Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1871-09-01
n WIGHT .gTT.ECK.

n WIGHT .GTT.ICK.
was still young man, scarcely more
than boy, in fact, when / left England to
become the Partner of my old school mate,
Dick Merton, who had settled down rs
sheep farmer in South America. Our ioilt
and .ratler modest capital was invested T.
league of land near Santa Fe on the Parana.
bought "lor a song on account of some de-
feet in the title; also in a few sheep, hay
ing the lathy appearance, and almost the
speed, of greyhounds; and, lastly, in the
materials for our home, of which, as we had
ourselves been the architects, builders. and
clerks of the work, we were not a little
proud. 1t was built of n-baked bricks,
and consisted of one tolerably large room,
with flat roof and parapet, accessible from
the inside by means ofa ladder. Around
it, at about thirty yards distance, we had
dug a deep dry ditch, crossed by a draw
bridge, and intend deda as protection against
surprise by our enterprising noighbors the
Indians. The latter dusky gentlemen had
hitherto behaved themselves very much as
such, and confined their throat cutting pro-
gratifying them at the expense of the own
ors. But ugly tales were told oftheir doings
around about us-of white men taken while
riding in sight of home, and tortured of
cattle driven off, and sheep speared in very
wantonness of mischief-whch were not
reassuring and which caused us to keep a
particularly sharp lookout, especially when
as now, the Indian moon (their favorite
time of attack gave light enough to point
the way to plunder, but not to guide the aim
of the defenders.
Dick Merton, changed indeed since the
days when his word was law among Sc
lect circle of Pail Mall dandies. lounged up
to where was standing. His costume was
simple in the extreme, and consisted mere
ly of a sufficiently aged pair of leather un-
mentonables and red flannel shirt-tbe
W hole being surmounted and relieved bva
very long black beard, and very short
but equally black pipe; but through rough
attire and surroundings, the indefinable lie
ne sdis Quoi of gentilty was as clearly rec
ognized as when he was sowing his rather
extensive crop of wildcats upon home soil,
and before that memorable Derby which in
duced him, after settling with dcns ofevery
description, to embark himself and the
leavines of his property, and dwell among
sheep and savages, until he could retusn
with fresh grist 10 carry on the civilized
mill.
"Can you see anything stirring in the
campP" said he, as he came up. "The;e
horses are making a confounded row in the
corral. I saw Johnson the Yankee this
morning, and he said that Indians had
crossed the river, and he guessed we'd bet
ter keep our wits well tried, that the dusky
vermin didn't look in when we warn't ready
for visitors"
Now horses were our surest safeguards
against surprise. Dogs we had too, but
they reused us up so frequently by bark
ing at nothing more formidable than a stray
deer or fox that itreminded us ofthe gentle
man whose amusement it was to cry,
"Woli r'-we lost all faith in them but our
little, half-wild Pampa horses were true,
and their warnings, given by stamping up
on the ground, were not to be disregardcd
with safety.
~ can make out some objects movingabout
half mile to the southwark" said /, after
a long lookout on the plains.
''rhey are mounted men, by Jove" ex-
claimed my companion land riding hard
this way too. Stand here with your rifle
Alfred while l slip cartridges into the
others. At that pace they will be here di-
rectly."
And so they were. Almost before Dick
had reached my side again, two "Guachos,"
/ ., IL,
sprung from their horses, which, covered
with blood, sweat, and foam, showed how
sharp had been the ride, and rushed over
the draw-bridge. They told US, as soon as
terror would allow them, that three hun
dred Indians were in hot pursuit, and
would soon be on the spot, and besought
us, for the love of the Virgin, to give them
shelter, as to ride on again into the camp
upon their foundered horses would be Ger.
tain death.
Dick, rather to my surprise-for | did
not then know what distinguished liars the
natives as Il rule aro-calmly lit his pipe,
and then ordered our visitors, in a some
what doubtful Spanish idiom, to "make
themselves scarce"
"Unless," he said politely, "you can tell
plain tale, senores, without lies, pdmOs
and ddioS."
Upon this we learned after much cross
questioning, that they had been TO buy horses
| ('To steal them, more likely" interiected
Dick) at the station of u rich Spaniard, Don
Ramon Garcia, wholvod about four leagues
from us; and that when they reached the
top of "A gentle rise in the ground and had
view of the house, they had seen, to their
horror and dismay, large body of the
| dreaded Indians, who were attacking-for
they heard shots-Don Ramon's cstancia.
"Whereupon," said the spokesman, with
teeth chattering, "we rode hard to your a.
bode, well knowing that the brave English
men would not deliver us up. But let us
mount your leetest horses, senores, and
ride for life. Soon they will be here, and
who can withstand the fierce bravoS9"
''If this be true" said Dick, turning to
me-"and believe II Is, for these cowardly
scoundrels' faces are proof that they have
seen something-the sooner we prepare to
fight the better. OF course they were not
! attacking Ramon's place he has fort
strong enough to resist a thousand of them,
and plenty of men and arms as well. Most
| likely they made a dash TO carry off any
one who might be strolling at a distance
from the house, or to drive off the horses
and it's equally likely that we shall have
them here soon, whore there's better
chance for night attack. In any event
we must be prepared for them. Naturally,
we can't run away, and leave all we have
in the world to be destroyed, as these val
liant gentlemen propose"
The natives-both our late arrivals and
our own two men, who had often boasied
of what they meant to do and had already
done in the way of fighting indians