CHAPTER XXVII.
PRISONERS OF WAR.
As Frank and Harry found themselves confronted with the row of leveledrifles the officer who had addressed them placed a small silver whistleto his lips and blew twice. At the signal a score of men came rushingout of the mangroves, all armed and as villainous looking as the men whohad first surprised the boys. The officer gave them a brief order inSpanish, the purport of which the boys did not get.
They were not long to be left in doubt as to its significance however.Two of the men advanced with a rope and motioned to the boys to placetheir hands together in front of them. The boys’ reply was emphatic andstartling. Frank’s fist shot out, at almost the same moment as Harry’s,and in a second both the Nicaraguan worthies were lying flat on theground, wondering what had struck them. Far from irritating the officerand his men the boys’ act seemed to amuse them. They shouted withlaughter as their injured countrymen picked themselves up and slunk awaywith black looks at the boys. They muttered something as they went.
“They are saying, señors,” said the polite young officer, “that theyhope to form part of the firing squad at your execution.”
In spite of themselves both boys gave a gasp of horror.
“Ah, I see I have shocked you,” went on their persecutor, “is itpossible that you did not know that Rogero has been particularly anxiousto find you, ever since you so cleverly rescued your young journalisticfriend. In fact I expect to get a very handsome reward for your capture.I can assure you that when our scouts reported two American boys inleague with the insurgent troops that I lost no time in taking steps tomake sure your capture. I must thank you for the charming manner inwhich you have walked into my trap. What is it you Americans say ‘Willyou walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?’—ah, yes, that isit. Well, Señors Fly, you see I have you trapped and you might as wellsubmit gracefully to capture.”
Like a flash both boys realized the serious position they were in. “Inleague with insurgents” their sneering captor had said. It would be adifficult matter to prove that they were not and, as non-combatants, ofcourse, they had no business to be on active service for either army.Both boys knew Rogero too well to expect any mercy from him. Brave asthey were their hearts sank but only for a moment.
“Come on, Frank, let’s make a dash for it,” exclaimed Harry. “They canonly shoot us.”
Frank put out a detaining hand.
“It would be of no use Harry,” he said, “we are in their power and hadbetter submit. We will find a way out yet,—never fear.”
The boys had carried on this conversation in snatches. This seemed toirritate their captor.
“Do you intend to submit to being bound or shall I have to order my mento club you down,” he demanded.
The cold brutality of his tone struck into both the boys like a lashacross the face.
“We will be bound, if you think that is necessary,” replied Frankcontemptuously.
“Yes, I do,” replied the officer, “you see you are very slipperycustomers and we don’t want you to fly away, señors flies;” and helaughed at his abominable joke in a way that made both boys long tohammer him into insensibility.
Two men—not the two the boys had knocked down, these could not bepersuaded to go near them regarding them as “diabolos,”—quickly boundtheir wrists with green hide thongs and then, at a sharp command fromthe officer, the men marched off through the jungle. Frank and Harrywell guarded by a dozen men with fixed bayonets marched in the middle.No wonder their spirits fell to zero.
There was not a chance of escape.
Rapidly the boys’ brains reviewed the situation. Resourceful as theywere they could see no way out of their dilemma. They were fairlytrapped. Again and again they bitterly blamed their recklessness intaking any part in the revolutionist’s cause, for the fact that they hadbeen caught red handed in the very act of transferring ammunition fromthe ship to the shore, would be exactly the circumstance Rogero wouldseize upon to order their execution. They both realized that. Had it notbeen for that they could have demanded to see their consul and probablyRogero would not have dared to refuse their request—as it was, however,they were to all intents and purposes revolutionists and their fate atRogero’s hands they could anticipate all too clearly.
At dawn they were on the march once more, after a brief encampment atabout midnight. From this hurry they gathered that the force that hadattacked Ruiz was not the main branch of the army but a marauding forcesent out by Rogero. They did not question that they were on their way tothe latter’s headquarters. What would become of them there they hadalready guessed. They had little time to act if they were to formulate aplan of escape,—but it seemed maddeningly impossible to frame anyscheme, that would hold water when it was conned over.
All day they marched through the steaming jungle. Sometimes they fordedchocolate-colored sluggish streams and waded through vilemorasses,—where huge alligators slipped from rotting logs into the slimywaters,—or blue herons stood in solemn rows, like an army of ghostlysoldiers,—seen among the trees. Then again they issued onto savannahs,on which the sun beat down with a heat that seemed to penetrate theskull. All about them the boys could not help noticing the ravages ofthe earthquake. Once at an early stage of the march they had asked oneof their guards what had uprooted so many trees and caused suchwidespread damage:
“Terremoto,” he replied with a grunt.
At the word Ben Stubbs and Billy flashed across their minds and thenight, that seemed now so long ago, on which they had set out fromPlateau Camp. As they passed through villages and noticed the havoc allabout,—the masses of ruins and the wretched families huddled upon them,picking over the debris for their buried possessions, Frank’s mindreverted to the Treasure Cliff.
How much was left of the passage, after what had evidently been aterrific upheaval of the land. As he thought of this, and communicatedhis fears that it was completely blocked to Harry, his handabstractedly—or perhaps through some association of thought—slipped intohis pocket and his fingers encountered the rubies they had wrenched fromthe sculptured quesals beside the gulf of the White Serpents.
If the worst came to the worst he determined to get them to his fathersomehow and ask him to give Billy Barnes his share. He did not mentionhis resolution to Harry for the younger boy was deeply depressed andFrank did not want to add to his troubles by obtruding on his mind anyof his fears of what their destiny was to be.
