"DO NOT ALLOW THAT VILE WRETCH TO CARRY OUT HIS BASE DESIGNS!"
So well had the old general planned his attack upon the rebel camp, so
silently had his orders been issued and obeyed, that nearly every one
was taken by surprise. There had been shouting outside, but very little
firing, and the noise had been drowned by the spirited playing of the
wedding march by the band, anxious to do its best.
As General Corona issued his command he rushed into the tent and up to
Estella's side. Pulling a pistol, he presented it at Howard's head.
"Do you surrender, you villain, or will you take the consequences?" he
rudely demanded.
"Father, do not shoot!" gasped Estella, and threw herself upon her
lover's breast, as if to shield him from her parent's wrath.
"Estella, leave that wretch--leave him at once!" roared the aroused
old man. "Oh, that my own flesh and blood should so disgrace me!"
he moaned. "Back, all of you!" he went on, to the crowd that surged
around. "Do what you will among yourselves, but if you respect the
feelings and rights of an old man and a soldier, you will leave this
hound to me! The quarrel is between him and me. If you have a spark of
manhood in your veins defend yourself!"
He threw his pistol aside, and with the point of his sword touched the
hilt of Howard's weapon. The movement was suggestive. The blood mounted
to the young war correspondent's face, and on the impulse of the moment
he drew his shining blade. There was a sharp clash, as the two blades
crossed each other, and those within the tent forgot their own quarrel
as they gazed upon the strange and thrilling tableau thus presented.
"Ha! you have something more than water in your veins, you cur!"
shouted the general. "Very well; I would rather fight a rascal with a
spark of courage than a mere dog!"
"Father!"
"Silence, Estella! Some day you will thank me for saving you from the
wiles of this villainous American. I know and understand his character
far better than you."
Click, crash, click! went the two flashing blades. The general made a
savage thrust, but Howard parried the attack; yet he did not attempt to
thrust in return.
"Oh, Howard! do not harm my father!" burst from Estella's lips.
Ere her lover could reply her father made another lunge. There was a
clash, and on the instant her father's blade went spinning from his
hand. Instantly Howard allowed his own sword to drop to his side.
"General Corona, let this teach you that I can defend myself with the
sword as well as defend myself in other matters," said the young war
correspondent, with a pale but determined face. "Arm yourself, again,
if you wish; but, out of respect for your daughter, I will fight with
you no more."
The general started back. His face turned red and his eyes dropped as a
soldier handed him his sword. Estella gave her lover a grateful look,
one that he long remembered. Then came a rush from outside, the tent
was thrown down, the lanterns were extinguished, and in an instant
Howard found himself in the midst of a body of Spanish soldiers, all
bent upon either killing him or making him a prisoner.
Although startled by the unexpected turn of affairs, the young war
correspondent kept his wits about him, and fought long and well to save
himself and a portion of his command, for his own soldiers were but a
short distance away.
At the first indication of a surprise, Captain Martinez had slipped
away, and now he was also doing heroic work in rallying the surprised
men. He was as brave and full of fire as Howard, and, between them they
soon brought the men out of the panic, and then the battle began in
earnest.
The darkness favored the rebels, otherwise they would have been quickly
decimated. But they knew the ground better than did their enemy, and
withdrew to strongholds in vales and woods, and inside of an hour
from the time the attack was commenced, the tide of the encounter
turned, and the Spanish troops were on the defensive. Then came the
reinforcements Captain Martinez had expected for an attack upon the
place, and the soldiers of Spain were put to flight.
It would be needless, in a tale like this, to relate the particulars of
what followed. How the fighting was carried on all night, and how, at
sunrise, the place itself was forced to surrender. The slaughter was
great, but the victory was complete, and once again the rebels made an
important advance in their victorious march westward.
Long before the place was under complete subjection Howard set out to
find Estella and her father. What had become of his sweetheart in that
awful moment, when the tent was torn down, he could not imagine, and
his heart was full of fears for her safety.
On his return to headquarters, after a search lasting several hours,
he chanced to pass by a long, low hospital tent, where that worthy
institution which flourishes all over the civilized world--the
Daughters of the Red Cross--were caring for the wounded and dying. He
heard his name called by one of the nurses, and in a moment more he
found himself in General Corona's presence. General Corona was wrapped
in bandages, and his face was as pale as death itself. That he had
suffered intensely was plainly evident.
"They tell me I am dying," were his low, hoarse words which startled
Howard. "I have been shot in three places. Where is my daughter?"
"I do not know, General Corona. I have not seen her since we parted in
the tent."
