The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-08-08
AN UNTITLED VOW.

American justice. He had run away
from the ranch Of his patron away
back In Durango because some other
poems were going and In an illstarred
moment he crossed the line into the
United States. That's where he made
his first mistake. He did not know the
griIgoes or their ways and he got into
trouble the first thing. He had a
horse. but only homemade affair OF
rawhide for saddle. and when he
found himself close to a marvellous af-
fair OF silver and stamped leather, with
great tapaderos and mo re strings than
he ever saw before on one saddle he
could not more help transferring 1t to
the back OF his own horse than he
could resist the temptation to take pos
session OF the gay hat and silver spurs
TINT he found hanging on the corral
fence while the owner was asleep in
the shade OF the haystack. They
caught him and locked him up for
three days and then brought him into
court The trial was one continuous
mystery TO him. They called twelve
men and made them sit together. At
first Alvino Alacran thought they were
thieves like himself, but when he saw
them turned loose ut the end of the
session, while he was taken back to
Jail. he knew he had been mistaken.
Finally he asked the only man in tho
whole court that seemed to care any
thing about who they were. and the
man had answered with a grin that he
would find out soon.
There was Something strange about
the nun to whom he put the query,
too. He could not remember ever
having seen him before and yet this
man clme to the court room every day
and took his part. He talked loud and
shook his finger at the other man
the one that was always pointing to
him and telling those twelve men what
q bad man Alvino was. That stranger
was mighty kind, thought the Next
can. But those twelve What bust
ness was it OF theirs supposing he did
take the goodsP They never asked a
question, put just sat there and con-
victed him. Alvino thought over all
the stealing he had done and all the
men he had injured through his whole
life OF cautious wrong-doing, but he
could not recall single instance of
his having done anything to any OF
those men. ~,
How did they know that he WASH:
telling the truth when he said that he
had bought the things from n stranger
that he met on the roadp Then why
did they not believe what the kind
young man told themp How beauti-
fully he did talk to them. Alvino
when he heard his innocence set forth
by the disinterested young man almost
doubted himself. The young man
seemed so positive that he had not
stolen the things. Even with his
faulty understanding OF English AL
vino felt that.
But those men didn't seem to care
at all what either he or the young man
said. The interpreter repeated to him
the Judges remark that he had been
found guilty, and the additional and
fact that he was sentenced
to Yuma Prison for three years. He
felt no sense of hospitality to the
Judge. He was used to Judges. They
used to come to the patrons hacienda
and impose so much fine or so many
1ashes, as the patron directed.
Alvino had three years to think it
over and the more he thought the
angrier he got. He was good pris-
oner, and made adobes faithfully in
the prison yard. and did not stab his
cellmate, and finally three years were
gone and he was free again.
A big red-faced man with big red
beard left his ranch cabin early one
to hitch up the team while
his partner got breakfast ready. He
didn't get back when the bacon was
fried and the coffee had boiled. and
the partner went to see what was up
He found him, but the big man didn't
come in TO breakfast. He was lying
across the sill of the barn. ard in his
back. right between the shoulder
blades, was a great hole.
That chap knew how to use
knife" said the dead mans partner,
when he had made sure that that
chap" wasn't still around with the
knife.
They generally believed that the
partner had done the killing himself
but there was no proof against him, SO
he wasn't arrested. They didn't lynch
him because the people thereabout felt
kind OF opposed to lynching since they
hanged four Mexican sheep-herders
for the murder Of their boss, who turn
ed up alive and hearty before the coy
otes had cleaned the bones OF the
hanged sheep-herders. But the part
ner believed It best TO let the ranch
slide and get out He took the shcr-
IFS best horse, but the sheriff took the
ranch and called It square.
Alvino was getting even on the jury.
He worked in the mines, and nobody
thought OF connecting him with the
death of the red-faced man. He had
taken him first because he had sat in
the front row on the jury and was the
biggest on it. His mind was next fixed
on lame man who had sat on the end
OF the, line. Alvino was too near the
Indian stock to forget anybody he
hated. He had some trouble with the
lame man. because he was q gambler,