Happy Days: Tom Taylor, The Boy Who Worried Blanco — page 3: what you’re looking at

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, + ¥; a ae x > 2 ° ee a Sa . s ‘ Ave + ae * 7 + - dozen of the enemy with a Winchester in your hands, it will simply be your own fault, of which you should be ashamed to the day of your death. Again let me warn you to keep cool, and aim well. Shoot the riders, but not the horses ; we want to get enough horses this morning to mount every man in this command,” By that time the roar of the rush of cavalry was load heard. A few min- utes more, and the head of the squadron appeared in sight, With the recklessness of men who had long been accustomed to ride down mobs of unarmed people, the cavalry yelled and eharged furiously upon the Cubans, ‘““Steady now, men,” sung out Captain ** Ready !” ** Aim |” _@ “Wire!” _« the orders, and the men of his command > ar | He was extremely deliberate in giving stood firm as they delivered the volley. The Spaniards tumbled out of their sad- dies by scores, and riderless horses went scampering in every direction over the field. Others pressed forward, and volley after volley from the Cubans met them in rapid succession. Such a murderous fire the cavalry had never met* before, and in and fled without having struck a single of the wounded, an CHAPTER IIL THE DEATH OF THE’SPY, AND THE TRAG- EDY WHICH FOLLOWED. Ir the Spanish cavalry were astonished at the destructive fire of the Winchesters, the Cubans themselves were more so, In ‘fact they were utterly dumfounded, for nearly one hundred Spaniards had gone down and lay weltering in the road, while as many riderless horses were scampering about on the outskirts of the village, The Cubans could searcely believe what they plainly saw, but it gradually burst upon them, and then they broke into yells such as might have been expected from so many lunatics. Captain Taylor and Lieutenant del Pino met and shook hands in front of the line of exultant Cubans, Suddenly ‘'om sung out to them: “We have won the daw Cubans; and won it by your keeping cool and obeying orders. ‘To obey orders is the first duty of a soldier. Stay where you are; don’t break your ranks, for they may return when we least expect it.” Then turning to the lieutenant, he or- dered him to take his men and catch the horses that were running about, adding at the same time: ** 7 will hold the line here to protect you against areturn of the enemy.” About ent horses were secured, a dozen of which had been hit by bullets, while nearly a dozen more had gone down onto the road under the volleys that had been poured into the Spaniards, It was the worst defeat the Spaniards had met within that province, while not a single Cuban had been hurt—all because the cavalry undertook to ride them down without firing a shot, The terrible fire of the Winchesters had so completely stunned them with its de- structiveness that they turned and fled without once thinking of returning the fire. Captain Taylor kept his command under aris all day, and at the same time was engaged in burying the dead, taking care organizing a mounted force from the captured horses, That mounted. force was to act as scouts until the entire party should be in the sad- dle. ~—~———sTn the excitement that immediately fol- — - jowed the fight no one noticed that the + ai. «i man Rodriguez was in the ranks with his rifle, and engaged in catching the horses. - Lieutenant del Pino, on seeing him, asked : **Where were you last night, Rodri- guez ¢” ; -*T was in camp, sir,” was the reply, **How is that?’ the lieutenant asked, **for when I looked for you you could not be found.” ‘What time did you look for me, lieu- tenant 2” S ag) "* 7. ie are he lieutenant immediatel ee > pacer meet -»** An hour or two after dark,” _ *T was out then,” remarked the man. 4 -~ ** But where were you?” .*T went to see a friend on the other side of the village.” s ** How did you get past the guard ? ~ *T passed ee in the dark, sir.” ** What time did you return ?”’ “Tt was some time after midnight, sir.” ~ ™ And you passed the guards in the dark ~ again?” ** Si, Senor Lieutenant.” placed him poard, and reported the matter to a Taylor. “Lieutenant,” said the captain, ‘I am tisfied that, fellow was the cause of the on us this merning by the Span- & —THAPPY DAYS Lf **So am I, captain,” assented the lieuten- ant, ‘‘and I think he ought to be shot.” ‘““Of course,” said the captain, ‘‘ The men must understand that this is a mili- tary organization, and that treachery will be punished according to the rules of war.” ** W hat shall I do with him, then?’ asked the lieutenant. ‘* Have him shot, of course.” “Shall he have a trial ?” ‘*“No; what’s the use? He has acknowl- edged to you that he left and returned to the camp, slippin by the sentinels with- out their knowledge.’ In the middle of the afternoon the lieu- tenant with a file of soldiers led the pris- oner to the edge of the woods, a quarter of a mile away, and there told him that he was to be shot for slipping out of camp and communicating with the enemy, ‘*T have not communicated with the en- emy, lieutenant,” replied the fellow. ‘“‘I simply went to see my sweetheart. I knew nothing about the enemy until they charged down upon us,” Nevertheless the fellow was shot and buried by his late comrades, and the file of soldiers returned to the camp. There it was told that he had been a spy, and had left camp the night before without leave of absence or passport, with the result of an attack by the enemy the next morning. News flew through the village of the exe- cution, and a little before dark a young woman, frantic with grief, ran- into the camp crying out: **El Capitan! El Capitan!” She was led by some of the soldiers into the presence of the young captain, where she cried out: **Capitan, is it true that Antonio Rodri- guez has been shot?” ‘‘It is true, senorita; he betrayed us to the enemy last night.” ‘*‘Not so—not so, capitan!” she cried, wringing her hands, ‘‘It was a horrible, horrible mistake; he was a good and true man! We were engaged to be married, and lastnight he came to see me, and we sat out under the stars until long past midnight for he did not know how soon he would have to march away with you—and now he is dead. Oh, my Antonio!” and she wrung her hands in a paroxysm of grief, Captain Tom turned pale as death. He half suspected that a terrible mistake had been made, Turning to the young girl he said: ‘*Senorita, your lover may have been true to the cause of Cuba, but he had passed from the camp in the darkness of night, slipping by the guards without their knowledge. That itself was a crime for which he deserved to suffer, but I was told by another young and beautiful senor- ita that he was aspy for Blanco.” **She told you that?” she cried, spring- ing up, glaring wildly at the young cap- ain, - ‘*Si, senorita. Three days ago she came here and warned us that Antonio Rodri- uez was a spy,and when he slipped away rom the camp last night we believed that her charge was true.” **Senor Capitan, I know her, She is Nina Martinez; she loved him, too, and has tried long to win him away from me, Senor Capitan, she shall die, too,” and with that she darted away with the speed of a fawn, leaving the young captain in a state of mind far from pleasant, ‘* Lieutenant,” said Captain Tom to del Pino, ‘* I fear that poor Rodriguez was the victim of a jealous woman.” ‘* It may be, captain,” replied the lieu- tenant ; ** but he left the camp last night without permission,” ‘Yes, yes,” assented Tom,’ “I'm sorry it happened,” The next morning after the visit of the young girl to the camp, the news came of a terrible tragedy at a little cottage on the roadside, a couple of miles beyond the village, where a young woman had rushed into the: house and stabbed to death an- other about her own age. Young Captain Taylor, when he heard it, understood it all, and deeply regretted that he had been in a way, though inno- cently, connected with the causes that led up to it, During the day a Spanish cavalryman was captured in the woods near where the light took place by some of the scouts, When he was brought in Tom shook hands with him, saying: “I’m glad tosee you. I want tosend you to Havana with a note to the captain- general,” and he instructed the lieutenant to keep charge of the prisoner and to pre- mare the letter he wished to send to 3lanco, Half an hour later the letter was ready, and Tom handed it to the prisoner, saying as he did so: “When you give this to the captain- general, just say to him that you saw me, the letter will do the rest.” Then turning to the lieutenant, he in- structed him to see that the prisoner was mounted and started on his way unmolest- ed by any of the Cuban forces, Scarcely had the lieutenant departed on his mission, ere an old man, whose hair and beard were white as snow, appeared r before the young ‘captain, leading by the hand the most beantiful young girl he had ever beheld, {TO BE CONTINUED. } ——- em mee NEXT WEEK? ‘*A PAPER OF HIS OWN; OR, HOW PHIL BRICHT BECAME AN EDITOR,’’ BY C. LITTLE. Answers to Correspondents, To Correspondents, Do not a8k questions on the same sheet of pa- per with mail orders, as they will not be an- swered. Correspondents, in sending a number of questions, will aid us greatly by writing on one side of the paper only. If this is not done, questions will have to + rewritten by those who send them. NOTICE is now given that hereafter no letters will be answered unless ad- dressed “EpiroR OF Happy Days, 29 West 26th Street, New York.” NOTICE. Readers of HAPPpy- DAYs who send questions to be answered in this column should bear in mind that HAPPpy DAyYs is made up and printed two weeks-in advanceof publication; conse- quently it will take from twoto three weeks from the time we receive the questions before the answers will appear in print, and should the questions require any special research it may take longer. If readers will take this matter into consideration, they will readily see the fol- ly of requesting us to put the answers to their questions in the next issue of the paper. HORSEMAN.