Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-01-15
FERRUBY.


been stripped from great tree ferns
that grew near at hand.
An old, withered, bright eyed Indian
woman, who sat beside him, placed a
leather bottle to his lips, from which
he drank eagerly of pineapple ehica.
The wine stimulated him and cleared
his head, and he sat up and looked
around him inquiringly. A short dis
lance from him his burro was browsing
among the shrubbery and under a
feather palm lay his pack saddle and
outfit.
As he looked westward he saw that
the sun was halfway down the slope CT
the sky, and, lowering his eyes, he saw
the burning, shimmering desert, and
shuddered as he remembered all that
remained in his consciousness of the
terrible journey he had made across it.
Addressing the old woman in Spanish,
he asked ''Will the sonora kindly tell
me where / ann"
"She will" was the reply. "The senior
is at the foot of the western slope of
Ell Tres Diablos'"
Then she proceeded to tell him that in
dream she had been appraised of his
coming and was there at the edge of the
desert to receive him, and that he, and
also the burro, had fallen helpless at her
feet when they arrived.
"You are seeking the lost mine near
the little lake in the heart of Ell Tres
Diablos," she said, "but | do not think
you will find it. But this | will tell
you: If you can draw the water from
the small, deep basin that contains the
l,l G,,I ~ a
more wealth than was ever possessed
by the Montezumas.
lions of blocks of gold belonging to
the people who owned the mine were
cast into the lake by them before they
were slaughtered by the Spaniards, and
there it has remained undisturbed until
this day Twill conduct you to the lake
when you are stronger. Nay, do not
ask me how / know this, for | may not
tell you, but here l declare to you that
| speak the truth"
Thirty days after crossing that valley
of death Harry had surveyed and
mapped the little lake and so much of
its environs as he cared to possess, and
then took his departure for Mexico City.
When Harry arrived at Ell Tres Di-
ablos on his return from the capital he
had with him a number of poems and a
dozen mules well laden with equipment
and supplies, and soon those mountains
were echoing sounds not before heard
there since the Spanish conquest
In due time his friend Frank arrived,
and after a hearty greeting Harry's
first question was: What news have
you of Ferruby % 'Have you not heard ~
asked Frank. Heard what?' inquired
Harry, excitedly. Tell me-tell me
quickly. What has happened to Fer
ruby 2"
Frank struggled vainly to control his
emotion. replied: Shortly after your
departure from Eufaula the general. with
Ferruby, left for an extended tour of
Europe. Six months later information
was received-that-th chat
"What-what information was re.
ceived?" cried Harry. us Ferruby mar
ried ?"
"No-she is-dead Killed in an auto
mobile accident near Florence, Italy,
said Frank.
White as marble, Harry stood for a
moment like one turned to stone Then
he reeled and would have fallen. but
Frank put his strong arms about him
and laid him down tenderly upon a
puma's SKIN. The old woman lowered
over him weeping and uttering weird
lamentations. Presently, when he began
breathing, she gave him some chica, and
shortly afterward he opened his eyes,
sighed slowly and deeply, and then, in a
weak voice, tremulous with a never to-
be-spoken misery, he said: 81 thank YOU,
my dear friends" That was all.
1 HN-au 10 Il.
| little lake where its dark, deep waters
were confined by mighty wall of rock.
/ 1t spanned a chasm a hundred feet wide.
and from its top one looked down into
a ravine that lost itself in darkness. and
at the bottom of which two of the
slopes of FL Tres Diablos came together
and found a common base
For weeks, a huge drill had been bor-
ing its way down through that wall of
rock to the level of the bottom of the
lake. Two days after the drill had
been finally withdrawn, the peon. were
directed to gather up the mules and
drive them into the corral at the camp.
and to remain there until further or
ders. When all had reached the camp,
Harry, with pale face. and set features.
with Frank at his side, uncovered an
electric battery, and pressed a button,
A terrific explosion followed A column
of fire and smoke shot toward the zenith.
a sound like crash of many thunders
rent the shuddering air
The mountains rocked and trembled
as though smitten by mighty cata-
clysm. Wild beasts forsook their cav
ems and ran aimlessly through the
brakes ana jungles, The poems, and the
mules in the corral staggered and trem-
bled with fear. The old Indian woman
turned her face to the sun, and threw
herself upon the earth in abiect terror.
Harry FASTENED to her side, and, raising
her up tenderly said: 1T is all over.
There is no danger; come with me and
see the cataract that is rushing down
the gorge"
| The following morning Disclosed ON