Evening star., 1914-11-08

Others lay on the ground, some quietly,
many doubling and twisting convulsively.
even as the manager had doubled and twisted
when he fell. AS if too astonished to con-
tinue, the firing from those over by the
mine houses had ceased; but that was not
all.
@The sefior, shouting victory and def
ance at the top of his voice, was throwing
those other queer things he had manufac-
tured, and there were other explosions, with
clouds of dust, and shrieking pieces Of net;l
and deadly shocks, and when the air cleared
there was no man to be seen in flight. All
those who had advanced under that huge
screen of timber had fallen. Yes, there they
lay, most of them quiet, and gruesome, and
very still.
close, Mortified, dropped to his knees and
began saying the prayers for the dead and
dying, when he heard the sefor scramble for
a rife, and saw him aiming it steadily, ex-
ultantly. Out IN front of one of the build
ings. shrieking at his men, and calling down
vengeance on everything under the heavens,
ran the illustrious General Vasquez. The
rifle in Wild Bobs hands snapped. Cen
eral Vasquez had ventured too far, and was
now on the ground, figure Of blue with
much gold braid. The figure got to its
knees, and Jose heard the click of breech
block and the word 'Pshaw!' from Wild
Bob
@'For the love of God, Senor!' expostu-
lated the poor old man. Have mercy!' but
even as he spoke the rifle snapped again,
and the crawling figure ceased crawling.
Even then, so barbarous is the flame of
battle. the white man said, III throw
couple more slugs into that cur to make
sure,' and did! Three men rushed out to
drag it to safety. Three times the American
fired, and now there were three others be-
side the General. Wild Bob cheered like a
madman and stood up and waved his rife
until from every quarter lead flew at him;
but so deadly had been his defense that
when the sun went down. and the pitying
dusk crept over the purple mountainous
to blanket everything, g,-the idle mine, the
smokeless chimneys, end the ruined tower
the blue-clad figures still lay there as they
had fallen, contorted, disheveled, still. None
dared approach them.
Fires blazed up in discreet circle around
them, and in the flare could be seen an
other officer now staggering in command.
Hinged in WAS the old chunk of masonry,
standing there like grim, desperate war
rior at bay, looming black against the stars.
He'll broke loose IN the distance,-the nbald
shouts of men, the screams of women, the
occasional discharge of firearms and drunken
shouts. A bodega which the mining COM
pany had tried in vain to suppress had been
looted, and those who rifed it had broached
kegs of aguardiente.
"Up on top of the tower the Indian slept,
perhaps half-delirious, awakening now and
then invariably to see the crouching figure
of the white man, rifle in hand, and more of
those fearsome, dark objects of destruction
he had manufactured scattered about his
feet. The night brought with it faint,
chill breeze which now and then gained
strength to whip outward, Tapping, the folds
of the riddled flag on the parapet. Some
times when Jose looked the American, sill
houetted against the distant fare, seemed
watching it, as if thinking vastly of some
thing left behind Once in the night the
mestizo was awakened by the sound of fir
ing, and knew that the revolutionists had
attempted to encroach on the tower and
had been driven back by the white mans
vigilance
THE sun came up, and after the chill of
L night they suffered from the increas-
ing heat They drank much water, and were
hungry. Jose pleaded with Wild Bob to
sleep for awhile and let him watch, and the
white man with haggard eyes smiled at him,
and declined, until at last he yielded to his
sole supporters opportunities. Then after
her Off