Beadle's Dime Library No. 103 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

18 a a ee CHAPTER XXIII. A USELESS APPEAL. At a very early hour, on the morning follow- ing the arrival of the cruiser of Captain De Sil- va, in the harbor of Havana, a volante drew up at the ‘gateway of the Palacio of the Captain, or Governor-General of Cuba. From the vehiclea lady, heavily vailed, alight- ed, and gave her card to the sentinel, who dis- atched it by a sergeant in to the ruler of the ‘Gem of the Antilles.” In a few moments a young officer, in gorgeous uniform came forward, and bowing low, bade the lady follow him isto the Palacio. Ascending the spacious stair-way to an upper corridor, upon the opposite side of which was a grand hall-way, the visitor was ushered out i on a cool veranda which opened upon a lovely garden filled with orange and lemon trees, while the air was laden with the fragrance of innumerable and rare flowers. Numberless fountains filled the garden, cool- ing the air, and the trees were thronged with singing birds, which made the place a very Eden, in which to while away the sultry hours of the day. ben upon a willow settee, upon which were silken cushions, the Governor-Gen- eral was sipping black coffee, eating a hard, sweet biscuit, called a semil/a, and now and then giving a whiff at a Regalia—a cigar seldom seen away from Havana, and a luxury indeed to the smoker. As the lady approached, the Governor threw away his cigar, and rising, met her with extend- ed hand. ** Welcome, Senorita De Silva; this is indeed an honor. Be seated and express how I can serve you. By the way, allow me to thank you for your part in the capture of those pirates.” “It is of those pirates, as you call them, your Excellency, that I would speak—at least one of them,” said Rena, firmly. ‘* How can the Senorita De Silva feel interest in a pirate, may I ask?’ queried the Governor- General, in surprise. ‘*T feel the interest of gratitude toward one who rendered me a service I shall never forget. Your Excellency is aware of the capture of the vessel I came from Spain in, by Freelance, the buccaneer?” ‘* Yes, senorita, and that you recognized in the leader of these outlaws, one who served you; but what then, lady?” ‘‘Tt is your intention, my father tells me, to have them all executed.” ‘‘It is; at sunrise to-morrow they shall be shot; taken as pirates they shall beshot without trial. “There can be one exception, if your Excel- lency is so inclined to favor me.”’ ‘‘In anything but sparing the life of one of epi wretches, yes, lady; but not in that, not in that.’ ‘This is your firm decision, Kwcellenza?” **Tt is—irrevocably.” Rena De Silva knew the Governor-General too well to urge more, and felt that her appeal was useless; but she did not yet despair. ‘Still, your Excellency, you will permit me to visit the prisoner, and carry with me a holy father to cheer his last hours; you will not deny me this, senor?” : ‘* Assuredly not, senorita; they certainly de- serve all the consolation the padre can give them, for their sins have been great, and if the Senorita De Silva wishes to thank, in person, one who has, I admit, greatly served her, I will give her carte blanche to visit the Moro. ‘Don Fernando will be only too happy to have the sunlight of so fair a face shine within its gloomy walls,” nnoticing the compliment, Rena continued: **One favor more, senor Excellency ?” ‘* Name it, senorita.” **It is to give the poor doomed men a respite until to-morrow night, at sunset.” . Lyk senorita? Better have the matter over with.” ‘*No; let them die with the dying day, not with its beginning.” ‘“You have some motive in this, senorita, I cannot fathom,” and the Governor-General eyed her closely. ‘*‘ A woman’s motives, senor, are unfathom- able,” smiled Rena. ‘* Granted. From Father Adam to our day, no man ever fully understood a woman,” laughed the Governor. ‘We are discussing men now, senor; will you grant my ff samy ‘When I know what is the reason, senorita.” “That I cannot now tell, Kwcellenza ; but it is a good one, and you are assuredly not afraid ofa on that you refuse.” ‘‘ A girl is a woman, senorita, and Iam afraid of everything that wears a petticoat,” and his Excellency laughed half-seriously. Then, as if ashamed of his doubts, he con- tinued: ‘‘ Certainly, senorita; it is only a few hours, more or less, and I will grant it; but when the wretches come to die in the evening they will be sorry they were not executed in the oe Arig ‘True, and if