Kirk Munroe - Forward, March
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Kirk Munroe >> Forward, March
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"FORWARD, MARCH"
A Tale of the Spanish-American War
by
KIRK MUNROE
Author of "The Painted Desert," "Rick Dale," The "Mate Series," etc.
Illustrated
New York and London
Harper & Brothers Publishers
1899
[Frontispiece: The Rough Riders fought without seeing
the enemy.]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. A BOWL OF ROSES
II. WAR IS DECLARED
III. ROLLO THE TERROR
IV. THE ROUGH RIDERS AT SAN ANTONIO
V. RIDGE BECOMES A TROOPER
VI. OFF FOR THE WAR
VII. THE STORY OF HOBSON AND THE _MERRIMAC_
VIII. CHARGED WITH A SECRET MISSION
IX. HERMAN DODLEY INTERPOSES DIFFICULTIES
X. ON THE CUBAN BLOCKADE
XI. A LIVELY EXPERIENCE OF CUBAN HOSPITALITY
XII. DENOUNCED BY A FRIEND
XIII. TO BE SHOT AT SUNRISE
XIV. REFUGEES IN THE MOUNTAINS
XV. DIONYSIO CAPTURES A SPANIARD
XVI. ASLEEP WHILE ON GUARD
XVII. IN THE HANDS OF SPANISH GUERILLAS
XVIII. DEATH OF SENORITA
XIX. CALIXTO GARCIA THE CUBAN
XX. THE TWO ADMIRALS
XXI. A SPANIARD'S LOYALTY
XXII. ROLLO IN CUBA
XXIII. THE "TERRORS" IN BATTLE
XXIV. FACING SAN JUAN HEIGHTS
XXV. RIDGE WINS HIS SWORD
XXVI. MUTINY ON A TRANSPORT
XXVII. DESTRUCTION OF THE SPANISH SHIPS
XXVIII. LAST SHOT OF THE CAMPAIGN
XXIX. TWO INVALID HEROES
XXX. ROLLO MAKES PROPOSITIONS
ILLUSTRATIONS
THE ROUGH RIDERS FOUGHT WITHOUT SEEING THE ENEMY . . . (Frontispiece)
"SILAS PINE GAZED ABOUT HIM WITH THE AIR OF ONE WHO IS DAZED"
"'HIM HOLGUIN SPANIARD. NOW YOU SHOOT HIM,' SAID THE CUBAN"
RIDGE ESCORTS A CUBAN FAMILY INTO SANTIAGO
"FORWARD, MARCH!"
CHAPTER I
A BOWL OF ROSES
In the morning-room of a large, old-fashioned country-house, situated a
few miles outside the city of New Orleans, sat a young man arranging a
bowl of roses. Beside him stood a pretty girl, in riding costume, whose
face bore a trace of petulance.
"Do make haste, Cousin Ridge, and finish with those stupid flowers. You
have wasted half an hour of this glorious morning over them already!" she
exclaimed.
"Wasted?" rejoined Ridge Norris, inquiringly, and looking up with a
smile. "I thought you were too fond of flowers to speak of time spent in
showing them off to best advantage as 'wasted.'"
"Yes, of course I'm fond of them," answered Spence Cuthbert, who was from
Kentucky on a Mardi Gras visit to Dulce Norris, her school-chum and
cousin by several removes, "but not fond enough to break an engagement on
account of them."
"An engagement?"
"Certainly. You promised to go riding with me this morning."
"And so I will in a minute, when I have finished with these roses."
"But I want you to come this instant."
"And leave a duty unperformed?" inquired Ridge, teasingly.
"Yes; now."
"In a minute."
"No. I won't wait another second."
With this the girl flung herself from the room, wearing a very determined
expression on her flushed face.
Ridge rose to follow her, and then resumed his occupation as a clatter of
hoofs on the magnolia-bordered driveway announced the arrival of a
horseman.
"She won't go now that she has a caller to entertain," he said to himself.
But in this he was mistaken; for within a minute another clatter of
hoofs, mingled with the sound of laughing voices, gave notice of a
departure, and, glancing from an open window, Ridge saw Spence Cuthbert
ride gayly past in company with a young man whose face seemed familiar,
but whose name he could not recall.
As they swept by both looked up laughing, while the horseman lifted his
hat in a bow that was almost too sweeping to be polite.
"What did you say Ridge was doing?" he asked, as they passed beyond
earshot.
"Arranging a bowl of roses," answered Spence.
