The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-12

l tAEIls as IL tfl1t YEN MAD dfiSn them 10
the spot, There cagne the galloping over
/ the bluffs two horseanen. who rode I'D
! to the waits and leaped to the ground.
Well, CIR" cried the bigger of the
4 two. man With a long red mustache
! a1I1 a red face and trimmed. rastv
/ eyes. '5sllak,s5-a- r'asglin.' Pedro. if mere
ain't the kid ftSslf! An where in tnun-
( der Old you come from, you bantam.
/ With the red crest2 O, say! Look at
this ERE kid with the tlleayter helmet
a1!d the sAber as big as llisEeIf! Look at
! him, Pedroi O, Lord, look at him"
the other man. Ozark and sallow and
clean shaved, locked, but did not laugh
! He gloweEed ON the children savagely-
| Dawtie was appaiisd at the change in
the little g.zl. At the sight of the men
she stopped bowling. indeed, but turned
/ go uhd-e, and crept to the boys side,
covering into his arms With such evil
dent terror THAT the knight of the red
worsted plume felt the chill of her fear
steal into his own heart.
who are you? Where did you find
| this little girl" the man called Pedro
! asked, and shock the boy by the shout
der roughly. NoW, it required no tale
of the knigsttfy table to firxt Dawtie's
blood at that. He was the son and
grandson of soldiers. and some of their
spirit was his also. He stood UP straight
ia front Of the girl, and the blood
rushed to his cheeks.
II am Captain YeTe'g gon OF the army
pest. he said clearly. This little girl
wa9 given in my charge by a woman
called Ntta, but 1 have lost the road,
and my pony has rum away. Vino are
you, and what do you want 2"
The men looked at him and at each
oElleT, and Daw.de saw they were both
troubled and angry. The man Called
Pedro g-yclse first
"The woman has gone back on VS.
he said. Because she nursed the baby
she is soft-hearted about it, When our
Mexican women love anything, they
4 go crazed over it,
"Well." said the red man. "the baby
has not got away, anyhow, and you
| can settle 1t with Mia. No harm 5
! done, but it mustn't happen again
/ Gee. man. she's worth more than
money to us--it's our necks we've got
to think of. But, Mia, you must get
! rid of her.
! Then he said, with siIk-swathed men
ace:
my comrade. She is-it is possible you
may have forgotten-rny wife,
And the little girl meanwhile hid her
face in Dawtie's coat. and whispered
as she clutched him tightly:
Don't let bad men take Tottie.'
! She was trembling dreadfully. and
| the boy put his arm around her and
pressed her to him. and whispered tc
/ her that she was not to be afraid be-
cause he would take care of her. But
! in truth, he felt that knight errantry
| was a. very actual and unpleasant
! thing in some of it's phases, and he
was by no means sure of his ability to
! take care either of Tottie or himself
He stood his ground, though, even if
/ his heart leaped every second to his
throat, for the men looked savage
! enough TO frighten off older people. and
! Dawtie knew well that in that wild
and lonely country. near the Mexican
! border, evil strangers were frequent.
You belong to the post, kid, do
YOU said the salIow man. We'll,
you're way out of your road, an it'd
be good for you to skate back. You're
headin' for the Rio Grande now. Come,
scoot!'
The girl seemed to understand, and
hung to Dawtie more closely. The boy
breathed quickly, and stared at the
men without moving or answering.
Pedro, with an angry scowl, took a
step forward to enforce his order,
When the red man stopped him.
only Is miles of. and the kid'H get
there tonight He'll raise an alarm,
and the soldiers viii hunt US uD here
Better not let him go yet awhile. Bet
ter keep him with the wagon until the
others have chased back to the ranch,
then we can fix things with the old
man; he'll give anything to get his
baby back, you see
Dawties hand rested on the old
saber hilt instinctively, half drawing
the blade from scabbard. The child
hid herself behind him
I shan't so with you,'' he said, and
You Shan't take her either. You're bad
fellows l know, and you want to
keep her from her father; you said SO
just now
20, Lor'! o! Lor.?' cried the red
man, with a great laugh that lolled
over the plains. Just hear the ban
tam. H'ain't he grit, though. Busted
if he amt shoWin' fight
But Pedro'S face grew white with
sudden rage and he ran at the boy.
DaWtie with great effort drew his
fathers old saber, and held it in both
hands, the point at the furious man,
so that, from amazement at such de-
, hance, the bully stopped, and the other
outlaw Shriehed with laughter
But in moment Pedro, with an oath
and open blade. was about to rush the
boy down, when from over the bluffs
| came quickly the dark-skinned woman.
running At sight of her the men
| turned with alarmed faces to meet her.
She came, gestulating ana tremIing.
swiftly to them, glanced at the children
With bitter cry of lament and turned
to the men.
He there, the big senior, with many
men!' she cried. They fnd-a wagon.
run away! Queeck, Pedro, He hnd-a
you, he keel-a you. Queeck!'
DaWtie beWildered and trembling.
looked from the woman to the men. and
saw them, in turn, grow suddenly pale.
Then Pedro flushed as suddenly and
sprang on his horse. crying great oaths.
while the other scroundrel followed his
example.
''There'lI be no killing, Mia! Don't
you be afraid! If they catch us and
won't come to terms, thenhere's my Sc
curity- They won't get my life until