Connecticut western news., 1888-12-26

S- cursion. The aunt never intended to k,ep this promise; reconciliag it with her conscience tn at '.some time" was so vague that it might be ind efinitely post roned, and the journey never accom- plised. Mysteriou, business took her to Los Angeles one day. This was the widows opportunity. She swooped down upon Garcia, and, before tho be- wiliercd girl realized tn, situation. she W IS mounted on Lurro, ia company with two ready cavaliers and the widow and her sister. Their destination was tent on the mountain side, occupied by tho employees of an irrigating com pany, who wore tuunelling the moua- tain in search of water.
 Garcia had often looked longingly up to the cyrie abode, which she had lik- encd to great white bird perched upon tho mountain side. They wound s'owly upward through sage brush and chapparcl, pausing occasionally to look back over the San Gabriel valley away to the distant ocean, showing through a rift in the hills.
 By and by Garcia felt Q strange and unpleasant qualm as her burro crept gingerly around the unusually steep prccipice. The distant tent looked more than over like bird ready to take wine, aud, oh. so far away.
 The wid ow, glanciag backward, ex- claimed at her pale face:
 "Arc you going to fai1t Miss Wal. doi'
 T think am go ing to die," Garcia whimpcred.
 There was great comm otion among men and beasts, smelling salts were ap- piled and bottles were uncorked, and Garcia opened her eyes to find herself upon terra frma, sheltered by big grease ood brush. No persuasion could ind uco her to remount, but at her earnest request, tho rest of the p:rty continued their upward journey, leaving her in her present retreat for the few hours that would intervene be- fore their return home. Garcia gave a si ,h of relief as bend in the trail hid l them from view, and she was left alone. The day was perfect, and she revelled ] in her independence and tho glorious view before her. Far down the ravine she heard tho music of a hidden stream. Tall yuccas, with their masses of snowy bloom, might stand for white robed spectre wives of dead mount tain giants. with whom Thor tried his feats of skill. She laughed aloul at merry mock ing bird, bubbling over with song, mimicing the sweet notes and shrill calls of his feathered friends, and en ding with the mournful psep of dripping chlckon. She knew thlt Jose's home was in tho canyon arounl the other side of the mountain and that hc some' times took this trail as shorter cut to the town below. What if he should como this morning2 H,w surprised he would be to sec her in thi, unexpected place. Woull ho be glad7 The trip had been tiresomc, and her present quarters SO comfortable that her day dreams melted away and she dozed into sleep. Suddenly sho awoko with the thought that thu day had become sur prisingly hot. She drew little further into her impromptu bower and resumed Ter castle building. By aud by clum sy jack-rabbit, with his ridiculous ears dropping forward lum bcred across the path. A timid littlo cotton-tail fol lowed swiftly with strange disregard of her presence.
 Tho air grew hotter and hotter. Tho mocking-b birl hu he'd his songs and flew away. Qlecr little lizards, with then halting haste, dartcd into tho bushes. More rabbits, with long jumps, passed by and disappeared over the mountain. She wondered idly at this strange pro. c,ssion of beasts and reptiles, bu scrambled hastily up as a horrid toad with bristling back and unnccessal, tail, nearly ran across her fe,t as shs rose: the Lurro. with loud snort and mighty wrench, snapped tn, ropo witi which ho waa staked, and ran madiy up tho trail. She heard loul cracking noisc and clouds of smoko stif1cd her. What could it mca2s Bewildercl, sht looked down the mou tain side. Ah God! She knew then. The mountai. was on fire. Tongues of fam' darted from shrub to shrub, and lickeJ up the grass, dried to finder by tn semi-tropic sun through the rainles months of summer. With a roar lik tempest it swept up the noun tain. The dried branches of deae trees, killed by former fires, cau,h the blaze, and stood like sentinels o fire in it's wake.
 Althouy yh she knew that certain an6 awful death was coming, terror held Gar. cia helpless, aud she was again becoming conscious, whom she was arousel by the voice of Jose shrioking wildly: ~
 Ely. senorita. fly. For thh love the Virgin, hJ!'' sh, could not mo,x with fear as Head upon tn, feet of h 2 most an xious will
 The hot breath of death was SCOT oh ing her check, when she felt herscl clutched by tho arm, and dragged un tremendously over rock and bushes t. tho other side of the bcn1. There wa no timo for choosing paths. Joso Wa certainly not 10 blanc that his delieat physique rendered him incapable o ciYinp her better assiata, ce but whaJ