The Press., 1892-07-21
their brilliant and dangling trap


 of wagons is soon strung out. the drivers shouting their loudest and goading the jaded beasts to last effort The crack ing of whips sounds like d fusilade, and in mere wantonness, or to show their dexterity. their wielders make the blood spurt from the sides of the oxen. or strike leader in the face until he reels and plunges. Boys and dogs and beg gars follow after until the round of the plaza is made, and then comes the gen eral scramble for the custom house. the clamor of the interpreters and the swarming of the country traders, and the long journey of eleven weeks is done
 Not quite so our story.
 In the busy throng. yet somewhat apart, stands Mexican who scans the faces of the newly arrived men. They are preoccupied and do not notice the furtive looks of the black browed fellow Presently. with gesture of mpa. tience, he turns to one near him and asks in broken English:
 "Wheres kingfisher! Wasn't there a driver or wagon master in the train by the name of Kingtisher? Where is her"
 
 "A big man, not talk much. Amer icano, joined the train at Westport?''
 "No, tell you. curse you. No sech man among 'em. Captain King was the biggest man in the crowd. We 1ected him captain after old Jose was shot"
 "Blue eyes and yaller hair and sorter soft spoken"
 "Yes, reckon that's about the size of him. Whats it your business?'
 A volley of oaths and muttered curses was the answer to this question. A change of name. either partial or total was so common d thing that the Mexi can knew better than to trust mans title as means of identification. He no longer doubted that Captain King" was the man he wanted. Neither did he doubt that, in the language of his time he had missed his man;" hence his anger. But suddenly he ceased cursing his luck and drew his brows down in thought Then turning again to the man at his side he demanded in voice vibrant with suppressed rage:
 Where did this Captain King. as you call him, leave the trlin?''
 "At San Miguel"
 "If you are lying to me I'll cut your heart out for it!''
 "What object have in lying to you about Captain King? He left us at Sar Miguel, 1 tell your
 (Which way did he goy'
 South" the trainnan said.
 "To Mexico cityl" growled the "greas CT" between his closed teeth. "l knew it! he thinks he will get there"- and with a stream of oaths, half Eng fish and half Spanish, flowing behind him, he hurried out of the adobe build ing, sprang upon his saddled broncht and galloped clattering up the street toward the hill, the dogs barking at hi. heels and the stupid gazers half guess ing that some desperate deed would bt done if Hernando Marine rode like that with hate glaring from his eyes.
 "Who is that-Mexican?" questioned the trainman of those who were attract. ed by the noise in the street and turned to look out. He is trying to find q man by the name of nghsher-thought he was with the train
 "Hughr' grunted grizzly hali breed who was turning over packages 'the's missed him agin! Kingiisher is too smart for him. He's the man that caught Marine stealing cotton down il Mexico and had him jailed for it. Ma rino always said it was because King fisher wanted 70 marry the Senoi.ita Avellaneda. AS soon as he was free Marine swore vengeance, and has been trying to get on the track of Kingfshei ever since. He went ok to he States whar he come from, they Sd but Ma rino says he'll come agin to the senoriI;l some day and he's always on the watch. Maybe he will" the garrulous old man continued, but if he does. 1 reckon he'll give Santa Fe the go by He knowed that Marine come back up here and there's more'n one way round tC Mexico. Besides, Marine is jealous of his sweetheart, and"-
 Hurry up there, old man. what are you chattering about: Handle them things lively nowr' interrupted q com manding voice
 None but the trainman whom Marine had questioned had given much heed to the half breeds talk. and nobody else noticed when he left off The tale was intensely interesting to this one listener but it had not solved the riddle of Cap tain Kings disappearance from West port Landing, it had only whetted this mans curiosity, and he waited about i'm patient for the time when the old man would be released from work and he could loosen his tongue again with d drink of pulque
 He was not hard to start. But in the meantime it had become current rumor that "Captain King" and "Kingfisher' were identical and that Hernando Marine. his bitter enemy was on his track. No man in the train had known Kingfisher in Mexico; that is. no man that lived to reach Santa Fe, but more than one of the natives recalled the fact that the trader who was shot by the In dians at Pawnee Rock knew him well. They had heard him speak of the eEmity between Marine and Kingtisher He had come up on the boat from St. Louis. and John King first learned of his presence when he saw him standing on the bow waiting for landing
 H tc1l (Ou JSot tOW II iS, oetlu tHc half breed after he had drained his glass "Kingfsher was there to meet the wom. an he had promised to go back and marry years ago-fact is the States men near about all come out here leavin that kind of q promise behind 'em, or else they come because they've been jilted- and when he seen that trader aboard the boat from St. Louis he had to choose be- tween givin mp his woman for good and all, or keepin out of sight till he see what she would do. He knowed that if he was not a dead man afore he reached Santa Fe he would be betrayed into the hands of Marine as soon as he did get here. Womanlike, after the gal had started out to find him she kept right on. Plucky wasn't she? But it was the hardest course for hiln-he had to foller. We'll. the boys say they went north from San Miguel. That means