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88 They withdrew from Havana and some of the other large cities, and set about establishing a government of their own. They formed an army, the watchword of which was 'Cuba Libre!' meaning Free Cuba, and swore to hold no communication with the Spanish authorities until their freedom was acknowledged."

"Yes, I've heard of that, and how they have been fighting the Spanish soldiery ever since. But still I don't see where we come in," said Larry, earnestly.

"Don't be impatient, Lawrence, and you will see. Yes, the Cubans have been fighting for three years with varying success. They were poorly equipped and scarcely organized, and the most they could do was to stick to the forests and mountains, and wage a sort of guerilla warfare against the trained regiments from Spain sent over to annihilate them. As the situation now stands, the Spanish hold all of the large towns and the seacoast, while the insurgents, as they are called, hold the interior and many small villages.

"Of course such a condition of affairs so close to the United States could not help but arouse sympathy for those who had been so illy treated, and