The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-01

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the low voice frightened her.
He had an argument to back it,
she ran on nervOusly. He said that it
was easy to terrify a helpless captive
side you. But he would wager-O.
cannot go on. senOrI"
/ Favor me by proceeding. sonora"
The COndessa shOvered and obeyed."
He wagered that alone, unbacked by
your cOmrades-I mean followers, you
would prove yourself-oh, how can
say it2'
But you must, seno~a. Having
| gone so far I regret to insist"
Have IL them" she cried desperate
ly. You would prove yourself as cow
ardly as you are hideous."
] Corpse of a scullionr' The ejacuIa-
ton burst out with violence; then the
! voice resumed gently-"but even now
lady, you have left out one little
particular"
mo, no. she sobbed 'I recoIlect
no more"
Then listen. The governor of the
! prison of Castellano was good enough
! to declare in public that 1 have but
| one ear. It is a lie, as I mean to
| show him Tomorrow you will take
! message from me to His ExcelIency
Don Hugo, your husband
But" she ventured, you promised
to help me-
THAT will 1 do also"
TEL him / have a little museum UP
here in the mountains, to which 1 de
sire a small addition"
| Tell him further that when I come
! down from CastellenO 1 shall have with
me two ears-my own; but then when
| depart l shall have four ears nv
own and his. Yes. sonora: alone and
/ single-handed, within fifteen DAYS, T.
! Don O., will come down from the
mountains and crop the ears of the
| governor of the prison of CasteIIeno.
! But" she cried in horror, you
have deceived me. An earless hus-
band!-hOw unendurabler'
Nay, sonora, he will be the more
faithful, believe me-
For the eighth time the governor of
the prison of CastelIeno muttered an
angry oath. Because for the eighth
time that evening, his excellency had
found his hand straying nervousIy to
his ears.
! The message of Don O. had been
faithfully brought down to him by his
/ wife. In her presence, and, indeed, to
/ himself during the hours of daylight
he would scott at the threat as the alb
sUrd and empty vaporings of a wretch
ed hill thief. He was a strong man.
mentally and physically, yet when
evening began to fall, and the wind
mOaned over sad Spain, his impression
able nature took on a more somber
tint. He would start at a football, and
Ills manu- NAllSh up 10 Ills ears lie
/ cursed his imagination. he cursed Don
O., he cursed his wife, but in his heart
of hearts he wished ne had let sleeping
dogs lie.
He remembered a hundred tales of
the fierce chief, each one of which
made him shuddeT. For Don q. was d
! man of a strange. warped sense of hu-
/ NOR, and scarcely one of the legends
attached to his name but gIOwed with
| lurid manifestations of this quality.
/ Besides. the bandit appeared TO be ON
/ niSc1ent. None ever lived to carry
him false news twice. But true infor-
nation was paid for with terrific Law
/ ishness.
Above all, Don Hugo could not for
/ get that the mans promises were al
ways kept; that he never failed to
make his acts coincide scrupulously
| with his threats. Up in the BOca de
/ LObO, the VOLTS Mouth, as the rob
bers' valley was called, all was going
on as usual. Don Q. remained in his
( cave issuing orders and dealing out
! justice according to his own drastic
/ code. But he was not idle. The task
he had set himself was one of enOr-
nous magnitude and any small mis-
take or slip could only end in supreme
/ disaster.
Don Q.'s plan was laid out very sub
| tly and with minute precision of
detail. for his fierce heart dweIt in a
fraiI body, and he proposed to go down
/ single-handed to smite his enemy.
When all was ready he called up
RObledO and Gaspar to the cave.
| My children" ne said in his SilkieSt
tones. there is one under the noun
tains with whom it is necessary that
should deal the governor of the pris-
| on of CdstellenO."
A flicker of excitement lit up the
dark eyes of the men, but the chief
raised his delicate yellow hand.
Il have nothing yet for you to do
/ save to secure the quiet of my musings
| You will bring my food as usual day
by day. I lay no command of silence
upon you, but for no reason whatever
you heed me. RObledO. for no reason
whatever am I to be called forth until
you see me again"
The men touched their tongues and
eyes.
"That is well. Keep your oath in
mind advised Don @. for the story
of what I am about to carry out will
be told in the posadas of Spain by
your children's children"
After this the quiet of death fell
upon the cave. The band believed the
chief to be still there. for he certainly
had not passed by the sentries, who
J vigorously kept the only known en-
| trance to the valley.
Don @. had left the BocO de LobO bv
an entrance known to none but him
self. In a lonely gorge he found wait
/ ing for him, tied amongst some high
/ scrub, n horse saddIed and bridIed in
/ sCmi-military fashion. During four
/ days, whether riding downwards by
/ devious and little known paths or
| cooking his meal at sunset or lurking
ir a thicket to watch the passing of
: guardias ciViles, or doing the dark
hours through rolled in his cloak the
vision always before his eyes took the
J form of shapely ears of the governor
/ of the prison of Castelleno.
/ He was engaged upon a fantastic
/ exploit. The difficulty of entering the
/ governors presence might in itself
/ have seemed insurmountable: but al
/ most as Don @. uttered the words of
the threat a plan formed in his mind