Adventure Magazine Cover — page 75: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Smooth-Bore Hermanos robbed of her husband on their wedding night was now a widow. ‘When I rode into town all in good order it seemed to me that there was a terrible change in the place. It took me about two minutes to find out that Mena-Mena had decided to go out to meet Ladriz, fearing I would get too much glory out of whipping Torres. He had made half a day’s march as if he were parading, riding at the head of the army with a band. Some of Ladriz’ scouting cavalry had swooped down and carried off Mena-Mena, his staff and the band. The army had returned. Mena- Mena was not much missed, but it was soon plain that, in Boca del Tocas, I could run a revolution much better without a candidate than I could without a band. ‘“‘Connel and I sat down in the Café de Angeles that night and it took a quart for me before I could laugh. It was funny though. From a military point of view I had the best army, the best record, the best position, but J couldn’t and wouldn’t be president! Nor would I make over- tures to an old traitor like Ramirez. No general with me was big enough. There was nothing to do but hold fast and whip all comers right where I was until something happened. The something happened quick enough. “The next day it was reported that Torres was marching on Puerto del No- gales. In four days he had captured the port, taken possession of the custom-house, sent an envoy to the United States repre- senting his provisional government, and was marching on the capital, leaving a famous European soldier whose name no- body seemed to get, in charge of the port and the custom-house. Torres was after the presidency. “What a fix that left me in you can see without smoked glasses. I could not march on the capital and take it without a candi- date, no matter how strong I was. I could not back up Torres without being asked and Connel and I used up all the whisky in Boca trying to figure out who was going to pay us and our men for our visit to the republic. None of us were that fond of travel and out-door life that we cared to sit around till a new president was installed and then be deported as dangerous to the public welfare. The native part of my army melted into thin air the first two nights after the news reached us. 639 “T was standing in front of the Café de Angeles one night, waiting for the hill to come around so I could climb it and go to bed, when I saw somebody I knew tramp- ing down the street with a Mannleicher on his shoulder. It was Joey! I had clean forgot to tell him about Abie. Then I re- membered it was queer that he had not been around to ask. I called him over. = Say, Joey, you know your brother Abie?’ ‘“ “Ves, gentleman.’ es Well, I forgot to tell you he got killed in that fight the other night.’ ‘“‘ “And please that is too bad, ain’t it?’ “You would have thought we were talk- ing about my brother instead of his. You could have put all the sorrow he showed into a chorus-girl’s sigh. J looked at him dumbfounded for a minute. Then he began to fiddle and shuffle around a little bit and finally he said: ‘You don’t make it to say anything about the insurance money, Gen’ral.’ “Oh, is that what you are thinking about! Well, here you are, Joey.’ And I pulled out the last hundred thousand of those ‘phony’ bills and passed them over. He thanked me and saluted fairly well, then went on. “‘T had cleared the wires behind me as I advanced and the next morning I got a shock over them. My operator called me and said the port wanted to talk to me at the wire. He explained that the cable was working from the port east to Esperanza and Esperanza was wiring west to me. “When the deuce did that start?’ I asked. ““*Why somebody has been sending cipher messages to the port for several days. They were on your blanks. I thought it was you.’ “‘ ‘Great Hellcats, no! but let’s see what this is.’ “And what do you think? Greetings from General Torres and an invitation to me to fight for the liberation of the republic from the tyrants that oppressed it and an offer of the post of third in command of his army! We talked back and forth for a while. He told me he was going to move on the capital in the morning—that his second in command was a very able soldier, states- man and financier and he was going to leave him in command of the port. I was to leave Connel in command at Boca del COMICLOOCKKS.CO |