Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-10-13

young man l went out west to seek |
my fortune and brought up in Colorado |
Springs. The place had then just |
emerged from a show place for seen
cry, being called the Garden of the |
Gods, into small town, and John |
Quackenbos had established a banking |
house, which has long since passed out |
of existence. One evening Mr.. Quack-
enbos said to me quite hurriedly:
BILLY. I've got to have $4,000 In |
Denver before 3 o'clock tomorrow to |
meet a note coming due. You must !
take it over. Get up early in the
morning and go on horseback. Here's
the money-S3.1 100. The note is SS,055. !
The difference you can use for ex-
penses.''
The next morning at 8 O'clock
mounted Tom, the best horse in the
stable and. putting a revolver in my
boot leg-I always carried it there when
mounted-started to ride some seventy
miles in twelve hours. OF course
didn't expect Tom to do it all. l count
ed on getting a relay at the house of
a Mexican who lived midway between
Colorado Springs and Denver. There
were two reasons why l didn't go by
| stagecoach. In the first place. the
| coach didn't start at an hour to get one
TO Denver before the close of banking
hours; in the second, it was much
more liable to be held up by road
| agents than single wayfarer for 4
| coach load of travellers would afford
better plumber than one man, who. If
he had anything Of value on his per-
son. would prefer journeying in com.
pany than alone
Tom took me thirty-five miles in
FIVE hours. at the end of which time
reached the place of Antonio Sanchez.
better known by the name OF
'Toney's."- 1 rode up to the door of
the house, and Toney himself came
out to receive me. I asked If he could
let me have horse to take me to Dem
yer, and he said he could. told him
to put my saddle on the animal at
once because I must get to Denver by
3 o'clock. He said didn't need seven
ter stop for a meal. I concluded to
spend an hour with him, and he told
his wife to get up good breakfast.
There were in the house Toney, his
wife and their daughter, girl of eight
cen or nineteen, and a man who had
stopped with them overnight Who
he was or where he was going did
not know. Indeed, / did not remark
him especially. Concita, the girl, look
ed very pretty in the Mexican costume,
which her father and mother wore as
well as herself. The young woman's
eyes were very dark and her lashes. as
is usual with Spanish women, very
long. She had a way of sweeping them
up and down when looking at me that
was quite fascinating g. +"
] spent the hour at Toney,s. as in
tended, and ate good breakfast,
which / needed, for had started with
out even a cup of coffee. Then
mounted Toney's horse, telling Toney
that the horse would rest overnight
in Denver and / would be back with
him at the house for noon dinner
the next day, making the rest Of the
distance to Colorado Springs on my
own horse. In the doorway Toneys
wife and daughter stood to bid me
goodby, Concita swinging her eyes and
lashes about under my admiring gaze
In way. as she doubtless knew, that
was fascinating in the extreme.
l rode away, pulling at my pipe,
which tasted delicious after my meal.
l had plenty of time to make the jour
ney, though the latter part of it would
be the hardest on the horse, and IL he
should go lame / would be in serious
danger of not reaching Denver in time
to take up the note. Any failure in
this respect would be disastrous to Mr..
Quackenbos. Why. he did not explain
to me. All he said was that if the note
were protested he would be ruined.
hadn't been gone more than half
an hour from Toney's when. stopping
to let my horse drink at little run
mel. heard faint sound Of Looping
horse from the southwark. Having
SO much money about me, felt an
instructive dread and turned TO see
who was coming. The country was all
I
the bottom of an ocean, and / could
see in every direction The conner was
q woman, and though she was more
than a mile away, owing to the rarity
Of the atmosphere. I saw that she was
Concita. It occurred to me that she
was coming for some purpose, so
waited till she came up.
ooh. senior" she said as soon as she
could catch her breath. for she had
been riding rapidly, you will be rob-
bed"
"Robbedr' exclaimed aghast 81
have So 5000 with me-"
did you see the man who was at
our place? Well. soon after You had
gone another rode up and Joined him
] was behind the barn gathering eggs
from the chicken house and heard
them talking while they were feeding
their horses. The one who had stayed
at our house overnight told the other
mat you had been here. that he had
seen you at a bank in Colorado
2ISinSs. and very likely You were car
rying money. lie said he had anotn.
er job on hand, and 1t was agreed be-