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“ST HAPPY DAYS ‘se
15
them with the captured Mauser rifles,
for horses, he had more than he-knew
*. whatte do with, but he held on to them
iin the hope of soon finding men to use
them, "As soon as the men were mustered
in hie detailed one man for each recruit, to
teach him how to aim, and fire, and was
, told that after five attempts if he failed to
hit a target the size of a man one hundred
“s yards away he would be dismissed,
. As each teacher had but one pupil it re-
. quired but an hour or two of time to give
the lesson in marksmanship, after which
pointed for them, including two captains
» - and six lieutenants,
ite’ now had quite a formidable force
with tivo pieces of artillery, and as it was
the only organized band in the province,
he knew that he would soon have Span-
iards after him from the four points of the
: compass. The trocha extended from the
‘north to the south shore, while large bod-
ies of troops were at Havana on the north
? and Cienfuegos on the s
» raphy: of the province, and knew that
there were but few roads through which
artillery could be moved with any degree
of speeé, hence he recognized the fact that
it would be extremely difficult for him to
_ keep his two field Pieces on a retreat, yet
. ko resolved to retain them just as long as
ie was able to do so, even at the cost of
. The first two days after the capture of
the oid sugar mill on the Mendoca estate
*,. Was spent in drilling his men so that they
would obey orders collectively es well as
individually, They proved to be quite apt
ia learning their lessons, because they
were now armed better than ever hefore in
their lives, and well mounted,
~ On the third day the scouts brought in
zepotts that a regiment of Spanish in-
_fantry was advancin upon him direct
from the trocha, which was some twenty
niulles away from the Mendoca place. On
_, at them over the level field where the sug-
arcane had been burned away, witb his
two field pieces,
y the merest accideut some of his men
found in the old sugar mi}l nearly a ton of
old trace-chains which had -been used on
the plantation before the war, They were
xery rusty, and would have been of but
» httle use on the plantation again,
+ When he heard it, though, he exclaimed:
he pe George, what a streak of good
ark |”
“Tow so, capitan ?” old Colonel Mariano
asked,
“Why, colonel | ten feet of chain fired
froma field piece is worth’ half a dozen
ti shot. Ihave been told by artillery-
er that the chain, on being fired from'a
Saiinou, stretches out full length and goes
Swinging around like a stick thrown by
the hand, and have been known to mow
dawa men as a scythe mows the grass,”
we Carumba !” exclaimed the old Cuban ;
y We will try it.”
“* Yes," said Tom, “but we must have
tivo or three of those big trees out there
cat down and rolled across the road as a
breastworks,.”
5 ‘.
: ‘on. opened on them at a distance of
- half a mile over a stretch of level field.
The first shot was too high, as he could
See no effect, but the second one got the
exact’ range, and the difference between
sola shot and trace-chain was soon seen,
. | He loaded and fired with great rapidity.
* while the Winchesters and’ the captured
Mausers kept dropping the Spaniards all
Rtong the fleld. Still the trained soldiers
ot Spain advanced steadily, and a shower
of bullets from their Mausers whistled all
- ahontithe little battery, killing two men
40°. y ounding a dozen others,
t !egan to look as though they could
ba stopped, and the new recruits be-
“an to show signs of fear. It was then
. that a new factor appeared upon the scene
_ inthe person of Nina Mariano, who dashed
_ tong the front of the line, erying ont; ~
‘Cuba Libre! Cuba Libre!" -
‘ CHAPTER X,
mH CAPITAN! EL CAPITAN ”—THE VIC-
te 4 ee
an ‘ TORY.
