Terrible One - You Get What You Get

Captain Pireida woos Felicia but it is Poncho Gonzales who wins her promise to be his bride, whereat the military rival proves a poor loser, and he schemes with his "man Friday" to accomplish Gonzales' downfall and get him out of the way. By manufactured evidence, the spy makes enough of a case against Gonzales to warrant his arrest. Pireida then misrepresents the facts to his superior officer in Mexico City, and obtains authority to use his own judgment in handling the case. He avoids an issue by allowing Gonzales an apparent opportunity to escape from prison. When Gonzales makes the attempt Pireida's soldiers fire and shoot him down. Pireida is ordered to the capitol, is promoted, and rapidly rises in power. Before leaving the scenes where the early part of the story takes place, Pireida goes to Felicia and tells her that Gonzales has been killed in trying to escape. Like Pireida, Felicia is ambitious and when he tells of his promotion and paints pictures of the position she will occupy as his wife, she consents. Years pass, and Pireida becomes dictator of Mexico, but he is harassed by revolutionary outbreaks in the North. At first these are not of serious nature but when a mysterious leaflet arises among the revolutionists and leads them to one victory after another, Pireida becomes worried. His worry increases to alarm when reports reach him that the new insurrecto leader, who is known among his men as "The Terrible One," has sworn a vow to press his attacks until he captures and executes the dictator. It soon becomes apparent that the only object of "The Terrible One's" brilliant military operations is the dictator. The implacable determination of his mysterious enemy begins to cause Pireida deep concern and then a sense of fear which he finds it difficult to conceal. Slowly but surely it is bringing to the surface the latent cowardice which always existed. However, a great fear in his mind is the fear of being found out as a coward and this drives him to advance against the insurrectos. Because of his mental state he is practically defeated before he advances to meet "The Terrible One" in the field of battle. His forces are routed and with them he takes refuge in the Northern fortress, which the insurrectos batter down over their heads. When the victors swarm into the ruined fortress "The Terrible One" finds Pireida cowering with his wife in the commandante's apartments. There, face to face with his conqueror, Pireida recognizes him as Gonzales, who was not killed but only wounded. At that moment he knows that his life must be paid as the price of his treachery and he saves the executioners their trouble.