The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1895-02-02
THE ~QUICKsAND.

Stancr had hecn uTesaG ranger anG
could Eola his wv extremely well y
that rough frontier country. He had
carried off y pretty Spanish wife from
the Chihuahua region years before, had
broughG her To the rocky Californian
coast and had purchased q settler claim
and an old adobe house built hya Sp&r-
ish hida!co Ealf a century ago.
Here he farined, raised cattle On the
unused government lands and kept {.
trails joined at that point TIE broad
highway which led from the county
seat, 20 miles south, to the northern
settlements il tie pineries. lie had i've
daughters, too, the youngest, Theresa,
known Us Tcssa, a girl of II. That aGd-
ed to the attraction, and almost every
night the dark eyed, half Spanish girls
sang and danced, and old St0ner man
aged to bear all the news that was
afloat, and somehow most Of tho loose
coin Of the region ultimately found its
way into his pockets. He was G deep
one, th:sa s. % Epirainl Stoner, quiet,
sly CAL 1T. secret in his methods
and "A his blow.
S rife and his four elder
dauct l@rs were uneducated and iii
COM i4to sul,..uti II to his will, bu5
Tessa had more brains and energy than
all the others pnt together and quite as
much / .,uTy, so thit the old Texan
ranger tx. certain prido in her and
bad eve; fUwcd her to attend q dis
tant sci two years.
This m.s .s.lt, whtn, as I have said,
the story begins, 4 person of q prying
disposition might have discovered sew
eral int, resting performances i'll progress
around the St>4.er adobe. On the north
side Of tho house, quite in the shadow,
Tessa was leaning from her window,
converting in low tones with a blond,
fair haired and sturdy young man Oh
horseback.
atom, you do not know my father.
He is not the careless, warm hearted
man you suppose. / must admire his
Tom, there never was q more dangerous
man. He may be where he hears every
word you say, but if he is he will not
speak to you or to me about it, but if
he knew tha5 you cared for me he would
be your enemy. He has other plans for
me. He wants mo to marry for money"
Tom Warren had once been the school
teacher in the mountain district. miles
away, where Tessa had been one Of his
pupils. Thrown upon his own resources
from, his childhood, no had developed a
strong, earnest character and was al
ready SO popular in the county that he
had just been elected sheriff, although
the youngest man on the ticket.
While Tessa and her lover were talk
ing q scene Of a far different nature was
being enacted on the south side of the
old adobe, which overlooked a deep ra-
vine and a camp Of five or six men in
q field below. For several years these
men had spent their summers there, os-
tensibly hunting, fishing and exploring
the country with their dogs and guns.
Every one knew them, and most persons
liked them. Tessa did not.
Stoner, though it was midnight, sat
in the moonlight on an old rawhide
chair, outside the door, smoking his
pipe and meditating-a tough, sinewy,
grizzled night owl Of a man.
"That Internal knuckle head at the
camp ought to have reported before
now" he thought to himself as he
smoked.
A man came out Of the brush and
spoke deferentially:
"Capt'n, good evenin"
you're late"
"Dick was shot"
"Well?"
"Just as the driver throwed off the
box. Shot by q passenger in the neck
and shoulder"
He mustn't stay here to get us into
trouble. Take a boat and carry him to
the point and leave him in the cave
there"
Eyes, capt'n."
"How much was aboard:"
"About 81, 600 for the Josephine min
ers."
Send it over the cliff before morn
2ng, and LII divide 1t up soon, but you
be extra careful. That new sheriff is a
smart one"
"All right, capt'n," and the man
went back to the camp.
A moment later, just as Stoner was
going back into the house, there was
the slow thud of a horses hoofs, and
Tom Warren, the young sheriff, rode
down the trail, around the corner of the
old adobe building into the main coun-
ty road that lay to the west. He had at
last yielded to Tessa's entreaties to ego,
on this minnie Tom