'ROPE'S By REX BEACH World-Famed Author of Successful Fiction Copyright, isi, By The MoCi ure Newspaper Syndicate. ¥ * ROUND moon flooded the thickets with gold and inky shadows. The night was hot, poisonous with the scent of blos- soms and of ro trople vegeta- tion. It was that breathless, over- powering period between the sea- sons when the trades were fitful, be- fore the rains had come. From the Carribbean rose the whisper of a dying surf, slower and fainter than the respirations of a sick man; in the Sopth the bearded, wrinkled H hills lifted their scowling Beneath a thatched roof set upon four posts was a table, spread with food, and on it a candle burned steadily, Under a similar thatched shed, a short distance away, a group of soldiers were busy around a cook-fire. There were other huts inside the jungle clearing, h the dilapidated walls of which issued rays of light and men's voices. Petithomme Laduerre, colonel of in the army of the Re- public, wiped the fat of a roasted pig from his lips with the back of his hand. Using his thumb-nail as & knife-blade, he loosened a splinter from the edge of the rickety wooden table, fashioned it into a toothpick, then laid himself back In a grass hammock. He had expected to find rum in the house of Julien Rameau, but either there had been none or his brave soldiers had happened upon it; at any rate, supper had been a dry meal--only on of sev- disappointments of the day. sack of the village had not at_all satisfactory to the col- hel; one yellow woman dead, a few soners, and some smoldering ins--surely there was no profit in gh business. Reclining at ease, he allowed him- self to admire his uniform, a splen- did creation of blue and gold which had put him to much pains and ex- pense. It had arrived from Port au Prince barely in time to be of ser- vice in the campaign. Once Hayti was called the "Jewel of the Antilles" and boasted its "Little Paris of the. West," but when the black men rose to power it became a place of evil rep- utation, a land behind a vell, where all things are possible and most things come to pass. In place of monastery bells there sounds the midnight mutter of voodoo drums; the priest has been succeeded by the " the worship of the Virgin has changed to that of the serpent. Instead of the sacramental bread and wine men drink the blood of the white cock, and, so it is whispered, eat the flesh of "the goat without horns." As he picked his teeth, Colonel Petithomme Laguerre turned his eyes to the right, peering idly into the shadows of a tamarihd-tree, the branches of which overtopped the hut. Suspended from one of these was an inert shape, mottled with yellow patches where the moon- beams filtered hrough the leaves, It stirred, swayed, turned slowly, re- solving itself into the figure of an old man. He was hanging by the wrists to a rawhide rope; his toes were lightly touching the earth. "So! Now that Monsieur Rameau has had time to think, perhaps he will speak," said the colonel. A sigh, it was scarcely a groan, "Miser that yoy are!" impatiently exclaimed the colonel. "Your money can de you no good now. Is it not better to part with it easily than to rot in a government prison?" "There is no--- money," faintly came the voice of the prisoner. "My neighbors will tell you that I am poor." Both men spoke in the creole pa- tols of the island. "Bah! It seems you are stubborn, Congo, bring the boy!™ Laguerre . spoke gruffly. y A man emerged from the shadows at the base of the tree and slouched forward, He was a negro soldier, and, with musket and machete, shuffled the corner of the hut in the direction of the other houses, pausing as the colonel said: "But wait! There is a girl, too, I belidve." "Yes, monsieur. The wife eof Floreal" "Good. them both." Some moments later imploring ojces rose, a shrill entreaty in a woman's tones, then Congo + ans other tirallleur appeared; ahead of them a youth and a girl The prisoners' arms were bound be- hind them, and although the girl was weeping, the boy sald little. He stepped forward into the candle- light and stared deflantly at the blue-and-gold officer. Floreal Rameéau was a rg atto, perhaps twenty years 3 Hips were thin and sensitive, his nose prominent, his eyes brilliant and wv upon his legs. "Monsieur--what is this?" he sald, . faintly. s The girl cowered at his back, 'our father persists in lying" TE "What do you--wish him to say?" the first time, and shook bff his in- dolence. He swung legs from the hammock and sat up. Something in the intensity of his regard brought