All day they marched on; the half-fed looking soldiers seeming astireless as mountain mules. With the boys the situation was fardifferent; they were not used to forced marches under a tropic sun, andtheir legs felt like so many pounds of lead long before late afternoonfound them advancing over a broad savannah, at the further side of whichthey could make out a row of palm trees, and gray-iron roofs beyondthem, that somehow looked strangely familiar. Before they had gone manyyards further they realized why the place seemed as if they had seen itbefore. The young officer, who had diverted himself over their captureto such a degree, had strode at the head of the column while they wereon the march. Now however he fell back and pointed at the scene in frontof them with his sword.
“Greytown,” he said.
“We are to camp there?” asked Frank.
The officer replied with a short laugh.
“No; we shall stay there for some time—particularly some of us,” headded with a sneering emphasis, and looking hard at the boys. “GeneralRogero took possession of the town two days ago,” he added.
This was serious news indeed to the boys whose only hope now lay in anattack by revolutionists which, while it might not do them any goodwould at least divert attention from their case for several days duringwhich some opportunity to escape or communicate with their friends mightpresent itself. But with Greytown,—a strong strategic point,—in thehands of Rogero and the government forces the outlook was black indeed.
A short time later they entered the tow
n and marched up the wellremembered main street, by the hotel where Rogero had shot down poorJose and into the dusty barracks, from whence they had seen the troopsissue, as it seemed to them years before. With their guard pressingclosely about them they were about to pass under the gate when a strangething happened. A bearded man was pressing through the crowd that hadsurrounded the barracks to see the soldiers and their prisoners marchin. Of all that ragged crowd he was the raggedest; but if Frank andHarry had seen an angel they could not have welcomed the sight more thanthey did the vision of that tattered, bearded man,—for, under the dustand dirt that covered his face, and his wild gestures,—which seemed toredouble as soon as their eyes met,—the boys had recognized Ben Stubbs!
How he had got there they had of course not the remotest idea nor didthey know that his errand in town was to buy food for Billy who wasplayed out by the long trip down the San Juan. It was enough for themthat he was there near at hand—the first friend they had seen since theyleft Plateau Camp. Ben on his part seemed equally rejoiced to see themas, it will be remembered, that neither of the two members of the party,left behind at Plateau Camp, had any idea of whether the boys had riddenout the storm in safety or not.
But Ben was typically cautious. With the cunning of an old adventurer herealized that the present was no time to claim acquaintance. Frank andHarry were about to give vent to a loud exclamation when he silencedthem by putting a long, brown finger to his lips. The next minute BenStubbs was the most active and the loudest of all the crowd, who triedto curry favor with the government troops by reviling the Americans atthe top of their voices. To hear Ben Stubbs talk—of course inSpanish—which he spoke like a native, to see his gestures of hatred andcontempt a bystander would have thought that the boys had no worse enemyin the world than this scarecrow tatterdemalion whom the crowd jeered atas “loco” (crazy).
It took some time, in the confusion of arrival at the barracks, to getthe troops assigned to their quarters in an orderly manner and, duringthis interval, Frank and Harry, their faces burning with indignation,had to stand, surrounded by their armed guards, in the center of thecourt and listen to the imprecations of the crowd against Americans,most of which they fortunately could not understand—or they might havebeen tempted to risk their lives in one dash at the contemptibleruffians who from a safe distance baited them.
While this was going on Ben Stubbs had disappeared and the boys were ata loss to understand and a little angry at his non-appearance. They werenot left long to puzzle over it, however, for, after about ten minutes’wait in the barrack-yard, the crazy figure came dancing in once moreamid the shouts of laughter of the disreputable mob that thronged theopen space, and came straight up to where Frank and Harry stood guardedby the soldiers. He had in his hand a roll of Spanish bread and, amidthe jeers of the crowd he held it high above his head.
“Maybe the Americans are hungry?” he shouted, “perhaps they want bread.Here is some for the procos (pigs) may it poison them and all suchperros (dogs).”
With that he hurled the roll at them and the boys,—divining that somemeaning lay behind all this rigmarole,—signed to one of the soldiers topick it up and indicated that they were ravenously hungry, as indeedthey were, not having been given anything to eat since early morning.The soldier sullenly thrust the roll into Frank’s pocket and a fewminutes later the boys were pushed into a noisome cell and an iron doorclanged to. As the key rasped in the lock they felt that it was like theclosing of the world’s doors on them and that they were extremelyunlikely ever to see another sunset—unless a miracle intervened.
One thing, however, had been done for which they were thankful beforethe cell door was shut. The thongs that bound their wrists had been cut.This was an unspeakable relief as the green hide of which they wereformed had contracted during the day and they had actually cut into theflesh,—causing excruciating agony.
As soon as their guard had paced away from the cell-door Frank eagerlybrought the roll out of his pocket. He broke it open, after firstcarefully examining it for any signs of writing, and then uttered a cryof delight. Imbedded in the soggy crumb of the roll was a neatly foldedbit of paper. With trembling hands Frank opened the screed and, withHarry looking over his shoulder, read as follows:
“Deer buoys:
Noe tyme 2 rite mutch wil say bili & mee is cum down thee rivver in a canoo. Thank heving u air save an soun. Now don u wurri ship matz bili and mee wil see noe harm cums to u. benn Stubbs A. B. (able seeman.)”
It was with difficulty the boys kept back their tears as they read thisill-spelled but true-hearted document. As they sank into a troubledsleep on the bare benches of their cell that night both boys felt thatthey had a friend at work for them who would die himself rather than notuse every effort in his power to help them escape from what seemed to bea helplessly locked steel-trap.