The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1914-07-31
CHAPTER xIII-continued.

had thought, and the gang of Mexi
cans that they had hired for muckers
were marvels of ineptitude. Left te
themselves. they accomplished moth
ing, since each problem they encoun
tered seemed to present to them some
element of insuperable difficulty, to
solve which they either went into eau
Gus or waited for the boss.
To the Mexicans of Sonora Bernardo
Bravo was the personification Of all
the malevolent qualities being q
bandit chief who had turned first gen
eraI and then rebel under Madero-
and the fact that he had at last been
driven out of Chihuahua and therefore
$ over into Sonora, made his maleVo-
lence all the more imminent
Undoubtedly, somewhere over to the
east, where the Sierras lowered like a
blue wall, Bernardo and his outlaw
followers were gathering for raid,
and the raid would bring death to So
nora.
He was a bad man, this Bernardo
Bravo, and If half of the current sto-
ries were true, he\ killed men when
ever they failed to give him money,
and was never too hurried to take a
fair daughter of the country up behind
him, provided she took his fancy.
Yes, surely he was bad man-but
that did not clear away the rock.
For the first week Phil took charge
Of the gang, urging, directing and ca
joling them, and the work went mer-
rily on, though rather slowly. The
Mexicans liked to work for Don Felipe,
he was SO polite and spoke such good
Spanish; but at the end of the week
it developed that Bud could get more
results out Of them.
Every time Phil started to explain
anything to one Mexican all the 9th.
ers stopped to listen to him, and that
took time. But Buds favorite way of
directing a man was by grunts and
signs and bending his own back to
the task. Also, he refused to under.
stand Spanish, and cut off all long
winded explanations and suggestions
by an impatient motion to go to work
which the trabajadores obeyed with
shrugs and grins.
So Don Felipe turned powder-man
and blacksmith, sharpening up the
drills at the little forge they had fash
ioned and loading the holes with dy
Mantle when 1t became necessary to
break a rock, while Bud bossed the
unwilling Mexicans.
T. 11d %1o;r
they set a heavy gate, and behind II
they stored their precious powder
Then came the portable forge and the
blacksmith shop, just inside the mouth
of the cave, and the tent backed uI
against it for protection. For if there
is any one thing, next to horses, thai
the rebels are wont to steal, it is
giant powder to blow up culverts with
or to lay on the counters of timorous
country merchants and frighten them
into making contributions.
AS for their horses, Bud kept then
belled and hobbled, close to the house
and no one ever saw him without his
gun. In the morning, when he got up
he took it from under his pillow anG
hung it on his belt, and there II
stayed until bedtime.
He also kept sharp watch on the
trail, above and below, and what few
men did pass through were consciou:
of his eye Therefore it was all thu
more surprising when, one day, look
ing up suddenly from heaving at {
great rock. he saw the big Yaqui sol
dier, Amigo, gazing down at him from
the cut bank.
Yes, it was the same man, but will
a idifference-his rife and cartridge
y belts we're absent and his clothes wer'
torn by the brush. But the same
good-natured, competent smile wa
there, and after al few words with But
he leaped nimbly down the bank AM
laid hold upon the rock: They puile'
together, and the boulder that ha'
baked Buds gang of Mexicans move'
easily for the two of them.
Then Amigo seized a crowbar AM
slipped it into Granny and showe
them a few things about moving rocks
For half an hour or more he worke'
GlOuS, DCIlt oi1 dA'PAoJ
his skill then he sat down on tn
bank and watched the Mexicans witt
tolerant, haIf-amused eyes.
If he was hungry he showed it onl
by the cigarettes he smoked, an
Hooker, studying up the chances h
would take by hiring a deserter, lie
him wait until he came to a>decision.
"Oyez, Amigo" he hailed at last
and, rubbing his hand around on hi
stomach, he smiled questioningly
whereat the Yaqui nodded his hea
avidly
"Stawano!" said Hooker, ven" An
he left his MeXicans to dawdle as the
would while he led the Indian to CAM
There he showed him the coffee-po
and the kettle of beans by the fire, sc
out a slab Of Dutch-oven bread and
sack OF ierked beef, some stewed t:ul