Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-10-07
CHAPTER xxn-contlnued.

ETFr'&%g- sS--StEgr-- 49, III - .- .N
let. the Mesxicans fight It out" he
said. ."'They might resent it II you
took sides, and that would make It bad
for us. Just wait : while--you never
can tell what will happen. Perhaps the
Turales and federals Will stand them
or"
What, that little bunch ?" demanded
Bud, pointing scornfully ct the hand-
ful Of defenders who were covering
behind their rock piles. Why half Of
them pelones don't know what$a gun
was made for, and tho rurales---
t..'Well, the rebels are the same" sug-
gested the superintendent p~acifcally.
Let them light 1t out-we need every
American we can get. so just forget
shout being q Mexican"
""All right" agreed Bud, as he yield
ed reluctantly to reason. 1T amt be-
cause I'm a Mexican Citizen Just
want to stop that rush."
He walked back to the house, Jug
Cling his useless gun and keeping his
eye on the distant ridges. And then.
in q chorus: Of defiant yells. the men
in the federal trenches began to shoot.
In an airline the distance was some
thing over q mile. but at the first scat
tering voolley the rebels halted and,
fired afvolley In return. With a vicious
spang a few stray bullets smashed
against the reyerberating steel tank.
but no on. was hurt, and the defend
era, drunk with valor, began to shoot
and yell like mad. ri
The bullets OF the rebels, fred 1T
random, struck up dust-jets in every
direction, and from the lower part OF
the town came the shouting Of the non,
combatant Mex1cans az they ran here
and there for shelter. But by the
trenches, and In the rear Of the black
,tank, the great crowd OF onlookert
Persisted, nduckfng as each successive
bullet hit the tank and shouting en-.
:couragement as the defenders emptied
their rifles and reloaded with clip after
clip /.
The rifles ratified a continuous vol.
ley; spent bullets leaped like locusta
across the nat; men ran to and fro,
now crouching behind the tank. now
stepping boldly into the open; and the
defiant shouts OF the defenders almost
drowned the walls Of the women. Ex
SScept for one thing II was battle.
there was nobody hurt.
For the 1arst half-hour the Ameri
cans stayed ~prudently under cover
.sbusytng themselves ut the suggestion
OF a$few American women In providing
q ahrst-aid hospital OF the sheltered
porch. Then. al NJ wounded came t.
nlls 1t and the rebels delayed theil
charge, one man after another climbed
2sup to the trenches, ostensibly to bring
down the injured.
AS soldiers and bystanders reported
no one hit, and the bullets 1lew harm
lessly past, their solicitude turned rap
idly to disgust and then to scorn
Strange as 1t may seem. they were dis
appointed at the results and their re
marks were d~erogatory AZ they com
muented on the bravery Of pelones and
Mexicans in general
From q dread Of imminent attack, o.
charging rebels and retreating defend
ers, and q fight to the death by the
house, they came suddenly to a desire
for blood and battle, for<dead men and
the cries OF the wounded; and all fea,
OF the insurrectos left them.
Come away, boys" grunted the
burly roadmaster, who up to then had
led In the work; I'VE wasted our time
on that hospital-there'll be no wound
ed. Let's take ourselves back to the
house and have a quiet smoke" 2
Right you are, Ed" agreed the mas
ter mechanic, al he turned upon bis
heel IN disgust. ".Ths amt war
them Mexicans think they're working
for q moving picture show!"
Il bet you j al go up on tina,
ridge" announced Hooker, :and clean
out the whole bunch with my six.
shooter before you could bat your
eye. Il
But the superintendent was not q
sure. =
Never mind, boys" he said. We're
worth Q lot OF ransom money to those
rebels and they won't give up % quick.
And look at this now-my miners com.
ling back!, Those Ire the boys that win
fight! Wait till Chico and Ramon
Mendoza get after them!"" r
He pointed as he spoke to a strag.
CLING band Of Sonorans, led by the
tmuch-vaunted Mendoza brothers, rs
they hurried to save the town, and a
cheer went up from the trenches as
the federals beheld reinforcements.
But q change had come over the fire.
eating miners. and they brought other
Iirebels in their wake. !
As they trudged YEARLY into town
and sought shelter among the houses
"a great body Of men appeared IN the
opposite ridge, airing down at them as