CHAPTER XXXIII.

"DO NOT ALLOW THAT VILE WRETCH TO CARRY OUT HIS BASE DESIGNS!"

So well had the old general planned his attack upon the rebel camp, so silently had his orders been issued and obeyed, that nearly every one was taken by surprise. There had been shouting outside, but very little firing, and the noise had been drowned by the spirited playing of the wedding march by the band, anxious to do its best.

As General Corona issued his command he rushed into the tent and up to Estella's side. Pulling a pistol, he presented it at Howard's head.

"Do you surrender, you villain, or will you take the consequences?" he rudely demanded.

"Father, do not shoot!" gasped Estella, and threw herself upon her lover's breast, as if to shield him from her parent's wrath.

"Estella, leave that wretch--leave him at once!" roared the aroused old man. "Oh, that my own flesh and blood should so disgrace me!" he moaned. "Back, all of you!" he went on, to the crowd that surged around. "Do what you will among yourselves, but if you respect the feelings and rights of an old man and a soldier, you will leave this hound to me! The quarrel is between him and me. If you have a spark of manhood in your veins defend yourself!"

He threw his pistol aside, and with the point of his sword touched the hilt of Howard's weapon. The movement was suggestive. The blood mounted to the young war correspondent's face, and on the impulse of the moment he drew his shining blade. There was a sharp clash, as the two blades crossed each other, and those within the tent forgot their own quarrel as they gazed upon the strange and thrilling tableau thus presented.

"Ha! you have something more than water in your veins, you cur!" shouted the general. "Very well; I would rather fight a rascal with a spark of courage than a mere dog!"

"Father!"

"Silence, Estella! Some day you will thank me for saving you from the wiles of this villainous American. I know and understand his character far better than you."

Click, crash, click! went the two flashing blades. The general made a savage thrust, but Howard parried the attack; yet he did not attempt to thrust in return.

"Oh, Howard! do not harm my father!" burst from Estella's lips.

Ere her lover could reply her father made another lunge. There was a clash, and on the instant her father's blade went spinning from his hand. Instantly Howard allowed his own sword to drop to his side.

"General Corona, let this teach you that I can defend myself with the sword as well as defend myself in other matters," said the young war correspondent, with a pale but determined face. "Arm yourself, again, if you wish; but, out of respect for your daughter, I will fight with you no more."

The general started back. His face turned red and his eyes dropped as a soldier handed him his sword. Estella gave her lover a grateful look, one that he long remembered. Then came a rush from outside, the tent was thrown down, the lanterns were extinguished, and in an instant Howard found himself in the midst of a body of Spanish soldiers, all bent upon either killing him or making him a prisoner.

Although startled by the unexpected turn of affairs, the young war correspondent kept his wits about him, and fought long and well to save himself and a portion of his command, for his own soldiers were but a short distance away.

At the first indication of a surprise, Captain Martinez had slipped away, and now he was also doing heroic work in rallying the surprised men. He was as brave and full of fire as Howard, and, between them they soon brought the men out of the panic, and then the battle began in earnest.

The darkness favored the rebels, otherwise they would have been quickly decimated. But they knew the ground better than did their enemy, and withdrew to strongholds in vales and woods, and inside of an hour from the time the attack was commenced, the tide of the encounter turned, and the Spanish troops were on the defensive. Then came the reinforcements Captain Martinez had expected for an attack upon the place, and the soldiers of Spain were put to flight.

It would be needless, in a tale like this, to relate the particulars of what followed. How the fighting was carried on all night, and how, at sunrise, the place itself was forced to surrender. The slaughter was great, but the victory was complete, and once again the rebels made an important advance in their victorious march westward.

Long before the place was under complete subjection Howard set out to find Estella and her father. What had become of his sweetheart in that awful moment, when the tent was torn down, he could not imagine, and his heart was full of fears for her safety.

On his return to headquarters, after a search lasting several hours, he chanced to pass by a long, low hospital tent, where that worthy institution which flourishes all over the civilized world--the Daughters of the Red Cross--were caring for the wounded and dying. He heard his name called by one of the nurses, and in a moment more he found himself in General Corona's presence. General Corona was wrapped in bandages, and his face was as pale as death itself. That he had suffered intensely was plainly evident.

"They tell me I am dying," were his low, hoarse words which startled Howard. "I have been shot in three places. Where is my daughter?"

"I do not know, General Corona. I have not seen her since we parted in the tent."

