TH E LAST 
 
 OF THE 
 ARAWAKS 
 
 FREDERICK 
 A.OBER 
 

THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
The Last of the Arawaks 
 

ARTHUR SPRANG FORWARD. 
 
The Last of the Arawaks 
 
 A Story of Adventure on the Island 
 of San Domingo 
 
 BY 
 
 FREDERICK A. OBER 
 
 AUTHOR OF "CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES," CRUSOE* S 
 
 With Illustrations by William F. Stecher 
 
 BOSTON AND CHICAGO 
 
 W. A. WILDE COMPANY 
 
 1901 
 
Copyright, rgoi, 
 
 BY W. A. WILDE COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE ARAWAKS. 
 
 * -..* 
 
Preface. 
 
 IN selecting the island of Santo Domingo as the 
 scene of the adventures described in the following 
 pages, the writer had in mind many things besides 
 the adventures and the adventurers themselves. He 
 determined to locate his heroes on this island, which 
 of itself was intrinsically interesting; and surely 
 there is no other surpassing, perhaps even equalling, 
 in importance to Americans that of Santo Domingo. 
 
 Nearly twenty-five years ago, when he himself was 
 a boy in years and perhaps in indiscretion, the writer 
 went to the West Indies in search of birds for scien 
 tific purposes. There he passed two of the happiest 
 years of his life in the woods and mountain wilds, 
 and that his time was not actually wasted, the dis 
 covery of more than twenty species of new birds 
 attests. The memory of those years, with its recol 
 lection of strange scenes, its suggestions of dense 
 forests, silver-sanded beaches, thick-set jungles, semi- 
 savage peoples, and ferocious animals, comes to him 
 now as the richest experience of his life. Nearly 
 a quarter-century has slid by into the past since 
 this eventful chapter in his life was opened ; but 
 youth is perennial if one can but keep with him the 
 memory of days spent close to Nature s heart, and 
 
 5 
 
 M314QG5 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 in the adventures of the two boys herewith given the 
 writer lives over again the days that are gone. 
 
 As he has been over almost every acre of the 
 ground described, has followed Columbus from his 
 initial landing-place in the New World throughout 
 his devious wanderings in this hemisphere, and has 
 voyaged repeatedly to the West Indies, first as a 
 naturalist, and later in an official capacity sent by 
 his Government in search of historical information 
 to be utilized at the great Columbian Exposition, he 
 knew the locale of their happenings thoroughly, and 
 when their crude story fell into his hands felt that he 
 ought to be able to shape it so as to be interesting. 
 
 Whether he has failed or not, and that is a mat 
 ter to be decided by every reader personally, he 
 feels constrained to add, in explanation (but not in 
 extenuation), that through it all he has been true to 
 his ideals. He believes that mere happenings of 
 themselves are in a measure worthless without a basis 
 of truth and history. He has tried to interweave 
 historical facts with the tale of adventure so closely 
 that his readers will be compelled to heed them ; to 
 inculcate something of value which may remain after 
 the story is read and thrown aside. 
 
Contents. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. One Hundred to One . . . . , .11 
 
 II. Our Consul to the Rescue . . . . .20 
 
 III. Diamond cut Diamond . . . . 29 
 
 IV. Turn about is Fair Play 38 
 
 V. How the Tables were Turned . . . 47 
 
 VI. The President makes a Mistake . 56 
 
 VII. How a Revolution was Averted . . . . 65 
 
 VIII. All on Account of Old Glory . . . .74 
 
 IX. How the Lost Clew was Recovered ... 83 
 
 X. After Four Hundred Years ... . .92 
 
 XL Through a Dead Man s Eyes . . . . 101 
 
 XII. Sailing o er Historic Waters . . . . no 
 
 XIII. The Spy makes an Involuntary Voyage . . 119 
 
 XIV. One Enemy out of the Way . . . .128 
 XV. Stories of Ravenous Sharks ..... 138 
 
 XVI. Up the River of Golden Sands . . . .147 
 
 XVII. A Poet of the Sierras . . . . . .156 
 
 XVIII. The Man in a Mango Tree . . . - .165 
 
 XIX. A Dominican Country Home . . ^ - I 75 
 
 XX. Pledged to kill the Tyrant . . . . . 185 
 
 XXI. Swords of the Conquistadores . . . .194 
 
 XXII. A Picnic on the Royal Plain . . . .203 
 
 XXIII. San Cocho, a Feast without Forks . . .212 
 
 XXIV. The Poem and the Little Pigs . . . .221 
 
 7 
 
8 
 
 Contents. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 XXV. What happened in the Night 
 
 XXVI. The Mysterious Prisoner 
 
 XXVII. An Angel Unawares 
 
 XXVIII. The Vale of Paradise . 
 
 XXIX. Contentment without Wealth 
 
 XXX. Caonabo and Ancient Cipango 
 
 XXXI. A Martyr to Science 
 
 XXXII. Native Narcotics and Incense 
 
 XXXIII. Visions of Loveliness . 
 
 XXXIV. Queen of the Golden Flower . 
 XXXV. A Royal Road to Learning . 
 
 XXXVI. The Cacique s Treasure at Last 
 
 XXXVII. The Duel Underground 
 
 XXXVIII. A Treasure held in Trust 
 
 Page 
 230 
 
 239 
 248 
 
 257 
 266 
 275 
 284 
 
 293 
 302 
 
 311 
 320 
 
 329 
 338 
 347 
 
Illustrations. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " Arthur sprang forward ". . Frontispiece 155 
 
 " Veil, Missee Consool, vat is eet you vant ? " . . 62 
 
 " A lithe body was drawn out of the porthole " . . . 125 
 
 " Arthur s eyes flashed as the old man passed one of the 
 
 swords to him" . . . . . . . I0 ^ 
 
 "Taking the tips of her slender ringers, Arthur raised 
 
 them to his lips "....... 309 
 
The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 i. 
 
 One Hundred to One. 
 
 AT the mouth of the river Ozama, in the island 
 of Santo Domingo, stands the oldest castle in 
 America. 
 
 And not only is it old, but it has a most romantic 
 history ; for tradition relates that it was built by none 
 other than the great Christopher Columbus, first 
 European voyager to this continent. If the truth 
 were told, however, it must be admitted that, while 
 it was built by a Columbus, it was not by the immor 
 tal Christopher, but by his second son, Don Diego, 
 at one time viceroy and governor of Santo Domingo. 
 
 The founding of this quaint old city which bears 
 the same name as the island, Santo Domingo, is 
 attributed to another Columbus, Don Bartholomew, 
 who was known as the Adelantado, while his brother 
 Christopher was given the grandiose title of " Admiral 
 of the Ocean Sea," by Queen Isabella and King Fer 
 dinand of Spain, in accordance with the " capitula- 
 
 ii 
 
12 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 tion " entered into with them at Granada, 1492. The 
 history of city and castle are most intimately related, 
 for the latter was built to defend the former, and was 
 its citadel ; but not until after Christopher Columbus 
 had been sent back to Spain in chains, accompanied 
 by his great-hearted brother, the Adelantado. 
 
 The first settlement in Santo Domingo, the island, 
 and consequently the first made by Europeans in 
 America, was on the north coast, and was called Isa 
 bella, in honor of the queen of Spain. It was started 
 by Christopher Columbus, in December, 1493, just a 
 year after he had discovered the island on his first 
 voyage. 
 
 The present memorials of Isabella consist merely 
 of a few hewn stones, earthen tiles, and shards of 
 pottery, scattered over the ground beneath the trees 
 of a dense forest; for it was found, soon after the 
 first structures were erected there, that the site 
 was insalubrious and unfit for the great city which 
 Columbus had hoped to found in the New World. A 
 church was erected, a "king s house," and several 
 pretentious dwellings, all of stone ; but to-day nothing 
 remains of that first city built by Europeans in Amer 
 ica, except some fragments of stone and tiles, as 
 already mentioned. Three years after the first house 
 was built, the "city" was already falling into ruin, 
 and the Spaniards were scouring the island for a 
 better site for their commercial capital. This site 
 was found by accident, and the harbor adjacent proved 
 
One Hundred to One. 13 
 
 vastly superior to that of Isabella, which was selected 
 by design. 
 
 One of the dissatisfied soldiers strayed away from 
 Isabella deserted, in fact and found refuge with 
 a tribe of Indians on the south coast of the island. 
 He fell in love with and married a female " cacique," 
 or chief, of the tribe, and for a while lived happily 
 with his dusky wife and new-found friends, the sav 
 ages. But after a while the life palled upon him ; he 
 sighed for the friends he had left behind, and grew 
 sad and melancholy. His wife noted this and tried 
 to think of some way to cheer him up. She had no 
 ticed that this Spaniard, like all his companion " con- 
 quistadores," had a raging thirst for gold, and as she 
 knew of a rich mine she disclosed to him its location, 
 in the hope that it might restore his spirits. 
 
 And it did ; but the very first thought of the Span 
 iard, after he had found the golden storehouse, was 
 of his comrades and his old commander, Don Bar 
 tholomew Columbus. As a deserter he was liable 
 to punishment; but as one who could communicate 
 tidings of rich gold deposits he would probably be 
 exempt, and even win the grateful regard of his com 
 mander. It was even so. After the soldier had re 
 turned to Isabella and told Don Bartholomew of his 
 discovery, he was made captain of a company and 
 sent out for further exploitations. Following his lead, 
 Don Bartholomew crossed the island and found, 
 not alone the gold mine, but what was of greater 
 
14 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 consequence a fine harbor and site for a city. He 
 lost no time in removing the inhabitants of Isabella 
 to this new site at the mouth of the river Ozama, and 
 thus the city of Santo Domingo was founded in 1496. 
 
 The first settlement on the Ozama was on the left 
 bank of the river, where a chapel was built the 
 ruins of which may be seen at this day and a small 
 tower. In the doorway of this chapel, by the way, 
 the arrogant Bobadilla, who was sent out to supersede 
 Columbus, read his proclamation of authority from 
 the king of Spain ; and in the tower both Columbus 
 and Bartholomew were confined as prisoners by this 
 same Bobadilla, ere they were sent home to Spain 
 with manacles on their limbs. The acts of Don 
 Bartholomew were sanctioned by his brother Chris 
 topher, and it is possible that he may himself have 
 ordered the tower, or castle, to be built. But it was 
 not the castle that still stands, and to which allusion 
 was made at the opening of this chapter. 
 
 In or about the year 1502, the inhabitants of the 
 new settlement removed to the right bank of the 
 Ozama, and there began the city which exists to-day, 
 and which is probably the oldest on this continent. 
 
 It was not until about 1 509 that the great castle or 
 citadel was built, during the viceroyalty of Don 
 Diego Columbus. All readers of history know that 
 Christopher Columbus had two sons, one named Fer 
 nando, and the other Diego the English of which 
 is James. While Fernando was more intellectual 
 
One Hundred to One. 15 
 
 than Diego, he was not so ambitious in a worldly 
 way. He wrote an admirable life of his father, and 
 a history of his doings ; but Diego married a great 
 lady of King Ferdinand s court, and so gained favor 
 for his house, which his sovereign would not other 
 wise have granted. 
 
 Perhaps all this may seem to have little to do with 
 the old castle of which mention has been made ; but 
 it has a great deal to do with it. For if Don Diego 
 Columbus had not married the daughter of a powerful 
 Spanish grandee, he would not have been in position to 
 fight for the family fortune and titles, of which King 
 Ferdinand had virtually deprived his father, the old 
 admiral, allowing him to die in poverty and almost 
 in disgrace. If he had not revived the family titles, 
 he would not have been sent out to the West Indies 
 as viceroy, to the island his father discovered in 
 1492 ; and if he had not gone to the island, he could 
 not have built the castle in the year 1509. That 
 seems plain enough. If he had not been on the 
 island, he could not have erected a castle there ; and 
 if he had not been a viceroy, with almost unlimited 
 power, he would have had neither authority nor 
 money to build it with, as stated. 
 
 Don Diego Columbus, then, had married the 
 beautiful and amiable lady of Isabella and Ferdi 
 nand s court, Maria de Toledo ; and the king, wishing 
 to show him some signal honor, and at the same 
 time get rid of him, sent him off as a viceroy to the 
 
1 6 The Last of the Arawaks. - 
 
 island of Hispaniola, as Santo Domingo was at that 
 time called. There he set up his little court, and for 
 a while was in effect the king of the West Indies, 
 with several millions of Indians and a few thousand 
 Spaniards as subjects ; the former, in fact, more 
 slaves than anything else. All this may be verified 
 by reference to Washington Irving s " Life of Colum 
 bus," in which the occurrences of the times in which 
 these great personages lived are set forth at length, 
 and with a charm of style peculiar to that gifted 
 author. 
 
 Don Diego and his wife, the vice-reine, made quite 
 a stir on their arrival, according to the historians, 
 and quite turned the island topsy-turvy before they 
 left it for good and all. Don Diego established the 
 first viceregal court in the West Indies in the New 
 World, in fact and " set the pace " for all who were 
 to follow after. He also built himself a palace close 
 by the Ozama s bank, the ruins of which are still to 
 be seen, and which at that time was the grandest 
 structure ever erected by any European on this side 
 of the Atlantic. It was of stone, with an overlook of 
 the river and sea, and so solidly constructed, with 
 such thick walls and strong, wide battlements, that 
 Don Diego s enemies and their name was legion 
 soon sent word to the king that in all probability 
 his viceroy intended to cast off his allegiance and set 
 up a little kingdom of his own. They particularly 
 warned King Ferdinand of his possibly evil inten- 
 
One Hundred to One. 17 
 
 tions when he built the great castle, which is now 
 called the " Homenage," and drew dismal pictures 
 of what the West Indies would become if sent adrift 
 from the paternal tutelage of the king of Spain. 
 They would doubtless have been much better off, 
 especially the Indian dwellers in them, who were 
 robbed and murdered without let or hindrance. 
 
 But Don Diego had no such intentions as were 
 ascribed to him, for he was loyal to the core, and 
 being gifted with common sense, he had no idea 
 whatever of declaring himself king of America. 
 Not even after he had sent out an expedition, which 
 made settlements in Cuba a few years later, had he 
 any thought of severing his allegiance. So that 
 statement may be passed over as a malicious fabrica 
 tion of his enemies, who wanted him discredited, 
 mainly because he was inclined to put a check upon 
 their barbarous treatment of the Indian. 
 
 But that is another story all by itself. This par 
 ticular tale has to do with the old castle, primarily, 
 because at the moment it opens there were confined 
 in it two boys heroes of the story who started 
 out to find gold in Santo Domingo, and came to 
 grief through a series of circumstances which will 
 be explained later on. 
 
 It was while these boys were immured in the old 
 castle that Don Diego built, that the United States 
 Consul to Santo Domingo, Mr. Henry Garland, as 
 cended the tortuous stairway, half inside and half 
 
1 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 outside the tower, to a point of vantage on its battle 
 ments whence he could look down upon the glorious 
 view outspread on every side. 
 
 As some very important business had gone wrong 
 that day, the Consul was perhaps more absorbed in his 
 own thoughts than in the view he was looking down 
 upon. For half an hour or so he stood idly in one 
 position, paying little heed to what was going on 
 about him. There was, in fact, very little going on 
 about him, except the swifts and swallows that were 
 cleaving the air in their hunt for insects, but directly 
 beneath him there was much indeed of human 
 interest. 
 
 A great noise suddenly came up from below, and 
 caused him to start from his revery with a gasp of 
 astonishment and indignation. For, the very instant 
 that he perceived he was looking directly into the 
 prison pen attached to the castle, a point which in 
 his preoccupation he had not noticed, he saw that 
 there was a great commotion amongst the prisoners 
 within the high wall which fenced them off from the 
 sea. The enclosure was not large, and being open, 
 he could look all over it, but within it were at least 
 a hundred men. Ninety-eight of this hundred or 
 all but two were either black or colored, and it 
 really seemed as if all that big rabble of villains was 
 attacking the two. 
 
 The dusky brutes hurled themselves upon those 
 two with white complexions as if they had been a 
 
One Hundred to One. 19 
 
 football crowd and were determined to flatten them 
 to the earth. And they did, for the pair, though 
 they stood back to back and fought the blacks off most 
 valiantly, were evidently overborne and crushed to 
 earth like a couple of pancakes. They became lost 
 in the melee as the black sea rolled over them, and it 
 was at this juncture that the Consul happened to have 
 his attention called to the spectacle. 
 
 "The scoundrels!" he exclaimed to himself, "to 
 pitch upon two inoffensive boys like that ! " Then 
 he raised his voice to some purpose, for, let it be 
 observed, he was only about one hundred and fifty 
 feet above the pen, and shouted to the blacks : 
 " Come off, you villains ; leave those men alone, or 
 I ll have you shot, every one of you ! Do you hear 
 me ? I am the American Consul ! " 
 
II. 
 
 Our Consul to the Rescue. 
 
 IF you had seen that writhing mass of half-naked 
 beings, knotted together like so many black ser 
 pents, every face that was visible distorted with rage 
 or hate, you would not have thought the Consul s 
 threat would have had any effect whatever upon 
 wretches already so miserable that many of them 
 would have welcomed death by shooting as a relief 
 from their troubles. And, truth to tell, it was not 
 the threat that reached them and made the mass 
 uncoil and separate into its individual elements. For 
 threats these poor wretches cared nothing, as seven- 
 tenths of them knew that death was their portion, 
 sooner or later, and the only friend that awaited 
 them at the end of their imprisonment. But most 
 of them knew the Consul as a powerful friend in 
 their behalf on many previous occasions, as one 
 who had stoutly stood between them and, perhaps, 
 a worse fate than imprisonment, for hope is always 
 present in the breast of the prisoner, and they 
 obeyed him instantly. The few who were unaware 
 of the Consul s personality and power went sullenly, 
 
 20 
 
Our Consul to the Rescue. 11 
 
 and only after giving vicious kicks at the prostrate 
 and now motionless forms. 
 
 " Keep away from them until I get down. Re 
 member, now ! " With which warning, his menacing 
 tone conveying a threat more than his words, the 
 Consul leaped down the stone steps three at a time, 
 and was soon pounding at the outer door of the castle. 
 The tower was semi-detached, it should be explained, 
 and had a separate entrance from the castle proper, 
 in which the prisoners were immured. His sturdy 
 blows soon brought a black face to the grated win 
 dow in the massive door, and a surly voice inquired 
 in Spanish what he wanted. 
 
 " I want you to admit me at once," replied the 
 Consul. " Those white prisoners of yours have been 
 set upon by a crowd and perhaps murdered. You 
 must have seen it all." 
 
 "Oh, yes, I saw it all, and a fine fight it was, too." 
 
 " A fine fight ! You miserable coward ! And you 
 stood by and let those boys be murdered ? Wait till 
 I get a report to the President ! " 
 
 The black face grinned, showing a double row 
 of teeth like lion s fangs. " El Presidente ! Oho ! 
 Senor Consul. Do you know who sent those Ameri 
 canos here ? El Presidente mismo the President 
 himself ! " 
 
 "What? President Heureaux sent them here? 
 What for?" 
 
 "Who knows? But he sent them, and he doesn t 
 
22 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 care how soon they are thrown over the wall and into 
 the sea for the sharks to eat. But what do I say ? 
 Senor Consul, do not tell Lelee of this." 
 
 The Consul saw that nothing was to be gained by 
 threats with this man, and he knew that time was 
 precious, so he swallowed his wrath and tried another 
 way. 
 
 " Look here," he said. " I must get at those boys 
 right away. They may be dead, and if they are, you 
 shall suffer for it. But if they are not, and can be 
 revived, you shall be rewarded. Now, how much 
 salary do you get ? Tell me quickly." 
 
 " Ho, that is soon told. I don t get anything. 
 Promises? Yes, but plata silver it is months 
 since I have seen any." 
 
 " I thought so. Now, if you will admit me, I will 
 give you ten dollars in gold. But you must assist 
 me ; give me a room where I can have those young 
 men cared for. Understand ? " 
 
 " Si, Senor Consul, I understand. There, the door 
 is open," said the jailer, drawing the great rusty 
 bolts and bars. " Enter, Sefior Consul. If Lelee 
 knows this, it will cost me my position, perhaps my 
 life ; but ten dollars ! Did you say ten dollars, Sefior 
 Consul ? " 
 
 " Yes, I said ten dollars, and here are five of them. 
 Now look sharp. Lead me into the pen at once ! " 
 
 " Wait, Senor Consul, till I have bolted the door, 
 and wait till I have counted these dollars. My faith, 
 
Our Consul to the Rescue. 23 
 
 I haven t seen so much money since I was made 
 jailer here ; for, mind you, Lelee takes good care the 
 prisoners have nothing when they arrive." 
 
 " Well. Will you never get through counting that 
 money ? Come, open this inner door. What are you 
 about ? " 
 
 " Pardon, Senor Consul, but the music of these 
 dollars is so sweet. Hear them clink in my pocket. 
 Wait till I count them again." 
 
 " You fool ! I ve a mind to throttle you, here and 
 now. Get along with you. Unlock that door, I say ! " 
 
 "Si, si, yes, yes. There, look, your country 
 men are there. See, they have not moved." 
 
 " No, they have not moved," answered the Consul, 
 turning upon the jailer so fiercely that he crouched 
 as if in fear with outstretched hands. " And if they 
 are dead, remember, I will make you suffer for this. 
 And you, too, cowardly rascals that you are," facing 
 the crowd of blacks huddled in a corner. " Do you 
 know what you have done ? You have assaulted free- 
 born Americans. You have insulted my country as 
 well as injured these men, perhaps have killed them ; 
 and do you think that I, as representative of the most 
 powerful government on earth, will allow this to pass? 
 No ! Not if I have to raze this city to the ground ! 
 To think of such wretches as you and your rulers 
 flying in the face of the American eagle ! Pah ! 
 Come here, jailer, help me raise these men and carry 
 them in out of the sun." 
 
24 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Others would have assisted, but the Consul waved 
 them back. He stooped over and tenderly drew one 
 of the boys out of the mud and filth into which they 
 had been stamped by the bare feet of their brutal 
 opponents. With the jailer s assistance he bore him 
 into the latter s private room, and then went back 
 for the other. Both were laid out on the floor, the 
 jailer s cot being too narrow for more than one, and 
 the Consul proceeded to ascertain their real condi 
 tion. Washing the blood and dirt from their faces, 
 and the clotted gore from their hair, he found that 
 though cruelly mangled they were yet alive. 
 
 One of them finally gasped and choked, as though 
 his throat was full of blood, and the other breathed 
 as if internally injured ; still, it was something, their 
 good Samaritan thought, that they lived. He hap 
 pened to have in his pocket a powerful restorative, 
 and a few drops between the lips of each revived 
 them so that they opened their eyes almost simulta 
 neously. Seeing a white face over them, in place of 
 the black countenances which had met them on every 
 hand for weeks, they seemed relieved and gathered 
 courage. 
 
 In response to the questioning look in their 
 eyes the Consul said : " Cheer up my friends, you 
 are in good hands. I ll have you out of this filthy 
 place very soon. You are Americans, are you 
 not?" 
 
 They nodded yes, and one of them said in a feeble 
 
Our Consul to the Rescue. 25 
 
 voice : " We are brothers, and we don t know why we 
 are imprisoned. We have done nothing to break 
 the laws, but they seem to want to kill us." 
 
 " Well, they shan t. I am the American Consul, 
 and as sure as there is justice, I will get redress from 
 this government for you. I cannot get you out of 
 prison to-day, I fear, for as you were incarcerated by 
 a so-called process of law, the jailer cannot release 
 you without an order from the judge or President. 
 But how do you feel? Any bones broken?" 
 
 " I think not," murmured the elder of the two, a 
 boy of about eighteen. "How are you, brother?" 
 He turned on his side with difficulty and placed an 
 arm around the younger boy. " Oh, tell me you are 
 not hurt, Hart, dear. Not badly hurt ! " 
 
 " I guess I m all right," replied the other cheerily, 
 but in a very weak voice. " The blood chokes me so, 
 I can t speak very well." 
 
 The elder looked at the Consul appealingly, and the 
 latter said : " Keep a good heart, I will go now for a 
 doctor. Here, jailer, fetch some clean straw for these 
 boys to lie on. And while I am gone, have an eye to 
 them, will you ? " 
 
 "Assuredly, Senor Consul. And you will bring 
 the money with you ; no ? The other five dollars, 
 you know." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I ll have the money for you, but I ll 
 have something else you don t like so well, if you 
 neglect my friends. Understand?" 
 
26 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " Perfectly, Sefior Consul. You may do with me 
 what you will, only bring me the pesos. Adios, I 
 will guard them till you come back." 
 
 "Good-by, my boys," said the Consul, pressing a 
 hand of each. " I will have a nurse and a doctor here 
 within an hour, and till then rest quietly as you can. 
 Do not mind if I don t make an appearance again 
 to-day, as I shall have to visit the palace about your 
 release. I know the President s disposition and how 
 to manage him ; and if, as the jailer says, he has had 
 you confined here for reasons of his own, hardly any 
 thing short of an earthquake will move him. Still, 
 as a last resort, I shall have one unanswerable argu 
 ment for him, and he may thank his stars if this castle 
 doesn t come tumbling down about his ears. Yes, 
 you rascal," turning to the gaping jailer, who had 
 heard this last statement with open mouth, "if any 
 thing further happens to these lads, down comes 
 your house. Salt/?" 
 
 "Si, sefior," answered the black with alacrity, "I 
 hear you. But, Sefior Consul, can you command the 
 thunder and the lightning?" 
 
 "A pretty good imitation, if not the genuine 
 article," replied the Consul, laughing. "At any rate, 
 I can give this government a scare, and don t forget 
 I said so. Good-by, boys ; keep up your courage." 
 
 It was not far to the consulate, only a matter of 
 ten minutes walk, and soon the Consul entered a 
 fine old building two stories in height, over the door- 
 
Our Consul to the Rescue. 27 
 
 way of which was a shield on which was painted the 
 American eagle grasping the traditional arrows. 
 
 "You re a brave old bird," said the Consul, address 
 ing the eagle as he went in, " but now and then some 
 miserable government like this pulls out a few of your 
 tail feathers, so to speak. But it doesn t do it twice ; 
 and when we get through with it there will be a little 
 more knowledge in this so-called republic about inter 
 national comity, even if we have to drive it in with 
 powder and ball." 
 
 The Consul s clerk, a native of the island, whom 
 the Consul more than suspected of being in the 
 President s secret service and pay, sat writing at a 
 desk. 
 
 " Good morning, Pedro. Has any one been here 
 to see me ? " 
 
 " No, senor; only those shipwrecked sailors who say 
 they expect you to send them home by the next 
 steamer." 
 
 " Oh, bother the sailors ! They pester the life out 
 of me. How do they expect to go home, first class 
 and with every luxury ? No, Pedro ; they are able- 
 bodied seamen, and they shall go before the mast, 
 or else stay here forever, for all me, and you tell 
 them so next time they heave in sight. By the 
 way, do you know if the President is at the palace 
 to-day? I want to call on him." 
 
 " I think so, sir. But what is it to see him about ? 
 Anything I can do ? Pardon, sir, there seems to be 
 
28 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 a blood spot on your cuff. I trust nothing serious 
 has happened. And the clerk looked suspicious. 
 
 " Not at all. Perhaps I scratched myself some 
 how. Call Sam and send him to the palace at once, 
 while I am dressing, with my compliments and a 
 request for an interview with his Excellency in an 
 hour. And just step around the corner and ask 
 Dr. Fernandez to call at once. When he comes, 
 send him right up to my room." 
 
 While the clerk and the office boy were out on 
 their errands, the Consul had his housekeeper make 
 up a package of jellies and dainties good for invalids, 
 which were all ready when the doctor came. After 
 the customary greetings, he told him about the two 
 prisoners at the castle, and asked if he wouldn t go 
 over and do what he could for them. To his great 
 surprise, the doctor at first hesitated ; but when as 
 sured that the boys might die if not soon attended 
 to, he finally consented. But as he took his leave, he 
 said : " You know, Consul, this act will not only 
 jeopardize my practice, but perhaps put my life in 
 danger. However, I go, trusting to you to see me 
 through." 
 
 " I will, never fear," declared the Consul, heartily. 
 " I ll protect you." 
 
III. 
 
 Diamond cut Diamond. 
 
 THE government palace was a pretentious build 
 ing not far from the old cathedral, which latter 
 had withstood the storms of more than three hun 
 dred and fifty years. It the palace was long and 
 rambling, with a wide doorway opening into an en 
 closed court around which were the offices of the 
 governmental clerks and their employees. 
 
 A black sentry stood guard at the door with a 
 loaded musket, which he brought to present-arms as 
 the Consul made his appearance and alighted from 
 his carriage. He offered no objection to his enter 
 ing, and the visitor crossed the court and ascended 
 the stairway to the upper floor, where were the coun 
 cil chambers and the President s private reception 
 room. Another sentry was on guard here, but he, 
 too, knowing that the visitor was a high official, only 
 followed the example of his comrade on duty below 
 and allowed him to enter unchallenged. Once inside, 
 a colored servitor took his card to an inner room, 
 and soon the Consul found himself in the presence 
 of President Ulises Heureaux, Executive of the gov 
 ernment and despot of Santo Domingo. 
 
 29 
 
jo The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 As this gentleman not long ago had a real exist 
 ence and is by no means a fictitious character, it 
 behooves us to take a good look at him before we 
 proceed further, and make his acquaintance while the 
 opportunity presents. 
 
 He was a man of middle size, brown as to com 
 plexion and well knit as to frame, with close-cropped, 
 curly black hair, and a stern countenance. If we 
 had met him on the street we should have been 
 attracted by his personality, there was so much of 
 authority in his carriage and of absolute power in his 
 face. His nose was large and flat, his cheek bones 
 prominent, and his lips coarse and sensuous ; but his 
 eyes flashed determination, and sometimes, more than 
 that, they glowed and glowered like a tiger s, bod 
 ing disaster or death to any who might be brave 
 enough or rash enough to oppose him. 
 
 Little of his history is known, except that he was 
 born in one of the English islands of the West Indies, 
 that he came to Santo Domingo as an adventurer in 
 search of fortune, and joining the insurgents of that 
 time (for the island was always in the throes of some 
 revolution or other), somehow leaped to power, and 
 once having grasped the reins of government never 
 once let them go. He had held those reins, at the 
 time we make his acquaintance, for many years, 
 and the island had groaned long and vainly under his 
 oppressions. He had imprisoned men and women 
 at his pleasure, sent their sons and brothers to the 
 
Diamond cut Diamond. 31 
 
 wars, their sisters and daughters to hopeless slavery 
 of the worst sort, and had filled the jails with his 
 victims, rarely releasing them unless to have them 
 shot or hanged. 
 
 Our Consul well knew that he had some reason 
 sufficient to himself for imprisoning our young coun 
 trymen, and he also knew that he would not have had 
 the knowledge of that fact get to his ears for any 
 amount of money. For if there was one thing the 
 despotic President feared, it was the government of 
 the United States ; and as the representative of that 
 government, the Consul was respected, even held in 
 awe. 
 
 Our government had never as yet exerted any of 
 its power in actually opposing the President, but he 
 was well aware that it stood for everything he 
 ignored : for the honor he daily violated, for the 
 sacredness of human life which he held so cheaply ; 
 and it was as a moral as well as material force that 
 he feared it. This point our Consul knew was in 
 his favor at the opening of negotiations, and he re 
 solved to make the most of it in behalf of our friends, 
 as he was certain the President would not give them 
 up without a desperate struggle. 
 
 It was to be a battle royal, that he knew. But 
 he never once admitted to himself that it would 
 result in anything but victory. What is that about 
 having our cause just at the outset ? You remember, 
 probably. The battle is more than half won, with 
 
32 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 honor and justice on our side. In the end these 
 twain will always triumph. 
 
 So thought the Consul, so he knew ; but though 
 convinced of the ultimate triumph of his cause, he 
 reasoned that in this particular case justice must be 
 speedy or it would come too late. As he thought of 
 those two maltreated countrymen of his, and ours, 
 lying bruised and bleeding in the castle, he burned 
 with suppressed indignation ; but at the same time 
 he knew that for their sakes he must be outwardly 
 calm and collected. 
 
 "Ah, buenos dias, Senor Consool. What ees eet 
 I do for you this day ? " 
 
 So spake the great man in most affable tones, 
 shaking the Consul s hand heartily and leading him 
 to a seat. 
 
 "Good morning, your Excellency. I have called 
 about a small matter which I have no doubt will 
 soon be put right. I have learned that there are 
 two Americans imprisoned in the Homenage Castle, 
 and would like an order for their release." 
 
 That was a blunt, perhaps undiplomatic way of 
 broaching the subject ; but the Consul knew with 
 whom he had to deal, and he knew there was nothing 
 to be gained by " beating about the bush." Either the 
 President would deny all knowledge of the prisoners, 
 or he would admit the possibility of their being there, 
 but shift the responsibility for their arrest and incar 
 ceration upon some subordinate. He did both, for 
 
Diamond cut Diamond. 33 
 
 after lifting his eyebrows incredulously and spreading 
 out his hands, as though this was the very first inti 
 mation he had received of their existence, he said : 
 
 " What you say, Missee Consool ? Two Ameri 
 canos in ze Homenage ? Two countreemen of you, 
 eh ? I sink perhap you mistaken ; no ? " 
 
 The President could speak French as well as Span 
 ish, the latter being the language universally spoken 
 in Santo Domingo ; but he also thought he could 
 speak English, and in his intercourse with America s 
 representative, did so in order to exhibit his accom 
 plishment. 
 
 " No, your Excellency, I am not mistaken ; for I 
 have seen them myself, and they have been most 
 brutally treated by the other prisoners, so that I wish 
 to get them out and over to the consulate, where they 
 can receive proper attention. But I felt sure you 
 did not know of their imprisonment, and since that 
 is so, and as I will give bonds for their good behavior 
 and appearance at court if they are to be tried, I 
 simply ask their release, as a favor to me and to my 
 government." 
 
 " Oh, ah, you ask for they release, eh ? And dose 
 you gobernment know of dis ? Ees it in ze name of 
 Onkel Sam you ask zis favor, or as one favor to your 
 self?" 
 
 " Well, at this moment I am asking it for myself." 
 
 "So? Vel zen, suppose I say I do not grant 
 eet, eh?" 
 
34 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 The President s beady black eyes twinkled fero 
 ciously, and he clutched his left arm with his 
 right hand, while his lips curled in a malicious 
 grin. Those who knew "Lelee," as they called him, 
 this being a contraction of his name, Ulises, 
 said that whenever he clutched that left arm there 
 was trouble ahead for his opponent, for it was an old 
 trick of his and they knew it well. That same arm 
 had been shattered by a bullet, was withered and 
 almost helpless, and he nursed it like a baby. But 
 when he sniffed a battle, or was bent on taking life, 
 he seized it as though it were his enemy s throat and 
 he would strangle the life out of it at once. 
 
 The Consul knew the symptoms, but was not 
 deterred either by the unfailing sign that Lelee had 
 raised the black flag with " no quarter " on it, or by 
 the steely glitter in his eyes. 
 
 "Do you mean to say, Mr. President, that you 
 would defy my government, allow your people to 
 insult its citizens and my flag?" 
 
 The President shrugged his shoulders and threw 
 out his hands. " Oh, as to dat, Missee Consool, eef 
 you gobernment take sooch interest in two worseless 
 boys zat have commit crime in my island, why, I haf 
 nozing more to say. Only, eef zey are in ze jail, eet 
 is for soofeecient raison, and you must give me some 
 more raison zat you haf not done alraidy, before I let 
 zem out." 
 
 " My government, Mr. President, takes an interest 
 
Diamond cut Diamond. 3$ 
 
 in every man, woman, or child born under its flag 
 and entitled to its protection. If you have not found 
 that out, then you have not violated the law hereto 
 fore ; or the office I now hold was filled by some man 
 unworthy the name of American ! The time has 
 passed when a citizen of the United States was 
 ashamed of the country he was born in, and the time 
 has come when no nation, however strong, can lay 
 its hands upon such an American and not rue the 
 day it did it ! Mark these words ! 
 
 " And again, these two boys for whom I am inter 
 ceding have committed no crime. But if they have 
 committed a crime, according to your view of it, 
 they shall come out of that prison just the same, 
 for you have my word of honor that they shall be 
 held subject to the law." 
 
 The President s eyes flashed, and he said with a 
 sneer : " Ah, so ? You take great interest in zose 
 boys zat commit crime in my island. But zey have 
 done somezings I cannot forgeeve ; for exampF, zey 
 haf murder tree of my best soldier, zey haf keel two 
 girl zat geev no offence to zem, zey haf prowl about 
 ze countree robbing and keeling. Eet is for zat I 
 haf put zem in ze castle, un stand ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. I understand that you said a few mo 
 ments ago you had no knowledge of them at all, 
 and now you enumerate their hypothetical crimes. 
 Crimes which, if you were as honest as they are, you 
 could not bring yourself to admit for a moment they 
 
36 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 could commit. But enough. You have admitted they 
 were sent to the castle by your orders. I have fixed 
 the responsibility for this act, and now that it is 
 brought home to the head of this government 
 namely, yourself I shall know where to seek re 
 dress ! Once for all, I ask you : Will you issue an 
 order for the release of those boys, or will you force 
 me to proceed to extremities ? " 
 
 The President saw too late his mistake in admitting 
 any knowledge of the prisoners, and bit his lips till 
 the blood came. If the man before him were not a 
 foreigner and an official of rank, he would have had 
 no compunctions in ordering a file of soldiers in to 
 take him out to be shot. But unfortunately, so he 
 thought, there was no way in which he could grat 
 ify his bloodthirsty inclinations. He could not shoot 
 the Consul, and as matters now stood, with that 
 gentleman in possession of the facts about the pris 
 oners, he could not shoot them, either. But he could, 
 and he would, shoot somebody, even if it had to be 
 one of his own subjects ! Whom could he spare best ? 
 Or rather, whom did he hate most? Ha! How did the 
 Consul get his information ? Why, it must have been 
 through the jailer, for he had had strict orders not to 
 allow a single person within the castle s walls. Be 
 fore replying to the Consul s demand, Lelee sent for 
 his orderly, to whom he gave a whispered message. 
 Then he said : 
 
 "Ah, escuse roe, Missey Consool. I haf eempor- 
 
Diamond cut Diamond. 37 
 
 tant beesness. Now I am at your servaice." There 
 was a gleam of malicious satisfaction in his eyes, 
 which the Consul could not account for, seeing that 
 he was apparently pushing him to the wall. " You 
 want zat ordair for ze release ? Veil, you vill not get 
 eet ! Ze preesonair shall stay zere and die first ! Zat 
 ees my answair. Ees zat all, Missey Consool ? " 
 
 "Yes, that is all," said the Consul, taking up his 
 hat. "That is all just at present. But " 
 
 " Ah, yes, I know what you vill say : Zat eef 
 harm come to ze boys you vill blow ze roof off ze 
 palais. Poof ! I haf hear zat before. Adios, Sefior 
 Consool. Look een as you pass ze parade ground 
 and you vill see zomesings zat show you ze power of 
 Lelee ! Adios." 
 
 "That was a case of diamond cut diamond, " 
 mused the Consul, as he walked down the street, 
 " and for the nonce it looks as if the black diamond 
 had cut the white one. But we shall see. Ha, why 
 is that crowd gathering at the parade ground ? Some 
 body to be shot? Who is it this time, I wonder?" 
 Then Lelee s words recurred to him, and his heart 
 grew faint for a second. Even as he looked in at the 
 gate the report of musketry rang out, and a man, 
 who had been standing against a wall in front of a 
 line of soldiers, fell upon his face. 
 
 " Who is it ? " the Consul asked of a passer-by. 
 
 "Who? Oh, the jailer at the castle. He some 
 how offended Lelee ! " 
 
IV. 
 
 Turn About is Fair Play. 
 
 AT first the Consul was petrified with astonish 
 ment, then almost dismayed, for in this act 
 he recognized defiance, not only of himself, but of 
 his government. Lelee had, in effect, said to him : 
 " Do your worst. I defy you ! I have sole right of 
 enacting laws in my island ; you interfere at your 
 peril ! As I have done to this servant of mine, so I 
 have power to do to you and your friends. Take 
 warning, and let them and me alone ! " 
 
 A crowd had gathered, and, following after the 
 excited people, the Consul approached the soldiers 
 who had constituted the firing party. They were 
 twelve in number, and the smoke was still drifting 
 from the muzzles of their rifles as the Consul reached 
 the scene of death. In front of them, prone on his 
 face, lay the unfortunate jailer, blood oozing from 
 many wounds. He had predicted truly ; his em 
 ployer had avenged his dereliction from duty with 
 his life blood ! 
 
 The soldiers were as indifferent as if this were an 
 everyday occurrence ; and indeed, the shooting of a 
 man or woman merely to gratify a whim of the ruler 
 
 38 
 
Turn About is Fair Play. 39 
 
 was no uncommon thing. They were chatting to 
 gether, taking no notice of the victim of their mur 
 derous aim, and the crowd, though curious to see 
 who it was had been slain, evinced no other feeling. 
 They were used to such spectacles, and only felt 
 concerned when the victim was one of their own 
 family or an intimate friend. As the jailer had 
 endeared himself to nobody, nobody cared whether 
 he lay there all day or not, and none lamented his 
 unhappy fate. 
 
 The Consul took all this in at one swift glance, 
 then turned on his heel and walked rapidly toward 
 the river. His plan of action was developed the 
 moment he was cognizant of what had been done. 
 He knew there was now no time for delay, that every 
 minute s delay might be fraught with danger ; and he 
 acted accordingly. 
 
 Arrived at one of the wharves on the river bank, 
 he entered a large warehouse, where, seated at a desk 
 in its office, was a small, brown man with bright 
 black eyes and intelligent face, writing rapidly. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Garland, good morning ; or rather good 
 afternoon. I wanted to see you about But what 
 is the matter ? You look disturbed." 
 
 " Matter, Don Santos ? Why, I have just witnessed 
 the shooting of the castle jailer. Did you not hear 
 the volley?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. But I pay no attention to such things 
 as that now, for what s the use ? Lelee is going to 
 
40 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 have his daily victim, whatever comes. And after 
 all, that jailer will be no great loss to the community, 
 as you yourself must admit." 
 
 " No, Don Santos, I admit nothing of the sort. A 
 life is a life in the sight of God, and this shedding of 
 human blood must be stopped. And what is more, I 
 am going to stop it ! " 
 
 Don Santos shrugged his shoulders ; for though he 
 was a Vice-consul of the United States, and confi 
 dential agent of the government when Mr. Garland 
 was absent from his post, he was a native Dominican, 
 and did not take such serious views of the situation 
 as his friend. 
 
 "You can t stop it," he rejoined, "for what excuse 
 can you raise for interfering in the concerns of this 
 island?" 
 
 "I have one, already," said the Consul. "And it 
 is about this very thing I have come to consult you. 
 Not to consult you, either, for my mind is made up 
 as to my course, but to get you to aid me. Santos, 
 listen. Can any one overhear me ? " 
 
 " No, Consul, we are alone and not even the wiliest 
 of Lelee s spies can hear a word you say." 
 
 " Good ! Santos, tell me where the Capricornia 
 was the last you heard from her. Can I reach her 
 by cable this very moment ? " 
 
 "Yes, Consul, and that reminds me, I have just 
 received a message from her commander, reporting 
 her arrival at Ponce." 
 
Turn About is Fair Play. 41 
 
 " At Ponce ? Good ! She can get here by to 
 morrow morning at daybreak, can she not ? Give 
 me the cable code, Santos. Connect your wire with 
 the cable end. No, don t ask me why just now. Do 
 as I tell you." 
 
 The wondering Vice-consul connected his office 
 with the cable house on the shore, and in three min 
 utes reported all ready. Then he sat down at his 
 instrument and from the Consul s dictation took the 
 following message, which was flashed along at light 
 ning speed : 
 
 " Commander U.S. cruiser Capricornia, Ponce, Porto 
 Rico. Bismuth, Bicarbonate, Bobolink, Bulgaria. 
 (Signed) "U.S. Consul Garland, 
 
 Santo Domingo City." 
 
 " There ! " exclaimed the Consul, " if that doesn t 
 fetch him, my cake may be dough. Did you tell the 
 operator to return answer ? " 
 
 "Yes, Don Enrique (Spanish for Henry). He 
 will send answer soon as received. But what, in the 
 name of all the saints, do you want of another United 
 States warship here now ? My faith, we have hardly 
 recovered from entertaining the officers of the last 
 one. I had thought there was not to be another for 
 six months. So the general orders said when we 
 last received them, as you may recollect." 
 
 "True, Santos, and in the ordinary course of 
 events, we should not be favored with another visit 
 
42 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 from one in the length of time you mention. That 
 is what Lelee thinks, too, and that accounts for his 
 outrageous behavior. He thinks there will not be an 
 American man-of-war here for half a year, so he has 
 defied me and my government, hoping perhaps that 
 all will blow over before the time comes for a reckon 
 ing. But this time he is mistaken, and before I get 
 through with him I m going to make him feel the 
 weight of Uncle Sam s heavy hand ! " 
 
 " But he must have known of the arrival of the war 
 ship at Ponce, only a hundred miles or so away, and 
 he must have been aware, too, that under the circum 
 stances, you would be likely to send for her. In that 
 case, if I am correct, why didn t he stop the cable?" 
 
 " My dear Santos, you are correct, both as to your 
 surmise and excuse me for saying it simple as to 
 your understanding. Why do you suppose I came 
 here to send that message, when I might just as 
 readily have sent it from my office ? Was it not 
 because I knew Lelee would have already anticipated 
 the act, and have intercepted the message on the 
 way ? I have a phone there, to be sure ; but there 
 also is Pedro, a hireling of Lelee s, right at my elbow, 
 and with eyes and ears always open ! " 
 
 " To be sure, Consul. What a dolt I was for not 
 thinking of it. But why do you keep Pedro there in 
 the consulate, knowing him to be a paid spy of the 
 President s ? " 
 
 " Oh, because I know he is a spy, and if I should 
 
Turn About is Fair Play. 43 
 
 discharge him it would excite suspicion, while another 
 clerk might be just as bad, and I not be acquainted 
 with his methods. As it is, I can follow the pro 
 cesses of Pedro s mind to a certainty. I know in 
 advance just when he is going to the palace with 
 information against me. And what is more, I am 
 always pretty sure what he carries, for I prepare it 
 for him. I take care, you know, that he shall carry 
 only the right sort ! " 
 
 " Good ! " said Don Santos, laughing heartily. " I 
 had a notion that Pedro was not fooling you very 
 much, but I didn t think you were deceiving Lelee at 
 the same time. It is a very clever man who can get 
 ahead of his Excellency, my dear Consul." 
 
 "Granted," rejoined the Consul. "But I don t 
 take any great credit to myself. If in the end I suc 
 ceed in outwitting Lelee, it will be because I am 
 honest and above board, while his Excellency reck 
 ons upon my being deep, cunning, and knavish, like 
 himself. The trouble with him is that he is so 
 steeped in iniquity that he can t understand purity of 
 purpose or honesty. When I make such a statement 
 as I did to him this morning, for instance : that un 
 less he releases those boys at the castle I will use 
 force, he thinks I am bluffing. But he will find 
 out pretty soon that I was not, and particularly if the 
 right sort of message comes from Ponce." 
 
 " Pardon me, Consul, but I don t understand what 
 you mean by the boys in the castle/ Are they 
 
44 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Americans, and is it on account of them that you are 
 raising all this row? I thought you were beside 
 yourself to call a warship just on account of that 
 little shooting to-day. Tell me about them, and let 
 me help you if I can." 
 
 " I will, Santos ; for, to tell the truth, I feel quite 
 concerned about them more than ever since Lelee 
 has shown his tigerish disposition by shooting their 
 jailer and leaving them without a single protector, 
 in that jail full of criminals." Then the Consul 
 explained the situation fully, and when he was 
 through, Don Santos agreed with him that it was 
 critical, and called for immediate action of some 
 sort. But what could they do before the warship 
 arrived, and disquieting thought what should 
 they do if it did not arrive at all ? 
 
 A telephone call attracted their attention, and 
 while the Vice-consul received and wrote down the 
 message, the Consul translated it by the code book s 
 aid. It was as follows : " Jinrikisha, Arkansas, Solis, 
 Sacramento, Alternate." 
 
 " He s coming," almost shouted the Consul, in his 
 delight at the good news. " Commander Davis says 
 he will be here to-morrow morning at daybreak, and 
 will liberate us as soon as possible. I wonder what 
 he means by that. He must have misunderstood my 
 message. But, no matter ; the main fact is he s com 
 ing, and the question now is, shall I inform Lelee of 
 the news, or leave him to find it out for himself ? " 
 
Turn About is Fair Play. 45 
 
 "Don t bother about Lelee," replied the Vice-con 
 sul. "The chances are that he knows it already." 
 
 "No, I don t think so," rejoined the Consul. 
 " But, will you go with me to the castle, to see if 
 we can establish communication with the prisoners ? 
 I m afraid, though, we shall have difficulty in getting 
 in, now that my friend, the former jailer, is dead. 
 However, if you approve, we ll try, anyway." 
 
 "I don t think it s any use," said the Vice-consul. 
 " Lelee has somebody there in his place whom he 
 can absolutely trust, and he probably has orders not 
 to allow any one to approach. If only they can 
 hang out till the morning, we shall be able then 
 to enforce our demands ; till then, patience and 
 watchfulness should be our watchwords. We must 
 be on guard against surprises, for our enemy is a 
 crafty and at the same time a desperate man. He 
 is one who would not hesitate, if he thought his 
 fortunes were at stake, to burn the city over our 
 heads, and if possible murder us before doing so." 
 
 " You are right, Santos, I believe ; and yet it is 
 hard to leave them alone another night, with no 
 hope of possible rescue ; nothing to sustain them in 
 their misery, even if they are unharmed. It is a 
 terrible situation, and I wish I could relieve it. San 
 tos, I believe I will attempt it, anyway. You needn t 
 go, you have a wife and family ; but I ll take the 
 risk, if only to ascertain if they are alive and likely 
 to last till morning." 
 
46 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " No, no, Don Enrique ; you shall not go alone. I 
 will go, too. They will not dare harm us, of course ; 
 I was only thinking of the expediency of the move, 
 believing it better not to excite the rascals by our 
 presence. There is no knowing what Lelee will do 
 next ; but of one thing I am certain : that, if he 
 thought it possible for his prisoners to escape, he 
 would rather shoot them than stand the conse 
 quences. However, we can go out and reconnoitre. 
 There will be no harm in that. Here, this way. I 
 will show you a short cut to the castle." 
 
 The two started out by the doorway indicated by 
 Don Santos, but the Consul, who was ahead, had 
 hardly put his foot outside when he was almost 
 impaled upon a gleaming bayonet pointed at his 
 breast. He started back in surprise, but, recovering 
 himself, demanded, " What do you mean by this?" 
 
 But the soldier at the other end of the gun to 
 which the bayonet was affixed stood his ground, 
 scowling as he muttered, " By order of the Presi 
 dent ! " 
 
V. 
 
 How the Tables were Turned. 
 
 "TTTELL, Santos," said the Consul, as he 
 
 V? backed into the office, " this is a fine state 
 of affairs, is it not ? What can we do ? " 
 
 " Nothing at present, it appears to me, Don En 
 rique. We are prisoners, without a doubt. But 
 we are as good as forty dead men." The Vice-consul 
 spoke carelessly, and rolling a cigarette, lighted it, 
 and seating himself, sent rings of smoke up to the 
 ceiling, while his friend stared at him in blank 
 amazement. 
 
 "Perhaps you are used to this sort of thing, 
 Santos," the Consul said at last, rather vexed with 
 the Vice-consul for taking it so much as a matter of 
 course ; " but, aside from the affront to my govern 
 ment in treating its representatives with such 
 indignity, I regard this as an insult which cannot 
 be overlooked." 
 
 "Very true, Don Enrique, and I feel it the same 
 as you do ; but it s no use to fume or worry. We 
 shall have our opportunity when the warship gets 
 here, and if you don t make Lelee walk a chalk-line, 
 I will throw up my position as Vice-consul. But, 
 
 47 
 
48 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 look here, the thing has its funny features, after 
 all." 
 
 He drew the Consul to the window, and pointed 
 to a negro climbing a telephone pole. " Ha, ha ! the 
 black monkey is going to cut the wire, so we can 
 have no communication with the ship. See the 
 humor of it ? Locking the stable door after the 
 horse is stolen, eh?" 
 
 " It is rather funny," assented the Consul, smil 
 ing. "But it occurs to me that when Lelee finds 
 that the message has already been sent, he will take 
 revenge on the cable operator, Santos. What do 
 you think of that ? " The Vice-consul looked grave 
 at once. 
 
 " I hadn t thought of it ; but it is true, he will. 
 I wouldn t give a dollar for poor Ben s chance of 
 life when the President finds out the true condi 
 tion of things." 
 
 "The man hasn t quite gotten to the wire yet, 
 has he ? Can t you stick your head out and create 
 a diversion for a minute or two while I send a warn 
 ing to Ben ? " 
 
 "Of course, Santos. That s right. Go ahead, 
 while I try to hold the wire for you." 
 
 The Consul opened the door and hailed the black 
 man up the pole. There were a hundred or more 
 other soldiers scattered about in the open space in 
 front of the warehouse, and they all sprang to arms 
 with great alacrity when the Consul made his ap- 
 
How the Tables were Turned. 49 
 
 pearance ; but seeing that he made no effort to 
 escape, they resumed their former attitudes of repose. 
 Meanwhile, Santos was calling up the cable operator 
 in his little hut down by the river mouth a mile or 
 so away : 
 
 " Hello, Ben. That you ? Yes ? Well, listen ; 
 your life is in peril. Lelee has his soldiers out 
 looking for trouble. But if you can hide over night 
 somewhere, there will be a warship here in the morn 
 ing that will change the aspect of things. Under 
 stand ? If you can raise a canoe, better take a short 
 run down the coast a bit and watch out for the ship. 
 Board her if you can ; at any rate keep shy till you 
 hear good news again. Consul and I are prisoners 
 in the warehouse office, but " Zip ! The wire was 
 cut, and whatever the Vice-consul intended to say 
 was never uttered. 
 
 The Consul had but poor success at temporizing, 
 for the man up the pole merely turned his head when 
 shouted at, and then went on climbing again, as for 
 dear life. He had his orders from Lelee, and he 
 knew what it would mean to him if he disobeyed 
 those orders. He had a wife and children in a little 
 grass hut out in the country, and he had no notion 
 of leaving them without a protector, for that is what 
 would result if he disobeyed. Even at that moment 
 an officer had a bead on him with a rifle, and if he 
 delayed an instant, his life would be the penalty of 
 that delay. So he did not hesitate, but went on 
 
50 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 climbing, and finally reached the wire and pulled out 
 a pair of shears from his pocket. 
 
 " Confound the rascal," muttered the Consul, " I ve 
 a good mind to shoot him down. Santos, bring me 
 your revolver ! " 
 
 But Santos was very busy driving through that 
 message, every second being most precious, and paid 
 no attention to his friend s demand. With the cut 
 ting of the wire his work was done, and the Consul, 
 seeing the futility of further remonstrance, withdrew, 
 slamming the door in the face of a lieutenant who 
 came up at the moment, and who seemed much 
 offended at being denied speech with his prisoner 
 in such a summary manner. 
 
 " Don t irritate them needlessly, Don Enrique," 
 advised the Vice-consul. "They re bad enough when 
 unprovoked, but no one knows what they will do if 
 irritated. While I don t believe Lelee would dare 
 go to the length of causing our deaths, yet I m 
 pretty sure he would not punish very severely any 
 of his sub-officers who took it into their heads to 
 put us out of the way." 
 
