The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-11-13
AVENGED At LAST;
Or, d Worldwide Chase
A STORY OF RETRIBUTION.
by "wAB.ASH."
lcoPYRIouT. 1901
CHAPTER H.-cosrISUEp.

CHAPTER H.-CoSTISUED.
Mario Delaro had built himself
pleasant home on the hillside a little
below San Paola. To this home he took
q lovely wife. By whom he had one child.
a daughter, who was at the time Of her
fathers death about eight years old.
The child. Armida. was a bright little
brunette. combining in herself the
beauty OF her handsome father and the
sweetness of her lovely mother--the
latter daughter OF wealthy Spanish
merchant in Santa Rosa.
Mario had been very proud of his
lovely wife and child and was the ten
derest of husbands.
Leon velasquez. on the other hand,
possessed history which was quite OBJ
scure up 10 the time when he made his
first bow in San Paola with a profusion
OF money and the appearance Of one
whose path in life was particularly
smooth and easy
As related. he soon became the part
ner OF Delaro. and at the time when the
partnership was formed he appeared to
be q man Of about thirty-flve years,
II any one had followed him on his
frequent trips To san Francisco they
would have discovered that no went
there to participate in all kinds Of
vices, and. as men whose deeds are evil
love darkness rather than light, they
would have found that he did not ex-
pose himself much during the day.
1 Il. n nh Fpa Of
being seen, and his haunts at night
were places where il required peculiar
knock on the door as we'll as a glance
through a peep hole before the appIi-
cant was admitted.
1t looked a0hough his seclusion in
the quiet Posada vineyard was forced
one. though he had not apparently
enough discretion or force Of will To
keep entirely from the outside world.
lie was, in short, an inveterate gam
bier. and would resort To any means in
order To gain the material with which
TO tempt fortunes cards. He had
logged elbows with the worst classes Of
thieves AMI villains in San Francisco.
and any one aware of his history would
have known that 1t was not the first
time he had associated NTH question
able characters.
The fact Of the matter vas that Vel
asqnez had walked in crime from an
early age. His parents had afforded
him good education. and at the age OF
sixteen he had entered large mercan.
tile house in Lisbon
He took advantage Of the first oppor.
tunity which presented itself to steal
quite large sum OF money, aud, failing
in his efforts to fas.cn the crime Upon q
fellow clerk. he eluded the vigilance OF
the Lisbon police and secretea himself
on sailing vessel bound for America.
The captain being susceptible to bride
he managed To land safely in New York.
Velasquez lost no time in improving
his knowledge OF the English language,
and after perfecting himself as far as
possible he started across the cont.
nent
At Chicago he found his way into q
ring of gamblers who soon feeced him,
and he then sank into every kind OF
vice mag Unable. From Chicago he
drifted West, but he always. however
managed to keep his photograph out o.
the various rogues' galleries.
A short time before he fell in with
Delaro he had been implicated in ;
stage-coach robbery in Nevada. but be
ing new in that business the authoritie.
did not suspect or even know him ant
he thus got clear with his share Of tht
booty.
Becoming somewhat scared, and fear
ing lest his phenomenal luck should dc
sert him and leaye him at last in tn,
hands of justice. he concluded to try {
few years seclusion in the valley Of thu