Part 28 (1/2)

”Twenty years had gone by since dick had received the impression that wrote those lines, and now soar would burn out as he one between Fro silence he said: 'I think I'll co Mrs Davis with me--stay a couple of ht of her and that plan eround

”The picture people began their fil of the 'hly the five knuckles of a giant's hand clenched and lying flat upon the surface of the water' That foro

'The waves tunnelled their way easily enough until they ran up against those five mountains and then they had to fall back' How natural for one of us to be unimpressed by such a feature of the landscape and yet how characteristic of dick Davis to see the eleet the hint for the whole of the engineering struggle that is so ether, where two decades before he had planted his banner of romance We visited the mines and the railroads and everywhere found soineer who re Everywhere he had overlaid the facts with adventure and with beauty, but he had been on sure footing all the tiether we visited the wooden cross hich the rave

CHAPTER XIX

VERA CRUZ AND THE GREAT WAR

Late in April, 1914, ar between the United States and Mexico seemed inevitable Richard once more left the peace and content of Crossroads and started for Vera Cruz, arriving there on April 29 He had arranged to act as correspondent for a syndicate of newspapers, and as he had for long been opposed to the adreatly disappointed on his arrival at the border to learn of the President's plan of mediation He wrote to his wife:

CRUZ, April 24, 1914

DEAREST ONE:

We left today at 530 It was a splendid scene, except for the children crying, and the wives of the officers and enlisted ot a stateroom to myself With the electric fan on and the airport open, it is about as cool as a blast furnace But I was given a seat on the left of General Funston, who is coade, and the other officers at the table are all good fellows As long as I was going, I certainly had luck in getting away as sharply as I did One day's delay would have made me miss this transport, which will be the first to land troops

April 25th

A dreadnaught joined us today, the Louisiana I wirelessed the Ad permission to send a press despatch via his battleshi+p, and he was polite in reply, but firm He said ”No” There are four transports and three torpedo boats and the battleshi+p We go very slowly, because we ines At night it is very pretty seeing the shi+ps in line, and the torpedo boats winking their signals at each other I as about the ar the new dope

Also I a up my Spanish Jack London is on board, and three other correspondents, two of whom I have met on other trips, and one ”cub” correspondent He was sitting beside London andout copy, and I asked him what he found to write about He said, ”Well, s you fellows don't see” What he uyed unmercifully

April 27, 1914

The censor reads all I write, and so do some half-dozen Mexican cable clerks and 60 (sixty) correspondents So when I cable ”love,” it MEANS devotion, adoration, and worshi+p; loyalty, fidelity and truth, wanting you, needing you, unhappy for you It means ALL that

RICHARD

VERA CRUZ, April 30, 1914

This heat--humid and ine what it does to me with all the ainter's accumulation of fat I hate to say it, but I LIKE these Mexicans--much better than Cubans, or Central Americans They are human, kindly; it is only the politicians and bandits like Villa who give theht to hate us, whenever I stop to ask my way they invite me to come in and have ”coffee” and say, ”My house is yours, senor,” which certainly is kind after people have taken your toay fro and knocked your head off if you did not salute it I now have a fine rooot the room of the paymaster It faces the plaza and the cathedral I burned a candle there today for our soonThe priests all had run away, so I had to hunt up the candle, and pay the money into the box marked for that purpose, but the Lord does not run away, and He will see we soon meet

May 2nd

Yesterday I went out on the train that brings in refugees and saw the Mexicans They had on three thousand cartridges, h as church steeples, and lots of dirt The Selig Moving Picture folks took many pictures of us and several ”stills,” in which the war correspondent was shown giving cigarettes to the brigands Also, I had a wonderful bath in the ocean off the aviation camp I borrowed a suit from one of the aviators, and splashed and swaood It reminded me of my dear Bessie, because the last time I was in the ocean ith her

Maybe you knohat is going on, but we do not So I just hustle around all day trying to find news as I did when I was a reporter It is hot enough here even for ht pounds of that fat I laid in during our North Pole winter!

VERA CRUZ--May 8, 1914

DEAR CHAS:

Today, when Wilson ordered Huerta not to blockade Tampico which was an insult to Mediators and the act of a bully and a coward, AND a declaration of e all got on our ponies to ”advance” Then ca in a otiations If they have self respect that is what they will do Tonight if Wilson and Huerta ran for President, Huerta would get all our votes He may be an uneducated Indian, but at least he is aback The reason I cannot return is because I have ”credentials” It is not that they want ME here, but they want , as I see it, the privilege of having a correspondent at the front as a club It says until war is declared it won't issue any more So those syndicates who have no correspondent and the papers for them, are afraid to attack or to criticise the administration for fear they will be blacklisted And those who have a correspondent with his three thousand dollar signed and sealed pass in his pocket aren't taking any chance on losing him So, I see before me an endless existence in Vera Cruz