He was a little disappointed in the personal appearance of the man who had become so prominent in the affairs, and whose name he had heard spoken more often than any dozen others since he had come to Venezuela. He was below medium height, of rather slight build, and moved with a limp in one limb, caused by a wound he had received in battle. His eye was the feature which bespoke most the man, and as Ronie stood before him he seemed to read him at a glance.
"Sergeant Rand," he greeted, in a hearty manner, which quickly won the American boy's friendship, "I welcome you gladly to La Guayra. Colonel Marchand sends his message by you?"
"Here are your dispatches, General Castro. I trust they will prove valuable to you."
"Be seated, sergeant, while I read them."
Ten minutes of silence followed, during which Ronie had ample time to study the man before him, who seemed absorbed in the written messages just placed in his hands. Then he laid the last one down, and said:
"If I am not mistaken, you are the young American the colonel spoke of in such laudable terms in his last. It seems by what he says now that you have not let your reputation suffer by more recent conduct. It was your friend I sent to have liberated from the penitentiary at San Carlos, was it not?"
"It was, general."
"Is he in La Guayra?"
"He is."
"I wish he had come with you, for I am heartily glad to meet two such allies in a time when the whole world seems against me. Forgive me for saying that, as I would not have you think I distrust your own republic. But tell me of what you have seen in the West, Sergeant Rand. I am glad to get such information as I believe you can give me of the hotbed of rebellion in my poor country. Take your time, and do not be afraid to speak of yourself."