led out in the morning, they a ee Merle, The Mutineer. would wish to live until evening, your Excel- lency.” “Pointed reasoning without doubt. else can I serve you, senorita?” ‘* By giving me the permit for myself and a padre to visit the Moro.” ‘* Ah, yes, I will order it at once,” and calling to a slave, dressed in muslin trowsers and jack- et, he bade him summon his aide-de-camp. The same officer who had ushered Rena into the presence of the Governor-General at once a How ppeared. ; ‘‘Senor Rafael, bid my secretary write a rmit for the Senorita de Silva to visit the oro, accompanied by one or more friends, for the purpose of seeing the pirates just incarce- rated there.” The officer bowed, and soon returned with the permit, and placed a gold inkstand, and quill n beside the Governor, who at once attached is name to the paper. Thanking him, Rena arose and departed from the Palacio, and entering her volante, drove rapidly away into the heart of the city. An hour after the same volante rolled beneath the massive gateway of the Castle El Moro, and drew up in front of the commandant’s quarters. From the vehicle descended a padre of the monkish order and the Senorita de Silva. Don Fernando Miguel, Colonel-Commandant of the Moro, caught sight of the fair form, as he was just entering his quarters, and came hastily forward. ‘‘Ah! the Senorita de Silva! lady.” He bowed low before the beauty and heiress, for he was a bachelor, under forty, handsome and a marrying man, if—he could marry a for- tune. Rena bestowed upon the handsome Spaniard her sweetest smile, and said, in her most dulcet tones: ‘*Senor colonel, I have come to see one of our prisoners—” ‘‘ Would that I were he, lady, be he whom he may!” gallantly said the commandant. ‘*T thank you, senor; but as this man dies to- morrow it would not be pleasant to change laces with him. I refer to Merle, the pirate of- cer— ** Ah, the mutineer!” ‘The same, senor; he saved me from a sad fate once, and in his distress I have come with a holy adre to cheer him by a few words.” ‘* Your bright eyes, Senorita De Silva, would unlock my lowest dungeon, and though against orders—” ‘‘ But I have here the permit I received from the hand of the Governor-General himself.” ‘*Ah, I had hoped you felt that with me I needed no order, senorita; I will send the guard after the—” ‘** Pardon, senor, I prefer to see him in his cell. I have a curiosity to behold the interior of this Your slave, gloomy old pile, Ah! what troops of ghosts must sheone these corridors at night,” and Rena shuddered. Calling a soldier the commandant bade him conduct the maiden and padre to the cells of the mutineers, for he felt that his presence was not desired. Through interminable passages, gloomy and eeeer | down stone stairways, and far from the light of day, the guide ed the way, until they came to a large room on the right. ‘* This is the d-room, lady; we will find here the jailer of this tier of cells,” and the sol- dier, excusing himself, soon returned with an old man, bearded and stern. ** Pedro, the senorita has orders from the com- mandant to you. ‘Thy servant, lady,” and the old jailer bowed. ‘““T would see Merle the Mutineer,” quietl said Rena, shuddering at the dismal surround- ings with which she was encompassed. Rilently the old man led the way along a nar- row passage, stopped at an iron door, and Ha a key from his belt placed it in the lock. There was a dim light within the cell—not from the light of day, but from a lamp swing- ing in the pa . ithin, a tall form sat upon a low couch, his face buried in his hands; but at the grating of the key in the lock he looked up. ckly, as his eyes fell upon Rena, he sprung to his feet. ‘* You here, lady, here in this—I almost said hell on earth?’ and there was a bitterness in the tones of the voice that bespoke a heart deeply moved. ‘Yes; you served me once, and I have come to cheer your last hours on earth. Jailer, I will call you when I need you,” and a purse of gold was thrust into the hand of the old man, A gleam of joy flashed in his eyes, and he said, as he turned away: ‘**T will be within call, lady.” As soon as he had gone Rena closed the door and turned the key in the lock; then she con- fronted the prisoner, upon whose pale face the dim light, penetrating the iron grating of the door, rested. ‘*Senor, I begged for your life, but it was useless, and to-morrow at sunset you are doom- ed to die.” ‘* So be it, lady; I do not fear death,” calmly said Merle. ‘* But you must