Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-07-28

the morning." replied the man who
seemed to be in command.
''But why take me there? I viii
give you all the money I have about
me-"
owe do not want your money"
"What then?"
Vengeance for Bernal Valdez! He
will kill you with his own hand for
running away with the girl that was to
have been his wife"
"Upon my soul, 1 never ran away
with girl-never dreamed of doing
such thing. You have the WRONG
man. Let me tell you who am"
'You are Doctor Brandonl Not an.
other word. Come, come, padres; let
us carry this gringo off,"
The latter part of this remark was
addressed to the other Me1icans, who
had now bound the young mans feet,
and forthwith they picked him up and
carried him off with much ease.
Being perfect stranger in the town,
Paul Mansfield knew nothing about
the narrow streets and dark, dingy
houses which they passed. At length
his captors entered an arched gateway,
and, taking him into dark room, they
threw him on the floor and told him
that he would be killed if he raised his
voice.
He heard the shooting of bolt in a
heavy lock and then the retreating
steps of the men.
The apartment was very dark, and
the cords hurt him. His pain was
growing uncomfortable, when, to his
great Joy, he heard door opening
softly behind him,
Before he could turn his head beau
;iful girl appeared before him with a
lamp in her hand.
Without word she cut his cords,
and as he rose to his feet to thank her,
indescribable was his surprise to find
the arms Of the beautiful girl about his
neck and to feel her kisses on his
bronzed cheek while she sobbed.
"My brother! oh, my brother, you
must fyp
1t must be confessed that sense of
gratitude prevented the young mans
permitting all the kissing to be on one
side; or it may be that he did not wish
TO retain what was evidently intended
for another person, and SO gave the
kisses back. Briefly, he told her that
he was not her brother, and explained,
so far as he could, how he came into
his present embarrassing situation.
And with a bewitching smile she told
him how size had heard his captors say
that they had caught Doctor Brandon,
the gentleman who had married her
twin sister, Maria, and that she came
to free him.
She did not tell him, for it was a sad
subject with her, that her father had
settled that she should take her sisters
place and become the wife of Bernal
Valdez.
Through faithful servant she had
Paul Mansfield conducted back to the
Fonda, where he found Captain Lamar
anxiously searching for him.
The adventure was explained, and
the Captain laughed at it very heartily
declaring that he would willingly un-'
dergo the same suffering if assured Of
the same treatment by beautiful girl
at the end. Bernal Valdez and num-
ber of Mexican called at the engineer
camp the next day and eyed Paul
Mansfield sharply. Though appear
ances were against them, they had to
be satisfied that this was another case:
of mistaken identity. Had the adven-
ture stopped here they would have
been certain that they had hit the
wrong man, but it did not.
Paul Mansfeld's mind and heart be-
came so full of the beautiful girl that
kissed him and called him brother"
that he lost his interest for the present
in engineering, and applied for leave
of absence.
In the meanwhile the before-men-
toned faithful servant" became the
bearer OF many notes between the
young people who. met SO strangely,
and more than once he found his way
to the garden of the house where he
had been imprisoned.
Again Santa Fe was startled; again
Bernal Valdez was robbed of possible
bride.
Paul Mansfield had eloped with the
beautiful Isabel Diaz. News came
that they were married at Las Vegas,
and had gone on to the East for the
honeymoon.
Paul Mansfield has since met Doctor
Brandon, now his brother-in-law, and
they do not resemble each other so
mulch when together.-New York
Ledger.