The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-11
By k. and
Hesketh Pritcf1ard.
Copyright by Pearson Publishing
Company)

you take map oil SPAN ana lol-
low the Mediterranean coast. where,
/ across the narrow seas, the noun
tains of Europe and the mountains Of
Africa stand up forever one 'gainst the
other. you will find on the Spanish side
the broad line of the Andalusian high
lands stretching from Jerez to Almeria
and beyond. Here is wild. houseless
country of silent forest and evergreen
thicket climbing up toward barren, sun
tortured heights. It is patched with
strewn with tumbled powders; lined by
almost untrodden mule tracks, and
sparsely dotted with the bottle-shaped
chozas of the charcoal burners and the
herdsmen
The lord of this magnificent desolation
was locally. though not officially, ac-
knowledged to be certain brlgand chief,
known far and wide as Don @. an alb
breviaton of the nickname Quebranta-
Huesos. which is, being interpreted, the
bone-smasher. a name by which the
neophron or bone-breaker vulture goes
in those parts. In answer to any ques-
ton as to where the bandit came from
or when he began to harry the country
side, one was told that he had been there
always, which, though manfestly I'M
true. was, nevertheless, as near an APP
proach to historical accuracy as may be
found on many a printed page.
For Don O., though perhaps not en-
dowed with the sempiternal quality, had
many other attributes of mysterious
greatness. Few had seen him, but all
knew him and feared him. and most had
felt his power; he had cognizance of
what was said or done. or. indeed even
thought of, throughout the length and
the breadth of the wild region over
which he held sway. He dealt out re-
ward and punishment with the same
unsparing hand. If a goatherd pleased
him, the fellow was made rich for life,
but no man lived to bring him false in
formation twice.
From his hidden abiding place in the
black rock, 100 feet above the general
camp of his followers he was to the sur
rounding country as a poised hawk to a
covey of cartridges.
The stories of his savageres were
brought down to the plains by leather
clad mountaineers, and occasional expedi-
lions were sent up against him by those
in authority.in the towns. But every at
tempt failed, and the parties of guardias
civiles came back fewer in numbers,
having built cairns over their dead, leav-
Ing them near lonely shrlnes among the
ravens and the big ragged birds of the
sierra.
From all this it will be seen that the
brigand chief was not a common brand
OF cutthroat: in fact, he belonged to that
highest class known as squestradores, or
robbers who hold to ransom; and though
mis- methods were considered unpleasant,
he carried through most of his affairs
with satisfaction to himself. for he was
an exceptionally good man of business.
Gevil-Hays obstinacy sprang from a
variety of causes. He was in bad health
and worse spirits. and he had for the
whole period of his manhood governed
a small kingdom of wild and treacherous
hill men in the interest of the British
government, backed only by a handful
of native police. and what Is more, had
governed it with conspicuous success.
A party of civiles had just returned
from particularly unlucky excursion
into the mountains, and there was, there
fore, the less excuse for the foolhardiness
of Gevil-Hay, who declined to pay any
heed to the warnings of II. b. NJ. S. con
sui on the seaboard or the deep hints of
his host in the little inn under the noun
tains, but continued to pursue his jour
ney across the sierra.
/ He carried a revolver, It is true, but he
found no use for it on dim evening when
something gripped his neck from behind.
Indeed, ii was only after interval
that he understood vaguely how he came
to be the center of a hustling crowd OF
silent men who smelled extensively of
garlic and leather. They tied him upon
his horse and the party set their faces
the higher sierra.
But for once in a way the spiders of
Don O. had taken a captive in their net
of whom they could make nothing. In
the dawn. when they got him out of the
cane-built hut in which they had passed
the latter part of the night, they saw
that he was tall and thin and rather
stopped, with a statuesque face of ex-
IRENE pallor. So far he was not so alto
gether uncommon. But the brigands were
accustomed to see character come out
strongly in similar circumstances, yet
Gevil-Hay asked no questions, he evinced
no trace of curiosity as to where they
were taking him. He showed nothing but
cold Indifference. A man in his posi-
tion who asked no questions was man
of mark. He puzzled them.
The truth was that Geyi-Hay despised
mis- warnings and took his ill fortune in
the same spirit Of fatalism. He had been
-