Polk County news-gazette. (Benton, Tenn.) 190?-191?, 1914-07-09

masked face among the flowers and
/ smiled again. That was the way Gra-
I cia Aragon affected them all
He dii not point out the place to
/ Phil. nor betray her By any sign All
he did was 10 glance al her once and
I then ride on his way. but somehow his
/ heart stood still when he met her
/ eyes. and his days became filled with
/ a pensive. brooding melancholy.
What the matter. Bud2" rallied
/ Phil. after he had jOllied him for a
week: you're getting mighty quiet
I lately. Got another hunch-like that
one you had up at Aqua Negra?"
Nope" grinned' Bud; but I'll tell
you one thing-if old Aragon don't
spring something pretty soon I'm go
ing to get uneasy. He's too dOg-goned
| gOod-natured about this"
, Maybe he thinks we're stuck" sug-
gested De Lancey.
We'll. he's awful happy about some
I thing" said Bud. 4 can see by the
way he droops that game eye of his
and smiles tlat way-that he knows
get a title to this mine, every tap OF
work we do on it is all to the good
! for him, that's a cinch. So sit down
now and think it out-where's the
| joker?"
Well" unused Phil the gold is
here somewhere. He knows we're not
fooled there. And he knows we're
right after it, the way were driving
this cut in. Our permit is good-he
hasn't tried to buffalo Mendez-and
it's a cinch he cant denounce the
claim himself"
Maybe he figures on letting us do
all the work and pay all the denounce-
ment fees and then spring something
big on old One-Eye," propounded Bud.
Scare i'm up or buy i'm off and nave
him transfer the title to him. That's
the way he worked Kruger.
We'll, say" urged Phil, Tets go
ahead with our announcement before
he starts something. Besides, the
warm weather is Coming on now, and
if we don't get a move on we're likely
to get run out by the reyoltosos.
Nope" said Bud; Il don't put this
into Mendez's hands until | know he's
our man-and if ever do go ahead III
keep him under my six-shooter until
the last paper is signed, believe me. |
know we're in bad somewhere, but
hurrying up won't help aone.
Now | tell you what We'll do--~you
go to the mining agent and get copies
of all our papers and send them up TO
that Gadsden lawyer. I'm going to go
down and board with Mendez and see
if can read his heart.
So they separated, and while Phil
stayed in. town to look over the rec
ords Bud ate his beans and tortillas
with the Mendez family.
They were a happy little family,
comfortably installed in the stone
house that Mendez had built, and rap
idly getting fat on three full meals
day. From his tent farther up the
canyon Bud could loCRIEZ9wn and,
watch the children at PLAY and see the
comedy Indian wife as she cooked by
the open fire.
nocent and contented than she was,
and Ell Tuerto was all bows and pro-
testations of gratitude. And yet. you
never can tell.
Bud had moved out of the new house
to furnish quarters for Ell Tuerto ana
had favored him in every way; but
this same consideration might easily
be misinterpreted, for the Mexicans
are slow to understand kindness.
So, while on the one hand he had
treated them generously, he had al
ways kept his distance, lest they be
tented to presume. But now, with
Phi in town for few days, he took
his meals with Maria, who was too
awed to say word, and made friends
with the dogs and the children.
The way to the dogs heart was easy,
almost direct, and he finally won the
attention of little Pancho and Josefa
with well-worn Sunday supplement.
This gaudy institution, with its spicy
stories and startling illustrations, had
penetrated even to the wilds of Sonora.
and every Sunday as regularly as the
paper came Bud sat down and had his
laugh over the funny page.
But to Pancho, who was six years
old and curious, this same highly col
ored sheet was mystery of mysteries,
and when he saw the big American
laughing he crept up and looked at it
wistfully.
Mira, said Bud. laying his finger
upon the Sinking visage Of one of the
comic characters, look, and | will tell
you the story"
And so, with laborious care, he
translated the colored fun, while the
little Mendezes squirmed with excite
ment and leaped with joy. Even the
simple souls of Ell Tuerto and Maria
wer moved by the comicas. and Men
dez became SO interested that he
learned the words by heart, the better
TO explain them to others.
But as for Mexican treachery, Bud
could find none of it. In fact, finding
them SO supplemented and good-na-
tured. he became half ashamed of his
waifp1 for the