The Jennings daily record., 1902-07-14

Ciego. For how much will you sell
it to me:" Naturally Hartpole only
laughed. but the Apache was in earn
est nevertheless. No" he insisted,
looking him sharply in the face. mo,
de veras, l wish to buy it from you"
Well. I don't wish to SELL" an
swercd the lieutenant, rather vexed at
the mere idea.
Il have five hundred dollars said
the Indian.
IF you had thousand you could
not have it
Il have Il thousand
Hartpole laughed again. Il little i'm
patiently.
You do not believe me--look here
Cieso drew Il huckskin bag from the
folds of his sash. 1t was full of gold
There are five hundred dollars here
In three days l can bring you five
| hundred more"
Hartpole guessed how he had come
| by it, and his temper rose That is
stolen money" he cried, angrily: put
| it up. You can, have the armor.
Ukashee"
! You let me have it," begged Ciego:
Il wish it very much. | will do many
things for you
| Hartpole Swore this time-mean.
Spanish oaths. No" he said. you
can't have 1t. 60 to the devil-get
out"
Even though Ciego was only dirty
Indian, the White-Eye should have re-
membered that he probably had feel
ings which could be hurt. 1t is we'll.
| however, for those who have the di-
rection of children and savageS in
their hands to remember that those
simple folk have sometimes reasons
for .he things they do and say. good
and sufficient unto themselves. But
1t never occurred to Eartpole what
this half blind Indians reason might
be. They did not transpire until some
| weeks later.
Yet in CiegO'S tribe there was le-
gend of great white chief who had
once married one Of thei. women, and
had ruled over them. and who had
Worn a suit of shining iron. And their
tradition ran that whatsoever should
find and wear that garment again
| would be impervious to the bullets of
the " White Eye. would become the
greatest of medicine-men. and rule not
only over his own people. but over all
the Apache tribes and those of the
plains Of the North And the very
founder of that family to which Ciego
belonged was reputed to have been
the white chief in the coat of iron.
The Coyoteros believed these things,
and so did the medicine-man. SO when
the news of the armor suit had reached
him he had levied heavy fees for his
incaDtationS for some months, and,
adding these TO the gold he had eX-
changed for Mexican dollars. col
lected from many raids. he took him
self down to the camp OF the soldiers
to obtain fairly and by purchase that
which was his very own. But fair
ness and the offers of purchase had
failed
Ciego looked the White-Eye officer
from his scalp to his toes and up again
and then with no sound save just one
|
from the post.
Hartpole told of t at the mess that
night. and forgot all about it after
that. But Ciego did not-as Hartpole
ought to have foreseen.
One night au Inuian. his body nakeG
, as it was born, a poisoned knife in his
, hand, stole across the sandy parade
, | nd hn fnN h.
clouds of u coming storm. and slipped
as silently as none but a savage can
under the ranada Of Hartpole's
quarters, and thence through the opeI
T door. The Indian had missed nothin:
when he had been in that one small
, room Il month before. He knew wher,
everything in it was, from the shromt
{ in q blue frame on the wall to the CO.
in the corner, across from the fire
place He hid himself behind the
T piece of calico that curta med off the
= nook where Hartpole's clothes hung
5 and waited until the moon showed fol
IL moment through break in the
: clouds, and he could see the figure OF
the cot beneath the emosquitonet. Whel
the room was dark again he slid out
2 and the blade Of the knife in his han(
went straight through the heart of th'
man asleep. Then he took the rat
e Ting armor from its nails and wrapped
l it III the calico curtain. and iet
through the night, MS silently ant
. swiftly as only an Apache can.
? Now it happened that Hartpole hat
= | zone tO another most pOOd man,
] miles to the east that very day. ant