 " So am I, Santos, and I am as well aware as you 
 that it is best to be politic with them ; yet there is 
 a limit beyond which I will not go, even if my life 
 be the stake. I will not stay here to be badgered 
 by a troop of ragamuffins like that. You may if 
 you like ; but I am going back to my office ! " 
 
 " Very well, and if you go, I go with you. Here, 
 
How the Tables were Turned. 51 
 
 take one of these revolvers, and I will take the other. 
 Both are loaded, and if we are attacked we shall not 
 die alone. Wait till I secure the windows and put 
 things to rights, as if I were going out merely on a 
 business call. I will lock the door, too, and if any 
 damage is done, somebody will have to pay for it. 
 Now I am ready." 
 
 Don Santos was a methodical man of business, 
 above all else, as his every action showed. He was 
 honest as daylight, and reliable as the sun itself. 
 The Consul depended upon his advice in all impor 
 tant matters, and it had never led him astray. This 
 quiet little man was a tower of moral strength, and 
 with him by his side, the superior official felt that 
 he could easily face a larger gathering than that 
 mob of blacks outside. So he said : 
 
 " That s right, Santos. We won t stay here to be 
 treated like rats in a trap, but we ll charge the enemy 
 at once. Bring along our flag, too, Santos. We ll 
 wrap it around us, and then see if these barbarians 
 will dare touch us in the folds of Old Glory ! " 
 
 The Consul stepped outside, followed by Don 
 Santos, who turned around and locked the door, then 
 with his companion calmly faced the soldiers, who 
 came hurrying forward with their guns held threaten 
 ingly. The officer in command stepped out in front 
 of the two and asked by what authority they ventured 
 forth without his permission, at the same time laying 
 a hand on the Consul s shoulder. Throwing off the 
 
52 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 hand as though it were a viper, the Consul was about 
 to spring upon the officer, when Santos grasped him 
 by the arm. 
 
 "No, no, for Heaven s sake, don t touch him ! All 
 his men would be upon us in no time. Softly, softly. 
 Let me argue with him." 
 
 " What ? Argue with this man ? Never ! Stand 
 aside, sir!" to the officer. "Stand aside and let 
 us pass ! Do you see this ? It is the American flag. 
 It is carried by a consul and vice-consul of the United 
 States : a nation of seventy million people, and war 
 ships enough to demolish your miserable island. 
 Aside, now, and let us pass ! " 
 
 The Consul threw the flag over his and Don Santos* 
 shoulders and stalked on, regardless of the attempt 
 made by the officer to halt them. But the latter, 
 though at first overawed by the Consul s lofty manner 
 and at sight of the flag, again rallied his men around 
 him and endeavored to stop the fugitives. He 
 again threw himself before the Consul, and this 
 worthy wasted no further words upon him, but let fly 
 a robust fist right in his face, with such good aim and 
 so much force that the man fell flat to the ground. 
 
 There was a great hubbub instantly, and several 
 guns were aimed at the white men ; but the sight of 
 the Consul and Vice-consul, standing back to back, 
 a revolver in the right hand of each, caused the sol 
 diers who had gathered around to halt, then to sepa 
 rate, then to run, every one of them as if a mad dog 
 
How the Tables were Turned. 53 
 
 were at his heels. All but the officer who had been 
 sent sprawling to the ground. He still lay there, 
 though he was far from badly hurt, and the Consul, 
 touching him with the toe of his boot, told him to get 
 up and go about his business. This he did with a 
 very crestfallen air and muttering to himself ; but 
 when he reached the great gate in the city wall he 
 disappeared with such alacrity that the two friends 
 burst out laughing. 
 
 "Well, Santos, we have put that army to flight, 
 and as there seems to be no other battle imminent 
 just now, suppose we wrap up Old Glory and pursue 
 our way to the office. It was a bloodless battle, after 
 all, wasn t it ? You see, Santos, you were hardly cor 
 rect in your estimate of Dominican valor, eh ? " 
 
 " No," answered the Vice-consul, rather reluctantly. 
 " I m afraid my countrymen cannot hold the record 
 for bravery. The bravest among them, as you know, 
 is the President, and he drives these poor beggars 
 before him like sheep." 
 
 "That s true, Santos, and do you know," rejoined 
 the Consul, as he folded the flag and made it into an 
 unnoticeable bundle, fondly caressing it and smooth 
 ing out every wrinkle, " I really believe I have more 
 respect for Lelee, rascal as he is, than I have for the 
 people he rules so ruthlessly? If he would only 
 subdue that barbarous inclination of his for bloodshed, 
 he might do wonders in this island, with all its vast 
 resources and its tractable people." 
 
54 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " Indeed he might," said Santos, " but I fear he is 
 incorrigible. He is like the tiger that has once 
 tasted human blood ; he has an unquenchable thirst 
 for it evermore, and having been so long the despot 
 that he is, he will probably come to an untimely end 
 still unregenerate." 
 
 Conversing thus so carelessly, having put the 
 revolvers out of sight, the two friends strolled 
 across the open space between the great city wall 
 of the capital and the river, entered the gateway, and 
 took the street that led up the hill toward the 
 consulate. 
 
 If so much time had not been consumed in narrat 
 ing these events that belong rightfully to the story, 
 and which it seems unavoidable to give in full, it 
 might be well to halt here just a moment and give a 
 description of the old wall through which the consuls 
 passed on their way, for it is probably the oldest in 
 this country, and right above and behind it rise the 
 ruins of the Casa de Colon Don Diego s house 
 to which reference was made in the first chapter. 
 But the writer is as anxious as the reader, doubtless, 
 and perhaps more so, to ascertain the condition 
 of the two boys left so long in durance vile at the old 
 castle, and especially after the shooting of the jailer 
 seemed to deprive them of the only man at hand who 
 had an interest in their recovery or liberation. Per 
 haps the Consul felt in a measure accessory before 
 the fact, since it was the direct result of his mediation 
 
How the Tables were Turned. 55 
 
 that brought about the shooting. However, as the 
 Consul had not the gift of prescience, and could not 
 have foreseen the terrible result of his interference, 
 he certainly cannot be held responsible for the cruel 
 act of the President. If he failed in aught, it was in 
 assuming he possessed a greater influence with the 
 President than he really had. All men are liable to 
 be mistaken and to overestimate their importance. 
 
VI. 
 
 The President makes a Mistake. 
 
 THE French have a saying that it is the unex 
 pected that always happens. But not always ; 
 for instance, when the two friends arrived at the con 
 sulate they fully expected to find a messenger from the 
 President ; and sure enough he was there, in the person 
 of his orderly. He saluted respectfully, as though 
 he had no cognizance whatever of the recent doings of 
 the Consul and his assistant, and as they were seated 
 in the office he presented a message from Lelee. 
 
 There was indeed a twinkle in the corners of his 
 eyes as he did so, for he could not have been unaware 
 of the fact that these two had put to flight a hundred 
 or so of his master s soldiers, as by this time the 
 whole city knew of it. The spectacle of a company 
 of Lelee s ragamuffins running for dear life through 
 the streets was not an uncommon sight, indeed, and 
 the citizens were sort of used to it ; but the manner 
 of their dispersal had somehow leaked out, and a vast 
 crowd was already assembling in front of the consulate. 
 
 It was not by any means a bloodthirsty assemblage, 
 however, and was more disposed to regard the two 
 consuls as heroes than as enemies of their country; 
 for any person or persons who would give Lelee and 
 his myrmidons a setback were entitled to their grati- 
 
 56 
 
The President makes a Mistake. 57 
 
 tude. So we shall leave them there, their numbers 
 steadily augmenting, while the Consul gives his atten 
 tion to the presidential communication. As it was 
 in Spanish, I shall have to translate it, an easy mat 
 ter, as it was brief though pointed. 
 
 "To SENOR DON ENRIQUE GARLAND, Consul Gen 
 eral de los Estados Unidos de America del Norte. 
 
 " Estimado Senor Consul: It has been brought to 
 my notice that an unprovoked assault was made this 
 afternoon upon a body of my soldiers acting under 
 the order of a gallant officer in my service, Senor 
 Capitan Antonio Pomberoso Fuliginoso, and that 
 notwithstanding he was acting in accordance with 
 orders he had received from officials his superior in 
 station, he, the said Senor Capitan Antonio Pom 
 beroso Fuliginoso, was feloniously set upon and 
 suffered bodily harm at the hands of parties inti 
 mately connected with the consular service of the 
 United States in Santo Domingo. 
 
 " Be it known, therefore, that I shall cause a watch 
 to be set upon said consular officials and consulate, 
 and shall instruct my Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs to communicate with all due speed with the 
 government you have the honor to represent. 
 
 " I remain, sir, 
 " Su atento servido, Q. B. S. M., 
 
 "ULISES HEUREAUX, 
 " Presidente de la Republica" 
 
58 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Within half an hour after the Consul had received 
 and digested this communication, the President s 
 orderly was hastening toward the palace with the 
 following : 
 
 "To his Excellency, ULISES HEUREAUX, Presidente 
 de la Republica de Santo Domingo. 
 " Su Excellencia ; I have the honor to acknowledge 
 the receipt of your respected favor of this date, and 
 in reply would say that you may save yourself the 
 trouble of communicating with my government, or 
 of setting spies upon its insular representatives, by 
 deferring such proceedings until about six o clock 
 to-morrow morning, when I shall be in a position to 
 exact reparation for the insults and ignominy you 
 have heaped upon said representatives. I have the 
 honor to remain, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " HENRY GARLAND, 
 " Consul of the United States in Santo 
 Domingo 
 
 When the redoubtable Lelee had received and read 
 this interesting epistle, with its veiled threat of com 
 ing reparation, he came as near turning pale as he 
 ever did in his brief, though tumultuous, existence. 
 He stormed and swore ; he recalled his orderly, who 
 had scarcely left the room, and despatched him at 
 once for the captain of the company that had so 
 
The President makes a Mistake. 59 
 
 signally failed in its duty. When that individual 
 appeared before him, he found to his horror that 
 his dread master was clutching his left arm as 
 though he would break whatever bones remained 
 unshattered by the bullet of long ago. He at once 
 fell upon his face and refused to be comforted, for he 
 felt his doom was sealed. 
 
 " Dog of a serrano, despicable son of Belial ! " 
 thundered the President in Spanish, " in what 
 manner did you carry out my orders ? Did you cut 
 the wires ? Did you set a guard around the warehouse 
 and consular residence ? Speak, varlet ! " 
 
 " Your Excellency, I cut the wire leading from the 
 Vice-consul s office, I prevented him and his master 
 from escaping, until until " 
 
 " Yes, until they had sent a message to the cable 
 office and summoned a warship ! Until they sallied 
 forth and put you and your cowardly crew to flight ! 
 Cur ! You know how I despise a coward ! Do you 
 know what I do to cowards ? Yes, you do. You 
 do ! Well, then, go to the barracks, and order a 
 detail of your best marksmen to be ready for a little 
 shooting party at sunrise to-morrow morning. The 
 moment that Yankee war vessel appears in sight, 
 stand yourself against the blank wall of the carcel 
 and order them to shoot you dead ! You may thus 
 retrieve your reputation and bequeath a name un 
 tarnished to your family. Go, dog ! You have heard 
 me. Go ! " 
 
60 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 And he went. The valiant capitan, Antonio Pom- 
 beroso Fuliginoso, crawled to the door and slunk out 
 of sight ; but not wholly out of this narrative, for he 
 will appear again. 
 
 "Santos," said the Consul to his worthy squire, 
 who for faithfulness was a veritable Sancho Panza, 
 " Santos, mio, how many minutes, think you, before 
 his Excellency will honor us, all unworthy as we are, 
 with an official visit ? " 
 
 The twain were then seated at the consular table 
 and were refreshing themselves after the arduous 
 labors and excitement of the day. The Consul was 
 in a most enviable frame of mind, for he had got 
 Lelee at a disadvantage. Not that our representa 
 tive in that far-off island had a single grain of resent 
 ment toward the author of so much inconvenience to 
 him ; on the contrary, now that the tables were about 
 to be turned, he rather felt pity for his adversary. 
 
 "Well," answered the Vice-consul, " I think he will 
 be here inside of an hour, at the farthest. That 
 letter will rattle him." If there was any one thing 
 the Vice-consul prided himself upon more than 
 another, it was his vocabulary of American slang, 
 which he had learned along with the language, the 
 latter having been mainly acquired from the sailors 
 who frequented the docks along the Ozama s banks. 
 As slang of any sort is not permissible in polite 
 society, and certainly not in any respectable book, an 
 effort will be made to eliminate all obnoxious words 
 
The President makes a Mistake. 61 
 
 from the Vice-consul s conversation ; but if now and 
 then a word slips in that has no business here, it is 
 hoped that both author and reporter will be par 
 doned. Don Santos was one of the best of men, 
 but he had an idea that his English was the very 
 proper thing, the language "as she is spoke," in 
 fact, and as no one reminded him to the contrary, 
 he hardly knew a slang word from one that had been 
 an honor and ornament to the Dictionary since the 
 time of Dr. Johnson. 
 
 The hour allotted had hardly expired when a great 
 shout went up from the outside of the consulate : " El 
 Presidente ! El Presidente ! " 
 
 The Consul and Vice-consul looked significantly at 
 each other as the great commotion outside announced 
 the coming of the President, mounted on a big white 
 stallion which he forced through the crowd, regard 
 less of the consequences to his servile subjects in the 
 way. Throwing the reins to his orderly, he leaped 
 from the horse and passed into the consulate, where 
 he was met at the office door by the Consul with 
 a bow and a word of greeting. You would have 
 thought, if you had been favored by a glimpse of 
 the meeting, that it was an occasion of receiving a 
 long-lost brother, or the prodigal son, so effusively did 
 these two greet each other. But there was a smoul 
 dering fire in Lelee s black eyes, and a firm set to 
 the Consul s mouth, that presaged something more 
 than was apparent at first glance and on the surface. 
 
6i The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 "Your Excellency does me great honor," mur 
 mured the Consul, as he led the way to the re 
 ception room. " I trust your Excellency is well ? " 
 
 " Bastante bien pretty well, thank your honor 
 able self. And how is the honorable Consul this 
 evening ?" 
 
 "Well, thank your Excellency. Pray be seated, 
 and allow me to offer some refreshments. No ? " 
 
 Lelee would take nothing, nothing but compli 
 ments, and the two sat looking at each other for 
 quite a while. Then at last a grim smile just the 
 ghost of a grim smile, rather crept over Lelee s 
 stern, set face, and he burst out with : 
 
 "Veil, Missee Consool, vat is eet you vant, eh? 
 Vat you complain of ? " 
 
 " I, your Excellency ? Nothing, nothing at all, I 
 assure you. My complaints are all in. It is redress, 
 your Excellency, that seems to be in order now." 
 
 " Redress ? Oh, ah, you mean damage, eh ? " 
 
 "Well, not exactly damages; but really, I think 
 some sort of salve ought to be applied to the wounds 
 my dignity has received, you know. And then there 
 is the other thing, the original grievance." 
 
 " Ah, yes, dose boy. Veil, suppose I railease dose 
 boy? Vat next?" 
 
 " Your Excellency is a man of affairs ; he knows 
 what international comity requires demands bet 
 ter, perhaps, than myself." 
 
 "Ah, yes. But vat about dis varsheep dat come 
 
The President makes a Mistake. 63 
 
 here ? Eet ees to help ze eenternational comity also, 
 eh?" 
 
 " The warship ? Oh, yes, you mean the Capri- 
 cornia, I suppose. Well, you see, she was at Ponce, 
 only a few hours away, and it is quite natural her 
 commander should wish to run over for a call. I 
 should have informed your Excellency before, but 
 circumstances prevented, you know." 
 
 " Ye-es, I see. And ven dose she airrive ? " 
 
 " Oh, any time to-morrow, I suppose. She will 
 salute the castle, of course, and we shall thus be 
 informed in season." 
 
 "Veil, Senor Consool, dat ees all. I vill now go." 
 
 " But your Excellency has omitted one important 
 matter, which I feel it my duty to call to your 
 attention." 
 
 "Ah, ze boy. Ver veil, but not to-night, Senor 
 Consool, manana, to-morrow ! " 
 
 " No, Senor Presidente. No manana business 
 for me, if you please. I want those boys released 
 and in this consulate to-night ! " 
 
 " Eempossible. Aiverybody on duty have go to 
 bed, dey is asleep." 
 
 "Not quite everybody, your Excellency. We are 
 awake ! " 
 
 " Ah, dat ees so. You are ver vide awake. Veil, 
 geeve me ze pen." 
 
 "Here is an order ready written. I took the 
 liberty " 
 
64 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " Um urr ! You have take many leeberty, 
 Sefior Consool. But dis ees ze last ! " 
 
 " As you please, Senor Presidente, so the boys get 
 their liberty ! " 
 
 " There, I have sign. Now, ven arrives de gun 
 boat ? " 
 
 " At daybreak, to-morrow, your Excellency. Just 
 in time to celebrate the boys freedom and your 
 birthday ! " 
 
 " My birthday ? Ah, so eet ees. You have good 
 memory, Sefior Consool." 
 
 The President was evidently touched by the Con 
 sul s thoughtfulness, and as he rose to leave, he 
 added, " Amiga mio my friend you vill find ze 
 boy all right. Zey have been veil cared about. 
 Adios. You vill geeve my compleement to ze com- 
 mandair. Adios." 
 
VELL, MISSEE CONSOOL, VAT IS EET YOU VANT? " 
 
VII. 
 
 How a Revolution was Averted. 
 
 THERE was another tumult outside the house 
 as the President appeared, mounted his horse, 
 and rode away. Then the noise subsided, and when 
 the crowd had gone the great door of the consulate 
 was thrown open and a little procession filed out. It 
 was headed by the Consul and Vice-consul, and closely 
 following them were four servants, each pair bearing 
 a litter, the rear-guard being constituted of the con 
 sular clerk and Sam, the office boy. 
 
 They took the street leading direct to the castle, 
 and within ten minutes they were at the door of the 
 prison. As a full moon shone in the sky, there was 
 no need of artificial lights, and when the new jailer 
 put his head out in answer to the summons, he saw at 
 a glance who his visitors were and made no protest 
 against their entrance. He took and read the Presi 
 dent s order, threw open the door, and led the way to 
 the cell in which the boys were sleeping. 
 
 The Consul was cool and apparently unperturbed, 
 though his heart was beating wildly for fear that dur 
 ing his long absence something might have happened 
 to the prisoners. But when he saw that they were 
 
 65 
 
66 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 sleeping quietly on beds of clean straw, and was met 
 by the doctor whom he had despatched to them in 
 the morning, he was immediately reassured. He 
 grasped the latter s hand, and asked after his patients. 
 
 "They are better than they were when I came," 
 said the doctor, "and with care will soon get well. 
 And I am glad you have come, not only for their 
 sake, but my own, for the air here is very bad, and 
 the cell is damp." 
 
 " You are very good to stay by them," said the Con 
 sul. " I had hardly expected you to go this length, 
 Doctor." 
 
 " Caramba ! neither did I intend to stay ; but the 
 fact is, I was compelled to. Lelee wouldn t let me 
 out, or his jailer wouldn t, acting under his orders. 
 They say that when he learned of my visit, he raved 
 and tore like a madman. The worst of it was that I 
 had to stay and be an unwilling witness to the former 
 jailer s execution. He was a worthless fellow, as we 
 all know, but he had grit, and when the sentence was 
 read to him, he went along without a word of protest. 
 He seemed to have but one anxiety, Consul, and that 
 was about some money that, he said, you owed him. 
 Five dollars, I believe, which he desired me to ask 
 you to give his old mother. He gave me a like sum, 
 and I agreed to see that she got it. Then he thanked 
 me, said good-by, and went off to his death without 
 a tremor." 
 
 "Poor fellow!" said the Consul, sadly. "There 
 
How a Revolution was Averted. 67 
 
 was good in him, after all. I will see that his mother 
 is paid the money, and I will also have an eye to her 
 comfort hereafter while I am in the city. Well, can 
 we take these boys over to the consulate ? " 
 
 " Yes, Consul, with care. They must be taken out 
 of this terrible place, at any rate. The elder of the 
 two is not so badly hurt, but the younger has suffered 
 internal injury, I fear, and will need much nursing 
 before he gets on his feet again. There, now, bring 
 the litters up close and we will lift them on. Gently, 
 my men, one on each side. That s right ; now carry 
 them carefully. Good ! Ah, how glad I am to get 
 out of this vile den ! " 
 
 "It was hard for you, Doctor, that s a fact to 
 make you a prisoner, too. If I had not had my hands 
 so full during the day, I should have looked you up ; 
 but that was impossible." 
 
 "Oh, it s all right, I suppose," replied the doctor, 
 dubiously. "I really don t mind the short term of 
 imprisonment at all ; but the worst of it is that Lelee 
 now has me marked for future trouble. He never 
 forgets a thing of this sort. It is true, I myself 
 might fly the country, but there are wife and family 
 to be considered. They would have to suffer in my 
 place, and so I shall stay and face it. I fear " 
 
 " Sh ! " exclaimed the Vice-consul, plucking the 
 doctor by the sleeve ; " don t say any more, every 
 word will get to Lelee ! " For the consular clerk and 
 the jailer were listening with open ears, drinking in 
 
68 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 every word that was said. The latter grinned as the 
 Consul dropped a couple of dollars into his hand, but 
 said nothing until he had closed the door upon the 
 party ; then he muttered to himself : 
 
 "They think they have beaten Lelee at his own 
 game, but they don t know Lelee. Perhaps I may 
 live to see them all here again, if / don t get shot. 
 Those boys will come back, anyway. When the 
 eagle gets after his prey he won t let it be taken away 
 without another try. I pity the prey, that s all." 
 And he shook his head menacingly, as he barred the 
 great door and shuffled off. 
 
 The little party of rescue returned through the 
 silent, moonlit streets to the consulate, arriving at 
 which the boys were put to bed, given a little light re 
 freshment, and told to keep quiet and give themselves 
 no further uneasiness, as they were now in absolute 
 security. 
 
 " Not a word," said the Consul, with a warning 
 shake of his finger, as they tried to tell him how 
 grateful they were. " Not a word. Go to sleep, 
 and show us how glad you are to be here by getting 
 well as fast as you can." 
 
 After the doctor had gone home and the attendants 
 had been dismissed, the Consul and his trusted friend, 
 Santos, sat long into the night discussing the situa 
 tion. " Well," said the latter, after they had been 
 left alone with their lemonade and cigars, "you 
 euchred the old gentleman quite neatly, Don En- 
 
How a Revolution was Averted. 69 
 
 rique, and he retired with good grace. But you don t 
 for a moment imagine he has given up the fight, do 
 you?" 
 
 " Not I," replied the Consul. " In fact, I consider 
 the fight, as you call it, only just begun. But I ve 
 unmasked his batteries, and shown the weak points 
 in his defensive works, which is something gained. 
 Now, in order to follow up the advantage, do you 
 know what I shall do next ? No ? Well, you noted 
 how pleased he was that I had remembered his birth 
 day ? That shows he is not altogether bad, and I 
 have an idea he can even feel grateful at times. 
 Now the chief object in sending for the warship is 
 already accomplished without her assistance, but we 
 have got to invent some excuse for her coming here, 
 haven t we ? Yes, you know we have, or else the 
 people will get suspicious, then excited, and the 
 first thing Lelee knows he will have a first-class 
 revolution on his hands. And he knows it, too ; so 
 I am going to help him out of the difficulty by turn 
 ing the whole affair into a grand demonstration in 
 his honor ! It will be given out to-morrow that the 
 warship has come over to salute one whom my gov 
 ernment delights to honor, don t you see ? That is, 
 there will be a grand salute in the morning, a parade 
 in the afternoon, and a ball at night, all on account 
 of the President s birthday ! How is that ? " 
 
 " Well, Don Enrique, I always thought you were 
 cut out for a diplomat ; but, by my kingdom, you 
 
70 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 ought to be a minister plenipotentiary at a European 
 court. But have you counted the cost of the thing ? 
 It will be just awful ! " 
 
 "I know," rejoined the Consul, with a sigh. "It 
 will cost something, but I don t see any other way 
 out of it. It s the penalty I must pay for my rash 
 ness in sending for the ship. I might just as well 
 have carried the affair through single-handed, per 
 haps. And the bother of it all is that I ve already 
 spent my year s salary. Uncle Sam is a niggardly 
 old fellow when it comes to salaries, you know." 
 
 " Don t I, though ? He is the meanest, most parsi 
 monious employer on the face of the earth. And 
 there is no need, either ; he might just as well be 
 generous. But he never will be, I fear." 
 
 The Vice-consul spoke feelingly, for he was doing 
 work for which any other employer than " Uncle Sam " 
 would have paid him liberally, and receiving merely a 
 pittance. So he, too, sighed, and they both indulged 
 in a long, sympathetic smoke before trusting them 
 selves to speech again, for the subject was a very 
 tender one to broach. 
 
 " Still, I couldn t have done less than I have," said 
 the Consul, musingly. " The cost is nothing, com 
 pared with the result achieved." 
 
 " Nothing at all," said the Vice-consul, reassuringly. 
 "Those young countrymen of yours are nice-looking 
 boys and far too good to be served up on the altar 
 of Lelee s unholy ambitions. I wonder what he has 
 
How a Revolution was Averted. 71 
 
 against them, by the way ? They couldn t be guilty 
 of the crimes he imputes to them ? One look at 
 their faces tells me that. They have good, whole 
 some countenances, honest as daylight ; and it would 
 be actually impossible for either of them to commit 
 a wrong, I am sure." 
 
 " You are right, Santos. A pair of cleaner, purer- 
 minded young men I have never met. Just how 
 they incurred Lelee s wrath I don t know, but prob 
 ably they have thwarted some pet scheme of his or 
 have discovered something he doesn t want the pub 
 lic to know. We will catechize them to-morrow, if 
 they are well enough to stand the ordeal, and find 
 out what the matter is. Meanwhile, Santos, mio, 
 don t you think we had better seek our beds and 
 prepare for the morrow ? I suppose you have your 
 man on the watch for the warship, so that we may 
 be prepared to receive her without delay. Yes ? 
 Well, then, good night. Come around early in the 
 morning." 
 
 Now that the two friends have retired, and while 
 they are sleeping, it might be well to take advantage 
 of this lull in the storm to transport ourselves out 
 to sea, where we can watch for the coming of the 
 Capricornia. For she is coming, of course, as the 
 Consul had the word of her commander that she 
 would come, without delay. And when Commander 
 Davis of the Capriccrnia gave his word, either ver 
 bally or by cable, rest assured that it would be honored. 
 
72 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Imagine yourselves, then, at a point on the south 
 coast of Santo Domingo between the island of Saona 
 and the river Ozama, time about three in the morn 
 ing, weather clear, sky starlit, and a waning moon 
 just dropping down behind the land where it showed 
 black against the sky. The great engines of the 
 ship are pulsating slowly, a cloud of black smoke is 
 trailing behind the stacks, and the waves are swish 
 ing gently against the bow. On deck there are 
 watchers in various parts, and on the bridge is the 
 commander himself, consulting with his sailing-mas 
 ter as to their exact location. 
 
 "We ought to see Ozama light very soon, sir," 
 said the sailing-master ; " for we are now off Macoris, 
 and the distance beyond isn t great. Ah, there she 
 is, sir, just twinkling off the weather bow ; now we 
 can head her up a bit, sir, if you say so." 
 
 " All right, Mr. Jones, bring her up a trifle. The 
 shore is clean about here, I believe, and there are no 
 reefs or shoals. But we will keep her on half-speed, 
 all the same, so as to fetch off the mouth of the 
 river by daylight." 
 
 Just at that moment an officer came up, saluted 
 his superior, and reported: "Small boat, sir, just 
 abeam. Seems to want to speak us, near as I can 
 make out, sir." 
 
 The commander looked in the direction indicated 
 through his night-glass, then reached out and pulled 
 the signal to the engineer : " Slow up ! " The bell 
 
How a Revolution was Averted. 73 
 
 tinkled far below, down where the furnace fires were 
 roaring and the heat was something terrific ; where 
 the reeking stokers, stripped to the waist, were 
 shovelling coal beneath the boilers, and the alert 
 engineer was standing at his post. The great en 
 gines throbbed more slowly, and finally almost came 
 to a standstill, as the engineer threw over the levers, 
 in obedience to the commander s signal. 
 
 " Ahoy the ship ! " came up from the small boat 
 dancing on the swell caused by the steamer s pro 
 peller. 
 
 " Ahoy below ! What is it ? " 
 
 " I m the cable operator at the city, come off to 
 warn you that a revolution has broken out there ; 
 American Consul in jail, and a bobbery kicked up 
 generally. With your permission, Commodore, I d 
 like to go aboard." 
 
VIII. 
 
 All on Account of " Old Glory: 
 
 yt LL right, come aboard. Officer, clear the 
 2~jL gangway. Throw the man a rope. Drop 
 his boat astern. There you are. Now what is it ? " 
 The cable operator scrambled up the rope ladder 
 that was thrown over the side of the ship, and as 
 soon as he reached the rail was assisted over and 
 marched up to the bridge, where, in answer to the 
 last question, he told his story : how he had received 
 a message over the wire from the Vice-consul, etc., 
 all of which we know. Having already had a taste 
 of Lelee s methods, and having been once in peril of 
 his life through misplaced confidence in the Presi 
 dent, he had acted promptly on the Consul s advice 
 to get out, and after briefly informing his fellow- 
 operator in Porto Rico of his intention, had locked 
 the door of his hut, borrowed a boat, and set himself 
 adrift in the supposed path of the ship. That was 
 all he could tell, and the commander was as mystified 
 as ever, so he knew not whether to clear ship for 
 action, or sail in cautiously and land for orders. He 
 chose the latter course, however, and soon after day 
 light the loungers about the wharves saw a gallant 
 
 74 
 
All on Account of " Old Glory." 75 
 
 ship of the United States Navy steam slowly up the 
 river, anchor off the castle, and send a boat ashore 
 filled with marines. The boat was commanded by 
 an experienced officer, and the marines were armed 
 to the teeth. 
 
 " Seems quiet enough on shore just now, lieuten 
 ant," said the officer to his assistant, as they neared 
 the wharf. " There is nothing in sight we can t take 
 care of, anyway; so we ll go slowly. Have the bow 
 gun ready, but don t make any demonstration." 
 
 " Give me half a dozen men," said the lieutenant, 
 "and Til take a stroll up to the consulate. If 
 they ve got any big guns trained on us, they aren t 
 visible, that s sure. And come to think of it, I 
 don t believe there s a gun on the island big enough 
 to knock the legs off an iron pot ; or if there is, it has 
 been purchased and mounted since we were here 
 last. Here we are." 
 
 " Stern all ! Tumble out, men. That s enough. 
 Form in loose order and look lively. Line up, there. 
 Forward march. Hello, there comes Don Santos, 
 the Vice-consul. Know him well. Good fellow, too. 
 Look here, Santos, what s the row about ? Thought 
 you were in jail." 
 
 "Not I," replied Santos. "It s all a mistake. 
 But we are glad you came, just the same. Lelee had 
 us at a disadvantage, as he thought, but we practised 
 a bit of strategy on him, and here we are or at 
 least here I am and the Consul is safe in his office." 
 
7 6 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " That s good, so far ; but hope you didn t send 
 for us on a wild goose chase. The old man will 
 be wrathy, I tell you. It s no joke, you know, get 
 ting up steam and leaving a good port like Ponce to 
 come over into this infernal roadstead. If a sou - 
 west wind comes up the sea is mighty nasty, let me 
 tell you." 
 
 " Right you are, sir. But we didn t intend any 
 thing out of the way. Wouldn t have cabled you 
 without a cause, surely." Then Santos told the 
 officer all about the trouble, and he was mollified so 
 far as to agree with the Vice-consul that perhaps they 
 had done the best they could, under the circum 
 stances. He sent the boat back with a report to 
 the commander, accepted an invitation from Santos 
 to join him and his superior at breakfast at the con 
 sulate, and the two walked off together, arm in arm. 
 
 It would take too much space to narrate in detail 
 all the eventful happenings of that day. How the 
 Consul made a formal call on the commander, how 
 the commander made a formal call on the Con 
 sul, and then both together made a formal visit to 
 the palace, after which Lelee and his cabinet all 
 went aboard the warship, while the guns roared a 
 President s salute, which was returned with an ad 
 miral s salute from the rusty old cannon mounted on 
 the castle walls. It was, as the Vice-consul remarked, 
 all "honey and hug," the whole day through, and 
 the ceremonials, the salutes, the festivities in general, 
 
All on Account of " Old Glory." 77 
 
 and the ball at night in honor of Lelee s birthday in 
 particular, all went to show the islanders what a 
 truly great man their President was in the estima 
 tion of the outside powers, and served to strengthen 
 his hold on them more than any amount of bluster 
 and proclamations could have done. He was not 
 slow to perceive this, either, and was very gracious 
 to the Consul and his staff, even going so far as to 
 hint that an apology would be forthcoming for his 
 acts ; but he rather resented the suggestion that com 
 pensation in the form of a substantial indemnity was 
 due the victims of his malice. The Consul consulted 
 with the boys about this, and told them that if they 
 but gave the word he would enforce a claim for 
 indemnity then and there, as after the warship was 
 gone they might just as well whistle for the wind. 
 But they were both opposed to such a proceeding, 
 declaring that all they wanted was to be let alone 
 and allowed the privilege of roaming over the island 
 at will. "If we can only carry out our scheme," 
 said the elder of the two, " we can get all the com 
 pensation we want, and shall be perfectly satisfied." 
 
 The Consul did not press them, and though he was 
 curious to know the nature of their mission, which 
 they were so confident would be so remunerative, he 
 did not say any more at that time. He had all he 
 wanted to do, in fact, in attending to the business of 
 the day : in entertaining his numerous guests, in set 
 ting the great ball in motion, and finally in pacifying 
 
7 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the commander, who was at first disposed to resent 
 being called upon to appear in the role of intermedi 
 ary in such a small affair, as he regarded it. After 
 the ball was over and, with a few of his officers, he 
 revisited the consulate for a parting chat before going 
 on board his ship, he said to the Consul : 
 
 " Well, Mr. Garland, you have used us as your 
 cat s-paw to draw these Yankee chestnuts out of the 
 fire ; but it was hardly fair in you to cable us such 
 an alarming message, it appears to me." 
 
 "Alarming message, sir? Well, I don t know. I 
 merely cabled the exact state of affairs as it seemed 
 to me then." 
 
 " Yes ? Did you, though ? Why, according to the 
 code words, you had yourself and the Vice-consul in 
 jail, a revolution raging, and the deuce to pay gen 
 erally." 
 
 "What? No. Here, Sam, bring me the code- 
 book. There now, here are the words: Bismuth, 
 bicarbonate, bobolink, Bulgaria. " 
 
 " Which, being interpreted, mean : A revolution 
 is raging, all Americans in jail, hasten quickly or 
 may be too late, in imminent peril ! " roared the 
 commander, ending up his indictment with a peal 
 of laughter in which all present, even the discom 
 fited Consul, had to join. 
 
 "I believe you are right," he admitted; "but to 
 tell the truth, things were coming to a climax so fast, 
 I may not have stopped to pick my words." 
 
All on Account of " Old Glory." 79 
 
 "It s one on you or rather on us," interjected 
 the Vice-consul. 
 
 " That s what it is," rejoined the commander. " But 
 no matter. It would have been my duty to come 
 over if things hadn t been half so bad as you made 
 them out. An American s life was in jeopardy, 
 that was enough ; and if the distance had been ten 
 times as great, I should have done my best to be 
 on time. What s the good of a navy, anyway, if it 
 is not to be used to enforce respect for the flag, in 
 whatever portion of the globe it may float ? Why, 
 it was not long ago that even little Chile, down in 
 South America, took a notion to insult it, and there 
 were some Americans who advised letting her fume ; 
 and the result was that our sailors were attacked and 
 some of them killed. By promptly despatching a 
 few warships down that way, the arrogant little 
 republic was brought to her senses, and she has 
 been quite civil ever since. No, gentlemen ; the 
 Consul made no mistake. He is here to protect his 
 countrymen in need of protection ; we are here to 
 enforce his demands. He did just right ! " 
 
 "Three cheers for Consul Garland!" spoke up a 
 junior officer. All present rose and were about to 
 give them, when the Consul raised his hand, request 
 ing a moment s silence. 
 
 " Gentlemen," he said, " I am deeply touched by 
 the remarks of our commander, and feel greatly 
 flattered that he should approve my course. But, 
 
8o The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 gentlemen, I am only a servant of that great Repub 
 lic which we all have the honor to serve. It is a 
 blessed privilege, I feel, merely to be an American, 
 a citizen of the United States ; and, above all, it is 
 a glorious thing to assist in upholding the prestige 
 of the flag. Gentlemen, I propose three cheers for 
 Old Glory. May its galaxy of stars shine on un- 
 dimmed forever ! " 
 
 Three thunderous cheers were given that nearly 
 "raised the roof," and after that more toasts were 
 proposed, and more friendships cemented, until, by 
 the time the visitors were ready to return to their 
 ship, the morning star had risen and another day 
 had dawned. 
 
 Before they left, Commander Davis drew the Con 
 sul aside and asked if he could see his protege s, who 
 had been the cause of his coming to the island. 
 
 "Of course," replied the Consul. "They are not 
 out of bed yet, on account of the mauling they got 
 in the castle ; but it isn t likely they have slept 
 much through all this noise. You ought to see 
 them, certainly, for without you and your ship as 
 lever and fulcrum, it is hardly possible I should have 
 been able to pry the President off his high and lofty 
 perch. Come upstairs, and we will have a short 
 talk with them." 
 
 The Consul was right in the surmise that his 
 patients had not slept through the tumult going on 
 below, and he found them wide awake, their eyes 
 
All on Account of "Old Glory." 81 
 
 shining with excitement. They were overjoyed at 
 meeting the commander, and he expressed pleasure 
 at having been of assistance to them in their emer 
 gency ; but when, in the midst of their thanks, he 
 offered to take them on board his ship and give them 
 free transportation back to the United States, they 
 positively, though politely, refused to avail them 
 selves of it. 
 
 "We wouldn t go back," said the elder and the 
 younger nodded assent " if you were to offer us 
 the ship ! We have come down here for a certain 
 purpose, and we intend to stay until it is accom 
 plished. That is," he added, looking shyly at the 
 Consul, " if the good friend who saved our lives does 
 not interpose his veto to our plans." 
 
 "Not I," declared the Consul. "You shall stay 
 as long as you like, shall go wherever you like, and 
 can count on me for assistance whenever you get 
 into another tight place, as I have no doubt you will, 
 soon as you can. But one thing is certain : You 
 won t get away into the mountains again in a hurry, 
 let me tell you." 
 
 " What ? " asked the boys, in unison. " Who told 
 you we had been in the mountains ? " They appeared 
 more disturbed by this remark of their friend than 
 by all the events of the preceding weeks of terror. 
 
 " Sh ! Don t get excited, my boys. Perhaps 
 a little bird told me. Perhaps, again, I have the 
 missing clew for which you were searching when 
 
82 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Lelee s minions overtook and arrested you. Anyway, 
 we will work together, when you have recovered 
 that is, if you will allow me to be silent partner and 
 accept a little advice now and then. I shan t charge 
 anything for my services. But all in good time, my 
 lads. Don t worry. To-morrow we will have a good, 
 long talk. Till then, rest." 
 
 The boys looked at each other perplexed and mys 
 tified. Had the Consul guessed their secret ? They 
 could not believe it ; at the same time they feared 
 he had. But his cheery smile reassured them, as 
 he and the commander took their departure, the 
 latter after a warm pressure of their hands and reit 
 erating his offer of service if they should ever need 
 him again. " Don t hesitate to call on the Consul 
 for help, and he will send for me at once. He has 
 a cable code warranted to fetch me every time. Eh, 
 Consul ? " he added, giving that worthy a slap on the 
 shoulder. 
 
 "I hope you don t think I did it just for fun," 
 retorted the Consul, with a wry face, as he thought 
 of the dreadful havoc the warship s coming had 
 made with his salary. 
 
 "Not at all; not at all," rejoined the commander; 
 "I know better. But good-by ; we re off." 
 
 In another hour the Capricornia was out on the 
 open sea. 
 
IX. 
 
 How the Lost Clew was Recovered. 
 
 THE week that followed the advent and depar 
 ture of the warship was remarkably quiet, and 
 no one would have imagined that only the week 
 before the capital was trembling on the brink of a 
 revolution. There was no noticeable difference in 
 the attitude of the people toward the Consul, except 
 ing that they treated him with increased respect. It 
 had got about, somehow, that he had brought the 
 hitherto invincible Lelee to his knees, had beaten 
 him out and out in a little game of diplomacy, as well 
 as forced his hand when it came to an appeal to 
 arms. 
 
 That was what caused the difference in their be 
 havior, for they had, up to that time, considered their 
 great President as the biggest man in the world. As 
 their government had never been attacked by an out 
 side power that is, within the memory of any living 
 persons and as Lelee had given out that he and 
 his army could " conquer the world " without half 
 trying, they had firmly believed him. They still 
 clung to the belief that the outside barbarians would 
 have a difficult proposition should they ever attack 
 
 83 
 
84 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 their brave nation ; but it tickled their fancy, just the 
 same, to find their despotic ruler humiliated. 
 
 As for the President, he also held his foe to be 
 more worthy of his admiration, and as the latter had 
 salved his wounds with fulsome flattery, he had no 
 grudge against him. The Consul still held posses 
 sion of his one-time prisoners, to be sure, and he 
 knew they would never be given into his keep again 
 without a struggle. It would be vain for him to 
 attempt to match him with force, for the Consul s 
 reserves were too strong. So he set his wits to work 
 and he had a full measure of cunning in his com 
 position to compass the dearest desire of his heart : 
 the destruction of these two boys, whom he chose to 
 consider his enemies. 
 
 It is impossible to account for his hallucination, 
 of course it was nothing else, for an evil man s 
 heart is inscrutable in its workings. When once the 
 devil has possession of a man, there is no knowing 
 what deeps of iniquity he will fathom to accomplish 
 his unhallowed purposes. At this stage of the story 
 his reasons have not disclosed themselves ; but per 
 haps they may develop later. Of this much we may 
 be certain, he would not rest until he had again re- 
 ensnared his prey ; and though he pretended to have 
 overlooked what had transpired, nothing was farther 
 from his thoughts than that. 
 
 But the boys were for the time safe from harm, in 
 the care of one who had shown himself resourceful 
 
How the Lost Clew was Recovered. 85 
 
 and alert ; so it will not be necessary to concern our 
 selves with their arch-enemy s scheming, but to attend 
 more closely to their immediate fortunes. During 
 the week, they had fully recovered their strength, and 
 seemed but little the worse for their misadventure. 
 And when they were on their legs again and able to 
 get about, the Consul sprang upon them a surprise 
 he had been preparing during their convalescence. 
 
 They had held many conversations together in the 
 week previous, and between them had grown up a 
 mutual confidence. But there was yet a certain 
 reserve, something the boys refused to divulge, re 
 specting their motive in coming to the island and 
 what they expected to do when they were well enough 
 to leave the Consul s hospitable dwelling. They 
 talked freely enough of their home and the few 
 friends they had left there, and the Consul had 
 learned that, like himself, they were natives of New 
 England, Americans by right of birth and a pretty 
 long line of ancestry. 
 
 The name of the elder boy was Arthur, and the 
 younger, Hartley, Strong. Their parents were dead, 
 and they had been left when quite young to fight 
 life s battle unaided. Arthur was eighteen and his 
 brother sixteen years of age ; but from having been 
 thrown upon their own resources and thrust forth into 
 the world to battle for a living very early in life, they 
 had an air of manliness and self-reliance beyond their 
 years. 
 
86 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 It may have been owing to this habit they had 
 acquired of self-dependence that they were so re 
 served, for surely they had no reason to distrust one 
 who, like the Consul, had proved their friend at a 
 time when they most stood in need of one. But 
 though they chatted quite freely of their home life, 
 the Consul could never bring them to talk of their 
 adventures since leaving the land of their birth. He 
 had no mere curiosity as to this matter, but as the 
 sequel will divulge was rather amused by their 
 reticence, and only persisted in his attempts to make 
 them betray their secret because he held it himself. 
 
 This was the surprise he had in store for them, 
 and at the proper time he let it out. They were all 
 seated on the back veranda of the consulate, near the 
 close of a very hot day, watching some birds playing 
 in the waters of a fountain in the court. A great 
 group of bananas sent broad pennons up into the air 
 in a corner of the court. The cocoa palms held their 
 rigid leaves almost motionless, awaiting the coming 
 of the evening breeze, and all nature breathed of 
 peace and beauty. The boys were admiring the scene 
 before them, their attention being divided between 
 the birds plashing in the fountain basin, the beautiful 
 bananas and palms, and the ruined walls of an ancient 
 monastery, behind which the sun was sinking into 
 the sea. 
 
 At last the Consul spoke: "My boys, I have a 
 little story to tell ! It may be true, or merely a ro- 
 
How the Lost Clew was Recovered. 87 
 
 mance, but you shall judge. A few weeks ago, it 
 may have been a month, or two months, that 
 doesn t matter, two young men were landed on the 
 north coast of this island, from a Yankee schooner 
 that had come down here to trade off codfish and 
 lumber for mahogany and tobacco. They were 
 dropped off, I was told, at or near the ruined city of 
 Isabella, where Columbus founded the first European 
 settlement in America, in 1493. Whether their in 
 centive was sentiment, or a desire for historical infor 
 mation, I do not know ; but my informant said it was 
 both, and also a hope of finding concealed treasure, 
 or a gold mine of some sort. However that may be, 
 they spent more than a week at that spot, and 
 ransacked the ruins thoroughly in search of whatever 
 they expected to find, then set off for the interior of 
 the island. 
 
 "But what is the matter? You are both pale as 
 ghosts. Are you feeling ill again ? No ? Then 
 shall I proceed ? Very well. These young men 
 mere boys, in fact, inexperienced and knowing very 
 little of the island or the language spoken here 
 started boldly for the mountains which they saw from 
 the coast. They had a stock of provisions which 
 they carried in knapsacks on their backs, a gold- 
 miner s outfit, a gun, revolvers, hatchet, and of course 
 a jack-knife apiece being Yankee boys and I sup 
 pose some money for necessary expenses. But they 
 had no guide of any sort, except an old book, a his- 
 
88 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 tory or biography, or something of that kind, which 
 they seemed to think was going to lead them straight 
 to the ancient gold mines of Cibao, for which Colum 
 bus was always looking. A good many natives saw 
 them, but as they were regarded merely as crazy men 
 they did not molest them, that being against their 
 principles. Finally they reached the mountains, and 
 passed over the very trail made by Columbus and his 
 army when they searched for the golden country four 
 hundred years ago. It is called the Hidalgo s Pass, 
 because the road through it was opened by the noble 
 men and soldiers of high degree who came out with 
 Columbus, you know. Perhaps you may have seen it, 
 and" 
 
 " Consul, what do you mean by this ? Where did 
 you get all this information about us ? " It was 
 Arthur who spoke, or else it was Hartley, or both 
 together ; but, anyway, both rose to their feet and 
 looked at their friend in great astonishment and much 
 confusion. 
 
 " About you, my dear boys ? Who said this story 
 was to be about you ? Why, you haven t told me a 
 single thing respecting what happened to you since 
 you landed here. How could the story concern you, 
 anyway ? " 
 
 " Why, it it seems very queer, Consul; but 
 go on," faltered Arthur. 
 
 " I will, if you will not interrupt me again. Well, 
 as I was saying, these two boys went through the 
 
How the Lost Clew was Recovered. 89 
 
 Hidalgo s Pass into the valley of the Yaqui, which is 
 the very river, by the way, in which Columbus found 
 the first gold ever taken from America to Spain. 
 Some of it, in fact, adorns some pictures in an old 
 monastery at Burgos, and it is said that a portion of 
 it was used in illuminating Queen Isabella s missal, 
 still to be seen in the city of Granada. But excuse 
 me these digressions ; as you seem interested in the 
 tale, I will hasten to the end of it. In short, these 
 two young rascals went on up the valley of the Rio del 
 Oro as the Spaniards called it, the River of Gold 
 and having reached a point in the hills near its head 
 waters, they branched off on a tributary and brought 
 up on or near the site of the first fort ever erected in 
 the mountains for guarding the gold regions against 
 the Indians. It was called Santo Tomas, and was at 
 one time defended by that hair-brained adventurer, 
 Alonzo de Ojeda, who had a pretty time holding out 
 against Caonabo, the Cacique of the Golden Moun 
 tains, as he was called. 
 
 " Dear me, there I go again, switching off into his 
 torical subjects; but you see I am deeply interested 
 in them and have been over most of the ground. In 
 fact, boys, I have hunted for those same gold-fields 
 that you I mean they barely missed discovering. 
 Wait, now," protested the Consul, as both boys sprang 
 to their feet with questions quivering on their lips. 
 " I know what you want to ask. You want to know 
 how it was you missed the golden treasure. I mean, 
 
88 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 tory or biography, or something of that kind, which 
 they seemed to think was going to lead them straight 
 to the ancient gold mines of Cibao, for which Colum 
 bus was always looking. A good many natives saw 
 them, but as they were regarded merely as crazy men 
 they did not molest them, that being against their 
 principles. Finally they reached the mountains, and 
 passed over the very trail made by Columbus and his 
 army when they searched for the golden country four 
 hundred years ago. It is called the Hidalgo s Pass, 
 because the road through it was opened by the noble 
 men and soldiers of high degree who came out with 
 Columbus, you know. Perhaps you may have seen it, 
 and" 
 
 " Consul, what do you mean by this ? Where did 
 you get all this information about us ? " It was 
 Arthur who spoke, or else it was Hartley, or both 
 together ; but, anyway, both rose to their feet and 
 looked at their friend in great astonishment and much 
 confusion. 
 
 " About you, my dear boys ? Who said this story 
 was to be about you ? Why, you haven t told me a 
 single thing respecting what happened to you since 
 you landed here. How could the story concern you, 
 anyway ? " 
 
 "Why, it it seems very queer, Consul; but 
 go on," faltered Arthur. 
 
 " I will, if you will not interrupt me again. Well, 
 as I was saying, these two boys went through the 
 
How the Lost Clew was Recovered. 89 
 
 Hidalgo s Pass into the valley of the Yaqui, which is 
 the very river, by the way, in which Columbus found 
 the first gold ever taken from America to Spain. 
 Some of it, in fact, adorns some pictures in an old 
 monastery at Burgos, and it is said that a portion of 
 it was used in illuminating Queen Isabella s missal, 
 still to be seen in the city of Granada. But excuse 
 me these digressions ; as you seem interested in the 
 tale, I will hasten to the end of it. In short, these 
 two young rascals went on up the valley of the Rio del 
 Oro as the Spaniards called it, the River of Gold 
 and having reached a point in the hills near its head 
 waters, they branched off on a tributary and brought 
 up on or near the site of the first fort ever erected in 
 the mountains for guarding the gold regions against 
 the Indians. It was called Santo Tomas, and was at 
 one time defended by that hair-brained adventurer, 
 Alonzo de Ojeda, who had a pretty time holding out 
 against Caonabo, the Cacique of the Golden Moun 
 tains, as he was called. 
 
 " Dear me, there I go again, switching off into his 
 torical subjects; but you see I am deeply interested 
 in them and have been over most of the ground. In 
 fact, boys, I have hunted for those same gold-fields 
 that you I mean they barely missed discovering. 
 Wait, now," protested the Consul, as both boys sprang 
 to their feet with questions quivering on their lips. 
 " I know what you want to ask. You want to know 
 how it was you missed the golden treasure. I mean, 
 
90 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 how those two boys, whose adventures I have been 
 narrating, missed it, rather. Isn t that so ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes," they cried eagerly. " Tell us how we 
 they came so near as to almost find it and then 
 lost it utterly. Why," continued Arthur, " we came 
 within an ace of it, I m sure ; but there was one 
 important clew that we couldn t follow because 
 because " 
 
 " Ho ho ! Then you two were those boys, after 
 all? You say we. " 
 
 " Of course we were, Consul, and you know it, too. 
 But what we should like to know is, how you got the 
 story." 
 
 " How ? Oh, let me see. Just as you were about 
 to strike the trail, in fact, as it got very warm, as the 
 hunters say, a posse of black men pounced upon you 
 and dragged you off to this city and to jail ! " 
 
 " Yes, Consul, all happened exactly as you say. 
 We should have told you, only only " Arthur 
 Strong was a truthful boy, and so was Hartley, and 
 as they did not like to give the real reasons for hav 
 ing been so secretive, they looked at each other in per 
 plexity, but kept silent. 
 
 " Oh, well," said the Consul, with a laugh. "You 
 didn t tell me because you didn t want to, and that is 
 sufficient. But now, as to how I got the story of 
 your adventures. If you will only recall by whose 
 soldiers you were arrested, perhaps you may draw an 
 inference pretty near the truth." 
 
How the Lost Clew was Recovered. 91 
 
 " What, the President ? Did you get it from 
 him ? " 
 
 " Exactly. From his Excellency the President." 
 
 " But how did he know of our doings previous to 
 reaching the scene of our arrest ?" demanded Arthur. 
 
 " How did he know ? Why, by means of his spies, 
 of course. He had a man dogging your footsteps 
 from the day you landed on the coast, watching you 
 in camp when you slept, ready at any time to do his 
 bidding, even to murder, if need be. And that 
 reminds me speaking of spies that I haven t 
 seen my clerk around here the last hour or so. He 
 is probably ensconced in some convenient corner lis 
 tening to all we say. Well, let him ; but if he repeats 
 a word to his master, I ll break every bone in his 
 body. Let him look out ! 
 
 " That s for his benefit," said the Consul, with a 
 grim smile. " Now come here and let me whisper 
 what I dare not say aloud : I have the clew which was 
 almost in your hands when you were arrested ! Sh ! 
 not a word. When the proper time comes we will put 
 this and that together, and find that treasure yet, or 
 I m greatly mistaken ! " 
 
94 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 started in America. This is the church of Santo 
 Domingo, formerly the monastery where the noble 
 Bartholomew de las Casas, the friend of the Indians, 
 once lived for several years." 
 
 They went through the court and saw before them 
 immense heaps of fallen stones, the ruins of massive 
 walls. "This," continued the Consul, " is the last 
 vestige of what do you suppose? Well, you can t 
 guess, if you don t know. Here before you is all 
 that remains of the first university ever founded in 
 America. Here Las Casas taught, here some of the 
 persecuted Indians whom he rescued were given an 
 education, and here he wrote a good deal of that 
 great work which has lasted centuries, his History 
 of the Indies, a book to which all historians since 
 his time have been compelled to go for material on 
 the West Indies. 
 
 " Think over that, my boys, for it is something to 
 have seen a few first things, such as this the first 
 university, the city of Isabella, which you have 
 already visited, and well, the first castle erected in 
 America, in which you have been incarcerated, the 
 old Homenage. You won t forget that in a hurry, 
 I fancy ! " 
 
 The Consul had intended nothing more than a 
 humorous allusion to their imprisonment, but the 
 instant he noted the swift look of pain that came 
 into their eyes at mention of their prison-house, he 
 quickly changed the subject. 
 
After Four Hundred Years. 95 
 
 " But pardon me, boys, that wasn t a very happy 
 thought, I must confess. Come now to the old cathe 
 dral. The west door is always open, and we can get 
 in, even at this early hour. And we shan t find our 
 great and good friend, the President, at his devotions, 
 either, at least not there. 
 
