The scene I had set was one painted in martial colors, in scarlet and gold lace; it moved to martial music, to bugle-calls, to words of command, to the ringing challenge of the sentry, and what I had found was this camp of gypsies, this nest of tramps, without authority, discipline, or self-respect. It was not even picturesque. My indignation stirred me so intensely that, as I walked down the hill, I prayed for a rude reception, that I might try to express my disgust.
The officer who had first approached us stopped at the opening of the solitary tent, and began talking excitedly to someone inside. And as we reached the level ground, the occupant of the tent stepped from it. He was a stout, heavy man, with a long, twisted mustache, at which he was tugging fiercely. He wore a red sash and a bandman’s tunic, with two stars sewn on the collar. I could not make out his rank, but his first words explained him.
“I am glad to see you at last, Mr. Aiken,” he said. “I’m Major Reeder, in temporary command. You have come to report, sir?”
Aiken took so long to reply that I stopped studying the remarkable costume of the Major and turned to Aiken. I was surprised to see that he was unquestionably frightened. His eyes were shifting and blinking, and he wet his lips with his tongue. All his self-assurance had deserted him. The officer who had led us to the camp was also aware of Aiken’s uneasiness, and was regarding him with a sneer. For some reason the spectacle of Aiken’s distress seemed to afford him satisfaction.
“I should prefer to report to General Laguerre,” Aiken said, at last.
“I am in command here,” Reeder answered, sharply. “General Laguerre is absent—reconnoitering. I represent him. I know all about Mr. Quay’s mission. It was I who recommended him to the General. Where are the guns?”
For a moment Aiken stared at him helplessly, and then drew in a quick breath.
“I don’t know where they are,” he said. “The Panama arrived two days ago, but when I went to unload the guns Captain Leeds told me they had been seized in New Orleans by the Treasury Department. Someone must have—”
Both Major Reeder and the officer interrupted with a shout of anger.
“Then it’s true!” Reeder cried. “It’s true, and—and—you dare to tell us so!”