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"Not so well as Captain Ortega, for it was that thundergust flank movement which drove us headlong out of the mountains, with some of the men never halting till they reached Zalapata. Captain Ortega and no one else won that battle." "General Yozarro knows his worth," said Martella; "he would have made him a general long ago if it was not that he is jealous of him.
She was horrified to overhear some words which made known the shooting of the brother of Martella for a trifling fault, and she learned, too, of Yozarro's ferocious cruelties to others, including some who had been taken prisoners in honorable warfare. Underneath that suave, smiling exterior lurked Satan himself. But the fly was still in the ointment.
He is the only one I know who doesn't fear General Yozarro. They often quarrel, for the Captain is plain of speech to every one. Yozarro has announced that he means to make him admiral of the fleet which he intends to build up. That I suppose is why he has placed him in charge of the gunboat, so that he shall have all the training and experience he can." "How does he feel toward you, Martella?"
"I cannot permit you to run such risk; better that I should go myself and make the demand upon Captain Navarro." "The captain has been warned not to permit any such thing, on his life. You know that though General Yozarro may be aware I have left his service, it is not likely to be known to Captain Navarro." "It is a fearful risk, Martella.
If they were, the capture would make your fortune. As it is, it would bring your ruin. General Bambos would be obliged not only to disavow the act, but to punish you for the offence." "I was thinking," said Martella, "that perhaps the Major would be willing to take the responsibility."
If ever there was call for hurry and the display of the wisdom of the serpent it was now. When therefore the three drew near the plateau on which the Castle stood, the Major said: "You and I, Captain, will wait here while Martella goes forward and learns how the land lies." "If the Señoritas are restrained of their liberty by only five or six Atlamalcans, why should we hesitate?"
Despite the confidence of Martella, he knew his venture was not wholly free from risk, and in the face of his comradeship with the crew, it was not unlikely that they would seek to win the good will of the Dictator by delivering the deserter to him. If there were others beside the engineer and firemen on board, it would be imprudent to the last degree to entrust himself to them.
The horse dragged back but allowed himself to be drawn a little farther. All came to a pause, grouping themselves together, where one was hardly visible to the others. "What was it?" asked the Major, in a whisper, of Martella. "He smelled a serpent in front of us, and I stamped him to death." "Was it venomous?" the American was prompted to ask.
Captain Guzman had also paused as if with the same thought. He was twenty paces in advance, but did not speak. "Shall we wait for a few minutes?" asked Miss Starland. "It will avail nothing; the passage must be made." "But Martella will be farther away and that will help." "He may go so far that we shall not hear his signal."
The pony with its rider was passing from view below the margin of the plateau, and the man now made the haste that looked natural. Although the trail was easily followed, his place was in advance. While gliding past the stirrup, he said: "We have been fortunate, Señorita, but much danger still threatens." Something prompted Martella to turn his head and look back.
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