The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-05-27

I
/ he could rely on a little. for though
/ wOlfish they were fools; the rest. en-
/ dowed with low cunning, he would not
/ depend on at all.
| He had come to the conclusion that
! his correspondent must have in view
/ one Object-gain- He would endeaVOr
/ to force hush-money from the brigand
/ whose immense fortune was the COM
mon talk and envy Of the plains Such
/ a secret, affecting as il did the honor
/ of noble family, could not be trified
I with, and, indeed, it was certain that
/ Don Q.'S enemy had by some means
! become possessed of real information,
/ that blown abroad would render dec
AIDES of solitude and self-sacTifice vain.
/ The chiefs plan was very simple one
/ To come face to face with his adver-
/ sary. and to kill him. If he himself
/ persisted, what matter, so long as this
/ great work was done.
/ Neglecting no precaution that his
! long years of guerilla warfare had
! taught him, he lay watching in the
/ thicket until night fell No living
/ thing approached Las Lechuzas or
/ came from it. Yet against the murk
/ of darkness the chief saw a spark fly
and die over the building, and knew
/ that a fire was being kindled on one of
/ its deserted heaTthS.
! At once he began to move. To ar
/ rive before one IS expected frequently
! disCOncerts an enemY,s tactics. Tying
( UP his horse as near to the edge of
/ the wood as possible, that il might be
/ easy to find, Don O. crept up TO the
/ building. through the ruined gateway.
/ and across the courtyard. Within all
was dark, silent and mysterious.
/ AS he moved steaIthily forward along
/ the stone passage where the night
/ seemed solid, a chill wind came after
| him, gathering up the deathlike odors
/ that cling about places man has in
I habited and fOrsaken. His fingers had
/ rounded a broken corner Of wall. when
/ a rush Of warmer air brought him the
| pungent smell Of kindling wood He
thrust out his head and saw the en-
! trance 10 the great central hall,
| against which a broken door, torn prob
ably from one of the Outbuildings. was
pTOpped: through and behind this the
light Of a fire lea ped and sank
It has been said that Don @. was
famous hunter; he Crept nOiselessly TO
the makeshift door and listened. Five
minutes passed No sound came from
! within but the intermittent anger OF
the fire as il TOaTed and cracked
among the wet wood. The brigand
slipped off his coat and wrapped il
shieldwise round his left arm, then
/ thrust the door backward. 1t shook,
rose, poised a second. and Tapped upon
! the floor, finging up a cloud of dead
/ dust as it settled.
| Don Q. slipped into the opening, and
seeing nothing but a wooden screen
/ that hid the fire. stood with his back
I against the wall until his eyes became
accustomed to the light.
/ Still no sound.
After waiting few minutes he
walked softly and swiftly around the
/ screen. A great fire TOared up the
chimney, an empty stool was by the
hearth; no more. Yesi He made out
a figure drawn UP into the darkest
corner, between the screen and the out
/ iut of the chimney; a figure, cloaked
from head to foot.
u have come said Don Q. at last
With your knife in your hand, said
| a vibrating voice. THAT Is we'll"
Don Q-s arm fell to his side. a
woman,
She threw back her cloak and ad-
vanced into the full blaze-a tall girl
with a passionate beauty that matched
well her poignant voice
! Pardon, senOrita, I expected to meet
with a different person"
But you are Don Q. p" she asked
The brigand swept his sOmbrerO to
the floor
Her tragic eyes lit up.
And you came to kill" she ex-
claimed
or to be killed"
No, Don Q. viii not belle his repu-
tatiOn," she rejoined. He may yet
kill some one tOnight-if he dares!"
she added suddenly
The brigand eyed her a minute
/ There are men allied to brave wo-
men. men who are towards and who
choose to be represented on occasions
which they themselves fear to face. I
a -
come here. Do you know anything of
Iit?"
AL since il was 7 who wrote it,
The chief shrugged mis- shoulders
May 1 be permitted TO inQuire-Un-
der whose OTders?'
She smiled. I am here alone as !
wrote alone. Hear me. for there is not
ture of polite attention. He was keen
~ suspicious, though there was a sim
ple urgency of woe in her face that
almost compelled belief
4 viii tell you my name am Anita
del Nilar," she went on, and you are
not Don @, but
The chief flung up a fierce hand.
Hush, not even dead walls must hear
it,"
4 strange look came over her face.
7 judged rightly, You are the man
Who once bore that name Ny life is
, in your hands. Now / know that YOU
viii do for me all that ] want" She
bent near him. There was once a
young girl loving, happy, and oh. so
lovely Her voice broke. My little
Lucia, my sister. She was mine from
the day our mother died. We are of
the mobiles, as you know, but secretly.
! we stabbed the lean horse as the say
/ ing is-the lean horse, misfortune He
I carried Us TO the verge OF ruin, but we
/ hid our troubles we'll
Don Q.'s gaze held her; he had sta
! bIed that horse himself
| Then a man. a lover came 10 my
! Lucia. He was ambitious and her
fortune meant much to him; but you
see it was all gone. The marriage was
. / arranged; then our father could no
longer hide the truth She faltered
. I thought my darling-she was young
eT than /, senOT-wOuld break her
! heart. All. but worse came. They met
= secretly and she went away. For a
: long time we did not know where she
] T. "a b1y Of sof