. Wien the young Cuban girl made her
.\Ppearance on the field the Spaniards were
~ Reb more than a hundred, yards away,
obedience to orders, after which he armed
outh,
He was quite familiar with the topog-|h
charging furiously. towards the battery,
She ran along the line, waving her hat
above her head, while the bullets were
whistling all about her,
er presence seemed to enthuse the
Cubans to a perfect frenzy of madness, for
they took up her ery of ‘Cuba Libre!”
and roared it out like 80 many tigers.
was close to the battery, when she sud-
enly burst upon him, a vision of loveli-
ness and of sublime courage. Ile was so
astounded for the first few moments that
he stood stock still gazing at her. Then,
as if moved by an impulse upon which
depended the result of the fight, he sprang
to her side, seized her hand and pressed it
to his lips, after which he drew his sword
and handed it to her. Without a word she
seized it and waved it above her head,
whilst he cried out to his men:
“Flecapitan! El capitan!”
The Cubans took up the cry and sent it
roaring along the line, and he again pro-
ceeded to feed trace-chains to the enemy.
Her grandfather, the old colonel, was
nearly paralyzed with horror when he saw
er.
Suddenly the Spaniards wavered under
the destructive fire poured into them b
both Mausers and Winchesters, and in
their efforts to rally them, the officers of
two companies got their men grouped to-
gether till they presented almost a solid
front to the little battery. Both the pieces
belched forth a charge of chains which
mowed down nearly fifty of them.
caused a sudden panic and the
next moment they broke and fled, throw-
ing away nearly two hundred rifles. It was
then the old ‘warrior Mariano ordered his
men to charge, and Tom promptly ordered
the whole line to follow lest it prove dis-
astrous to the old man,
As they broke away and swept past the
fair Cuban she started to follow them, and
forward and caught her around the waist.
*““You must not go, senorita,”said he,
“as it will now bea hand-to-hand fight,”
“Oh, capitan,” she cried, ‘thave we
beaten them?”
“Si, senorita, and but for you they
would have beaten us, as they outnum-
bered us nearly four to one, But why in
the world did you expose yourself to such
terrible danger?” .
“T couldn't help it capitan,” she said,
“when you and your brave men were risk-
ing your lives for me.”
While talking with the girl Tom kept
his eyes on-the field and saw that the Cu-
ans were engaged ina desperate hand to
hand fight with the enemy, who was still
falling back, Ile could no longer use the
field pieces, as in so doing he would have
killed as many Cubans as Spaniards, He
could see the tall form of old Colonel Ma-
riano darting here and there on his horse
directing the fight. . .
Just then two companies of Spaniards
were surrounded by the machetes and
they threw down their arms, crying for
quarter. The balance of the survivors
broke and fied in every direction, .
It was only by the greatest exertion of
the old warrior and Lieutenant del Pino
that a massacre of the prisoners could be
prevented. As it was, about one hundred
and fifty were captured, whilst nearly as
many more were killed and wounded, __
About thirty of the Cubans had been hit,
a dozen of whom were killed.
As the Cubans returned from the field
with their prisoners they saw Senorita
Mariano standing by the side of Captain
Tom, both leaning against one of the fleld
Pithe cry of “Fl capitan! El capitan!’
broke forth anew, and was kept up for
veral minutes, .
sen See, senorita,” said Tom, turning to
the young girl, ‘‘ the influence of woman on
man in the hour of battle; your presence
hearts of our men that nothing could with-
stand them; yet I would have preferred to
lose the day than to see you harmed bya
ullet.”
et.
“T never thought of the bullets, capitan,”
ied.
oe ee I,” he returned, “until I saw
you exposed to them; then a great fear for
your safety. overpowered and almost un-
manned me; in fact, it was only by the se-
verest exercise of will power that I was en-
abled to resist the temptation to spring
forward, seize you in my arms and bear
you off the field.” :
The face of the fair young girl flushed,
and a soft, happy light beamed in her eyes
as she listened to the expression of his so-
licitude for her safety. ,
would have said more, but at that
moment the old soldier, her grandfather,
dashed up on his horse, leaped to
ground, and caught her in his arms, ex-
aiming +
“My pet,you area true child of the
Marianos ; you are worthy of the name you
bear ;” and he covered the blushing face of
his grandchild with kisses,
“You have spoken truly,” said Tom,
“and it isa miracle that she has escaped
unbarmed.” °
Tom himself did not see her until she]e
would have done so had not Tom sprang |p
“So itis, capitan, but I cannot believe
that Providence willever permit the bul-
let to be molded that is to harm her,”
“Yet, colonel,” assented Tom, ‘“ we must
not permit her to imperil her life so reck-
lessly again.”