—We have just published postage stamp flirtation; you can find 197 of this paper in answer to “F. A. J. TALL Bitu.—There is no premium on the United States 3-cent pieces of 1852-’53. 2 A United States dollar of 1799 is quoted at from $1.15 to $1.50. 3 A Hebrew shekel equals about 54 1-2 cents in our money. H. E. B.—There are dealers in all large cities who buy and sell stamps and,coins. We cannot publish their names and addresses in this col- umn. You can find such addresses published in the advertising columns of any philatelic paper. A. J. MAx.—There isno premium on a dime of 1823. 2 We cannot say what premium there ison the shilling you mention, as you do not sufficiently describe it. If you refer to an En- glish shilling of 1865, it bears no premium; its exchange valueis about twenty-four cents in our money. SAM.—The story “Smart and Sharp; or, in Business on Wheels,” by Sam Smiley, was pub- lished in Nos. 161 to 172 of this paper; the com- plete story will cost you sixty cents, postage free. 2 We cannot supply any numbers of Happy Days from No. 1 to 134 inclusive, as ney are out of print. 3 The Oregon is consid- ered the best battle ship in the United States Nawy, although the Iowa is a trifle longer. The Oregon, Massachusetts and Indiana are sister ships. LkIF THE BIKER.—We have no recipe for making black bicycle enamel. You can buy it for from fifteen to twenty-five cents per can al- ready prepared; this is much cheaper than you could make it in small quantities, and it is fully guaranteed to do the work satisfactory. 2 We cannot make any alteration in the manner of making upthis paper. 3 You can take a four y ars’ course at Yale, Harvard, or any of the eading colleges, and if you are very economical you might get through with from $2,000 to $2,500. This includes the tuition fee, books, board and clothes for the whole term. the it in No, Happy Days READER.—In asking questions to be answered in this column, you must take into consideration that two numbers of this pa- per are already printed when your questions are received, consequently we omit answering all questions relating to the contents of Happy DAyYs that would be published before your an- swers would appear in print. You can find the answer to your question in No. 197 of this paper, issued on July 9th. 2 The story you inquire about is founded on facts, which are written up in an interesting and attractive style, The mere narrative of facts would be very short and uninteresting to the general reader. 3 His grade and nameis Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, Horet WILLIAM.—‘‘ Buffalo Bill’’ (Wm. F. Cody) was born in Iowa in 1845; he is still liv- ing. 2 We cannot say where Jesse James ob- tained his horse, Siroc. 3 Jim Cummins seems to have sunk out of existence during the last few years. We cannot say whether he is living or dead. 4 The New York Baseball Club won the League pennant in the years 1888-’89. 6 The word ‘‘dank” signifies moisture, humidity —also is the name of a small coin of Persia. 6 The five largest cities in the world are London, New York, Paris, Berlin and Canton. 7 We cannot find any record of the tug-of-war match you refer to, but will try and find out and pub- ish inafuture number. 8 The college 8-oared boat race was won in 1894-’95 by Yale, Cornell was not entered. J. J. M.—You can study medicine under the direction of a competent physician, who will designate the best books to study, but you will have to take several terms at a College of Medi- cine soas to graduate and receive a diploma, without which you could not practice. Consult some good physician, who will advise you as to the best course to pursue. You may be able to et some works on medicine at Pratt’s Institute ibrary, or at the Brooklyn Library, but we cannot say whether you can get the necessary books required in the first study of medicine. The New York Academy of Medicine, Borough of Manhattan, has a library of forty thousand volumes, which are free to members. We do know of any place where you can study medi- cine evenings free of charge. (Fer additional correspondents see 15th page. A LITTLE FU N. - Ee —_——$— — —$ —— Languid Luke—Wot did ye do wid de watch ye swiped? Lazy Lawrence—Trowed it away. ‘*Whaffur? Wan’'t it no good?’ “It was good ‘nuff, but it run down an’ wouldn’t go without Windin’ agin.” The Mother—I want to buy a dog for my little girl. Is that flerce-looking animal of yours really fond of children? The Dog Fancier—He is indeed, mum. He came near eating two of my little ones yesterday. ‘*Do you expect to get a chainless bicycle?” “No. I’ve been in training to get along without one.” “In training? What do you mean?” “T’ve worn my last year’s straw.hat all right, and I guess I’ll be able now to go it one season behind the wheel styles.”’ During a severe thunderstorm, Donald, aged seven, was told to remember that God watched over him and would not let him be harmed. ‘““That’s all very well,” retorted the embryo man, “‘butin such astorm asthis God hasn’t time to think of little boys.” Traveler (in country town)—What’s the mat- ter with the people of this place? Is there some sort of an envidemic raging here? I see that nearly everybody has wads of cotton stuffed into their ears. Native—No, they ain’t nothin’ the matter with us specially. Thisis our brass band’s regular night for practicin’, Davis has just purchased a house om Long Island. The other day Perry dropped into his office and found him swinging Indian clubs and with a pair of dumb-bells at his feet, *‘ Ah,” said Perry, “‘ getting ready for carrying home bundles?’ ‘*No,” replied Davis; “for people that make fun of the bundles.”’ Banks—I see that somehody has invented a sail which will enable a bicycle to run before the wind at the rate of fifteen miles an-hour. Harper—Gee! Wouldn't that come in handy if somebody could turn in now and invent a con- trivance of some kind to make the wind oceca- sionally blow in the direction a person wants to ride. ‘* Here’s a case,”* she exclaimed, indignantly, looking up from her paper, *‘of a man who act- ually had the nerve to put his wife on an allow- afice of ten cents a day!’’ ‘‘What did she do with it all?” he asked absent-mindedly. It was several hours before she felt that she was calm enough to discuss matters with him dispassion- ately. ‘““Mistah Pinkley,” said Miss Miami Brown, ‘“‘ what is dis here diplomacy?’ “* Well, I dunno whethuh I kin transparify de question so’s you'll see froo it. But ef de lan’lord come ’roun’ foh de rent, an’ I says I ain't gwinter pay it, why, I gits putout. But ef 1 tells ’im ter come roun’ nex’ week, an’ nex’ week tells ’im ter come ‘roun’ ag’in, an’ so on, dat’s diplomacy,.”’ > o- @— 4 INTERESTING ITEMS. — a a Adolph Toepperwein, San Antonio’s marvel- ous young rifle shot, has just performed another of his astonishing feats. With a .22-caliber rifle he stood at a distance of twenty feet from a double thickness of heavy paper, about three feet long by two feet wide, and shot on it the outlines of an Indian’s head. It took exactly 152 shots to do the trick. It was a free-hand drawing, as the figure was not traced on the yaper beforehand. This made the feat especial- ly difficult, as “‘Tep’’ had to place every shot with reference to where its predecessor had gone, and where all the following shots were to go. In other words, he had to have every de- tail of the “‘“drawing” planned out and con- stantly in his mind’s eye while he was shooting. One shot fired a fraction of an inch wild would have spoiled the whole picture. In connection with the present great national crisis, it is of interest to note that April is the fateful month of American history. The War of the Revolution began in that month, the bat- tle of Lexington having been fought on April 19. Washington was inauguraed and our con- stitutional government began April 30, 1789. The War of 1812 was declared formally on the 19th of June, but the first important act of our government which preceded and led to it was the act passed April 4, laying an embargo for ninety days on all British vessels in American. ports. The oecupation of Mexico by this coun- try began in the fall of 1845, but the first blood actually shed in the Mexican War was on April 26, from which date the military aistory of the conflict really begins, The Black Hawk, Cher- okee and Seminole Wars were declared in April. The firing on Fort Sumter, which ush- ered in the Civil War, was on April 2, 1861, and Lee surrendered at Appomatox, four years later, on April 9, 1865. Lincoln was assassin- ated April 14, War was declared with Spain on April 25 0f the present year, and Matanzas was bombarded April 27th. An interesting illustration of natural engi- neering is the well known heavy dyke on the Holland coast, which was built by the winds themselves. The sand, formed between the jetties, becoming dry in sunny weather, and the surface blown ashore on the wind blow- ing in that direction, it was desired to build a strong dyke to connect with the sand dunes, and this was accomplished by setting in the sand, in rows about one foot apart, tufts of dune sea grass near by. The tufts thus placed consisting simply of little handfuls of grass, were put, each one, into a cavity dug out with the hands, the tuft_ being set into this and the sand pressed around. The whole surface of the dry, sandy beach above high tide was covered with this plantation, and just back of it, at the highest point of the existing sandy area, one or two rows of reeds were set in the sand, their tops cut off and the stalks left standing about four feet above the sand—the latter rifting along over the surface, catching and in one day almost burying the tufts of grass and standing up one foot along the row of reeds; then anoth- er plantation being made, and another, a mas- sive dyke was thus built up to the height of the ap yoining dyke. In high storm tides the waves eat into the toe of the slope and pull down the sa