the promised honor be conferred upon him at once and without delay, it was
decided by General Schwan that in the face of so much opposition there was
nothing to do but to leave the residents of Mayaguez to decide the question
for themselves which they did in a most emphatic manner by refusing to
endorse the planter as a possibility, and presenting the name of Señor
Santiago Palmer as an acceptable party.

This latter gentleman subsequently received the appointment, which was
satisfactory to all concerned.

* * * * *

The news that we were about to meet the Spanish forces face to face spread
rapidly among the men in the ranks, and aroused more enthusiasm than
terrapin and champagne could have done. Nobody any longer complained of the
heat; and, when it began to shower by fits and starts, nobody complained of
that, either. There were no more stragglers casting a windward eye to an
empty ambulance, nor growls because we pressed forward so rapidly.

[Illustration: Custom-house at Mayaguez occupied by General Schwan as
Brigade Headquarters.]

On that particular afternoon I was with the advance-guard; and, when we had
learned what we might expect before sunset, I studied the men about me with
a lively curiosity as to what effect the probability of immediate action
would have upon their visible emotions.

Most of them, in our platoon of artillery at least, were boys, or little
more than boys, and almost without exception recruits of less than six
months' standing. It might have been expected that some degree of