Gilpin observer., 1914-10-22
FREQ To mold It in his stead; and that
he dAtNrminAd tn d0-n0f onlx holA n

tain, they could turn it over to Kruger
and quit the accursed country.
AS for the girl. Bud decided that
she could take care of herself without
any assistance from him. and dis
missed her from his mind.
| Back at the mine he found Amigo
guarding camp from the hilltop, and
after telling him the gist of his trou-
bles, the two of them went to work.
Every day, while one of them dug out
the ore, the other crushed and washed
1t and watched as he horned out the
! gold. Their rifles they kept beside
them and pistols in their belts; and
every time Mexican dropped into
camp. as one did now and then in the
general unrest, he felt the silent men,
ace of arms in readiness and continued
on his way
For week they labored on together,
grim, watchful. expectant-then, at
the break Of day, they heard a distant
rattle Of arms. like the tearing of a
cloth. and knew that the battle was
on.
The great whistle at Fortuna opened
with its full. bass roar. and Amigo
snatched up his gun and went Looping
down the canyon, drawn irresistibly
by the sound of conflict. Bud fingered.
climbing higher and higher to get
view of the country. But his young
blood clamored for action too. and
soon he was mounted and gone.
The fighting was not at the Ameri
can town, but down the valley by Old
Fortuna, and as Hooker galloped on
toward the sound of the firing he no.
ticed that 1t was on the move. Al
ready the cowardly rebels were re-
treating-the volunteers from Fortuna
were hurrying to get closer to them,
the rurales were riding to flank them;
and when Bud jumped his horse up
the last hill and looked down into the
broad, cultivated valley he saw the
dust Of their fight.
Down the fenced trail that led to the
lower country the mounted insurrectos
were spurring in a rout; across the
newly plowed field, of Aragon the men
on foot were making a short cut for the
hills; and all about them. like leaping
grasshoppers. sprang up puffs of dust.
Now they plunged into the willow
brush along the river, where 1t swung
in against the ridge; and as their pur-
suers broke into the open they halted
and returned the fire. The bullets
struck up the dust like hailstones in
front of the oncoming irregulars.
man or two in the lead went down.
and they faltered. Then, as frantically
as the rebels, they turned and ran for
cover.
While defenders and invaders shot
back and forth across the broad field,
Bud put spurs to his horse and rode
closer. and when he came out on an
other hilltop he was just in time to see
the rurales come pelting in from the
west and take the revoltosos on the
flank. There was great deal of long
distance firing then, while the rebels
slowly retreated. and finally. with a
last defiant volley. the defenders
turned back from their pursuit and
marched triumphantly to Old Fortuna.
There, amid numerous vivas. Don
Cipriano rolled out a cask Of mescal
and, after fiery speech, invited the
victors to help themselves. So they
fell to drinking and carousing, and the
one defender who had been wounded
was bandaged and made much Of.
while a great crowd from the upper
town looked on in awe and admiration.
At last Manuel del Rey and his
rurales returned from harassing the
enemy and with several wounded pris-
oners in their midst, the valor-drunk
Mexicans formed riotous procession
| n tn
Every horse and mule was carrying
double. guns were being dropped.
broad hats knocked on. and ever. as
they marched. they shouted:
Viva Madero! Viva Mejico! Muerte
a los revoltosos!"
1t was an edifiying spectacle to an
American, and with the rest Bud
tagged along to the plaza. where they
had speeches and cheers galore and
more mescal at the company's cantina.
But in the midst of 1t. while he sat
laughing on his horse by the hotel.
Bud felt a gravel strike his broad
hat from above and. looking furtively
up, he beheld Gracia Aragon smiling
down at him from the balcony.
She beckoned him with a swift
movement and gazed out over the as
semblage again. and after a few mo-
ments OF deliberation Hooker tied his
horse and wandered into the hotel.
A tingle of excitement went over
him as he tramped up to the ladies'
parlor, for he had never met Gracia
face to face. But he disguised his
qualms by assuming a masklike grim.
| ~ IN, ,.,ha 81
glorious Gracia glided out Of her room
to meet him, he only blinked and stood
pat
A long experience as poker player
was all that saved him from betrayal.
for there was something In her very
presence which made his heart leap