The San Francisco call., 1906-09-30
TS-A STORY OF EARLY CALIFORNIA

So the hours wore away. When night
came the brigands put Chiquita and
her mother in one room and tied their
hands and feet. They made Pedro
stand up against tree and bound him
tightly to the trunk of the tree with
ropes of leather so that he could hardly
breathe and any movement by him was
impossible. Then the brigands ca
reused. drank heavily and finally fell
asleep, all except one who was placed
as a sentry to see that no one ap-
preached and that no one tried TO es-
cape and carry the news.
In great fear Chiquita and her moth
er passed the first hours of the night
The heavy breathing of the men in
the house told that they were asleep.
In the space outside and near the house
the mother and Chiquita heard some
one moving about constantly. That
was the sentinel who was watching
sharply
An hour passed and another and an
other. The darkness grew dense as
midnight A fog had blown IN from
the sea and there were no stars in
the sky. A sea wind blew among the
dark and thick -foliaged trees making
ghostly noise.
Finally the steps of the man outside
ceased Another hour passed and Chi
quita heard him snore- She slipped
her timber hands from the cords that
held them. She whispered to her
mother, as she united the cords that
held her feet, what she meant to do.
NO. no, Chiauita," pleaded her
mother, you must not go. They will
kill YOU l am the one to go I'm
fasten nay ropes.
Il shall not unite YOU 1 shall go.
mother. When they find you tied and
father tied they will know that you
could not have helped me to escape.
1t will be all my fault and they will
not hurt you for what do
But you are such little girl and
it is so far to F'ernandez's house, and
the night is so dark and you do not
know the way WE'LL
Chiquita made no answer to this.
Indeed she was scared so already that
she did not dare to whisper any more
for fear that she would sob. She kissed
her mother, slipped out of the room
noiselessly, passed into the open air,
going close to two sleeping brigands
as she moved-and was gone on an err
rand that might bring death to her
IL she was detected-death possibly
also to her father and mother.
Behind her gentleness was the cour-
age of the earliest Spanish explorer
She would never turn back now. Down
the trail she rather crept than walked.
her own beating heart sounding so
loud to her that she wondered that the
soldiers did not waken.
She crossed a little bridge beyond
the spring, going in her bare feet to
make no noise. She walked swiftly
over a stony path where the f1ints cut
her feet, but she made no cry. She
plunged into trail where the briers
tore her flesh and still she kept on.
Sometimes she stopped to listen,
crouching behind bushes. that she
might not be target for any one If
her flight should have been discovered.
She had travelled this way three dread
full miles when something cleaned in
the trail ahead OF her, two points OF
light that fiickered and wavered and
that made her heart stand still with
fear. She would have run back as fast
as ever she could. would have screamed
aloud in terror If she had not above
all the thought of the danger of her
father and mother in her mind
What were the dreadful lights? Some
wild animal or some wild man who had
found her out and was standing ahead
OF her to kill her IL she should move
She felt for her crucifx with trem-
bling hands as she stood stock STILL