The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1895-01-22

vas StiJtttt}'t III ftffi q "A n ~r
a sudden, Aorj dd.et on
| father that Aosa lisl s9.
Tho boy maze ope qssIat froai
| ignoble place to Gao rad WAS
horse was tied, eldlllea bini and e.
ran for his weapons towaiN his or.
room in his faisher's houset
His mother came in 70 lin there
She had Heard the news Note word
passed between thcm othor'than con-
cerned what he was doingf-namely,
putting the finishing touches to his
equipment in passionate hPste.
Thrust them deep IN thy sash,
my son, she said, bringing him his
pair of Spanish pistolsi AS the
weapons passed from heb hand to
his each perceived that 1.-THE other
was trembling violently
Ignacio stopped to sheatp dagger
deep in his deerslzin ledging, and
when he drew himself up dgain Dona
Maria knew what momenthad come.
She made no cutlery, butt looked at
him with one flashing glanbe Of pride
and anguish
The thick black corbati1i, or stock,
that held his chin so high; the ban
dolera of channels leather, bearing
the name OF his presidio III his moth
er's elaborate needlework, across his
breast; the scarlet facings of his
jacket; the blue Haunting cape on
his shoulder; his long deerskin botas,
their flaps gorgeous with silken vine
and fiower-all showed mothers
loving toll From top to toe his gar
ments were scarcely less fresh and
unsullied than his youth. He was
but 16 years old.
That farewell inspection did not
last nearly so long as it takes to tell
OF it. Ignacio answered his mothers
look with glance, soft, yet burning.
He seized his lance and dashed forth
between the young children of the
post, some of them his own brothers
and sisters, crowding the doorway.
The monta sounded. The clumsy
gates creaked wide. Eleven men on
horseback leaped through the gate
way and clattered down the hill
When that noise ceased, the pre-
sidio sank into a monotonous quiet,
quiet deathlike in the room where
Dona Maria was at her prayers.
The comandante joined her there.
He wished to hear something that
would ease the pain under his
wrinkled and weather stained jacket,
and he said in an assured tone:
"Now we shall find out what there
is in the lad, Maria"
Dona Maria Antonio did not an
swer hastily. When she spoke, it was
to twist the arrow secretly ranking
in her husbands heart.
"Our son is soldier and must
take soldiers chances. But thou
needst not, Jose, have sent him forth
in anger.
The comandante went out quick
ly, grimly, mounted to his post of es-
pial on the mound and strained his
thought toward the smoke blurring
all the east in ain ever lengthening
line. Whatever of mystery hung
there, this certain truth seemed to
be blazoned everywhere:
If thy son never comes back, thy
wife will never forgive thee. Thou
wilt never forgive thyself"
Meanwhile Sergeant Carrillo spur
red his detachment three leagues on
ward into the very shadow of the
smoke and halted his men in a rift
of q wide, rolling mesa to give these
whispered instructions:
"Just beyond US i'll the valley our
enemy is gathered, probably in over
whelming numbers Our only hope
ID to take them by surprise. Each
man for himself, then, and all in
dead silence to the edge of the r!eSa.
When all arc in line, rush in and fire
all together.
And observe also, said the SER
Soant, that whether the Indians fly
or fight you are soleinnly charged
not to kill any ringleadcr if it can
be helped. You all know them. Cap
ture tho ringleaders alive for exami-
nation at the presidio
Forward ~
Soon every Spaniard was craning
his neck for an instant's reconnois-
SARGE of the valley. Behold what
they had ridden so wildly, so warily,
to take unawares !. Two Indian wom-
en- sat ON the brown earth amid
charred brands and scattered ashes,
with blinking Indian babies in their
arms
TWAS only after questioning these
women that Sergeant Carrillo under
stood just how useless. the raid had
been.
The two women, when closely
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