 " Do you know," he added in a low tone, glancing 
 around to feel sure he was not overheard by any 
 passer-by, "they say Lelee is a voudou worshipper. 
 That is, he sometimes goes up into the mountains 
 of Haiti and sits at the shrine of the serpent. The 
 African serpent worship was brought here by the 
 negro slaves, and along with it the habit of eating 
 human flesh, or of cannibalism. Now, I don t say 
 that his Excellency goes to that extent in his devo 
 tion to voudou ; but there are those who declare that 
 they wouldn t dare trust him. 
 
 " Well, here we are. Isn t this a grand old pile ? 
 Three hundred and fifty years have gone by since 
 this cathedral was founded. Under the tiles of the 
 roof outside is lodged a cannon-ball fired from one 
 of Sir Francis Drake s war vessels ; and Drake was 
 here when was it, now, can you tell me ? " 
 
 "He was here in 1586, when he sacked the city 
 and carried away a vast sum of money, and again in 
 1595, shortly before he died, on his last voyage," said 
 Hartley. "That is what I have read." 
 
 "Exactly," rejoined the Consul, "and even those 
 events alone carry us back to the days of Queen 
 
96 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Elizabeth ; but this city itself was founded in 1496, 
 and the cathedral fifty years after. So you see it is 
 what we might call rather ancient. Look over there 
 into that chapel. The great mahogany cross you see 
 there, which is nine feet high, was the first one set up 
 on the site of this cathedral, and was made in 1512. 
 Beneath the pavement of the nave, somewhere near 
 this very spot, is the tomb of Oviedo, royal historiog 
 rapher of the Indies, who died in 1557. That beau 
 tifully sculptured tomb in yonder chapel is equally 
 ancient, and in fact nearly everything here antedates 
 the oldest structure in the United States by more 
 than a hundred years." 
 
 They had by this time traversed the grand nave 
 and were in front of the high altar, at one side of 
 which, near the right wall of the presbytery, the 
 Consul pointed out a slab of white marble on which 
 was an engraved inscription picked out with black 
 lettering. " Read," said the Consul. " This inscrip 
 tion is in Spanish, but I guess you can make it out." 
 
 Their knowledge of Spanish was equal to this 
 task, and Arthur read the inscription aloud : " Be 
 neath this marble is the vault from which were taken 
 the remains of the most noble Don Christopher 
 Columbus, Lord High Admiral of the Ocean Sea, 
 who died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506, was interred 
 in the convent of Las Cuevas in Seville, and about 
 the year 1 540 was brought over the sea and placed 
 beneath the pavement of this presbytery, where his 
 
After Four Hundred Years. 97 
 
 remains were rediscovered in the year 1867. Re- 
 quiescat in pace." 
 
 "Why, I thought the remains of Columbus were 
 interred in the cathedral at Havana, Cuba," said 
 Hartley. 
 
 " Yes ; and so almost everybody thought, until 
 after this famous re-discovery," replied the Consul. 
 " But the truth is, they were not." 
 
 "Then how has the impression become general, 
 at least, among historical writers, that Columbus was 
 buried there ? " 
 
 "Well, it is a long story," answered the Consul. 
 " There is no doubt at all that the remains of Colum 
 bus were brought to this island of Santo Domingo, 
 about three hundred and fifty or sixty years ago ; 
 but after a while the place of his sepulchre was lost 
 sight of, owing, they say, to the fact that when the 
 pirate Drake was reported headed for the island, the 
 church dignitaries ordered all traces of the tomb to 
 be obliterated, fearing desecration. It remained 
 unknown until it was re-located in 1867, as stated 
 on the slab. But the way in which the impression 
 got abroad that he was at last buried in Havana was 
 simple enough. In the year 1795 this island was 
 ceded by Spain to France, but it was thought too 
 bad to allow the ashes of the great discoverer of 
 America, and of one who had done so much for the 
 glory of Spain, to rest under an alien flag; so a 
 frigate was sent to transport them to Havana. As 
 
98 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 no one knew the exact burial place, only that it 
 was somewhere in the cathedral, the commissioners 
 charged with this office sounded the pavement till 
 they located a boveda, or vault, then opened it 
 and took out some pieces of lead and fragments of 
 bone that were there. They found no inscription 
 whatever, but had no doubt that what they took 
 away were the remains of Columbus, and they were 
 placed in a niche in the cathedral at Havana, and 
 for more than eighty years it was thought all right. 
 
 " But one day some masons were repairing the wall 
 of this presbytery and came across a vault contain 
 ing a leaden casket. They reported the fact to the 
 vicar of the cathedral, and he summoned all the 
 city authorities, and all the foreign consuls, myself 
 included, to witness the official opening of the vault, 
 which he had every reason to believe contained the 
 remains of Columbus. And sure enough it did, for 
 when the leaden casket was opened there were not 
 only the remains, such as human bones and dust, 
 but inscriptions authenticating them as veritable 
 relics of the great navigator himself. There was 
 also a silver plate with his name engraved thereon, 
 a big bullet which it is supposed was shot into his 
 body when he was in Africa before he made the 
 voyage to America, and a few other trifles of the 
 sort. No, there is no doubt these were the remains 
 of Don Christopher, and those taken to Havana 
 belonged to some other member of his family, prob- 
 
After Four Hundred Years. 99 
 
 ably his son, Don Diego, the same man who built 
 your castle." 
 
 "That is poetic justice," said Arthur, though not 
 without wincing at this allusion again to his prison 
 pen ; " for he had probably hoped to make himself 
 a name by building it, and as it turns out all trace 
 of him is finally lost. But was there anything else 
 in the casket, Consul, that would throw light on the 
 subject, or upon the acts of Columbus during his 
 lifetime?" 
 
 The Consul looked at his interlocutor with a 
 strange smile on his face for a moment, then re 
 plied : " Yes, my boy, there was. But come back 
 with me now to the consulate, where we can talk 
 in privacy, and I ll tell you all about it. In fact, you 
 will be more interested in that than you can at pres 
 ent understand. It was not merely to show you anti 
 quarian relics that I took you boys out with me this 
 morning, but to have you see for yourselves the exact 
 spot in which I found the lost clew to the treasure." 
 
 "What?" cried both boys at once. "The clew? 
 In this vault?" 
 
 " That s what I said. But come along ; not an 
 other word here. Come." 
 
 Arriving at the consulate, their friend took Arthur 
 and Hartley up to his private room, and after closing 
 the door and examining the windows, he went to a 
 corner and unlocked a huge chest that stood there. 
 He fumbled awhile among the articles contained 
 
ioo The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 within it and then drew forth a chamois-skin bag, from 
 which he took out a small plate of metal, about four 
 inches square, thin and tarnished. Procuring a mag 
 nifying lens he handed both plate and glass to Arthur, 
 and requested him to read what he should find en 
 graved on the plate. The boy complied, while Hart 
 ley stood wondering by. At first he seemed puzzled ; 
 then his face began to pale, his hand shook so that 
 he could hardly keep the lens at the right focus. But 
 he persisted in the reading until he had finished it, 
 then turned to the Consul with a sigh, as he handed 
 plate and lens to his brother, with the ejaculation : 
 
 "Wonderful! Wonderful! To think this secret 
 should have been preserved four hundred years ! " 
 
 The effect of the reading upon Hartley was not 
 less marked, for he seemed stupefied, deprived of 
 speech, and simply looked with dilated eyes from the 
 objects in his hand to his companion. 
 
XL 
 
 Through a Dead Man s Eyes. 
 
 1 T found that plate in the Columbus casket," said 
 JL the Consul. " After all the bones had been 
 taken out, I was poking about in the dust with a 
 stick and disclosed this. Nobody had any objection 
 to my taking it away, and so I brought it home with 
 me. That s all there is to the story. Rather queer, 
 though, isn t it ? " 
 
 The boys were still too much overcome to reply, 
 and the Consul continued : " Suppose you can 
 make out the lettering, can t you ? It is rather 
 obscure, to be sure, but still it is legible. Judg 
 ing by your looks, you must have got an inkling 
 of the inscription, for it seems to have affected you 
 somewhat. Let me read it, though, and see if it 
 tallies with your translation. It was probably left by 
 Columbus on his deathbed, with instructions to have 
 it placed in his coffin. It s a wonder, though, that 
 nobody read it and set out in search of the treasure 
 he mentions. Columbus was queer, and no mistake. 
 Here he must have known of that treasure for many 
 years, and seems to have made no effort whatever to 
 find it. But he was striving for a world, was Colum 
 bus, and what were a few millions of treasure to him ? 
 
 101 
 
IO2 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 However, here goes. The inscription is in old 
 Spanish, as you may have observed, and hard to 
 make out on that account, even if the lettering were 
 not microscopic. 
 
 " I, Don Cristobal Colon [Spanish for Christopher 
 Columbus, you know], being in extremis and about 
 to leave this world in which I have found naught but 
 sorrow and pain, and desirous of committing to pos 
 terity a secret that has been mine for many years, 
 have caused a silver plate to be engraved, and this is 
 it. It is to make known the whereabouts of the 
 treasure of the Cacique of the Golden House, other 
 wise known as Caonabo, the same Indian chieftain 
 whom I caused to be taken by Alonzo de Ojeda and 
 sent to Spain in chains, and who died of grief, or a 
 broken heart, on the voyage. Heaven rest his soul 
 and ease mine of the weight of this sin ! 
 
 " Before he left Isabella city, which I had founded 
 and named after my gracious sovereign, he told me 
 that in the mountains of the Cibao he had filled a 
 vast cave with all the gold his subjects had found in 
 many, many years. He told me that to reach this 
 treasure cave one must pursue the Rio del Oro, or 
 Yaqui, to its branching beyond the Yanico, thence 
 go northwardly for more than a furlong, when a 
 narrow ravine would be found opening out of the 
 stream, and at the head of this ravine was the cave, 
 its entrance hidden by a screen of vines. This the 
 Cacique told me, and it was always my intention to 
 
Through a Dead Man s Eyes. 103 
 
 make search accordingly, as I have no doubt of his 
 truthfulness in the matter. But here am I at last, 
 near to death in Valladolid, worn out from long ser 
 vice in my sovereigns service, and having no desire 
 for earthly treasure. It is my will, then, that this 
 plate be placed in my coffin, to be buried with me in 
 the island of Santo Domingo, in the convent of the 
 Franciscans in the Vega Real, that whomsoever may 
 find it, in some succeeding century, may receive the 
 benefit of this intention. And may that treasure 
 prove more a blessing to its finder than all that has 
 been yielded to me through my discovery of the 
 Indies, all that I have had being sorrow and distress. 
 Amen. 
 
 " The greeting of Cristobal Colon, one time Ad 
 miral of the Ocean Sea, one time the companion 
 and confidant of kings and princes ; yet who dieth 
 in poverty and obscurity. Of what avail, O God, of 
 what avail ? 
 
 " Well, does that tally with your translation ? " 
 asked the Consul. 
 
 "Yes," replied Arthur, " I made out the gist of it, 
 enough to show me how near we were to finding that 
 cave when the soldiers seized us. Why, do you 
 know, we were right opposite a deep and narrow 
 ravine, and Hart and I were discussing whether we 
 ought to turn off there or keep on the main stream. 
 The soldiers, concealed in the forest, must have 
 heard us, though they could not have understood, of 
 
IO4 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 course, and before we had decided, out they came 
 and made us prisoners." 
 
 "And now I remember," added Hartley, "that 
 Art was for going up the ravine, while I was 
 inclined to keep on the main stream." 
 
 " Just so," rejoined the Consul, " and if you had 
 had this clew, bestowed by dead and gone Columbus, 
 you might have gone direct to the cave and long 
 before this have been revelling in untold riches. 
 That is, you might if you hadn t been headed off. I 
 don t believe the soldiers know of the cave or the 
 treasure ; but their lord and master, Lelee, must have 
 an inkling of it, or he wouldn t keep them up there 
 in the mountains, perpetually on guard watching for 
 prospectors like yourselves. But by the way, what 
 became of the book upon which you relied for 
 information?" 
 
 " It was taken from us," replied Arthur, " as well 
 as everything else we possessed, except the clothes we 
 had on." 
 
 " Ah, yes, and that reminds me that I have not made 
 his Excellency disgorge his plunder, either. I will 
 write him a note and suggest that it will be better 
 for him to return it at once. When do you want to 
 start for the mountains again ? I suppose you still 
 intend to continue the search ? " 
 
 The boys looked at each other sadly a moment, 
 and then Arthur said, " Consul, I don t think we 
 shall go there again, but instead will abandon 
 
Through a Dead Man s Eyes. 105 
 
 the search and take the first steamer for the 
 States." 
 
 " How now? What has changed your intentions? " 
 
 "Well, Consul, our intentions have not changed 
 so much as the conditions. Since you have shown 
 us where the treasure is located, and yourself own 
 the only clew, it would not be fair to take advantage 
 of this knowledge ; so there seems but one thing to 
 do, and that is to throw up the whole affair and go 
 back home." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh, my boy. You aren t going to do any 
 such thing. I meant what I told you a few days 
 ago ; that I would go in with you two as a silent part 
 ner, if you like, and while you carry on the search 
 in the field I can keep watch over our enemy here at 
 the capital. What do you say ? Is it a bargain ? 
 Quick, now, do you close ? " 
 
 "What shall it be, Hart?" said Arthur, with a 
 laugh. 
 
 " Close, by all means, Art. It would nearly break 
 my heart to abandon the search now, before we have 
 fairly started. I know there s risk in it, but that 
 doesn t matter. I m willing to take it if you are." 
 
 "Very well, Consul, it is a bargain. But what 
 shall we do for an outfit ? We had a pretty complete 
 one when we were arrested, but now 
 
 " Give yourself no uneasiness about that. Why, 
 have you forgotten the belt full of gold Arthur had 
 around his waist under his clothes ? It seemed pretty 
 
io6 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 heavy, and I m willing to take what is in it for my 
 share of the expenses." 
 
 " Oh, Consul, Consul. Did you save that for us ? 
 Why, I thought the jailer took it while we were 
 unconscious, for when I awoke it was gone." 
 
 " Of course it was, for I took it myself, knowing 
 full well that if I didn t some one else would. And I 
 doubt if anybody else would have brought it to me, 
 and asked me to place it in my safe for you ; for that s 
 where it is now, and subject to your order." 
 
 " Consul, we can never sufficiently thank you for 
 all your kindness, and then this last ! If you will 
 only take half the gold in the belt as some return for 
 the expense we have been to you " 
 
 " Nonsense, boy. You don t know what you are 
 saying. You may pay for your outfit, though, and 
 what is left I ll keep in the safe, if you say so, against 
 the day of need that may come if you don t find the 
 treasure. Then again, you ll need a few dollars with 
 which to bribe the soldiers when they get on your 
 trail ; for sure as fate they will. Catch old Lelee 
 napping ? No, indeed ! Outwit him for a while, but 
 eventually he will catch us, I m afraid. 
 
 " What I propose is that you take passage on the 
 next steamer as if for the United States, and instead 
 of going through, get off at Puerto Plata or Monte 
 Christi, on the north coast, as she touches at both 
 places, on the homeward voyage. You can make 
 your way to the interior from either port, and by the 
 
Through a Dead Man s Eyes. 107 
 
 time Lelee hears of it be so far into the mountains 
 that it will take his hirelings a long time to find you. 
 I expect them to find you eventually, but their master 
 knows that if they do you any bodily harm he will 
 pay for it. The Sangamon is due here this week, 
 and as I am well acquainted with the captain and 
 purser I will arrange for your passage. Tickets will 
 be made out for New York, but it will be understood 
 that you step off at Monte Christi. I advise that 
 port because it is farther off than Puerto Plata and 
 less visited. You can go thence up the Yaqui River 
 road direct to the mountains of the Cibao and begin 
 operations where you left off. Does that suit you?" 
 
 "Perfectly," replied Arthur, Hartley also assent 
 ing, and that very day they began preparations for 
 the journey. With the Consul s aid they got to 
 gether a complete outfit little by little, and when the 
 steamer arrived they were ready to start. Purser 
 and captain entered cordially into the scheme, and 
 on the homeward voyage of the Sangamon the two 
 boys were carried on the passenger list as " Messrs. 
 Arthur and Hartley Strong, bound for New York." 
 The President was not unaware of their departure, 
 but if he had wished to prevent it, he gave no sign. 
 
 At the very last moment, and after they had bid 
 den their friend good-by at the consulate (as he had 
 important papers to sign, and said he could not leave 
 to see them aboard), when the steamer had pulled 
 out into the river and was awaiting the purser, they 
 
io8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 were overjoyed to see the Consul with him in the 
 boat coming off to the ship. They hastened to the 
 gangway for one last pressure of his honest palm 
 and to reiterate their thanks, when he surprised them 
 by saying : 
 
 " So you thought to see the last of me, eh ? Not 
 at all, for I m going with you. Have some business 
 up North which nobody else can attend to. Come 
 below, both of you, I want a look at your stateroom." 
 
 Following them into their room and closing the 
 door, he held up a warning finger, and whispered : 
 " There s a spy on board. Purser told me. Soon as 
 I heard of it, I packed up a few things for the trip 
 and hastened to warn you. That s why I m here, 
 and I m going to stay by you till he s disposed of, if 
 it takes a month to get rid of him. But leave that 
 to me. That miserable clerk of mine must have 
 overheard some of our conversation, but I m pretty 
 sure he didn t hear all." 
 
 "What shall we do?" asked Arthur, who was 
 generally the spokesman. 
 
 " Do ? Why, you ll go right ahead and do as we 
 had planned. I ll attend to Mr. Spy. We have 
 three days to scheme in, and if I can t dispose of 
 him before we get to Cristi, you may take my head 
 for a football. Come on deck now, and act as if 
 nothing had happened. I want to point out the 
 sights to you." 
 
 The steamer was then rounding the point below 
 
Through a Dead Man s Eyes. 109 
 
 the mouth of the river, and the city was far astern. 
 A man stood on the point waving his hat, and after 
 a long look at him the Consul took off his " Panama " 
 and whirled it vigorously. 
 
 "That s Ben," he explained. "Cable operator, 
 you know. Fellow that got the warship over here 
 just in the nick of time. You ought to remember 
 that, I reckon." 
 
 " Indeed, we do," declared Arthur. " And we owe 
 him something, too, for his aid, for he ran a good 
 deal of risk, we were told." 
 
 "That he did," assented the Consul. "But don t 
 worry about paying him back just now. The time 
 may come when you can repay him with interest. 
 It s a lonely life he leads there, all by himself in his 
 little hut. And by the way, boys, his shanty is 
 pitched on the site of the veritable tower in which 
 your old friend Columbus was imprisoned when he 
 was arrested by Governor Bobadilla. Don t you 
 recall the story ? Bobadilla was sent over to inquire 
 into the doings of Columbus in the island, and rather 
 exceeded his authority by putting the old Admiral in 
 chains. Nice treatment that, wasn t it, as a reward 
 for such distinguished services as he had rendered 
 the king of Spain ? But he was avenged soon after, 
 right on this very coast." 
 
XII. 
 
 Sailing o er Historic Waters. 
 
 was one time," said the Consul, 
 "when a hurricane did a deal of good in 
 ridding the world of several worthless villains, and 
 that time was the event I just mentioned. The way 
 of it was this : After Bobadilla had sent Columbus 
 home to Spain in chains, in the year 1 500, he lorded 
 it with a high hand in the island. He got all the 
 work he could out of the poor Indians and he col 
 lected all the gold he could find, knowing well enough 
 that his reign would be a short one ; and in the course 
 of a year, sure enough, he had run the length of his 
 tether. King Ferdinand of Spain sent out another 
 governor to supersede him, and Senor Bobadilla 
 packed up his effects for home. 
 
 "Now it so happened that just about the time the 
 fleet in which he was to sail was ready to depart, 
 along came the man he had so terribly wronged; to 
 wit, Christopher Columbus, with another fleet of 
 ships and caravels bound on a third voyage of dis 
 covery. The king and queen of Spain had freed him 
 from his fetters and cleared his character, but they 
 had forbidden him to return to Santo Domingo, in 
 
 no 
 
Sailing o er Historic Waters. in 
 
 order to prevent a collision between him and the 
 others who had usurped his place. 
 
 "Now, Admiral Columbus was weather wise, you 
 know, and as he saw signs of a storm coming up 
 about the time he made land on the south coast of 
 Santo Domingo, instead of pursuing his voyage he 
 made a run for shelter. He sailed into the Ozama 
 River and sent ashore asking permission to make a 
 harbor there ; but the churls in possession of the city 
 he and his brother had founded refused and bade him 
 begone. So he set sail for a small harbor down the 
 coast which he knew of, but before he went he tried 
 to heap coals of fire on the heads of his enemies by 
 giving them information of the coming hurricane, 
 and warning them against sending out the fleet for 
 Spain, which he saw was ready to sail. 
 
 " But they thought they themselves knew the 
 weather signs, and besides, they distrusted Columbus 
 more than the mariners of to-day distrust our weather 
 bureau at Washington. Anyway, they did not heed 
 his advice, and so he sailed down the coast for a 
 shelter, while the fleet set sail for Spain. It was one 
 of the largest and most richly laden galleon fleets 
 that ever sailed out of the Ozama for old Spain, and 
 had on board, besides the ex-governor Bobadilla, an 
 ex-convict and rebel, Roldan, and some captive 
 Indians, among them being a famous chieftain. 
 
 " Well, to make a long story short, the hurricane 
 came up and sunk every ship of the fleet but one ; 
 
H2 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 that was the one that was carrying the treasure and 
 effects of Columbus to Spain. But the vessel in 
 which were Bobadilla and the other illustrious people 
 was sent to the bottom, and all aboard perished in 
 the sea. 
 
 " But I haven t mentioned all that vessel contained 
 which has made it an object of interest ever since, 
 especially to wreckers and divers. It had on board 
 the largest nugget of gold ever found in America, if 
 not in the whole world. This nugget had been found 
 by a poor Indian woman, who told her master, a 
 Spaniard, about it, and he and a companion went and 
 dug it up. They were so overjoyed at the sight that 
 they used it for a table, and one time roasted a pig 
 whole and had it served up on their golden table, 
 boasting that no man ever before had such a truly 
 priceless possession put to such common use. 
 
 " Bobadilla or some other man in authority made the 
 miners give up their prize by threatening them with 
 the law for trying to deprive their sovereign of his 
 royal fifths, that being the proportion exacted for the 
 king of Spain. Anyway, the great nugget was on 
 board Bobadilla s ship when it was sunk by the hur 
 ricane, and it lies now at the bottom of the sea, that 
 mass of gold said to weigh three thousand three 
 hundred and ten pounds. 
 
 " Think of that, boys : more than a ton and a half 
 of pure gold, worth at the least calculation more than 
 eight hundred thousand dollars, down on the floor of 
 
Sailing o er Historic Waters. 113 
 
 the sea waiting for somebody to haul it up to day 
 light ! We are about over the spot where the vessel 
 sank, I should think, or at any rate, it was not far 
 from where we are now, right between us and the 
 shore. Ah, if we could only peer into the depths of 
 the sea and behold what is lying under water between 
 the ribs of those old galleons ! Why, that mass of 
 gold alone would be worth some trouble to get, me- 
 thinks. What say you ? " 
 
 " Whatever you say, Consul," replied Arthur, who, 
 like his brother, had been listening attentively to all 
 their friend s remarks. " You are our silent partner, 
 you know, but yet you have a voice in affairs. In 
 fact," he continued, laughing, " seems to me that for 
 a silent partner, you have done a good deal of 
 talking." 
 
 "Oh, well," rejoined the Consul, "if I talk too 
 much, let me know before it goes too far." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," Arthur hastily replied. "Of 
 course you have not talked too much. Everything 
 you have said has been to the point and wonderfully 
 interesting. About this great nugget, for instance, 
 Hart and I have often speculated as to its size and 
 the place where it went down ; but we never thought 
 to be near the very spot. Do you really think it 
 might be located ? " 
 
 " Haven t a doubt of it. But the trouble would be 
 to get it out, for it is probably embedded in the tim 
 bers and beneath the wreckage of the galleon ; and 
 
1 14 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 besides, nearly four hundred years have passed since 
 she sank, and it may be buried fathoms deep in mud. 
 But we won t bother about that now. When you 
 shall have found that other treasure, we shall have 
 money enough to fit up a wrecking expedition with 
 some chances of success. Till then, we will hold this 
 matter in abeyance. 
 
 "But look over there by the forward hatchway. 
 There is your friend, the spy, gazing over the rail. 
 Don t let him catch you watching ; but note his ap 
 pearance well. He looks the cutthroat, doesn t he?" 
 
 "A more villainous face I never saw, not even 
 excepting that of our former jailer," answered 
 Arthur. " But how are we going to thwart him, 
 Consul? Is he alone? If so, I m sure Hart and 
 I can attend to him." 
 
 "Yes, I think he is alone, but am not quite sure 
 yet. Lelee generally has his hunters out in couples, 
 in case an accident should happen ; but so far I 
 haven t been able to locate his partner, if he has one. 
 The purser will find out for us, however, before we 
 get to Cristi, as he has to pass on all the tickets, 
 and can elicit a good deal of information in the way 
 of legitimate questioning. 
 
 " But I m hungry, and also tired. The gong just 
 rang for dinner. Suppose we go below and have some 
 thing to eat, then seek our respective couches for 
 the night. That s a glorious sunset over there, to be 
 sure; but a sunset is something always on exhibition, 
 
Sailing o er Historic Waters. 115 
 
 at least once a day, to people out of doors, while a 
 good dinner, such as the steward of the Sangamon 
 provides, is not always to be had for the asking. 
 Take the advice of an old stager, boys, and while 
 keeping your appreciation for the beauties of nature, 
 at the same time recollect that they are not filling as 
 a steady diet. Men of your age are likely to moon 
 about a good deal over intangible things ; men of my 
 age stick to realities. Still, a judicious mixture of 
 romance and reality is good for one, if he can but 
 discriminate between the real and the unreal. 
 
 "I fancy much of what you say is pure nonsense," 
 declared Hart ; " but perhaps we can pick out the 
 nuggets of wisdom as we find them. One thing we 
 know, and that is your discretion and diplomacy 
 have not been at fault, not in our case." 
 
 " My discretion goes overboard when my sym 
 pathies are aroused, as in your case, and as 
 diplomacy, they say, is the art of talking a great deal 
 without saying anything, I ought to be a past master 
 of the art. Is that what you meant to say ? But, no 
 matter ; don t stop to answer. Here s the dining 
 hall and the dinner; now fall to and enjoy your 
 selves." 
 
 After dinner was over the three friends took a 
 short stroll about the deck, then sought their state 
 rooms, slept through the Mona Passage and around 
 the eastern end of Santo Domingo, and awoke at 
 
n6 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 daybreak in time to close their "ports" against the 
 deluge sent over the sides of the ship by the sailors 
 engaged in washing off the decks. The water was 
 now quite smooth, in contrast to the rough seas that 
 had tossed them about during the night, and the 
 boys knew before they had gained the companionway 
 that they must be under the lee of the land. But 
 they were not prepared for the scene of beauty that 
 burst upon them as they reached the deck, for right 
 abreast the steamer lay a cresent-shaped beach of 
 snowy sand, above which hung long-leaved cocoa 
 palms, and the contrasts of color the heavenly blue 
 of the sea and the vivid green of the palms, with the 
 white sands sparkling between, were entrancing. 
 
 "Ah, here we are in Samana Bay. How is that 
 for scenery ? " It was the Consul who addressed 
 them, stretched out in a steamer chair sipping his 
 morning coffee and drinking in the glories of the 
 shore as they steamed slowly past. 
 
 "Glorious," said Arthur. "And what is that 
 thing out there sending up a stream of vapor ? " 
 
 " That s a whale," replied the Consul. " He s got 
 in shallow water and had better look out or he will 
 get stranded. And look at the dolphins, chasing 
 those flocks of flying fish. Pretty, aren t they ? " 
 
 "Very," said Arthur, seating himself and drawing 
 up a chair for his brother. " Order some coffee, 
 Hart, and let s take it on deck, for this is like a 
 beautiful panorama, and we ought not to lose a bit 
 
Sailing o er Historic Waters. 117 
 
 of it." Hartley did as requested, then came and sat 
 down beside his brother and their friend. 
 
 " See that pretty cove over yonder, the one with 
 a headland at the farther end and a half-moon beach 
 with clumps of palms ? Yes ? Well, that is where the 
 first Indian blood was shed by Europeans in the New 
 World. Yes, right there, I believe. It was on the 
 return trip of Columbus s first voyage to America, 
 sometime in January, 1493. He rounded the great 
 head over yonder, and came into this bay, which he 
 called the Gulf of Arrows, from the fact that when 
 he sent a boat ashore for water, the crew was saluted 
 by flights of arrows from the Indians camped there. 
 
 " It seems that they were Caribs, and quite different 
 from the Indians the Spaniards had left a few days 
 before on the coast of Haiti ; and as the white men 
 had never met the Caribs before, and the Indians 
 had never seen or heard of white men, it was a 
 mutual surprise, as you may say. The red men 
 recovered first, and let fly a dozen arrows or so, 
 wounding one of the men in the boat and exasperat 
 ing the rest so that they picked up their arquebuses 
 and gave the aborigines a little better than they had 
 sent. Some of the wild men were laid out on the 
 spot, and the rest were so astonished that they gave 
 up the fight right off and hastened to make terms 
 with such wonderful people as they saw before them, 
 who could as they thought command the thun 
 der and the lightning. 
 
1 1 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " That s about all there was of it except that Colum 
 bus learned from these Indians or thought he did 
 about an island to the south and west of here, 
 which was inhabited solely by Amazons or fighting 
 women, who allowed no man whatever to land on 
 their shores. He set out in search of that island, but 
 after sailing awhile, the wind came up favorable for 
 the voyage Spainward, and he drew about and started 
 for home. So this was the very last land he and his 
 crew looked on before making their landfall in the 
 Azores, on the homeward voyage. 
 
 " Ha, there is our friend the spy, out bright and 
 early, and casting furtive glances about. Perhaps he 
 thinks you are going ashore here ; but he s going to 
 learn a thing or two before he s many hours older." 
 
XIII. 
 
 The Spy makes an Involuntary Voyage. 
 
 THE steamer came to anchor in the landlocked 
 harbor abreast the little town of Santa Bar 
 bara, but there was hardly time to go ashore to see 
 the place, so the passengers stayed aboard. This 
 town is the chief emporium of the great peninsula 
 of Samana, but is famous mainly for its harbor, 
 which has long been coveted as a coaling station by 
 several maritime powers, the United States included. 
 
 The boys were surprised to hear a respectable old 
 negro who came off to the ship address the Consul 
 in excellent English, and after they were introduced, 
 they learned that he was the pastor of a large flock 
 of American negroes, chiefly descendants of a colony 
 that had been made here fifty or sixty years ago. 
 In fact, though it is not generally known, the most 
 of the peninsula of Samana, with its beautiful 
 scenery, its genial climate and fertile soil, is occu 
 pied by black and colored people who speak English 
 and are the most thrifty people on the island. 
 
 Learning that the young men were intending visit 
 ing the interior of the island, the old minister gave 
 them his card, saying, as he did so, "There are 
 
 119 
 
i2o The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 several of my people scattered about in the moun 
 tains of the interior, and if you should meet with 
 any of them and show them this card, there is noth 
 ing in the world they would not do for you." 
 
 "That s true," added the Consul, by way of in 
 dorsement, "for if there are any honest people in 
 the wide, wide world, Father Johnson s parishioners 
 answer to that description. I wish we could get one 
 of them to go with you, for then I should feel that 
 you were comparatively safe." 
 
 "Are not these the young men the President 
 incarcerated in the Homenage ?" asked the old man. 
 Having been answered in the affirmative, he rejoined : 
 " Indeed, then, they may feel glad to have escaped 
 that loup garou, who rarely lets any lambs of my 
 flock return if ever they stray far away from the 
 fold. His loathsome procurers have several times 
 been here ; once they took away a fine young man, 
 despite my protests, and he perished miserably in 
 the jail at the capital. Why ? I never knew. If I 
 mistake not, I saw one of those evil men leaning 
 over the rail as I came aboard. If I could only get 
 sufficient proof of his guilt, I would have him taken 
 into custody. But then, it would do no good, for his 
 master would have him released at once, and would 
 probably put me, old as I am, in his place." 
 
 Thus the boys received confirmatory evidence of 
 the presence on board of one of Lelee s spies, or 
 procurers, and if they had had any doubts as to the 
 
The Spy makes an Involuntary Voyage. 121 
 
 correctness of the Consul s surmises, they no longer 
 entertained them. 
 
 Next morning, after a short night s run, they 
 entered the harbor of Puerto Plata, or the Silver 
 Port, so called, some say, from a silver cloud that 
 hangs over a mountain near it, and others say from 
 some silver-laden galleons having been raised near 
 it which were sunk in buccaneer times. 
 
 It is one of the prettiest ports in Santo Domingo, 
 and has an air of thrift and cleanliness which most 
 of the other places lack. This may be owing to the 
 presence here of some enterprising Americans, who 
 have sugar plantations adjacent and are also engaged 
 in commercial business. 
 
 A short stay only was made here, and then the 
 steamer left for Monte Cristi, about a hundred miles 
 westward. About three in the afternoon the boys 
 sighted familiar landmarks, when the headland pro 
 tecting the site of Isabella came into view, for it 
 was here that they had landed some months before, 
 when they made their unfortunate excursion to the 
 mountains. Here, also, in December, 1493, the first 
 European settlement in America was started by 
 Columbus, and the ill-fated city built which he called 
 Isabella, after the queen of Spain. All about it is 
 a wilderness now, and even the very site of the city 
 is covered over with a rank growth of tropical 
 vegetation. 
 
 " That was a wild-goose chase, wasn t it, Art ? " 
 
122 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 It was Hartley who spoke, musingly, as he recurred 
 to their adventures after landing here. " But we had 
 a good time, didn t we ? " 
 
 " Indeed we did," replied Arthur. " I shall never 
 forget the nice little hut we made and then had to 
 abandon, the flocks of parrots that came at our call, 
 the mocking-birds that sang for us every morning, 
 and the wild fruits we found in the forest. Then the 
 feeling that we were the first ones to re-discover the 
 lone city in the woods, which had been left desolate 
 ever since Columbus was there, four hundred years 
 ago. How happy we were, Hart, and how free. Do 
 you remember the little sand beach between the 
 bluffs, where we used to take our baths every morn 
 ing at daylight, and had to carry cudgels into the 
 water to frighten away the barracoutas ? Of course 
 you do, for it was only a few months ago, though it 
 does now seem years, when I think of what has hap 
 pened to us since." 
 
 Thus indulging in reminiscence, the boys gazed 
 longingly at the scenes of their former adventure, 
 straining their eyes to see the last vestige of beach 
 and woodland as the steamer passed. But the Con 
 sul had then no time nor taste for reminiscence. He 
 was looking forward to the near future, and scheming 
 how he could rid his young prote"g6s of that hateful 
 spy. He remained closeted with the purser for more 
 than an hour, and as he emerged from the latter s 
 room his eyes twinkled with satisfaction. Hastily 
 
The Spy makes an Involuntary Voyage. 123 
 
 walking aft, he sought the boys, where they were 
 standing looking at the fast-receding hills of Isabella, 
 and opened fire at once. 
 
 " Look here, my hearties. The thing is all 
 arranged. Purser and I have fixed it to the queen s 
 taste. You know I bought two tickets for you to 
 New York; but you are to get off at Cristi, while 
 our sable friend, the President s minion, will perforce 
 travel on your passage. As there will be two tickets, 
 he can thus go up and back ; though as to when 
 he returns is a matter not yet settled. We shall get 
 to Cristi after dark, but as I have cabled for my 
 consular agent to meet me with his boat and take 
 us directly ashore, we shall have no trouble in 
 landing. 
 
 " Meanwhile Mr. Spy is to be locked in the purser s 
 strong room, that is, if he can be beguiled into it, 
 and not let out again until the steamer is well off 
 toward the Bahamas. As there will be no further 
 stops this side New York, the honorable gentleman 
 deputed to spy upon your movements will probably 
 have a couple of months to reflect upon the error of 
 his ways before he can get passage back to his native 
 land. In fact, it is doubtful if he ever does come 
 back, knowing his master s unforgiving nature and 
 that it is very likely he will have him shot for not 
 carrying out his schemes to the very letter. How 
 does that strike you ? " 
 
 " Why, it is a good scheme," said Arthur, " if it 
 
124 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 will only work. But seems to me it is a case of 
 first catch your hare, isn t it ? " 
 
 "Oh, we ll catch that hare all right, for all the 
 ship s company is on our side, and he can t get away. 
 He s in for a voyage to New York, whether he wants 
 to go or not." 
 
 " But if he doesn t ? " urged Hartley. 
 
 "It will be just the same. Go he shall, and go he 
 must. It s for the good of his country. What s that 
 the poet says : He left his country for his country s 
 good ?" 
 
 " But he may not think so, you know," said 
 Arthur. 
 
 " Think so ? Why, he s got to think so. Anyway, 
 he s going, whether he wants to or not. Come, now, 
 get your dunnage together and be all ready to 
 go ashore the minute the steamer slows up. I have 
 fixed it with the purser, as I said, and he is to hold 
 the man a prisoner until too late for him to escape." 
 
 Well, the Consul s plan worked beautifully. The 
 steamer arrived at the roadstead of Monte Cristi 
 about nine at night, and just as it slowed up suffi 
 ciently to drop the inland and take aboard the out 
 going mails, a long-boat manned by a stalwart crew 
 shot up to the gangway and hooked on. 
 
 " Here we are, Consul," cried the steersman, who 
 was the consular agent himself. "Tumble out, sir, 
 for the tide is swift right here and it s a long pull 
 ashore." 
 
A LITHE BODY WAS DRAWN OUT OF THE PORTHOLE." 
 
The Spy makes an Involuntary Voyage. 125 
 
 The trio did as commanded, and in less than ten 
 minutes they and their luggage were aboard the long 
 boat and being rowed away from the steamer. But 
 suddenly their attention was caught by hideous howls 
 of rage from a porthole amidship, and looking in their 
 direction they saw in the dusk of night a head pro 
 truding from it. Then a hand was thrust out, fol 
 lowed by another, and more quickly than they could 
 have believed possible, a lithe body was drawn out of 
 the porthole and hung for a moment suspended above 
 the water. 
 
 "It s that miserable spy," growled the Consul. 
 "Who would have thought he could crawl through 
 that port ? But there he is, and the only thing to 
 do is to head him off and take him back aboard 
 ship." Then : " Stern all ! " he shouted to the oars 
 men. " Perhaps we can catch him in our boat as he 
 drops ! " 
 
 But no. Hardly had the long-boat gone astern 
 half its length, when a splash was heard, and the 
 water closed over the dark form, which sped swiftly 
 downward. 
 
 The rowers then stopped and rested on their oars, 
 while all hands watched for the reappearance of the 
 spy. Finally his head popped up several rods away, 
 and he struck out lustily for the shore. The boat 
 was headed for him, and the men bent to their oars 
 again, when a sharp cry was heard : " Oh, the 
 sharks ! " Looking in the direction of the swimmer, 
 
126 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 those in the boat saw a huge triangular fin cleaving 
 the water not far away, then another and another. 
 
 "The water s full of them," shouted the agent. 
 " I wouldn t give much for that fellow s chances right 
 now." 
 
 Even as he spoke the spy was seen to throw up 
 his arms. 
 
 " They ve got him," yelled one of the sailors. 
 
 " No, no," cried the agent. " Not yet, he has the 
 cramps." 
 
 The boat was now right over the spot where he 
 had sunk, and his form could be indistinctly traced 
 by the phosphorescent bubbles rising around him dis 
 turbed by his descent. The attention of all was 
 drawn irresistibly to the sight, of all but one, 
 but as a splash was heard the charm was broken. 
 They looked around and saw that the place till then 
 occupied by Arthur Strong was vacant. He had 
 divested himself of coat and shoes, and, unobserved, 
 had plunged into the water, evidently with the inten 
 tion of trying to save the sinking spy. 
 
 A stream of phosphorescence bubbled after him as 
 he dived directly downward, and by their silvery light 
 his course was easily traced. There were other 
 streaks of light drawn hither and thither through the 
 water, as those cruel monsters of the deep glided 
 about uneasily watching for opportunity to snatch 
 their prey. Just as Arthur had reached the spy and 
 was about to seize him by the shoulder, to guide his 
 
The Spy makes an Involuntary Voyage. 127 
 
 body upward, an immense shark darted directly for 
 him. As it turned over to bring its hideous jaws 
 together the Consul, who had gripped the boat rail 
 until the blood almost burst through his fingers, 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " He s gone, I fear ! Can t we save him ? Men, 
 can t you swim ? " 
 
 " Can swim," grunted one of the sailors ; " but 
 nigger don t fight shark ! Shark eat black, but won t 
 touch white man while black man there. That man 
 care for self. You see ! " 
 
 Hartley, meanwhile, sat as if cast in iron. Having 
 such implicit confidence in his brother as to believe 
 he could not come to harm through an act of his 
 own, and knowing his powers in the water, he had no 
 real fear. And yet, those throngs of sharks, which 
 now swam apparently in shoals about the man and 
 boy below, were enough to appall the stoutest nature. 
 His heart beat tumultuously, but still he sat there, 
 rigid, and to all appearances calm. 
 
 " He has a knife," he whispered huskily to the 
 Consul, "and he knows how to use it. Have no 
 fear. He will come back alive." 
 
 " My poor boy ! " groaned the Consul, " I wish I 
 could think so." 
 
XIV. 
 One Enemy out of the Way. 
 
 ^UDDENLY a great shout went up from the 
 1^5 man m tne bows of the boat, who, from having 
 a position nearest the combatants, could better see 
 what was happening down below. 
 
 " He gives it to him ! The blood spurts out ! He 
 has killed him ! " 
 
 " Who ? What ? Who is killed ? " demanded half 
 a dozen voices. 
 
 "The shark! the shark!" answered the man in 
 the bows. "The white boy stabbed him in the 
 throat just as he turned to snap his head off. But 
 I can t see more, for the water is filled with blood." 
 
 " Watch for them to come up," shouted the agent. 
 " Be ready, all of you. Get out a boat-hook. Stand 
 by to pull them in the minute their heads appear 
 above water ! " 
 
 The water was so turbid now that nothing could 
 be seen below, and on the surface it was lashed to 
 foam by the scurrying sharks. They seemed to 
 know, all of them, that something terrible had 
 happened, that a wary foe was righting them 
 in their own element, and they were evidently 
 excited. 
 
 128 
 
One Enemy out of the Way. 129 
 
 Through it all sat Hartley and the Consul, silent, 
 watchful, one on either side the boat, leaning half 
 over the rail, ready to seize the first one of the men 
 whose lives were imperilled, should he appear above 
 water. A round black object, a man s head, came 
 up right under Hartley s extended hand, and he 
 seized it firmly, calling for aid. Several pairs of 
 hands were out in an instant, and the man was 
 drawn safely into the boat. Hartley s heart was 
 in his throat, and when it was revealed that the 
 man saved was not his brother, after all, he made 
 as though he would have cast himself into the water. 
 
 But the agent laid a restraining hand upon him, 
 and at that moment the Consul cried out : 
 
 " Here he is ! I have him. Your brother is 
 safe ! " 
 
 He drew Arthur in over the rail, limp and appar 
 ently lifeless, just as a huge shark, seemingly the 
 leader of the monsters at the surface, darted at the 
 escaping prey, barely missing his legs and tearing a 
 strip from the gunwale of the boat. 
 
 " Fall back, men," shouted the agent. " To your 
 places, or you ll swamp the boat. Pull for the land, 
 now, all you know how." 
 
 "No, no," cried the Consul. "Not for land ; back 
 to the steamer. Pull ! " 
 
 "All right, then, for the steamer. Now let s 
 attend to these men." 
 
 The agent, the Consul, and Hartley, comprising 
 
ijo The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the passengers of the craft, laid the two rescued 
 men out on the thwarts, and did all they could to 
 resuscitate them, giving impartial attention to friend 
 and foe. Both had succumbed to the ordeal through 
 which they had passed, and were unconscious ; but 
 the black man, though he had been in the water 
 longer than Arthur, must have been of tougher 
 fibre, for he was the first to revive. By the time 
 the steamer was reached, also, Arthur opened his 
 eyes and gazed wonderingly up into his brother s 
 face. Then Hartley broke down and, though hith 
 erto so calm and restrained, cried from excess of 
 joy. 
 
 " My own brave brother!" he murmured, pressing 
 Arthur s head against his shoulder and stroking the 
 pallid face. " I should have died, Art, if you had 
 drowned." 
 
 " Here we are," said the agent. " Steamer s wait 
 ing for us to come aboard. Shall we take em both 
 on deck, Consul ? " 
 
 " No, only the Dominican. Arthur, my boy, you re 
 well enough to go ashore now, aren t you ? " 
 
 Arthur nodded assent, and the Consul continued, 
 " Well, then, my friend," addressing the man Arthur 
 had rescued, " how do you feel ? Able to walk? " 
 
 The man got to his feet, and by steadying himself 
 against two of the sailors, was able to get out of the 
 boat. Although he had made such exertions to get 
 ashore, even at the risk of his life, he now seemed 
 
One Enemy out of the Way. 13 1 
 
 to have changed his mind ; at all events he was trac 
 table, and when asked if he would go quietly on the 
 voyage to New York, answered that he would. He 
 then volunteered the information that if he could get 
 something to do, he would rather stay there, as he 
 knew Lelee had "a rod in pickle" for him when he 
 should return to the capital. 
 
 "All right," said the Consul. "The sea bath 
 seems to have brought you to your senses." He 
 was assisted to the deck, while the long-boat 
 awaited below, and the Consul said to the purser, 
 who came to meet them : 
 
 "Joe, just give this man fifty dollars when he 
 arrives in New York, or else get him a job that will 
 support him, will you ? He s leaving the island for 
 his health, and is afraid he may have a relapse if 
 he returns very soon ; understand ? " 
 
 "Every bit," replied the purser. "He shan t get 
 back for another month, anyway, even if he wants to. 
 Got any luggage, my man ? No ? Well, then, go up 
 forward and report to the forecastle steward." 
 
 "Wait a moment," added the Consul, as the man 
 was shuffling away. "Tell me, now that you have 
 no further object in dogging the movements of these 
 two friends of mine down below in the boat, tell me 
 if you have any partner or companion." 
 
 "No," answered the spy, "I came alone. But " 
 he hesitated. 
 
 " But what ? " demanded the Consul " Remember, 
 
13 2 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 one of those boys has saved your life, at the risk of 
 his own, and surely you cannot have anything against 
 them now." 
 
 " No, I never had ; but it was to do Lelee s bidding 
 I came on this trip. But I am not the only spy in 
 Lelee s employ. Know that. The island is full of 
 his men, you know that ! " 
 
 "Yes, I know it. But is there any one in par 
 ticular they must look out for ? Is there any one we 
 cannot avoid or bribe ? " 
 
 " Yes, there is one. Tell them to look out for the 
 old man who lives in the Cibao called el Diablo 
 Colorado (the Red Devil). He cannot be avoided, 
 and he will not be bribed. He is Lelee s adviser, 
 his papa-lois? you know." 
 
 " Oh, yes, his spiritual adviser, we may call him, a 
 high priest of the voudou. I ve heard of him, and 
 if all accounts are true, he has more than one child 
 murder to answer for." 
 
 " They are true," rejoined the spy ; " he has mur 
 dered many." 
 
 " That s all. Thank you. And look here. It seems 
 mighty hard to send you away from home and country 
 against your will. If I could trust you, I would say 
 come with us and go ashore. What do you say ? " 
 
 " You could trust me, Sefior Consul ; when I was 
 sinking in the water, with death awaiting me, as I 
 thought, my life came up before me, and I saw how 
 wicked I had been, J resolved that if I should escape 
 
One Enemy out of the Way. 133 
 
 I would do better, Senor Consul. But I cannot do 
 better here in Santo Domingo, for my master has me 
 in his power and he bids me do evil. So it is for the 
 best that I go away, and I am only thankful, not 
 revengeful, that you have given me this chance. 
 Thank, too, the young man who saved my life. If I 
 should return and he should be here still and need 
 my help, he has only to command Salvador Braur, 
 his servant till death." 
 
 " Spoken like a man," said the Consul, grasping 
 the Dominican s hand and wringing it heartily. " I 
 am glad you have been turned from the evil of your 
 ways. I wish as much could be said of your master ; 
 but I fear he has as many lives as a cat, and we should 
 have to drown him nine times over to bring repen 
 tance to his hard heart. Purser, if this man needs 
 money you may draw on me to the amount of a hun 
 dred dollars instead of fifty. Now, good-by, my friend. 
 Here, before you go, drink a drop of this cordial 
 which I am taking to the boy in the boat. It will do 
 you good. Now take care of yourself, and may God 
 help you keep your new resolutions. Ha, there s the 
 bell for starting the engines. Well, purser, adios. 
 Many thanks for all your aid. You know where to 
 find me when the bills come for settlement, you 
 know. Keep an eye on that man, and help him all 
 you can. There s good in him, I believe. Shove off, 
 now," ordered the Consul, as he sprang into the long 
 boat. 
 
The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " For shore, as quick as you know how. Pardon, 
 my boy, for keeping you here so long ; but I had to 
 settle with the man you rescued. I hope you re all 
 right again by this time. Here, now, take a little of 
 this medicine sent by the steward. That will revive 
 you, I m sure. Ha ! Sends a thrill through your 
 veins, doesn t it ? You feel all right now, don t you ? 
 Yes ? That s good. It may rejoice your heart to be 
 told that the man you saved, whose name is Salvador 
 Braur, by the way, has experienced a change of heart, 
 and from being your deadly enemy desires to be of 
 service whenever possible." 
 
 "I m glad," said Arthur, "that he has no ill-will 
 against us." 
 
 " Glad ? Well, of course ! To tell the truth, my 
 boy, I had my doubts about your jumping overboard 
 to save the life of such a scoundrel as he evidently 
 was, and if you had consulted me beforehand, it would 
 not have been saved." 
 
 " But I didn t stop to think about his character," 
 said Arthur. " I only felt that the man was drown 
 ing, and that but for us his life would not have been 
 imperilled. It was my duty to attempt to save him, 
 and I don t care what you think about it ! " 
 
 " Hoity-toity ! Well, no doubt you did just what 
 was right, as it turned out ; but if you had been 
 drowned, I am thinking your brother and I wouldn t 
 have taken your view of the case. But where did 
 you learn the use of a knife so handily ? It takes a 
 
One Enemy out of the Way. 135 
 
 cool head and a strong arm to jab a man-eating shark 
 in the throat as you did down there under water ; and 
 what nerves you must have to seize that man by the 
 arm and push him up to the surface, with dozens and 
 dozens of sharks all about you. Why, man, it was 
 superb ! I never heard of such a feat ! " 
 
 " Oh, don t, Consul. The thing is over, and now let 
 it rest. If good has come of it, I am very glad. 
 Hart knew what I was about. He knew I could take 
 care of myself in the water. He saw me take the 
 knife." 
 
 " Yes, maybe," said Hartley, with a shudder. " But 
 I would not have let you jump into such a place as 
 that, if I had guessed your intention. The odds 
 were all against you." 
 
 " Well, perhaps ; but here I am, you see, alive and 
 well." Hartley made no reply, but drew an arm still 
 closer about his brother s neck and caressed his 
 hands, as they lay folded in his lap. A tear splashed 
 down upon them, and Arthur looked up quickly. 
 " Oh, is that the way you feel about it, Hart ? " he 
 whispered, returning the caress. " Well, after this I ll 
 be more careful of myself." 
 
 The remainder of the trip was accomplished with 
 out incident, and as soon as the boat s keel grated on 
 the sand, the Consul had Arthur borne to the agent s 
 house, where he was at once put to bed, though much 
 against his will. "You treat me like a baby," he 
 protested. "Why, I m all right. Swallowed some 
 
136 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 sea water, and was pretty tired when you pulled me 
 into the boat ; but the water was warm, and no harm 
 will come from the ducking." 
 
 " This is our house, Mr. Brown s and mine," replied 
 the Consul, " and as you are our guest, you will obey 
 orders. You will stay abed till morning, while your 
 clothes are being dried out ; but after supper we will 
 all sit around and tell shark stories, to keep you com 
 pany and entertain you, if you like. Bless my stars," 
 he added, turning to Hartley, " you boys are begin 
 ning to assert yourselves. I didn t think either of 
 you had the least bit of spunk, but here your brother 
 jumps overboard to save the life of a worthless fellow 
 sent on purpose to spy upon you, and you venture to 
 oppose my authority and encourage him in his 
 obstinacy." The Consul s tone was severe, but there 
 was a merry twinkle in his eyes that belied his words 
 and accents ; so the boys took him at his intention 
 and joined in the raillery. 
 
 " I think we ve been tied to your apron-strings 
 quite long enough," rejoined Hartley. " It s about 
 time we were up and doing something on our own 
 account. Now, don t you think so ? " 
 
 The Consul rubbed his chin and replied slowly : 
 " Ye-es, I suppose so ; but as I said before once 
 upon a time, you d better not cut loose from my apron- 
 strings, as you call them, until you feel quite able to 
 take care of yourselves. I m not a betting man, but 
 I d be willing to wager considerable that you will get 
 
One Enemy out of the Way. 137 
 
 into some terrible scrape or other before the month 
 is out." 
 
 " Well, if we do we will get out of it the best way 
 we can ; but we won t send for you until we have to." 
 Then Hartley continued more seriously, " We owe you 
 now more than we can ever repay, and " " Non 
 sense ! " interjected the Consul. "You don t owe me 
 anything ! Now go to bed." 
 
XV. 
 
 Stories of Ravenous Sharks. 
 
 BOTH boys were awake and up with the dawn, 
 after a refreshing sleep, neither any the worse 
 for the exciting adventures of the night before. 
 They strolled out through the open doorway to the 
 broad veranda, where a view opened before them, 
 comprising the great bay and the tent-like mountain 
 which was named Monte Cristi by Columbus. Some 
 have compared the shape of this strange isolated 
 peak to a sail, and others to a tent, from its pointed 
 summit and triangular base. It is a noted landmark 
 and can be seen far at sea. 
 
 It was here that the recreant companion of Colum 
 bus, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who had left him in the 
 Pinta off the east end of Cuba, on that first voy 
 age to America, rejoined him after an absence of 
 several weeks. So the mountain and the bay are 
 historic, connected as they are with the beginnings 
 of our history. They are not so beautiful as they are 
 striking, for the rains fall seldom here, and there is 
 very little vegetation of any sort. 
 
 But in the light of early morning, with the sun s 
 almost level rays smiting the bare sides of the great 
 
 138 
 
Stories of Ravenous Sharks. 139 
 
 pink mountain, the waters of the crescent-shaped bay 
 sparkling and baring their white teeth on the coral 
 ledges, and the myriad sea fowl sailing through the 
 air, the scene was superb. 
 
 In a shaded corner of the veranda, the boys came 
 across Mr. Brown, the consular agent, sipping his 
 morning coffee and glancing over some accounts at 
 the same time. He welcomed them heartily, and 
 sending a small black boy out to the cook-house for 
 an extra supply of coffee, invited them to join him. 
 
 " I needn t ask you how you feel, after your scrap 
 with the sharks," he said to Arthur, "for you are 
 looking well this morning. But that was a narrow 
 escape, my boy. 
 
