The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1914-08-15

. ouu etbtlu6 buCA u pbCo tuaI BuU Mas
hard pressed to keep up with him.
! He had heard it said that in the
! YaQuI country no white man. no mat.
ter how we'll he was mounted. could
outdistance the Indians on foot. and
| now he knew 1t was true. hut why
| this killing haste on the part OF Ami.
go7 He had neither friends nor kin
!, in town; why. then, should he run 80
fast to warn them Of the enemy7
They racked on. up one bill and
down another, while the insurrectos
followed the canyon that swung to the
south. aud finally, IN q last scramble,
they mounted rocky ridge and
looked down upon old Fortuna.
Already the hard,drivep poems were
! out in the fields at work and smoke
was rising from the mescal still Ara
! gon was busy. but his labora would be
worse than wasted II the red. 1aggers
took hl,1 prisoner. As Bud 'br.ai'ed
bis horse no hesitated whether :. side
back and warn lin ~ """r r3d
IA hundred Mexicans!" he repeated,
and Graeia murmured "Oh!" and was
gone.
miss Aragon is very loyal to her
country" observed Don Juan, but
Hooker only grunted.
NSomehow. since those four Mexicans
had come to his camp. he had soured
on everything south OF the line: and
even the charming Gracia could not
make him take back his words. II she
mad Intended the remark as q chal.
lenge-a subtle ;uYitation to follow
her and defend his faith-she failed
for once Of her purpose, for If there
was any particular man In Mexico that
bud hated more than another 1t was
her false-hearted father.
| Hooker had. in fact, thought more
seriously OF. making her a haif-orphan
than Of winning her goodwill, and he
fingered about the hotel. not to make
love to the daughter. but to strike ter
ror to Aragon.
The company being good. and a
train being expected soon, Bud stayed
oyer another day. In tho morning,
when he came down for breakfast. he
found that Aragon had fed before him.
With HE wife, daughter and retinue.
he had moved suddenly back to his
home. E.ooker grinned when Don Juan
told him the news.
well. why not?" he asked; chuck
ling maliciously. Here it's the mid
die OF the rainy season and the war
going on all summer and nary q rebel.
IN slight. Where's that big fight you
was telling about-the battle Of For
tunaf You've made q regular fortune
out OF these refugees. Brachamonte,
but fail to see the enemy" e
"Ah, you may laugh" shrugged the
hotelkeeper. but wait! The time will
come. The rebels are lost now---some
day, when you least expect It, they
Will come upon uH and then, believe
me, my gueetD will be glad they are
i here. What se few weeks hill COM
pared to beipg held tor ransom? Look
at that rich Senor Luna. who was here
for time In the spring. Against my
advice he hurried homo and now he
Is paying the, price. Ten thousand
pesos 1t cost to save his wife and
family, and for himself and son his
friends advanced ter thousand more.
\ make no evil prophecies, but It
wouig be better for our friend IL he
stayed on at my poor hotel"
Whose friend7" inquired Bud
blumy. but Don Juan etruck him upon
the back with elephantine playfulness
and hurried of to his duties.
Aa for Hooker, he tarried In town
until he got his mail and copy of
the Sunday paper and then, we'll sat
iafted that the times were quiet and
wars thing OF the past, he ambled
back to the Eagle Tail and settled
down for rest.
Flat on his back by the doorway
he Lay on his bed and smoked. reading
his way through the lurid supplement
and watching the trail with one eye.
Since the fight with Aragon's Mexi.
cans all his apprehensions had left
him. He had written briefly to Phil
aud Kruger, and now he was holding
the fort ..r
1t had been o close shave, but he
had escaped the cowardly assassins
and had Aragon In his Dower. Not by
any force OF law. but by the force of
fear and the gnawing weakness Of Ara
CONS own. evil conscience.
i Aragon was afraid OF what he had
done, but It was the suspense which
rendered him SO pitiable. On day
he had sent four armed Mexlcans
to kill this Texan-not one had re-
turned and the Texan regarded him
sneerlngly. This 1t wAs that broke
the Rpanisrd's will. fot he knew. not
what to think. But as for Bud. he lay
on bio back BY the doorway aud
laughed az the funny page.
l AS he sprawled there at his reading.
Amigo, came in from the hills. and he.,
too. was contentsto relax. Gravely
acanning the colored shset. his dark