Evening star., 1901-07-13

nocent of all intent against little Lola, his
playmate. He would as soon have thought
of besieging his sisters balcony or pluck
ing the turkey under his own mother S
window.
But he should not have forgotten that
Ramon Garcia was not a man to wait upon
explanations when he chanced on what
seemed to touch the honor of his house So
Rafael de Flores, because he was to marry
Felesia Grammunt and her vine vats and
Concha the Andaluse, because to be known
to be Rafaels sweetheart might interfere
with her other loves, took the name of
Ramon Garcia's wife in vain with light
hearts. This was indeed valorously foolish,
but Concha, with her much wisdom, ought
to have known better. But a woman's ex-
perience, such woman Conchas at
least. refers exclusively to what a man will
do in relation to herself. She never thought
what Ramon Garcia might do in the mat
ter of his wife Dolores.
Concho thought that giant cold stupid,
inaccessible With such man, who could
do anything? 1t was blessing all men
were not alike, said Concha with a pout
| And, indeed from Cadiz by the sea to the
mountains of the north she had found men
otherwise-always quite otherwise, this
much experienced little conccha.
Meanwhile the hunters closed in on Ra-
mon, the brigand, on the hills above Mont
blanch. One cannot kill (or as good as
KID an alcalde's son without suffering for
1t, and 1t CHANGED that the government,
having been reproached on all sides for
lack of vigor, and being quite unable to
capture Don Carlos or Zumalacarregin, had
resolved to make an example of Ramon
called "el Sarria."
So, to begin with, 1t had confiscated all
that Ramon possessed-house and farm,
vineyard and olive yard, wine presses and
tiers of well-carpentered watts with the wine
OF half score Of vintages maturing there
in. These were duly appropriated in the
name of the government of the Most
Christian Regent Dona Maria Christina.
Rut how much of the DrOdIca g. nck to q
fingers Of General Rodriguez, the military
governor. and of Senior Amado Gomez, ad-
| ministrator of SO much of the province as
was at that time in the hands of the
Christinos, who shall say. 1t is to be fear
ed that after these gentlemen had been
satisfied there remained not a great deal
for the regencial treasure chest at Madrid.
Meantime Ramon lay on his rockledge
and wandered-where little Dolores was,
chiefly, and to this he often returned. 1t
he had had time that night would he have
then again-well. she was so small, SO
dainty, so full Of all gentle ways and win
somenesses and-hell and furies, it was all
deceit! She cha had been deceiyng him!
close past the brigand's head as he lay
in his rocky fastness. He heard them
splash against the damp stone behind him,
and the limestone fell away in flakes. A
loose stone rumbled away down and finally
leaped clear over the cliff into the mist.
Ell Sarria's cavern lay high up on the
Slopes OIL MOntDldNCn, the molly mountain,
or rather on an outlying spur of 1t, called
the peak Of Basella. Beneath him, as he
looked out upon the plain, 5000 feet below,
| the mists were heaped into glistening white
sierras, on which the sun shone as upon
the winter SHOWS of the far-away Pyrenees.
AS the sun grew stronger Ramon knew
well that his mountain fastness would be
| stormed and enveloped in these delusive
cloud-continents. They would rise and dis
| sipate themselves into the faint blush haze
of monday heat
Already there appeared far down the cleft
called the Devils gulf, which yawned be-
| low the peak of Basella, certain white Jets
of spray tossed upward as from a fountain,
which were the forerunners of that COM
| ing invasion Of mist that would presently
| shut him out from the world.
But not a moment did Ramon waste. AS
| ficked foref1nger, SO swift had been FL
| Sarria's spring for his rife. His cartouches
| lay ready to his hand in his belt of un-
| tanned leather. His eyes, deep sunken and
| wild, glanced everywhere with that instant
| apprehension Of the hunted.
| Ping! Ping!
Again the bullets came kissing past him.
| But Ramon was further back within his
| cave this time, and they whistled over his
| head. The chips of brittle limestone fell
with a metallic clink on the hard stone
| floor
| Ell Sarria saw from whence one at least
| OF his enemies had fired. A little drift of
| white reek was rising from the mouth of a
cavern on the opposite escarpment Of the
| Montblanch. He knew it well, but till now
he had thought that but one other person
| did, his friend, Luis Fernandez of Sarria.
] But At the same moment hs caught n