Morris tribune., 1889-10-09

tall yonny man. aud reyisiting, after a
five vssar absence l,pvand the Atlantic.
I,is fora, r haants in southern Spain.
!.e l..l certainly good cause to feel
unco,,Eol table just then. To lose ones
way Il, Il Gloomy forest among the Span
ish mountains. with night at hand and
storm coming on, is not pleasant expe-
riencs in any case; but when to all this
Is added n very strong probability Of
falling in with band of robbers, whose
usual lnodo OF demanding ransom for
captive is to mail his ears or nose to his
anxious friends as hint that speedy
payment is requested" he must indeed
be ~ brave man who can face the situa-
ton without fiinching.
What Harry feared came only too
soon A hoarse shout was suddenly
heard among the bushes, and before he
could draw his revolver he was sur
rounded by q gang Of fierce looking men,
whose grim, ruffianly faces and scowl-
ing eyes boded him no good.
A smart stroke from the butt of Harry
Whites heavy whip felled the foremost
man, but the rest at once dragged him
from his horse, and, in spite Of his ftlri-
GUS struggles, bound him hand and foot
"Let me kin the dog!'' roared the In
iured robber, whose head was bleeding
freely. "He shall never strike Spaniard
againr
sNot SO fast, Brother Juan," said an
other. "He looks like an Englishman,
and the English are all rich. Well
make him pay a fat ransom"
.sAnd if he don't pay it quickly" !" put
in a third, with significant whisk of
his knife close to the prisoners ear, ahis
friends won't find him quite SO hand
some the next time they see him."
Harry's blood ran cold at the horrible
threat and the roar of brutal laughter
that followed it. He was now completely
disenchanted, for the brilliant and chiv-
alrous bandits Of his boyish dreams were
utterly different from these ragged, hang
dog ruffians, who almost choked him
with the sitting odor of garlic and bad
tobacco.
! Then his horror turned to rage at the
thought of being plundered and insulted
by these brutal rascals, and he inwardly
vowed that when he did get free he
would spend all the money he had in
hunting them down. But, as we shall
see, he never got the chance of doing so:
: The robbers laid their prisoner on the
horse and led him up a steep, zigzag path
to a kind of rocky platform, walled in
on three sides by unscalable cliffs, while
on the fourth lay precipice of several
hundred feet.
Here about twenty more brigands Were
encamped; and Harry White, suddenly
remembering his silver cross, looked
eagerly to see if the man who had given
it to him was one of the band; but he
| could see no one in the least Like him.
"Has Capt Gonsalvez come back yet?
asked one of his conductors.
'.No," was the reply; ''but we are ,ex-
| pecting him every moment"
Just then hasty step was heard be-
low, and a tall, dark figure, springing UP
the rocks as ninnbly as mountain goat,
came bounding on to the platform.
Sup with you, comrades!" shouted
the new conner, who was no other than
the formidable Pedro Gonsalvez himself.
"We have been betrayed, and all the
soldiers from La Redonda are upon oul
trail. We must retreat at once. Ha'
who is this-a prisoner"
ssWe took him in the valley yonder
and have kept him for ransom, " replied
one of the bandits.
s'There Is no time to think of ransoms
now, when our very lives are at stake,
/ said the robber chief, sternly. "Take
what money he hso n him, and ther
fling him over the pre- 0ice."
Instantly dozen ca Aer hands were
rifing Harry's pockets, and the brave
lad, giving himself up for lost, prepared
to die like paan. But, as his watcl
was dragged forth by the robbers, the
silver cross that hung to3its chain caughi
the eye of Gonsalvez, who sprang for.
ward and asked hurriedly:
/ sssWhere did you get that crossp
cit was given to me five years ago by
smuggler of these parts, whom
helped to escape when he was crippled
by q fall, replied Harry, looking fxedly
at him. s l.
'tAnd am the man who gave it, "said
Gonsalvez, grasping his hand warmly
"and for that good deed you shall de,
! part free and unharmed. Comrades
/ give him back all that you have taken,
Follow that path, Senior Americana
which viii lead you to the village Of Sar
Tomas; and when you tell this story te
your friends, tell them also that Hndnes:
is never thrown away, even upon bri
gand. David Kerr in Golden Days.