Los Cerrillos rustler. (Cerrillos, N.M.) 188?-1891, 1890-09-05

70 for bad q presentlmeut that al uas
not right To add 10 my suspicious the
man with the beard was nervous and
agitated. a fact which he did his Utmost
% conceal.
l knew too well, however. what would
be the result Of a blunder committed
through excess Of authority. 80 I deter
mined 10 he on the safe side, and after =
delay. which ! stretched out a. Gar As
possible, told them they we're free to
proceed.
l escorted them 70 the door. where a
low. one-seatod sleigh awaited them.
drawn by a pair OF horses. which | saw
At a glance had been hard driven.
A. the last moment l had half made
up ny mind to detain them. but with a
hasty salute they stepped into the sleigh
and drove rapidly eastward. where dawn
was already dappling the sky.
There was no use Of going back TO
bed. so went In and stirred up the fire.
and sat down to SMOKE a cigar and walt
for daylight
Now that It was too late. I felt sorry |
had let the men 20, for the more /
thought over It, the more certain I felt
thai there was something wrong about
them. II had stopped raining and begun
to blow up cold, and ! saw that Il would
probably be a busy day.
i had already finished breakfast. when
a t%rampling Of horses and n tinklinr Of
bells drew me to the door, ard 10 my
surprise saw bearing rapidly down upon
the station a small detachment of mount
cd Cossacks, surrounding a sleigh with
two men in 1t, who | made sure were the
parties ! was looking for, an opinion
which seemed to be verified when they
drew up, for the men were rather rough
looking fellows, and wore heavy cloaks
OF coarse material, and great astrachan
caps that came forward over their cars.
l was soon undeceived.
These travellers claim 10 have been
robbed, captain" said the Cossack Off.
Ger, saluting. "They will tell you
their story. and, meantime, we await
your orders"
The travellers hurried inside, and fol-
lowed with a sinking heart
1--WE are victims OF an infamous out.
rage, sir" said one OF them. "My
name is Alexis Zamosc, and this is my
friend, Sergius MeilkoT. We were
j~ourneying TO Cracow, and while pass.
ing through the forest last evening two
armed strangers in n sleigh over
took us, and overpowering us
they took all our possessions, made us
give up our furs In exchange for these
wretchod garments, and then cutting
our horse loose, they drove him Oft in
the darkness and took flight. On foot
we made our way back TO the nearest
village, and were so fortunate as TO fall
In with these brave soldiers, who pro-
cured us a horse and accompanied us
thus far on our Journey"
With inward rage | listened to this
strange tale, realizing only toe clearly
the mistake ! had made, and my feel.
ings may be imagined when the man
handed me two folded papers, saying:
There, sir, are the passports the vii
lains were so considerable TO give us in
exchange for our own" ,
l tore them open. They were made
out to Ivan Brosky and Vladimir Pro- 9
gram. T,
1.-THE rascals have escaped | cried a
angrily. "They passed through not !
two hours ago, and dared not detain
.
And 1t is too late to overtake them?" :
cried Alexis Zamose. !
''Too late. They have crossed the =
Vistula an hour ago. 2
The Government shall atone for a
this, the we men cried out together. a
Ihey would see II travellers were to be n
with impunity on the Cars 4
high road. !,
1 was vainly ~endeayoring to pacify r.
when a soldier entered the room.
Captain" he said, ''the Vistula has :.
'ison. The bridge was carried away at a
!"
Those two travelers?" / demanded
did they get across in time?' :,
mo, Captain. They started for the !.
upper bridge" &c
Then Wen have them YETI | cried. u
Call out the guards ut once. Don't lose
second" 90
1 huckled on my sword, seized my y
losh and hat and rushed to the door ~
where my horse already awaited me. III
My own men were mounting in haste, !"
nd the Cossacks sat motionless in their
adde's. vi
A moment more would have seen us fla
II, when a solitary rider came In sight, st
ar up the road, and presently refined up ia
efore Us painting and breathless.
Orders from the Car" he cried, st
aulting from the saddle. 'Havo Ivan in
'rosky and Vladimir passed this sta a
SD
l briefly explained the situation. CT
They must be arrested at all haz. to,
rds!" he cried. ''They left st. Peters no
uFg with forged passports. 1t was dis
'vered only yesterday" an
And who are these men?" | asked. as,