 " Do you see that coral reef just awash out there 
 in the bay ? It is sometimes covered at high tides, 
 but is safe enough to land on in calm weather, 
 when the fishermen go there for conchs and mussels. 
 Well, one of my men went out one day, and after 
 pulling up his boat on the reef, left it to look for 
 conchs. He was gone some time, and when he 
 returned, he saw his boat floating away quite half a 
 mile distant. He was a good swimmer and would 
 have followed her, but he knew the water was full of 
 sharks, and was afraid to venture. Monte Cristi Bay 
 has the worst sharks in the world, I really believe, 
 and more to the square mile than any other body of 
 water I ever heard of. Some people say that sharks 
 won t touch a man in the water; but let them come 
 
140 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 down here and try it, is all I have to say. I guess you 
 can give an opinion about the man-eating proclivities 
 of our sharks, can t you, young man ? " 
 
 " I don t want to come any nearer to testing them 
 than I have already," answered Arthur. 
 
 " No, and if you hadn t been keen with that knife 
 of yours, you wouldn t be here drinking coffee with 
 me this morning, I ll be bound. 
 
 "Well, as I was saying, the man was afraid to 
 strike out for the boat, and as there were other 
 fishermen afloat on the bay and likely to pass at any 
 time, he retreated to the highest part of the reef and 
 sat down to wait for relief. But pretty soon he was 
 driven from his sitting posture by a wave lapping 
 against his seat, and sprang up, surprised to see that 
 the reef was nearly covered by water. Only a nar 
 row ledge remained above the surface then, and it 
 was not long before even that was under water. 
 
 " And the mischief of it was, that the bay was alive 
 with sharks all around the reef. They seemed to 
 have formed a cordon about it for the purpose of cut 
 ting off the man s escape. He saw then the danger 
 of staying much longer there, and yelled with all his 
 might for help, at the same time splashing the water 
 with his feet and hands too, in the vain hope of scar 
 ing the sharks away. But the more he splashed and 
 shouted, the closer the great gray monsters came 
 about the reef, until at last some were snapping at 
 his very heels. 
 
Stories of Ravenous Sharks. 141 
 
 " Two men in a boat happened to spy him 
 about this time and hastened to his rescue; but 
 before they had got within a hundred yards of the 
 reef, they saw a huge shark turn on his side and 
 force himself clean up on the reef with the speed 
 of a steamboat. He snatched the poor fellow by 
 the legs and dragged him into the water, but as the 
 momentum of his rush had carried him high up into 
 water too shallow to float him the shark could not 
 get back again, and just lay there, shaking the miser 
 able victim as a terrier would a rat. The man s 
 cries were heartrending, but they soon ceased, for 
 though the shark that had caught him couldn t back 
 off into deep water, other fiends came up in shoals, 
 and the would-be rescuers were so frightened when 
 they saw them churning the water into foam and 
 rending their comrade, that they turned about and 
 rowed as hard as they could for the shore. 
 
 " I happened to be looking through my marine 
 glasses at the time and saw the latter end of the 
 fight, which so incensed me that I ordered my boat, 
 took along a rifle with plenty of cartridges, and hur 
 ried out to the reef. When we got within rifle-shot 
 I saw that the big shark was still stranded, and 
 couldn t get away, at least not until the tide rose 
 higher, so I peppered away at the sharks around 
 the reef in shallow water, and before long had sent 
 more than two dozen of them to their last accounts. 
 Then I went in closer and put a ball right through 
 
142 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the monster on the reef. But of course there was 
 no vestige remaining of its victim, for the other 
 sharks had carried off every bit of him, even torn 
 his clothing to pieces and taken it away with them 
 to fight over. So I had a sort of revenge, you see ; 
 but a poor sort, since it didn t bring the fisherman 
 back to life. 
 
 " My men and others towed the dead sharks to 
 shore and tried out their oil, which is excellent for 
 certain purposes and brings a fair price ; and finding 
 there was some money in the business, I have since 
 continued the hunting of sharks for profit. I must 
 have shot more than a thousand all together, but 
 their numbers seem hardly to have diminished at 
 all. There appear to be as many now as when I 
 came here six years ago, or when I began to shoot 
 them, which was two years ago. I suppose they 
 all know me by this time, though, and if ever they 
 catch me in the water, as you were caught last night, 
 I wouldn t give much for my chances." 
 
 " You could hardly expect much mercy to be 
 shown you, seems to me," said Arthur, "after hav 
 ing given no quarter to the sharks." 
 
 " Maybe you re right. I ve thought so myself, 
 and I m going to get out of this horrid place as 
 soon as I can wind up my business affairs. That 
 black fisherman was not the only man I ve seen 
 destroyed by those sharks. Only last steamer day, 
 for instance, one of the sailors aboard a lighter that 
 
Stories of Ravenous Sharks. 143 
 
 was loading alongside the Spanish line steamer fell 
 overboard and sank about thirty feet or so before 
 he recovered himself. As he struck out for the sur 
 face a shoal of sharks darted for him like a flock 
 of hawks after a quail, and in less than ten minutes 
 hardly a shred remained of the unfortunate sailor." 
 
 " What s this I hear?" asked some one in the 
 doorway. " Good morning, boys. What is Brown 
 doing ? Telling shark stories ? You must take what 
 he says cum grano salisj you know." 
 
 As the Consul joined the group on the veranda, 
 Mr. Brown entered his protest. " You must retract, 
 Garland. You know that in the matter of sharks and 
 their doings here it is impossible for me to exaggerate." 
 
 "Very well, I will, if you ll give me a cup of 
 coffee. I said cum grano salis? didn t I? Well, 
 that means, of course, with a grain of salt, doesn t 
 it ? And I fancy there are several grains of salt in 
 the water the sharks swim in, don t you? There, is 
 that satisfactory?" 
 
 " Oh, it will have to be, I suppose," rejoined Mr. 
 Brown. " But since you have tried to implant a 
 doubt of my veracity in the minds of our young 
 friends here, suppose you take a hand yourself. 
 Come, spin us a yarn of your own, and I ll discount 
 it in advance by declaring that for astonishing and 
 credulity-taxing statements mine won t be in the same 
 class." 
 
 " Of course they won t, Brown. Do you think I 
 
144 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 am going to cut in with a yarn less wonderful than 
 yours? Not I. But here goes. When I was in 
 Jamaica a few years ago, it was in 91, by the way, 
 and the Jamaicans had an exposition of the island s 
 resources, one of the things that impressed me 
 most was a bundle of old and sea-stained papers, 
 which had once been the records of an American 
 schooner, the crew of which had been convicted of 
 piracy and hung. It seems that this schooner was 
 fitted out in the Bahamas, and began to prey upon 
 the commerce of the Windward Channel, between 
 this island and Cuba. A British man-of-war was 
 sent in pursuit of her, and the chase becoming close, 
 the captain of the schooner threw his ship s papers 
 overboard, in order that there might be no incrimi 
 nating testimony against him. But he and his crew 
 of seven men were taken into Kingston, Jamaica, and 
 there an admiralty court proceeded to try them for 
 piracy. 
 
 "The penalty for piracy on the high seas was 
 and is now, I suppose death, by hanging at the 
 yard-arm ; but the captain of the schooner conducted 
 himself with perfect coolness, he was so confident that 
 nothing could be found against him, and the judge 
 was about to acquit him and his crew of the charges 
 when a gun was heard in the offing, and soon after a 
 message came ashore from another British man-of- 
 war to arrest proceedings until certain evidence could 
 be offered. 
 
Stories of Ravenous Sharks. 145 
 
 " Soon after an officer arrived from this second 
 warship bearing a bundle of water-soaked and muti 
 lated papers the very ones, by the way, that I saw 
 at the exposition and laid them before the judge. 
 When they were opened and examined they proved 
 to be the very papers the captain of the schooner had 
 thrown overboard, and which now appeared in this 
 miraculous manner to bear witness against him and 
 send him to the gallows. I say miraculous, because 
 the manner in which they were brought to light was 
 nothing less than that. It seems that the crew of 
 the second man-of-war had caught a shark off the 
 coast of Haiti, where the first man-of-war had over 
 hauled the schooner, and wishing to get the fish s 
 liver for the oil it contained, they cut it open. And 
 in the maw of the shark they found now, what do 
 you suppose ? Of course you can t guess, and I 
 don t like to say, because Brown will declare I am 
 telling a story. But the fact is, and it can be 
 attested to by those papers themselves and the 
 records of the admiralty court, the fact is that 
 they found in that shark s maw that veritable bundle 
 of papers thrown overboard by the unlucky Yankee 
 captain. 
 
 " He was a cool man, was that captain of the 
 schooner, but when he saw those papers brought 
 up from the sea to bear mute witness as to his deeds, 
 he wilted and confessed. He was a brave man, 
 though, and in his way honorable, for he took all 
 
146 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the blame to himself and tried to save the lives of 
 his crew ; but, to make the yarn short, they were all 
 swung off from the masts of the schooner they had 
 used as a pirate vessel." 
 
 " I suppose we are to believe that story ? " asked 
 Mr. Brown, rather scornfully. 
 
 " You may do as you like, but it s true, that is, if 
 ever a sea yarn can be true, and then there are the 
 papers to corroborate it; while the tales you have 
 told we have to take on trust ! " 
 
XVI. 
 
 Up the River of Golden Sands. 
 
 DID you ever catch me in an untruth ? " asked 
 Mr. Brown, stiffly. 
 
 " No, I never did. But then, you know that when 
 a man undertakes to tell a fish story he can rarely 
 resist the inclination to tell a big one." 
 
 The Consul s eyes twinkled as he spoke, but Mr. 
 Brown seemed to think the banter had gone far 
 enough, and there wasn t a twinkle in his eyes, but 
 on the contrary a rather cold and steely glitter. 
 
 The boys had sat silent hitherto, enjoying the 
 stories and the remarks of the fun-loving Consul ; 
 but now their relations seemed to be so strained that 
 they felt uneasy. Arthur was pondering upon 
 whether or not he ought to interpose when the Con 
 sul settled the matter by going over to Mr. Brown, 
 putting a hand on his shoulder, and saying : 
 
 " Pardon me, friend, I didn t mean to doubt your 
 word ; but you ought not to be so touchy. I know 
 that what you said is the truth ; and I also know that 
 with proper encouragement you would go on spin 
 ning fish stories all the day long; but our time is 
 valuable, and we must hie ourselves each to our 
 
148 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 respective quarters. I suppose you got my letter 
 before the steamer sailed, and have the animals ready, 
 haven t you ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," answered Mr. Brown, the frost of his ill- 
 humor vanishing before the sun of the Consul s 
 smiles. " The young men may set off to-day if they 
 wish ; though I should like them to stay at least till 
 to-morrow, and would so advise." 
 
 " Do you hear that, Arthur, Hartley ? Brown has a 
 pair of spirited bullocks all ready for you to ride on 
 up the valley, if you like, to-day. But he is so hos 
 pitable a fellow that he would rather you would stop 
 a week or two with him. Cristi society isn t so very 
 exacting that it makes any great demands upon his 
 time, and I fancy he would rather you would stay 
 than not." 
 
 "Yes, indeed," said the agent. " I should enjoy a 
 lengthy visit, if they can put up with my accommo 
 dations." 
 
 " We should like to stay," said Arthur, " but I think 
 we really ought to get on. However, if you will put 
 up with us till to-morrow, we shall make an early 
 start, provided it will be agreeable to all." 
 
 " Oh, if you mean me, yes," remarked the Consul. 
 "I am only too anxious to get you off my hands. 
 You can outfit right here, everything you will need, 
 as Brown owns a store, and has orders to give you 
 unlimited credit. And let me add that he has already 
 bought for you two of the loveliest buyes (bullocks) to 
 
Up the River of Golden Sands. 149 
 
 ride, you know, and as pack-animals with aparejos or 
 native pack-saddles, and everything complete, so at 
 last you ll travel in style." 
 
 "Then we ll surely be off to-morrow, thanks to 
 you and Mr. Brown. How far did you say it was to 
 the Yanico, where we turn off from the main stream 
 of the Yaqui ? " 
 
 " Why, it s about a hundred miles ; but you ought 
 to know, for you ve been over part of the way." 
 
 " True, but we cut across country from Isabella." 
 
 " So you did. But you know, of course, that the 
 first part of the journey will be the worst : dry as a 
 chip, and nothing but cactus and prickly pear for the 
 first forty miles or so. About twenty miles from here 
 you strike the river and follow it up until you get to 
 the Cibao, or Country of Gold, as the Indians used to 
 call it. And by the way, of course you know the 
 traditions about the Yaqui; how it was called the 
 Rio del Oro, or River of Gold, because Columbus 
 first found gold in its sands. It was after he had left 
 Navidad, the first fort he erected in the New World, 
 and was making for Monte Cristi this very spot. 
 He stopped in the mouth of the Yaqui to water his 
 vessels, and his men found flakes of gold clinging to 
 the hoops of the water casks. It was there, also, on 
 his return voyage a year later, that he found several 
 bodies of dead Spaniards who had been murdered by 
 the Carib cacique, Caonabo, having been left by 
 Columbus to guard the fort." 
 
15 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 "Yes, indeed, we know all that," said Hartley 
 believe we know the history of this island by 
 heart ; and to tell the truth, it is almost as fascinating 
 to us as the prospect of finding the gold mines, to 
 the scenes identified with Columbus and his voy 
 ages. This province and the one adjoining, in which 
 Columbus built the fort of Navidad from the wreck- 
 age of his flag-ship, belonged to the cacique Guaca- 
 nagan, who received the Spaniards with open arms 
 and gave them nearly all he had. 
 
 "At first, you may remember, the massacre of the 
 forty men left as a garrison for Fort Navidad was 
 charged to Guacanagari; but after a while it leaked 
 out that he had done all he could to defend the fort, 
 and that the murders were committed by Caonabo 
 who was ruler over the Cibao country, the very re 
 gion we are going to in our search for gold." 
 
 " More than that, remember," broke in Arthur- "it 
 was his gold that Columbus alludes to in that inscrip 
 tion on the silver plate, which we hope has given us 
 the clew to his treasure." 
 
 :< Yes, don t forget that," cautioned the Consul. 
 I gave you the translation in English, for you to 
 follow and consult, and if you go by it, I feel sure 
 you ll be successful. If it should chance that Lelee s 
 men capture you, be sure to destroy the paper. It is 
 very thin, and you might swallow it as a last resort 
 But I don t want his Excellency to get it and benefit 
 by our investigations." 
 
Up the River of Golden Sands. 151 
 
 " He shall not," replied Arthur. " I ll commit the 
 directions to memory, and destroy the paper at the 
 first opportunity." 
 
 " Well, that s all, then. You don t need any cau 
 tion from me to keep a lookout for enemies. No 
 body will bother you, except it may be some emissary 
 of our friend the President, and as soon as I return 
 to the capital I shall set my wits to work to forestall 
 him." 
 
 The day was passed in preparing for the morrow, 
 and when it dawned, the boys were ready to start as 
 soon as they had swallowed their morning coffee. 
 
 They were assisted to mount their respective apa- 
 rejos, big pack-saddles made of straw, and which 
 sat astride the bullocks backs like immense saw- 
 horses, and made all the higher by the piles of lug 
 gage atop. Besides the stuff that was strapped 
 across the aparejos, other articles, as for instance a 
 rifle, cutlass, revolver, tin cup, bag of provisions, etc., 
 were hung around each one, making the whole " out 
 fit" look exceedingly picturesque, indeed. 
 
 The buyes were docile and broken to the saddle, 
 so the boys had confidence in them from the first. 
 There was one objectionable feature, however, which 
 they resolved to remedy as soon as possible, and 
 that was the mode of guiding them, by means of 
 a line tied to a ring in each bullock s nose. It seemed 
 indeed it was cruel in the extreme ; but as the 
 bullocks had been broken to that kind of guidance, 
 
152 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 and might not understand any other, it was necessary 
 to continue it, at least for the time being. 
 
 The Consul and Mr. Brown laughed at their scru 
 ples as they rode off, telling them not to be in a hurry 
 to break their " steeds " to another style of driving, 
 as they would surely miss the accustomed ring in the 
 nose and run away with them. 
 
 At last, with an Adios from the Consul, a squeeze 
 each from his hand and " God be with you " from 
 Mr. Brown, the boys were off, their bullocks noses 
 pointed mountainward. The sun was scarce an 
 hour high, and cool shadows still lingered in the 
 hollows between the bare, brown hills. Parakeets 
 chattered in the tops of the " pitayhas," or giant cacti, 
 mocking-birds sang melodiously in the sparse thickets, 
 and the hearts of the young travellers beat hopefully 
 in unison with the pulsings of nature. 
 
 Their bullocks marched on with stately tread, cov 
 ering a great deal of ground without apparent effort ; 
 but their gait was not conducive to comfort, perched 
 as their riders were, high up on a pile of luggage, and 
 the boys felt as if they must be taking their first ride 
 on " ships of the desert." 
 
 Thus they travelled until near noon, when, arriving 
 at a spot where a spring sent forth a little stream 
 beneath a spreading mango tree, and a circlet of 
 grass was set like an emerald in the brown earth 
 around it, they halted for rest and refreshment. 
 They had seen no people within hail, and were glad 
 
Up the River of Golden Sands. 153 
 
 of it, for they did not wish to make acquaintances 
 at this stage of their journey. Their provisions were 
 ample for at least two weeks, and so long as they 
 could find springs of clear water at intervals, like this 
 one beneath the mango tree, they were quite content. 
 
 But it was one thing to say dismount, and quite 
 another to get down from their lofty perches. The 
 bullocks were tractable enough, generally speaking, 
 but the sight of grass and water set them almost 
 frantic. They poked their noses into the water and 
 pawed up the grass, in their endeavors to satisfy thirst 
 and hunger at the same time, and as the boys did not 
 like to tug too strongly at the lines attached to their 
 muzzles for fear of lacerating them, they were for a 
 while in a quandary. At last Arthur said : " Look 
 here, Hart. One or the other has to be master, and 
 if the bullocks get the notion that they can manage 
 us they certainly will do so. I m going to pull up 
 my bullock s head, if it takes his nose off. You bear 
 witness now that I gave him warning. Hold up, old 
 fellow ; whoa, there ! Confound him, he doesn t un 
 derstand English ; but I guess he will understand 
 that I can make him walk Spanish, if he doesn t 
 mend his ways. There, I ve got his head up, and I m 
 going to hitch it to this branch, so that he can t get 
 away until I dismount." 
 
 The bullock shook his head and tossed his horns 
 wildly about in a menacing manner, but Arthur paid 
 no attention to his demonstrations until he had finally 
 
154 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 slid down from his pack-saddle and alighted on the 
 ground. Then for a few minutes he was too stiff to 
 move, but when he had got the ten " kinks " out of 
 his legs, he went over and held Hartley s bullock by 
 the head while his brother got to the ground, where 
 he fell all in a heap, so cramped was he from his 
 long ride. 
 
 " Dear me, Art, I didn t think I was so stiff. But 
 when we look back and find we ve ridden ever since 
 six o clock, and it is now near noon, it s no wonder, 
 after all. How many miles have we covered, do you 
 think ? " 
 
 "About thirty, I fancy," replied Arthur. "Just 
 help me loosen the saddle, will you ? I m afraid to 
 take it off altogether, lest we shan t be able to get 
 it on again. That s it; now let s do it to yours, and 
 then peg out the beasts to get a nip of grass. They 
 ought to be tired, but really they don t look so. I 
 believe, Hart, we ve got a pair of real treasures in 
 these bullocks, they are so tractable and kind, and so 
 willing, too. I don t believe they would run away 
 from us, even if we didn t tie them. Hi there, whoa, 
 I tell you ! " This to his bullock, who had suddenly 
 tossed his head and started off up the road, as if a 
 flight of hornets were after him. As the saddle was 
 loosened it began to sway, then to work toward the 
 bullock s tail, and at last toppled over, pack and all, 
 in the dust, receiving a contemptuous kick from the 
 animal as it reached the ground. 
 
Up the River of Golden Sands. 155 
 
 " There ! Isn t that enough to provoke a saint ? " 
 exclaimed Arthur. " Tie your beast up, quick, or he 
 will follow after, it s likely. Mine is nearly out of 
 sight, but I m going to try to catch him just the 
 same. Wait here; and while I m gone, open the 
 hamper and set out a lunch." So saying, Arthur 
 darted after his bullock, who was trotting over the 
 crest of a hill some distance off. 
 
 He was out of breath, and very much out of 
 patience, when he reached the hilltop, and he stopped 
 to rest before pursuing his recreant beast any far 
 ther. The road plunged downward into a thicket of 
 mesquit trees, out of which, at the moment he set 
 forth again, came tearing a horse with a girl on its 
 back. It was evidently a runaway, as the rider 
 seemed to have lost all control over it. The steep 
 ness of the hill caused it to slacken its terrific pace a 
 bit, and as it reached the crest, Arthur sprang for 
 ward and aimed to grasp it by the bridle. 
 
XVII. 
 
 A Poet of the Sierras. 
 
 THE bridle-rein was broken and hung loose. 
 Missing his grasp at the bridle, Arthur yet 
 managed to seize the trailing rein, and twisting it 
 about his wrist braced himself for a shock, as the 
 horse continued to dart onward. 
 
 When the shock came the horse was whirled half 
 around, bringing the boy against its shoulder; but 
 he instantly recovered himself and got a grip on 
 the animal s nose, soon stopping its career. He 
 was dragged a hundred yards or so in the process, 
 but contrived to keep clear of the horse s hoofs, 
 though he was pretty well out of breath when at 
 last he triumphed and the beast came to a stand 
 still. 
 
 Then he had occasion to note what manner of 
 a rider it was who had kept the saddle during the 
 struggle, and saw that it was a very pretty Domini 
 can girl, about fifteen years of age. She had lost 
 control over her horse by the breaking of the bridle- 
 rein, but had kept her seat by clinging to the animal s 
 mane. As afterward proved, she was a consum 
 mately skilful rider, and was much ashamed of 
 
 156 
 
A Poet of the Sierras. 157 
 
 her misadventure. But she was very grateful to 
 her rescuer, and told him so in well-chosen Spanish, 
 as she gathered up the loosened coils of her jet-black 
 hair and gathered into her hands the reins he had 
 repaired. 
 
 " Gracias, senor, mil gracias, thanks, sir, a thou 
 sand thanks, I cannot tell you how grateful I am. 
 My papa, who is somewhere behind, will soon be 
 here, I hope, and add his thanks to mine." 
 
 "But it is hot, senorita," said Arthur. "You will 
 not think of travelling farther in the sun, I trust. 
 Beneath yonder tree my brother and I were about 
 preparing lunch awhile ago, and if you will join us 
 we should be glad to have your company at least 
 till your father arrives." 
 
 " You are very kind, senor, and I will accept your 
 invitation," replied the girl, frankly, and with a smile 
 which showed two rows of beautiful teeth. "But 
 first tell me, is that not your beast on the road beyond 
 the mesquit trees ? And you were trying to catch it, 
 were you not ? I thought so. But let me tell you, 
 he will never allow you to come up with him on foot. 
 As a slight return for your kindness to me I am go 
 ing after him myself, and if you will wait here will 
 soon have him back again." 
 
 With that the girl, who had her horse now well in 
 hand, wheeled about before the astonished lad could 
 offer a protest, and was off at a gallop after the bul 
 lock. She had a short-handled, long-lashed whip at 
 
158 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 her saddle-bow, and when she came up with the bul 
 lock she plied it so skilfully that he was only too glad 
 to turn about and go wheresoever she desired. Not 
 many minutes elapsed before he came trotting on 
 ahead of her horse, and when he arrived opposite 
 the mango tree where his mate was tethered, he 
 turned in there of his own accord and suffered him 
 self to be tied up without a struggle. 
 
 It may well be imagined that young Hartley was 
 very much astonished to see this young girl on horse 
 back come dashing up to the camp, and he was so very 
 much surprised that he simply stood and stared at 
 her, until his brother s laugh reminded him of his 
 unintentional rudeness. Then he ran forward and 
 held her horse while Arthur assisted her to dismount. 
 That is, offered to assist her, but she declined his 
 proffered hand with a pretty gesture, and gathering 
 up her skirts leaped unassisted to the ground. 
 
 " I am under obligations to you both," she said 
 with a graceful courtesy, "first for the rescue, and 
 now for the lunch, for I am, oh, so hungry ! " She 
 said this with such a winning smile that the boys 
 liked her at once, and voted her a good comrade. 
 
 " What a pity she isn t a boy, she seems so jolly 
 and companionable," said Hartley to his brother, in 
 an aside. 
 
 " Oh, I don t know," replied Arthur, with the con 
 scious superiority of an elder brother. " I suppose 
 she thinks she ought to appear as jolly as possible 
 
A Poet of the Sierras. 159 
 
 under the circumstances. Now we must get out the 
 very best we have in the line of eatables and give 
 her a good lunch. She s a cute little thing, isn t she, 
 with her cheeks like russet apples and her big brown 
 eyes? And she s quite bright, too." 
 
 It was a merry lunch the trio had under the 
 mango tree, with the sun creating a heat like that of 
 a furnace outside the shade in contrast with the cool 
 ness within. The little lady did not seem much con 
 cerned about the tardy arrival of her father, only 
 once saying : 
 
 " Won t he be surprised to see me in the company 
 of two Americanos ? " She had ascertained that 
 they were from the United States, and was curious 
 about that country, which she had never seen. "Is 
 it true," she asked quite seriously, "that the Yan 
 kees are nearly all ladrones robbers and that 
 they want to steal our beautiful island ? " 
 
 "Why, no," answered Arthur, laughing at the 
 absurdity of the question. " We are not thieves ; 
 we never stole a thing in our lives." 
 
 " Oh, no, of course not. But I mean as a nation. 
 My papa says the Americanos will never be satisfied 
 until they have taken this island away from us, as 
 they took Porto Rico and Cuba away from the 
 Spaniards." 
 
 " Ah, you may not understand," said Hartley, 
 " that we went to Cuba and Porto Rico to free the 
 people there, and not to enslave them. We drove 
 
160 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 out the Spaniards, to be sure, but only that the 
 natives might have greater liberty. Our country is 
 one of the grandest on earth. It stands for freedom 
 and equality, and that is more than you have here, if 
 all reports are true." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," she admitted with a sigh. " Now 
 my papa has been put in jail by but I must not 
 speak his name, because because 
 
 " Because he is the President/ said Hartley, hotly. 
 
 "Yes, how did you know?" she asked in surprise. 
 
 Hartley was about to answer indiscreetly, Arthur 
 feared, so he placed a warning finger to his lips, and 
 answered for him. " Oh, we Yankees are good at 
 guessing, you know." 
 
 " Are you ? Then perhaps you can guess what 
 my papa s profession, is. No, you never could, so I 
 am going to tell you : he is a poet." 
 
 "A poet!" exclaimed the boys, in surprise, that 
 being the last profession they would have thought of, 
 certainly, in this wilderness, barren of literature and 
 patrons of the muses. 
 
 " Yes, a poet," she repeated, nodding her head 
 gravely. " But, do you know, I fear he does not get 
 rewarded properly, for nobody buys his poetry and 
 he has to publish it all himself." 
 
 " That is discouraging," said Arthur, sympatheti 
 cally ; " but I suppose the reason is that there are 
 very few literary people on the island, and conse 
 quently no demand for poetry." 
 
A Poet of the Sierras. 161 
 
 " Oh, do you think so ? " asked the girl, her face 
 lighting up. " Then it is not because his poetry is 
 poor, is it? " 
 
 "I m sure it is not," said Arthur, "though I have 
 not seen it ; but if I should see it I should not be 
 qualified to judge, because I am not a Spanish 
 scholar." 
 
 " Papa thinks he has a divine mission, you know, 
 to elevate and refine the people, and it was because 
 of this that the President put him in jail. He said 
 he did not want the people refined or elevated, for 
 the more they knew the worse it was for them ; that 
 they got meddling in politics when they had a little 
 learning. And he said papa s head was getting hot, 
 so he would put him in jail awhile to let it cool off. 
 Lelee seemed to think that was a great joke ; but it 
 was no joke for us, I assure you, as when papa was 
 in jail we had very little to eat Not that we have 
 any too much at any time, though, for he is so 
 absorbed in his poetry that sometimes he forgets to 
 eat, and of course he forgets all about us, too. But 
 he really doesn t mean to, for he is the kindest old 
 papa in all the world. And here he comes, too. 
 You must go out into the road, one of you, and stop 
 him, for he is in one of his absent-minded fits and 
 will go right on if you don t." 
 
 Hartley sprang up and ran out into the road. As 
 he seized the horse s bridle, the poet looked up 
 absently and exclaimed : 
 
1 62 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " What, are there highwaymen on this road ? Let 
 me go, sir, for I have no money, and my business is 
 urgent. Let me go." 
 
 He looked neither alarmed nor even surprised, 
 only perturbed ; but it was not until his daughter ran 
 out and greeted him that he could be made to under 
 stand the situation. " Why, Rita, is this you ? " he 
 exclaimed. " Where did you come from ? I thought 
 you were riding behind me on little black Jess." 
 
 " So I was, papa," replied the girl, " until my rein 
 broke and Jessica ran away. Don t you remember 
 seeing me fly by you, long ago ? " 
 
 "Ah, yes, now I recall the circumstances, but I 
 thought you were only having a frolic. But how is 
 it you are with these young men ? And foreigners, 
 too. What are their names, my daughter ? " 
 
 "I I don t know," replied the girl, in some con 
 fusion. " It was by accident we met. This gentle 
 man caught Jessica and probably saved me from a 
 bad fall, while this other, the younger, invited me to 
 stay with them until you came and have something 
 to eat. And, papa, I was so very hungry that 
 that I know it was not quite proper but I just 
 had to accept his invitation or I should have fainted." 
 
 " My poor little girl. What a brute is your old 
 father. I quite forgot, indeed I forgot, that we had 
 not eaten since yesterday." 
 
 The poet dismounted, and taking his daughter s 
 face tenderly between his hands imprinted a kiss on 
 
A Poet of the Sierras. 163 
 
 either cheek. Then he suffered the boys to lead the 
 way to their camp, where they introduced themselves 
 but not until after they had set some food before 
 him and insisted upon his eating. 
 
 " Ha, Americanos ? " he said, with a gleam of 
 pleasure in his eyes. " Your country is one I have 
 always desired to visit from my earliest youth. It is 
 a great country, a land of the free and the home of 
 honesty. Oh, if I could end my days in such a land ! 
 What would I give if but my children could be reared 
 and educated there ! Here all is darkness ; there all 
 is light ! " 
 
 " Why don t you go there ? " asked Arthur. " We 
 have plenty of room." 
 
 "Too old, too poor," said the poet, mournfully, 
 shaking his head. " Too old and too poor. But if 
 I were young I should go. If I were young." 
 
 " Still, the winters are cold in the States," said 
 Hartley. "You might miss the perpetual sunshine 
 of this island." 
 
 "True, I might, for a while. But sunshine is of 
 the soul, not an external product. The sun shines 
 steadily here, as you say ; but it cannot dissipate the 
 darkness of ignorance and superstition. The first 
 settlers, the Spaniards, left us a legacy of sin and 
 hate, inasmuch as they murdered the poor Indians, 
 who never did them harm, and compelled them to 
 toil to their deaths in the mines. And that legacy is 
 ours yet. Only the great Father knows when it will 
 
164 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 be removed. But, by the way, have you seen the 
 President ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Arthur, " and felt his power." 
 
 " Ha ! so his heavy hand fell on you, even you, 
 freemen of a free land ? Who then shall escape him ? 
 But what think you of him ? " 
 
 Arthur and Hartley looked at each other, then at 
 the poet. 
 
 " We have our opinion," said Arthur, "but it does 
 not seem to me that this is the time or place to 
 express it, if you will excuse us." 
 
 " So you are cautious, you are afraid. True, the 
 burnt child dreads the fire. I do not blame you. 
 Besides, you do not know but that I may be a spy of 
 his. Is not that so ? " 
 
 " We have heard that he has such creatures," 
 replied Arthur, "but we have no thought that you 
 may be one. Still, as we are in Lelee s country, it 
 behooves us to hold our peace, does it not ? " 
 
 "You are right, it does. But I will not keep 
 silence, even though he imprison me a second time." 
 
 " Papa, papa, hush ! " It was the girl who spoke. 
 " Look ! look there, up in the tree, right over our 
 heads ! A man, a black man, and he has a gun ! " 
 
 " Child, it cannot be. You are mistaken," cried 
 the poet, in astonishment. " But no, you are right, 
 and it is our old neighbor, Simon Sam, who betrayed 
 me to the council. Now, indeed, my revenge has 
 come, for his life is given into my hands ! " 
 
XVIII. 
 
 The Man in a Mango Tree. 
 
 ARTHUR S rifle leaned against a tree, seeing 
 which the poet seized and pointed it at the 
 man overhead, who, though he had a gun in his 
 hands, shouted, " Don t shoot, I will come down." 
 
 "That you will," retorted the poet "You will 
 come down, after I have sent a bullet through you, 
 villain ! " 
 
 " But don t do that, Alessandro Alix ; remember 
 I am your nearest neighbor in Santiago. I have 
 never harmed you, Alessandro." 
 
 " Oh, I remember. True, you have never harmed 
 me bodily, but you made such representations to the 
 President as caused him to arrest me; and now 
 your time has come." 
 
 " Oh, stay, don t shoot the fellow," said Arthur, 
 laying a hand on Don Alessandro s arm. "I 
 wouldn t if I were you." 
 
 "Yes you would, sefior. You would, if you had 
 suffered what I have from this man. Now I am 
 going to pull trigger. Say your prayers, Simon 
 Sam, for your last hour has come." 
 
 " Oh, yow, yow ! " yelled the man in the tree. 
 " Don t cut me off in the midst of my promising 
 
 165 
 
1 66 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 career. Senor Americano, intercede for me, will 
 you not? Recall me, I saw you at the capital." 
 
 " Yes, I recall that you were in command of troops 
 sent to arrest me, just before we were cast into 
 prison. I know no good of you, sir, and if Don 
 Alessandro desires to shoot you, I shall not do any 
 thing to prevent him." 
 
 " Yow ! yow ! murder ! help ! " the man s voice 
 rang out, but no answering call assured him of aid. 
 His hands shook so that the rifle he held fell and 
 came clattering to the ground. 
 
 " Papa, dear, do not kill him," entreated the girl. 
 "You have never shed human blood in your life, 
 remember. Do not stain your soul with it now, dear, 
 dear papa, I entreat you ! " 
 
 " I care not," answered the poet to this appeal. 
 " The fellow deserves death. Now I am going to 
 fire! Stand back, all of you." 
 
 There was a howl from the man in the tree, and 
 a shriek from the girl; but the two Americans 
 viewed the prospect of the coming tragedy with 
 strange composure. As Senorita Rita turned to 
 them for assistance in preventing her father from 
 committing the crime, she was astonished to see 
 them smile broadly ; in fact, they seemed on the 
 verge of bursting into laughter. 
 
 Seeing her look of wonderment, Arthur stepped 
 to her side and whispered, " Don t agitate yourself, 
 your father will not shoot." 
 
The Man in a Mango Tree. 167 
 
 " Not shoot ? But he will. He is in earnest. 
 See him now." 
 
 " Yes, he may be in earnest, but, but in the first 
 place he doesn t know anything about a rifle, and in 
 the second that rifle is not loaded. There, now you 
 know why we are amused, instead of alarmed." 
 
 But the little lady did not view the affair as a 
 joking matter at all. She looked at the boys re 
 proachfully and said : " But you saw that man had 
 a gun. Suppose he had shot my father ? He could 
 have done nothing, with a rifle unloaded. Papa 
 might have been killed." 
 
 Arthur and Hartley exchanged glances. "Tell 
 her, Hart," said the former; and so the younger boy 
 addressed himself to the girl : " Senorita, you may 
 not have noticed that each of us has kept one hand 
 in the right pocket of his blouse, during this inter 
 view with the man in the tree, and in that hand each 
 of us grasped " 
 
 " Saints preserve us," shrieked the girl, for at the 
 last word Hartley uttered, he and Arthur had with 
 drawn their hands from their pockets, quick as 
 a flash, and each hand held a revolver. 
 
 "These are loaded," said Hartley, significantly, 
 " though the rifle was not ; and if that man up there 
 overhead had made a single movement endangering 
 your father s life, we should have filled him with lead 
 before he could have said Jack Robinson. " 
 
 " Ye-es," rejoined the girl, hesitatingly, now recov- 
 
1 68 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 ered from her fright, " but he might not have said 
 Yack Robeenson. " 
 
 "Just the same," said Hartley, "we should have 
 had the drop on him, sure as fate, for these re 
 volvers are self-cockers and can almost go off them 
 selves. Let me show you, for instance." 
 
 He tossed his hat into the air and bang, bang, bang, 
 bang, bang, spoke his revolver, to an accompaniment 
 of shrieks from the girl, who, though she had stopped 
 her ears with her fingers, kept her big brown eyes 
 fastened on the hat in the air. As it fell to the 
 ground she ran and picked it up, examined it care 
 fully, and then turned to the boy with an expression 
 of wonder on her pretty face. 
 
 "How did you do it?" she asked; "and all the 
 time it was up there in the air, too ! There were five 
 reports, for I heard them, and there are five holes in 
 the hat." She poked a slender finger through every 
 hole as she counted, in Spanish : " Uno, dos, tres, 
 qnatro, cinco, one, two, three, four, five," then 
 added : " Can your brother do that, too ? Can he 
 shoot a hat full of holes when it is up in the air ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. Can t you, Art ? " 
 
 " Reload your revolver, Hart, and I will, just to 
 please her. " 
 
 Hart understood. It might not do to have both 
 revolvers empty at the same time ; so he reloaded 
 and then gave the command to fire. 
 
 " Whose hat ? " asked Arthur, with a comical smile. 
 
The Man in a Mango Tree. 169 
 
 " Why, yours, of course. Mine is well ventilated 
 already." 
 
 " Yes, but mine is newer than yours ; and hats 
 don t grow on bushes in this country, you know. It 
 may be long before I find another." 
 
 " What a cheese-paring old Yankee you are, Art 
 Strong," retorted Hartley. "No, you will use your 
 hat or none. Hi! What s up?" For Arthur had 
 suddenly spun around on his heel and took a flying 
 shot at their erstwhile prisoner in the tree, who, taking 
 advantage of their preoccupation, had slid silently to 
 the ground and run off as fast as his legs could carry 
 him. 
 
 The poet, finding he could not work the rifle, had sat 
 down at the foot of the tree and lost himself in a 
 study of its mechanism, for the time forgetting his 
 bloodthirsty desire to wreak vengeance on his enemy 
 up aloft. Then, when the pistol-shooting began he 
 became absorbed in that, and watched the contest 
 eagerly, without another thought of cunning Simon 
 Sam. 
 
 Following the report of Arthur s revolver came a 
 howl of anguish from the escaping prisoner, who 
 promptly fell to the ground, where he lay prone, 
 twitching convulsively. 
 
 " Oh, Art, you haven t killed him, have you ? " 
 
 " Killed him ? No, of course not. I merely plugged 
 his hat. You see you were rather premature when 
 you said it was your hat or none ! " 
 
170 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " Yes, I know, Art, you are a good shot ; but look 
 at the man. Why, he seems mortally hurt. You 
 must have touched his cranium." 
 
 " He s shamming. Tell the poet to go out and 
 bring him in, while I keep him covered with my 
 revolver." 
 
 The poet did as commanded, but he trod very gin 
 gerly when he approached the seeming corpse, and 
 when he touched it on the shoulder and it turned over 
 and groaned, he leaped into the air as though hit by a 
 live electric wire. 
 
 " Dear me, he isn t dead," he cried out. " Poof ! I 
 thought you had settled him, once for all." As the 
 man wouldn t get up, but persisted in lying there, 
 giving utterance to most dismal groans the while, the 
 poet rolled him over and over in the dust, while he 
 searched for a wound. 
 
 " This is strange," he said, as the other members of 
 the party now came on the scene. "There isn t a 
 drop of blood, and no sign of a hurt/ 
 
 " Perhaps he is bleeding internally," suggested his 
 daughter, timidly, her woman s sympathy aroused, in 
 spite of the fact that the man was her father s 
 enemy. 
 
 " Not at all," declared Arthur, spurning the man 
 with his foot. " He s playing possum, that s all. 
 Get up, you coward," he commanded. 
 
 The man slowly scrambled to his feet, snivelling 
 and groaning. 
 
The Man in a Mango Tree. 171 
 
 "Now," said Arthur, "if you want to find this 
 man s wound, look in his hat," pointing to that 
 article lying at one side the road. 
 
 The poet picked it up and examined it attentively. 
 " Why," he said, with the air of one making a great 
 discovery, " there s a hole in it." 
 
 " And my brother made it with a bullet," said 
 Hartley. 
 
 " Made it with a bullet ? What, did he do that 
 when Simon Sam was running at full speed ? Did 
 he spare him purposely ? " 
 
 " Certainly he did. Would you have had him kill 
 the man ? " 
 
 " Ahem," said the poet, "I that is well, no ; 
 but, if the hat was on Simon Sam s head when the 
 shot was fired, as I presume it was, your brother 
 would, in my opinion, have done the world a service 
 by shooting a little lower down ! " 
 
 If Mr. Simon Sam noted the purport of this rather 
 pointed remark, at least he kept his opinion on the 
 subject to himself. His was such an abject, servile 
 nature that nothing could offend him ; so he merely 
 pulled himself together, and reaching for the hat, 
 said : 
 
 "Gentlemen, I shall preserve this as a memento 
 of one of the narrow escapes of my life. Now, if you 
 have no further use for my services, I will recover 
 my gun, which fell from yonder mango tree, and 
 depart to my humble home as soon as I can find my 
 
172 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 burro, which was tethered in the mesquites over 
 yonder hill." 
 
 " I have no objection," said Arthur, "to your seek 
 ing your humble home, provided you will stay in it 
 when you get there ; but when a man has a home, as 
 you say you have, why should he perch himself up in 
 mango trees by a roadside to overhear the conversa 
 tion of unwary travellers ? No, sir, before you go 
 you must first give us an explanation of several things 
 which seem to us very mysterious." 
 
 "And before you go," added the poet, "I shall 
 exact some guarantee that you will not persecute me 
 any more, Simon Sam, otherwise known as Colonel 
 Pombioso Fuliginoso, attached to the secret service 
 of his Excellency, the President." 
 
 "Oho, so that is his name and title, is it? Hear 
 ing this reminds me of what I was told in the capi 
 tal, namely, that the President had ordered you to 
 call out a detail and have yourself shot, the morn 
 ing after the arrival of the American war vessel. Is 
 that true ? " 
 
 It was Arthur who asked this rather personal ques 
 tion, and as Mr. Sam saw there was no avoiding it he 
 answered without hesitation. 
 
 "It is true, sefior, and but for his Excellency s 
 clemency I should now be no more. But he spared 
 my life, as you see, and here I am." 
 
 " Yes, I see ; but on what condition did he spare 
 your life ? " 
 
The Man in a Mango Tree. 173 
 
 "I he that is oh, senor, there was no con 
 dition. I swear there was not any. See, I go down 
 on my knees to you. There was no condition." 
 
 "Humph. A likely story, that. His Excellency 
 is not given to granting such a favor without a cer 
 tain other favor in return. Speak, now, and tell me 
 all, or I will put a bullet through you." 
 
 " Then - But you will kill me if I tell you." 
 
 " No, if you tell the truth I will spare you." 
 
 " And let me go free, without any further molesta 
 tion ? " 
 
 " Yes, on my word ; but provided you also seek to 
 do us no further harm." 
 
 " Then I will tell you, and this is the truth. Hear 
 me, all saints. Lelee spared my life on the sole con 
 dition that I would prevent you and your brother 
 from ever returning alive from this journey." 
 
 " So ? That is what I suspected. But how did he 
 know we were to come this way? We had taken 
 passage for New York. Did he not know ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, he knew ; but Lelee is old and cunning. 
 He has the cunning of the evil one himself. He said 
 you might continue on to New York, and then again 
 you might get off the steamer at either Puerto Plata 
 or Cristi, so he sent a man on board ship to watch 
 you, and commanded me to strike across country and 
 lie in wait for you on this road, peradventure you 
 might come this way." 
 
 " That was an admirable plan, but as you see it has 
 
174 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 miscarried. Now, tell me, have you any accom 
 plices ? " 
 
 " Not one. I came here alone. And nobody else 
 but Lelee knows of my mission. Nobody but you 
 and your friends with us here." 
 
 " That is all. You may go, so far as I am con 
 cerned. But if I find that you have played me false 
 or if you should betray our presence here to Lelee, 
 your life will be the forfeit. I will find you and 
 shoot you, wherever you may be in hiding." 
 
 " I hear, and you may do so if you find I have 
 proved false. But I dare not live here any longer. 
 I shall go over into Haiti." 
 
XIX. 
 A Dominican Country Home. 
 
 "A | ^VHAT is the road, Simon Sam, the road to 
 A Haiti, and the sooner you travel that way 
 the better for all of us. Go now, catch your burro, 
 mount and be off." Thus spake the poet to his 
 erstwhile neighbor and enemy, after the conversa 
 tion had ended between him and Arthur Strong. 
 " I have a grudge of my own to satisfy ; but if you 
 keep your word to the young American and if he 
 can pardon you, why, so can I. He shall not be 
 more magnanimous than I can be. But go ! " 
 
 " I go, Alessandro Alix ; but as I shall never see 
 my family again I want you to take them word of me. 
 Tell my wife that she will not see me ever again in 
 Santo Domingo, for I shall not cross the line after I 
 have gone over the boundary." 
 
 " Yes, I will do so gladly, Simon Sam ; but I only 
 wish it were true that you meant what you say, and 
 I am not by any means certain that you will cross 
 the boundary. Bad pennies have a way of turning 
 up when least desired or expected. However, vaya 
 con DioSy go and may God be with you, provided 
 you are bent on reform." 
 
176 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 The little party watched the man out of sight, 
 as he shuffled down the road and climbed the hill 
 beyond which, as he claimed, his donkey was tethered. 
 Not until they had seen him return over the highway 
 leading to Cristi and Haiti, however, did they feel 
 assured that he would take his departure. 
 
 " Now, my boys," said the poet, (< we have wasted 
 a good deal of time on that worthless specimen of a 
 Dominican, and as the afternoon is well advanced, 
 suppose we saddle up and meander on our journey. 
 I take it you are bound for the Cibao region, or per 
 haps for Santiago, and as I have a little rancho near 
 the suburbs of the city, I herewith extend to you a 
 most cordial invitation to make my house your home 
 for as long a time as you can stay. Nay, do not 
 refuse us this favor, for have you not put both my 
 daughter and myself under great obligations to you ? 
 We are poor that is, in this world s goods but 
 we are a happy family, aren t we, Rita, my love ? " 
 
 " Yes, papa ; why should we not be ? And I hope 
 the senores will go with us and let me do some 
 thing to show how grateful I am for their kindness. 
 Mamma and my sisters also will wish to see those 
 who have been our friends on the road ; for a favor 
 received by one of our family is held as a favor to 
 all." 
 
 "No, no, sefiorita," exclaimed Hartley, "we have 
 done nothing at all to require any recompense what 
 ever. But as to going with you, if my brother is 
 
A Dominican Country Home. 177 
 
 agreed, I think it would be the jolliest thing that we 
 could do. What do you say, Arthur ? " 
 
 "Say? Why, go; by all means. We shall not 
 often get an invitation to join such a charming com 
 pany, I m sure. Senorita and senor, we accept with 
 pleasure. Now that our steeds are saddled and you 
 are ready to mount, we shall proceed, provided Miss 
 Rita does not object to travelling in company with 
 these bullocks." 
 
 "Of course not," laughed the girl. "Why, at the 
 rancho I ride nothing else, and barebacked, too. 
 Poor papa has had a small herd of bullocks broken 
 in for us all to ride, as there are nearly half a dozen 
 of us girls, besides himself and mamma." 
 
 " Half a dozen ? " asked Arthur. " And have you 
 no brothers, then ? " 
 
 " No, not a boy amongst us ; and it is true that we 
 are nearly half a dozen, for we are five in all, and I 
 am the youngest." 
 
 "Don t you pity me, seftores?" asked the poet, 
 pulling a long face and trying to look miserable. 
 " Five daughters, and not one of them married, or 
 ever likely to be, I m afraid." 
 
 "Why, Papa Alix, you naughty man. Aren t you 
 ashamed to talk that way ! You know I am not old 
 enough, and as for sisters, I m sure they are too 
 good for any men of our acquaintance ; and besides, 
 you have always been so good to us that we couldn t 
 leave you if we wanted to." The pretty sefiorita 
 
iy8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 pouted, and then she blushed shyly, wondering in 
 her innocent little heart if she had said anything 
 wrong. 
 
 "Tut, tut, my child. Don t get in a pet. I 
 wouldn t have any of you marry for the world not 
 while I am alive. What would the old rancho be 
 without its sunshine ? Yes, senores, there are five ; 
 and their names are : Tomasina, Rosalina, Olivia, 
 Carmen, and last but not by any means least, my 
 Rita, whom alone, of them all, you know." 
 
 "And you know only the worst of the five," 
 added Rita, with a mischievous gleam in her spar 
 kling brown eyes. " I m the tomboy, and being the 
 youngest have been completely spoiled. Have I 
 not, papa?" 
 
 She looked demurely at her father, who gravely 
 nodded assent, without seeming to understand what 
 she had said. He was wrapped in his thoughts, 
 apparently, and oblivious to his surroundings. Rita 
 placed a finger at her lips and nodded significantly 
 to the boys, who were riding one on each side her 
 horse. 
 
 " See that, now ! Isn t it awfully provoking to 
 have such a parent as that ? Why, sometimes I am 
 so exasperated I would just like to shake him. But, 
 of course, I wouldn t. Do you know what he is 
 doing now ? Why, he is composing poetry. Think 
 of a man of his age writing verses about moonlight 
 and lovers, and all such like silly things ! He should 
 
A Dominican Country Home. 179 
 
 know better, don t you think so ? Oh, you may 
 speak out; he won t hear you." 
 
 " Well, now," began Arthur, " it must be a great 
 thing to have a poet in the family, especially a great 
 poet." 
 
 "Yes ; but I m afraid papa is not a great poet. I 
 should like to think so, of course ; but when I com 
 pare his poetry with what the really great ones have 
 written, it seems very poor sort of stuff. And then, 
 again, he doesn t get anything for it, unless it is 
 from some tradesman or planter who wants his wares 
 or his products puffed up. Still, it pleases him, and 
 that is something." 
 
 "You are quite a philosopher," said Hartley, laugh 
 ing. " I wish I could look at things as contentedly 
 as you do. Don t you let anything worry you at all ? " 
 
 "Dear me, yes," said the little lady, quaintly. 
 " Ever so many things trouble me. But it s no use 
 telling you about them ; you re only a boy and 
 wouldn t understand, and if you did it would be no 
 use." 
 
 In this manner they chatted as they rode along, 
 whiling away the time so pleasantly that it was near 
 night before they became aware the sun was getting 
 toward the western horizon. Then the poet awoke 
 from his revery and, looking about, said : " Off here 
 somewhere there lives a friend of mine, with whom 
 we can pass the night. Ah, there is his rancho, off 
 there at the base of that hill." 
 
180 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Leaping their steeds over the low hedge of pita 
 plants that lined the highway, the quartette galloped 
 up to the door of a lowly hut of three or four rooms 
 and dismounted. A pleasant-looking colored man 
 came to the door as they did so, and welcomed them 
 to the house. 
 
 " It is yours," he said with a great air of hospitality, 
 "the house, its owner, and all you see around you. 
 And especially are you welcome, Don Alessandro, and 
 your charming daughter." 
 
 The two men embraced, Spanish fashion, poking 
 their heads over each other s shoulders and patting 
 each other on the back, and after this performance 
 was over the young men were introduced. A small 
 troop of boys came from the stable yard and led 
 away the beasts, and in a short time a steaming 
 supper was spread on a big bench under a tamarind 
 tree and the weary travellers invited to partake. 
 After the supper was over the ranchero s wife took 
 Rita away to her room, and the men chatted together 
 over their cigarettes. At least, they all mingled in 
 the conversation, though the boys did not smoke. 
 
 The host s plantation was in a bend of the Yaqui, 
 which he told his stranger guests was there called 
 the River of Reeds, because of the beds of tula 
 which bordered its lower banks. He was not inquisi 
 tive about them, so they had to answer no awkward 
 questions, and after he and Don Alessandro had fin 
 ished their smokes and talks, he led the way to their 
 
A Dominican Country Home. 181 
 
 quarters for the night. A hammock for each, slung 
 from rafters blackened by the smoke of fires for 
 many years, comprised their beds, and in these 
 elastic aboriginal couches they slept soundly till 
 morning. 
 
 Awakened at daylight by the vociferous crowing 
 of cocks and cackle of guinea fowl, they tumbled out 
 and went down to the river for a bath, finding coffee 
 awaiting them on their return, and by the time that 
 was disposed of their horses and bullocks were stand 
 ing saddled beneath the trees ready for departure. 
 The generous host would take nothing for their 
 entertainment, and seemed inclined to be offended 
 at the payment proffered by Arthur, who was pay 
 master of the expedition and kept strict account of 
 expenses. 
 
 " No, no," he said with seeming disgust, " I have 
 not sunk so low as to take pay for hospitality. I am 
 only a poor ranchero, to be sure ; but the good God 
 has given me all I need and something more for the 
 entertainment of my friends. Vaya con Dios senorita 
 and caballeros. Come see me soon again, for it is 
 lonesome here." 
 
 " If we travel hard all day, at night we shall reach 
 my own rancho, senores, and then we will rest after 
 our arduous labors," said Don Alessandro. 
 
 And indeed it was a hard day s journey, the road 
 being nearly all the way up hill, before they saw the 
 towers of Santiago s cathedral looming in the dis- 
 
1 82 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 tance, and knew that the end of their jaunt was near. 
 They had lunched that noon by the side of a crystal 
 rivulet and had a merry picnic there; but on the 
 whole, all were rather subdued, on account of fatigue 
 from continued travel. So they welcomed with joy 
 the prospect of a rest, and when Rita turned to the 
 boys and told them that in another half-hour they 
 would be at the rancho, they could not conceal their 
 satisfaction. 
 
 "We turn off here," said Don Alessandro, as they 
 reached a hill from which the town of Santiago was 
 fully visible. "There before you is my native place, 
 Santiago de los Caballeros, the City of the Gentle 
 men, so called by the first Spaniards who settled 
 here, because it was founded by the choicest soldiers 
 of the Spanish army, many of them hidalgos and all 
 of them men of substance. It is an old city, but not 
 so old as our capital, having been founded about 
 1504, though its site was known years before." 
 
 They cantered through a shady lane lined with 
 frangipanni, century plants, and pita, and finally 
 drew rein at a tumble-down gate beneath an im 
 mense silk-cotton tree. Inside the gate was a long, 
 low, one-storied structure made of palm logs and 
 roofed with tiles. It was a rambling, loose-jointed 
 dwelling, evidently with many rooms, for there were 
 many doors and windows opening out upon its broad 
 and all-enclosing verandas. 
 
 The sun had set by this time, and the dusk was 
 
A Dominican Country Home. 183 
 
 gathering; but the dwellers within the house had 
 heard a commotion outside and came to reconnoitre. 
 Then there were screams of joy and welcome, as 
 Don Alessandro and Rita were clasped in half a 
 dozen arms or more, and nearly smothered with 
 kisses. The gate was opened, and in went all, sev 
 eral servants, who had by this time been aroused, 
 leading the way. 
 
 When the members of Don Alessandro s household 
 discovered after the ardor of their embracings was 
 over that there were two strangers with their 
 father and sister, they were somewhat abashed, 
 especially as Don Alessandro loudly proclaimed that 
 these two young gentlemen had come on purpose to 
 visit them, having heard the fame of his daughters 
 beauty in America. They were knights errant, he 
 said, in quest of adventure, and the first thing they 
 had done was to rescue Rita from a runaway, and 
 the next to shoot a hat from Simon Sam s head, a la 
 William Tell. 
 