“It’s a glorious victory, capitan, and we
have captured two companies of the en-
my.
“That's good news,” said Tom. “Now
we must look well to keeping our men in
perfect control and assign details for bur-
ial, guard and camp duties.”
The victorious Cubans were soon rallied
and ordered into line again to support the
battery, as though a new force of the en-
emy was about tocharge uponit. When
that was done, Tom offered to escort the
young girl back to the mansion, where
as prisoners, but she declined to go, say-
ing she would stay there on the field until
all danger was over, and render what as-
sistance she could to the wounded.
Just at that moment she was joined by
her old nurse and her -husband, both of
whom assisted her in caring for the wound-
ed, whilst Tom and her grandfather paid a
visit to the captured Spaniards.
o their surprise, it was ascer-
tained that the colonel of the regiment
was wounded and lying on the field, whilst
the lieutenant-colonel was a prisoner, and
the major dea
It was a terrible slaughter! The fire of
the two brass pieces proved to have been
most destructive, They went in search of
the wounded colonel, and found him lying
where he had fallen. He was taken up
and borne to the old mansion, where he
was tenderly cared for.
The dead were buried before sunset, and
now Tom found himself encumbered with
about two hundred prisoners, besides near-
ly one hundred and fifty wounded, as the
result of the two fights at the Mendoca
ace,
“Colonel,” he asked of the old warrior,
““we have more wounded and prisoners
rocha,
“We have no means of sending them
back,” said the old man, shaking his head,
after which he added:
“They must come out after them.”
we They won't do it.
“T think they will,” said Tom, “as soon
as they learn that we are away,”
“Well,” said the old man, “ we can find
out by trying. The better way would be
to send them in by flag of truce.”
“Very well, we will do so, then,” and he
and wrote a note addressed to the com:
mandant of the Spanish post at the trocha,
stating that he had one hundred and fifty
wounded prisoners on his hands whom he
wished to return to their command, and
that he had two hundred prisoners who
were not wounded who had signed paroles
and were detailed to care for their wound-
ed comrades,
He then ordered a company under Lieu-
tenant del Pino to deliver the letter under
a flag of truce to the nearest Spanish post
on the trocha,
[ro BE CONTINUED.]
HO 0
NEXT WEEK! ‘*IN EBONY LAND; OR,
A YANKEE BOY IN ABYSINNIA,"* BY C,
LITTLE. ~
Answers to Correspondents.
Yo Correspondents,
Do not ask questions on the same sheet of pa-
per with mail orders, as they will not be an-
orrespondents, in sending a number
aid us greatiy by writing on
one side of the paper only. If this is not done,
questions will have to be rewritten by those
who sen em. NOTICE Ow n that
hereafter no letters will be answered unless ad-
dressed “Kp1ror oF Happy: Days, 29 West.
26th Street, New York.”
NOTICE,
Readers of Harpy Days who send questions
answered in this column should bear in
mind that Happy Days is made up and printed
wo weeks in advance of publication; conse-
quently it will take from two to three weeks
from the time we receive tho 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 toZhei£
questions in the next issue of the paper.
T. V. D.—Gold dollars of 1837 are quoted at
$1.20 by dealers, United States cents of 1837, in
fine condition, are worth from three to five
cents, -
W. IL. N.—General U. 8, Grant was the better
general of the two. 2 Your writing is excel-
jent, 3 General Fitzhugh Tee at this writing
j8 at Fernandina, Fla,
N.A,.T.—The Metropolitan Museum of Art
in Central Park, New York, is on the cast side
and the Museum of Natural History on the
west side. Admission is free, except on Monday
and Tuesday.
than we can take care of. We must pas| P:
role them all and send them back to the 6
A ReapER.—You will have no cause for com-
plaint in future, .
