Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-06-04

the MALICIOUS peIZI1 II WIS MALI
uel Valdez. Carrambal What was
that low brute doing here. and where
was he-her sweetheart? Where was
he2
The man on the rock was drinking,
long and leisurely. something-vhlsky
no doubt-from a bottle.
Lolita's frightened eyes royed from
him to the broncho. tied to a tree at
the edge of the arroyo, then back
again. She could not see into the pooh
itself from where she stood; the rocks
interfered.
Her breath failed and her very heart
halted when the one below pointed TO
it with one hand and beckoned to her
with the other.
A yell of coarse laughter came up
the hillside.
At the, sound the girl threw away
the one loose glove and hurried down
ward. tshm
Now she was past the jutting angle
of o~yerhanging ROCKS and but ten
PAGES from the pool, Valdez between.
She looked past him in an agony OF
relief. Bross had been taken
by the Mexican. He was wrapped
from shoulder to heel in the snaky
folds of two lariats-trussed so that
he was little more than an inanimate
log. There was the tip of a branch to
serve as a gag thrust roughly Into his
mouth and tied behind.
And he was in the midst of the pool,
BEN into a sitting posture, his back
against a supporting bowlder and am
other slab laid heavily across his
knees, p~recluding any possibility of
movement.
Lolita drew a hand across maddened
eyes and1ooked again. Valdez leered
~viciously at her.
"Well, little one" he snarled in
Spanish. syou seel Quick work. eh2
You go up the hill from your Ameri-
cano and behold-he becomes a drown
ed raty'
valdez, you dogr' she cried, with
eyes ablaze. Let him go! Do you
hear me? Let him goi'
mot /, Lolita. 1t has been TOO great
trouble to put him where he Is. You
do not notice the labor / have per
formed in stopping up the holes in the
walls of our small meeting place OF
waters. l have crammed every crack
with grass and sod, Lolita. Soon tho
water will be deeper. If your amigo
is thirsty it is well. he will not have
long to wait"
The girl understood.
She gave one ~shuddering, gasping
sob; then, shrieking, she ran forward,
trying to pass. Valdez pushed her
back.
She groveled at his feet, her face low
in the dust.
you will not do this-this dreadful
thing, Manuel? Manuel!'
Nothing shall save him. l hate the
cursed Americana! Ishave hated him
since the first time l ever saw him.
He would have taken you from me.
He shall die, Lolita. And l am not
afraid of your rtsanins awayTmy-4lRr-
You will watch every one Of the tiny
bubbles. You can say farewell. And
we will zeal the rat squeak-begging
for life. Keep back now"
valdez leaned over the crystal SUR
face and cut the string. The branch
with its brush of green needles drop
ped into the water. Bross worked his
numb jaws and tongue convulsively.
Lolita staggered around to the far side
of the pool II crouched at its very
edge.
Bross met her eyes quietly with a
little smile.
you must go, sweetheart" he said.
'It is useless to wait. 1t will only
cause you agony. There is no reason
or mercy in him. He is insane with
d%rink-and worse. Go now as fast as
you cam"
The girl covered m%otionless for an
other moment, then leaped to her feet
and began waiting frantically. The
water was over her lovers tightly
closed lips.
Manuel she moaned, her arms out
stretched, IT yield. / will be your
slave. Only take me away. I do not
want to see this-this man diel"
The Mexican reached out his drunken
arms. She was ~close-within easy
reach.
They were standing at the margin
of the water, now dancing in the rain
drops.
Looking down. she saw the first air
bubbles leap upward from the nostrils
Of the drowning man.
1t was over in an instant. The long
hatpin was in her hand. 1t leaped for
ward like a snakes fang.
Just behind the ear Of the Mexican
it struck neutrality-suspicious. out
again, leaving a tiny mark-a mere
prick of the skin, it seemed. But the
man fell heavily, his head and shout
ders In the water.
Even before he struck Lolita was
tearing at the sods and watching the
choked contents of the pool gush out
and plunge over the bank. Then a
~