 It was then the young men s turn to feel shy, and 
 it is feared that at first they did not enjoy the situa 
 tion so very much. They had to admit that they 
 had not seen so fine a bevy of girls in all the island, 
 and when nearly a dozen dark eyes were turned on 
 them as they were introduced, they felt they would 
 much rather meet an armed body of men, than 
 endure such a battery of glances. However, the 
 ordeal was soon over. Senora Alix was such a 
 
184 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 motherly, sweet-faced lady, and her daughters five so 
 amiable and charming, that the boys were soon at 
 their ease again. And when, an hour later, they all 
 sat down to a bountiful meal on the west veranda, 
 there wasn t a jollier company anywhere in the 
 island. 
 
XX. 
 
 Pledged to kill the Tyrant. 
 
 ""\7"OU are tired, of course," said Sefiora Alix, 
 X after dinner was over and the girls had 
 retired to their rooms to exchange news of what had 
 happened since Rita s departure. Each of them 
 made a cute little courtesy as she was about to dis 
 appear, murmured a " buena noche, senores, good 
 night, sirs " then vanished from sight. 
 
 But though lost to sight they were not by any 
 means beyond ear-shot, for the poet s house, big as it 
 was, had no rooms with dividing walls, and the parti 
 tions that separated them were only about ten feet 
 high. So the chatter of the seftoritas was audible 
 long after all the others had retired. 
 
 Acting upon the suggestion of his wife, Don Ales- 
 sandro piloted the boys to their room, which like the 
 rest was only a square, box-like apartment with par 
 tition half-roof high, a mud floor and palm-thatched 
 rafters overhead. Yes, the floor was of the natural 
 earth, or rather of clay beaten down hard by long 
 usage, and during the daytime the pigs and chickens, 
 turkeys and guinea fowls, marched over it at their 
 own sweet will. But thrown over the loose sack of 
 
 185 
 
1 86 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 straw that served as a bed, was a sheet of fine linen 
 with beautiful Spanish drawn-work a foot deep along 
 its edges, and the pillow-cases were also exquisitely 
 embroidered in the style of the country. 
 
 This work, of course, had been done by the young 
 ladies ; but, truth to tell, they had few other accom 
 plishments, and like their Spanish-American sisters 
 in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and all Central and 
 South America, they paid less attention to the culti 
 vation of their minds than the representatives of 
 their sex in more northern lands. 
 
 But this is neither here nor there. The boys may 
 not have approved altogether of the young ladies and 
 their bringing up, but they recognized the fact that 
 they were in a sense their guests, and that criticism 
 would come with bad grace from them. And again, 
 the girls were very charming, and had natural grace 
 and lovable dispositions which made them seem quite 
 fascinating. They were, in short, warm-hearted, 
 good-natured, but thoughtless young ladies, never 
 having had a real care in their lives, and at the same 
 time never having been spoiled by an excess of riches. 
 The constant battle with poverty, however, had not 
 soured their natures, and this ought to be said to 
 their credit. 
 
 Arthur and Hartley tiptoed about on the mud floor 
 quite gingerly, after their shoes and stockings were 
 off, looking for a hook or a nail on which to hang 
 their clothes. But such an object was nowhere visi- 
 
Pledged to kill the Tyrant. 187 
 
 ble, and finally, with a laugh, they threw their " togs " 
 over a hammock swung from the rafters, said their 
 prayers, and went off to sleep, with a sense of great 
 thankfulness for the shelter provided them by Don 
 Alessandro. 
 
 In the morning they were awakened by a great 
 commotion in their room, and opening their eyes, saw 
 a queer procession filing through the open doorway. 
 It was headed by a gigantic and consequential turkey 
 gobbler, after whom waddled a big Muscovy duck, 
 followed by a dozen or more hens and roosters, all 
 evidently unfavorably impressed with the new arri 
 vals, for they gave vent to their disapproval in a 
 perfect babel of sounds. They marched around the 
 room subjecting everything in it, particularly the 
 boys belongings, to a searching examination, and 
 then filed out again, probably to report what they 
 had discovered to the rest of the farmyard throng. 
 
 " Was that a dream, Hart," asked Arthur, rubbing 
 his eyes, " or was it a real procession ? " 
 
 " You would think it rather real, I guess," laughed 
 Hartley, looking over the side of the bed, "if you 
 could see the muddy tracks they have left. But I 
 wouldn t mind it if they had only cleaned out some 
 of the cockroaches. Look at that old beggar over 
 in the corner. Wait a moment till I shy a boot at 
 him. Why, he s almost as big as a sparrow. And 
 there s another. Oh, what was that? " 
 
 Hartley had reached out and taken up one of his 
 
1 88 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 boots from the floor, intending to throw it at the 
 cockroach, as already mentioned, when something 
 black and shiny, with a multitude of wriggling legs, 
 slipped between his ringers. 
 
 " A centipede, Art! Sure as I m a sinner. He 
 flashed between my fingers like a streak of lightning. 
 I declare, I m afraid to get out and dress." 
 
 " Oh, pooh, a centipede s sting isn t necessarily 
 fatal," replied Arthur, sitting up in bed and looking 
 about him. " It might give you a little fever, or 
 something of that sort; but that s about all." 
 
 " All ? Well, that s enough. But look. There s 
 another, running over your pillow. Kill him, Art, 
 before he gets away ! " 
 
 " Where ? Where is he ? Ouch ! Oh, there he 
 is, making straight for me." 
 
 Arthur didn t wait for him to reach his evident 
 destination, but sprang out of bed and seized one of 
 his boots, gazing wildly about him. Hartley fol 
 lowed in short order, and for a moment both were 
 panic-stricken. But the younger boy was the first 
 to recover, and securing a seat in the hammock, he 
 rallied his brother with his own words : 
 
 " Pooh, Art, centipedes aren t necessarily fatal, 
 you know ! Let that one sting you if he wants to. 
 It s the nature of the beast, and I don t suppose he 
 will be happy unless he does something of the sort. 
 I wouldn t be afraid of a little thing like that, seems 
 to me." 
 
Pledged to kill the Tyrant. 189 
 
 " Oh, you wouldn t, eh ? Well, there s another 
 running along the upper edge of the hammock, and 
 in about half a minute he will be near enough for 
 you to make his acquaintance, if you don t get up. 
 Ha, ha, I thought you wouldn t sit there long," as 
 Hartley rolled from the hammock to the floor with a 
 wild whoop of dismay. 
 
 All this commotion brought Don Alessandro to the 
 doorway, and thrusting his head in, he wanted to 
 know what the matter was. 
 
 " Centipedes," said Arthur. " Hundreds of them," 
 added Hartley. " Look ! " 
 
 " Oh, is that all ? I thought there was really some 
 thing the matter," said the poet. " Why, I ve lived 
 here all my life and was never stung by them more 
 than forty times. We can t get rid of them, as they 
 live in the thatch and rotten wood of the rafters, like 
 the scorpions, which are almost as numerous as the 
 centipedes. But wait, I ll get you a piece of canvas 
 to stand on while you dress." 
 
 He went away, and soon came back with a square 
 of canvas which he spread on the floor, and upon 
 which the boys stood while they put on their clothes ; 
 first, however, shaking every article and examining 
 it carefully before getting into it. They saw but one 
 more, which ran out of Arthur s other boot, and this 
 one he " squashed " before it got away. It was a 
 horrid-looking creature, fully four inches long and 
 with venom enough in it, doubtless, to throw either 
 
190 The Last of the Aravvaks. 
 
 of them into high fever if it could have used its 
 poison ducts. 
 
 Don Alessandro showed them how the mischief 
 was done. He said he had seen one once running 
 across the bare arm of a companion, and had struck 
 at it with a stick he had in his hand. He hit the cen 
 tipede and knocked it to the floor, but not before it 
 had sunk its claws into the man s flesh and injected 
 poison enough nearly to cause his death. 
 
 " They can move like lightning," said Don Ales 
 sandro, " and as they seem to know the very second 
 you intend to strike at them they sometimes forestall 
 the act, as did the one which stung my friend. But 
 now you are dressed, come out into the open air and 
 try to forget this disagreeable experience. I will have 
 the room thoroughly searched this morning and make 
 it more presentable for my guests." 
 
 The morning was so glorious, with bright beams 
 glancing across the palms, birds singing in the trees 
 and thickets, and the fragrance of flowers filling the 
 air, that the boys soon forgot the bad quarter of an 
 hour they had passed and thought only of the 
 beauties of nature. They sipped their coffee together 
 on the back veranda, and when they had finished, 
 the poet sent for horses, saying that he wished to 
 take them for a ride. 
 
 As they cantered along between half-wild hedges 
 of pita plant, Don Alessandro told them something 
 of the history of the country. The city of Santiago, 
 
Pledged to kill the Tyrant. 191 
 
 he said, which was visible only a few miles away, 
 was the centre of a region containing about forty 
 thousand inhabitants, mostly agriculturists, and was 
 once a very important place. At present it is lan 
 guishing from lack of enterprise and the stagnation 
 of business caused by the President s opposition to 
 progress. 
 
 " We will come around back that way," said Don 
 Alessandro, " and I will show you some of the sights. 
 Meanwhile, I am now taking you to see the ruins of 
 Jacagua, the first settlement on this island after the 
 city of Isabella was founded. It was once quite a 
 town, but earthquakes threw down its walls, and the 
 Spaniards left it to look for gold in the hills, so 
 nothing remains to-day but a heap or two of stones 
 and the city well." 
 
 He led the way into a field near the road and 
 pointed out several heaps of stone and mortar, over 
 grown with wild fig trees and prickly pears. One 
 shapeless heap represented the church, another the 
 king s storehouse, and still another the city hall, and 
 amongst the ruins were scattered fragments of pottery 
 and tiles that had once covered the roofs of the 
 buildings. 
 
 After inspecting the site of a city founded by 
 Columbus, and which ought to be interesting to all 
 students of this country s history, Don Alessandro 
 completed the trip by making a detour to Santiago 
 de los Caballeros. The " City of the Gentlemen" 
 
192 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 has sadly deteriorated since early Spanish times, and 
 there are very few white people resident there at 
 the present time; but traditions still remain of its 
 ancient glory. Riding through a paved street lined 
 with mean-looking dwellings, Don Alessandro finally 
 stopped in front of a house that at one time had 
 made some pretence to architectural beauty. It was 
 one-storied, to be sure, but the doorway was large 
 and the walls were of stone, with carved cornices, 
 and a balcony jutting out from a dormer window. 
 
 A gentleman sat within the doorway, apparently 
 very old and very feeble. He was introduced as 
 Don Pablo Orerotundo, a descendant of one of the 
 original conquistadores who had come over directly 
 after the West Indies were discovered. 
 
 At the request of their guide he showed the boys 
 an ancient parchment bearing testimony to the proud 
 lineage of his ancestor, which he, the last of his line, 
 still preserved with care. A flash of dignity came 
 into the old man s eyes as he told of the stock from 
 which his family had sprung, but it instantly died 
 out as he said : 
 
 " But I am the last, senores. I, only, remain, and 
 in a little while I too will be gone ; and of what use 
 is that musty parchment or this suit of ancient armor 
 which my ancestor once wore ? " 
 
 He pointed to a suit of mail that hung on the wall, 
 above which was a pair of crossed swords. " Do you 
 see those swords ?" he asked. "They were brought 
 
"ARTHUR S EYES FLASHED AS THE CLD MAN PASSED ONE OF THE SWORDS 
 
 TO HIM." 
 
Pledged to kill the Tyrant. 193 
 
 here by the conquistadores. They are veritable 
 Toledos, made by the Moors before the Spaniards 
 reconquered their native land, perhaps eight hundred 
 years ago ; maybe nine, for I have forgotten every 
 thing of that sort. But they are Toledos, and I will 
 ask Don Alessandro to take them down and show 
 them to you." 
 
 Having done as requested, Don Alessandro passed 
 the swords to their owner, who took them, one in 
 each hand, and bent them nearly double to show 
 their strength and elasticity. They were nearly five 
 feet in length, each one with a cross and basket-hilt. 
 Arthur s eyes flashed as the old man passed one of 
 the swords to him, for he loved a weapon of tried 
 steel, and grasped this one as though it were a pearl 
 of great price. 
 
 The old man noticed that and said : " Ha, so you 
 love a sword ? You can appreciate this weapon with 
 a history ? Then, senor, I shall ask you to accept it 
 from me as a gift. Yes, do not say no, for there is 
 no one in this miserable town who would care for it. 
 And since there are two swords, and you are two 
 brothers, this second weapon shall belong to the 
 younger boy." So saying, he pressed the swords 
 upon them, in such a way that they could not be 
 refused. 
 
XXL 
 
 Swords of the Conquistadores. 
 
 THE boys turned to Don Alessandro for advice, 
 and he told them to have no hesitation in 
 accepting the swords as gifts. " It is true, as Don 
 Pablo says, there is no one here who would more 
 highly appreciate them than yourselves. But I think 
 he has, in return, a request to make of you, if I mis 
 take not." 
 
 " Not a request," said the old man, in a loud, clear 
 voice, " but a command. I can see that the elder 
 boy is an accomplished swordsman. He need not 
 make a pass to prove that to me, for the manner of 
 his handling the weapon shows it. And it is upon 
 him I would lay my command, which is this: 
 Improve the first opportunity you have to flesh that 
 sword in the body of a tyrant. Who ? Oh, there is 
 but one tyrant in Santo Domingo. You know ! " 
 
 "Yes," replied Arthur, steadily, "I know; but I 
 
 cannot accept the sword with this condition. I we 
 
 - have suffered at his hands ; but we do not desire 
 revenge. You must take it back, senor." 
 
 "And this, also," joined in Hartley; " much as I 
 194 
 
Swords of the Conquistadores. 195 
 
 should value the sword for its history and itself, I 
 cannot retain it, though greatly obliged to you, senor, 
 for your courtesy." 
 
 The old man made a gesture of impatience. " No, 
 no, you will keep the swords ; and what is more, one 
 of you shall stain one of them with the blood of the 
 tyrant or his emissary. You cannot evade your des 
 tiny. It is written on the scroll. I have been wait 
 ing for you to come for many years, for the man to 
 avenge our slaughtered islanders. I cannot read 
 all this on the scroll. But that you will fight him, 
 hand to hand and foot to foot that is written. 
 And you will prevail. Now I am content, Alessan- 
 dro. The sword of the conquistador has come into 
 the hands of its master this young man." 
 
 As Don Pablo spoke he had the air of one peering 
 into futurity, the rapt gaze of the seer. He stood 
 erect, and the years seemed to roll away from him, 
 leaving him almost young in appearance. 
 
 "Take the swords," said Don Alessandro, "if only 
 to gratify his whim. He is a monomaniac on the 
 subject of Lelee, for he killed his son, and ever since 
 that event, Don Pablo has had no rest." 
 
 " Yes, he killed my son," said Don Pablo, catching 
 at a portion of Don Alessandro s speech. "Lelee 
 killed my only son, my heart s treasure, the solace 
 of my old age. Oh, what would I not give to bring 
 him to the grave ! But there are no men left in this 
 island now. Lelee has killed them all, Qlse some. 
 
196 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 one would hunt him down and slay him like the 
 beast he is. But you will?" turning to Arthur. 
 " You will rid the world of this carrion ? Say you 
 will." 
 
 " I cannot promise," replied Arthur, gently. " But 
 I feel for you, I do, indeed. And if Lelee compels 
 me, as you say he will, I will fight him to the death. 
 But only in self-defence ; not otherwise." 
 
 "Very well. But if you had seen what I have 
 seen, you would not think it a crime to kill Lelee. I 
 have seen a whole regiment shot down by his orders. 
 He had suspected it of being disloyal to him, and 
 with the rest of his army, he surrounded it while out 
 on parade. He made a speech to the soldiers, say 
 ing that all the officers of their regiment had been 
 found disloyal, and accordingly ordered them shot. 
 This was done by the soldiers, who were then told 
 that the non-commissioned officers were also disloyal, 
 and that they must shoot them, which they did. 
 He then divided the regiment up into squads and 
 had one squad shoot another, until the entire regi 
 ment was destroyed ! That was Lelee, the man who 
 killed my son. You may ask why I do not seek to 
 kill him myself. Because I cannot get at him. I 
 am too well known; and, besides, I am too old to 
 seek him out; my strength is not sufficient." 
 
 "Well, Don Pablo," said Alessandro, "we must 
 be going, for the good wife has our breakfast await 
 ing by this time. Thank you for the courtesy to my 
 
Swords of the Conquistadores. 197 
 
 guests. Rest assured, they shall give a good account 
 of the Toledos." 
 
 The boys added their thanks to their host s, mounted 
 their horses and rode away. Don Pablo stood watch 
 ing them until they had turned a corner of the street, 
 then, with a sad shake of his head, sat down and 
 buried his face in his hands, in which position he 
 remained a long, long while. 
 
 "What did Don Pablo mean by the * scroll ?" 
 asked Hartley of the poet, as they rode homeward. 
 
 "Scroll? Oh, ah, yes," replied the poet, awaken 
 ing from one of his frequent fits of abstraction. 
 " Why, he meant a scroll of life, which he has seen 
 in his visions. He is visionary, as of course you 
 must have seen, and he has dwelt so long on the 
 death of his son, and planned so long how to avenge 
 it, that he thinks he has been shown the right way to 
 accomplish his purpose in the end." 
 
 " But how came he to fix upon me as the medium 
 of his vengeance ? " asked Arthur. 
 
 " Quien sabt?" rejoined the poet, shrugging his 
 shoulders. " Who knows ? I suppose, though, he 
 had seen some one like you in his dreams, and when 
 you appeared in the flesh he was struck by the 
 resemblance. Still, do not treat the matter lightly, 
 my friend. Remember that Don Pablo, from long 
 contemplation of things spiritual and removed from 
 earth, is a mystic, and that more importance should 
 attach to his visions than to ordinary dreams. For 
 
198 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 myself, I fully believe that what he has predicted of 
 you will come to pass." 
 
 "What? That I shall fight the President with 
 this sword ? That is impossible, Don Alessandro." 
 
 " No, my son, not impossible. Improbable, per 
 haps, but still within the realm of conjecture. More 
 things that seemed less likely to occur have come to 
 pass in my own experience." 
 
 " I trust this will not," answered Arthur, seri 
 ously. 
 
 " It must not, of course," added Hartley, visibly 
 affected at the prospect, though so remote, of his 
 brother s life imperilled. "Art, dear, I shall never 
 leave you. If he fights you he must fight me, 
 too." 
 
 Arthur darted a grateful glance at his brother, 
 and then laughed. 
 
 " Well, Hart, we will not worry over a thing so 
 remote. I don t say but that the taking off of Lelee 
 would be a good thing for his people; but I don t 
 want to be the cause of it, I m sure." 
 
 " If it is so fated, you must," interposed the poet. 
 " But don t bother. The world is good, and God 
 reigns. Enjoy what is at hand. Ha, see, there are 
 my daughters waiting at the gate. All of them, too. 
 I wonder what mischief is in the air now ? Some 
 thing important, I know from their appearance. 
 Well, Tomasina," said he, addressing the eldest of 
 his daughters, a young miss of over twenty, with 
 
Swords of the Conquistadores. 199 
 
 laughing black eyes and sprightly aspect, " what is it 
 now ? " 
 
 "What s what, papa ? " asked Tomasina, demurely. 
 " How do you know anything is it. I ve a good 
 mind not to speak to you again to-day." 
 
 " Oh, come, come, don t be offended. I meant 
 that I would grant any reasonable request, that is, 
 any that doesn t involve spending any money, you 
 know. Not that I wouldn t like to, but I haven t 
 it to spend." 
 
 " No, papa," said Olivia, the second daughter, 
 coming to her sister s assistance, " it isn t that. But 
 we have been planning a little picnic to take place 
 to-morrow, and you must go with us." 
 
 "Yes," continued Rosalina, the next in age, taking 
 up the thread of the story. " That is it, a picnic, 
 to come off at Concepcion de la Vega, and a visit to 
 the shrine on the hill." 
 
 " Really, papa," added Carmencita, the young 
 est but one, " you ought to do something for us, it is 
 so long since any of us have been outside the rancho." 
 
 " And," finally finished Rita, the youngest of all, 
 and consequently the most privileged, that is, the 
 most spoiled " and you go off with the senores 
 and leave us all moping at home. Papa, it is too 
 bad, really it is. Consider, Papa Alix, that it was I 
 who discovered the senores, and if it hadn t been 
 for me, you might never have met them." 
 
 " No, you might never have met them," said all 
 
2OO The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the others in a chorus, " and yet you don t give us a 
 chance to speak to them." 
 
 "Well," exclaimed the poor poet, after this com 
 posite tirade had ended, " did you ever hear anything 
 like that before ? " He turned to the boys, who had 
 fallen a little behind him and who sat on their horses 
 enjoying the scene most hugely. They laughed, but 
 did not reply, not knowing what sort of an answer to 
 make, and he continued. " That is what I have to 
 endure almost every day. I, the most indulgent of 
 fathers, am treated like a common enemy. Why, my 
 darlings," turning again to his daughters, " you had 
 only to ask of me what you wanted, to have your 
 request granted instantly." 
 
 This announcement was followed by a shout of 
 derision from the girls behind the gate ; but they 
 chattered and nodded their pretty heads to each 
 other eagerly, finally saying : "He has agreed to go, 
 after all. Hurrah, our scheme was a grand suc 
 cess ! " 
 
 Then they hastened to open the gate and let the 
 travellers in, their eyes gleaming with fun and run 
 ning over with merriment. 
 
 " Oh, but the swords ! " exclaimed Rosalina, catch 
 ing sight of the two Toledos in the young men s 
 hands. 
 
 " Don Pablo s swords, too," said Tomasina, breath 
 lessly. " Did he give them to you freely, senores, or 
 or with a pledge ? " The merriment faded out of her 
 
Swords of the Conquistadores. 201 
 
 face and the chatter was instantly hushed, for the 
 girls knew well for what purpose Don Pablo had 
 been keeping those swords, all the years since his 
 son was killed. 
 
 " Don t do it," said Rita, addressing Arthur. " Don t 
 risk your life in an encounter with that base man, 
 senor." 
 
 " Pooh ! " said Tomasina. " He risks nothing. I 
 only wish I were a man ! I would seek him out and 
 compel him to fight me ! Think you not that God 
 would be on my side ? Give me the swords, senores, 
 and I will polish them for you. They shall shine so 
 that they will dazzle, his eyes, and the only spot upon 
 the one that is used shall be made by his foul blood 
 staining it." 
 
 She reached up and took the Toledos from the 
 young man, and bore them off proudly to polish them 
 up as she had promised. 
 
 " Bravo, Tomasina ! " said the poet, as tears leaped 
 to his eyes. " What would I not give if you were 
 indeed a son, instead of a daughter." 
 
 " If that encounter ever does come off," said 
 Arthur, following the girl with admiring eyes, " I 
 would ask for no better second than your eldest 
 daughter, Senor Alix." 
 
 " Faith, she is gentle enough," replied the poet. 
 " But, indeed, I do believe she would dare fight Lelee 
 single-handed. But dismount. I see that my good 
 senora has breakfast awaiting us, as I said to Don 
 
2O2 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Pablo she would have when we arrived. Turn the 
 horses loose ; they will find their fodder and some 
 one to unsaddle them. Come in." By the time all 
 were seated around the breakfast table, they had 
 recovered their spirits, and not a word was said that 
 did not tend to obliterate the impression which the 
 sight of the Toledos had made upon their minds. 
 
 The girls were overflowing with fun again, and 
 narrated with great glee to their mother how they 
 had compelled their father to capitulate. " Oh, it 
 was such a lark," declared Rita. " We charged down 
 upon him all in a body, and fairly took his breath 
 away. Didn t we, papa ? " 
 
 " Faith, senores," said the poet, appealing to the 
 brothers, " would it not be likely to take anybody s 
 breath away, to have such a pack of tomboys fall 
 upon him, as though he were indeed an enemy, 
 rather than the kind parent I am known to be ? And 
 such a spectacle, too, for the senores to witness." 
 
 " Oh, they enjoyed it, I m sure," rejoined Rita, 
 looking across the table to the silent young men. 
 " Of course we re tomboys, all of us. What else 
 could one expect of girls who have never been away 
 from such a forlorn old rancho as this in their whole 
 lives ? " 
 
XXII. 
 
 A Picnic on the Royal Plain. 
 
 > do not sa that " chided the 
 
 mother, gently. 
 
 "Well, what I meant was to stay any length of 
 time, or to go to school." 
 
 " But you have had your own governesses, dear, 
 and have not been brought up entirely in ignorance, 
 as your remarks might imply." 
 
 " Yes, but what do governesses signify ? I want 
 to see the world." And the spoiled child pouted. 
 Then she seemed to forget her grievance all at once, 
 and turning to Arthur, asked him why, when he had 
 the whole world to choose from, he should select 
 their poor little island to visit. He answered by say 
 ing that, to him, the island was one of the most inter 
 esting spots in the world, on account of the great 
 events that had transpired there. 
 
 " Great events ? What great things have happened 
 here, sefior ? " Her eyes opened wide, and her sisters, 
 too, were all attention. 
 
 "Why, those connected with the discovery of 
 America and the first settlements in this hemi 
 sphere, senorita. As your father can tell you, it 
 
 203 
 
204 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 was through this very section that the invading 
 army of Spaniards, under Columbus, marched to 
 the conquest of the Indians in 1494. Right within 
 the bounds of your own rancho one of the first 
 towns was founded, you know." 
 
 " No, I don t know. Papa never tells us anything. 
 He thinks we can t understand him, I suppose. But 
 I want to know all about it, and so do sisters, don t 
 we, children ? " They signified the desire to learn 
 more of their island s history, and after much urging, 
 the boys went with them out to the veranda that 
 overlooked the garden, where many gay flowers 
 bloomed and humming-birds flitted about in shining 
 coats, and they all sat down together. 
 
 " The real invasion of this part of the island," 
 began the young historian, " was nearly a year after 
 the first city was founded, which Columbus called Isa 
 bella. While he was absent in Cuba, many atrocities 
 had been committed and many Indians made cap 
 tive, some say about five hundred, whom Colum 
 bus, instead of setting free, sent to Spain as slaves. 
 This was one of the first acts of Columbus that may 
 be set down against him as cruel and rapacious. 
 The natural result was that other Indians, hearing 
 of the treatment given their neighbors, rebelled 
 against their Spanish masters, including those under 
 a great cacique named Guarionex, who was lord of 
 all this region from the Yaqui to the Gulf of Samana. 
 
 " Some of his subjects having stolen a few trifles 
 
A Picnic on the Royal Plain. 205 
 
 from the Spaniards, the commander of the forces in 
 the field caught them, cut off their ears, and sent them 
 to the town of Isabella, with a request that Columbus 
 make an example of them and cut off their heads. 
 This final act of cruelty was not performed, but 
 many of the Indians were now excited and restless, 
 and further atrocities by the Spaniards brought about 
 their revolt. 
 
 "Cacique Guarionex was induced to rise against 
 the Spaniards by the wanton acts of a small band of 
 soldiers who had been quartered upon him, and who 
 in return were slain by the indignant chief and his 
 men. Instead of calmly investigating the com 
 plaints of the Indians, Columbus took sides with 
 his fellow-countrymen and supported them in their 
 enormities, while the wrongs of the Indians were 
 allowed to go unredressed, until, finally, even Indian 
 human nature could endure no more, and several 
 caciques of the interior joined with Guarionex for 
 a grand assault upon their enemies. 
 
 " The effective force of Columbus at that time did 
 not amount to more than two hundred men, infantry 
 and cavalry, but they were clad in iron armor, and 
 armed with cross-bows, arquebuses, swords, lances, 
 and pikes, and, in addition, had the support of packs 
 of fierce bloodhounds. About the last of March, 
 1495, the two brothers, Christopher and Bartholo 
 mew Columbus, set out from Isabella at the head 
 of their band of human brutes and bloodhounds to 
 
206 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 meet an army of Indians, estimated at more than a 
 hundred thousand. They came up with them some 
 where in this very region, perhaps on the site of your 
 own rancho, and as the poor Indians were mostly 
 naked, and had no arms but bows and arrows, stone 
 spears and battle-axes, they made short work of 
 them. 
 
 " No doubt they were brave enough, but when the 
 red men saw the arquebuses spitting out fire and 
 smoke, and were mowed down by the bullets, they 
 were at first astounded, then terrified. And when the 
 cavalry charged upon them, the Indians took the 
 horses, which they had never seen before, for super 
 natural creatures, and fled in wild dismay. Then the 
 cruel Spaniards let loose the fierce bloodhounds, who 
 tore all they could catch to pieces, rending them limb 
 from limb. So the Indians fled in terror to the 
 mountains, and the Spaniards won a great victory, 
 though many of the poor creatures reassembled 
 again farther up this valley, on what is called the 
 Royal Plain." 
 
 " Where we are going to-morrow," said Tomasina, 
 who, like the rest, had been a breathless listener to 
 the terrible deeds of their ancestors as narrated by 
 the young stranger. " It makes me despise the 
 Spaniards of those days," added the outspoken 
 Tomasina. " And to think that we may have some 
 of their blood in our veins, sisters ! Isn t it awful ? " 
 
 " Oh, well," said the philosophic Rita, " we have 
 
A Picnic on the Royal Plain. 207 
 
 Indian blood in our veins, too, according to our 
 genealogical tree; so what shall we do about it? 
 There are five of us, half Spanish and half Indian ; if 
 there were only six we might divide and fight it out." 
 
 " How monstrous !" said Olivia. "You and Tom 
 might fight it out, as you call it ; but none of the rest 
 of us would, I m sure." 
 
 "I d fight," declared Tomasina, readily; "but it 
 wouldn t be one of my own kin. I would do as the 
 poor Indians did in defence of my home." And then 
 she added in a lower tone, " It may be that we shall 
 have to do it yet, if the tyrant goes on much longer 
 unchecked." 
 
 " Tut, tut," said her father, coming up just in time 
 to hear this declaration. " Don t talk treason, Tom. 
 Go, now, all of you, to help your mamma prepare for 
 to-morrow, for, faith, there is much to do." 
 
 All the day long, at the rancho, there was baking 
 and frying, and in the evening a packing of hampers 
 and saddle-bags with good things for the picnic on 
 the morrow. When the day dawned it found every 
 body not only awake but out and ready to start, for 
 while the distance to be traversed was not great, per 
 haps about fifteen miles, the road leading to the 
 Royal Plain was probably one of the worst highways 
 in the whole world. 
 
 The sun had hardly darted a ray over the hills to 
 the east of the rancho ere the cavalcade provided a 
 collection of bullocks, as well as horses, may be called 
 
208 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 a cavalcade was ready to start There were two 
 packhorses which in this instance were donkeys - 
 laden with every sort of provision known to the 
 islanders, and they went ahead, without either saddle 
 or bridle on, being trusty brutes without any guile at 
 all in their composition. Close behind them came 
 good Seftora Alix, who wished to be near the " carga 
 burros " for the purpose of keeping an eye upon the 
 pots and pans and stores of provisions, which she had 
 with so much labor provided. She was mounted on 
 a bullock, and straggling after her came all her 
 lovely daughters, each one seated on a big straw 
 aparejo or straw saddle of the island, firmly fastened 
 to the back of a similar animal. 
 
 The boys were astride their own particular bovines, 
 to whom they had by this time become quite attached, 
 and the rear of the procession was brought up by 
 two colored servants mounted upon two diminutive 
 burros, bareback, and finally the master of the rancho 
 himself. Thirteen dumb beasts and eleven people 
 comprised the company that set out so early that 
 bright morning for the Royal Plain. 
 
 At the starting, the air was cool, fragrant with 
 odors of f rangipanni, and vocal with bird music ; but 
 as the sun mounted higher and higher, dissipating 
 the dews of morning and wilting all before him, the 
 spirits of the company sank correspondingly in inverse 
 ratio to his ascent. 
 
 And the trail they followed, called by courtesy " el 
 
A Picnic on the Royal Plain. 209 
 
 camino real" the king s highway, who could do 
 justice to the horrors of that road ? It had been laid 
 out by the first Spaniards to traverse this section 
 four hundred years before, and had been used ever 
 since ; but it was worse now than at the very begin 
 ning, for it had holes in it two or three feet deep, and 
 the holes were filled with mud and water which 
 splashed over the travellers as their beasts sank their 
 feet within them. The scenery along the road, run 
 ning as it did through beautiful forests, and past 
 plantations of plantains and bananas, was attractive ; 
 but who could pay any attention to scenery, when 
 eyes and ears were filled with mud and water ? 
 
 All were glad when at last the van of the proces 
 sion turned aside from the trail and entered a 
 scrubby growth of mangos and guava bushes. The 
 trees met over their heads, and now and then there 
 were glimpses of ruined walls of brick and mortar, 
 which Don Alessandro said were the last vestiges of 
 the fort Columbus had erected here in 1495 and 
 called Concepcion de la Vega. 
 
 Corralling all the animals within the brick walls 
 of the ancient fort, the tired travellers dismounted 
 and dispersed themselves over the grassy level be 
 neath the trees. Banana leaves were cut and spread 
 on the ground as tablecloths, and upon them were 
 spread out the viands which Dona Alix had prepared 
 with her own hands. No second invitation was 
 needed to surround the banana leaves and fall to, 
 
2io The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 for all were hungry and did ample justice to the 
 bountiful repast. After that, when Don Alessandro 
 had lighted his cigarette, and the girls were engaged 
 with their mother in clearing away the remains of 
 the feast, the poet narrated the history of the place 
 in which they had temporarily pitched their camp. 
 
 " After the first great battle with the Indians," he 
 said, " and while there was a lull in the storm, 
 Don Bartholomew and Don Christopher Columbus 
 improved the time by erecting a strong fort on this 
 site, which they called Concepcion de la Vega. They 
 brought bricks from Isabella which had been made 
 in old Spain, and they built a fort after the most 
 approved style of the age in which they lived. They 
 garrisoned it with their brave soldiers, and none too 
 soon, for the forces of Guarionex which they had 
 dispersed reassembled and attacked them in their 
 stronghold. It was no use, however, for the Indians 
 were driven away and around the fort gathered quite 
 a settlement. That old tower rising over there 
 amongst the palms is all that remains of the first 
 church erected here, and only a few years ago the 
 bell which once called the people to prayer was dis 
 covered hanging in the branches of a wild fig tree. 
 
 "An earthquake destroyed the town and shook 
 down the walls of the fort in 1565, and ever since 
 the place has been in ruins and, they say, haunted 
 by the ghosts of the departed caballeros. Yes, 
 senores, they have been met here, and not many 
 
A Picnic on the Royal Plain. 211 
 
 years ago whole troops of them, and when saluted 
 they would take off their hats very courteously, but 
 with their hats off came their heads, also. Ugh, 
 I don t want to meet those ghosts of the hidalgos 
 who perished here, my friends, for such a meeting 
 portends dire disaster." 
 
 In the afternoon they all remounted their beasts 
 and rode up the hill called " El Cerro," six hundred 
 feet in height, and on the summit of which is a 
 votive chapel. They attracted much attention from 
 the few natives living here, who flocked out to sell 
 them silver charms, amulets, and bottles of healing 
 water from a wonderful spring which had the repu 
 tation of turning everything into glass that fell or 
 was thrown into it. Near the church stands a ragged 
 old walnut tree, beneath which, according to tradition, 
 the great Columbus stood and viewed the triumph of 
 his army over the Indians when, for the third and 
 last time, they attempted to drive the invaders away. 
 
 This battle was the consummation of the Indians 
 woes, for they were decisively defeated, and ever 
 after that they were the Spaniards slaves. They 
 planted their fields for them, and toiled in the 
 mines until they dropped dead from fatigue and 
 all perished. 
 
XXIII. 
 
 San Cocho y a Feast without Forks. 
 
 F | AHE view outspread from the porch of the little 
 \_ church on the summit of the Santo Cerro, or 
 Holy Hill, is one of the finest in the world. 
 
 So Columbus said, when for the first time he gazed 
 upon it from beneath the walnut tree which is still 
 known as the " nispero de Colon," and the few 
 travellers who have been favored with this view have 
 fully indorsed his opinion. For the hill rises six 
 hundred feet sheer above a vast plain which envelops 
 it on every side. Over this plain are scattered thou 
 sands upon thousands of royal palm trees, and amid 
 them the thatched huts of the farmers peer out from 
 their bowers of flowers and foliage. It was called 
 by Columbus the Vega Real, or Royal Plain, and 
 will forever hold the preeminence for beauty that 
 induced him to bestow upon it the regal title. 
 
 After the boys had feasted their eyes upon this 
 beautiful landscape, Don Alessandro said they must 
 be going if they would reach home before night, as 
 he desired to pay his respects to some people on the 
 way and to invite them to spend the morrow at the 
 rancho. 
 
 212 
 
San Cocho, a Feast without Forks. 213 
 
 So they set out on the return journey, reaching 
 home without accident and finding themselves as 
 hungry as bears when they arrived. It was to the 
 great credit of the horses, burros, and bullocks that 
 they behaved with eminent discretion all the way out 
 and back, save only for the beast ridden by Rosalina, 
 which attempted to run away with its fair charge. 
 She was, however, rescued by Hartley, just on the 
 brink of a steep bank where a fall might have been 
 very dangerous. Thus there were two of Don Ales- 
 sandro s daughters who were likely to regard these 
 young men in the light of heroes, and a continued 
 stay at the rancho might cause their acquaintance 
 to ripen into friendship. 
 
 It was to this effect that the boys spoke to Don 
 Alessandro that night, after the girls had all retired 
 and the house was quiet: "We must soon be going, 
 senor," Arthur said to him as they sat on the ve 
 randa. " It is delightful here and we should like to 
 stay for weeks ; but at the same time the season is 
 advancing, the rains will soon be here, and we must 
 improve the dry weather." 
 
 "Tush! nonsense!" replied the poet. "What 
 business can you have in the mountains to take you 
 away from a place where all are devoted to you ? It 
 must be urgent, faith. Why, my sons, the girls will 
 cry their eyes out. They haven t had such a good 
 time for years." 
 
 " We should like to think so, of course," rejoined 
 
214 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Arthur ; " and if we could be of any service by stay 
 ing, we would surely stay." 
 
 Well, Art, you might, if you wanted to," said 
 Hartley, " but as for me I m going into the moun 
 tains, even if all the girls in the island weep at our 
 departure. Don Alessandro, you are so hospitable 
 that I really believe you would keep us the rest of 
 the year." 
 
 " Faith, my son, I certainly would, for I like you 
 both, and also my people like you, and that is enough 
 with us here. We have not riches, we have very 
 few enjoyments, but at least we are sincere." 
 
 " I believe it, seflor, and we would gladly stay ; but 
 to-morrow, or next day at the farthest, we must 
 really start on our journey." 
 
 " Well, so be it," said the poet, with a sigh. " But 
 first you are going to have a taste of a country bar 
 becue what we call a san cochoj or feast without 
 forks. It is a sort of picnic, to which we shall invite 
 our neighbors, and I think you will find it novel, if 
 not interesting." 
 
 "I m sure we shall," said Arthur. "And it will 
 make another favor for which we shall be indebted 
 to you. I ve heard of the san cocho, but have 
 never yet tried one. It will be a new experience to 
 me." 
 
 " And to me, also," said Hartley. " It is just the 
 thing I wanted to try. How clever of you, Don 
 Alessandro, to think of it." 
 
San Cocho, a Feast without Forks. 215 
 
 " Not at all," replied the poet. "It was the most 
 natural thing in the world. The san cocho is one 
 of our institutions, as you Yankees say, and I 
 would not think of allowing you to go away without 
 having tried it. But it is late, sefiores ; let us to 
 bed ; and may you have better rest than you had last 
 night. I must go out to see that all is prepared for 
 the morrow. Buenas noches sleep well." 
 
 As their room had been well attended to during the 
 preceding day, the boys found but few pernicious 
 insects to interfere with their rest, and the next morn 
 ing awoke refreshed. Another glorious dawn, as per 
 fect as that of yesterday, greeted them on going into 
 the open air. At coffee all the young ladies joined 
 them, fresh as flowers, and radiant at the prospect 
 of another picnic. They chatted amongst themselves 
 in the bright, birdlike way they had, and now and 
 then threw a question at the young men ; but it was 
 very evident that they did not view with favor the 
 contemplated departure of their guests, and that they 
 resented it. There was a certain shyness in their 
 behavior and an air of constraint, which spoke louder 
 than words, and impressed the young men painfully. 
 But although they surmised the cause of it to be the 
 rejection of their hospitality, they did not falter in 
 their determination to set out for the mountains the 
 very next day. 
 
 There was bustle and activity all the forenoon at 
 the rancho of Don Alessandro Alix, for more than a 
 
216 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 score of invitations had been sent out, and long before 
 noon the neighbors began to arrive. Some were 
 black and some were colored, as to their complexions, 
 and but two or three of them were white ; but all 
 came eagerly and joyfully to partake of Don Ales- 
 sandro s san cocko, for the making of which he 
 was famous throughout Santiago province. Indeed, 
 it was said that his fame as a master " san cochero " 
 had extended far beyond the borders of the province, 
 and that those high and mighty in authority would be 
 only too glad to sit down at his festive board. Be 
 that as it may, high noon found all the banqueters 
 arrived, and out under the double row of mango trees 
 in the garden a table, made of boards supported upon 
 trestles, more than forty feet in length. 
 
 Out in the corral were the various animals that had 
 been ridden in by the invited guests : burros, bullocks, 
 and scraggy ponies, hitched to posts, and each beast 
 with a big bundle of maloja or cane fodder piled 
 up before it. The flies were numerous out in the 
 corral, and the sun poured down a flood of caloric ; 
 but the poor beasts did not seem to mind it, having 
 become used to flies and sun through long experience. 
 The boys thought the aparejos or straw saddles ought 
 to be removed, if no other provision were made 
 for the animals comfort; but when they spoke to 
 Don Alessandro about it, he laughed at the sugges 
 tion. 
 
 " Ah, you Americanos," he said with a patronizing 
 
San Cocho, a Feast without Forks. 217 
 
 smile. " You spoil all your beasts by kind treatment. 
 I have heard that there is no country on earth where 
 horses, for instance, are better cared for and more 
 petted than in the States, and yet they are the worst 
 kickers in the world. Now, our horses and bullocks 
 are all so well disciplined that they never kick under 
 any provocation whatever. Not even the mules will 
 kick, senores, nor the burros. And do you know why? 
 Well, it is because we show them, early and often, 
 that we are their masters. Yes, we are cruel, I 
 admit, but it is better to be cruel to the beast than 
 to yourself. We ride our horses with sharp spurs 
 and bits that would break their jaws if force were 
 employed, and we do it because we are the riders, 
 and not the horses. If we did not use force and 
 make them understand we were likely to kill them 
 if they did not obey our slightest wish, they would 
 become stubborn and unruly like those caballos 
 Americanos." 
 
 The boys rather demurred at this, but Don Ales- 
 sandro shook his head at their suggestion to take the 
 rings out of their bullocks nostrils and guide them 
 by means of bridles. 
 
 " Don t do it," he said quite earnestly. " Don t do 
 it; for if you do they will run away with you and 
 perhaps throw you over the first precipice they come 
 across. But come with me. I want to show you a 
 lovely sight." 
 
 The boys followed their host to an open shed back 
 
2i 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 of the house, beneath the thatched roof of which 
 stood a dome-shaped " homo " or oven, made of clay, 
 about four feet high, and with a small opening in one 
 side stopped up with a great flat tile. Kicking aside 
 the earthen tile, Don Alessandro looked in, then 
 withdrew, rubbing his hands with satisfaction. 
 
 " Look inside, my sons, and you will see the pretti 
 est pair of pigs that ever graced a san cocho" 
 
 Stooping down they did as directed, and saw re 
 posing upon the smooth clay floor of the homo a pair 
 of small " porkers," each with a corn-cob in its mouth 
 and with feet curled up as if in supplication, being 
 toasted a most beautiful brown. 
 
 "Isn t that a lovely sight?" asked Don Alessan 
 dro. " Faith, it is such a pretty theme for a poem 
 that I believe I ll write one while the little darlings 
 are roasting and take it in with them to my guests. 
 My sons, I shall now retire to my den, which is out 
 there beyond the acacia trees. But, as you value my 
 friendship, my sons, do not lisp a word as to my 
 whereabouts, for my muse is a jealous mistress, and 
 my wife has strict orders not to interrupt us while we 
 are in sweet communion. Go you to the festal board, 
 and partake of the viands that shall be offered you, 
 and if inquiry is made for Don Alessandro, the Poet 
 of the Sierras, say you nothing, for I shall appear 
 in due time, bearing aloft that beautiful pair, and 
 with an effusion that will be as sauce to the meats. 
 Faith, my sons, I believe my Poem on the Pigs may 
 
San Cocho, a Feast without Forks. 219 
 
 yet make me immortal, for I feel stirring within me 
 the divine afflatus. Go. But stay a moment. If my 
 wife asks of you where I am, tell her I am not to be 
 disturbed, and will appear in due time. She will 
 understand." 
 
 The young men did as directed, and when they 
 arrived at the place where the table was spread found 
 the guests already assembled and awaiting their com 
 ing. At the head of the table sat Seftora Alix and 
 on each side of her a long row of expectant guests : 
 men, women, and numerous children, dispersed 
 amongst whom were the five lovely Senoritas Alix, 
 who also looked, not only expectant, but decidedly 
 uneasy. 
 
 Tomasina motioned the boys to take seats, one on 
 each side of her, facing Rita and Rosalina. Carmen 
 and Olivia looked disappointed, when they saw the 
 disposition made of their guests, for they were left 
 without an opportunity even to speak to them. But 
 there was no time to lose, since three great steam 
 ing dishes of food were on the table, and everybody 
 seemed anxious to begin operations, especially the 
 children, who were not at all backward in announc 
 ing their wants. 
 
 Senora Alix and two of her daughters then served 
 the contents of the tureens, and soon each guest had 
 before him or her a plateful, to which strict attention 
 was paid until the ravenous appetites seemed some 
 what satisfied. Then there was a scramble for the 
 
22O The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 tureens, each guest thrusting a hand into the near 
 est dish and drawing out a bit of meat, a bone, or 
 chicken wing, and depositing it on the plate of the 
 person sitting within reach. 
 
 This seemed to the boys quite an unconventional 
 proceeding (to put it mildly) and not altogether appetiz 
 ing. They didn t mind much when Tomasina thrust 
 in her dainty fingers and pulled out a choice morsel, 
 which she placed upon their plates ; but when a burly 
 peasant did the same they rather recoiled, for his 
 hands were neither dainty nor clean. Still, as their 
 motto had ever been, "When in Rome, do as the 
 Romans do," they rallied quickly and followed fash 
 ion, fishing out tidbits from the tureen opposite, and 
 dropping them on their neighbors plates, much to 
 the satisfaction of the recipients. 
 
 After all had been helped in this fashion, there 
 was a lull in the proceedings, and everybody now 
 looked anxiously in the direction of the homo, where 
 by this time the little pigs should be done to a turn 
 and ready to serve. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 The Poem and the Little Pigs. 
 
 " T WONDER where papa is? " said Tomasina to 
 
 A. Arthur, who sat on her right. " He should 
 have been here long ago, of course ; and, moreover, he 
 gave orders this morning that no one but he should 
 serve the sucking pigs which are roasting out in the 
 homo" 
 
 Both Arthur and Hartley felt very uneasy about 
 this time, and also rather guilty, since they were the 
 only ones at the table who knew the whereabouts of 
 the recreant host. But what could they do ? He 
 had made them promise not to divulge his hiding- 
 place to any one but the senora, and even then not in 
 so many words. 
 
 " If I may speak to the senora," answered Arthur 
 to Tomasina s indirect question, " perhaps I can en 
 lighten her without betraying a trust." 
 
 The girl gazed at him in astonishment, then a 
 look of enlightenment came over her face and she 
 laughed. "Why, certainly you may, Don Arturo. 
 But you need say no more, for I have guessed what 
 it is already. Oh, my dear, foolish papa." Then she 
 said, raising her voice : " Mamma, I believe papa s 
 
 221 
 
222 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 gone off to his den to write a poem and has forgotten 
 those pigs entirely. Is it not so, senor ? " 
 
 Arthur looked at his brother and both burst out 
 laughing, for they could not help it. " Better con 
 fess, Art," said Hartley. " Come, out with it." 
 
 "No," replied Arthur, "I shall not tell. But 
 seftorita," turning to Tomasina, "I will say this 
 much : I fear your father has forgotten the pigs." 
 
 " Of course he has," declared Senora Alix and her 
 daughters, in chorus. " He always forgets, poor 
 papa," said Olivia, with such a comical grimace 
 that all the guests at table, big and little, fell to 
 laughing, and for the moment quite forgot their 
 disappointment. 
 
 " But somebody must get the pigs," said the senora. 
 " Dear me, they will be burnt to a crisp. Don Theo 
 dore," she added, addressing a man near her, " won t 
 you kindly come to the rescue ? " 
 
 "With pleasure, senora," replied Don Theodore; 
 and away he went. 
 
 Now, to improve the occasion and fill the interim 
 while Don Theodore is absent, we may as well in 
 spect the contents such as are left of the tureens, 
 for they alone are held to make a real san cocho a 
 grand success without the addition of anything 
 else. 
 
 Each tureen held what the Italians would call an 
 " olla podrida" or a little of all sorts. The West 
 Indians have a similar dish in universal use and 
 
The Poem and the Little Pigs. 223 
 
 great esteem, which they call "pepper-pot," or casa- 
 reep, and it is made as follows : Into a large earthen 
 vessel are thrown the odds and ends of meats from 
 time to time, perhaps for months, such as bits of 
 pork, chicken wings, etc. Ordinarily these accumula 
 tions would decay in a very short time, for meats do 
 not keep more than a day or two in the tropics, on 
 account of the heat. But these are kept from decay 
 ing by a preparation of cassava juice, which is a 
 deadly poison when raw or crude, but becomes whole 
 some and an antiseptic, or preventive of decay, when 
 subjected to heat. The poisonous property of the 
 cassava evaporates when boiled, and leaves the " fa 
 rina," from which flour is made, and the juice both 
 harmless and palatable. This was one of the many 
 discoveries of the Indians who lived in these islands 
 before the first white men came. 
 
 The objectionable custom of taking a tidbit out of 
 the pot with one s fingers is considered a mark of 
 high esteem and hospitality, so that the boys did 
 just right in reciprocating, and would have deeply 
 offended their genial hosts if they had not eaten the 
 morsels placed in this manner upon their plates. 
 
 But here comes Don Theodore, bearing aloft a 
 huge trencher upon which recline the unfortunate 
 porkers. His appearance is saluted with a chorus of 
 " ohs " and " ahs " from the juvenile members of the 
 company, and with exclamations of disappointment 
 from Seftora Alix and her daughters, when they see 
 
224 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 that the hapless animals have been burned literally 
 as black as one s hat. 
 
 " My precious little piggies," moaned the good 
 senora. "To think they should have met such a 
 fate as that! Ay de mi alas is me what a hus 
 band that is of mine ! " And she wept, actually shed 
 tears, as she saw the charred remains brought in and 
 laid before her. The daughters all joined in the 
 general lamentation ; but the gallant Don Theodore, 
 who was an amiable gentleman of middle age, an 
 admirer of the eldest daughter, as in duty bound 
 reminded her that, while the skins might be rather 
 black and overdone, yet, no doubt, the meat was 
 palatable. 
 
 And sure enough, when the trenchers had been 
 placed upon the board and the charred skins re 
 moved, the flesh was found to be the most delicious 
 that had ever been offered at any san cocho within 
 the memory of man or woman, too, as to that mat 
 ter. It was not very long, in fact, before the little 
 porkers were deprived of nearly all the toothsome 
 meat that covered their ivory ribs, and stripped even 
 to their " trotters." From hand to hand passed fra 
 grant fragments shredded from them, and the plates 
 of the American guests were piled high with votive 
 offerings which they neither had the courage to 
 refuse nor to devour. Their sudden loss of appetite 
 was overlooked in the general rejoicing, and they 
 were not chided for what would have been con- 
 
The Poem and the Little Pigs. 225 
 
 sidered on ordinary occasions a serious breach of 
 hospitality. 
 
 Even Senora Alix was rendered happy by the un 
 expected turn of affairs, and shed tears again this 
 time of joy to think that, after all, her darling pig 
 gies had not lived and died in vain. And after all 
 was over, after the pair had been reduced to less 
 than the dimensions of a single porker, and while 
 everybody was resting on his laurels, so to speak, 
 there appeared the delinquent Don Alessandro, hat- 
 less and almost breathless, waving above his head a 
 manuscript apparently several yards in length. 
 
 There was an instant hush, the hum of conversa 
 tion and the clashing plates suddenly ceased, and for 
 once in his life the poet had an attentive audience. 
 He could not have appeared at a more propitious 
 time, for everybody had eaten to repletion and was 
 in that blissful state of contentment which has been 
 declared to be better than wealth. One of the 
 guests offered him a bench and he sat down, but 
 when pressed to partake of the remains yet on the 
 table, he refused with a great show of impatience. 
 
 " His head is in the clouds," whispered Tomasina 
 to the boys. " He has forgotten all about the pigs, 
 and as for eating, he would sooner think of flying." 
 
 And so it seemed, for Don Alessandro had that 
 far-away look in his eyes which is said to indicate 
 the true poet. Commanding attention, he rose and 
 read to his guests the poem he had composed about 
 
226 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the pigs, which he had neglected in a material sense, 
 but had now embalmed in verse. It was long; truth 
 compels the statement that it was awful bosh, and it 
 was in Spanish, else the readers of this true story 
 should have the benefit of a literal translation. But 
 his hearers sat it out, during more than half an hour, 
 and at its close raised him to a pinnacle of happiness 
 by their rapturous applause. Don Alessandro, indeed, 
 was deceived by the testimonial into thinking that it 
 was intended for an encore, and was about inflicting 
 a repetition upon his hearers when his wife rose to 
 the occasion, thrust him into a seat and a choice 
 morsel of pork into his mouth, thus effectually stop 
 ping all further foolishness. Don Alessandro found 
 the meat so sweet and to his liking that he fell to 
 with great gusto, and soon forgot all about the poem 
 in his devotion to the pork. 
 
 And so everybody at last was made happy and the 
 san cocho was pronounced the success of the season. 
 Indeed, Don Alessandro s reputation as a cook was 
 so firmly established that he afterward had more 
 calls to preside at san cochos than he could attend 
 to. He always made a point of acceding to requests 
 of this sort whenever possible, especially as his 
 neighbors, knowing his weakness, invariably invited 
 him not only to cook the pigs but to bring with him 
 "that beautiful poem" he had composed. It was 
 always noticed, however, that the pigs seemed to hold 
 first place in their esteem, and some people were un- 
 
The Poem and the Little Pigs. 227 
 
 generous enough, after they had partaken of the 
 food he had cooked, to leave the table in great haste 
 when the poem was produced. On these occasions 
 whenever their departure was so abrupt as to 
 attract his attention Don Alessandro consoled him 
 self with the reflection that it was ever the misfor 
 tune of genius to be misunderstood. 
 
