Blue Grass Seminary Girls on the Water

  CHAPTER XVI.--THE GIRLS SEE A BATTLE.

  As Shirley and Mabel, from their shelter among the branches, peeredacross the plain, they saw puffs of smoke issue from the now kneelingbody of men. Sharp reports came to their ears. The only man stillstanding erect, as they could see plainly, was President Garcia, who,with upraised sword, was directing the movement of his men.

  A man dropped his rifle and fell to the ground, and Mabel shrieked.

  "My goodness!" she exclaimed a moment later. "This is terrible,Shirley!"

  Shirley's lips were compressed, and for a moment she turned her eyesaway.

  The firing became louder now, and for the first time the girls noticedthat President Garcia and his men were retreating toward them.

  "We had better get down out of here!" exclaimed Mabel. "We may bestruck."

  Shirley agreed, and they were about to descend, when, from behind them,came rapid footsteps, indicating the approach of a considerable numberof men. Shirley and Mabel became silent.

  A moment later a score of dark-visaged Nicaraguans, with rifles readyfor instant use, appeared and took up their position at the edge of thelittle woods, several of them falling flat under the very tree in whichthe two girls were perched.

  Mabel uttered an exclamation as the first volley was fired by thesenewcomers. In spite of the fact that she was prepared for it, the sharpreports of the weapons had wrung a cry of surprise from her. Shirley,more calm, uttered no sound.

  The girls could now see that the men beneath them were a part ofPresident Garcia's force, for they were shooting over the heads of theircompanions, apparently in an effort to cover the retreat of the mainbody.

  The latter now retreated more rapidly and at length joined forces withthe men beneath the trees. Shirley and Mabel could hear theirconversation plainly, but as it was carried on in Spanish, they couldnot make out the trend of it.

  For perhaps fifteen minutes President Garcia's men held their position,firing at the enemy from the shelter of the trees.

  The plight of the two girls was much more serious than either realized,for a chance bullet was likely to hit one of them at any moment. And yetthey felt safer in the tree than they would have felt among the soldierson the ground.

  So far the enemy had contented themselves with lying flat on the groundsome distance away and firing at the trees, but now, as Shirleyperceived by peering across the plain, they were preparing for a charge.

  A moment later there was a wild yell, and they came forward on the run.They spread out as they came on, and here and there a man fell over,struck down by a rifle bullet.

  In spite of their great danger both girls became lost in wonder at thesight, and stared ahead with straining eyes. Shirley was brought toherself by the sound of something buzzing past her head. She knew in amoment what is was.

  "Mabel!" she cried. "Climb as high as you can or we shall be shot!"

  She scrambled higher up among the branches, and Mabel followed suit.

  Here no bullets flew past them, and looking down they saw that PresidentGarcia was ordering his men to retreat.

  The government troops disappeared further back in the woods, and now thedanger came from their bullets rather than from those of the enemy. Thegirls were in a ticklish situation and they were fully alive to theirperil.

  The enemy pushed further into the woods, pursuing the government troops.The bullets flew less thick, the sound of firing became fainter andfainter, and then died away in the distance.

  Shirley roused herself from the trance in which she seemed to havefallen.

  "Come, Mabel," she said. "Let's get down and get back to the ship beforesome of them come back."

  Mabel was nothing loath, and quickly the girls slid to the ground andadvanced to the edge of the clearing. Here they stopped for a moment,looking about them.

  Several figures were sprawled about on the ground. The girls shuddered.

  "It is terrible," said Shirley.

  "Don't look at them," urged Mabel. "Let's run."

  But as they were about to take to their heels, they were startled by thesound of a voice directly behind them.

  "Ha!" it said.

  The girls wheeled in their tracks to confront a man with rifle levelleddirectly at them. A cry of fear was rung from Mabel's lips, but Shirleysaid nothing.

  The man advanced and the girls shrank back. A torrent of words pouredfrom the man's lips, but it was absolutely unintelligible to either ofthe girls.