not die, for I am determined to save you.” ‘** No, lady, you must not get yourself into trouble on my account.” “Listen, Senor Merle, since you saved my honor, nay, my life, for i would ‘era died ere I became the bride of that vile man—” ‘**Pardon, senorita,” and Merle spoke in the pure Castilian tongue. ‘‘ Pardon, senorita, you ne Yar the danger you were in, for no harm would have befallen you, upon my honor; we captured your vessel, and the men demanded that you should be held for ransom, for some of them knew the wealth of your family. ‘To this demand Captain Freelance demur- red, until he saw that trouble would follow, and then he said he would hold you, and the cabin was to be kept inviolate to you, as long as you remained on the schooner. ‘* But I, who told you that the chief said you should remain, was moved by your piteous face, and demanded your release of Captain Free- lance, by the love he held for me, ‘“* He yielded, lady, paying from his own treas- ure box, the ransom demanded by the crew, and you sailed in the same vessel that had brought you from Spain. No, no, lady, Captain Free- lance never wronged a woman, buccaneer though he was; he risked his life in the search for gold for which he did not care; but he was incapable of a mean action; he was a free-rover by force of circumstances, and for love of the wild. life of danger, he led it; had you seen him you would have known it to be so, but he was wounded when your vessel was taken, and his first officer was in command,” Merle spoke with warm feeling in defense of his dead chief and father, and Rena believed his words, and replied: ‘“T am glad to know that Freelance was not as black as he was painted; still, you served me, and I have come to save your life, senor.” ‘* How, lady, may I ask?” : “This holy monk is my friend—nay, I may as well tell all—he was my mother’s lover, but, when he found she did not return his love, he left the world for the seclusion of the church, = he is willing to serve me for my mother’s sake. **And for your own, daughter,” said the monk, in deep, et not unmusical tones, “Thanks, holy father, I feel that you will serve me, for you have proven it in coming here.” ‘“*Senor,” and she again turned to Merle: “senor, you are about the hight, and size, of the padre here, and it is my wish that you exchange clothing with him and leave these walls with me, for none will detect your disguise.” ‘* And leave him here to suffer when the cheat ~ Lady, tak *and M y, you mistake me,” an erle ke with offended pride. Cc i Nay, listen, no harm will befall the holy father.” ‘Lady, I know well the Governor-General— the padre would not be protected by his sacred position.” ‘Senor Americano,” and the monk threw back his cowl, the act displaying a pale, manly, intelligent face. ‘‘Senor Americano, years ago one of countrymen saved my life in Spain, when attacked one night by an assassin. ‘That debt is unpaid, and I wish to serve you that I may owe no man anything; also, I would serve this maiden, and when she came to me to- day and pr her plan I willingly consented to it, for [do not like to see any man die, es- ecially one who has we in his heart, and only “ knows what has driven you to the life you ead. The monk spoke impressively, and Merle quickly rejoined: ‘‘Tam no pirate, asI could prove, were we sent home to be tried; nor, in the strict letter of the law, am Ila mutineer. Listen, and I will prove that Iam not the heinous criminal men call me.” In a few earnest words Merle told the story of his life, excepting the fact that he was the son of Freelance the Buccaneer, and the monk and the maiden listened, well knowing that he spoke the truth. “Senor, you have been the toy of circum- stances. and you were not intended to die asa felon. Here, take my priestly robes and leave this dismal place,” ‘*No, f will not escape while another suffers,” ‘**Senor, I will not suffer; before I am dis- covered to be other than yourself, the senorita will see the Governor-General, and to-night I will be secretly led from this cell.” Merle shook his head dubiously. ‘Senor, Iam more than I seem—lI tell you no harm shall befall me.” ‘ ona Merle’s answer was a shake of the ead. ** Senor, I am a monk, yes; but I am also the brother of the Governor-General of Cuba.” The prisoner started, and Rena said quickly: ‘* Now, senor, that you know the holy father will be safe, you will not refuse my appeal?” “Yes, lady; I will not escape and leave one ‘S our was JOO! <eom (E (E@) ——————— ——