 In justice to Don Alessandro, it should be said that 
 his weakness for poetry was the only real failing he 
 had ; but this was more than enough to counter 
 balance his many virtues, his wife and daughters 
 thought, since it made him so unpractical and 
 kept them ever on the verge of poverty. Really, 
 these estimable ladies are entitled to our sympathy 
 and admiration, on account of the heroic manner in 
 which they bore up under their inflictions. To be 
 isolated on a lonely rancho without intercourse with 
 the best of their kind was bad enough ; but when 
 in addition to that they were compelled to exercise 
 rigid economy for the sake of a mere living, their 
 cheerful spirits under the circumstances were won 
 derful. If it be true that adversity and isolation 
 bring out whatever good there is in people, then they 
 were living exemplars of this truth. They were little 
 less than angelic, the boys thought, and when the 
 time came for them to say good-by, on the morning 
 after the feast, they felt a tenderness for this family 
 which they could not express. It is not often that 
 one travelling far from his native land finds such 
 
228 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 true friends as these had been to our young treasure- 
 seekers. Although, truth to tell, there is more good 
 ness in the world than the world has credit for. 
 
 But the morning came at last when their depar 
 ture could be no longer delayed. The bullocks were 
 brought around, high stepping and skittish from their 
 days of rest and good feeding ; on their backs the 
 boys equipment was piled and firmly strapped ; and 
 while they impatiently pawed the earth in front of 
 the veranda, their owners bade the family farewell. 
 
 It may seem an easy matter to bid good-by to such 
 as these, who were in a manner casual acquaintances; 
 but at the sight of the teary eyes of those five young 
 ladies and their mother, and the fierce expression on 
 the countenance of Don Alessandro, caused by his 
 attempt to keep his own feelings from finding vent, 
 the boys found it difficult to say farewell with a 
 steady voice. It is to their credit that their eyes, 
 too, were moist and their voices trembling with 
 emotion. They may not have seemed the kind to 
 give way to their feelings, and perhaps they have 
 not been adequately presented by the narrator of 
 their adventures ; but the fact is they were kind- 
 hearted and they knew how to prize such friends as 
 these. To learn the worth of friends, go out into the 
 world as they went. Those one meets will be appre 
 ciated; those left at home will have their value 
 enhanced. 
 
 " Well, you are off for good, are you ? " asked 
 
The Poem and the Little Pigs. 229 
 
 Don Alessandro. "You are two fools, that s all I 
 have to say ! " And he turned aside to hide his 
 disappointment. 
 
 " Indeed, but you are," chirped Rita, saucy as 
 ever, even though smitten with grief at the thought 
 of their departure. " You will get into all sorts of 
 trouble, I know you will." 
 
 "Oh," exclaimed Tomasina, "you have forgotten 
 the swords ! " She ran into the house and soon 
 returned with the Toledos, each blade shining and 
 spotless, telling of the labor that must have been 
 expended to put them in order. " There," she said 
 almost gayly, as she gave them to the boys. " One 
 of these is for the tyrant, remember ! " And she 
 smiled through her tears, as if firmly convinced that 
 they would render a good account of their charge. 
 
XXV. 
 
 What happened in the Night. 
 
 AS the boys mounted, each one tucked his sword 
 away between his left leg and the saddle, after 
 the manner in which the Dominicanos carried their 
 machetes, and as each blade was encased in a leather 
 sheath, it did not attract much attention. 
 
 After they were mounted they would fain have 
 lingered for a few more last words ; but their bovine 
 steeds were fractious and took the bits in their 
 mouths, that is, they lifted their noses so high in 
 air, that pulling on the rings would not hurt them 
 much, and cantered away at a two-forty pace. 
 Fortunately the gate was open, or the chances are 
 they would have tried to leap it, and so they went 
 out into the lane as if all the cowboys of Texas were 
 after them. 
 
 The boys exit was not very dignified, what with 
 their camp equipage, such as frying pans and tin 
 cups, banging against their bullocks ribs, and their 
 arms flying out at right angles with their bodies, but 
 they were much relieved to think the ordeal was 
 over. Above the din they heard the girls voices 
 
 230 
 
What happened in the Night. 231 
 
 sending after them a last farewell, with injunctions 
 to come back after they had done their work. 
 
 Turning in their saddles the boys waved a final 
 adieu, then gave rein to the bullocks and tore down 
 the lane until the rebellious animals were glad 
 enough to ease up a bit. They travelled all that 
 day in a northerly direction, halting only a half hour 
 at noon, and at night when the shadows began to 
 lengthen, found themselves on the borders of a pine- 
 wood country at the right bank of a sparkling stream. 
 They had steadily climbed the hills since noon, and 
 the elevation was now quite great, the air being cor 
 respondingly cooler. They tethered their bullocks 
 in a pasture of wild grass, first removing their lug 
 gage, made a fire of pine cones and cooked a frugal 
 meal, after which they wrapped themselves in their 
 blankets, each at the foot of a great tree, and went 
 to sleep. 
 
 They were now in the enemy s country, or in a 
 region where they knew their movements were likely 
 to be watched ; but they put their trust in Providence 
 and each "slept with one eye open." 
 
 Toward morning, it might have been two or three 
 o clock, Hartley was awakened by something cold 
 being pressed against his face. He put out one hand 
 without stirring otherwise, except to slide the other 
 hand downward and grasp his rifle which lay by his 
 side, and felt something which he knew at once was 
 the muzzle of his bullock, from a peculiar twist of 
 
23 2 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the nose ring, and was at once so reassured that he 
 sat up and looked around. The animal stood close 
 by his side, dimly outlined in the dusk, and when he 
 saw that his master was awake he uttered a low 
 "moo" of recognition. Had he taken another step 
 he might have trodden upon the recumbent form of 
 his owner ; but he was too wise a brute for that. 
 
 Hartley was startled ; not so much at the sight of 
 the bullock, as at the thought of his being free, for 
 he had securely staked him out before he had gone 
 to sleep. He spoke to the animal in a low voice, 
 rubbed his nose awhile, then sliding one hand along 
 the lariat attached to his neck, gathered it all in until 
 he came to the end. It was as he had feared. The 
 lariat had been cut. 
 
 That meant, of course, human interlopers, bent 
 either upon stealing the bullocks or stampeding them 
 for the sake of more surely getting their masters into 
 their power. Hartley felt the blood settle about his 
 heart, and he grew cold at the thought, for even at 
 that moment the intruder might be watching him 
 from some near-by place of concealment. He snug 
 gled against the tree as closely as possible, in order 
 to present no conspicuous mark for the enemy to 
 shoot at, and then tried to unravel the mystery. His 
 first impulse, of course, was to awaken Arthur, who 
 was still sleeping peacefully near him ; but the nec 
 essary movement would, he reflected, expose them 
 both, and he shrank back again. No, he could not 
 
What happened in the Night. 233 
 
 arouse his brother, but must await the coming of the 
 dawn. So he sat there with the lariat in one hand, the 
 other grasping his trusty rifle, and awaited daylight. 
 
 How slowly sped the minutes and the hours ! His 
 fancy evoked strange dark forms that flitted noise 
 lessly from tree to thicket, stretched out arms to seize 
 and seemed about to grapple with him, as he sat in 
 silence with his back against the tree. The bullock 
 lay down and contentedly chewed its cud, and the 
 boy strained his ears for some sign of its mate, but 
 heard no sound that would indicate its presence. An 
 owl came and hooted in a tree near at hand, and the 
 uncouth sounds it made were very welcome, remind 
 ing him that he was not alone in his vigil. 
 
 After perhaps two hours there was a glimmer of 
 light in the east; birds in the thickets began to twitter 
 and stir; Nature was awakening; he could feel her 
 pulse-beats, and was reassured. But he redoubled 
 his watchfulness, peering here and there as the dark 
 ness was dispelled, resolved if possible to " get the 
 drop " on the mysterious visitor, if he were still 
 about. But when it was fairly daylight and there 
 was an open view all around him, he no longer hesi 
 tated to arouse his brother, and with a slight touch 
 awoke him. Arthur was up and on his feet in an 
 instant, alert and ready, with his own rifle firmly 
 grasped, almost before he was really awake. 
 
 " What is it, Hart ? " he asked sleepily. " What s 
 the matter ? " 
 
234 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 Hartley pointed to the bullock, now stretching 
 itself preparatory to standing erect, then to the 
 lariat with its severed end. Arthur at once divined 
 the trouble and gave utterance to a long, low 
 whistle. 
 
 "How long ago, Art?" he whispered, glancing 
 cautiously about. " When did it happen ? " 
 
 Hartley told him, and added : " I haven t seen 
 anything of Jos yet, and am afraid he has been 
 taken away. Whoever it was must have tried to 
 steal both, and either became frightened or was out 
 witted by Joe here, who came and stood beside 
 me till I awoke." 
 
 The boys had given names to their bullocks, 
 Arthur s beast having been called Jose and Hartley s 
 Joe. Both meant the same in English, Jos6 pro 
 nounced Ho-say being the Spanish for Joseph, and 
 Joe, of course, an abbreviation of the same. 
 
 " I didn t think the enemy would get after us quite 
 so soon, did you ? " Arthur whispered fearsomely, 
 for he was greatly disturbed by this event the first 
 night they had spent in the open air alone. It was 
 not an auspicious beginning, as any one would admit, 
 and the brothers were rather cast down, though they 
 had invaded the region with a full understanding of 
 the risks attendant upon their undertaking. 
 
 " No, I didn t, that s a fact," replied Hartley. "It s 
 mean, too, I think, not to let us get even a glimpse 
 of the gold before trying to run us out. And I m 
 
What happened in the Night. 235 
 
 determined to find out who it was, if it takes a month 
 to do it!" 
 
 "Yes, we can t stay here with this uncertainty 
 hanging over us. Throw the lariat over your arm, 
 Hart, and let s see if we can find any signs of Jose. 
 The ground is soft, and we ought to be able to track 
 him, anyway." 
 
 Acting upon this suggestion, the boys went to the 
 wild pasture and searched for signs of the missing 
 bullock, Joe following submissively behind. They 
 soon found tracks that led, not as they had expected 
 they would lead, back upon the trail they had followed 
 thus far, but farther yet into the forest. Beside the 
 hoof-prints of their beast they saw the impressions 
 of a naked human foot, large and misshapen, as 
 though belonging to one who had gone unshod all 
 his life. This also surprised them, for they had ex 
 pected to find the imprint of a soldier s foot, which 
 would either have a shoe on it or show that its owner 
 had not been accustomed to going barefoot. 
 
 " Well," said Arthur, after they had tracked the 
 fugitives for more than an hour, " the hunt will prob 
 ably take us in the direction we wish to go, and I 
 think we had better return, get some breakfast, and 
 then pack all our stuff on Joe s back and prepare to 
 make a day of it." 
 
 " I think so, too," said Hartley. " I m hungry 
 already, and wherever we come up with them we shall 
 have to return to the camp for the luggage ; and 
 
23 6 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 besides, we run the risk of losing all we have there 
 while we are away." 
 
 Acting upon this sensible conclusion, the boys re 
 turned to camp, finding everything as they had left 
 it, and after preparing a pot of coffee and eating a 
 frugal breakfast, they packed all their belongings 
 upon the patient Joe and set out a second time on the 
 trail they had discovered. As Joe s load was a double 
 one, including not only all his own freight but that of 
 his mate, even the extra aparejo, there was no thought 
 of riding on the part of the boys, who trudged along 
 ahead leading him by the lariat. 
 
 What puzzled them from the very first was that 
 there seemed to be no attempt at concealment, for 
 the trail was open and easy to follow, without any 
 detours over stony ground or up the beds of streams, 
 in order to throw any pursuers off the track. They 
 took it up where they had left off and kept it all day, 
 following at a brisk walk, with a short halt at midday 
 for lunch. It led them directly into the very heart 
 of the broken cordillera that forms the backbone of 
 the island. 
 
 As they ascended, the scenery, ever beautiful, be 
 came if possible more attractive, the trees grew larger 
 and grander, the air got cooler, and the streams were 
 more numerous. Now they would ascend the bed of 
 some river, which, when in flood, could have swept 
 them to destruction, but was then a purling stream 
 flowing over mossy stones and beneath overhanging 
 
What happened in the Night. 237 
 
 palms. Again their path took them up the steep sides 
 of hills clothed with vegetation, but ever beneath 
 broad-armed trees, such as silk-cottons, rosewood, and 
 mahogany, which were hung with lianas, or forest 
 vines, seemingly miles in length. 
 
 Still ascending, twisting, turning, but ever upward 
 going, the trail led them on, beckoning like a will- 
 o -the-wisp. There could be no mistaking it, for it 
 was as plain as the nose on one s face, to these young 
 sters trained in forest signs. The longer they 
 followed it, however, the more they were puzzled, for 
 they could not understand the motive of any sane 
 person in pursuing such a course. But the longer 
 they followed the trail the more determined they 
 became to see its ending and bring the author of it to 
 book. He should repay them for all this trouble, if 
 it were possible to make him. They did not count 
 upon the contingency of meeting more than one man, 
 unless he should lead them into an ambush or a con 
 cealed camp, for there were imprints of but one man s 
 feet. Now and then even these would disappear, as 
 over the level stretches he had probably mounted 
 the bullock and ridden him, although not at a rapid 
 pace. 
 
 "The rascal is apparently careful of Jose"," said 
 Arthur, after carefully examining the telltale im 
 prints in the soft earth of one of these level spaces, 
 "and I m grateful to him for that much." 
 
 "Yes, that may be," retorted Hartley; "but I m 
 
238 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 not grateful to him for this painful walk we ve had 
 to-day. Methinks I will take it out of his hide when 
 we come up with him." 
 
 " First catch your hare before basting him," 
 laughed Arthur. " I don t mind the walk through 
 this magnificent forest, in this cool air, so long as 
 we find old Jose safe and sound at the end of it." 
 
 " Yes, but suppose we don t, what then ? " Hartley 
 was getting tired and petulant ; his rifle galled his 
 shoulder, and Joe had a way now and then of hang 
 ing back and making it hard to go ahead. 
 
 Arthur came and tried to take his brother s rifle, 
 but the latter would not let him. " No," he said, " I 
 can carry it well enough ; besides, you can t fight 
 with two rifles at the same time. Let me alone, I m 
 all right" 
 
 It was now getting dusk, the fire-beetles were fly 
 ing about, and the night birds were on the wing. 
 Suddenly, as they turned a curve in the trail, they 
 saw a light gleam out, and as there were no houses 
 in this wild forest, they knew this must have to do 
 with the object of their pursuit. 
 
 " Stay here, Hart, while I go ahead to reconnoitre," 
 cautioned Arthur, and his brother did as he was bid 
 den. Arthur crept ahead in a crouching position 
 until he got close to the light, which was the flame 
 of a camp-fire, and saw something startling. 
 
XXVI. 
 
 The Mysterious Prisoner. 
 
 A 5 the flames leaped up from a fire of gum logs, 
 they threw against the background of forest, 
 behind a small clearing, the exaggerated proportions 
 of a giant. He was, indeed, a man of massive build, 
 in propria persona, but his shadow, as projected 
 against the illuminated screen of trees and vines, 
 gave an impression of some being fresh from Brob- 
 dingnag, it was so vast. 
 
 The original of it was moving about the fire, piling 
 on fresh fuel and sticking around it a series of stakes, 
 each one with a huge slice of meat hanging from it, 
 so placed that the heat would slowly cook it. He 
 was so busy at his task that he did not hear the 
 approach of the young American ; and, in fact, he 
 might have been never so alert, and he would not 
 have detected his coming, probably, for Arthur knew 
 the trained hunter s secret of stealthy trailing. Peer 
 ing through the thicket that separated him from the 
 open space, Arthur watched the man for several min 
 utes, trying to gather from his appearance whether 
 he were likely to prove friend or enemy. 
 
 Whichever he were, at all events he was the man 
 239 
 
240 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 who had stolen the bullock, for there was old Jos 
 tied to a tree close by, calmly chewing his cud and 
 apparently at peace with all the world. He did not 
 seem to have suffered any from his long day s jour 
 ney, and in proof that his captor had a kindly feeling 
 toward him was the man s treatment of him, for he 
 never passed by without giving him a pat on the 
 nose or bestowing an endearing epithet, and had 
 already heaped up some grass for him to eat, even 
 before his own supper was prepared. 
 
 All these little points Arthur took into considera 
 tion in the momentous question he was pondering 
 while crouched there behind the thicket. He had 
 already settled in his mind that the man had no 
 companion or accomplice, not only from his being 
 then alone, but from his attitude, whether walking 
 or standing still, which was that of one who had long 
 led a solitary life. 
 
 After satisfying himself that there was no immedi 
 ate prospect of the man s leaving the camp for the 
 night, or at least, until after he had cooked and 
 eaten the supper he was preparing, Arthur quietly 
 withdrew from his post of observation and retreated 
 down the trail. Not a leaf or a twig stirred as he 
 stealthily crept along ; but if there had been a pro 
 cession of people with him the noises they might 
 have made would have been drowned in the noc 
 turnal concert that was now going on. There were 
 frogs and beetles, "crak-craks" and lizards, night 
 
The Mysterious Prisoner. 241 
 
 birds and night insects, all engaged in swelling the 
 volume of sound. It swept through the forest in 
 rhythmic cadence, rising and falling as if controlled 
 by some mighty master of ceremonies, and at inter 
 vals ceasing altogether for a moment. Now and 
 then, above the concert, the young man thought he 
 detected the wail of the puma or mountain lion, but 
 if so the animal was far off in the heights above. 
 
 He found Hartley in the very place where he had 
 left him, the bullock grazing near, and soon com 
 municated what he had observed. He then told him 
 what he thought of the situation, and his brother 
 agreed that they had better push forward together, 
 one in advance with his rifle in the crook of his arm, 
 and the other just behind and ready to support the 
 attack, when it should open, the patient Joe bringing 
 up the rear. Each insisted upon having the post of 
 honor, and of possible danger ; but finally Hartley s 
 argument, that as Arthur had already made the 
 reconnoissance he should be willing to give way in 
 the second advance, prevailed, and he was allowed to 
 lead. Arthur kept far enough behind to prevent Joe 
 from betraying their coming by the noise he made 
 brushing against the bushes, and Hartley was soon 
 abreast the camp-fire. 
 
 The man was there still, wholly absorbed in tend 
 ing his improvised spits, upon which the slabs of 
 meat were now sputtering and sizzling above the 
 glowing coals. He was muttering to himself and 
 
242 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 chuckling, evidently anticipating the great feast he 
 was going to have as soon as his meat was cooked, 
 and apparently wholly unsuspicious of danger lurking 
 near. 
 
 " It s too bad to interrupt him now, I declare," said 
 Hartley to himself. " He s laid out to have a jolly 
 good feed, and I m hungry enough to appreciate 
 those steaks myself, if they were mine. I ll go back 
 and ask Art about it." And back he went. 
 
 " Now, Art, the old fellow has just got his supper 
 nearly ready, and he looks hungry. Don t you think 
 we d better postpone proceedings until after he s had 
 his food ? Then again, he might be more reasonable, 
 you know, after he s filled himself up." 
 
 "Not a bit of it," answered Arthur, hastily, and 
 rather angrily. " He may be hungry, as you say, but 
 so are we ; and what s more, he has been the cause 
 of the hardest day s tramp and the shortest time for 
 eating that we ve had since we started. I m hungry 
 enough at this blessed minute to eat everything we ve 
 got in the saddle-bags. I want the thing over with 
 so that we can get a bite ourselves ; and if you don t 
 bring that old rascal to book within fifteen minutes, 
 I ll go ahead and do him up at once." 
 
 " Oh, well, if that s the way you feel, of course 
 there s only one thing to do. But I guess you re 
 right, after all." 
 
 Into the darkness trudged Hartley the second 
 time, but Arthur kept close behind him, not willing 
 
The Mysterious Prisoner. 243 
 
 to risk another hitch in the affair ; so close, indeed, 
 that when Joe stepped upon a dead limb in the path 
 and it broke with a sharp crack, their quarry was 
 on the alert in an instant. Hartley had but just 
 reached the thicket that screened him from the fire, 
 and was going to step out into the open and com 
 mand the man to surrender, when the unfortunate 
 "crack" resounded through the forest. He saw the 
 man spring to an erect position and gaze out into the 
 darkness, then give a mighty leap over the fire and 
 through the smoke, beyond which he disappeared. 
 
 Hartley s rifle was at shoulder and a sharp report 
 rang out ere the smoke obscured the flying figure. 
 Ordinarily the bullet would have gone straight to its 
 intended mark, but this time it missed, and instead 
 went somewhere into space in the direction of the 
 stars. The reason was that Arthur had come up at 
 the instant his brother had pulled trigger and struck 
 the rifle barrel with his hand. 
 
 Hartley turned upon him with blazing eyes. " What 
 did you do that for ? Do you want that man to kill 
 us both ? " 
 
 " No, Hart, and he won t, either." 
 
 " But he s escaped, and we don t know when he 
 may come back, perhaps with a whole posse of com 
 panions, and cut our throats while we sleep. We 
 know he s a thief, and why not a murderer?" 
 
 " Because he isn t that kind, Hart ; I studied him 
 while he was working about the fire, and he s honest 
 
244 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 and straight. But there s no time to lose. Walk out 
 there to the right of the fire, where you can see be 
 yond the smoke, and stand in the shadow, while I 
 swing around to the left and come up on the enemy s 
 flank. I don t believe he s gone far, and I think we 
 can smoke him out." 
 
 Hartley obeyed his brother from force of habit, 
 having been long ago convinced that in the end he 
 was generally right ; but he couldn t help grumbling 
 to himself about the risk they ran. 
 
 Arthur crawled through the bushes fringing the 
 small clearing, and after he had gained what he 
 thought was a sufficient distance from the camp-fire 
 circled around until abreast it and then worked back 
 again. The forest was dark, but there was light 
 enough for the boy to keep his bearings, and as he 
 had a definite idea of the exact spot in which the 
 fugitive had sought to conceal himself, he went right 
 to it. Coming at last upon a huge fallen tree, with a 
 trunk as big as the one Robinson Crusoe hewed out 
 for his first canoe, Arthur clambered upon it and 
 pointing the muzzle of his rifle at the ground on the 
 other side, cried out in Spanish, " Come out of that, 
 or I will shoot ! " 
 
 There was a rustling of leaves and branches, and 
 forth from his retreat beneath the bole of the fallen 
 tree, where he had tried to burrow like an armadillo, 
 came the fugitive, without a single word. He stood 
 up in the darkness, so near that Arthur could have 
 
The Mysterious Prisoner. 245 
 
 touched him with the rifle. " Turn about and go 
 back to the fire," commanded the young man, and 
 he was obeyed without hesitation. 
 
 " Don t try to escape," warned Arthur, as he 
 climbed down from the tree trunk, "for you can t 
 get away without carrying a bullet with you, and that 
 would be bad for your health. And don t think you 
 can do anything with that machete, for there are two 
 of us with rifles." 
 
 The man had a long keen machete in one hand 
 which he clutched rather menacingly, as he half 
 turned to see what sort of a person it was who had so 
 boldly pursued him, so dexterously ferreted out his 
 hiding-place, and who now so imperiously ordered 
 him about. But if he had any thought of resisting, 
 his discretion got the better of his valor and he went 
 toward the camp-fire as directed. 
 
 Arrived at the cleared space, Arthur found that Joe 
 and Jose" had come together and were seemingly 
 happy over the reunion, for they were contentedly 
 munching grass from the same heap, while Hartley 
 stood by watching them eat. The man halted as he 
 came within the firelight, and when he saw the boy 
 standing by the bullocks raised his hand to his head 
 and gave a respectful salute, His salutation was 
 more, in fact, than a mere gesture, for it implied 
 extreme deference. Then he turned to look at his 
 conqueror, Arthur, and casting aside his machete he 
 threw himself at his feet. There was something very 
 
246 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 mysterious in his actions, but all was explained later 
 on, when the three became better acquainted. 
 
 "Oh, say, don t do that," cried Arthur. "You 
 don t owe me anything. Go ahead and get your sup 
 per. The meat is burning, don t you see ? " 
 
 The man gathered himself together, went to the 
 fire, and was at once busy with the preparation of the 
 evening meal, seemingly as unconcerned as though 
 nothing had happened to interrupt his work. 
 
 While the young men sat on a log watching his 
 actions with great interest, their rifles leaning against 
 a near tree, he scraped the coals together, placed upon 
 them some tortillas or Indian corn cakes which 
 he drew forth from a native basket hanging on a 
 limb, then gathered some palm leaves, and spread 
 them on the ground. The palm leaves were to serve 
 as table and plates combined, for upon them the man 
 first piled the meat, then the tortillas, and having 
 done this invited his guests to partake of the repast 
 he had prepared. 
 
 " Seftores," he said, " this is all I have to offer, but 
 you are welcome. Though I expected you, yet I 
 could not find that which I would have liked to 
 spread before you. Eat, sefiores, and fill the heart 
 of your servant with joy." 
 
 The man was evidently sincere, but the whole 
 affair seemed so unreal that both Arthur and Hartley 
 hesitated to accept the invitation. They also felt 
 that they had no right to the man s supper, which he 
 
The Mysterious Prisoner. 247 
 
 had so carefully cooked for himself, and so Arthur 
 said to him : - 
 
 " No, no, we cannot do this. That is your supper, 
 this is your fire, the camp is yours. You yourself 
 eat what you have provided, and we will find some 
 thing in our saddle-bags." 
 
 The man was quite evidently cast down by their 
 refusal, and he positively refused to partake until 
 after they had satisfied their hunger ; so they made 
 the best of the situation and fell to upon the meat 
 and tortillas. Having fasted for many hours, the 
 food tasted very good, and it was with a feeling of 
 thankfulness that they turned to their host and 
 insisted that he should join them. This, however, he 
 would not do, declaring that he was there for the 
 express purpose of waiting upon his masters as he 
 insisted upon calling them whose every wish it was 
 his pleasure to gratify. 
 
 " Seems like heaping coals of fire on our heads, 
 doesn t it, Art ? " 
 
 " It has somewhat that appearance," replied 
 Arthur to his brother s question. " But he has yet 
 the bullock to account for. I wonder how he will 
 explain the theft of our Jos ? " 
 
XXVII. 
 
 An Angel Unawares. 
 
 IT must be admitted that there was a feeling of 
 constraint pervading this little party in the 
 mountain wilds of Santo Domingo, for on the one 
 hand there was the man who was for the time being 
 deprived of his liberty, and on the other the two 
 young men whom he had deprived temporarily of 
 their bullock. It was apparent to all concerned that 
 explanations ought to be in order before much fur 
 ther time elapsed, and it was perhaps in consequence 
 of this feeling, that after all had eaten supper they 
 gathered near the fire and began a desultory conver 
 sation. 
 
 Arthur started it by saying to the man: "What 
 did you mean by saying that you expected us ? Did 
 you ever see either of us before ? " 
 
 " No, senor ; not in the flesh, but in a dream." 
 
 " Ah, that was it ! And so you dreamt that we 
 were coming to visit you ? As you stole our bullock, 
 you must have known that we would be sure to follow 
 after it." 
 
 " But, senor, I did not know it was your bullock. 
 I found it grazing in the wild pasture and took it, 
 that was all." 
 
 248 
 
An Angel Unawares. 249 
 
 " Yes, but it was fastened to a stake. You must 
 have known that it belonged to somebody. And 
 there was the other one too, the lariat attached to 
 which you cut, but let him loose." 
 
 "All you say is true, my master; but there is 
 something you do not understand, and that is I did 
 not know of your presence near the bullock last 
 night. I had a dream, as I said. In the dream I 
 was informed that down in the pasture near the pine 
 woods I could find a bullock which would be mine 
 for the going after it. Now, senores, I have lived in 
 these mountains many years all alone, without any 
 companion whatever, and I yearned for one ; so when 
 I was told in a dream that a bullock awaited me to 
 be had for the getting, I lost no time but went after 
 it. I found it in the place where the dream told me 
 it would be, and that was enough. I did not ques 
 tion my right to take it ; but finding there two 
 bullocks instead of one, and having been told nothing 
 of the other, I cut loose the second one and came 
 away, even as you know." 
 
 The man had no other explanation to offer and 
 the boys were obliged to accept this, for when ques 
 tioned more closely he merely went over the same 
 ground again, running around in a circle, beginning 
 and ending with the story of the dream. 
 
 " But you have not explained why you expected 
 us," said Hartley. 
 
 " Oh, that was in the dream, too ; that two white 
 
250 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 men, strangers to this island, should come up into the 
 mountains and be my guests. And I was com 
 manded to prepare a feast for them every night, of 
 the best I had ; hence, as you saw, I broiled meat 
 sufficient for more than one myself. I cannot tell 
 you, senores, how the dream came to me, nor why ; 
 but it came, and all has fallen out as was predicted, 
 so I am not surprised that you should be here, nor 
 that I am to serve you." 
 
 " He seems honest," said Arthur, in an aside to his 
 brother, speaking in English, " and I think we can 
 trust him ; though his story does sound rather im 
 probable." 
 
 " Very improbable," assented Arthur ; " but I am 
 sure we can trust him. But who is he, I wonder ? 
 He looks like an Indian, and also something like the 
 Moors we saw in Algiers." 
 
 " There is only one way of finding out," answered 
 Hartley. 
 
 " Of course," rejoined Arthur, who then asked the 
 man his nationality. 
 
 "I have none," he replied gloomily. "I am a 
 wanderer, and far from the land that gave me birth." 
 
 " But have you not been in other parts of the 
 island? Were you ever in the capital?" asked 
 Arthur. 
 
 " Yes, my master, I have been in the capital." 
 
 " And have you ever seen the President ? " 
 
 "Yes, masters, I have seen the President." The 
 
An Angel Unawares. 251 
 
 man s face hardened and a gleam of hatred flashed 
 from his eyes. " When you, my masters, made your 
 appearance so suddenly awhile ago, I thought it was 
 somebody sent by the President and knew that my 
 only safety lay in flight. That is why I ran and hid 
 myself. But, thank God, my masters, you found 
 me. You will not take me back to Lelee ? No, I 
 see in your eyes that you will not betray me." 
 
 " Not we," Arthur assured him, with a bitter 
 laugh. 
 
 "No, indeed," added Hartley. "We have our 
 own grievances against Lelee. Instead of assisting 
 him to find you, we would do all in our power to 
 help you escape him. In fact, we ourselves are try 
 ing to hide from him now." 
 
 "Oh, my masters, then the good God in heaven 
 must have sent you to me. I see now why I had 
 the dream, why I took your bullock, why you fol 
 lowed me and found me, for I know the place where 
 you can hide, that not even Lelee can find you, even 
 though this island he calls his own. It is my own 
 place, masters, and is only a day s journey from here. 
 To-morrow night, and we can be there. Will you 
 go with me ? " 
 
 The boys hesitated before answering, each having 
 in mind the real object of this journey, which was 
 not so much to hide from the President, as to secure 
 the gold they were after without being detected by 
 his emissaries and carried back to prison at the 
 
252 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 capital. But they could probably go with the man 
 and stay awhile in his retreat, even if the trip there 
 caused a little delay ; so they finally assented to his 
 proposition, greatly to his joy. 
 
 "Ah, my masters, you will do me honor to go 
 with me. For more than two years I have lived 
 there alone, in that little valley in the mountains. 
 But it is a most beautiful valley, my masters, fit for 
 an earthly paradise, and it is well that you should go 
 and dwell therein, for it was wasted on a solitary man 
 like me. Ah, now I am happy to think that at last I 
 shall have white men as guests, and can serve them 
 and show them the beauties of my valley." 
 
 And this is how the mystery was solved which 
 was not so much of a mystery, after all and how 
 our friends came to dwell in a valley so beautiful 
 that they afterward felt nothing but pain at the 
 thought of leaving it, when by long acquaintance 
 they had grown to be in love with its charms. That 
 night they slept on the ground under the trees, each 
 member of the little party feeling trustful and secure. 
 At daylight next morning the man was up and get 
 ting fodder for the bullocks. An hour later he had 
 breakfast ready for all, and before the sun had risen 
 above the tree-tops the party had set out on the 
 journey still farther into the mountains. 
 
 All day they travelled, with a brief halt at noon 
 by the side of a sparkling spring that welled out 
 from beneath the roots of an immense forest tree. 
 
An Angel Unawares. 253 
 
 They steadily climbed, higher and higher, until they 
 left behind them all trace of tropical vegetation, and 
 had penetrated the belt or zone that answers to the 
 temperate region, where altitude performed the ser 
 vices of latitude, that is, the greater height above 
 the sea and cooler atmosphere made a correspond 
 ing change in the botanical productions. They had 
 now, in the course of their desultory journey from 
 the coast, traversed two zones of climate and vegeta 
 tion. First, at the level of the sea, they had passed 
 through the hot zone, what the Spaniards called the 
 tierra caliente, where cocoa palms flourished and 
 bananas and plantains grew wherever the soil was 
 moist, and on the plains the various forms of cactus 
 were numerous. Now they had left behind them the 
 heated coast climate, and were in the cool atmosphere 
 of a region where the temperature was more like 
 that of the northern United States in summer. 
 
 Oh, it was glorious, up there in the " high woods," 
 as the natives call the upper forests above the zone 
 of heat, for vast and broad-armed forest giants 
 spread their limbs above them so far aloft that their 
 tops were hidden from view. Their trunks were 
 fluted and buttressed, like the walls of old cathedrals, 
 and from their branches hung thousands of lianas, 
 or ropelike vines, which held the great trees to the 
 ground, as the rigging of a ship holds the masts to 
 the bulwarks. And these lianas, again, were hung 
 with thousands of epiphytes and parasitic plants, the 
 
254 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 one class feeding on the air, the other sucking out 
 the juices of the vines and trees upon which they 
 were affixed. 
 
 Some of these were true orchids, with at least one 
 species worth more than its weight in gold, and 
 which, were its haunts known to collectors, would be 
 hunted for eagerly and held to be cheap at any price 
 or risk to life and limb, for the purpose of adorning 
 the conservatories of wealthy collectors. They sent 
 out spikes and sprays of gorgeous blossoms, some of 
 the individual flowers shaped like butterflies, others 
 like humming-birds around which darted and hovered 
 the very birds of which they were such cunning 
 counterfeits. Then there were great wild pines, with 
 lush leaves of vivid green, in the hollows of which was 
 secreted pure water. They only had to be tapped, 
 by thrusting through the bases of the leaves a knife 
 or cutlass, to pour forth their limpid treasure for the 
 refreshing of the thirsty traveller. 
 
 Around the trunks of some of the slenderer trees 
 were wrapped the " wild figs," which enclosed them 
 in a meshwork of wood or bark through which the 
 living support could be seen at intervals, and in many 
 cases were slowly strangling out their lives. 
 
 One of the trees which the boys saw thus enclosed 
 in the ligneous clutch of the parasitic fig was a 
 beautiful palm, its trunk showing through the inter 
 stices of the strangler and its coronet of leafy plumes 
 towering above it. A short time only would elapse 
 
An Angel Unawares. 255 
 
 before the palm would have to succumb to the suf 
 focating pressure of the enclosing parasite, its sap 
 drawn out by the octopus-like tentacles, and be 
 obliged to yield its very life to the wild fig s 
 demands. 
 
 Not many birds enlivened the twilight gloom 
 beneath the great trees, for birds prefer open spaces 
 where they can disport in the sunshine ; but myriads 
 of humming-birds darted hither and thither, like coals 
 or gleaming jewels, and in the tree-tops, far up out of 
 sight, flocks of parrots chattered noisily. 
 
 The path became more and more obscure, and 
 along in the middle of the afternoon, when the trav 
 ellers had reached a knife-like ridge of the mountain, 
 where the trees were more sparsely distributed, the 
 trail seemed altogether lost. Then the guide, who 
 had walked ahead with his cutlass in the hollow of 
 his right arm, now and then using it to clear away 
 the overhanging bushes and vines which obstructed 
 progress, fell back, and leading one of the bullocks 
 by the line attached to its nose, drew it aside, 
 beckoning the boys to follow with the other animal 
 and to tread cautiously, breaking as few plants as 
 possible. 
 
 " We must conceal our trail, so that no enemy may 
 follow us," he explained. " This is the summit of 
 the cordilleras, where few other men have ever 
 passed. We are nearing the entrance to my retreat. 
 Do not be afraid, but follow after carefully." 
 
256 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 They climbed the ridge where it was as steep as 
 the roof of an ordinary house and finally stood, pant 
 ing and almost breathless, upon the ridgepole, which 
 the guide aptly termed the capstone of the pyramid. 
 From the point where they stood the mountains swept 
 away in every direction, miles upon miles of billowy 
 slopes and emerald peaks, until the sea on either side 
 bounded their vision. 
 
 " Grand, beautiful, glorious ! " were the exclama 
 tions that burst from the delighted travellers, gazing 
 upon this magnificent view, entranced, unmindful of 
 the perils that beset them. 
 
XXVIII. 
 
 The Vale of Paradise. 
 
 THE ridge upon which they stood was so sharply 
 cut that a misstep would have plunged the 
 travellers far below into abysmal depths, and the 
 poor bullocks, unaware of their masters precautions 
 against accidents, moaned apprehensively, bunching 
 their feet together and arching their backs, like a cat 
 in a passion. But they followed obediently after the 
 guide, who led the way for a hundred yards along 
 the crest of the ridge, then turned sharply to the 
 right, as they came abreast a huge rock from which 
 the floods of many a hurricane season had washed 
 the supporting soil almost entirely away, leaving it 
 so delicately poised that it seemed a slight push 
 would have sent it crashing into the valley outspread 
 beneath. 
 
 Stumbling through the loose gravel at an incline 
 so steep that some of the bullocks cargo fell over 
 their heads and went tumbling over the edge of the 
 precipice along the verge of which they were crawl 
 ing, after a few minutes, which seemed to the boys 
 almost an eternity of suspense, they reached a shelter 
 of scant shrubbery on the northern side of the 
 
 257 
 
258 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 ridge. The vegetation here was hardly more than 
 lycopodiums and sub-Alpine plants that grow in the 
 tropics only at high altitudes, but it afforded a foot 
 hold for the frightened animals, and a bed upon which 
 the boys cast themselves, exhausted, as soon as their 
 guide had motioned them to halt. 
 
 " That was a hard scramble, eh, my masters ? But 
 the worst is over. Right below us lies the portal to 
 my paradise. You cannot see it, for it is hidden in 
 the sea of verdure that covers all below like an emer 
 ald plain. But it is there, and if you will wait here 
 while I go back to conceal all traces of our passing, 
 so that none may follow here, I will soon return and 
 lead you to it." 
 
 So saying, the guide went back to the ridge, where 
 he carefully covered the tracks made by the men and 
 bullocks, rearranged the disturbed vegetation so that 
 no one would have suspected any had ever passed 
 that way, then returned, as he had promised. 
 
 " See, my masters, is not that a glorious view ? 
 Almost half the island seems to be outspread before 
 us here. It looks to you a wilderness of forest and 
 high peaks, does it not ? Do you note those bare 
 rocks outcropping here and there, arranged in a circle 
 like the brim of a huge bowl ? Yes ? Those are the 
 peaks that guard the happy valley, an immense basin 
 several miles across, filled with trees so densely that 
 no one but myself and some friends have ever sus 
 pected its existence, at least, not recently I am 
 
The Vale of Paradise. 259 
 
 sure. Now come, as you are rested ; we will seek the 
 entrance to the valley. It is within short gunshot, 
 and yet you could not find it if I were to leave you 
 here this moment." 
 
 The guide took Joe by the nose, Jose keeping close 
 behind the two, and the boys bringing up the rear. 
 Sliding over the slippery lycopodiums, like boys 
 coasting over the frozen surface of a snow-field, men 
 and beasts went downward at a rapid gait, the latter 
 hah of the time on their haunches and uttering many 
 a grunt of expostulation, when suddenly their sup 
 ports gave way under them, and they plunged through 
 matted vines, from daylight into darkness. 
 
 The transition was so sudden, from the glare of the 
 sun outside to the gloom of the place into which they 
 had fallen, that for a while they lay bewildered, both 
 boys and beasts. The elastic vines had sprung back 
 again to their customary places, and hardly a ray of 
 light penetrated through them, so that it was a long 
 time before the boys discovered that they had fallen 
 into a cavern, the roof of which was hung with sta 
 lactites which gleamed all around and above them, 
 excepting for the rift in the rock through which they 
 had descended. 
 
 Fortunately, but probably with intention, the guide 
 had kept the bullocks well ahead of them ; otherwise 
 there might have been an accident to chronicle. It 
 was also fortunate that they had descended upon a 
 bed of soft sand, and that the trailing vines had been 
 
260 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 strong enough and elastic enough to support them 
 until they were almost down, so that neither human 
 being nor dumb animal had been injured. The guide 
 was engaged for a few minutes in helping the bullocks 
 to their feet and rearranging their loads, which had 
 been severely shaken up by the fall, then he left them 
 safe and sound and came to see the boys. 
 
 "Well, what do you think of my trap-door, my 
 masters ? Is it not safely concealed, think you, so 
 that no one can find it ? " 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed Hartley, " do you mean to 
 say that fall was prearranged ? We thought it must 
 have been an accident." 
 
 The queer man laughed as he replied : " Not so, 
 my master. That is the only entrance to my valley. 
 That is the portal of which I spoke. But I knew it 
 well enough to feel assured that you would not be 
 hurt, or I should not have led you hither." 
 
 "But the bullocks, they can never be gotten out 
 again." 
 
 " No, senor, that is true, I fear. Once in, forever 
 to stay, so far as they are concerned. But that is 
 nothing; you will not want to get them out. We 
 will keep them to plough with, to haul the timber for 
 the houses we shall build, to carry the fruits of the 
 earth." 
 
 Arthur had said nothing, being engaged in study 
 ing the features of the guide as he replied to his 
 brother s questions, The sudden turn of affairs had 
 
The Vale of Paradise. 261 
 
 raised a momentary doubt in his mind as to the integ 
 rity of the man s intentions regarding them. Per 
 haps, after all, he had been mistaken, and the guide 
 had some sinister motive in thus bringing them into 
 a place from which there was apparently no escape. 
 He did not like to entertain such doubts, not only 
 because they reflected upon his judgment, but be 
 cause by insisting upon having his own way, and 
 sparing the man s life, his brother s life and his own 
 might be imperilled. Still, he could not bring him 
 self to doubt, notwithstanding the suspicious aspect 
 of things, and he concluded to hold his judgment in 
 suspense, but at the same time to be constantly on 
 guard. There was not light enough, at first, to de 
 tect anything sinister in the guide s countenance, even 
 if his feelings had shown through his impassive fea 
 tures. As the inmates of the cavern became accus 
 tomed to the gloom, they saw that the room in which 
 they were was of vast dimensions, apparently, the 
 roof being low but broad, while the cavern extended 
 far beneath the mountain. How far they knew not, 
 and when they asked the guide, he shrugged his 
 shoulders and said he did not know, himself. 
 
 " But, my masters," he added, " it is not now so 
 far to the mouth of the cave, and if you are suffi 
 ciently refreshed we will hasten into outer air." 
 
 They signified their desire to proceed, and so he 
 drove the bullocks forward, despite their unwillingness 
 to move in the dim light, and it was not long before 
 
262 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 they were gladdened by a ray of sunshine penetrat 
 ing the gloom. Hastening forward, they soon found 
 the mouth of the cave, and saw that it opened out 
 toward the west, so that the sun in its descent into 
 the waves sent its rays quite into it. The cave s 
 mouth opened into a ravine, in the bed of which far 
 down beneath them ran a noisy stream. They clam 
 bered down with some difficulty, then crossed the 
 ravine and scaled its northern bank, coming out at 
 last beneath a giant silk-cotton tree which threw its 
 branches out over the rocks. 
 
 Looking up, they could see sheer walls of rock on 
 every side, which rose far above them toward the 
 clouds, while from the precipices all around came the 
 low crooning of turtle doves, making such a volume 
 of sound that the boys concluded there must be 
 millions of them living there. A great eagle circled 
 in the sky overhead, his wings gilded by the last 
 gleams of the setting sun, while flocks of parrots 
 were winging their way homeward from feeding 
 grounds to roosting places, talking to each other 
 sleepily as they flew. The forest all about was in 
 deed animate with innocent creatures that had never 
 heard the sound of a gun, that had never suffered 
 at the hand of man, and were living in a state that 
 must have prevailed in the garden of Eden, when 
 our first ancestors were in accord with all created 
 beings. 
 
 Surely the vale was the abode of peace, if not of 
 
The Vale of Paradise. 263 
 
 happiness, and the young men walked on in the 
 gathering gloom pervaded by a blessed sense of 
 security, instead of the haunting fear which had held 
 possession of them for so many months. 
 
 " There is something in the very air that breathes 
 of peace," said Hartley to his brother. " Listen to 
 the cooing of the doves and the far-off song of the 
 mocking-bird. Isn t it sweet ? " 
 
 "Yes, almost too sweet to last," replied Arthur. 
 " It is so restful, too, after the constant turmoil of 
 our experience on the island. It seems to me, I 
 could live here forever and not wish to go away." 
 
 " My sentiments, too ; but forever is a long time. 
 Say we make it a month, and see how things pan 
 out by that time. Perhaps our friend may not be 
 so subservient at the end of a short stay as he is 
 now. He couldn t do better by us now than if we 
 had been his long-lost brothers, could he ? " 
 
 " Not a bit," answered Arthur. " But still, he may 
 have something in reserve, you know. I don t be 
 lieve he has, though, for I m inclined to judge him 
 by my first impression." 
 
 " Oh, your first impression may have been all right. 
 It saved me from committing murder, anyway, when 
 it moved you to knock my rifle barrel up, and I m 
 grateful for that, let me tell you." 
 
 The guide came nearer to them when the conver 
 sation had reached this stage, and they could not say 
 anything more about the things in which he was 
 
264 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 concerned ; so they took to asking him questions. 
 How did he find the valley ? How long had he 
 lived here ? Did he expect to live here all his days ? 
 And were there no other human beings in the valley 
 but themselves ? 
 
 In answer to the first question he said that he had 
 found the valley by accident, when pursued by some 
 of Lelee s soldiers, who had chased him to the moun 
 tain ridge, but whom he had evaded by slipping over 
 and rolling down the matted bed of vines, ending by 
 falling through into the cavern, as they themselves 
 had that very day. 
 
 But suppose the soldiers had followed closely after, 
 and had also rolled down the steep ? Was there not 
 danger that such a contingency might happen ? Yes, 
 the man admitted there was ; but he had provided 
 against it. Had they not seen him go back, after 
 all were out of the cavern, and did they not recall 
 that he remained there quite a while ? Yes, they 
 recalled that, but what of it ? 
 
 " Why," rejoined the guide, with a strange gleam in 
 his eyes, " I went back to set a trap for any of our foes 
 who might happen to find the trail and come over the 
 ridge. There is only one path by which they can 
 descend, and that leads right into the cave. If they 
 should fall there now, they would not find a soft bed 
 of sand to receive them, but a row of pointed stakes, 
 which would pierce them through and through ; and 
 if they escape the stakes in the cave s mouth, why, I 
 
The Vale of Paradise. 265 
 
 have set a dead-fall made out of a great log, which 
 will drop and pin them to the ground, should they 
 try to emerge." 
 
 The boys shuddered at this cold-blooded prepara 
 tion for the possible coming of the foe, but they 
 praised the man for his ingenuity, though they might 
 not approve of the whole proceeding. 
 
 Night had now fallen about them, but the fire 
 beetles were so numerous that they hardly missed 
 the light of day. They emerged from the dense 
 forest and crossed a lovely glade, where whispering 
 palms embossed a sea of verdure, and on the farther 
 boundary, where silk cottons, mangos, and star ap 
 ples formed a screen from heat and hurricane, the 
 guide halted before a thatched hut of large dimen 
 sions. It was a wattled hut of palm leaves, roof and 
 sides new and clean, sweet smelling, fragrant with the 
 breath of the forest still enmeshed within the thatch. 
 It had apparently never been occupied, but was ready 
 for occupancy, with beds of palm leaves spread on 
 the floor of pounded earth, and two grass hammocks 
 hung from the rafters. 
 
 The boys looked at the guide in wonderment, but 
 he merely said, " This house is yours, senores." 
 
XXIX. 
 
 Contentment without Wealth. 
 
 A STREAM flowed before the hut, a stream 
 running over white and glistening pebbles, 
 overhung with bamboos in feathery clusters and wild 
 plantains that met across and interlaced their leaves. 
 The water was clear as crystal, flowing from a spring 
 in the forest. A little way beyond the hut it ran into 
 another larger stream, and together they plunged over 
 a precipice and were lost in a deep ravine far below. 
 All around the hut grew various fruit trees, such 
 as mangos, custard apples, sapadillas, alligator pears, 
 limes, oranges, lemons, in fact almost all the fruits 
 that flourish in the tropics. These, with the pine 
 apples, maniocs, maize, arrow root, sugar cane, groves 
 of coffee and allspice, nutmegs and acacia, the yams, 
 sweet potatoes, tanias, and other tubers, gave to the 
 owner of this property all he needed for his support 
 in the way of food and condiments. 
 
 When he wanted a new dish of any sort, a bowl 
 or spoon, he merely went out and twisted a calabash 
 off one of the trees growing by the river bank, cut it 
 in the needed shape, and left it to dry until his meal 
 was ready. And so it was with the hut itself. The 
 material for roof and rafters, thatch and wattles, he 
 
 266 
 
Contentment without Wealth. 267 
 
 had found in the palms that grew by thousands all 
 about. No nails were necessary to put the hut to 
 gether, only tough withes and the skill that came 
 from experience. So there he was, the master of 
 this happy valley, supplied by nature with everything 
 essential, with luxuries as well, without being obliged 
 to expend a dollar for the purchase of a single article 
 from year s end to year s end. Indeed, as he told 
 the boys, he had not seen a dollar, not even the 
 smallest piece of silver, since he was so fortunate as 
 to discover this retreat. 
 
 All this was not discovered by the boys that first 
 night of their arrival, but during ensuing days and 
 weeks of exploration, when they wandered about, 
 sometimes with and at others without their friend, 
 within the confines of this vale of paradise. 
 
 There was but one thing that troubled them, and 
 this ceased to give them uneasiness after they found 
 out what a fair and desirable land it was. There was 
 no outlet by which they could escape to the world 
 beyond. On the south was the inaccessible mountain 
 ridge ; on the east, west, and north, precipitous walls, 
 over which many rivers plunged and were lost to 
 view in the abysses below, but affording no means of 
 exit for the prisoners. Of course there was the nar 
 row trail by which they had descended to the valley; 
 but that was blocked, they were told, in such a way 
 that they could not attempt it without danger to their 
 lives. 
 
268 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 The man made it evident to them that he intended 
 to be their devoted servant, from the very first night 
 when they arrived at the hut in the valley. He told 
 them that he had made the house for them, expecting 
 and praying they would come to occupy it ; and now 
 that they had arrived, he and all he had were at their 
 disposal. This offer was sincere, as he proved by his 
 acts, for they were installed in the hut as its sole 
 owners and possessors, their guide occupying one 
 adjacent which was older and much smaller. He 
 bade them rest while he prepared supper for them, 
 then unsaddled the bullocks, removed their loads, and 
 turned them loose to graze in the luxuriant herbage, 
 after which he proceeded to the little cook-house and 
 got together a nice repast in short order, which he 
 set before his guests with many apologies for the lack 
 of luxuries. 
 
 The boys were too tired to offer any opposition to 
 his plans, and concluding that at least for that 
 night it would be best to take what the gods pro 
 vided without question, they accepted his ministra 
 tions gratefully. 
 
 It was a fair view spread before them when the 
 boys went outside the hut the morning after their 
 arrival and looked about. A winding path led from 
 the hut s door to the brook, where in a pool beneath 
 overhanging bamboos they had their morning bath. 
 The air was cool and sweet, fragrant with the perfume 
 of orange blossoms, and in the sun sparkled the jew- 
 
Contentment without Wealth. 269 
 
 elled crests and throats of many humming-birds, 
 which danced like sprites above the pool and flashed 
 their iridescent plumage before their visitors eyes. 
 The level fields beyond the stream were filled with 
 sugar-cane, wild and cultivated, the tasselled tops of 
 which were like the plumes of Indian chiefs, the 
 leaves glistening like scimeters in the sunshine. 
 Beyond again lay the broad forest belt, with miles of 
 greenery surging up at last against the red cliffs of 
 the mountains that towered so high above the 
 trees. 
 
 " Peace," sang the wind, in a gentle lullaby ; 
 " peace " murmured the stream, and " peace " warbled 
 the birds in the thickets. Peace and rest, shelter 
 from danger and protection against the wiles of wicked 
 men, all this appealed strongly to these young 
 men, and instead of feeling like accepting their guide 
 as a servant they were more disposed to set him on 
 a pedestal and worship him. 
 
 "That would be the real old African fashion, 
 wouldn t it, Arthur ? " said Hartley, in reply to a sug 
 gestion of the sort from his brother. " I suppose 
 some of his ancestors may have worshipped fetiches 
 on the Gold Coast, before the slavers kidnapped and 
 took them to America. Now confess, isn t he a 
 darling ? " 
 
 " He has been good to us, that s a fact," answered 
 Arthur. "I can t explain all his doings, such for 
 instance as bringing our bullocks here when he knew 
 
270, The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 they could never be got out again, and blocking the 
 entrance portal so we could not escape." 
 
 " But I don t want to escape, do you ? " asked Hart 
 ley, splashing the cool water and basking in the sun 
 beneath the bamboos. 
 
 " No, not yet. But the time may come when we 
 may, you know, then " 
 
 " Oh, bother your doubts, old melancholy. I m 
 happy, through and through, and so are you, if you 
 will only look into yourself and see." 
 
 " Well, perhaps I am. But then, there s the gold. 
 There are our friends outside the Consul and Don 
 Alessandro. We shall miss them." 
 
 " Yes, the Consul was a true friend, and so in his 
 way was the Don. Perhaps a way may open by 
 which we can repay them ; but as for the gold poof ! 
 What need have we of that ? We are like Robinson 
 Crusoe, who, with all his money, found no use for it 
 during half his lifetime. In fact, I guess we are 
 situated about as he was, anyway, only we have no 
 access to the shore and so no need for a canoe, and 
 no necessity, either, for spending months and years 
 in hewing one out of some great tree, as he did. We 
 have a Man Friday, too, only he s not black, or 
 brown, rather ; for Crusoe s Friday was an Indian, I 
 believe, wasn t he ? " 
 
 " Yes, a Carib, a native of one of these very islands, 
 but farther to the south, down near the South Ameri 
 can coast. There were Indians here, at one time, 
 
Contentment without Wealth. 271 
 
 but the Spaniards killed them all, many years ago, 
 unless, by chance, some escaped and hid in the 
 mountains." 
 
 " And why not ? Let s ask our Friday if he ever 
 came across any signs of them. Here he comes now, 
 and I know by the looks of him that coffee is ready, 
 and he expects us to go in and drink." 
 
 " Good morning, my masters," said their voluntary 
 servant, in Spanish, coming down to the stream and 
 beaming upon them with his face full of happiness. 
 " Buenos dias, maestro s mtos, el cafe" esta lista coffee 
 awaits you, gentlemen." 
 
 He had two big towels in his hands, coarse but 
 soft, which were evidently the product of a hand loom 
 and might have been woven by himself, only they 
 had seen no sign of the loom. These he wrapped 
 around them and they ran laughing into the hut, 
 where they quickly dressed and soon sat down to the 
 morning coffee. 
 
 " It s no use," said Arthur, despairingly, after trying 
 in vain to induce their friend to sit down with them. 
 " He will just spoil us with his attentions. I don t 
 believe he will let us do a thing." 
 
 " Well, if he likes it, why not ? " replied Hartley, 
 philosophically. " But, do you know, we haven t 
 found out his name. I m going to ask him what it 
 is." 
 
 " My name ? " replied the man, in response to 
 Hartley s question. " To be sure. What a fool I 
 
272 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 was not to tell you. Why, it is Esteban, a su disposi 
 tion de ustedes, caballeros Stephen, at your service, 
 gentlemen." 
 