. YounG KLONDIKE.—The fare from San Fran-
cisco to Dawson City by boat, via St. Michaels,
is $300, including 150 pounds of baggage. Extra
supplies may be carried up to 1,000 pounds ata
bout ten cents per pound.
FRANK UBER.—To remove gunpowder from
thi treated by a competen
surgeon. There are several methods, depending
upon the condition of the marks. Ifthe marks
are not deep, and you are young, they may dis-
appear as you grow older.
Dusty DozEn.—To enter the Naval Academy
at Annapolis, Md., you must receive the nom-
ination from the Member of Congress from
your district. The term is for four years at the
academy and two years at sea. You are re-
0 pass a mental and physical examina-
rson—}
ut below the average, you have to rise at
5 A. M., you should retire not later than 10 P. Mf.
—9:30 P.M. would be better,
Tom Barry,
the following st %
Barrington; or, The Hero of No. 4,” “The ‘T'wo
Flyers,” “The Bo: Prospectors,” ‘The Nine of
Nineveh,” “The Prince of the Prai ‘he
Sawdust Prince,” and “Goliah; or, Fun on the
fo}
z
z
$
£
gs
3
=
3
8
2
3
e
g
3
8
ries upon receipt of the price. “Goliah” sixty
cents and the others forty cents each. Sent by
mail, postage free.
TIELLMAN.—Rear Admiral William T.
Sampson is commander of the whole North At-
lJantic Squadro:
avoid the use of tobacco or liquor in an:
and, if necessary, take a mild cathartic once or
twice a week. ‘The best way to go to Morris-
wn, N.J., is to take the cars to Newark and
follow the following route: Newar i
t to Milburn, to Chatham, to Madison, to
Morristown—a distance of nineteen miles from
Newark. The distance from Jersey City
Newark (eight miles) is poor riding; from New-
ark to Morristown is macadam, in good condi-
lion,
conn: vit ni
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., Bellevue
Hospital, New York City, Columbia College,
New York, Yale College, New Hay
and Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass, The:
eal ood colleges at Cincinnati, Ohio, a:
©
Bg
a e'
man, the large cities. All the leading col-
leges and universities have medical schools at-
C1] .
Youne Bon SamMpson.—We cannot state all
the facts you ask for, but
ve
and 38,000 werg killed
every year 14,000,000 lire ($2,800,000) on her army:
and na The French army costs every year
135,000,000; the navy, $41,800,000. The peace
‘ooting in the Russian army calls for the serv-
ices of 177, he army of Bolivia
costs the people of that impoverished country
800,000 a year. At Grayelott 320,000
engaged, of whom 48,000 were killed or
wouns i
QUESTIONER.—The letters ““M. O. B.” o
mi “money order branch.” 2
Both terms are used, but Webster gives the
preference to “Inclose” and ‘Inclosure.” 3
Anamatenr becomes a professional as soon as
he races for money, for pay or a consideration,
4 :
3.
An “immune” is a person who has had the
yellow fever, or is accustomed to the climate
where it is prevalent; a smallpox immune is
one who has had the smallpox in some form. 5
We presume that you have reference to ** boat
swain.” 6 The highest rank in the United
States Army at the present time is major-gen-
eral. 7 The three highest ranks in the navy
are respectively admiral, vice-admiral and
rear-admiral. 8 You can purchase russet pol-
ish already prepared much cheaper than you
can make it yourself. We have no recipe ex
cept for ordinary russet paste.
. Smoking in any form is injurious;
aeota the use of tobacco. Mat Pearl street, New
begins and ends at Broadway; look ata
street map of the city of New York and be con-
vinced. 12 Twenty-third street ferry is the
longest
(Several letters remain orer to be anawered
next week.)
moms
Cc. LITTLE'S NEW STORY WILL COM=
MENCE NEXT WEEK. DON'T FAIL TO
READ IT,
men were *
Leta a te Raed Oe pea