Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1901-01-16

but nc hdo nOt Deen III tue ec0Ooi or
out OF doors for nothing.
BE tore a rag from his shirt, knotted
into 1t an. ear Topped from one OF the
sheep and bearing Don Ramon's ear
mark. a bit Of the broken pueblo pot
terry which was strewn all over the
ruins and a rude picture drawn with a
coal upon a tolerably white bit OF shirt
representing sheep inside a high wall
and 81 Indians outside.
Tying the parcel about Borracho's
neck. ne let the dog down over the wall
with repeated commands and pointings
and final "Por San MateO! vayate!'
Borracho seemed to understand his
mission and started OF on a long lope.
The Indians fred at him as he passed.
but he skulked up the arroyo safely.
and the last Pedro saw OF him he was
/ five miles away and still running.
The Indians refined up at the ruins
and dismounted carelessly. They had
seen the tracks OF but one small boy
/ with the sheep and anticipated no re-
sistance to their intended seizure OF tho
/ flock.
Stop called Pedro. who had learn.
! ed something Of the Navajo tongue
q
/ coming TO San Mateo. stop. or will
shOotl These sheep are OF Don Ramon.
and I must keep them"
/ The Indians. yelling scornfully, pre-
/ pared TO mount the wall One. kneel-
ing upon his saddle took another upon
his back and thus lifted him high
enough to reach the top of the wall
where II was lowest. The Indian pull
ed himself up lightly. but just as he
/ got bis knees upon the top he fell
back upon bis companion. with groan-
! The shepherd boy had aimed well
The Nsvajoes at once began firing.
/ but Pedro kept well hidden in the big
/ tower. peeplng only through the loop
holes, through which the besieged
! PueblOs had shot their quartz tipped
| arrows ages before, and waited pa
( tiently his chance TO shoot, for now the
Indians seemed to appreciate the shell
ter afforded by the wall and showed
/ themselves hut little.
Suddenly four swarthy heads popped
above the wall. Four Indians leaped
! into the Enclosure and made n rush for
the tower while several more were
/ climbing the wall. II was a trying
moment. but Pedro kept his head. Not
/ till they were within 20 feet did his
/ loophole spit it's blast OF smoke. Two
| OF the Navajoes were In line, and the
heavy ball, passing clear through the
foremost, gave the second n mortal
wound. The other two hesitated q sec
ond, and IT gave Pedro time to throw
another cartridge and drop the third
Indian at the very entrance TO the
tower. The fourth ran and jumped
down outside, and his companions has
tily dropped back.
Pedro felt that he had made a good
beginning. and 1t gave him confidence.
With sufficient watchfulneOa be believ-
ed he could keep the Indians at bay till
the arrival of the help, which he now
felt sure would come. He crawled with
painful care to the pack. mixed a little
-four and water and ate II raw. for
there was no wood TO make a fire.
The Indians had evidently learned TO
respect his metal and made no more
assaults, though the sharp pi-anng OF
a bullet close to his head when he ex-
posed 1t al all reminded him that they
were watching him closely.
So the day wore on, and at last the
dreaded darkness began TO close In up-
on him. Pedro knew that now was the
time or his utmost danger and. with
out thought OF sleeping. watched like
a cat, creeping softly around to peer
and listen. In this way he was on
hand to stop one attempt to scale the
wall and pushed down big rocks upon
the Indians below.
About midnight he heard a strange.
grating noise which puzzled him.
Creeping around. he found that the In.
dams were quietly removing the stones
with which he had filed the gap where
the sheep came in. The tower had q
loophole on that side. and. aiming along
the house walls and about a foot out
he fired at guess. A yell OF pain told
that he had guessed we'll, and directly
he heard the Indians moving OF into
the plain. There was no further mol
estation that night, and when morning
came Pedro felt reasonably secure. The
Indians had camped just over a low
ridge. whence they could see without
being seen. and there they staid all
day. doubtless planning new strategy
for the night
But Just as the sun was setting to-
ward the Chaco mesa Pedro saw q
body OF horsemen riding hard from the
east. AS they drew near he recognized
In the lead Colonel Manuel Chaves. the
terror OF every hostile tribe In the ter.
ritory for a generation, and with him
were Esquipulo and score OF well
armed neighbors Away at the rear
toiled poor Borracho. worn out with
bis journey OF more than 100 miles. but
still unwilling to desert his master
The Indians were already I'm tight
and, as they were on the reservation
no pursuit was made. All patted Pc
dro's shaggy head. and when the IA,
nous Colonel Chaves said to him: "Pe-
drito. thou art brave boy. I wish
had an army like theep' his cup OF hap
piness was fun.
The flock was escorted safely to San
Mateo. and Don Ramon was so well
pleased with Pedro's pluck that he
gave him so sheep for his own. Pedro
is a grown man now, and the 90 sheer
I have increased To many thousand Bor.