"Nice occupation for a man," sneered the other. "And he preferred doing
that to riding with you?"
"So it seems."
"Well, I am not wholly surprised, for, as I remember him, he was a
soft-hearted, Miss Nancy sort of a boy, who was always coddling sick
kittens, or something of the kind, and never would go hunting because he
couldn't bear to kill things. He apparently hadn't a drop of sporting
blood in him, and I recall having to thrash him on one occasion because
he objected to my shooting a bird. I thought of course, though, that he
had outgrown all such nonsense by this time."
"There is no nonsense about him!" flashed out Spence, warmly; and then,
to her companion's amazement, the girl began a most spirited defence of
her absent cousin, during which she denounced in such bitter terms the
taking of innocent lives under the name of "sport" that the other was
finally thankful to change the conversation to a more congenial topic.
In the mean time Dulce Norris had entered the morning-room to find out
why Spence had gone to ride with Herman Dodley instead of with Ridge, as
had been arranged.
"Was that Herman Dodley?" asked the latter, without answering his
sister's question.
"Yes, of course, but why do you ask with such a tragic air?"
"Because," replied Ridge, "I have heard reports concerning him which, if
confirmed, should bar the doors of this house against him forever."
"What do you mean, Ridge Norris? I'm sure Mr. Dodley bears as good a
reputation as the majority of young men one meets in society. Of course
since he has got into politics his character has been assailed by the
other party; but then no one ever believes what politicians say of one
another."
"No matter now what I mean," rejoined the young man. "Perhaps I will
tell you after I have spoken to father on the subject, which I mean to do
at once."
Ridge Norris, on his way to the library, where he hoped to find his
father, was somewhat of a disappointment to his family. Born of a mother
in whose veins flowed French and Spanish blood, and who had taught him to
speak both languages, and of a New England father, who had spent his
entire business life in the far South, Ridge had been reared in an
atmosphere of luxury. He had been educated in the North, sent on a grand
tour around the world, and had finally been given a position, secured
through his father's influence, in a Japanese-American banking house.
From Yokohama he had been transferred to the New York office, where, on
account of a slight misunderstanding with one of his superiors, he had
thrown up his position to return to his home only a few days before this
story opens.
Now his family did not know what to do with him. He disliked business,
and would not study for a profession. He was a dear, lovable fellow,
honest and manly in all his instincts; but indolent, fastidious in his
tastes, and apparently without ambition. He was devoted to music and
flowers, extremely fond of horses, which he rode more than ordinarily
well, and had a liking for good books. He had, furthermore, returned
from his travels filled with pride for his native land, and declaring
that the United States was the only country in the world worth fighting
and dying for.
Taking the morning's mail from the hand of a servant who had just brought
it, Ridge entered his father's presence.
"Here are your letters, sir," he said, "but before you read them I should
like a few moments' conversation with you."
"Certainly, son. What is it?"
As Ridge told what he had heard concerning Herman Dodley, the elder man's
brows darkened; and, when the recital was finished, he said:
"I fear all this is true, and have little doubt that Dodley is no better
than he should be; but, unfortunately, I am so situated at present that I
cannot forbid him the house. I will warn Dulce and her friend against
him; but just now I am not in a position to offend him."
"Why, father!" cried Ridge, amazed to hear his usually fearless and
self-assertive parent adopt this tone. "I thought that you were--"
"Independent of all men," interrupted the other, finishing the sentence.
"So I believed myself to be. But I am suddenly confronted by business
embarrassments that force me temporarily to adopt a different policy.
Truly, Ridge, we are threatened with such serious losses that I am making
every possible sacrifice to try and stem the tide. I have even placed
our summer home on the Long Island coast in an agent's hands, and am
deeply grieved that you should have thrown up a position, promising at
least self-support, upon such slight provocation."
"But he ordered me about as though I were a servant, instead of
requesting me to do things in a gentlemanly way."
"And were you not a servant?"
"No, sir, I was not--at least, not in the sense of being amenable to
brutal commands. I was not, nor will I ever be, anybody's slave."
"Oh well, my boy!" replied the elder, with a deep sigh, "I fear you will
live to discover by sad experience that pride is the most expensive of
earthly luxuries, and that one must consent to obey orders long before he
can hope to issue commands. But we will discuss your affairs later, for
now I must look over my letters."
While Mr. Norris was thus engaged, Ridge opened the morning paper, and
glanced carelessly at its headlines. Suddenly he sprang to his feet with
a shout, his dark face glowing and his eyes blazing with excitement.
