Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-12-29

Angs was within a stones throw of the
Send of track yards: nay. within an
amateurs pistol-shot OF the commls.
sary buildings. But Ruiz Gregorio,
weighing all the possibilities. found
them elastic enough to serve the PUT
pose. A well-calculated shot from be.
hind a sheltering boulder, the heaving
of the body into the swift torrent of
the Panpikin, and the thing was done.
What danlning evidence might after
ward come to the light of day, il, in
deed, 1t should ever come to lighe,
would be fished out of the stream far
enough from any of the Marlborough
camps.
Thus Ruiz Gregorin Mario y Alvarez.
lollins lazily In his saddle while the
hard-breathing mustang picked a toll
some path among the strewn houl
ders and through the sliding shale
beds. He went even further; an alibi
I might not be needful, but it would be
easy to provide one. Youug Jack Ben
son. If no other, would know that Ford
had taken one Of the shorter trails
from Copat TO the camp AT Horse
Creek. Bueno, He. Ruiz Gregorio.
could slip across the river in the dusk
when the thing was done, skirt thu
J headquarters camp unseen, and pre-
sent himself little later at Senior
Frishie's camp of the track-laye:s,
coming, as it were, direct from Copah,
almost upon the heels of Senior Ben
son After that. who could connect
him with the dead body of man flsh'
ed out Of a river twenty, fifty, hun
bred miles away?
There was a weak link in the chain.
RUIZ Gregorios child-liks plot turned
,,pon one pivot of hazard-hazard most
likely to be ignored by so good a
marksman as the "man-killer. One
shot he might permit himself, Win
little danger of drawing a crowd from
the mess tent and the sleeping shan
ties in the Horse Creek camp. Two
would bring the men to their doors.
Auy greater number would be taken
as the signal of a free fight needing
spectators. Hence the first shot must
suffice.
The Mexican bore this in mind
when. arriving at his post opposite
the camp in the early dusk, he chose
his ambushing boulder so near tbs
descending hill trail that a stout clut
might have been substituted for tho
pistol. The weather promise was fol
q starless night, but the electric arc
lights were already scintillatlns n
their mastheads in the headquarter'
railroad yard across the Pannikin. La
ter. when the daylight was quite gone
and the electrics we're following out +:
bowl of stark Wilderness In the night
Ruiz Gregorio wished he had chosen
otherwise. The camp lights shone ful
upon him and on the mustang stand
Ing with dropped head at his elbow
and the trail On the other side of thu
boulder was in shadow.
He was about 70 take the risk O
moving farther ND the hillpath to
less exposed lurking place, was hes
tating only because his lndolent sou
rebelled at the thought of having t
drag Fortls body so many added step
to its burial in the river, When tn
time for scene-shifting had passet
Pushing the mustang out of the line Q
sight from the TRAIL he fattened hin
self against the great rock and waited
Ford rode down the last declivit
cautiously, for his horses sake. TIL
trail came out of the hills abrupt.
dropping into the rock-strewn rive
valley within Mailing distance of til
camp Well within the sweep of tn
masthead lights across the strean
the houider-strewn fiat was as light a
day, save where the sentinel rock
flung their shadows; and promptly !
the first facing of the right electric
Ford's horse stumbled aside from tn
path and began to take short cuts b
tween the understanding boulders f
the river. This was how the MeYica'
instead of having his victim at a cor
plete disadvantage. found himself SUI
denly uncovered by the flank. expose
recognized. and hailed in no uncertai
tones.
Hello, Mattacheco, what are yt
doing here?" Ford had a f1ash.lig'
picture of the horse standing with h
n,zzle to the ground: Of the man fla
tened against the rock. Then he sa
the dull geam of the lights upon blue
metal. "You devil" he shouted; al
nnarmed as he was, spurred his tir'
beast at the assassin.
Here, then, was the weak link
Ruiz Gregorio's chain twisted to Il
breaking point at the very outset.
stead OF taking deliberate pot-sh
at an unsuspectlng victim, ne W
obliged to face about, TO fire hastily
charging enemy, and to spring hi
bly, aside to save himself from bel
ridden down. The saving jump W
an awkward one; it brought him In
hreath-taking collision with tue ,
Jerking head Of the mustang. VIII
be had recovered his feet and
presence OF mind, the charging viii
wind had dashed through the shallo
Of the Pannikin, and a. riderless hor
was Gathering across the tracks
the railroad yard.
The Mexican waited prudently
see what the camp would say to t
single shot. 1t said nothing; it mig
have been deserted for all the indi
tons there were of life in it. R
Gregorio snapped the empty sh
from his weapon, replacing it with
loaded one, and mounted and re
slowly through the ford. The rid
If YOU ARE A T2IFLE sENsATl
About the size of Your shoes,