CONCLUSION.
"Shure, an' it's more than I'd give for ye," laughed Dan Daly. "A
thousand dollars! Begorra, it's yourself won't be afther getting it."
And with these words Dan launched a terrific blow at the Spaniard
nearest to him. The man dropped.
"Shure, it's right I was."
Dan turned his attention elsewhere, and Young Glory was defending
himself bravely.
His comrades had heard the Spanish officer put a price upon the young
hero's head, and the horrible proceeding infuriated them. They flew to
his assistance, clustering around him to protect him from harm.
It was a terrible struggle. It must be said for the Spaniards that they
fought bravely. They vastly outnumbered the Americans, and this may have
given them courage. However, the end was near.
One after another the leading men in the Spanish ranks were shot down
and killed with the cutlass. The survivors began to falter.
"Courage!" cried an officer, dashing up and waving his sword. "Courage!
Stand your ground! Help is at hand!"
Those words stayed the retreat. Back to the rocks at the charge rushed
the Spaniards, some of them looking anxiously around for the promised
aid.
There was a wild cheer from the Spanish ranks now. Three large boats,
each filled with soldiers, swept round the point.
The Americans were taken in the rear now. Between them and the sea there
was no shelter.
Bang! Bang!
It was the Spaniards in the boats firing.
Up rushed Mr. Tyler.
"Lads," he said, "this place can be held no longer. We are between two
fires. There is but one thing to do. We must dash out of here, cut our
way through the enemy and storm the fort."
"Hurrah!"
The men shouted wildly. It was a bold plan, quite suited to the
audacious nature of these reckless sailors.
Over the rocks, led by the lieutenant, they rushed. Their coming had not
been expected by the Spaniards, and the consequence was, that they gave
way in face of the sudden attack.
In all directions they turned and fled, the sailors in their eagerness
dashing after them and cutting them down. The scene of the fight was a
ghastly sight now. All around lay the dead and dying, and every minute
added fresh victims to the list.
But now the men were recalled from the pursuit of the flying enemy to
resume the main purpose for which they had landed. This was to attack
and capture the fort and silence the guns.
Up the steep ascent they toiled, protected from harm by the trees which
covered the slope. As they drew nearer the batteries, they saw that an
almost impossible task was before them.
The walls of the fort were steep and high. The sailors had no scaling
ladder with them. How, then, could they hope to make a successful
attack?
This was the problem that confronted Lieut. Tyler.
"Faith, we can jump it!" cried Dan.
"Then you're wasting your time in the navy if that's so, Dan," laughed
Young Glory. "A man who can clear fifteen feet ought to go in for
athletics."
There was no holding the men back.
Furiously they rushed forward, leaving the shelter of the trees to
assail the fort.
Bang, bang!
The Spaniards had them at their mercy now. They fired from the rampart
at the helpless men below.
"Back!" shouted Lieutenant Tyler. "Back, I say! This is folly!"
It needed no more talking to show this. Already in this brief attack the
men had sustained a heavier loss than in all the fighting of the day.
"Where's Young Glory?" was the cry.
There was a look of dismay on everyone's face as they glanced round and
saw that he was missing.
"The boy gone!" cried Dan, frantically. "Arrah, then, it's meself's
goin' too!"
And breaking away from those who tried to hold him, Dan fairly flew till
he came to the spot beneath the fort where his comrades had just fallen.
"Not there!" he cried. "It's a prisoner he is! An' shure, how could they
take him prisoner? It's not one of them Spaniards has ventured out. An',
begorra, he wouldn't be afther takin' himself prisoner!"
Dismissing this last idea as unreasonable, Dan, who had miraculously
escaped the enemy's bullets, ran back to his comrades.
"It's the last we've seen of him."
Now, where was Young Glory?
In the attack that had been made on the fort the boy had been at the
extreme right--that is, the point of view nearest the sea. Whilst his
comrades were aimlessly throwing themselves against the walls of the
fort, Young Glory was otherwise engaged.
He had seen a figure emerge from the fort and glide amongst the trees at
some distance away. Quick as lightning Young Glory did the same. He
stole along towards the spot where the Spaniard had secreted himself,
and there was a look on the boy's face that spoke volumes.
"It is he!" he muttered. "I only saw him for an instant, but it's a face
I never forgot."
Bang! A man sprang forth, pistol in hand, and fired.
As he did so he laughed defiantly.
"Good-by, Young Glory!"