"By heavens, father!" he cried, "the United States battle-ship _Maine_
has been blown up in Havana Harbor with a loss of two hundred and sixty
of her crew. If that doesn't mean war, then nothing in the world's
history ever did. You needn't worry about me any more, sir, for my duty
is clearly outlined."
"What do you propose to do?" asked the elder man, curiously. "Will you
try to blow up a Spanish battle-ship in revenge?"
"No, sir. But I shall enlist at the very first call to arms, and offer
my life towards the thrashing of the cowards who have perpetrated this
incredible crime."
Thrilled to the core by the momentous news he had just read, Ridge
hastened to impart it to his mother and sister. At the same time he
ordered a horse on which he might ride to the city for further details of
the stupendous event. As he was about to depart, Spence Cuthbert and her
escort, returning from their ride, dashed up to the doorway.
"Have you heard the news?" cried Ridge, barely nodding to Dodley.
"Yes," replied Spence. "Isn't it dreadful? Mr. Dodley told me all about
it, and after hearing it I couldn't bear to ride any farther, so we came
back."
"I wish he had told me before you started," said Ridge, "so that I might
have been in the city long ago."
"You were so busily and pleasantly engaged with your roses that I
hesitated to interrupt you," murmured Herman Dodley. "Now, however, if I
can be of any assistance to you in the city, pray consider me at your
service."
"Can you assist me, sir, to obtain a commission in the army that will be
summoned to visit a terrible punishment upon Spain for her black
treachery?"
"Undoubtedly I could, and of course I would do so with pleasure if the
occasion should arise. But there won't be any war. The great Yankee
nation is too busy accumulating dollars to fight over a thing of this
kind. We will demand a money indemnity, it will be promptly paid, and
the whole affair will quickly be forgotten."
"Sir!" cried Ridge, his face pale with passion. "The man who utters such
words is at heart a traitor to his country."
"If it were not for the presence of ladies, I would call you to account
for that remark," muttered Dodley. "As it is, I shall not forget it.
Ladies, I have the honor to wish you a very good-morning."
With this the speaker, who had not dismounted, turned his horse's head
and rode away.
CHAPTER II
WAR IS DECLARED
Never was the temper and patience of the American people more sorely
tried than by the two months of waiting and suspense that followed the
destruction of their splendid battle-ship. The _Maine_ had entered
Havana Harbor on a friendly visit, been assigned to a mooring, which
was afterwards changed by the Spanish authorities, and three weeks
later, without a suspicion of danger having been aroused or a note of
warning sounded, she was destroyed as though by a thunder-bolt. It was
nearly ten o'clock on the night of Tuesday, February 15th. Taps had
sounded and the crew were asleep in their hammocks, when, by a terrific
explosion, two hundred and fifty-eight men and two officers were hurled
into eternity, sixty more were wounded, and the superb battle-ship was
reduced to a mass of shapeless wreckage.
It was firmly believed throughout the United States that this appalling
disaster was caused by a submarine mine, deliberately placed near the
mooring buoy to which the _Maine_ had been moved, to be exploded at a
favorable opportunity by Spanish hands.
The Spaniards, on the other side, claimed and strenuously maintained
that the only explosion was that of the ship's own magazines, declaring
in support of this theory that discipline on all American men-of-war
was so lax as to invite such a catastrophe at any moment.
To investigate, and settle if possible, this vital question, a Court of
Inquiry, composed of four prominent naval officers, was appointed.
They proceeded to Havana, took volumes of testimony, and, after six
weeks of most searching investigation, made a report to the effect that
the _Maine_ was destroyed by two distinct explosions, the first of
which was that of a mine located beneath her, and causing a second
explosion--of her own magazines--by concussion.
During these six weeks the country was in a ferment. For three years
war had raged in Cuba, where the natives were striving to throw off the
intolerable burden of Spanish oppression and cruelty. In all that time
the sympathies of America were with the struggling Cubans; and from
every State of the Union demands for intervention in their behalf, even
to the extent of going to war with Spain, had grown louder and more
insistent, until it was evident that they must be heeded. With the
destruction of the _Maine_ affairs reached such a crisis that the
people, through their representatives in Congress, demanded to have the
Spanish flag swept forever from the Western hemisphere.
