!
Hut I'll make good for this mistake of
mine and then the company and you c in
go hang."
"Tut, tut!" exclaimed the old man, more
mildly. "You don't mean to do anything
foolish?"
"You can apologize after I have come
hack and your boat and Its cargo are sifo,"
raid Barrows, shortly.
"Apologise!" shouted Compton. "Why,
rou you condemn you! You'll get Into
fell down there or be shot against the 'doba
wall."
"I'm not asking you to go my ball," re
turned Barrows, and walked away with
his shoulders very square and his head
high, But out of the tall of his eye he
saw a white dress and a whiter hand at
the end window of the house.
n.
They flowed him ashore at Euslbe. The
aptaia of Terre would cot come in loo
near, for several vessels had already been
seized by the redoubtable Laguerre.
"I'll stop for you on our way back In
a week," said the commander, good natur
cdly. "If you keep your mouth shut you
may be alive then."
"You needn't bother," said Barrows,
lightly. "I'll have steam up on Lady Bird
yonder by that time and will bring it out
myself."
As he drew near the shore he studied
the town itself.
It looked like an egg naiad a background
of green, adobe houses setting about like
hard-lolled eggs.
"There's the consul's office, sir," said the
petty officer, when the boat's nose grated
seat and addressed himself to his writing.
Barrows marched to the door which evi
dently led to the stairway.
The clerk did not move. But when be
flung oped the door Barrows found, stand
ing in the entry, a big. grinning, barefooted
negro, with a secondhand Remington on his
shoulder.
"Massa can't pass here," he said, in bet
ter English than the yellow boy possessed.
"Oov'ment set me bore to guard 'Merlean
consul."
Barrows said things and flung himself
out of the place. He wanted to think
the matter over and adjust himself to these
new discoveries. Euslbe was evidently not
New Orleans.
when you've got such a little scoundrel as
this Jennings to look to. If it ain't Imperti
nent I'd like to ask what brought you down
here at this time sir?"
"Why, our Mr. Spero wrote us of the
revolution, and that Lady Bird would
likely get into trouble. So I came down
to see about It."
"You came down!" gasped the purser.
"Why, yes. The general was mad because
I had put the ship In jeopardy, and I told
him I'd make good. Fact, Is, I'm here on
my own hook."
"You go home, Mr. Barrows," said the
other, solemnly. "You're no more able to
do anything here than I am."
"But both of us together?" suggested
"MR BARROWS AND I HAVE SOME BUSINESS TO DISCUSS."
on the strand. "But If he's like most of
them along here "
His remark ended In a grunt of contempt.
Barrows tossed him a silver dollar.
"You and the two men drink to my good
luck when you get to Blueflelds," he said.
"I'll beat you home to New Orleans."
Nobody disturbed him as he walked up
to the street fronting the water. He even
had hard work rousing a particularly
ragged specimen of negro to carry his bag.
He drew out of this individual, in lingering
dialect, the fact that Laguerre was nomi
nally In control of the town and coast.
"Are the ships really held In the harbor?"
asked Barrows.
The darkey looked a litt'e frightened and
shook his head vigorously. Oh, no! There
was nothing of the kind. Only none of the
"capitans" cared to take their vessels out
at present Barrows looked across at El
Moro, with its guns frowning from every
port, and something like a shiver traversed
his spine.
Now, Barrows had come down hero with
no more real Idea of what it meant to be up
against a Central American revolution than
he had of the tenets of the Talmud. "There
can't be really anything serious the matter
if our man Is still here," he told hlmse!f.
"The senor must send In his card," said
a haughty little yellow boy with a pen be
hind his ear, who occupied the lower room
in the consul's office.
"You tell the consul what's his name?"
"Senor Jennings."
"All right. You tell Mr. Jennings 1 want
to speak to him." He passed over his cird
fortunately a plain visiting card. He
cou'.d thank bis luck afterward that one of
the company's pasteboards had not come to
lleht first.
"Meester Ballows ve-ree well," said the
yellow kid, proud to flaunt his knowledge
of English.
He trotted up stairs. He trotted down
Bfnln. "Meester Ballows will tell hees
business to me," he said, smiling and bow
In "You go to well, I guess not! 8ee here,
you little monkey, is Jennings in?"
The boy nodded, su'lenly. He knew
enough English to be Insulted.
"I want to see him understand? You
tell- him I'm an American Just off a
steamer that sent me ashore. I've come to
Euslbe on business private business."
'I act for heem," said the clerk.
