Curiosity took Pat Clancy down to the dock one day, where he stood watching a lot of roustabouts loading a ship with long narrow boxes. He noticed one box with a loose cover full of Winchester rifles. "Filibustering," thought Pat. Upon ...See moreCuriosity took Pat Clancy down to the dock one day, where he stood watching a lot of roustabouts loading a ship with long narrow boxes. He noticed one box with a loose cover full of Winchester rifles. "Filibustering," thought Pat. Upon being informed by the Spaniard in charge that Guatemala was their destination and that strong men were needed to carry on the good work, Pat became deeply interested, expressing a strong desire to accompany the expedition, with the result that he signed a contract. After a short, uneventful voyage, they arrive on the shores of Guatemala. While on the way to the interior of this wild tropical country Pat makes a brief halt, distributes rifles and some military coats he brought with him to a few of the roustabouts and drills them with the view of leading the revolutionists to victory. These maneuvers are highly amusing to the Spaniard, who quietly requests Pat to give up the rifles and take those contained in the other boxes. Pat and his awkward squad readily accede to this, but find to their surprise that the other boxes contain pickaxes and spades for the purpose of building a much-needed railroad. Thus tricked by the Spaniard, Pat is forced to work hard with a pick and shovel, but not for long, for the very next morning at daybreak he escapes to the nearest port. Meanwhile the underpaid semi-slaves go on a strike, overpower the guards and almost kill the Spaniard, who escapes within an inch of his life, and becomes a stowaway on the very ship on which Pat is working his way home. In due time a banana-laden vessel arrives in a Southern port of the U.S.A., where the Spaniard is arrested for vagrancy and sentenced to ten days' labor cleaning streets, much to the gratification of Pat Clancy, who has the satisfaction of echoing the Spaniard's remark, "Strong men are needed to carry on the good work." Written by
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