CAPTAIN DYNAMITE FINDS JUANITA
While these events had been transpiring in the Spanish town, Captain
Dynamite had not been idle. As the last man of the little Cuban army
filed down the mountain-side, he rose from his chair, and tightening his
belt stretched his big body as was his custom when any action was
imminent.
"Well, my lad, I must be off. There is no time to spare if we hope to be
of use. You will remain at Cubitas and when it is all over I will send
Washington and a squad to pick you up."
"Oh, no you won't, Cap. When it's all over I shall be right where you
are."
O'Connor could not repress a laugh. Mason bristled with indignation at
the thought of being left behind.
"There may be a good bit of fighting, my lad," said O'Connor.
"Well, I'm not spoiling for a scrap, but I can't stay behind when I may
be of some use to the fellows. Better let me go along with you, Cap, for
I shall be close on your trail if you don't."
"Suppose I have you locked up for safe keeping?"
"Now you wouldn't do that, Cap, would you? You can't expect a fellow to
sit still and chew his thumbs in safety while his chums are in danger.
You wouldn't do it, would you?"
"All right, youngster, come along. I don't blame you for wanting to have
a hand in it. And you may be of some use after all."
"I hope you will give me a try, Cap," said the Midget, straightening up
his small form boldly.
"Do you think you can stand the tramp? You haven't had much sleep and
you may not get any more for twenty-four hours."
"That little nap I got on the bench was as good as a night's rest.
Besides, this country is so strenuous one doesn't need much sleep
anyway. I think if I lived here long I should give up sleeping as a
useless accomplishment."
They started on down the mountain and before daybreak had overtaken the
men camped on the bank of the narrow stream where they were preparing
breakfast. O'Connor and Mason joined Gomez and his staff. They ate a
light meal and were ready for the march again. The men all seemed to
know O'Connor and the officers saluted him respectfully as he passed
among them. After a conference with the general the latter called one of
the officers to him, and said:
"Captain Dynamite is in command. You will take your orders from him.
With your company he will take the lead in the advance."
The man saluted and then turned to O'Connor for instructions.
"Report to me when you are ready to move."
"I am ready now, sir."
"Very well, detach your company and cross the ford. We will keep about
half a mile in advance of the main body until I give you other
instructions. Deploy your men in twos and advance as rapidly as you can.
You know the rendezvous and understand the necessity for caution. That
is all."
The man saluted and in five minutes his men were fording the stream with
O'Connor and Mason close in their rear. Across the open valley they made
rapid progress, the men marching in regular order, but when they reached
the wooded country at the foot of the next mountain the officer in
command gave an order in Spanish and the men deployed in twos and
disappeared like shadows into the brush. In a moment not a man was to be
seen, and as O'Connor and Mason entered the woods there was not even a
sound to be heard that would indicate that fifty men were making their
way through the thick bushes ahead of them.
The route O'Connor followed was not so precipitous as that taken by
Washington and they reached the summit of the mountain by noon. Still
O'Connor pushed on, stopping only to drink from a mountain stream and to
dash the cool water over his head and face, an example that Mason
quickly followed. They had scarcely spoken since leaving the ford,
O'Connor saving breath for the work in hand. Once or twice he had turned
to the Midget who toiled manfully on at his side and asked him if he
felt tired. Satisfied with the boy's ready answer that he was "all
right," he would plod on again.
They had made their way about a mile down the mountain side when an
officer stepped out of the bushes in front of them and saluted O'Connor.
"Well, what is it?" asked the captain in Spanish.
"A scout has brought in a prisoner."
"Who is he?"
"A boy. He is apparently faint from exhaustion."
"A boy?" said O'Connor, wonderingly. "I wonder if they can have
escaped?" He repeated the man's words to Mason who despite his own
fatigue, leaped and capered wildly.
"It's Hal Hamilton, I'll bet," he said joyfully. "They must have
escaped. Trust Hal to fool the Dons."
"He knows the countersign and your name, sir, and he keeps repeating
them in a dazed way. That's why the captain thought you might want to
see him."
"I guess it's one of the boys all right, but I wonder where the other
is. If I know them as I think I do one would not leave without the
other. Where is he?" he asked turning again to the man.
"About a mile below, sir. We found him lying in a little clearing."
"All right, I will go to him."
"Ask him how he was dressed," said Mason as they hastened on.
The man described the boy's suit as well as he could.
"That's Hal, sure," said Mason when the reply had been translated to
him. "Bert can't be far away."
"Did he have light hair?"
The man shook his head.
"Black," he answered.
"Pshaw, he's made a mistake. It must be Hal."