The old man's eyes looked at the young war correspondent keenly for a
moment.
"You are telling the truth, Señor Sherwood?"
"I swear it!"
The general drew a short breath, then gave a gasp.
"I--I believe you. You--you--are more of a man than I dreamed you were."
He was evidently referring to the duelling episode, and Howard did not
answer. There was a moment of painful silence.
"What do you suppose has become of my daughter?"
"I cannot imagine, sir. I sincerely trust she escaped injury, and is
safe. I imagined she was with you."
"She was; but when the tide of battle turned I left her in Lieutenant
Mazenas's charge."
"Mazenas!" Howard uttered a groan that did not escape the attention of
Estella's father. "Sir, you say I am more of a man than you supposed.
Why will you not believe me when I tell you that that fellow is one of
the greatest rascals unhung. I will prove my words, if you will but
give me a chance. Stop!" he went on, as General Corona was about to
speak. "I must tell you all, so that you will have the opportunity to
judge me fairly ere you die. Will you listen?"
"Go on," the general said, harshly, his lips quivering with agitation.
Drawing up a camp stool, Howard proceeded to tell his story from
beginning to end; how he had left New York with the double purpose of
serving the Press Association and of unearthing the fraud in connection
with his Uncle Robert's estate, and of all the many surprising things
that had happened since, including the story of the attempted poisoning
by Captain Nocolo and Lieutenant Mazenas, and of how the latter was
suspected of issuing a forged order to the rebel guerillas to burn the
Corona plantation.
General Corona listened with interest; several times he wished to
interrupt, but Howard made him listen to the very end.
He had about concluded, when there was a slight commotion, and four
soldiers passed, carrying a man on a stretcher.
"Nocolo," murmured General Corona. "Heaven has sent him here to testify
for or against you."
Howard leaped up, and saw that it was, in truth, Captain Nocolo, who
lay in a dying condition, shot through the lungs. He motioned the
soldiers to bring their burden to General Corona's side.
Nocolo scowled as he saw Howard, and the scowl deepened as he gazed at
the old general. Then suddenly a crafty look came into his face.
"You are badly hurt, Nocolo, I see," said the general, seeming to gain
temporary strength. "Señor Sherwood has been telling me strange stories
of yourself and Lieutenant Mazenas. Have you anything to say before
they take you away?"
The captain gasped for breath, then he scowled again. Evidently he
wanted to say something, but did not know how to begin. Finally he
burst out:
"Yes, I'll speak. They tell me I'll be dead by night, so I suppose
I had better free my mind. I don't love you, and I don't love this
American; but I have reason to hate Lieutenant Mazenas more deeply
than I detest both of you." He grated his teeth. "Dios! I, a captain,
to play second fiddle to him, a mere lieutenant! Corona, take my
advice, and don't let Mazenas marry your daughter. He is a swindler,
a liar--nay, a perjurer. It was he who issued the order to burn your
plantation and tried to lay the blame on Sherwood here."
"Ha! are you telling the truth!" burst from the veteran's lips, and he
half raised himself from his cot. "Don't stain your dying soul with a
lie."
"As Heaven hears me, I speak the truth. I do not love Sherwood, as I
said before; yet let me confess that he told the truth when he said
I and Mazenas were defrauding him out of his uncle's estate." Nocolo
turned to Howard. "Take the papers from my pocket; they will help you
to bring Mazenas to justice. Ha! ha! he must not escape! He must not
escape! Promise me you will hunt him down--promise!"
"I promise," responded Howard, readily, and as the words were uttered
the captain fainted.
The attendants rushed up, but could do little for him. Half an hour
later he was dead.
Captain Nocolo's confession, and a reading of the papers found upon his
person, produced a great change in General Corona. He asked for a drink
to stimulate him, and then called Howard closer.
"Señor Sherwood, I have deeply wronged you; I have also wronged my
daughter," he said, brokenly. "Would to Heaven I had had my eyes opened
before! But now, now----"
His voice broke, and he could not continue.
"It is not too late to make amends," said Howard. "I will procure the
best physician in the city to attend you, and I will begin the search
for Estella----"
"Yes! yes! save her! Dios!" The general gasped for breath in his
excitement. "You do not know all. I trusted Mazenas in everything.
He has possession of many of my private papers, and should I die he
will come into possession of all my property, and Estella will be left
a beggar, unless he forces her to marry him, and he has my written
permission to do even that! Sherwood--Howard--if you really love my
daughter, save her! Do not allow that vile wretch to carry out his base
designs!"