The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-11-27

of distrust of Muncey, the ex-
partner, and of Manuel Cardoza, the
maternal uncle. They believed implic-
lily Icons story of his transportation.
The boy said that Uncle Manuel had
treated him fairly well until they were
south of the Gila river, Muncey had
left then and gone back to the Santa
Anita, after signing and exchanging
some papers with Manuel at ranch on
the Auga Fria. Leon could tell little
about his journey southwark. The
driver of the buckbo had made a
place for him among the mail sacks,
and there he cried himself to sleep at
night. But instead of taking him back
to Aunt Carmen, of whom his mother
had often told him, Uncle Manuel had
turned him over to this boss packer at
Tucson, and Leon soon found there
was something wrong. Instead of TAX
ing the southwark trail, the pack train
was travelling eastward day after day,
and he learned presently that they
were going to old Fort Crittenden-far
over where the Chiricahua Apaches,
under Cochise, their famous leader,
were then in the height of their bloody
work. Mrs. Cullen had taught Randall
and him the beautiful consultations in
the cloudless Arizona skies, and from
the pole star by night and the sun by
day he knew they were never going to-
ward Hermosillo-his mothers far
Sonora home. Then he overheard
talk among the packers that BODIED ill
for him. Manuel had reasons for want
ing to ''get him out of the way' was all
he could make of it, and if he wasn't
''lost," as they expressed it, before they
reached the Sierra Bonita, he must be
''lost" there where it could be
laid to Cochise and the Chiricahuas.
Terrified, the boy still kept his
wits. They passed a wagon train,
a quartermaster's ''outfit," west
ward bound, one day, and that
evening, soon after dark, he slipped out
of camp, and all alone and afoot, took
the back track across the desert, and
after an all night tramp, caught the
train with its soldier escort just as it
was starting on the next stage. The
troopers gave him food and place to
sleep under the canvas cover of one of
the wagons Leon was CARRIED back to
Tucson safely, but from there home to
the old post far up to the north was a
matter of days and weeks He had got
there at last, worn and weary, but
something told him it wouldn't be long
before Uncle Manuel and Muncey were
after him again, speedily learning that
he had returned to his friends instead
of being lost" as the packers might
say, among their foes, the Chiricahuas.
He warned his soldier friends, old and
new, that he would not and dare not
return to his uncle's control. The
problem, therefore, was what to do
with him until Capt. and Mrs. Cullen
could be heard from, and the solution
came quicker than might have been
expected. Senior captain of his regi-
ment when it left Arizona, Cullen was
looking forward to promotion to the
grade Of major within the year, and
probably In his own old regiment. But
one of those sudden and unlocked for
opportunities occurred that are so char
acteristic of army life. Maj. Wharton
of the -th cavalry, the new regiment
just reaching Arizona, concluded that
he would rather retire with the three
quarters pay of that grade after thirty
years of hard service than go out to the
desert and desolate land of Arizona for
four years more. Capt. Cullen, pro-
NOTED major of the -th cavalry, vice
Wharton, retired, would soon return to
the very station he had so recently left.
Icons best friends were coming back,