y house, bidding one of the
loungers to lounge no more just then, and he, hurriedly obeying the
summons, went; soon his companion followed; then, leaving my empty
bottle in the road, and with my hand on the revolver in my outside
pocket, I entered the shop. The easy-going Cuban shopkeeper paid no
particular attention to me, did not even stop rolling the cigarette he
was making. After deliberately lighting it, he lazily responded to my
"Buenas noches, senor," I saw bread, cakes and ham, and ordered of each;
then, seeing some Spanish wine, I took a bottle; also a bottle of
pickles. Producing a $10 Spanish bank note, I paid the bill, and emerged
into the night with the precious load, and so strong was the animal
instinct of hunger upon me that I would have fought to death sooner than
surrender the provisions I carried.

Picking up my empty bottle I looked out for a chance to fill it as I
walked through the town on the main road, which went straight west, but
intending to abandon it as soon as I came to the fields and found it was
safe to sit down for a feast, then make my way to the beach, now some
two miles away, and put in a good distance before daylight. But for two
mortal hours the road was bordered by impenetrable walls of cactus and
bayonet grass, and to make the matter worse the moon came out from
behind the clouds and poured a flood of light on the open road. Twice
men on horseback passed me, coming from the opposite direction, and both
times I sank down in the shadow of the cactus, both times with revolver
in hand, but dreading an encounter, as the noise of firing might wake a
hornets' nest about my ears.

At last I came to a road which entered a field. I was soon over the bars
and found myself in an old tobacco plantation, now partly planted in
Spanish beans. Crossing a couple of fields at the foot of the hills and
in going over a triangular piece of ground, I found the ruins of a
house, and nearby a small stream of water. I was in luck, and, taking a
good drink and filling my bottle, I sat down in a convenient shadow and
spread out my eatables. They were a goodly sight, and consisted of four
pounds of good ham, a dozen good-sized sweet cakes, two loaves of bread,
a bottle of pickles and one of wine, and one of water. I began with a
drink of wine, then followed ham and bread and cake for dessert, all
washed down with a fine long drink of water. Then lighting a cigar I
stretched myself at full length and spent a