The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-07-26

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The Tale Of @ Bfencho, Palnlist 4
aGd O MexicaN Baadit.
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Come. senor, have your palm read.
!. few centavos are nothing for the Sc
ret Of your future" urged a voice that
mad become cxasperatingly familiar to
me or late.
was employed on Los Angeles
daily and was on my way, rs usual
each morning, from my home in the
san Fernando valley, by way of the
.allucnga pass, to the little station
lust beyond the divide, where took
he train into the city. Midway Of the
pass stood an old stone watering
trough. ut which 1 was accustomed to
refresh my horse while journeying
through the hills. For upward Of
fortnight past I had regularly encoun-
cred Mt this point solitary evil Wis
agrd Mexican. who had announced
rimsclf us palnist t'par excellence"
and occupied the few moments pause
IN my ride with persistent iinpoFtuni
les for my patronage. What did not
Tend to enhance my regard for this un-
prepossessing individual was the Graf
y manner in which he invariably In
spected my horse out Of the corners Of
MS small. restless eyes. The horse,
moreover, appeared to resent the scru-
iiny quite as much as myself and from
The first asserted his antipathy for the
vagabond fakir by steadfastly refusing
10 approach the drinking trough until
i had invited the stranger to withdraw
i few PAGES.
On this particular morning, however,
my curiosity became aroused as to
why the fellow continued to frequent
50 unpromising q locality, which mt
! best was a lonely spot. visited only by
4 :ransitory horsemen and teamsters.
A Therefore, rs my horse fretfully SIP
q red few drafts Of water, eying the
peon suspicieusly the while. remark
ID: "You must be intensely fond Of
4 your occupation, considering the little
n recompense you appear to derive from
a II. Why do you not go into the city,
q where, at least, your field for solicita-
q lion would be largerT'
a "Ah, senor," replied the peon, with
4 affected pathos. II am indeed fond OF
81 my profession; but, however little
may realize from it here on the high
way, the city would yield me less: for
a they who live IN the city care little
y about the future. 1t Is the present
.ulone that interests them"
# Twas inwardly forced to recognize
# ,ertain amount Of truth In. his argu-
ment and by way of appreciation ten
Il = .eerad siiE. ssaail coin.
As deposited the silver in his hand.
lowever, with quick movement he
e aught the tips Of my fingers in his
clasp and fixed his eyes on the open
Il palm. The precipitateness Of the act
"a was all but demoraliging to my horse,
which sprang backward with q sud-
q denness that came perilously near un-
IA sating me. The Mexican, however,
s held tenaci0usly on to my hand. Incl.
I dentally taking care to keep out Of
s iange OF my frantic animals hoofs AS
- - mon as I could recover myself I
vrenched my hand free, but not until
lhe peon had vouchsafed this admonl-
fj jiion
81 "Senor, a terrible accident threatens
Easou from horses. Take heed in time,
EaherefOre, and rid youreelf of that
& s3@oncho you are riding"
S made no response, but as I touched
lay spurs and galloped of down the
&Rass the peon shouted after me part
Esg Injunction.
Sell him. senor!' he cried. II warn
3Rou he is under the spell Of demon"
as the words greeted my ear
anced admiringly down at the sleek,
tched neck Of my spirited charger.
"Mescal," said I, reaching down and
}attlng his splendid shoulders, ''do you
ear that? He says you're possessed
5&t demon and that I must sell you.
!Sfut shan't"
Ihe Mexican's ominOus characteriza-
lon Of my horse was no revelation to
I!e and instead OF inspiring me with
iHy apprehensiveness his apparent con-
'3fn for my safety somewhat amused
Moreover, the knowledge that
escals disposition was so thoroughly
:1s8 8'nsstent with his name was rather d
surce OF qualification than regret to
s3e Is 1t was an odd name for horse,
lat he had come by it legitimately--
aEfat is, he had been so called ever since
Ire Mexican bandit Garcia had broken
EIm as colt to the saddle and hestow-
ls$ the title upon him. And for two
as thereafter Mescal had borne his
Pscrupulous rider on all his maraud-
s raids until the latter had been 40
nd pressed up in the Ensenada hills
ShegtR Doyle OF Yuma that he and
followers were forced to abandon
ir Horses ana take to the chaparral.
'i,aaad Glanced to be along with Doyle
that occasi0n assignments or that
Na afacter were accepted as q matter of |
urse by newspaper men out there in
se days-and as the forsaken horses
1s the feeling outlaws dashed down the |
,N In an effort to escape past us I
ached my riatn at the leader, q |
: nt but Aeet andI ganiiiy equipped
! calculations as TO the distance OF |
Xii mark had proved accurate, but 40 |
Il the aim OF the sieriff OF Yuma, |
li hardly had my moose settled about
ssi shoulders OF the horse when anoth-
ss oop, hurried from the opposite d.
.'cn. fen directly over II, and Doyle