Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-11-17
A MEXICAN'S REVENGE.
Adventure with O Maintaining
Tree In Central America.
Experience Of Two Hunters who Were
Lured Into Treacherous Trap
Assistance Comes to Them In
Time to Save Their Lives.

Assistance Comes to Thorn In
Time to Save Their Lives.
have spent, In all, three years In
| Central America. I went there with
surveying party which was running the
line OF projected railroad, one Of
those railroads which are built on
| paper alone. IL has never yet mate.
rialized. While the line was being
run ] ,made the acquaintance Of an
| American citizen who was the owner OF
large coffee plantation, and he in
| vited me TO spend some time with him.
] accepted, and in little while a mu-
tual friendship sprang up between us.
| The result was that before the time
came for my departure he told rne that
IL was necessary for him to ray visit
10 his old home in Ohio with his wife,
to settle up some legal business, and
he had been trying to find some one
who could take charge Of his plantation
| during his absence. lie urged me to
take tn c position, and accepted. An
other week found me at the head Of
one OF the finest coffee plantations in
| Nicaragua.
My duties were light enough. Bland
had n competent general manager, and
about all that had TO do was to act as
the power behind the throne In the
masters absence. had but one diff
fculty during this time. The manager,
n Cuban named Carlinos, was popular
with the laborors, and all went smooth
| ly until one day n Mexican, Michael
| Ferrara, positively refused 20 obey
some order that Carlinos had given
him, and Carlinos appealed 10 me.
Upon investigation ! calmly told the
Mexican either to obey orders or to
leave the place. With sdclong scowl
at Carlnos and myself he did what
the manager had commanded, and the
storm seemed TO have blown over, but
did not feel quite confident about IT,.
The Mcxican's look troubled me and
mentioned IL to Carlinos, but In treated
the matter lightly and was inclined to
be scornful in regard to Ferrara "IIe
Is coward" he said, Struggling his
shoulders, and so dismissed tho matter.
] let the subject drop, ashamed of
seeming afraid OF man whom this
slender Cuban regarded with such dis
dain, aud yet could have sworn that
when ! walked that night, startled at
some slight noise on the terrace out
side my window, IL was Fcrrara's dark
face ksaw in the moonlight peering in
at nc In an instant IL was gone, and
| ] was out OF the room, running along
the terrace, searching here and there.
But no, though ] gave the terrace n
| thorough search, and even went around
to the end OF the house and the grove
Of banana trees beyond, saw nothing
moving anywhere save an owl that
fitted out of the trccs. went back
to my room concluding that | had
dreamed the whole affair.
The next morning felt quite sure OF
1t. ! met Fcrrara several times in the
course OF the day and he was especial
| ly pleasant lie was better educated
than the majority of his class, and his
| position on the plantation gave him n
| kind OF precedence over the others. |
was near him several times before the
day was over, and | noticed that on
each occasion he took pains to speak
| pleasantly and greet me with his most
courteous smile. | thought he was sorry
for the bad temper he had shown the
day before. didn't know him us well
then MS do now.
The next day Carlinos and ! had de-
cidcd upon n hunt in the mountains
| that made q Jagged outline against the
| sky Off to the south While we were
getting guns md cartridges into con-
dition for use, Ferrara approached and
said In his smoothest tones;
III the scnors went to tho valley,
down beyond the Contadino pass they
would find where great panther
roams, and has been seen many times
myself saw II but two days ngo, but
! was unurmed, so ! put spurs to my
horse and gnlloped away"
Carlinos turned to me with look Of
interest. That's good idea," he said.
Gwen look for the panther FIRST, and
II we fail TO find him we can try the
mountains"
We were about 10 turn away when
Ferrara stopped us, with many apol-
ogiea beyond tho Contadino pass"
he said, ''you will find narrow trail
leading off eastward down the valley.
Follow that trail half mile, until you
see huge white cliff, hundred yards
to the right At the foot Of that cliff
the panther has been seen again and
again. Adios, scnors"
And so Carlinos and went walking
off, with swinging stride, toward the
pass, glad OF day in the woods, and
ready for any adventure that came
along.
Except the one that actually did
come. For within the next hour we
passed through the most horrible ex-
pcrience that ever fell to the lot of NOR
tails am sure.
We found the pass-n mere gap In
the mountains, not used for travel, as
another pass, few miles further
south, furnished the nearest road to
the town. The pass was strewn with
rough powders and jagged masses of
rock, difficult to make ones way over,
and for half an hour we had all the ex-
ercise we needed in climbing over and
around these distractions. At last,
however, we were clear Of them. and
we shouldered our guns again after a
brief rest and went on until we found
the trail among the bushes II was
such path as would be made by cows
or sheep, going TO and from a watering
place, and ! was going along, paying
very little attention to It, when Car
limos, who was in the lead, suddenly
stopped and muttered; "That is very
strange"
looked over his shoulder, and there
IN the yellow sand was the barefoot
track OF a man. We easily traced 1t