The old man's eyes looked at the young war correspondent keenly for a moment.

"You are telling the truth, Señor Sherwood?"

"I swear it!"

The general drew a short breath, then gave a gasp.

"I--I believe you. You--you--are more of a man than I dreamed you were."

He was evidently referring to the duelling episode, and Howard did not answer. There was a moment of painful silence.

"What do you suppose has become of my daughter?"

"I cannot imagine, sir. I sincerely trust she escaped injury, and is safe. I imagined she was with you."

"She was; but when the tide of battle turned I left her in Lieutenant Mazenas's charge."

"Mazenas!" Howard uttered a groan that did not escape the attention of Estella's father. "Sir, you say I am more of a man than you supposed. Why will you not believe me when I tell you that that fellow is one of the greatest rascals unhung. I will prove my words, if you will but give me a chance. Stop!" he went on, as General Corona was about to speak. "I must tell you all, so that you will have the opportunity to judge me fairly ere you die. Will you listen?"

"Go on," the general said, harshly, his lips quivering with agitation.

Drawing up a camp stool, Howard proceeded to tell his story from beginning to end; how he had left New York with the double purpose of serving the Press Association and of unearthing the fraud in connection with his Uncle Robert's estate, and of all the many surprising things that had happened since, including the story of the attempted poisoning by Captain Nocolo and Lieutenant Mazenas, and of how the latter was suspected of issuing a forged order to the rebel guerillas to burn the Corona plantation.

General Corona listened with interest; several times he wished to interrupt, but Howard made him listen to the very end.

He had about concluded, when there was a slight commotion, and four soldiers passed, carrying a man on a stretcher.

"Nocolo," murmured General Corona. "Heaven has sent him here to testify for or against you."

Howard leaped up, and saw that it was, in truth, Captain Nocolo, who lay in a dying condition, shot through the lungs. He motioned the soldiers to bring their burden to General Corona's side.

Nocolo scowled as he saw Howard, and the scowl deepened as he gazed at the old general. Then suddenly a crafty look came into his face.

"You are badly hurt, Nocolo, I see," said the general, seeming to gain temporary strength. "Señor Sherwood has been telling me strange stories of yourself and Lieutenant Mazenas. Have you anything to say before they take you away?"

The captain gasped for breath, then he scowled again. Evidently he wanted to say something, but did not know how to begin. Finally he burst out:

"Yes, I'll speak. They tell me I'll be dead by night, so I suppose I had better free my mind. I don't love you, and I don't love this American; but I have reason to hate Lieutenant Mazenas more deeply than I detest both of you." He grated his teeth. "Dios! I, a captain, to play second fiddle to him, a mere lieutenant! Corona, take my advice, and don't let Mazenas marry your daughter. He is a swindler, a liar--nay, a perjurer. It was he who issued the order to burn your plantation and tried to lay the blame on Sherwood here."

"Ha! are you telling the truth!" burst from the veteran's lips, and he half raised himself from his cot. "Don't stain your dying soul with a lie."

"As Heaven hears me, I speak the truth. I do not love Sherwood, as I said before; yet let me confess that he told the truth when he said I and Mazenas were defrauding him out of his uncle's estate." Nocolo turned to Howard. "Take the papers from my pocket; they will help you to bring Mazenas to justice. Ha! ha! he must not escape! He must not escape! Promise me you will hunt him down--promise!"

"I promise," responded Howard, readily, and as the words were uttered the captain fainted.

The attendants rushed up, but could do little for him. Half an hour later he was dead.

Captain Nocolo's confession, and a reading of the papers found upon his person, produced a great change in General Corona. He asked for a drink to stimulate him, and then called Howard closer.

"Señor Sherwood, I have deeply wronged you; I have also wronged my daughter," he said, brokenly. "Would to Heaven I had had my eyes opened before! But now, now----"

His voice broke, and he could not continue.

"It is not too late to make amends," said Howard. "I will procure the best physician in the city to attend you, and I will begin the search for Estella----"

"Yes! yes! save her! Dios!" The general gasped for breath in his excitement. "You do not know all. I trusted Mazenas in everything. He has possession of many of my private papers, and should I die he will come into possession of all my property, and Estella will be left a beggar, unless he forces her to marry him, and he has my written permission to do even that! Sherwood--Howard--if you really love my daughter, save her! Do not allow that vile wretch to carry out his base designs!"