 " And mine is Hartley Strong, and this is my 
 brother Arthur. Now we shall consider ourselves 
 introduced. And there s another question I wish to 
 ask you. It is this : Have you ever found any signs 
 of Indians in this region ? Red men, you know, de 
 scendants of the aborigines. There were a great 
 many here at one time, the historians say, but tradi 
 tion states they were all killed, long ago. Now, what 
 do you think, Senor Esteban ? " 
 
 " I think ? What, about Indians ? " replied the 
 man, falteringly. "Tell me, have you seen any you 
 thought were such ? Any in this valley ? " 
 
 "Well, no," said Hartley, with a laugh, "as we 
 came here only last night. But I think that there 
 ought to be some here, though, don t you ? " 
 
 "There might be," rejoined Esteban, evasively, 
 with a troubled countenance. " But if you found 
 any, what would you do to them, senores ? " 
 
 " Do to them ? Nothing, of course. But I should 
 feel like taking them and putting them in a glass 
 case, they are so rare, you know. Why, even their 
 bones would bring a good price. I know of a 
 museum that would give a hundred dollars for an 
 Indian s skeleton that is, one from this island. 
 Don t you think we could get that from our govern 
 ment museum, Art ? " 
 
Contentment without Wealth. 273 
 
 " Why, yes, I ve no doubt of it, for one has never 
 yet been found." 
 
 " For their skeletons ? Senores, do you take me 
 for a cannibal ? " Esteban spread out his hands, 
 with horror in his face. Then, regarding his guests 
 for a moment inquiringly, he darted from the hut 
 and sought the shelter of his cook-house. There he 
 communed with himself something after this fashion : 
 " I wonder if I may trust them with the secret ? 
 But no, I dare not. The Queen s life is in my hands. 
 I would rather die than betray her. But again, she 
 may wish to see them. There is so little for her 
 diversion in this lonely place. I will go ask her, 
 perhaps she may order them to appear before her ; 
 then no blame can belong to me." 
 
 After the boys had finished coffee, they went out 
 to see how their bullocks were getting on, and found 
 them up to their knees in grass and with scant time 
 to receive company. The rings had been taken out 
 of their noses at last, and the boys were obliged to 
 confess that this friend of theirs was more humane 
 than they had been, or any other man they had ever 
 met. He rose at once in their esteem, if that were 
 possible, and when he again appeared they hastened 
 to tell him what they thought. 
 
 " Why, that was but natural," he replied gravely to 
 their praise of his action in freeing the poor beasts 
 of their tormenting nose-rings. " It may have been 
 necessary in the world outside, where all living 
 
274 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 things seem possessed with devils ; but not here. 
 All is love in this happy valley ; no harm shall come 
 to anything within it. But, senores, you must excuse 
 me for going away this morning. I have business 
 in the far end of the valley. All you see here is 
 yours ; cannot you entertain yourselves while I am 
 away ? " 
 
 " Certainly, Senor Esteban, do not give us a 
 thought. But when will you return ? " asked Arthur. 
 
 " Do not call me sefior, " said the man. " I am 
 Esteban, your servant. I shall return before night. 
 You will find food and drink in your house. Enjoy 
 as much as you can whatever you find, and remem 
 ber, all is yours. Till to-night, then, adios" 
 
 " Good-by, Esteban, we shall look for you in the 
 afternoon." 
 
 " I wonder what s the mystery ? " said Hartley, as 
 they stood watching the man striding across the 
 plain. " I would give something to find out, wouldn t 
 you ? " 
 
XXX. 
 
 Caonabo and Ancient Cipango. 
 
 "TT TE shall find out in good time, I m sure," 
 
 VV Arthur replied to his brother s question. 
 " Either I m very much mistaken, or we are on the 
 verge of a great discovery. That man is a mystery 
 all through. He is something better than what he 
 appears, we can tell that from his speech, which 
 shows some education on his part." 
 
 "Yes, indeed," assented Hartley, eagerly, "he has 
 had excellent training somewhere, and his Spanish is 
 perfect. But you have noticed it is of a very ancient 
 form, almost archaic, as though he had been brought 
 up in a monastery perhaps, where the language of 
 Ferdinand and Isabella s time was used. And his 
 age ? What do you think it is ? Sometimes he 
 seems not more than fifty, but at other times more 
 than a hundred." 
 
 " A hundred? " said Arthur. " Yes, indeed, two or 
 three hundred. Why, I should have no difficulty in 
 imagining him all of that. It is strange, but there is 
 a tradition that a Spaniard named Esteban was taken 
 captive by Caonabo, the fierce Carib chieftain." 
 
 " Yes, and do you not recall that this same Caonabo 
 275 
 
276 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 came from the Cibao, or stony country, which Colum 
 bus thought was the veritable Cipango, of which he 
 had read in the story by Marco Polo, and was in 
 search of all his life ? It was only this morning that 
 Esteban let fall that word, Cibao, in speaking of this 
 region as the centre of gold deposits in the island. 
 What if this might be the very district we are in 
 search of, after all?" 
 
 " True, Hart, I hadn t thought of it ; but you may 
 be right. We ve got the transcription of the Consul s 
 clew with us ; let s go into the hut and look it over." 
 
 Both boys were excited and eager, now, for the 
 discovery of that gold which a few hours before they 
 had affected to hold in such contempt. Such is human 
 nature, after all. The very name of gold has a charm 
 about it, is alluring, fascinating, despise its acquisition 
 as we may. All history tells us of what man has 
 suffered to obtain the precious metal. 
 
 " Here it is," cried Arthur, drawing the pieje of 
 paper from the corner of an old pocket-book, where 
 it had lain ever since they had left the capital. " Poor 
 old Columbus ! Did he ever imagine that his pre 
 cious clew would fall into the hands of such insignifi 
 cant bits of humanity as we are ? But no matter ; I 
 will read it : * It is to make known the where 
 abouts of the treasure of the Cacique of the Golden 
 House, otherwise known as Caonabo, that same Ind 
 ian chieftain whom I caused to be taken by Alonzo 
 de Ojeda and sent to Spain in chains, and who died 
 
Caonabo and Ancient Cipango. 277 
 
 of grief on the voyage. Heaven rest his soul, and 
 ease mine of the heavy weight of this grievous sin ! " 
 
 " Amen to that, Columbus ; but there were many 
 other sins you had to answer for, I ll warrant," inter 
 jected Hartley. 
 
 " Don t interrupt," exclaimed Arthur, impatiently. 
 " Pay attention, now. * Before he left the city of 
 Isabella he told me that in the mountains he had 
 filled a great cave with all the gold his subjects had 
 found in many, many years, and he told me that to 
 reach this treasure cave one must pursue the Rio 
 Yaqui, or del Oro, beyond its branching with the 
 Yanico, then go northwardly for more than a furlong, 
 when a narrow ravine would be found opening out of 
 the stream s bed, at the head of which was this cave, 
 its entrance hidden by a screen of vines. " 
 
 As his brother finished, Hartley clutched his arm. 
 " Oh, Art," he burst out excitedly, " what does this 
 description remind you of ? Have we seen any cave 
 similar to this one ? Have we not arrived, though in 
 a roundabout way, at the locality given in the paper 
 transcribed from the inscription on the silver plate ? 
 Think, think, Art, do think ! " 
 
 " I am thinking," replied Arthur, with an indulgent 
 smile at his brother s injunction. "And I know what 
 you mean, too. You mean to say that the cavern we 
 fell into yesterday was none other than that contain 
 ing the dead and gone Caonabo s treasure, do you 
 not?" 
 
27 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " Of course, stupid ! What other could it be ? 
 Only, instead of coming up to it directly from the 
 Yanico, we have flanked it by marching from the 
 mountains, in the direction of Caonabo s hiding- 
 place, which is also mentioned in the account of 
 the conquest. Can t you see ? There s still a screen 
 of vines at the cave s mouth above that ravine ; 
 only " and here the boy faltered " it would have 
 been impossible to reach it from that direction, for 
 no one could have scaled that precipice." 
 
 "Well," rejoined Arthur, "that may have been a 
 piece of foolery on the part of the cacique. It is 
 hardly likely that he would tell his deadly enemy, 
 Columbus, one for whom he is said always to have 
 displayed the utmost contempt, where his most 
 precious treasure was concealed. He probably was 
 satisfied that it was in an inaccessible spot and 
 wished to tantalize the Spaniards and at the same 
 time, perhaps, hold out a bribe for them to liberate 
 him." 
 
 " I believe you re right, Art. It is just like my 
 foolishness to fly off the handle half loaded. You 
 may be slower, but in the end you re surer. That s 
 the explanation exactly." 
 
 "Of what?" asked Arthur, laughing. "The ex 
 planation of your foolishness which, by the way, 
 I m glad to hear you admit or of the secret of the 
 cacique s treasure ? " 
 
 " Oh, bother your superior airs. I ll take it all 
 
Caonabo and Ancient Cipango. 279 
 
 back what I said about myself. I meant the treas 
 ure, of course. It s there, I do really believe, stowed 
 away in the back part of that cavern, that is, if 
 somebody hasn t found it out and taken it away." 
 
 " And that may have been. We must prepare for 
 disappointment ; and the best way to do it is to imag 
 ine ourselves just as well off without it. Gold is 
 good enough, Hart, in its way, but it isn t every 
 thing. In fact, it was only a few hours ago that we 
 imagined we should never care more for it, you 
 know." 
 
 " Yes, I know. But it s the fun of finding it. 
 Just imagine looking upon a treasure that has been 
 hidden away more than four centuries ! And it won t 
 be in grains and nuggets, probably, but most of it in 
 articles of Indian workmanship, themselves worth far 
 more than any amount of gold they contain." 
 
 " That s true, Hart, and I don t say that I am un 
 mindful of its value archaeologically. That s a big 
 word, isn t it ? Did I get it right, I wonder ? Well, 
 I mean its value to the museums and to men who 
 make a study of ancient objects. I should like to 
 contribute something to the sum of human knowl 
 edge, wouldn t you ? And since we haven t any high 
 attributes or attainments ourselves, by which we 
 might be able to produce some original work of 
 merit, why, the next best thing is to do it second 
 hand. Don t you think so ? " 
 
 " I suppose so," replied Hartley, dubiously. " But 
 
The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 we haven t got the things yet, and what is more, we 
 never shall get them, unless we bestir ourselves and 
 think of some scheme for getting into the cave and 
 then out again. For even after we get in, you know, 
 we may be in the plight of the boy who tried the fly 
 ing machine, It ain t so hard to fly, but it s the 
 lighting - or something of that sort. I don t know, 
 but seems to me we shall have to take Don Esteban 
 into our confidence. What do you say ? " 
 
 " I think it is a case of necessity, for, supposing we 
 should gain access to the cave and find the treasure, 
 we could not get out of the valley with it unless he 
 found it out. What s more, we can t get out of the 
 valley, anyway. So what are we going to do about 
 it ? " 
 
 " Oh, I don t know. Give it up, I guess. But one 
 thing we d better do, and that is go over the account 
 of Caonabo s connection with the first coming of the 
 Spaniards, and see if we have got the bearings 
 correctly." 
 
 " Agreed, it s a good suggestion. Get the history, 
 Hart, and we ll settle that right away. Ah, here s 
 the place ! " 
 
 " * Now, two days after entering the valley of the 
 Yaqui, the historian says, the band of Spaniards 
 finally reached the confines of the Cibao region, 
 where indeed they found the streams running over 
 golden sands and pebbles. On the morning of the 
 third day Columbus entered the region toward which 
 
Caonabo and Ancient Cipango. 281 
 
 his gaze had been directed for so many months and 
 even years Cibao but instead of finding it the 
 veritable Cipango, as described by the learned Marco 
 Polo, he found that he had been deceived by the 
 similarity of names, and that it was merely a rugged 
 and mountainous region of Haiti, or Hispaniola. 
 But the signs of gold were numerous enough for it 
 to have been indeed the original Cipango (land of 
 golden sands), and they were so convincing as to the 
 country s natural wealth, that he concluded to erect 
 a fort here, on a bluff half surrounded by a crystal 
 stream, the bed of which fairly glistened with parti 
 cles of gold. This stream was called Yanico by the 
 natives, and the fortress erected here was named 
 Santo Tomas de Yanico. 
 
 " Thus far we have already verified the account as 
 perfectly true, haven t we, Hart ? And so up to this 
 point we are absolutely sure of our ground. Wouldn t 
 you say so ? " 
 
 " Yes, there s no doubt of that, for we ve been on 
 the spot." 
 
 " Well, then, to connect the locality with Caonabo, 
 the Cacique of the Golden House, we must read on 
 a little farther. We must recollect that after the 
 fort had been built it was garrisoned by a small body 
 of Spanish soldiers under the command of that brave 
 but rash adventurer, Alonzo de Ojeda. If he had 
 not been so cruel, like all those companions of his, 
 however, he would figure in history as one of the 
 
282 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 most gallant spirits that ever drew sword on the soil 
 of America. He was that same cavalier who, at an 
 entertainment given in Seville to Queen Isabella, 
 walked out to the end of a beam projecting from the 
 top of the Giralda, the old Moorish tower, two hundred 
 and fifty feet from the ground, and kicked an orange 
 into the air, and then walked back again, to the 
 great admiration of the people assembled in the plaza 
 below. One of the first caballeros to come out to the 
 New World, he was always in the forefront of every 
 skirmish, and engaged in hair-brained escapades. 
 
 " Well, Columbus sent him to take charge of Fort 
 St. Thomas, and here he was so closely besieged by 
 Caonabo, who swooped down upon him from the 
 mountains, that he almost succumbed from hunger 
 and thirst. When just at the last extremity, however, 
 he was rescued, and then turned about and chased 
 Caonabo to his lair beyond the crest of the cordil- 
 leras on the northern slope. Here he had his head 
 quarters, called Managua ; and by the way, the village 
 is in existence yet, though occupied by blacks instead 
 of Indians. 
 
 "Taking with him a few brave comrades, Ojeda 
 made his way through the mountain forests, and 
 finally came upon Caonabo taking a bath in a stream. 
 He had so few men with him that the Indian cacique 
 did not fear and invited him to share his hospitality. 
 Taking a pair of manacles from his saddle-bow, Ojeda 
 showed them to Caonabo, and told him he had 
 
Caonabo and Ancient Cipango. 283 
 
 brought them to him as gift from the great king of 
 Spain, his master, whom he and all the other Span- 
 jards served. They were bright and shining, and 
 when Ojeda told the poor simple savage that they 
 were bracelets made of heavenly metal, called turey, 
 he slipped them on his wrists. Instantly seizing the 
 unsuspicious Caonabo, Ojeda, who was a man of 
 immense strength, swung him to the saddle, and at 
 once set off on the back trail for the fort, eventually 
 reaching it and afterward delivering the cacique, a 
 prisoner, to Columbus at Isabella, whence he was 
 sent to Spain ; but he died of grief on the voyage." 
 
 " His heart was broken," said a deep voice at the 
 door of the hut. " The Spanish fiends killed him 
 a dastardly outrage ! " 
 
XXXI. 
 
 A Martyr to Science. 
 
 THE boys turned in their hammocks and saw 
 Esteban standing in the doorway, a fierce 
 scowl on his face and his hands clenched. His 
 stern features softened somewhat as they looked at 
 him with inquiry depicted on their countenances, 
 but he shook his shaggy head threateningly, as he 
 added : 
 
 "Yes, they were fiends from inferno, all of them, 
 nor was Don Cristobal Colon, even, an exception. 
 They killed Caonabo, my grandfather s friend, his 
 benefactor, who sheltered him in extremity." 
 
 "Your ancestor, perhaps, but not your grand 
 father, Esteban." 
 
 " What did I say ? Yes, of course it was my 
 ancestor. But it may have been my grandfather. 
 Do I not look old?" 
 
 " Yes, you do just now," faltered Arthur, while his 
 brother gazed at the man in silent astonishment. 
 Over his rugged features had come a change, and 
 indeed he looked as if he might be any age, even 
 more than a century. 
 
 "But, Esteban," insisted Arthur, "Caonabo died 
 284 
 
A Martyr to Science. 285 
 
 four hundred years ago. It would be impossible for 
 your grandfather to have seen him." 
 
 " Impossible ? Ah, Dios ! I have not lived all 
 the time ; I have died. Yes, died four hundred 
 years, until I came to this happy valley." His face 
 softened again and he looked younger; perhaps he 
 might have been forty, perhaps five score. The 
 boys could only gaze in awe. 
 
 "You have perhaps read," continued Esteban, in 
 a low musical voice, as if engaged in reminiscence, 
 "that amongst the crew of the Nina, the smallest 
 vessel that sailed in Don Cristobal s fleet on the first 
 voyage to America, there was a Moor, who, being 
 dark, was called a negro. Senores,"- and here his 
 tone became loud and sonorous, his mien majestic, as 
 he rose to his full height and stretched out both 
 hands toward heaven as if in supplication, "senores, 
 my ancestor was that Moor ! He was the negro 
 left in the fort of Navidad, when Don Cristobal Colon 
 sailed away and a garrison of forty men remained to 
 match themselves against the millions of savages in 
 this New World. Senores, reflect, there were no 
 other Europeans in this hemisphere but those forty 
 men, after Don Cristobal had left them alone in that 
 little fort of Navidad. But, even so, had they been 
 kind and just, nothing would have happened to them, 
 for the cacique whose land the fort was on was great 
 of mind and generous. He was also very simple, 
 was this Cacique Guacanagari, and he could not 
 
286 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 understand the Spaniards lust for gold and ignoble 
 things. He gave them all the gold he had, even to 
 the coronet off his head, which was of beaten gold, 
 pure and fine ; yet were not the Spaniards satisfied, 
 and they abused him to his face. 
 
 "Then, it having come to the ears of Caonabo, 
 the cacique of the mountains, what was happening 
 to him, he made all haste to his assistance. He was 
 of a different tribe from Guacanagari, being of the 
 fierce Carib race, whose home was in the southern 
 islands and in South America. He had strayed to 
 this island in his war canoe, and had become great in 
 this, the country of his adoption. He was called 
 cacique, or chief, of the mountains only ; but in fact 
 he might have been and really was lord over all, 
 owing to his bravery and warlike disposition. So he 
 came down to the coast, and finding the Spanish 
 garrison straying about in fancied security, having 
 taken by force the Indians most precious posses 
 sions, he fell upon and slew them all, he and his war 
 riors, all but Esteban the Moor, whose descendant 
 you now see before you ! " 
 
 " All this we can believe," said Hartley, who had 
 now recovered speech, " for it is history all except 
 the reference to yourself. For how comes it that 
 you should have existed so long alone here in the 
 mountains ? " 
 
 " How ? " asked Esteban, wearily, passing a hand 
 over his eyes. " Ah, but that is a story too long to 
 
A Martyr to Science. 287 
 
 tell at present When the rainy season comes and 
 the hurricanes ; when the floods pour down and keep 
 us indoors all the time, then will be time to tell 
 you. 
 
 " But you do not know all when you say that I am 
 the only descendant of those many millions who has 
 lived till the present. And this reminds me of what I 
 have at last concluded to tell you, that some of those 
 others still live in this valley. Yes," noting their 
 start of surprise, " in the far end of the vale, and I 
 have just come from them, bearing the gracious con 
 sent of the Queen that you shall make a visit of cere 
 mony and pay your devotions to her and her court." 
 
 "Queen!" ejaculated Arthur. "Court!" cried 
 Hartley. "What queen? What court?" 
 
 Each told the other afterward that he looked 
 astonished. And no wonder, for of all the astound 
 ing information that might have been given them, 
 this that there still survived aboriginal Indians in 
 the island of Santo Domingo was least expected. 
 However, although they thought they knew as a 
 historical fact that the last of the aboriginal Indians 
 here perished more than two centuries ago, they did 
 not purpose to allow their doubts to stand in the way 
 of a possibly fascinating exploration. 
 
 " When can we go ? " asked Arthur. 
 
 " To-day ? " inquired Hartley, eagerly. 
 
 " No, not to-day, nor perhaps to-morrow," replied 
 Esteban, gravely. " Such a presentation being 
 
288 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the first that has ever taken place since the Span 
 iards conquered L the royal ancestors of this, my 
 queen must not be allowed without solemn prep 
 aration. The remainder of this day I shall devote 
 to the gathering of precious spices, herbs of virtue, 
 and incense-breathing gums, with which you shall 
 be fumigated, and also you must fast to-morrow from 
 the rising to the going down of the sun. Adios, once 
 more, my masters. Hasta manana till to-morrow." 
 With these words, Esteban bowed with exaggerated 
 dignity, and strode forth again in the direction whence 
 he had come. 
 
 " Well, Art, isn t that a nightmare ? " said Hartley 
 to his brother, rubbing his eyes and running to the 
 door for a final glimpse of Esteban. He had disap 
 peared, however, and the boy returned to the ham 
 mock in which Arthur was sitting. " Art, pinch me, 
 nip me good and hard, for I begin to doubt my 
 senses." 
 
 "No need," replied Arthur, "for I heard it all 
 myself. It isn t likely we both would have been 
 mistaken as to the evidence of our ears. But I 
 must say it is strange, very strange." 
 
 " Isn t it, though ? Just like a wonderful dream. 
 But I guess it won t seem so strange, nor so funny, 
 either, when we come to the fumigating part and 
 the fasting. Tell you what I m going to do. I m 
 going to lay in as much as I can eat to-day against 
 the privations of the morrow. That Queen may be 
 
A Martyr to Science. 289 
 
 all glorious and great, but I m not going to let the 
 thought of her take my appetite away. Suppose she s 
 some old hag of an Indian who has been passed down 
 from a former generation, and imagines she s a thou 
 sand years old or more, as Esteban does. And, I 
 suppose, we ll have to perform the kotow by knock 
 ing our foreheads seven times against the palace 
 floor which likely is of mud and prostrate our 
 selves in mock humility before this relic of aboriginal 
 royalty." 
 
 " I ve a good mind to refuse to go," groaned 
 Arthur. " It will be awful, simply awful. But 
 then, we must go, of course, as martyrs to science, 
 if nothing else. Think of the stir this news will 
 make at home amongst the ethnologists ! After all, 
 I m willing to undergo a great deal for sake of proof 
 that there are Indians yet living in the island." 
 
 " Bother the ethnologists ! What have they ever 
 done for us as the Irishman said of posterity 
 that we should make a sacrifice of ourselves in this 
 way ? But I m anxious to see the Queen, anyway, 
 and we ll take along our camera and have her por 
 trait that is, if Esteban wouldn t think it a profa 
 nation and forbid it. Why, come to think of it, Art, 
 such a portrait would be almost priceless." 
 
 " To be sure, we ll take the camera ; but I doubt if 
 Esteban will let us use it. He has not seen it yet, 
 has he ? No ? Then he may be as afraid of it as 
 those Arabs we tried to take in Biskara, last year. 
 
290 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 They thought, you know, and doubtless he will 
 think the same, that by taking an impression of 
 them on the film in the dark box we would ever after 
 have control over their lives." 
 
 " Yes, I remember, and I also recall what a risky 
 thing it was photographing in the cemetery at Tlem- 
 cen, when that old sunburnt African sneaked up just 
 as you were pointing the camera at a group of 
 women and was about to stick a knife in your back. 
 There may be some sort of experience like that here, 
 you know, and we d better go prepared." 
 
 " Well, I shall take a revolver, and so will you ; 
 but I should not like to use it on old Esteban, or any 
 one else in this valley." 
 
 " I don t know," rejoined Hartley, " think I would 
 if it came to a game of life and death either their 
 lives or ours. You know the saying, The only 
 good Indian is a dead Indian ! And so far as that 
 goes, I really suppose the museums would give as 
 much for one that had been mummified or preserved 
 in some way as if he were alive, or probably more." 
 
 Such was the purport of their conversation that 
 afternoon, while old Esteban was absent on his 
 search for herbs and gums. He came back about 
 dusk, gave a sharp glance at the boys as he passed 
 them swinging in the hammocks, and at once went 
 to the cook-house, whence, after a while, dense clouds 
 of smoke and a terrible odor proclaimed that he was 
 probably concocting his medicines. 
 
A Martyr to Science. 291 
 
 It was long after dark ; the boys had eaten their 
 fill of the good things left for them in the hut, and 
 were sitting beneath a silk-cotton tree conversing in 
 low tones of their probable fortune, when Esteban 
 appeared before them carrying in each hand a 
 calabash. 
 
 " Drink," he said to Arthur, proffering the cala 
 bash, which was half full of a black liquid having a 
 very disagreeable odor. Arthur took it, and then the 
 second calabash was presented to Hartley. " Drink," 
 was the command, in the same fierce tone, accom 
 panied by a scowl that wrinkled the man s features 
 into the semblance of a mummy s. 
 
 " Hold on, Art," exclaimed Hartley, as his brother 
 raised the vessel to his lips and was about to drink. 
 " I think this is carrying confidence in a comparative 
 stranger a little too far. This stuff may be poison. 
 Who knows ? More likely than not. Here, " 
 turning to Esteban, " what is this for ? Have you 
 any more of it? " 
 
 " Yes, my master," answered the man, in a tone of 
 humility. " It is to purge you from all iniquities. 
 Drink, and you will be purified." 
 
 " Well, then, if you have more, suppose you drink 
 this dose yourself. It s a poor doctor that won t 
 take his own medicine." 
 
 Esteban seized the calabash, placed it to his lips, 
 and drained it at a draught. He displayed no emo 
 tion, either of resentment or fear, but as soon as he 
 
292 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 had drunk the liquid, he sat down with his head sup 
 ported against the bole of the silk-cotton tree and 
 fell into a stupor. 
 
 "Ha, just as I thought!" exclaimed Hartley. 
 You see, Art, what we ve escaped. Now I m 
 going to watch Don Esteban till he awakes, if he 
 ever does this side eternity, and " 
 
 He was interrupted by a heavy thud, as of some 
 one falling, and looking around, saw in the dusk his 
 brother stretched upon the ground. His attention 
 had been drawn to Esteban, while he was delivering 
 his harangue, and he had not seen Arthur as he 
 drank the potion, but at once surmised the cause of 
 his collapse. 
 
 "Well, here s a pretty pickle!" he exclaimed in 
 sorrowful resentment, as he stooped over to raise his 
 brother from the ground. " Two fools, if I ever met 
 any of that sort, and one of them my own brother. 
 Now I ll put Art in one hammock, and the old man 
 in the other. If this proves fatal to Art, I ll put 
 a bullet through Mr. Esteban, sure as fate. Oh, 
 dear, what if he should die ! " 
 
XXXII. 
 
 Native Narcotics and Incense. 
 
 ALL night long Hartley watched in the dark 
 over those two unconscious ones ; all night, 
 with his every sense alert for any sign of wakef ulness 
 in either. He fully expected Esteban to come out 
 of his stupor first, more than half believing he was 
 shamming. But the dawn had broken before either 
 moved or showed any sign of life. The boy s anxiety 
 may perhaps better be imagined than described, and 
 the wild thoughts that flitted through his brain, 
 when he reviewed the events that led up to this 
 final catastrophe, almost caused him to spring upon 
 and end the existence of their author. 
 
 Esteban came first to consciousness, as he expected, 
 looking about with dull, lack-lustre eyes, just as the 
 darkness was dissipated by the dawn. 
 
 He finally caught the stern gaze of the boy fixed 
 upon him, and he neither flinched nor gave token of 
 surprise, but returned it doggedly. 
 
 " When will he wake ? " asked Hartley, icily, point 
 ing to his brother, who had not yet stirred. " Will 
 he ever wake ? " 
 
 " He ? Oh, you mean your brother ? It is time, 
 293 
 
294 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 almost, now; within half an hour, surely. So you 
 have watched us all the night ? That was a waste 
 of time, you had better have slept." 
 
 " It would not have been a waste of time if you 
 had not slept, Seftor Esteban, that is, for you." 
 
 " Ho, that is it ! You suspect me of treachery, 
 and in my own home, to those whom I have invited 
 to partake of my hospitality. Senor, you wrong 
 me." 
 
 " I can best judge of that when my brother regains 
 his senses," rejoined Hartley, shrugging his shoulders. 
 
 " Well, he is doing that now, this moment," replied 
 Esteban, " and if you will ask him I will stake my 
 life that he will tell you he has had a pleasant sleep 
 - has been, in sooth, in paradise." 
 
 As Arthur turned over in the hammock his brother 
 darted to his side, seeking his eyes for the first dawn 
 of intelligence. " Where am I ? " he murmured. 
 " Is that you, Hart ? Why, I dreamed I was float 
 ing in the clouds, surrounded by glorious beings, and 
 all, all was delightful." 
 
 " It must have been the hasheesh, dear boy, that 
 Esteban made you drink. He, too, has been in 
 paradise, he says ; and in fact, if anything had 
 happened to you, he would have now surely been 
 there, or somewhere else, rather than living here 
 with us." 
 
 " Oh, don t blame Esteban, for he means well 
 enough," said Arthur, sitting up and looking around. 
 
Native Narcotics and Incense. 295 
 
 Then he threw off his brother s arms, after giving 
 him a hearty hug, stood up, and stretched him 
 self. 
 
 " I m perfectly well, and don t feel at all worse, 
 except for a slight headache. You know, of course, 
 why I did it, Hart. I want to see the Queen and 
 her court, and as that was one of the conditions, I 
 accepted it, after coming to the conclusion that I 
 could place implicit trust in Esteban." 
 
 " Well," retorted his brother, tartly, " you are credu 
 lous, and I suppose that I ve lost my only chance. 
 But no matter. You go along whenever Esteban is 
 ready, and I ll stay here till you come back." 
 
 " I don t want to go without you, Hart," pleaded 
 Arthur. " Perhaps Esteban will let you go, anyway. 
 Won t you, Esteban ? " 
 
 The old man shook his head, though betraying no 
 animosity toward Hartley, only perfect indifference. 
 
 " No, he has not been purified. He cannot go 
 before the Queen." 
 
 "Purified? Hear him, will you? I guess I m 
 as good as he is, with all his boasted virtues, though 
 I may not be a saint." 
 
 " Maybe, maybe," muttered Esteban. " No saint 
 myself; but Queen is angel. Come, my master," 
 addressing Arthur, " let Esteban fumigate you with 
 this incense of precious gums, then we will start; for 
 the way is long, your fast will be prolonged, your 
 hunger great." 
 
296 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 "My! but that smells good!" exclaimed Hartley. 
 " Here, fumigate me, too." But Esteban, who had 
 brought out a censer made by cutting a calabash in 
 halves and attaching to it strings of twisted bark, 
 waved him aside, as he proceeded to envelop Arthur 
 in a fragrant cloud. 
 
 " No, no, you not in right state of mind," he said 
 to Hartley. "Your brother all right. Now he has 
 complied with all the rules, he will go with me. You 
 stay here, and if sometime you repent, then quien 
 sabt? who knows ? you may be permitted to see 
 Indian Queen." 
 
 " Oh, I m not so smitten. Guess I ll survive. 
 Good-by, Art. Don t let her turn your head, and 
 come back soon as you can." 
 
 " Good-by, Hart. You re not offended, I hope ? " 
 
 " Not at all. But you must get back to-morrow, 
 Art, or day after, for it will be very lonely here with 
 out you, remember." 
 
 "Yes, Hart, to-morrow, or day after. Can t we, 
 Esteban ? " 
 
 " To-morrow, manana, oh yes, certainly." But 
 he added aside, " That word means next day and 
 perhaps next week, or century ! " 
 
 As they were starting Hartley noticed that Este 
 ban had, in addition to the ordinary equipment for a 
 journey, both the old Toledos, the Conquistadores 
 swords, which he carried carefully, even with rever 
 ence. They had been placed in a corner of the hut, 
 
Native Narcotics and Incense. 297 
 
 objects of almost as much adoration to Esteban as if 
 they were gods or fetiches. Asked to explain it, he 
 said that they took him back to the time when the 
 Spaniards came here and the terrible deeds they 
 committed with them. 
 
 " Ah, they were valiant swordsmen, those Conquis- 
 tadores," he told the boys. " They were fierce and 
 cruel, but very brave and expert with the sword and 
 cross-bow. Why, they would repeatedly, when at 
 play, cut off the heads of several Indians, each at a 
 single -blow. Yes, indeed. They thought nothing of 
 cleaving an Indian s skull to the chin at one swift 
 stroke. They used to lop off heads as if they were 
 the tops of turnips, and of no more value in the sight 
 of God." 
 
 " But what do you want of both swords, Esteban ?" 
 demanded Hartley of the Moor. " Better leave one 
 for me; one is mine, anyway, you know." 
 
 " Want to show them to Queen," muttered Este 
 ban. " She has heard about old Toledos, with which 
 her ancestors heads were cut off in sport by the 
 Spaniards, and these will interest her. Stick one up 
 each side her throne, and her subjects think all the 
 Spaniards at last subdued. Make them feel good." 
 
 " I don t care how it will make them feel. One of 
 those swords is mine, and I think it s mighty cool of 
 you to take it along without even as much as by 
 your leave. 
 
 "Oh, let him have it, what difference does it 
 
298 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 make ? " said Arthur. " Surely you don t need it for 
 defence, do you ? " 
 
 "No, you got your big and little thunder gun, you 
 got arquebuse," added Esteban. " And then, nobody 
 here to make you afraid. Nobody but yourself." 
 
 "Well, then, go along. It really doesn t matter. 
 Adios ! " 
 
 Hartley strolled back to the hut and affected to be 
 employed in putting it in order ; but when his brother, 
 overcome at the thought of leaving him alone and in 
 low spirits, darted back to throw his arms around him 
 once more, there were tears in his eyes. 
 
 " I won t go, Hart, if you feel badly about it," 
 asserted Arthur, for the second time. " Really, I don t 
 like to leave you this way." 
 
 " Nonsense," ejaculated Hartley, already ashamed 
 of his tears. " I was angry, that s all, to be dictated 
 to by such an ignoramus as Esteban. Now go, for 
 the sooner you are off the sooner you get back." 
 
 He gave Arthur a hearty squeeze and pushed him 
 out of the hut. When next he looked up the two 
 were far beyond the sugar-cane field, and soon after 
 had disappeared from sight. 
 
 It was well toward noon when what appeared to 
 be the eastern wall of the valley, as seen from Este- 
 ban s hut, loomed directly above the travellers. All 
 egress was seemingly barred, but when Arthur asked 
 Esteban how they were to get through he explained 
 that this was not the real boundary of the valley, 
 
Native Narcotics and Incense. 299 
 
 only a false division barrier. " However," he went 
 on, " though there is a way through, I am not at 
 liberty to let you see it ; you must now submit to be 
 blindfolded." 
 
 There was nothing else to do, so the young man 
 allowed Esteban to tie a handkerchief over his eyes, 
 though with many misgivings as to the wisdom of 
 such a course. It occurred to him that perhaps the 
 Moor might be guilty of treachery, after all, and 
 having found it difficult to dispose of both his guests, 
 had taken this means of enticing him away from his 
 brother, in order to accomplish his purpose more 
 easily. 
 
 But he submitted, and soon after was told to stoop, 
 having done which and at the same time moved for 
 ward in a crouching position, he found himself in 
 a cave, or subterranean passage, as he was con 
 vinced by the dampness of the air. Half an hour 
 later they emerged into daylight once more, and the 
 sound of murmuring waters below told the blinded 
 one that they were moving along the bank of a 
 stream. Then they plunged into a thick wood, to 
 pass through which took about an hour, Esteban 
 guiding Arthur s footsteps carefully all the time. 
 The wood was silent, except now and then for the 
 shrill cry of an eagle, but when the open was reached 
 beyond it a flood of melody from the throats of 
 a great number of birds saluted the ears of the 
 travellers. 
 
300 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 " Es el Paradiso Indio this is Indian Paradise 
 at last," said Esteban, at the same time removing the 
 bandage from Arthur s eyes. " Look ! is it not 
 beautiful ; and listen ! do not the birds sing joyously ? 
 It is but a mile, now, to the palace of the Queen." 
 
 They were standing on a low hill, at the base of 
 which ran a sparkling stream, winding amid groups 
 of palms and bamboo clumps over pebbles of glisten 
 ing quartz. The vale outspread here was just about 
 large enough to be bounded by the vision, and was 
 terminated by the same great walls that held its 
 sister valley in their embrace ; but the scenery was 
 yet more pleasing, with feathery-foliaged palms 
 crowning hundreds of swelling knolls, and the inter 
 vales, filled apparently with richest soil, in a high 
 state of cultivation. All the products of the tropical 
 flora were here, both wild and cultivated, and their 
 mingled foliage gave that pleasing diversity of aspect 
 which can be seen in no other region than the torrid 
 zone. 
 
 Descending the hill and wading the stream, Este 
 ban led the way to a grassy level of many acres, 
 intersected by an avenue of royal palms, which came 
 down from the mountain wall on the south and 
 pursued its majestic course northward until finally 
 lost in distance. Passing between the column-like 
 trunks of two great palms, the travellers reached the 
 centre of the avenue, and facing about, Esteban 
 directed his companion s attention southward. A 
 
Native Narcotics and Incense. 301 
 
 cry of admiration burst from Arthur s lips as he 
 looked ahead, through that long tunnel overarched 
 by living canopies of green and enclosed between 
 walls of ivory-gray pillars. For, at the termination 
 of the mile-long, ascending avenue, where it ended 
 at the valley wall, stood a massive structure of stone. 
 Above it towered the cloud-reaching cliffs of rose- 
 red quartz, or porphyry, sweeping around amphithea 
 tre-like, with a fringe of forest at their bases, and 
 a great knoll in front, verdure clad and palm- 
 besprinkled. 
 
 As yet, there were no signs of human life, though 
 the trees and shrubbery were animate with beautiful 
 birds of choicest song and plumage. But as the 
 travellers hastened onward, on either hand appeared 
 scattered huts of palm and reeds, embowered amid 
 gardens rioting in luxuriant vegetation, with every 
 kind of fruit and vegetable found native to this 
 island. 
 
 "Where are the people?" asked Arthur, at last. 
 " I haven t seen a soul." 
 
 " Within their dwellings," replied Esteban, briefly. 
 " Until you have seen the Queen, no one else will be 
 visible." 
 
 " But I haven t heard a human voice. Not the 
 sound of one." 
 
 " No. Until you hear the Queen s voice, you will 
 hear no other. When you have heard the Queen s, 
 you will wish to hear no other ! " 
 
XXXIII. 
 
 Visions of Loveliness. 
 
 ON and on they went, Arthur wondering, Este- 
 ban dilating with pride and conscious power. 
 The sun shone through the latticed roof of palm 
 leaves overhead, making a golden pathway for them 
 as they walked. At last they came near to the 
 upper end of this royal avenue, where it broadened 
 out and formed a semicircle, sweeping around to 
 meet the columned corridors which flanked the 
 palace on one side and the other. 
 
 Instead of mounting the ranges of stone steps that 
 gave direct access to the structure before them, 
 Esteban turned off to the right and entered a palm- 
 thatched house, long and low, which stood within 
 a garden of flowers showing evidences of careful 
 culture. Like the other huts and houses they had 
 seen, this one also was silent, and when its doorway 
 had been passed was found to be tenantless. 
 
 And yet, there were signs enough of recent 
 human occupancy. The floor of beaten clay was 
 strewn with fresh reeds and flowers, two grass ham 
 mocks were suspended from the rafters, and across 
 each hammock had been thrown a white robe made 
 
 302 
 
Visions of Loveliness. 303 
 
 of silk-cotton. There was but one apartment in the 
 house, and the only furniture consisted of Indian 
 stools or benches, made of wood and shaped like 
 iguanas and alligators, with heads and tails erect, 
 jewels for eyes, and broad backs. 
 
 Depositing in a corner the burden he had carried 
 all day long so patiently, Esteban told Arthur to 
 retire behind a screen of leaves hung at the farther 
 end of the room, divest himself of his dust-stained 
 outer garments, and put on one of the robes, which 
 he then gave him for the purpose. He would find 
 water in calabashes for laving his hands and face, 
 with soft towels of native cotton, already supplied. 
 
 Arthur followed his directions, and soon re-ap 
 peared garbed in the robe of silk-cotton, which was 
 as lustrous as satin, soft as down, and almost as light 
 as cobwebs. He found Esteban similarly attired, and 
 holding in his hands the Toledos, one of which he 
 gave him. 
 
 " This may seem foolish to you," he explained, 
 " but if you will follow my directions a little longer, 
 you will then be free to do as you please. In order 
 to get my Queen to allow me to present you, I had to 
 inform her you were here as an ambassador from a 
 distant sovereign from El Rey grande de los 
 Estados Unidos, from the great King of the 
 United States ; and as symbols of authority you 
 bore these swords, which had been taken from the 
 Spaniards, anciently enemies of her ancestors, in 
 
304 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 personal combat. Some intelligence of the war 
 your people had with the Spaniards in Cuba has 
 reached her, but as she, you know, cannot speak any 
 language but the aboriginal Indian, she gets very 
 little news of any sort. I am her only interpreter, 
 and a very poor one. Ah, if you could only speak 
 her language ! What a world of spiritual knowledge 
 you might unfold to this, my Queen ! " 
 
 " No doubt I can learn," answered Arthur, eagerly. 
 " Most gladly would I acquire her language, if pos 
 sible, in order to find out many things which now 
 are hidden from me." He had in mind, of course, 
 the secret of the cave, but to his credit, let it be said, 
 he also wished to add to his stock of general 
 knowledge. 
 
 The old man looked at him keenly, as though to 
 divine his thoughts, then shook his head in his char 
 acteristic way, and went on with his directions : 
 
 " Take this sword, hold it in front of you when 
 you reach yonder steps, and walk forward with your 
 eyes cast down. Do not once look up, but keep by 
 my side, for not only would I approach my Queen 
 with proper reverence, but if you appeared too bold 
 or froward she might fly and hide herself." 
 
 Outwardly calm and humble in mien, but in 
 wardly rebellious at the ridiculous spectacle he was 
 making of himself, Arthur obeyed his uncouth men 
 tor implicitly, and with head bent forward and eyes 
 seeking the ground, walked by his side. 
 
Visions of Loveliness. 305 
 
 They ascended the ranges of stone steps together, 
 entered the shadow of the portal, and halted. They 
 were at the entrance of a vast hall, how broad, how 
 long, or how high, Arthur did not venture then to 
 ascertain. They went forward, their footsteps echo 
 ing, until finally they stood in front of a broad dais 
 raised above the floor by quite a space. Above them, 
 far overhead, was a confused sound as of myriad 
 wings, but directly in front the young man heard a 
 rustling like that of silk or satin robes, and the mur 
 mur of women s voices. 
 
 Still he dared not look up, and even when he 
 heard Esteban talking in an unknown tongue, he 
 kept his gaze on the floor. At last the old man con 
 cluded his speech of presentation, and after a brief 
 silence another voice, as musical as running water 
 and with a sweet cadence in it like a wood dove s 
 note, reached his ears. Soon it ceased, and he felt 
 Esteban nudge him gently. " Look up," he whis 
 pered. " My Queen has welcomed you to her court, 
 and you must reply." 
 
 Arthur looked up, for the first time seeing what 
 was before him. When he heard the voice, he had 
 said to himself : " That is not an old crone speaking. 
 Perhaps Hart was mistaken, and the Queen may not 
 be so very aged ! " 
 
 But he was not prepared for the vision of youth 
 and loveliness that met his gaze as he looked in the 
 direction whence the voice had come. It almost took 
 
306 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 his breath away, and the little speech he had framed 
 to utter in Spanish died upon his lips. For there 
 before him, about ten feet away, was the most beauti 
 ful woman he had ever beheld. In truth, he had 
 never imagined one half so beautiful, far less had he 
 met her. She rested in a hollow, carved from the 
 living rock, clad in a white robe of flossy silk-cotton, 
 gathered at the waist by a golden girdle; on her 
 head a coronet of beaten gold, from beneath which 
 fell a flood of raven tresses ; and her eyes, black as 
 her hair, were deep and luminous. Her complexion 
 was not dark, like Esteban s, but of a creamy hue, 
 with cheeks like the heart of a pomegranate, and lips 
 coral red, between which gleamed ivory-white teeth, 
 showing in a gracious smile. 
 
 She was probably smiling at the young man s con 
 fusion ; and yet there was a startled look in her eyes, 
 and in the eyes of the dozen dusky maidens ranged 
 about her on each side the throne. For these maids 
 of honor formed a semicircle, of which the central 
 figure was their Queen, like a beautiful setting for a 
 lovelier picture. The whole scene was so unreal 
 that Arthur could hardly believe his senses ; but at 
 last, realizing that he was standing there dumb and 
 awkward, by a great effort he gained his voice and 
 made as eloquent a speech as possible under the cir 
 cumstances. But not until he noted the mystified 
 expression of the Queen s lovely face, and saw sev 
 eral of her maidens place their fingers to their shell- 
 
Visions of Loveliness. 307 
 
 like ears as if to keep out the sound of his voice, did 
 he realize that somehow he had made a grave mis 
 take. He concluded, however, with a grand perora 
 tion, in which the magnitude of his native country 
 was dilated upon, and the greatness of its ruler set 
 forth in rounded periods. 
 
 Then he turned to Esteban for the sword he held, 
 which he was to place with his own and lay at the 
 feet of the Queen ; but the Moor withheld it, saying 
 in a fierce whisper : 
 
 " What is this unknown language you have spoken 
 in ? I cannot translate it. I do not understand it. 
 Base boy, you have trifled with us all ; you have 
 shown no reverence for my Queen ! " 
 
 Arthur looked at him in astonishment. Then he 
 suddenly realized what he had done : that in his 
 confusion he had spoken in English instead of Span 
 ish, and his fine speech was worse than wasted ! 
 
 For an instant he was overcome by his emotion, 
 but soon the ridiculous feature got uppermost, and 
 he laughed aloud. This was, as it happened, the 
 one thing necessary to dispel the artificial air of 
 solemnity and ceremony about the affair, for his 
 laugh was followed by a musical peal from the Queen 
 herself, in which her maidens were not slow to join. 
 They were of the kind that would much rather look 
 sweet than sour, or even solemn, and gladly wel 
 comed the opportunity for a little fun. 
 
 Not so the Moor, however, for as master of cere- 
 
308 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 monies and general manager of the court, he felt his 
 dignity offended. He seized the sword he carried 
 by the hilt, and bade Arthur take his and defend 
 himself. So sudden was his onslaught that the 
 young man had hardly time to throw himself on 
 guard when a swift stroke descended. He parried 
 it quickly, by a swift turn of the wrist, at the same 
 time throwing himself backward, but it was immedi 
 ately followed by another. This also he warded off, 
 for he was an accomplished swordsman, and he soon 
 found that he could do with Esteban as he wished. 
 The latter was perhaps an adept in the days of 
 his youth, but his joints were now rather stiff, and 
 besides his " play " was antiquated. 
 
 " Stop, Esteban," cried Arthur. " Do you want 
 me to kill you ? I can, and by the powers I will, if 
 it comes to either you or me ! Drop your sword and 
 hear me. See, your Queen motions to you ! " 
 
 Esteban s blows were wildly delivered all this 
 time, and Arthur was kept busy dodging them, so 
 that his speech was rather fragmentary ; but when 
 at last the old Moor was convinced that his Queen 
 ordered him to stop, he lowered his point. It was 
 done reluctantly, however, not from choice, and when 
 he again made as though he would take advantage of 
 the truce to run his opponent through, Arthur by a 
 swift, dexterous movement of his blade sent Esteban s 
 Toledo flying into the air across the hall, where it 
 fell with a clang upon the pavement. 
 
"TAKING THE TIPS OF HER SLENDER FINGERS, ARTHUR RAISED THEM TO 
 
 HIS LIPS." 
 
Visions of Loveliness. 309 
 
 " Now, another movement like that and I will run 
 you through," he sternly said, thoroughly aroused. 
 "If you will not respect your Queen, then you 
 shall my strength. Remember, now ! " 
 
 Esteban glared at him a moment, then bowed and 
 turned toward the throne, where, huddled together 
 like a flock of frightened partridges, the pretty brown 
 maidens had gathered about their mistress. She 
 paid no attention, either to them or to Esteban, but 
 throwing the bevy of maidens aside, rose from her 
 seat, walked toward the astonished young man, and 
 held out her hand. Taking the tips of her slender 
 fingers in his, Arthur raised them to his lips, after 
 the manner which he had read in books of chivalry 
 the gallant knights-errant used toward their liege 
 ladies. 
 
 "My!" he said to himself, "but I m glad Hart 
 isn t here to see this. I should never hear the last 
 of it! But I suppose, though, this is the proper 
 thing to do ! " 
 
 It seemed to have been expected, for the lady 
 beamed upon him approvingly; then, flashing upon 
 poor Esteban a glance of scorn, she swept back to 
 her seat upon the throne. 
 
 Now, this was not a happy state of affairs for 
 Arthur, any more than it was agreeable to the Moor, 
 for the latter was the only medium of communication 
 of the former with the Queen, who could not under 
 stand a word of either Spanish or English. Esteban 
 
310 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 must be propitiated, of course, and Arthur set him 
 self to the task with all the address he could com 
 mand. He finally convinced the sullen Moor that 
 his speech in English was not intended as an affront, 
 and offered to make it over, as nearly as he could 
 recollect, in Spanish, which Esteban would translate 
 to the Queen. 
 
 This offer was communicated to her Majesty, who 
 was gracious enough to signify her pleasure for them 
 to proceed ; and so the whole thing was gone over 
 again almost word for word, only in Spanish this 
 time, which Esteban translated into Indian. 
 
 The Queen and her ladies of honor seemed very 
 much impressed with the grandeur of " los Estados 
 Unidos del Norte America, y el Rey grande" and 
 after the swords were finally presented in due form, 
 the court was declared adjourned. 
 
XXXIV. 
 
 Queen of the Golden Flower. 
 
 WHEN we say the court was declared adjourned, 
 we mean to imply merely that the proceed 
 ings before it came to an end. There was no formal 
 adjournment, no bespangled page or equerry to blow 
 a trumpet and wake the echoes while he announced 
 it as the pleasure of the Queen that the ceremonies 
 should cease. No, indeed. When the presentation 
 had been made, there was nothing more to do ; so 
 the Queen left her massive throne with a sigh of 
 relief, gave a command to her maidens, and away 
 they went, stately Queen and graceful maids of 
 honor, trooping out toward the sunshine. 
 
 The great hall was dark and gloomy. Outside the 
 sun shone, birds sang, and flowers filled the air with 
 perfume ; but having no orders to follow after, the 
 Moor and the young American stood where they 
 were. At the topmost step, however, the Queen 
 seemed to bethink herself of her guests, and sent a 
 maiden back to notify them that it was her pleas 
 ure they should meet her at a kiosk in the garden. 
 So they followed after at a respectful distance, the 
 Moor and the Yankee, each thinking hard what he 
 
 3" 
 
The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 should do next, and wondering when and how he 
 should do it. 
 
 The Moor, as may have already been made quite 
 apparent, was a capricious old fellow. Just when one 
 expected him to be something or other, he was pretty 
 sure to be something else. Arthur fully expected 
 him to be surly and jealous, now, owing to the unusual 
 attention that he Arthur had received from the 
 Queen. But it would seem from his behavior now 
 that it was, of all things, that which he would have 
 chosen to happen. He was not only cheerful, but 
 actually overflowing with good spirits. Instead, then, 
 of proving a veritable dog in the manger, as he might 
 have done, he showed what a really noble nature was 
 his, by making himself particularly agreeable. As they 
 walked out to meet the ladies, he said to Arthur : 
 
 " My boy, you have pleased my Queen, and I am 
 truly glad. Lo, these many moons, yea, for several 
 months, she has been depressed and unhappy ; now, 
 as you see, she is exhilarated. Your coming has in 
 fused new life into the court. I never saw her and 
 her maidens so light-hearted and gay. It is strange, 
 too, for though you are a good, wholesome-looking 
 boy, smooth of speech and fair to look upon, there is 
 nothing really extraordinary in your appearance." 
 
 " Perhaps you mistake the cause of it all," answered 
 Arthur, modestly. " Perhaps the sight of the Toledos 
 may have awakened tender memories, or the informa 
 tion we imparted have aroused her soul." 
 
Queen of the Golden Flower. 313 
 
 " True, it may have been. At all events, her leth 
 argy is broken. Now, listen : you will need me as an 
 interpreter, for no word, either of Spanish or Eng 
 lish, does she understand. But not for long. I will 
 give you a few key words, by which you will soon find 
 the road to conversation, and in a few days, at most, 
 you will be able to dispense with my presence. Her 
 language, as you should know, is the ancient Arawak, 
 once spoken in all the islands of the Indies. If you 
 can only master that, or a portion of it, you can easily 
 converse with her and my people. It is not hard to 
 learn." 
 
 "Arawak?" exclaimed Arthur. "Why, I have a 
 vocabulary containing the principal words in that 
 language, given me by a learned professor before I 
 left the States. It is in a pocket of my coat, which 
 I left in the house where we changed our garments." 
 
 "Good!" rejoined Esteban. "You will not need 
 me at all, perhaps. I will go get it while you proceed 
 to the kiosk, that little building under the palms, 
 straight ahead of you." 
 
 Esteban hastened off to find the pamphlet, while 
 Arthur did as directed and followed his nose. As 
 he neared the kiosk he heard the sound of laughter 
 coming forth from it, and when he appeared at the 
 entrance, the Queen looked up with a smile and in 
 vited him by a gesture to seat himself by her side. 
 
 The maidens looked aghast at this breach of royal 
 etiquette, but they offered no protest in words. In- 
 
314 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 deed, when they thought it over, they could find no 
 precedent, either, for anything at all that had hap 
 pened that day, since no one had ever been received 
 before at their court. It was a novelty, and as they 
 had been almost dying for a novelty, when this young 
 man came and gave them a new sensation, they con 
 cluded that his advent was a blessing. At all events, 
 their Queen could do no wrong, and as she had in 
 vited him to sit beside her, of course that must be 
 right. 
 
 Summoning all his courage, Arthur took the indi 
 cated seat, though he would have preferred to stand 
 in her presence, and tried to look unconscious of the 
 united gaze, now turned upon him, of thirteen lovely 
 damsels. Of course he failed in this most miserably, 
 and in a minute was blushing furiously, despite his 
 brave attempt to look unconcerned. If there had 
 only been pockets of some kind in that robe of state, 
 in which he could have hidden his hands, or if he 
 could have spoken even a single word to the Queen, 
 in any language whatever, his dreadful embarrassment 
 might have been somewhat relieved. 
 
 But the Queen and her maidens did not understand 
 a sensation they had never experienced, as they were 
 so simple and direct that the thought of confusion or 
 embarrassment never entered their minds. When, 
 therefore, they saw the red blood streak the young 
 man s cheeks, their curiosity was greatly excited. 
 Her own cheeks and those of her maidens were as 
 
Queen of the Golden Flower. 315 
 
 plump and fruity-hued as a mango, with a rich blush 
 that rarely changed, and she was puzzled. She held 
 out both hands with a helpless gesture, and as she 
 did so could not but notice the difference between 
 them and his ; her own, though so shapely and slen 
 der, being golden brown in hue, while his showed 
 white, and the blue veins could be traced through all 
 the tan. 
 
 This fact formed another theme for speculation, 
 and drew attention anew to the hapless Arthur, when 
 finally, to his great comfort, the situation was relieved 
 by the appearance of Esteban with the book. 
 
 As he explained what it was to the Queen, her in 
 terest was at once excited and she seized it eagerly. 
 She presumably had never seen a printed page 
 before, and when told that every word had a mean 
 ing and that her own language was by these words 
 made intelligible to the stranger, her wonder and 
 enthusiasm knew no bounds. 
 