In vain did President McKinley strive for a peaceful solution of the
problem; but with both nations bent on war, he could not stem the tide
of popular feeling. So, on the 20th of April he was obliged to demand
from Spain that she should, before noon of the 23d, relinquish forever
her authority over Cuba, at the same time withdrawing her land and
naval forces from that island. The Spanish Cortes treated this
proposition with contempt, and answered it by handing his passports to
the American Minister at Madrid, thereby declaring war against the
great American republic.
At this time Spain believed her navy to be more than a match for that
of the United States, and that, with nearly two hundred thousand
veteran, acclimated troops on the island of Cuba, she was in a position
to resist successfully what she termed the "insolent demands of the
Yankee pigs."
On this side of the Atlantic, Congress had appropriated fifty millions
of dollars for national defence, the navy was being strengthened by the
purchase of additional ships at home and abroad, fortifications were
being erected along the entire coast, harbors were mined, and a
powerful fleet of warships was gathered at Key West, the point of
American territory lying nearest the island of Cuba.
Then came the President's call for 125,000 volunteers, followed a few
weeks later by a second call for 75,000 more. This was the summons for
which our young friend, Ridge Norris, had waited so impatiently ever
since that February morning when he had arranged a bowl of roses and
read the startling news of the _Maine's_ destruction.
No one in all the country had been more impatient of the long delay
than he; for it had seemed to him perfectly evident from the very first
that war must be declared, and he was determined to take an active part
in it at the earliest opportunity. His father was willing that he
should go, his mother was bitterly opposed; Dulce begged him to give up
his design, and even Spence Cuthbert's laughing face became grave
whenever the subject was mentioned, but the young man was not to be
moved from his resolve.
Mardi Gras came and passed, but Ridge, though escorting his sister and
cousin to all the festivities, took only a slight interest in them. He
was always slipping away to buy the latest papers or to read the
bulletins from Washington.
"Would you go as a private, son?" asked his father one evening when the
situation was being discussed in the family circle.
"No, no! If he goes at all--which Heaven forbid--it must be as an
officer," interposed Mrs. Norris, who had overheard the question.
"Of course a gentleman would not think of going as anything else,"
remarked Dulce, conclusively.
"I believe there were gentlemen privates on both sides during the Civil
War," said Spence Cuthbert, quietly.
"Of course," admitted Dulce, "but that was different. Then men fought
for principles, but now they are going to fight for--for--"
"The love of it, perhaps," suggested the girl from Kentucky.
"You know I don't mean that," cried Dulce. "They are going to fight
because--"
"Because their country calls them," interrupted Ridge, with energy,
"and because every true American endorses Decatur's immortal toast of
'Our Country. May she always be in the right; but, right or wrong, our
country.' Also because in the present instance we believe it is as
much our right to save Cuba from further oppression at the hands of
Spain as it always is for the strong to interpose in behalf of the weak
and helpless. For these reasons, and because I do not seem fit for
anything else, I am going into the city to-morrow to enlist in whatever
regiment I find forming."
"Oh, my boy! my boy!" cried Mrs. Norris, flinging her arms around her
son's neck, "do not go tomorrow. Wait a little longer, but one week,
until we can see what will happen. After that I will not seek further
to restrain you. It is your mother who prays."
"All right, mother dear, I will wait a few days to please you, though I
cannot see what difference it will make."
So the young man waited as patiently as might be a week longer, and
before it was ended the whole country was ringing with the wonderful
news of Admiral George Dewey's swift descent upon the Philippine
Islands with the American Asiatic squadron. With exulting heart every
American listened to the thrilling story of how this modern Farragut
stood on the bridge of the Olympia, and, with a fine contempt for the
Spanish mines known to be thickly planted in the channel, led his ships
into Manila Bay. Almost before the startled Spaniards knew of his
coming he had safely passed their outer line of defences, and was
advancing upon their anchored fleet of iron-clad cruisers. An hour
later he had completely destroyed it, silenced the shore batteries, and
held the proud city of Manila at his mercy. All this he had done
without the loss of a man or material damage to his ships, an exploit
so incredible that at first the world refused to believe it.
To Ridge Norris, who had spent a week in the Philippines less than a
year before, the whole affair was of intense interest, and he bitterly
regretted not having remained in the Far East that he might have
participated in that glorious fight.
"I would gladly have shipped as a sailor on the _Olympia_ if I had only
known what was in store for her!" he exclaimed; "but a chance like
that, once thrown away, never seems to be offered again."
