The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-08
THE DARK BROTHERS
CIVIL GUARD.

his fire when the men were brought
into his presence He raised his eyes
from the book of oId-world Spanish
romance on his knee, in which he had
been reading. A dark mood was upon
him.
"Gaspar. take these fellows away and
make the usual examination" said the
chief. II hope for your own sakes
that you will fulfill our requirements"
he added to the brothers.
I'VE do not understand" Manuelo
said stolidly.
Don Q. passed a slow glance over
the two fine, well-set-up figures.
BY the way" he began I'm his soft
way. that somehow sounded so deadly
to his hearers. 'you are you say, new
ly from Malaga. There is a point upon
which you can perhaps enlighten me.
Is it true that the chest measurement
for enlistment I'm the civil guard has
been raised half an inch?"
The two black-hairV1 men kept their
expression OF impassSe dullness.
I'VE are poor men," answered Man
uelo, land when we see a pair Of
guardias cfviles we hide I'm the bushes
or the rocks. do not know. And you,
brother2"-he turned toward Gregorlo
II heard that a recruit must now
measure thirty-two inches round the
chest If he desires to be of the corps"
Don O. considered Gregorio's reply,
Gaspar." he said. 81 can take no
more applicants into our band under
thirty-three-inch measurement of the
chest. The height can remain the same
then seeing q look Of surprise come in
to the eyes of Manueio, he added:
'If these men do not happen to reach
the standard you will know what to do
with them. Did anyone tell you on
your way here that those unfit to be
counted amongst our number are also
unfit to-leaVs us?-'
I'VE were told"
With that the Morunos were led from
] the cave, still wearing their air of
dullnesS and uninterest, to be mea sured
beside the fires in the valley below.
| Then to each was given a slip Of paper,
and they were led back to the presence
of the chief
You may speak, Casper" said Don
! @.
! Their heights are feet 10 and .
! feet 9, their chests measure 81 and 36
| inches, lord"
! Good And now" Don @. looked at
Manuelo. '1et me have short history
| of your lives
I'VE are sons Of one mother, born
/ at birth. Our name FORBADE. They
| call me Miguel ard my brother they
call Higuelito. Our father was a con-
| trabandisto. He Is dead. The guar
/ dias civiles-on whom be cUrses-shOt
| him when we were children. A month
ago we were running cargo over the
| sierra on mule back The gusrdias
civiles prepared an ambush. They fired
on us from behind the rocks. We
| fought with them and escaped, but
| Miguelito killed ore. They had recog-
ntzed us, so we fed. We entered Bech-
Two without papers, we were put In the
carcel. There we met certain men who
told US OF the ladron en- grande, the
great sequestradore, Don Q.
I'VE decided to seek 1eruge in the
| sierra. There was a GtOsie in the
/ courtyard. AIiguelito has been a poach-
err. He crept up behind the guard. who
brought our puchero. He may or may
not be dead. We are here"
Thus it was that the two brothers
gained admission to the ranks OF the
| brigands- without falteTing they took
the oath Of fidelity and returned with
Casper to the valley.
The days passed on; the Morunos-
though 1t neither affected nor weakened
| their resolVe-felt something very akiT
| to deep respect grow UP in their mind:
for the iron-harded, memorable man
who in spite of his fragile frame, held
in abject subsection a beVy of the VII
est characters in Spain. The cO1ragC
Of Don Q. was so abnormal, his fndff-
ference to death and to danger so absO.
lutte, that he compelled the unwilling
admiration of the brothers.
1t was clearly impossible to attacl
him among his men, and though tn,
MorunOs discussed over and over again
the plan of stealing up to the cave By
/
cape after the deed they had come Il
| do was done, they were cast back anC
. deferred by rumOrs and stories tina
! passed from mouth to mouth round tn
| fires.
Manuelo listened and pondered thes
} things.
II would buy his life with mine
: ! Gregorio, as thou knowest," the eide
brother said; but he is crafty tn
devil. The cave is secure by reason 0
his craft. We must wait"
But the weeks drifted by and the gri
of winter closed more and more harsh
, " upon the mountains the rObber
built themselves chozas, and, for tn
; rest. shivered round the fires. And. IA
/ down in the Murcian plains, the com
> mandante shook his head and invente
plausible excuses for the absence of tn
Morunos In his heart he feared the
must be dead, for he believed in thei
l LOYALTY to the uttermost: but never 4
their long service had they been op
posed to any foe 50 terrible as the i'm
mutable chief of the seQuestradores.
On a certain bitter evening in De
) cember. Manuelo. with Casper. wa
: summoned to the cave. Although Man
uelo had no premonition of it. he wa
b, about TO utter a few words which j
the end brought on that OppOrtunit
, of dealing hand TO n md with Don c
; which he had almost begun to despai
l of finding.
Don @. spoke vaguely of an erran
! to the Sierra Segura, and desired t
: find a messenger acquainted with tn
region. The Sierra Segura is that PAL
: of the mountain range which run
across the province of Murcia an
Manuelo had patrolled it from pass
o plain during most of the years of hi
e service in the civil guards.
9 For that very reason he denied a
: ! knowledge of it. and proclaimed him
y self as having been born and bred i
. Catalonia.
n cit is unfortunate" remarked tn
- | chief regretfully, but the matte
= though important. can be delayed
Meanwhile, Gaspar. you must go dow
n tomorrow in the early morning to tn
o hut of the carbOnero. Tomas. I hav
: / rnrl.rnnicnd n n