her gaze away from the figure of Papa Rameau. Involun- tarily the girl recoiled. Ly "Um-m! So!" The barefoot col- onel rose and, stepping forward, took her face in his harsh palm, turning it yp for scrutiny. His rov- ing glance appraised her fully. "Your name is--"" "Plerrine!" : "To be sure. Well then, my little Plerrine, you will tell me about thig, sh?" "I know nothing,' she stammered. "Floreal speaks the truth, monsieur. What does it mean--all this? We are good people; we harm nobody. Everyone here was happy until the --blacks rose. Then there was fight- ing and--this morning you came, It was terrible Mamma Cleomelle is dead--the soldiers shot her. Why do you hang Papa Julien " Floreal broke in, hysterically: "Yes, monsieur, he is an old man. Punish me if you will, but my fa- ther--he is old. See! He is barely alive. These riches you speak about are imaginary, We have fields, cat- tle, a schooner; take them for the Republic, but, monsieur, my father has injured no one." Petithomme Lag uerre reseated himself in the hammock and swung himself idly, his bare soles scuffing the hard earthen floor; he continued to oye Plerrine. Now that young Rameau had brought himself to beg, he fell to his knees and went on: "I swear to you that we are not traitors. Never have we spoken against the govern- ment. We are 'colored,' yes. but the black people love us. They loved Cleomelle, my mother, whom the soldiers shot. That was murder. Monsieur--she would have harmed nobody. She was only frightened. The suppliant's shoulders were heaving, his voice was choked by emotion. "She is unburied, I appeal to your kind heart to let us go and bury her. We will be your servants for life. You wish money. Good! We will find it for you. I will work, 1 will steal, I will kill for this money you wish--I swear it. But old Julien, he is dying there on the rope----=" Floreal raised his tortured eyes to the black face aboue him, then his babbling tongue fell silent and he rose, interposing his body be- tween Plerrine and the colonel. It was evident that the latter had heard nothing whatever of the ap- peal, for he was still staring at the Srioreal strained until the rawhide thongs cut into his wrist, his bare, yellow toes gripping the hard earth like the claws of a cat until he seemed about to spring. Once he turned his head, curiously, fearfully, toward his young wife, then his blazing glance swung back to his captor, The silence roused Laguerre final ly, and he rose. "Speak the truth," he commanded, roughly, "otherwise you shall see your father dance a bamboula while my soldiers drum on his ribs with the cocomacaque. As for you, my little Plerrine, you will come to my house; then, if these wicked men refuse to speak, per- haps you and I will reach an under- standing." Laguerre grinned evilly. He led the girl out across the moon- lit clearing and to the largest house in the group, He reappeared, making the door fast behind him, and re- turned, 'stretching himself in the hammock once more, "Now, Congo," he ordered, "let us see who will speak first." Taking a pipe from his pocket, he filled it with the rank native tobacco and lighted it. The tirailleur he had addressed selected a four-foot club of the jointed cocomacaque wood, such as is used by the local police, and with it smote the suspended figure heavily. Old Julien groaned, his son cried out. The brutality proceeded with deliberation, the body of old Julien swung drunkenly, spinning, swaying, writhing in 'the moonlight. Floreal shrank away. Retreating until his back was against the table, he clutched its edge with his numb for support, His groping fingers finally touched the candle at his back; it was burning low, and the blase bit at them, With the pain there came a thought, wild, fantastic; he shifted his position slightly until the flame licked at his bonds. Colonel La- guerre was in the shadow now, watching the torture with approval. Maximilien, the other soldier, rested unmoved upon his rifle. Floreal the old man hang. I have an appe- tite for pleasanter things '4than a "The club was heavier than I thought," answered Congo. "He brought it upon himself. Well, the prison at Jacmel is full'of colored people; this will leave room for one more--" Maximilien's words suddenly failed him, his thoughts were abruptly halted, for he found that in some un- accountable manner young Rameau's hands had become free and that the machete at his own side was slipping from its sheath, It is doubtful if the trooper fully realized what had befalleh or that any threatened, for