"But, my boy, it is better now," said Mrs. Norris, with a triumphant
smile. "Then you would have been only a common seaman; one week ago
you would have enlisted as a common soldier. Now you may go as an
officer--what you will call a lieutenant--with the chance soon to
become a captain, and perhaps a general. Who can tell?"
"Whatever do you mean, mother?"
"What I say, and it is even so; for have I not the promise of the
Governor himself? But your father will tell you better, for he knows
what has been done."
So Ridge went to his father, who confirmed what he had just heard,
saying:
"Yes, son; your mother has exerted her influence in your behalf, and
procured for you the promise of a second-lieutenant's commission,
provided I am willing to pay for the honor."
"How, father?"
"By using my influence to send Herman Dodley to the Legislature as soon
as he comes back from the war."
"Is Dodley going into the army?"
"Yes. He is to be a major."
"And would you help to send such a man to the Legislature?"
"If you wanted to be a lieutenant badly enough to have me do so, I
would."
"Father, you know I wouldn't have you do such a thing even to make me
President of the United States!"
"Yes, son, I know it."
And the two, gazing into each other's eyes, understood each other
perfectly.
"I would rather go as a private, father."
"I would rather have you, son; though it would be a great
disappointment to your mother."
"She need not know, for I will go to some distant camp before
enlisting. I wouldn't serve in the same regiment with Herman Dodley,
anyhow."
"Of course not, son."
"I suppose his appointment is political--as well as the one intended
for me?"
"Yes; and so it is with every other officer in the regiment."
"That settles it. I would sooner join the Cubans than fight under the
leadership of mere politicians. So, when I do enlist, it will be in
some regiment where the word politics is unknown, even if I have to go
into the regular army."
"Son, I am prouder of you than I ever was before. What will you want
in the way of an outfit?"
"One hundred dollars, if you can spare so much."
"You shall have it, with my blessing."
So it happened that, a few days later, Ridge Norris started for the
war, though without an idea of where he should find it or in what
capacity he should serve his country.
CHAPTER III
ROLLO THE TERROR
On the evening when Ridge decided to take his departure for the seat of
war he was driven into the city by his father, who set him down near the
armory of the regiment in which he had been offered a lieutenant's
commission--for a consideration.
"I don't want you to tell me where you are going, son," said Mr. Norris,
"for I would rather be able to say, with a clear conscience, that I left
you at headquarters, and beyond that know nothing of your movements."
"All right, father," replied the young fellow. "I won't tell you a thing
about it, for I don't know where I am going any more than you do."
"Then good-bye, my boy, and may Almighty God restore you to us safe and
well when the war is over. Here is the money you asked for, and I only
wish I were able to give you ten times the sum. Be careful of it, and
don't spend it recklessly, for you must remember that we are poor folk
now."
Thus saying, the elder man slipped a roll of crisp bills into his son's
hand, kissed him on the cheek, a thing he had not done before in a dozen
years, and, without trusting his voice for another word, drove rapidly
away.
For a minute Ridge stood in the shadow of the massive building, listening
with a full heart to the rattle of departing wheels. Then he stooped to
pick up the hand-bag, which was all the luggage he proposed to take with
him. As he did so, two men brushed past him, and he overheard one of
them say:
"Yes, old Norris was bought cheap. A second-lieutenancy for his cub
fixed him. The berth'll soon be vacant again though, for the boy hasn't
sand enough to--"
Here the voice of the speaker was lost as the two turned into the armory.
"Thanks for your opinion, Major Dodley," murmured Ridge; "that cheap
berth will be vacant sooner than you think."
Then, picking up his "grip," the young fellow walked rapidly away towards
the railway station. He was clad in a blue flannel shirt, brown canvas
coat, trousers, and leggings, and wore a brown felt hat, the combination
making up a costume almost identical with that decided upon as a Cuban
campaign uniform for the United States army. Ridge had provided himself
with it in order to save the carrying of useless luggage. In his "grip"
he had an extra shirt, two changes of under-flannels, several pairs of
socks, a pair of stout walking-shoes, and a few toilet articles, all of
which could easily be stowed in an army haversack.
Our hero's vaguely formed plan, as he neared the station, was to take the
first east-bound train and make his way to one of the great camps of
mobilization, either at Chickamauga, Georgia, or Tampa, Florida, where he
hoped to find some regiment in which he could conscientiously enlist. A
train from the North had just reached the station as he entered it; but,
to his disgust, he found that several hours must elapse before one would
be ready to bear him eastward.
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