 Nor were the maidens less wonderstruck than their 
 Queen, for the mere fact that a spoken speech could 
 be preserved in letters and fixed forever in type was 
 also new to them, apparently. 
 
 They gathered close around while Arthur, now no 
 longer embarrassed, since he had something to fix 
 his attention, played the rdle of schoolmaster to this 
 band of grown-up children. 
 
 Esteban acted as interpreter, at first, in order to set 
 the wheel of knowledge going round, then quietly 
 
316 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 slipped away and left the young schoolmaster to his 
 own resources. The latter did not notice his depar 
 ture, so absorbed was he in his new vocation, neither 
 probably did any of his pupils. All eyes were fixed on 
 the book, only to be removed when it was necessary 
 to seek some object, inside the kiosk or out, for which 
 a name was desired, or as a means of comparison. 
 
 Lightly touching the robe the Queen had on, 
 Arthur desired her to give its name. He could not 
 ask the question in words, but she readily divined 
 his meaning, and answered at once. Then other 
 objects were named, the Queen giving the Arawak 
 and Arthur the Spanish, or English, both turning to 
 the book for the equivalent words, thus fixing them 
 in memory. It was in this manner that they soon 
 came to a common ground for understanding. The 
 Arawak for a hut or house was " bokio" for the 
 country of the Queen s ancestors, " Quisqutya" by 
 which all the western part of Santo Domingo was 
 known. When the Queen saw Arthur turn to the 
 word in print and pronounce it correctly before 
 she had told him how, she was surprised beyond 
 measure. 
 
 She chatted awhile with her maidens, then turned 
 to the master and pointing to herself said, " Ana-ca- 
 o-na." Arthur bowed low, and turning to the vocabu 
 lary found the word and its meaning, " Anacaona, or 
 the Golden Flower Queen of the Golden Flower." 
 The Queen had meant to tell him that her name was 
 
Queen of the Golden Flower. 317 
 
 Anacaona, and he had shown her not only that her 
 name was in his vocabulary, but that it signified in 
 English the Golden Flower, in Spanish, " Flor del 
 Oro ! " 
 
 On receipt of this information the Queen was 
 greatly excited. She rose, and pacing up and down 
 declaimed to her maidens in musical speech some 
 thing Arthur could not understand, but the purport 
 of which he could readily guess. Many days after 
 ward, when they had progressed further, the Queen 
 told Arthur the story, which he had already divined 
 and which for the sake of continuity will be narrated 
 now. 
 
 She bore a historic name. The first Anacaona 
 ever known to Europeans was the sister of Caonabo, 
 the chief whose fortunes we have followed now and 
 then already. She was married to a cacique named 
 Behechio, who lived on the side of the mountains far 
 distant from the first settlements founded by the 
 Spaniards, and so for a few years after their arrival 
 was exempt from disturbance by them. But the time 
 came, and it was just after Columbus had been sent 
 home to Spain from this island in chains, that Be 
 hechio was hounded down and murdered. 
 
 Don Bartholomew, the noble brother of Christopher 
 Columbus, who was " Adelantado " of Santo Domingo, 
 had charge of all matters while the Admiral was away. 
 In his marches about the island to keep his own 
 people, the Spaniards, in subjection, he encountered 
 
3 1 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the forces sent out by Behechio s widow to oppose the 
 invaders. As he had no evil intention toward them, 
 Don Bartholomew marched into the town where 
 Anacaona resided, and was received by her in great 
 state. He and his soldiers were feasted and enter 
 tained with Indian games, and when they finally 
 parted from their new-found friends it was with feel 
 ings of good-will on either side. 
 
 Anacaona was a tall and stately dame, handsome 
 and hospitable. Don Bartholomew was a soldier, 
 every inch of him, honest and dignified, and one who 
 could appreciate beauty and goodness at its full 
 worth. So it was not long before he paid another 
 visit to the Queen of the Golden Flower, and was, 
 if possible, even more pleasantly entertained. It was 
 on his return from this second visit that he was met 
 by messengers from the new governor, who had been 
 sent out by King Ferdinand, who ordered him to 
 report forthwith at the capital. Arrived there, Don 
 Bartholomew found his brother Christopher in prison, 
 where he himself soon joined him, and soon after 
 ward both were sent home to Spain in chains. 
 
 The new governor was superseded by another, the 
 ever infamous Nicolas de Ovando, who was a knight 
 of high degree but at the same time the most mur 
 derous scoundrel that ever came from Spain to the 
 shores of America. Learning that Anacaona had 
 entertained Don Bartholomew Columbus, he became 
 suspicious of her at once, and set out to punish her. 
 
Queen of the Golden Flower. 319 
 
 When she heard of his coming, she set forth the 
 same sort of entertainment she had given Don Bar 
 tholomew, invited him to a banquet, and feasted him 
 and all his soldiers. But, when the feasting was at 
 its height, this bloodthirsty Spaniard gave a pre 
 arranged signal to his soldiers, and they fell upon 
 the unsuspicious Indians so fiercely that nearly all 
 were slaughtered without offering any resistance at 
 all. Queen Anacaona herself was seized and bound, 
 taken to the capital and burned alive, on a spot 
 where a statue of herself and Columbus may be seen 
 to-day. 
 
 These are the historical facts about the original 
 Anacaona, "Queen of the Golden Flower," whose 
 descendant the beautiful maiden found by Arthur 
 hidden away in the mountains of the island claimed 
 to be. She was perhaps a queen or princess only in 
 name, and one with very few subjects to do her 
 honor ; but she was lovely enough, Arthur thought, 
 both in appearance and character, to merit more than 
 an insignificant kingdom in the midst of a wilder 
 ness, like the one she ruled over when he discovered 
 her. 
 
XXXV. 
 
 A Royal Road to Learning. 
 
 THAT was certainly a royal road to learning 
 along which Arthur and his pupils were trav 
 elling at such a rapid pace. 
 
 Before the day was ended they had come to quite 
 a good understanding as to many of the objects with 
 which at noon neither had a mutual acquaintance. It 
 may have been owing to the fact that these maidens 
 were by nature receptive and that they had so long 
 been deprived of mental food. They were as crea 
 tures starving for intellectual nourishment, and they 
 absorbed with great avidity every mite that was put 
 before them. Beginning, as we have seen, with the 
 objects immediately at hand, the master extended his 
 excursions little by little, until not only nouns but 
 verbs and adjectives became the subjects of their 
 attacks. 
 
 Without going so far into the subject that there 
 may be danger of getting beyond our depth, let us 
 take one or two examples in the word-building system 
 by which the young master and his pupils came to a 
 common plane of conversation. It must be remem 
 bered, in the first place, that the really essential words 
 
 320 
 
A Royal Road to Learning. 321 
 
 in any language that is, the words essential to the 
 carrying on of a simple conversation and express 
 ing actual needs are comparatively few in number. 
 Some writers say a thousand will do, others even 
 declare they can get along with a few hundred. 
 
 Now, for example, there was the word Bo-he-chio y 
 which was derived from bo t meaning " great " ; kec, 
 a "chief" or "sovereign"; and hio, a "country": 
 Bohechio, "the ruler over a great country." The 
 Queen s name was formed from Ana, a "flower," and 
 caona, "fine gold": Anacaona, "the flower of fine 
 gold." 
 
 Likewise the name of Caonabo, the brother of her 
 remote ancestor, was derived from Caona, " fine gold," 
 and bo, a " chief " or " cacique." So we have from 
 this Caonabo, " the golden cacique," or as some have 
 translated it, " Chief of the Golden House." Which 
 ever way we read, the words mean that he was lord 
 over a golden treasure; and this again leads us up 
 to the object which the young men had in sight when 
 they first started out on their adventures. So now, 
 link by link, the chain was being forged by which 
 Arthur hoped to draw that golden treasure from its 
 hiding-place in these very mountains. 
 
 When in the course of their study they came to 
 such words as these, the Queen would launch forth 
 into a little speech, of which only a word was now 
 and then intelligible to Arthur ; but from her gestures 
 he knew that it was of that very treasure she was 
 
322 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 speaking, for she pointed toward the mountain wall 
 back of them, and mentioned the words for gold and 
 Caonabo several times. He " kept track" of all 
 these straws that might show him the drift of the 
 current, and a few days later as we shall see 
 gathered them into a chain of evidence that led him 
 straight into the veritable cavern holding the cacique s 
 gold. 
 
 After several hours of work, and when at last the 
 sun was sinking toward the horizon, the pretty stu 
 dents showed signs of weariness. There were many 
 half-stifled yawns on the part of the maids of honor, 
 and even the eager Queen could no longer keep her 
 attention to the task. So, when Arthur noticed it, he 
 concluded to bring the lesson to an end with two 
 words which he knew would touch sympathetic 
 chords. One was " areito" the name for the ancient 
 Indian songs, and the other " diumba" an indigenous 
 dance. 
 
 As he uttered them the Queen rose and gave a sig 
 nal. Standing in the centre of the kiosk, with her 
 maidens ranged around her in a circle, she started a 
 chant, the refrain of which they took up at intervals, 
 keeping time to their rhythmic measures by a slow- 
 stepping dance. The music was a wild, weird melody 
 of unearthly sweetness, and as it died away left a 
 haunting impression of unutterable sadness. The 
 areito was the ancient Indian chant to their gods, 
 whom they imagined dwelt in a vast cavern, prob-- 
 
A Royal Road to Learning. 323 
 
 ably the very one by which the boys had entered the 
 valley, and of whom they made little images which 
 they called " zemes" and worshipped as their repre 
 sentatives. The Indian ancestors of the Queen had 
 no conception of the true God, who reigns supreme 
 in the heavens, maker of all created things ; and it 
 was probable, Arthur thought, that Anacaona still 
 shared their erroneous beliefs in the efficacy of 
 appeals to images of wood and stone. When his 
 knowledge of her language should be sufficient for 
 the purpose, he vowed to himself he would find out 
 the true status of her religious belief, and if possible 
 set her right in the matter as it seemed right to him. 
 
 But the dance and song were ended. While the 
 weary maidens waited, the Queen extended her hand 
 to Arthur and thanked him for his endeavors to 
 enlighten her ignorance, promising to renew the 
 meeting on the morrow. He did not understand all 
 she said, and it was mainly through her keen intui 
 tion that she grasped his meaning when he stammered 
 something about being obliged to return early the 
 next day to his brother. She knew he had a brother, 
 for Esteban had told her ; and he knew and used the 
 Arawak term for brother, so she readily guessed the 
 rest. 
 
 To reassure him she said, " Esteban go to-mor 
 row, come brother." 
 
 Arthur s look of alarm disconcerted her for a mo 
 ment, but she added, * Esteban ni-ta-i-no good per- 
 
324 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 son," and nodded her pretty head emphatically. 
 Then she said, "Till to-morrow," and pointing to a 
 small boy, who had come noiselessly into the kiosk 
 meanwhile, she walked away, followed by her train. 
 
 Arthur understood, of course, that the boy was to 
 be his guide, or valet, and when he beckoned went 
 after him without a word. The youngster led the 
 way to a thatched hut within a garden, and standing 
 aside at the entrance bade him enter. Within he 
 found a hammock swung, a dim light fitfully gleam 
 ing from a torch of gum wood, and a table set for him 
 with every viand known to the Indian cuisine. 
 
 His little valet, who was about ten years old, nearly 
 naked as to costume, and shapely as a cupid, antici 
 pated every want, and when the meal was over 
 cleared away the table, set the house in order, and 
 then signified that unless required further he would 
 go. Arthur tried to make friends and talk with him, 
 but the child was as timid as a fawn, and when he 
 saw that no further service was actually required of 
 him, took to his heels and disappeared. 
 
 So Arthur was left alone to reflect upon the 
 strange occurrences of the day. So strange, indeed, 
 they seemed but the disordered fancies of a dream, 
 rather than the sober happenings of wakeful hours. 
 The thought uppermost, however, was of his brother. 
 What had happened to him, while he was basking in 
 the favor of the Queen and her court? He re 
 proached himself with thoughtlessness, and when 
 
A Royal Road to Learning. 325 
 
 he recalled the silent slipping away of the Moor, so 
 evidently desirous of escaping without attracting his 
 attention, his heart sank within him, for he feared he 
 might yet prove treacherous. 
 
 Still, the Queen was honest, pure as daylight, 
 sweet as sunlight, and she had assured him in effect 
 that no harm should come to Hartley ; in fact, that 
 she herself had sent for him. And thus, with his 
 last waking thoughts of these two, Arthur finally fell 
 asleep, and when he awoke the birds were singing 
 their matins. 
 
 Little- Cupid was on hand to conduct Arthur to 
 the bath, which was in a pool of pearl-tinted water 
 beneath a palm, where a gurgling brook ran slowly 
 between the bamboo banks at the foot of the garden. 
 While his master was in the water Cupid climbed a 
 palm tree and threw down some cocoanuts. Then 
 he descended, cut off the end of a nut with a big 
 knife, and presented it to Arthur with its ivory cup 
 filled with a cool and delicious liquid that he drank 
 with pleasure. Speeding ahead of him to the hut, 
 the boy had a cup of coffee awaiting Arthur when 
 he arrived, and also a calabash piled high with fruits. 
 There were all sorts, such as oranges, pineapples, 
 custard apples, mangos, guavas, and sapadillas, 
 which grew in the gardens everywhere and were 
 so abundant that many were never gathered at all, 
 and so went to waste. 
 
 Arthur had hoped for some news of his brother by 
 
326 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 this time. But the morning went and noon drew 
 nigh, and still no tidings, good or bad. He felt that 
 he would have gone to him, if he had but known the 
 way ; but that interval which he had traversed blind 
 folded it was impossible for him now to bridge. 
 Esteban may have been merely taking ordinary pre 
 cautions in observing so much secrecy, but it would 
 appear that there was a method in all he did. If 
 Arthur had but known, something was transpiring 
 over the ridge that was to affect all his future and 
 bring about a change of fortune which was to decide 
 his destiny. But he knew only that Esteban came 
 not, and no message from Hartley reached him that 
 forenoon. 
 
 It was with a sad heart, and oppressed by many 
 forebodings, that he obeyed a command from the 
 Queen and met her and the maidens in the kiosk. 
 They were merry, at all events, and their high spirits 
 were infectious, particularly when the Queen shook 
 her head at sight of his gloomy countenance and 
 bade him be of good cheer. 
 
 " He will come," she said. " He will come," the 
 merry maidens repeated ; although it is doubtful if 
 they understood what they said. 
 
 The lessons dragged wearily that day, and at last 
 the Queen perceived that her teacher s thoughts were 
 far away, and in order to divert him proposed a 
 ramble through the groves. Arthur had expressed 
 wonder that he had seen so few people in the valley, 
 
A Royal Road to Learning. 327 
 
 and she said playfully she would show him some. 
 So they trooped along, a merry, chattering band, 
 visiting house after house, and the young man was 
 surprised to find every one filled with smiling women 
 and children, subjects of the Queen, who, the moment 
 she appeared, prostrated themselves before her, their 
 faces to the ground. 
 
 She raised them all, every one, with words of cheer, 
 and laughingly bade them proceed with their em 
 ployments. Some were weaving wonderful blankets 
 and scarfs of wool and cotton on primitive looms, 
 some were making pottery, which others were adorn 
 ing with strange figures, others were working as gold 
 smiths and evoking forms of plants and animals from 
 the precious metal with blowpipes and fires of char 
 coal. Out in the fields and in the gardens, men and 
 boys were cultivating the soil, using no other instru 
 ments than sharp sticks for ploughs and hoes. All 
 were busy, all quiet, and without an exception all 
 seemed happy and contented. 
 
 What particularly struck Arthur as very strange 
 was the universal youthfulness of all, for there seemed 
 to be no old people in the valley. Some might have 
 reached middle age, and many others were appar 
 ently in their teens, but there were no aged persons. 
 Arthur tried to explain to the Queen his astonish 
 ment at this, but either she had become accustomed 
 to the fact, or else she could not understand him, for 
 he got no satisfaction from her. She had left off 
 
328 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 her golden coronet, and her wealth of black tresses 
 was adorned merely with brilliant flowers, which, if 
 possible, enhanced her rare beauty and made her 
 seem more youthful than she appeared the day be 
 fore. But for her stately mien, and the look of com 
 mand in her eyes which was ever present, even when 
 she smiled, she might have been taken for one of 
 her own maids of honor, as she tripped so daintily 
 about with sandalled feet. 
 
XXXVI. 
 
 The Cacique s Treasure at Last. 
 
 THOUGH the students were afield, their lessons 
 were being studied just the same. Their 
 open book was Nature, and from its pages they read 
 as they ran. 
 
 A plant grew in a garden near the avenue through 
 which they were passing. It had broad, velvety 
 leaves and was a conspicuous object, even amongst 
 so much strange vegetation. One of the maids 
 pointed to it, and said to Arthur, " Coiba" and an 
 other said " Tabaco" rubbing her palms together as 
 if rolling the leaves between them. By this, of 
 course, Arthur understood that it was the tobacco 
 plant, the use, or abuse, of which the Indians knew 
 centuries ago. " Pipa, cachimbo" said the Queen, 
 pursing up her coral lips as if puffing out smoke, and 
 looking at the young man roguishly. This was 
 meant to imply that the tobacco was smoked in a 
 pipe Indian, cachimbo a pipe with a double stem, 
 like the letter Y. 
 
 Many names which they gave him as those of 
 plants and trees, and which they derived from their 
 
 329 
 
33 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 ancestors, are those by which they are known in 
 some parts of the civilized world to-day. Among 
 these are the cacao, or cocoa tree, from which the 
 chocolate bean is obtained ; caoban, or mahogany ; 
 coco, or cocoa palm ; ceiba, or silk-cotton ; aji, or 
 red pepper ; guaba, or guava fruit, from which 
 the delicious jelly is made; guayabo, a forest tree; 
 yucca, an edible root ; cana, a reed, etc. In this 
 manner, by taking object lessons out of Nature s 
 open book, as already stated, these students acquired 
 and conveyed information of mutual interest. 
 
 But still, notwithstanding the Queen s attempt to 
 interest her guest, the anxious look on his face did 
 not quite disappear. Her sympathetic nature could 
 not endure this longer without means of expressing 
 her deep concern, and she strove to find some word 
 or words to convey her feelings. If she could have 
 found those words there is no doubt she would have 
 offered him the half of her kingdom, if only he would 
 have been made happy thereby. As they walked 
 along the royal avenue, above them the o erarching 
 fronds of the palms, in front the towering palace 
 walls, the Queen hung her head in thought. At last 
 she threw it back with a rapid movement that sent 
 her tresses rippling to her waist, and commanding 
 Arthur s attention by a glance said to him : 
 
 " Caona, Cacique Behechio Caonabo, bohio" at the 
 same time pointing in the direction of the palace. 
 What she meant to convey was : " There is the 
 
The Cacique s Treasure at Last. 331 
 
 house containing the golden treasures of Caciques 
 Caonabo and Behechio." 
 
 She watched eagerly his change of expression, and 
 noted with satisfaction the brightening of his eyes 
 and his heightened color. He was no longer list 
 less or distrait, but wide awake and alert. " Come, 
 then," she said in Arawak, and seizing one of his 
 hands. " If only that is necessary to make you 
 happy, it shall be yours." 
 
 He did not understand her words, but there was 
 no mistaking the meaning, for her beautiful face was 
 eloquent with a generous impulse. Arthur laughed 
 for the first time that day, as he found himself borne 
 forward by the Queen and her maidens in their im 
 petuous charge upon the palace. In a few moments 
 they were waking the echoes of the great corridor 
 with the patter of their feet and the sound of their 
 voices. They traversed the hall, which Arthur now 
 saw was not of man s handiwork, but of Nature s 
 forming, being the vast vestibule to a cavern. The 
 columns were stalactites and stalagmites, some of 
 them almost translucent and wonderfully regular in 
 their arrangement. Even the throne, which in his 
 confusion of the day before Arthur would have 
 sworn was carved from ivory or alabaster, was a 
 natural formation, though it had been rough-hewn 
 into shape by some aboriginal sculptor. The Queen 
 laughed merrily as she saw him gazing at the now 
 vacant seat which she had graced with her presence 
 
332 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the day before, and at a signal her maids ranged 
 themselves around on either side, as she sank grace 
 fully into it. 
 
 The wall seemed solid behind them and Arthur 
 was wondering where the entrance to the cavern was 
 situated, when at another sign the maids dispersed, 
 and the Queen beckoned him to come to her. First, 
 however, she requested him to take up the swords, 
 which were lying where they had been left the day 
 before, and fetch them with him. As he neared the 
 throne the Queen held out her hand, and he assisted 
 her to rise, not forgetting a respectful salute, such as 
 he had bestowed when she so graciously extended 
 her fingers after he had overcome Esteban in the 
 sword play of the preceding day. 
 
 She insisted on carrying one of the swords herself, 
 made him take the other, and thus equipped they 
 went behind the throne, where an opening was re 
 vealed large enough for them to enter while standing 
 almost erect. Stepping aside, the Queen motioned 
 Arthur to lead the way, which he did, soon finding 
 himself within a room of goodly dimensions, but not 
 so large as the hall without. It was rather dark 
 there, and after the maids had come in the Queen 
 ordered them to bring out some torches, which were 
 stacked up in a corner of the cavern. They were 
 made of fragrant gums, wrapped in bark bound about 
 with withes, and near them was a pile of flints, with 
 which the girls attempted to strike fire for the pur- 
 
The Cacique s Treasure at Last. 333 
 
 pose of lighting them. When Arthur saw their piti 
 ful efforts to bring fire from the flints, he drew from 
 his pocket a silver match-box and quickly lighted one 
 of the torches before they were aware of what he was 
 doing. 
 
 When finally they understood that he had brought 
 fire from a small bit of stick, they crowded around in 
 wonder, for they had never seen a match before and 
 were lost in- amazement. He could not do otherwise 
 than present the box to the Queen, and she received 
 it with the unfeigned pleasure that a child might have 
 manifested in a new toy. Nothing would satisfy her 
 and those other simple children of nature but experi 
 menting with the matches, until nearly all had been 
 lighted, and it was with difficulty that Arthur per 
 suaded them to keep a few for emergencies, as he 
 had no others with him, and they might be needed 
 before they got through with their investigation. 
 The Queen pouted prettily, for she was used to hav 
 ing her own way, and she did not see* why, if the 
 lighting of the matches pleased her, she should not 
 use them up. 
 
 However, after this diversion the torches were 
 finally lighted, and they all went toward the back 
 part of the room. There, indeed, a sight met their 
 eyes that drew an exclamation of astonishment and 
 delight from the young man; for, ranged against 
 the wall, on natural shelves one above another, were 
 hundreds and perhaps thousands of objects, appar- 
 
334 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 ently of solid gold. There were images of birds and 
 monkeys, uncouth deities with arms extended and 
 mouths agape, some more than two feet in height, 
 and besides these there were great nuggets, as well 
 as heaps of gold in flakes and grains. The golden 
 grains were heaped up like corn in a granary, and, 
 with the nuggets, shimmering masses of precious 
 metal, probably aggregated more than three million 
 dollars in value. 
 
 Now it was the Queen s turn to laugh, when 
 Arthur, astonished at the spectacle, turned to her 
 and asked if it were really gold those objects were 
 made of, and if those heaps were also gold all 
 through, or only on the surface. 
 
 " Caona fine gold," answered the Queen, with 
 a merry ripple of laughter. " Why not ? This is the 
 treasure of Caonabo and Behechio. It was theirs ; 
 it is mine." She told him to plunge his hand into 
 one of the heaps and he then would be convinced. 
 But he took her word for it and refused, so at her 
 command one of the maidens thrust her little brown 
 hand into a glistening heap until her arm was elbow 
 deep, and withdrew it with sparkling flakes attached, 
 as similar ones were to the hoops of the Spaniards 
 water casks in the Rio del Oro, four hundred years 
 before. 
 
 The Queen prodded some of the images with her 
 sword, and they came rattling down from their 
 perches, where they had probably sat hundreds of 
 
The Cacique s Treasure at Last. 335 
 
 years, with such a musically metallic tinkle that 
 Arthur was convinced they were, as she said, gold 
 of the finest quality. 
 
 He took up the deposed deities with great care 
 and set them back in their places, handling them 
 almost reverently, not so much for what they rep 
 resented as images, but for their intrinsic worth. 
 
 How he wished Hartley could have been there to 
 see this display of wealth, to feast his eyes on the 
 departed caciques treasures, which at last had been 
 so strangely revealed. He asked the Queen if he 
 might not take a few of the smaller objects out to 
 show his brother when they should meet again, and 
 when at last she understood the purport of his re 
 quest, she said, with a shrug of indifference : " Cer 
 tainly, take them all. This treasure once belonged 
 to my ancestors ; they are dead ; it is now mine - 
 it was mine but now it is yours, for I give it to 
 you ! " 
 
 " Give it to me ? " exclaimed Arthur, when after a 
 while he comprehended fully what she had said. 
 " Give this treasure to me ? No, no. I have done 
 nothing to earn it. Why should you ? " 
 
 Why should she, indeed ? And yet his blood 
 tingled at the possibilities, the potentialities, implied 
 by the possession of so much wealth. There was 
 gold enough here to erect a model town, enough to 
 build schools for the education of poor but deserving 
 thousands, enough to ameliorate the condition of 
 
336 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 thousands more who had to dwell in filth and misery. 
 What could he not do if all this wealth were his ? 
 
 It had lain here untouched for centuries, as useless 
 as if at the bottom of the sea ; and would it not be 
 better far if it were in the hands of some one who 
 could use it to the best advantage, who would make 
 it a blessing, and not a curse, to humanity ? 
 
 Arthur had his own views as to the uses of wealth, 
 holding that millionaires should regard themselves 
 as trustees, merely, of what the Creator gave into 
 their hands, and not the absolute owners of their 
 temporary possessions. This may be neither here nor 
 there ; but, still, he felt convinced that the oppor 
 tunity was now presented by which he could put his 
 theories into practice and become a benefactor to 
 mankind. 
 
 "Why should I ? " the Queen repeated after him. 
 " Because it is mine, and I choose to do this thing. 
 It is nothing. Take it, and do with it as you will ! " 
 
 There could be no doubt, either as to her owner 
 ship of the treasure, or her sincerity in offering it to 
 him, but still the young man was bewildered. He 
 could scarcely believe it possible for such good for 
 tune to be his. As to the Queen, now that she had 
 guided him to the treasure, her interest in the pro 
 ceeding was waning. She was evidently bored, and 
 showed her indifference by turning her back upon 
 the golden storehouse and wandering around the 
 cavern. 
 
The Cacique s Treasure at Last. 337 
 
 Beckoning her torch-bearers to accompany her, 
 she entered an opening in the wall at her left and 
 proceeded farther into the recesses of the cave. A 
 winding passage led downward, narrow and tortuous, 
 scarcely wide enough for two to walk abreast. Pos 
 sessed by some strange whim, the Queen pursued 
 her way down this dark and narrow lane between 
 the walls of rock, her pathway lighted only by the 
 fitful gleam of the torches. 
 
 She had never been there before, nor had any of 
 her maidens, and the latter followed her shaking 
 with fear. At first, Arthur stood where she had so 
 suddenly left him, uncertain what to do, since she 
 had not invited him to go with her ; but he finally 
 concluded that it was his duty to follow after, even 
 if at a little distance ; and so, with a torch in one hand 
 and his sword in the other, he walked slowly down 
 the narrow passageway. He had gone but a few 
 rods, when he was startled by a loud shriek as of 
 deadly fear or sharp agony, and a moment later, 
 hurrying forward, he witnessed a sight that caused 
 the blood to curdle in his veins. 
 
XXXVII. 
 
 The Duel Underground. 
 
 THE maidens were all hastening toward him, 
 but Arthur looked beyond them and saw the 
 Queen struggling in the grasp of a hideous monster. 
 Holding his torch aloft and brushing the girls aside, 
 as they met him and would have clung to him in 
 their fright, he pushed ahead as rapidly as the 
 nature of the path would allow, and soon was abreast 
 the monster and his victim. 
 
 The term " monster " is used in speaking of this 
 object that had seized the Queen, for no other could 
 give an impression of its horrid aspect. It was 
 unlike anything Arthur had ever seen, but seemed 
 more to resemble a gorilla than a human being, for 
 it had long, hairy arms, a low brow, small black 
 eyes which sparkled like deep-set diamonds, and a 
 huge mouth from which protruded two long fangs, 
 while its complexion was blood red. 
 
 It flashed upon Arthur, at sight of this terrible 
 being, that he must be the diablo Colorado, or " red 
 devil," of whom he had been warned at Monte Cristi. 
 But, be it man or devil, he was resolved to rescue 
 the Queen from the monster s clutches, and he took 
 
 338 
 
The Duel Underground. 339 
 
 no thought of the risk he ran in doing so, only hav 
 ing in mind the damsel s danger, and feeling that he 
 would be willing to lay down his life in her defence. 
 
 There was no time to lose, for as the fiend heard 
 him coming he tightened his grasp on the Queen s 
 slender throat, and in a very short time she would 
 have been choked to death. She lay there limp and 
 senseless, a picture of beautiful helplessness, while 
 above her the red devil grinned and glowered. 
 
 Arthur had no arms with him except the sword, 
 the mate to which was now in the possession of the 
 monster, who had seized it as the Queen let it fall 
 from her hand, when he had darted out upon her 
 from his hiding-place. As Arthur approached and 
 made as if he would spring at the creature s throat, 
 the latter interposed the body of his helpless pris 
 oner, at the same time retreating slowly to the far 
 end of the passageway, where he could set his back 
 against the wall. 
 
 The danger of advancing was now increased by 
 the fact that there were deep holes or natural wells 
 on either side the path, which yawned black and ap 
 parently fathomless, as traps for the unwary intruder. 
 Except where the dim light of the two smoking 
 torches penetrated, all was inky blackness, and thus 
 Arthur had to exercise caution, not only in approach 
 ing his enemy, but lest his torch should become extin 
 guished. Then he was thankful that he had learned 
 to fence with one hand, so that he could hold the 
 
340 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 torch aloft, and at the same time keep his guard and 
 make his thrusts. He lost no time in pressing to 
 combat, for he knew that every minute the Queen 
 remained in his grasp was taking her nearer and 
 nearer to death. 
 
 Hitherto, the monster had held the torch which he 
 had wrested from the Queen in the same hand that 
 gripped her sword, the other being employed in crush 
 ing out her life. So he was at a disadvantage, which 
 Arthur was not slow to appreciate, for seeing an 
 opportunity to get in a thrust, he sprang forward and 
 wounded him in the thigh. This made him relax 
 his grip on his prey, and the Queen dropped to the 
 ground, where she lay unconscious, while above and 
 around her waged as fierce a battle as was ever 
 fought by duellists in modern times. 
 
 Uttering a howl of rage and pain, the monster 
 shifted the sword to his right hand, leaving the torch 
 in his left, and crouched like a tiger awaiting the next 
 move of his foe. He evidently knew little of sword- 
 craft, but relied upon his superior size and strength to 
 win the victory. Arthur, as has been said, was an 
 accomplished swordsman, and he knew that if he 
 once allowed the giant to get him within arm s 
 length his chance for life was small. So he stood 
 on guard, watching every movement of his opponent. 
 The latter had the advantage of him in position, with 
 his back against a wall and a broad space in front 
 and on either side ; while Arthur was standing right 
 
The Duel Underground. 341 
 
 between two chasm-like wells, scarce ten feet apart. 
 To add to his anxiety, the apparently lifeless Queen 
 lay where but a slight push would send her rolling 
 into one or the other of the wells, where her fate 
 would be surely sealed, even if she were still alive. 
 
 He wasted no time in useless speculation, but at 
 once made up his mind as to the sort of play he 
 would use. If he allowed the giant to charge, the 
 mere weight of his huge body might send him to the 
 ground and place him at his mercy. So he resolved 
 to fight on the offensive from the first. That it was 
 to be a fight to the death, he had no doubt, for there 
 was no alternative. He felt no fear, however, and 
 was only apprehensive as to the result for the Queen s 
 and his brother s sake. For the Queen s, more im 
 mediately, since she was placed in double peril 
 through her situation. 
 
 He advanced and feinted, and, as he expected, the 
 giant rose and attempted to hew him down with a 
 crushing blow. This blow he deftly parried, and then, 
 before his opponent could recover, gave him a thrust 
 in the shoulder that made him yell with pain. 
 
 The sword did not go so deeply as Arthur had in 
 tended, yet it was difficult to withdraw, and it flashed 
 upon the young man that the giant was defended 
 by chain armor. This proved to be so, and Arthur at 
 once recognized the futility of dealing body blows, 
 and devoted his attention to the monster s throat and 
 arms. But he had to reach so far for his throat, and 
 
342 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 the arms flew about so like the sails of a windmill, 
 that it was no easy matter, after all. The monster s 
 only thought seemed to be to crush his foe by tre 
 mendous blows, and it was all Arthur could do to 
 ward them off. If his sword had been of a temper 
 less fine than it was, having been forged in the 
 waters and polished with the sands of the Tagus, like 
 all true Toledos, it would have been hacked and 
 dented long before the fight came to an end ; but it 
 stood the test and proved a friend indeed. 
 
 Through it all, Arthur kept the monster pinned 
 against the wall, unable to advance, until one blow 
 more crushing than the others felled him to the 
 earth, and before he could rise, the giant was upon 
 him. His sword slipped away in the darkness, and 
 he felt that at last he had lost the game, for the hot 
 breath of the monster was in his face, and his heavy 
 body bore down upon him with crushing force. The 
 giant was bleeding from a dozen wounds, and his 
 strength was failing ; but still he had enough left 
 to keep his foe from rising. Hitherto, neither had 
 uttered a word, but now that the diablo Colorado 
 had the boy at his mercy, he hissed into his ear, in 
 Spanish : 
 
 " Ha, you thought to escape Lelee ; but know you, 
 I am his master and his messenger ! Now I shall 
 kill you and take your head to the capital, where 
 I shall get a great reward. And not only you, but 
 your brother, who is already my prisoner, bound in 
 
The Duel Underground. 343 
 
 his hut, only waiting my return to be killed, like 
 yourself. This girl, too, the one you tried to take 
 from me, she shall first see you die, then shall go to 
 join her ancestors whose treasure you came here to 
 find. Speak, what say you ? " 
 
 " Nothing," said Arthur, with an effort " Kill me, 
 and have done." 
 
 He really thought his end was nigh, helpless as 
 he was in the grip of the giant ; but still he was 
 alert and wary. Suddenly his ear caught the sound 
 of a sigh, and he knew the Queen was yet alive, and 
 probably returning to consciousness. The monster 
 heard it, too, and turned in the direction where she 
 had lain ; but she was not there, and in his astonish 
 ment he relaxed his hold on Arthur, who instantly 
 threw him off and regained his feet. 
 
 " Oh, if I had my sword ! " was his first thought, 
 as he stood in the darkness, expecting the on 
 slaught of his enemy. The torches lay smoulder 
 ing on the cavern floor, and by the dim light they 
 gave, the monster was seeking a vulnerable spot into 
 which to plunge his sword and end Arthur s life. 
 But while he halted an instant, the tide of battle 
 turned in Arthur s favor, or at least he was again 
 given a living chance, for he felt a hand clutch his 
 arm, and a voice whispered in his ear : " Here am I, 
 and here is your sword. Take it ! " 
 
 The Queen had recovered, she had by chance 
 found the sword, and with the inborn cunning in- 
 
344 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 herited from her Indian ancestors, she had lain quiet 
 until able to ascertain the respective positions of the 
 combatants, when she crept to Arthur s side and 
 pressed the sword into his hand. 
 
 What joy then thrilled him as he felt the trusty 
 hilt, and how his pulses bounded now that he knew 
 the Queen was alive ! 
 
 He awaited the attack no longer, but with renewed 
 vigor made at the enemy, dimly outlined as he was, 
 just as he himself came down upon him with a two- 
 handed blow. Arthur almost laughed aloud at the 
 giant s clumsiness, for he now felt invincible, the 
 blood leaped through his veins like quicksilver. He 
 parried the blow, and then swung his sword around 
 and took the giant right across the neck. He 
 stumbled, threw out his hands in a vain attempt 
 to clutch his foe, and then fell to earth with a tre 
 mendous crash, rolled over twice or thrice, and fell 
 into one of the wells. The awed listeners heard him 
 bounding from side to side, in his descent carrying 
 with him loosened earth and rocks; then all was 
 quiet and there came no sound from out the depth 
 profound. 
 
 For a moment the conqueror stood as if petrified, 
 silent, oppressed by a vague feeling of blood-guilti 
 ness ; but at last he sighed, and said softly to him 
 self : " What else could I do ? It was in defence of 
 my life, and not only mine but the Queen s. Thank 
 God, I saved her from a dreadful death ! " 
 
The Duel Underground. 345 
 
 He felt a soft touch on his cheek, then the Queen s 
 hand sought his own and pressed it to her lips. 
 " Henceforth I am your servant," she whispered. 
 " My life is yours, you saved it. My people, too, 
 will always be your slaves ! " 
 
 Arthur did not, of course, understand all her 
 speech, but he inferred it from her actions, and he 
 snatched his hand away perhaps rather rudely, 
 in his confusion and ejaculated : 
 
 " No, no, you can never be my servant, my slave. 
 You have been good to me. I could not have done 
 less. It was nothing. By killing the diablo Colorado 
 I have rendered a greater service to myself and my 
 brother than to you. He was our deadly enemy, and 
 came here to seek our blood ! " 
 
 Then he realized how foolish it was to waste words 
 upon one who could not understand him, and also 
 how rude he had been in snatching his hand away ; 
 but the deed was done, and of a truth this was no 
 time to stand upon ceremony. The words of the 
 monster recurred to him then, and he felt a real fear 
 in his heart at the thought of his brother, bound and 
 helpless in the hut so far away. There was no time 
 to lose, so he picked up one of the torches, blew its 
 smouldering tip into a flame, extended his hand to 
 the Queen, and gently led her toward the treasure 
 chamber. 
 
 He was not surprised when he glanced back at her 
 to find that she was weeping, nor that she trembled 
 
346 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 so she could hardly stand ; but there was nothing to 
 do but to press on until the horrid passageway was 
 left and a place of safety gained. 
 
 He still clung to the sword, as to the best friend 
 he had on earth ; but the other Toledo had gone 
 down with the monster. If it had been left he would 
 not have touched it, feeling that it had been defiled 
 by contact with that horrible wretch, whose fetid 
 breath he seemed to feel yet, hot upon his cheeks. 
 The air was stifling, the blood from the gash in his 
 forehead filled his eyes, and before the chamber was 
 reached, he groped blindly like a man bereft of sight 
 and staggered from weakness. 
 
 The Queen was not so overcome by fear and grief 
 that she could not detect his condition, and when the 
 path had widened so that she could walk by his side 
 she pressed forward, just in time to catch him in her 
 arms, as he reached the limit of his strength and fell. 
 They had then almost gained the aperture giving 
 access to the treasure chamber, and through this she 
 dragged him, falling from exhaustion, as the sound of 
 voices and gleam of lights proclaimed the coming of 
 friends to the rescue. 
 
XXXVIII. 
 
 A Treasure held in Trust. 
 
 WHEN Arthur opened his eyes, it was to find 
 himself the centre of a sympathetic group 
 composed of the Queen and her court, all the maidens 
 having returned to the cavern as soon as they had 
 been able to gather a rescue party ; and now they 
 seemed very anxious about the hero of the occasion. 
 One was washing the blood from his face, another 
 holding a towel, another chafing his hands, while the 
 rest were mainly occupied in crowding about and 
 making it nearly impossible for him to get a breath 
 of fresh air which was what he needed more than 
 anything else in the world, just then. 
 
 It is needless to remark that he was provoked 
 beyond measure to be caught in such a plight, and as 
 soon as he could do so with good grace, he gently 
 repulsed his lovely nurses, raised himself to a sitting 
 posture, and then to his feet. 
 
 And it was just then, as he was looking wildly 
 about, trying to collect his scattered senses, that 
 there came into the treasure chamber another crowd 
 of people, in their midst the very one who had occu 
 pied his thoughts almost exclusively during the past 
 two days, in other words, his brother. 
 
 347 
 
348 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 It was a picturesque scene that met Hartley s gaze 
 at that moment, and he, too, seemed at first rather 
 bewildered, as well he might have been, this being 
 his first glimpse of the cavern and its contents. 
 Against the golden images as a background, rising 
 tier above tier, and glittering heaps of dust and nug 
 gets in the nooks and corners, there was massed a 
 crowd of Indians, mostly females, nearly all young 
 and comely, with his brother as a central figure. He 
 was so taken aback that he omitted to note that 
 Arthur s features were pallid and blood-streaked, and 
 this omission may be excused, perhaps, owing to the 
 dim light cast by the smoking torches. 
 
 "Why, Arthur, is that you?" he asked jauntily. 
 " What is the meaning of all this, pray, and tell 
 me, where is the old Queen ? " 
 
 The sound of Hartley s voice acted as a tonic at 
 once, and Arthur pushed forward and grasped his 
 brother s hand. " There isn t any old Queen, Hart, 
 but the lady standing apart, with the golden girdle 
 around her waist, is the princess, or the young Queen. 
 We have had a little adventure in the cavern beyond, 
 and she is greatly perturbed, as well as myself/ 
 
 " Adventure ? What was it ? But wait, let me tell 
 you mine. Do you know that the diablo Colorado 
 is around these parts, and came near making an 
 end of me ? You do, eh ? Well, let me tell you, if 
 it hadn t been for Esteban, I might not now be in 
 the land of the living, for that diablo Colorado 
 
A Treasure held in Trust. 349 
 
 attacked me in the hut the night after you left, and 
 left me bound to a post, saying he was going in search 
 of you, and would then come back and attend to me. 
 Think of it ! " 
 
 " Dear me, Hart, I have thought of it, and of 
 scarcely anything else, for some time past. But you 
 needn t have any more fear on his account, for he is 
 now lying at the bottom of a deep hole inside the 
 cavern yonder." 
 
 " So ? And how did he get there ? But you 
 needn t tell me, for that gash in your face means 
 something, and then again there s blood all over your 
 sword ! " 
 
 " Yes, it s terrible, isn t it ? But I couldn t help it, 
 for he was carrying off the Queen, and when I made 
 at him he fought, so it had to be one of us, you 
 know." 
 
 " Help it, you silly boy ! Of course you couldn t. 
 And the world is well rid of a villain ! Well, I only 
 hope he s the last of Lelee s emissaries, for this fight 
 ing them off, one after another, is getting to be tire 
 some. But I guess he is, though, for I ve received 
 some information since you left me, that tells me 
 but no matter about that now all in good time. 
 Don t you think I might be presented to the Queen ? " 
 
 " Why, to be sure. But you must remember that 
 she is a queen, by right of birth, even if she hasn t 
 much of a country and is an Indian born. And, 
 look ! There is the treasure we ve been seeking so 
 
350 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 long. It is hers, all of it, that is, it was ; but she 
 insists that we shall share it with her, or take it all." 
 
 " She does ? She s generous. But of course 
 we won t. We didn t come here on a plundering 
 expedition ! " 
 
 " No, indeed. But we must give her credit for the 
 good intention. Come now, and be presented." 
 
 Hartley could hardly take his gaze off the golden 
 images, despite the bevy of beauties standing about 
 and regarding him with wide-open, wondering eyes. 
 But he was decent enough to make his best bow to 
 the Queen, who was gracious enough to welcome him 
 most cordially ; and so the presentation passed off 
 very well, leaving an impression mutually agreeable. 
 
 Then they all filed out of the cavern, finding in the 
 great hall another crowd of anxious Indians, held in 
 check only by the persuasions of Esteban from going 
 to the aid of their beloved Queen. He saluted 
 Arthur with respect, looking significantly at his 
 bloody sword, as he said : 
 
 " Sefior, master mine, by the killing of el diablo 
 Colorado, and by saving the life of our Queen, you 
 have made slaves of us all ! " 
 
 "And you, Esteban," replied Arthur, warmly 
 returning the pressure of his hand, " have made me 
 your debtor forever by saving the life of my brother. 
 When you left me so abruptly, two days ago, I felt 
 some distrust of your intentions ; but now, you will 
 forgive me ? " 
 
A Treasure held in Trust. 351 
 
 "There is nothing to forgive," rejoined Esteban, 
 with feeling. "Naturally you had doubts of me, 
 having lied to you as I did, having played upon your 
 credulity with my preposterous tales." 
 
 " He means about his being several hundred years 
 old, I guess," said Hartley to his brother; "but we 
 won t mind a little thing like that" 
 
 " No, indeed," answered Arthur, with a smile. " We 
 can overlook a great deal on account of what he has 
 really done for us, and I certainly hope he will live 
 as long as he says he has lived already." 
 
 " My sentiments, too," rejoined Hartley. " He s a 
 white man, whatever his complexion is, and I ll stand 
 by him to the end of time." 
 
 " But how did that old diablo Colorado get in here, 
 Esteban ? Guess your trap in the cave isn t rat- 
 proof, after all, eh?" 
 
 " Didn t get in that way," said Esteban, shrugging 
 his shoulders. " He swung down over cliffs by a 
 long line. Made big rope out of wild vines many 
 hundred feet long. Ah, he very cunning, that old 
 diablo Colorado. He watch for me many years. 
 But I m glad he s dead, for he more cunning than 
 the President, his master." 
 
 They escorted the Queen and her maidens to their 
 dwellings, and then sought out the kiosk, where, once 
 the three were seated, Hartley disburdened himself 
 of his secret. " Arthur, I can t keep it any longer," 
 he said, drawing from his pocket a long envelope 
 
352 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 with a big seal on it. " Do you recognize that writing 
 and that seal ? " 
 
 "Certainly," replied Arthur. "That s from the 
 Consul. How did you get it ? " 
 
 " That s what I m going to tell you, if you ll give 
 me time. Don t you suppose he could have brought 
 it himself?" 
 
 " Oh, did he ? Is he here ? I wish I could see 
 him. But no, if he were here he wouldn t have writ 
 ten a letter, of course." 
 
 "You are right. He didn t, and he isn t. And 
 you might try till you were a million years old, and I 
 don t believe you could guess how that letter came 
 into my I mean our possession. I say our, be 
 cause it was Esteban who spied it coming, and if it 
 hadn t been for him, we might never have received 
 it." 
 
 "Well, tell me how it got here." 
 
 " I m going to, right now. You see, Esteban came 
 to the hut and found me tied to the post, and nearly 
 dead from hunger and fatigue, after having been 
 left there by that old rascal you disposed of, thank 
 heaven ! in the cavern." 
 
 " Poor boy, how you must have suffered ! " 
 
 " Well, yes, it wasn t very nice, I assure you ; but 
 no matter now. I ll confess that I was more fright 
 ened than hurt, for he s well named. He left his 
 mark on me, too. See ! " Hartley drew back his 
 sleeve and showed two livid semicircles on his arm. 
 
A Treasure held in Trust. 353 
 
 " That s where he bit me. I only hope his bite isn t 
 poisonous ; but Esteban has washed the wound with 
 some antiseptic preparation, so I think it won t bother 
 me any more. But don t worry," he added, seeing 
 the look of concern on his brother s face. " Let that 
 go. Now we ll get right down to business. After 
 Esteban had cut me loose and given me something 
 to revive my spirits, he took me out under the silk- 
 cotton tree and set me down to rest by the side of 
 the brook. As he was going back to the house, he 
 happened to look up in the sky and saw something 
 he took for an immense eagle. But it wasn t, it was 
 can t you guess ? " 
 
 " Not a balloon ? " 
 
 " Exactly, a small balloon. But by the time I had 
 focussed my optics on it, the thing had sailed almost 
 out of sight and soon disappeared over the mountains. 
 Esteban was awfully worried, for he thought it must 
 be some sort of a celestial visitor, never having seen 
 a balloon before, but I explained to him what it 
 was and he calmed down, though I believe he was 
 truly frightened for a few minutes, weren t you, Este 
 ban ? " 
 
 " True, I was," acknowledged the Moor. " Never 
 saw thing like that before. White men invent many 
 things since I came to this island." 
 
 " Well, I sat and pondered over the coming of that 
 balloon until I came to the conclusion that it had 
 been sent here for a purpose. And if that were the 
 
354 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 case, another might follow in its wake, the first having 
 been sent to attract our attention. Then I reasoned it 
 out that the people in the interior of Santo Domingo 
 weren t given to that sort of thing, most of them, in 
 fact, like Esteban, never having seen a balloon ; and 
 again, I reckoned that about the only man with wit 
 enough to think of reaching us by balloon would be 
 our friend the Consul. And, sure enough, after Este 
 ban had been watching the sky, by my orders, for 
 two hours or more, he announced another balloon 
 coming right in the track of the first. That s easy 
 to understand, you know, for the trade winds blow 
 only in one direction at certain seasons, and if two 
 balloons were set free at a certain point they would 
 naturally follow the same course." 
 
 " Yes," interposed Arthur, " that is plain enough. 
 But how did you manage to stop either of them ? " 
 
 " Oh, wait. You don t know that I did, do you ? 
 But I did, though, and this is how. I was feeling 
 better by that time, and with Esteban s help I walked 
 out to the knoll behind the hut, taking my rifle with 
 me. Now do you understand ? Oh, you do ? Well, 
 when the balloon had sailed within about two hundred 
 yards of me, and was right overhead, I fired and split 
 the gas bag into ribbons ! That s all. As it came sail 
 ing down, out tumbled a package, and in the package 
 was this envelope enclosing a letter. And here s the 
 letter," said Hartley, handing it to Arthur, who at once 
 proceeded to read aloud the following document : 
 
A Treasure held in Trust. 355 
 
 "SANTIAGO DE LOS CABALLEROS, SANTO DOMINGO. 
 
 [Date suppressed.] 
 
 " MY DEAR BOYS : Having heard nothing from you 
 since we parted at Cristi, I took a trip up this way in 
 search of information. Found Don Alessandro and 
 his family, with whom you stopped awhile, and they 
 are, let me say in passing, almost as much distressed 
 as I am at your long silence. Nobody knows where 
 you are, but the general opinion is that the earth has 
 opened and swallowed you up. However, since you 
 were at last accounts headed for the Cordillera, I am 
 taking the only chance of reaching you by despatch 
 ing a couple of small balloons in that direction as a 
 sort of forlorn hope. Heaven grant one of them at 
 least may find you. 
 
 " Assuming this letter (written in duplicate and 
 sent by the two balloons) may reach you, let me tell 
 you the news. It is good or bad, according to whom 
 soever it may concern. At all events, it concerns 
 you both. The President is dead ! Yes, he is now 
 beyond all reach of human arm, to punish or to save ; 
 for on the 2 5th of last month he was assassinated at 
 Moca, as he was endeavoring to suppress a rebellion 
 of the serranos, and his remains are interred in the 
 cathedral here at Santiago. At last he has met his 
 deserts. Whether he deserved his fate or not, I dare 
 not venture to say in this letter, not knowing into 
 whose hands it may fall. But you need now have 
 no fear of him nor of his emissaries except one, 
 
356 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 and he is the most to be dreaded of all. He is called 
 the diablo Colorado. Should you escape him, all 
 will be well. Should you meet him, and you can 
 not fail to know him by his ferocious appearance and 
 blood-red skin, attack him at once, and do not give 
 him quarter. He is a murderer and a sorcerer ; a 
 willing tool he has been of Lelee s, and doubtless he 
 has been advised to look for you. This is all only 
 to warn you. If you find the treasure, save me some 
 trinket or other. If you have opportunity to reply 
 to this, make all haste to do so, and believe me, 
 " Ever your well-wisher, 
 
 " HENRY GARLAND. 
 
 " P.S. By the way, Don Alessandro instructs me 
 to say that he has a new poem on the stocks, which 
 he knows will fetch you back (to read), if nothing 
 else will, and Senorita Tomasina bids ask if you have 
 yet met a foe worthy of that sword. Miss Rita adds 
 that she and her sisters are crying their eyes out, and 
 that she thinks you are awfully mean to go off and 
 stay so long without a word for them. You may 
 know best ; but that is also the opinion of 
 
 "Yours sincerely, 
 
 "H. G." 
 
 " So Lelee is dead ? " said Arthur, drawing a long 
 breath of relief. 
 
 " Must be," said Hartley, " unless he s come to life 
 since that letter was written. But really, I can hardly 
 
A Treasure held in Trust. 357 
 
 believe it, for he seemed of the kind that never would 
 die, but go on forever committing his atrocious 
 deeds." 
 
 "Well, since he s dead," rejoined Arthur, "we ll 
 say nothing against him ; only no other fate could 
 have been expected for him than just what he re 
 ceived. As you say, it seems incredible, and if the 
 Consul hadn t added that he was buried there in San 
 tiago, I should feel sure the news was not reliable." 
 
 "Well, that lets us out of our dilemma," said 
 Hartley. " If we stay here any longer, it will not 
 be because we are afraid to go on account of Lelee s 
 myrmidons on our trail." 
 
 Arthur looked earnestly in his brother s eyes, then 
 dropped his gaze as he said, hardly above a whisper, 
 " Do you want to go ? " 
 
 " No, I don t. This sort of life they lead here will 
 just suit me, I think; and besides, Esteban says the 
 island will now be in the throes of revolution for 
 months, at least, and it would be just as dangerous 
 for us as if Lelee himself were still in power. That 
 is, the people are now fighting amongst themselves, 
 and if one side doesn t kill us as rebels, the other will 
 as supporters of the government. So there we are. 
 Heads, they win ; tails, we lose, whichever side we 
 take. I say stay ! What do you say ? " 
 
 " I ? " exclaimed Arthur, joyfully. " Oh, stay, of 
 course. It seems to me our duty lies right here, for 
 a few months, perhaps years, anyway. The little I 
 
35 8 The Last of the Arawaks. 
 
 have seen of these people has convinced me of their 
 goodness, their innocence, and not only that, but 
 their helplessness. It isn t likely they can remain 
 here much longer without being discovered, and what 
 ever form of government this island may have in the 
 future, there is little doubt that if it could get hold of 
 their treasure and their lands it would keep them 
 both. As to the treasure, I propose that we hold it 
 in trust, for the benefit of Queen Anacaona and her 
 people. First, after there is a settled government, we 
 will buy all the land comprised in the two valleys, 
 the title to be vested in the Queen, and then take 
 another portion of the treasure for the enlightenment 
 of her subjects ; give them schools, books, education, 
 teach them trades, and raise them generally in the 
 scale of civilization." 
 
 " My sentiments, exactly. I m with you heart and 
 hand. But how about the Consul and our other 
 friends ? We owe them something, too." 
 
 " Yes, I have thought of that ; and with Esteban s 
 help I feel sure we can get a message out to them 
 in time. Now, Esteban, as you have heard all we 
 have said, go tell the Queen, and ask her if she is 
 willing we may stay here on those terms." 
 
 Esteban departed, without a word. He soon 
 returned, but not alone, for with him came the Queen, 
 walking slowly, deep in thought. At the door of the 
 kiosk she held an animated conversation in Arawak 
 with the Moor, the purport of which he translated for 
 
A Treasure held in Trust. 359 
 
 her guests, while the Queen regarded them intently, 
 her beautiful face alight with joy and satisfaction. 
 
 " It is my pleasure that you stay always, so long 
 as you are content, for my life you have saved. I 
 and my people regard you as sent by Heaven, to 
 show us how to live the best we can." 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 BERKELEY 
 
 Return to desk from which borrowed. 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 - 
 
 15Apr 58LW 
 REC D 3 O 
 
 APR 1195 
 
 
 REC D LD 
 
 NOV16196 
 
 LD 21-100m-ll, 49(B7146sl6)476 
 
M314065