"Well, you'll not act in my affairs. I'm
going to see Jennln.es himself and he'll
hear from this through the Stat depart
ment, too."
The yellow boy went calmly Kick to his
His porter, who had gone to sleep out
side, was shaken into a moro wakeful
state, and showed him the way to a tavern
where he was given a room and bed with
out question. These people were too lazy
to be Inquisitive; or else Laguerre felt his
Btrength so great that he feared nobody.
Yet, the longer he stayed the more cau
tious he grew. He posed as a traveling
agent before the day was over. And he
never as much as glanced toward Lady
Bird.
He knew Captain Egbert. He had met
hlrn and his two officers. He wandered
about the town In the evening, hoping to
find them in some one of the cafes.
But there were few white men. So few
that his own presence attracted attention
and he finally went to the hotel and up
to his room, to get away from staring
black eyes.
There he hauled out his big meerschaum
and fired up. It reminded him of the col
lege gang, who had given the pipe to
him, and he wondered what they'd say
if they knew ho was so far away from
God's country.
And as he knocked the ashes from the
pipe after his smoke by the window, there
came a rap at the door, which opened be
fore he could speak. He sat up straight,
the warm pipe bowl gripped in bis hand.
"What's the trouble? What do you want?"
"By gosh, it is! was the relieved reply.
"Thought I couldn't have been mistaken.
Remember me, Mr. Barrows?"
"Ah the purser. So it la. Mr. er "
'I'eckham."
"Just so. Saw you before Iady Bird
sailed. How's everybody aboard It?"
"Ev'rybody aboard it is pretty blanked
Well, 1 reckon," snarled I'eckham, "Least
ways, they look so the dirty, yaller trash!"
"What!"
"Niggers. Laguerre' men. I'm the only
one outside o' jail."
"What!" That startled exclamation be
came tiresome before the purser's story was
finished.
There you have it, sir," he said, at lust.
"Just sheer luck took me ashore before
Lady Bird was gobbled up. And I've
been keeping rattier close to cover ever
since. The consul Is sold out body and soul
to I.aguorre. You see, he represents n gun
manufactory up north, and he's sold the
revolutionists their weapons. Only hopa
he doesn't know you are connected with tho
company. I've seen men shot for less."
"American citizens!" quoth Barrows, In
horror.
"Yes. That don't mean much, especially
Barrows.
"Don't you count on me. I'm going to
sneak away and get another Job."
Barrows looked at him. He felt Just how
little the tall man was.
"The boys will get out of Jail in time,
Laguerre is no fool neither Is his man in
Euslbe, Calllstro. He's a devil they say a
butcher. But he's no fool. As for the
ship, she's a dead loss. Laguerre is going
to win here sure. You take my advice.
You can't do anything for Egbert or for
the ship."
Harrows again denied blmjelf the pleas
ure of telling Peckham what be was. "I've
come here to make good." he said, having
filled his pipe once more and now Ighting
It. "Guess 1 11 (puff) stay (puff) awhile
(puff) longer!"
III.
The next day he absorbed gossip like a
sponge. There were plenty of people to
talk all he had to do was to listen to bad
Spanish and worse English. He learned
that the captain and crew of I,ady Bird
had been shut up as "filibusters." It was
claimed arms were found in the cargo of
the steamship, but the rest of the cargo
had not been touched.
He was told by one party that Laguerre
(to whom the ignorant already looked as
president or dictator, vice Dlo Blanco, put
out) proposed to build a fine new palace at
Serra Garda, farther along the coast and
that the expensive lumber which m ide up
Lady Bird's cargo would go Into that new
official residence.
"Not if I see It first," mutterej Barrows,
and he sat down and smoked again.
And as he smoked he saw a l.'ght-haJred,
pasty-faced, youngish man ccmo out of the
dobe house over the doorway of which
floated tho tattered-demalion American Hag
and approach a nearby cafe. Ho heard
one or two of the d igoes address i.lm as
"Senor Jennings,"
"Guess It's up to me to know, Jennings,"
muttered Barrows, rising and slipping his
empty pipe into the side pocket of his coat.
"Anyway. I've got about tired of this
Euslbe. There must be a change."
He strolled into the cafe after his fellow
countryman. Jennings was sitting at a
table in the rear of the cafe, but be was
not alone. Barrows selected a table at
which he could sit with bis own back to
tho light. He watched Jennings and his
friend, who was a dark little man. eager,
(Continued on Tags Fifteen.)
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