his mind was sluggish, and under Rameau"s swift hands his soul had begun to tug at his body before his astonishment had d. The blade rasped out of its scabbard, whistled through its course, and Maximilien lurched forward to his knees. The sound of the blow, like that of an ax sunk into a rotten tree- trunk, surprised Congo. A shout burst from him; he raised the stout cudgel above his head, for Floreal was upon him like the blurred Image out of a nightmare. The t shrieked affrightedly as the bladd' sheared through his shield and bit at his arm. He turned to flee, but his head was round and bare, and it danced before the oncoming Floreal. Rameau cleft it, as he had learned to open a green cocoanut, with one stroke. On the hard earth, Maximilien was scratch- ing and kicking as if to drag him- self out of the welter in which he lay. Floreal cut down his father and received the limp figure in his arms. As he straightened it he heard a furious commotion from the camp- fire where the other tirailleurs were squatted. As. he rose from his father's body he heard a shot and saw the soldiers of the Republic charging him. They were between him and "Plerrine. He hesitated, of his birth, for twice a year, when the seasons changed, when the trades died and the hot lands sent their odors reeking through the night, he felt a hungry yearning for Haytl. During these periods of lifeless heat his impulses ran wild; at these times his habits changed and he became violent, nocturnal As he thought of Petithomme Laguerre he bit his wrists in an agony of recollection. Hayt!i had become qu once more--as qulet as could be ed --and the former colonel tivall- leurs had prospered. He was now "General Petithomme Laguerre, Commandant of the Arrondisse- ment of the South," and the echo of his name crepy eastward along the coast, even to Azua. The bitterness of this news finally sent Inocencio seaward in a barken- tine, the business of which was not above suspicion. He cruised through the Virgin Islands, on around the Leewards and the Windwards, see- ing something of the world and tastifig of its wickedness, A year later, at Trinidad, he fell in with a Portuguese half-breed, captain of a schooner bound on hazardous business, and, inasmuch as high wages were promised, he shipped. Followed adventures of many sorts, during which Inocencio became a mate, but made no friends. One night when the moon was full and the schooner lay becalmed there was drinking and gambling in the little cabin. It was the change of the reasons, before the raing had come; the air was close; the ship reeked with odors. Inocencio played like demon, for his heart was flerce, and the cards befriended him. All night he #hd the Portu- guese half-breed shuffled and dealt, drank rum, and cursed each other. When daylight came the schooner had changed hands. Colon sits on the southern shore turned his crew told stories of alm- less visits to the Haytian coast In which there appeared to be neither reason nor profit, since they neither took nor fetched a cargo. His /helpers retailed other gossip umors of a coming revolution in the Republic, tales of the great general, Petithomme Laguerre, who had aims upon the Presidency. were open, and what he heard stirred his rage but he was not a brilliant man, and his brain, unused to strategy, refused to counsel him. For five years he had incessantly, nursing his hate and searching for a means to satisfy it. Then, as if born of the lightning, he saw his also, Inocencio's ears studied the matter Way. He consulted a French clerk in the Canal offices, and between them they contrived a letter which ran as follows; To His Excellency, General Peti- thomme Paguerre, Command- ant of the Arrordissement of the South, Jacmel, Republic of Haytl, y General--The bearer, Inocencio Ruiz, of Cartagena, master of the schooner Stella, will consult you upon a matter of extreme dell- cacy which concerns the sale of two hundred rifles. These arms, of latest model, were consigned to this port, but under the existing relations of amity between the French and Colombian govern- ments they cannot be used. Knowing your patriotism and the zeal with which you safeguard the welfare of your country, the writer makes bold to offer these arms to you, as agent of the Haytian government, at a low figure. Captain Ruiz, a man of discretion, is empowered to dis- cuss the matter with you at Sreater length. In full appreciation of your su- preme qualities as a soldier and statesman, it is with admiration that I salute you. ~~ Respectfully, Antoine