  Shirley made a gesture, indicating that they did not understand, and theman said:

  "Americanos?"

  "Yes," replied Shirley. "Do you speak English?"

  "Si!" replied the man, "a leetle!"

  "We want to go away," said Shirley eagerly. "We belong on the ship inthe harbor."

  "No! Stay here. General Orizaba will return soon," said the man inbroken English.

  Shirley started to protest, but the man made a threatening gesture withhis rifle.

  The two girls looked at each other in dismay.

  "Out of the frying pan into the fire, Mabel," declared Shirley. "I guesswe shall have to stay."

  There was apparently no help for it. They sat down upon the grass toawait the arrival of General Orizaba, who, they rightly guessed, was thecommander of the revolutionary forces.

  Their captor stood vigilant guard. Apparently he was determined to allowthem no chance to escape. He sat some distance away, with his rifleacross his knees. The two girls settled themselves with their backs to alarge tree, and made themselves as comfortable as they could under thecircumstances.

  There was a snapping of a twig behind them, and Shirley glanced aboutuneasily.

  "S-s-h-h," came a low voice. "Keep still and show no surprise."

  Both girls recognized the voice in an instant.

  They maintained their composure well, and spoke only to each other.

  "It's Dick!" whispered Shirley.

  "I know it," replied Mabel.

  "Then we are safe."

  The girls' guard now put an end to their conversation. Rising heapproached them and commanded:

  "Silence!"

  He did not hear soft footsteps passing beyond him, nor did he turn intime to see a figure leap from behind a tree and spring at him. Thefirst he realized of his danger was when a pair of strong arms wentround him, and he was hurled violently to the ground, his rifle flyingfrom his hands.

  "Get the rifle, Shirley!" called Dick, as he and his opponent struggledfor mastery.

  Shirley leaped forward, stopped, and when she arose she held the rifle.

  For a moment she considered the advisability of advancing and lendingDick a hand, then concluded that he was more than a match for theNicaraguan. Besides, the figures were locked in such close embrace thatshe couldn't have aided Dick if she would.

  Now Dick succeeded in shaking off the grip of his opponent, and sprangto his feet. The Nicaraguan did likewise, and sprang back.

  As Dick leaped forward again, the man's hand went to his holster, and arevolver flashed in his hand.

  But before he could bring the weapon to bear, Shirley stepped quicklyforward, levelled her rifle at him, and in a clear sharp voice, cried:

  "Halt!"

  The man wheeled quickly and as he did so, Dick sprang upon him frombehind. A quick blow sent the revolver hurling several feet away, andthen Dick stepped back to give free play to his boxing skill.

  The Nicaraguan rushed at him, but Dick stepped lightly aside, and as theman went by, carried on by the impetus of his rush, Dick struck outstraight and true from the shoulder.

  The Nicaraguan crumpled up in a heap on the ground.

  Shirley and Mabel ran quickly to Dick's side.

  "Are you hurt, Dick?" asked Shirley anxiously.

  "No!" was the smiling rejoinder, "but I would have been if you had notbeen prompt with that rifle. That's all that saved me."

  "How did you find us?" asked Mabel.

  "Followed you. We became alarmed at your absence and I said I
thought Icould find you. I imagined you had gone for a stroll, and when I sawthis bunch of pirates going through the town I guessed that you wouldfall into their hands. I came along after them and just as I was aboutto go on I saw you climbing down from the tree."

  "Well, you didn't arrive a minute too soon," declared Shirley. "We werebadly frightened, weren't we Mabel?"

  "I know I was," was her chum's reply. She turned to Dick. "But how----"

  "I'll explain later," interrupted Dick. "The thing to do now is to getaway from here before they return. Come on."

  The girls started on ahead of him, and Dick turned for a glance over hisshoulder.

  Then he uttered an exclamation of alarm, and shouted:

  "Run!"

  For in that quick glance over his shoulder he had perceived the returnof the revolutionists.