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Page 50
"Sir!" cried Ridge, "I am an American, and an officer in the American
army."
"Pardon, se�or; I forgot," replied the General. "I was allowing myself
to utter aloud my thoughts, a thing extremely wrong and ill-advised. I
have really no doubt in the world that your gallant countrymen will
conduct themselves most admirably. Now if you will come to my poor
camp I will make you as comfortable as possible for the night, and in
the morning we will decide what is best for you to do."
"Thank you, sir," said our young trooper, "but with your permission I
should prefer to make a start at once, with the hope of reaching
Enramada before my comrade, and thus preventing a sad mistake on the
part of your troops."
"But, my young friend, you have already travelled far to-day and are
exhausted."
"I still have some strength left."
"Night is upon us, and the trails are very dangerous."
"There is a young moon, and you will furnish reliable guides," replied
Ridge, smiling.
"If I should not furnish them?"
"Then I would set forth alone."
"You are determined, then, to proceed at once?"
"I am, sir, unless detained by force."
"Ah, heavens! These Americans!" cried the General, with an air of
resignation. "They will leave nothing for to-morrow that may be
squeezed into to-day. They know not the meaning of 'ma�ana.' Ever
impatient, ever careless of consequences, and yet they succeed. Can it
be that theirs is the way of wisdom? But no, it is their good fortune,
what they call 'luck.' Yes, se�or, it shall be as you desire. In an
hour all shall be in readiness for your departure."
"Couldn't you make it half an hour, General?" asked Ridge, with an
audacity that drew forth only a grunt from the Cuban leader.
So it happened that in something less than an hour from the time of
this important interview our young American, well fed, and provided
with a pass through the Cuban lines for himself and one friend, was
retracing his steps down the northern slope of the Sierra Maestra. He
was mounted on a raw-backed but sure-footed Cuban pony, and escorted by
half a dozen ragged cavalrymen. They had barely started before he was
thankful that he had not attempted to make the journey unguided; nor
had they gone a mile before he knew that he could never have
accomplished it alone. Often he found himself traversing narrow trails
on the brink of black space where a single misstep would have brought
his career to a sudden termination. Again he passed through gloomy
tunnels of dense foliage, slid down precipitous banks, only to plunge
into rushing, bowlder-strewn torrents at the bottom, and scramble up
slopes of slippery clay on the farther side, All this was done by the
feeble and ever-lessening light of a moon in its first quarter, and as
it finally sank out of sight the leader of the escort called a halt,
declaring that they could not move another rod before daybreak.
Thus Ridge was forced to take a few hours of rest, and so exhausted was
he that his companions had difficulty in rousing him at dawn. Again
they pushed forward, shivering in the chill of early morning, and
blistered by the sun's fervent heat a few hours later, until ten
o'clock found them on the grass-grown highway leading from Santiago to
Bayamo, and a few miles west of Enramada. Here, as Ridge believed
himself to be well in advance of his comrade, he decided to await his
coming. At the same time he sent one of his escort into Enramada to
discover if Lieutenant Navarro had by any chance reached that place,
and to arrange for fresh mounts. Then he threw himself down in the
scant shadow of a thorny bush for a nap.
Apparently his companions, who had promised to keep a close watch of
the highway, did the same thing, for when he next awoke it was with a
start and the consciousness that a horseman was dashing past at full
speed on the road to Enramada.
In less than a minute the shamefaced squad was in hot pursuit, but
though they strove to atone for their neglect of duty by furious
riding, they did not overtake the horseman until they discovered him
halted by an outpost, who allowed him to pass as they came in sight.
When they in turn were halted they learned that the man whom they had
followed so briskly was a Cuban scout just in from a tour of
observation.
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