Leblanc. Jacmel lay white in the blazing sun as the Stella dropped anchor. The trades were failing, and the schooner drifted slowly under a full spread of canvas, Near where she came to rest lay a Haytlan gun- boat, ill-painted, ill-manned, {ll-dis- oiplined, and Inocenclo regarded for her presence was a thing he had not counted upon. It argued either that Laguerre had won the support of her commander or that she had | her with some concern, "Speak the Truth!" He Commanded, Roughly, "Otherwise You Shall See Your Father Dance a Bamboula While My Soldiers Drum on His Ribs with the Cocomacaque." then slipped back into thé shadow of the tamarind-tree, and out at the other side; his cotton garments flickered briefly through the moon- light, then the thickét swallowed him, His pursuers paused and emptied their guns blindly into the Ink-black shadows where he had disappeared. When Colonel Laguerre arrived upon the scene they were still load- ing and firing without aim, and he had some difficulty in accustomed to, but blood of their own letting. This was very dfffer- ent. ' This 'was a blow at the gov- ernment, at their own established authority. Such an appalling loss of life seldom occurred to regular of the Caribbean, and through it drifts a current of trafic from many seas, It at the time of the French fiasco, name was po Colon was the wickedest, sickest city of the Western Hemisphere, that suited him. There he heard the echo of tremendous undertak- ings; there he learned new rascali- ties, and met men from othar lands who were homeless, like himself; there he tasted of tW white man's troops of the Republic; it was worse | th pitched battle with the Dominicans, and it excited the troopers terribly. . Perhaps he had been mista and there was no money, thought the colonel, as he peturned to his quarters after a time. Of course the girl still remained, me he could t and saluted. The seaman's eyes were smoldering, but his lips were cold, for he felt the dread of recognition. ory as it had changed the younger man's features, for he continued, unsuspecting! Leblanc, I believe." have them nearby? + "Within gunshot, Excellency. They are in the harbor at this mo- ment." man of business, this Lablanc. You will fix the price, as I understand | of bickering, during which the gen- eral allowed himself to be worsted. He agreed weakly to Inocencio's terms, having already decided to appropriate the God-sent cargo without payment. counted upon this, and, moreover, he had rightfully comstrued; the light in those bloodshot eyes. these rifles for himself, to appreci- ate them, and he must count them, too, else how can he know that I am not deceiving him? We must ob- In of the Republic. My skiff is wait- ng; again-=in an hour" the inspection will be completed. Yoy must gee those rifles with your own eyes, Ex- cellency. They are wonderful--the equal of any in the world; no troops can stand before them, They are magnificant." a worthy circumspection. hazardous business, with the flag of the employer is a man of reputation." an aide who had remained at a distance during the interview, and together we march tomorrow," eral; n week. My deflance has gone forth. My country ories for her defender. There will be bloody doings, for I tel® you the temper of the people is roused and they have no stomach for the tyrant at Port au Prince." "And who could cope with them better than yourself? You have a reputation, Excellency. of Petithomme even In my country." as they walked out upon the rotting wharf--all wharves in Hayti decayed--the night had grown still, Whisper of the tide, mingled with a babel from the town. Inocencio cast & worfied look skyward, and in his ungodly soul prayed for wind, for a Dreese, for a gentle zephyr which ould. put his vengeance in his eral, if you will be so good." | | "Your Excellency!" Inocencio rose Time, it seemed, had dulled the outlines of Laguerre's mem- v: "You are the agent of Monsieur "The same." "Good! Now theses rifies--you Laguerre"s face lighted. "Hal AJ There followed a certain amount The latter had "Monsieur le General must see yonder block." hatch and descended leisurely into the cabin. Laguerre was sitting in a chalr with his ammns and legs securely bound, Inocencio seated himself, and the two men stared at each other across the bare table. Laguerre spoke first, his tongue thick, his voice hoarse from yelling. Inocencio listened with fixed, un- wavering gaze. "You tricked me neatly," former raved. "You, are a govern- ment spy, I presume. ment feared me. Well, then, it was bold work, but you will listen to what I say now. We will settle this matter quickly, yoy and L 1 have money. You can name your price" y. you?