"You villain, I am not dead yet, as you shall see, Jose Castro!"
For it was the famous Spanish spy.
Quick as lightning, before Jose could fire again, Young Glory had sprung
on him.
"Give me the key!" he cried, holding the spy in an iron grasp. "Give me
the key, or I will kill you!"
"What key?" gasped Jose.
"The key of the door by which you have just left the fort. I saw you do
so. You cannot deceive me."
"And this is my answer!"
With these words Jose tore himself loose, and then an instant later, he
flew at Young Glory, knife in hand. But his foot caught in some
vegetation, and he fell forward.
As he did so, a large key dropped from his pocket.
"The key!" shouted Young Glory, making for it, with a glad look on his
face.
"You shall not have it!" cried Jose. "Death first!"
"Yes, death for you!"
Young Glory seized the frantic Spaniard as he struggled to reach the
key. For a moment or so, they swayed about on the bluff. Then Young
Glory, exerting all his strength, tossed the spy backwards, releasing
his hold so as to save himself from going with him.
Jose Castro went crashing down the bluff towards the sea and the jagged
rocks which lay below.
"The last of the spy!" cried Young Glory.
He did not press forward to inquire further into Jose's fate, but flying
through the wood at full speed, he burst in on his astonished comrades.
"Saved!" he cried.
"Saved, Young Glory! What does this mean?"
"That I will lead you into the fort, sir. Follow me!"
Stealthily the entire band, hidden from view by the trees, reached the
door.
"When it is open, dash in!" said Young Glory. "Not a moment must be
lost!"
The men were astounded to see him walk up to the door in the rampart,
insert the key in the lock, and open it. Madly they rushed through into
the fort.
The Spaniards were standing at the guns when this sudden attack took
place, thinking that the enemy was in front. They had no time to rally.
Young Glory leading, the American sailors pressed forward, cutting down
all in their path. A few of the Spaniards resisted for a few minutes.
Then they threw down their arms in token of surrender.
A number of them saved themselves by jumping off the rampart and flying
through the woods.
"The fort is ours!" cried Young Glory.
"The guns must be destroyed," shouted Mr. Tyler. "My lads, those
breech-loaders can be easily rendered unfit for use. To the work!"
Rapidly the destruction went on. When it was finished the American tars
poured down the hill again, took to their boats, and departed without
opposition.
When they reached the cruiser they found that the tide had flowed so
fast that the ship was no longer aground.
In a few minutes the vessel left the shores of Cuba behind, and was
steaming with all speed for Key West.
* * * * *
The gun-boat having already arrived at the last named place, the story
of the gallant fight at San Juan de Porto Rico was already public
property. A great reception was given to the Cristobal Colon as she
steamed into port.
Young Glory was fairly worshiped, for he was justly regarded as the hero
of the battle.
However, he was not inactive long.
In a few days he sailed with an expedition.
His daring deeds will be related under the title of YOUNG GLORY IN CUBA.
[THE END.]
[Transcriber's Note: The following typographical errors in the original
edition have been corrected.
In Chapter I, "to whom he addresed" has been replaced with "to whom he
addressed"; and "talking together exciteedly" has been replaced with
"talking together excitedly".
In Chapter III, "He's the only Captan Miles" has been replaced with
"He's the only Captain Miles".
In Chapter IV, "severl years in the west" has been replaced with
"several years in the west".
In Chapter V, "as the minutes past" has been replaced with "as the
minutes passed".
In Chapter IX, "fast as the Spanish crusier" has been replaced with
"fast as the Spanish cruiser"; and "damage had been done to the crusier"
has been replaced with "damage had been done to the cruiser".
In Chapter X, a missing quotation mark has been added after "treated as
prisoners of war".
In Chapter XII, "keeping trictly to themselves" has been replaced with
"keeping strictly to themselves"; an extra quotation mark has been
deleted after "what you can to repair it"; a missing quotation mark has
been added after "those fools are ignorant of it".
In Chapter XIII, "loud cry of derison" has been replaced with "loud cry
of derision".
In Chapter XIV, a missing quotation mark has been added after "you say
no, Young Glory?"
In Chapter XV, a missing quotation has been added after "on its way to
Key West"; "crusier lying off Mulas" has been replaced with "cruiser
lying off Mulas"; and "flag that's flying'!" has been replaced with
"flag that's flying!".
Also, the table of contents has been created for this electronic
edition. It was not present in the original work.]