As they entered the clearing the prisoner sat with his back against a
tree. His head was turned almost away from them, but Mason recognized
the clothing and rushed forward with a glad cry.
"Cheer up, Hal, old man," he shouted as he bounded across the clearing
and dropped on his knees at the boy's side. He was on his feet in a
moment, his face scared and white.
"It's not Hal, Cap," he whispered as O'Connor approached at a more
dignified pace. "But he's got Hal's clothes on."
"What mystery is this?" said the big man as he strode around so that he
could see the face of the prisoner. The next moment he turned as white
as marble, but his eyes gleamed with joy as he sank down and took the
almost inanimate form in his arms.
"Juanita," he gasped. "Thank God, you are safe. Quick boy, some water."
"Thunder, it's a girl," said Mason as he stooped and looked into the
face that was now resting on Captain Dynamite's shoulder. He brought
some water in his cap and O'Connor bathed the girl's head and chafed her
hands until she began to show some signs of returning vitality. She
raised her head and looked around in a dazed manner. Then her eyes fell
on O'Connor.
"Michael," she whispered, and her head sank again on his shoulder with a
sigh of relief.
The men knew well the story of O'Connor's love and they silently
withdrew from the glade leaving only Mason and an orderly with the
strangely reunited couple. Finally Juanita was strong enough to sit up
and leaning back against the tree again, she smiled into O'Connor's
anxious eyes.
"I could go no further, Michael," she whispered, "but I thought you
would find me here."
"How did you escape, Juanita?" asked O'Connor, softly.
"Ah, yes, the brave American boys saved me. Oh, I fear they will suffer
much for it. I tried not to go for they are suspected already of being
Cuban spies and this will make it worse for them; but the one they call
Hal would listen to no reason, no argument. They had a friend in the
American consul, he said, who would look out for them and I--I was
already doomed."
"Doomed," repeated O'Connor, starting forward, his eyes snapping.
"Yes, it was to have been this morning at dawn."
O'Connor choked back something suspiciously like a sob and for a few
minutes neither spoke. The man was thinking with a chill at his heart
how near to death she had been. Then he beckoned to Mason.
"Come here, youngster, and hear what your brave comrades have been
doing. This is the young woman we set out from the _Mariella_ to save.
Your friends have done that nobly for us; now we must return the
compliment with proper interest."
The Midget bowed gravely and sat down on the ground beside O'Connor.
"They are resourceful youngsters, Juanita, as I have reason to know, but
how under the sun did they manage it? I see you are wearing the suit of
one of them."
"Their cell was next to mine. Night before last they heard me crying at
my window. They could not see me but they spoke and asked me what they
could do to help me. There was nothing to be done, so we talked and they
tried to cheer me up and in some way they learned who I was and
they--they told me you were safe and then I didn't mind so much. Then
the guard came and we had to go away from the windows. As one of them
jumped down from the table on which they had been standing, he touched
the spring of an old secret passage between the cells. The next day, I
don't know how, they got a pass from General Serano to visit the
American consul. The pass was good anywhere within the lines. That
night, just after dark, they touched the secret spring and rolled back
the rock between the cells and one of them insisted that I should put on
his suit and take the pass and escape. As I have told you he would
listen to no form of argument and in the darkness of the cell I put on
his clothes and he took my dress. I felt so strangely that I was sure
the deceit must be discovered at once, but no one questioned me from
the time I left the prison until I passed safely through the lines."
"Hooray for Hal Hamilton," shouted Mason, enthusiastically. He had
listened breathlessly to the girl's story of her escape and the part his
chums had played in it.
"But your escape must have been discovered in the morning if not before.
What were the boys to do then? How was Hamilton to account for the
absence of his clothes?"
"They would not explain that or anything."
"And why are they suspected of being Cuban spies?"
"Because they will not explain their presence on the island for fear of
endangering you."
O'Connor leaped to his feet excitedly.
"May Providence guard them until I get there. Juanita, our paths diverge
here again for a little time. My duty lies where those boys are
imprisoned. You will go on with an escort to the _Mariella_. She lies
safely in the old place and your mother awaits you there."
"Oh, Michael, how can I thank you?"
O'Connor called the orderly.
"Tell Captain Fernandez to send me a guard of ten men, all of whom know
the route to the lagoon, and tell him that one of them must speak
English." Then turning to Mason he said: "I am going to ask a favor of
you. I cannot take Miss Juanita on with me, nor can I leave her here.
Will you take command of the guard and escort her safely to the
_Mariella_?"
"Cap, I had hoped to get closer into the mix-up, but I see you are
embarrassed by the presence of this young lady and I assure you, Miss
and you, sir, that as a gentleman I am pleased to serve you both."