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"Did we lose any men?" Judson asked

"Not one But Raot to close quarters with soreat a hurry and broke open a show-case with his fist"

The retreating Cubans stilltheir rifles into the air, shrieking defiance at their invisible foes, and voicing insulting invitations to combat This ferocity, however, served only to terrify further the civil population and to close the shutters of San Antonio the tighter Meanwhile, the loyal troops re a steady fire into the town And despite this ade the visitors showed a deep respect for their enee of whatever shelter there was

Leslie Branch, of course, proved the solitary exception; as usual, he exposed hiardless of those sudden explosions of dust beneath his horse's feet or those unexpected showers of plaster fro the deserted shops, and in addition to his huge bundle of bedding and his long string of straw hats he now possessed a miscellaneous assortment of plunder, in which were a bolt of calico, a pair of shoes, a collection of cooking-utensils, an uilt-framed mirror The safety of these articles see O'Reilly, he shouted: "Say! What's the Spanish word for 'clothing-store'? I need a new suit"

"Don't be an idiot!" Johnnie yelled at him "Keep under cover"

But Branch only shook his head "They couldn't hit anything," he cried

The next instant, as if to punctuate his remark, a spent bullet smashed the lass It was only by a miracle that he escaped injury Branch reined in his horse, examined the wreck, then with a petulant exclamation cast the useless frarowled "The daet shot"

The sick led resent would obviously be a waste of breath Nevertheless, being a little too tender- hearted to follow Judson's nonchalant example and ride on, O'Reilly held in his horse,an anxious eye upon his friend

The latter was in no hurry; he jogged along leisurely, evidently on the lookout for an opportunity to replenish his wardrobe Truth to say, this needed replenishing--Leslie resembled a scarecrow clad in a suit of soiled pajamas But by this time most of the shops had their shutters up When the last one had been left behind O'Reilly spurred his horse into a gallop, relieved to know that the worst was over