Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-07-17
CHAPTER VII.

There are doubtless many philan-
~thropists in the Back Bay regions Of
Boston who would consider the whip
saving of Cruz Mendez a very repre-
hensible act. And one hundred dol
lars Mex was certainly a very small
reward for the service that he was to
perform.
But Bud and Phil were not travelling
for any particular uplift society, and
one hundred pesos was a lot of money
to Cruz Mendez. More than that, If
they had offered him a thousand dol
lars for the same service he would
have got avaricious and demanded ten
thousand.
He came to the hotel very early the
next morning and fingered around an
hour or 80, waiting for the American
gentleman to arise and tell him his
fate. A hundred dollars would buy
everything that he could think of, in
Guiding a quantity of mescal. His
throat dried at the thought of 1t.
Then the gentlemen appeared and
asked him many questions-whether
he was married according to law,
whether his wife would sign the pa
pers with him, and IL he believed in
a hereafter for those who played false
with Americans. Having answered all
these in the affirmative, he was taken
to the agente mineral, and, after sign
ing his name-his one feat in penman-
ship-to several imposing documents,
he was given the precious permit.
Then there was another trip to the
grounds with a surveyor, to make re-
port that the claim was actually va
cant, and Mendez went back to his
normal duties as a packer.
In return for this service as a dunn
my locator, and to keep him under
their eye, the Americans engaged Ell
Tuerto, the one-eyed, to pack out a
few tools and supplies for them; and
then, to keep him busy, they employed
him further to build a stone house.
All these activities were, of course
not lost on Don Cipriano Aragon y
Tres Palacios, since, by a crafty ar
rangement of fences, he had made it
impossible for anyone to reach the
lower country without passing through
the crooked street of Old Fortuna.
During the first and the second trip
Of the strange Americans he kept
within his dignity, hoping perhaps
that they would stop It his store,
where they could be engaged in con-
versation; but upon their return from
a third trip, after Cruz Mendez had
gone through with their supplies, he
cast his proud Spanish reserve to the
winds and waylaid them on the street.
"Buenas tardes, senores," he salut-
ed, as they rode past his store, and
then. seeing that they did not break
their gait, he held up his hand for
them to stop.
Excuse me, gentlemen" he said,
speaking genially but with an affected
Spanish lisp. Il have seen you ride
past several times-are you working
for the big company up at New For
lunar"
mo. senor," answered De Lancey
courteously, I'VE are working for our
selves"
Good" responded ATagon with Ia
therly approval; ut Is better SO. And
are you looking at mines?"
YES" said De Lancey non-commit-
tally; I'VE are looking at mines"
That is good, too" observed Ara
gon; "and / wish you well, but since
you T strangers to this country and
perhaps do not know the people as
we'll as some, / desire to warn you
against that one-eyed man. Cruz Mem
dez, with whom | have seen you rid
ing He is a worthless fellow-a very
pela'o Mexican, n who has nothing.
and yet he is always seeking to Inn