™ "lI am Floreal" The name meant nothing. guerre's life was black; many Flo- real's had figured in it. He slid dack the the The govern- "All Hayti could not buy your life, Laguerre!" ' Some tone of voice, some haunt- familiarity of feature, set the ner's memory to groping blind- At last he inquired, "Who are La- "Perhaps yoy will remember an- other--a woman. She had a scar, just here." The speaker bacco-stained finger upon his left cheek-bone, and Laguerre noticed a to- .| for the first time that the wrist be- "Nevertheless, there is a gunboat the harbor and she files thé flag we will slip out and back "Come!" sald Laguerre, rising. "But alone!" Ineocencio displayed "This That war-ship Republic--my "Very well" Laguerre dismissed the two set out. "You arrived barely in time, for al said the gen- at least we mqrch within a th "Bloody doings!" Inoocencio smiled upon his companion. the The name is known, - th The moon was round and brilliant are and through it came the gentle |through the block at the fal "Into the cabin, Monsieur le Gen- There followed the sound of a blow, of a heavy fall, then a loud, ferocious ory, and a subdued scum- ing, during which the crew stared to ] wv i 1 : E i : wife; no home! ave become great. There was an old man whom yoy stretched by the wrists, in the moonlight. Do you remember him? And the old woman, my mother, whom one of your sol- diers shot? Maximilien Aid it, but' I killed him and Congo! grown; against the sky when the two gain- od the deck, and at the sight of it plumbob now, heeled to » i § $F i neath it was maimed as from a burn. "She was young and round and her body was soft" The mulatto's distorted which he intended for a smile. "She was my wife, Laguerre, by the Church, and you took her. She dated, but she had a child--your child." lean face was suddenly in a horrible grimace The hugh black figure shrank into its green-and-gold panoply, the bloodshot eyes rested upon Inoc clo with a look of terrified recogni- tion. "T have no children, Laguerre; no I am poor and you And now ere is only you, Plerrine is dead, and yoy would have been the Presi- dent. It is well that I came in time." Again Captain Rulg smiled, and the oorpulent soldier was shaken loosely by an invisiblé hand. "Come now! Your friends' are approaching and I must prepare you to greet them." He untied the knots at Laguerre's ankles, then motioned him toward e cabin door, The streamer of smoke had it was a black smudge ® general shouted: "My ship! The gunboat! Ho! It " harm comes to me--- Inocencio took one end -of the new rope which had been run masthead, and knotted bout his prisoner's on a knife he severed the other bonds, "Give way!" he ordered. The crew held back, at which he turned upon them so savage that they hastened to obey. They ut thelr weight upon the line; = Suerre's arms were whisked above his head, he felt his feet leave the deck. The schooner listed and he swung outward; twine his legs in the 0' tailed, and he it audn, ut ntl his feet had cleared the cross- he tried to en- continued to rise "Make fast!™ Ipocencio ordered. Laguerre was hanging like a huge and as the schooner he swung out, rther and farther, until there was nothing beneath him but the glassy sea. He screamed at this, and kiock- ed and capered; the slender topmast sprung to his antics. Then the ves- sel righted and as she did the man at the rope's end began swift and fearful journey. Not until that instant did his fate be- come apparent to him, but when he saw what was in store for him he Stadeq to Cry out. He fixed his eyes mast toward which the weight of his bod opelled he drew himself pws es. Symi, he Bung ub his legs to break pac ® Btella Jift bow and he ol nn few inches. the pause that marked the limit of his flight to port, then slowly, but with increasing swiftness, his return journey. slowness of that oscillation added upward by his Onward he rushed, to he began The measured his horror; with every escape 8 strength decreased, his fear grew, as the end approached. A cry of horror arose from the crew whd had gathered forward, for Petithomme Laguerre, diszied with spinning, had finally | fetched up with a crash against the mast. He ricocheted, the swing of the peady- lum became irregular for a time or two, then the roll of the vessel set ioas vioientl; his weight The victim struggled he no longer drew if iH I r i ; i | i i g It : i : :