The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1899-08-24
A GIRLS ABDUCTION.
a MEXICAN BEAUTY THE HAP
LESS VICTIM.
rhe Last Crime of Palma, the Noted
BandIt-stolen q la Lochlnvar and
Never beard From Again-Father's
Oath of Vengeance. q

and desperado, has added another
crime to the already long list which
will some day confront him. This time
it Is abduction. A month or SO
ago Tiburcio, with a price on his
head, rode into Zecate, into the door
yard of the Castenada rancho, and abb
Quoted Tonia Castenada, the beautiful
daughter of Don Emilio Castenada, for
whom all the men Of the border have
been signing in vain. Up into his sad
die he whisked her, like any Gentle
man Dick you ever heard of in either
tale or history, and away they flew on
a single pony so swift and sure OF foot
that no trace Of them has been found
to this day. 1t a a stolen pony at
that. Don Emilio was absent with his
boys, rounding up a drove of steers,
and nobody but aged Donna Maxima
and a young cousin named Cruz were
there to guard the flower Of the
rancho. Donna Maxima was asleep on
the piazza. Cruzvand Tonia were roam
ing idly in the garden like two fairies,
stealing forth when nobody was about
to see the flowers bloom. Up rode a
lone horseman. "Who is that man,
Tonia?" asked Cruz, withdrawing to
the shelter of the piazza. Tonia did not
move. Perhaps she recognized the tall,
1.-THE figure under its bespangled SOM
brero-perhaps she was merely Curl
Gus. When he had thrown himself
from his pony and strobe into the gar
den and up to the beautiful Tonia,
Cruz gave an exclamation of amaze
ment and terror. The dark, handsome,
daredevil face was not to be mistaken
by any one who had eve heard Thur
clio Palma described, and Cruz had
heard the description many times, al
ways with a little SILVER creeping up
her back. Now she saw the wonderful
c~ontrabandista actually before her In
all the gorgeous trappings and splen-
did courage of his legendary fame, and
he was walking up to her lovely cou-
sin with a bold smile on his lips and
audacious purpose cleaning from his
ewes. No wonder Cruz had to utter a
little shrek. Old Donna Maxima slept
on, unmindful of danger. Tonia stood
motionless, like a dove e%ntranced by an
eagles gaze. and when the handsome
marauder's eyes put the question
squarely into her own she allowed a
smile to iutter upon her red mouth,
and the smile did not say him nay. tt
burcio was always bold. He stole an
arm about the supple waist and pressed
a quick kiss upon the smiling mouth,
eco away. stealer of horses and killer
of men," cried Cruz (she had heard oil
a fight between Tiburcio and Thomas
Valverde over at Jacubba a few weeks
before, in which poor Valverde had
been foolish enough to let Tiburcio
get the first shot; Ego away for youl
life! Don Emilio, my uncle, with TWEEN,
ty men, is upon your track even now
for stealing yon pinto gelding. Tonia!
Tonia! come into the house and lei
the bad man CO." Thus cried Cruz
but Tonia only stayed and smiled bach
into his smiling face so close to hel
own; nor did she think to rebuke the
arm which encircled her waist. Per
haps, alas! the poor girl could no
move, so tightly did the brawny arm
press her frail form in restraint. Cru
swooned away in the old donna's lal
at what happened in the next few sec
onds. She saw the terrible Palm;
gather the light form from the ground
fy with it across the garden an
thorough the gate, and lift 1t to thu
horses neck as he himself sprang int
the saddle. And the last of the awfu
picture to stamp itself upon her mine
was Tiburcio's evil face smiling bacl
over his shoulder and laughing AM
cursing defiance to the whole Caste
NADIA family, Don Emilio, the boys ant
all, while the pinto gelding, with tn
precious Tonia across it's neck, tor
out upon the road and started furious
ly for the mountains. Cruz shrek a
she fell reused old Donna Maxima
She was Just in time to see the pint
gelding and it's load disappear up tn
lane. If she was slow to awaken sh
was quick to grasp a situation when i
fell upon her. The fate of Tonia sh
took in at a glance. Calling loudly t
the servants inside the house, she ros
like a giantess to the rescue. Cru
was turned over to a maid, and tn
task of reaching Don Emilio with
message was intrusted to a SECOND
The old don was two miles away, blu
the girl got a pony out of the barr
took a turn of the halter around it
nose, sprang upon it's bare back an
galloped away as only a ranch girl ca