Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1917-09-06

wrote a message to Major winstoa.
telling him of the trouble he was In,
and requested that he come to wask-
ington as soon as possible, after which
he was placed in cell.
While Rutledge sat prisoner in the
| Jail. trying to devise some way to save
Liberty and Pedro from the Mexf-
cans, these two stood in Pancho's ha-
| cienda watching Lopez and his muir
| derous band, which were now within
u few feet of the place.
| Finally the old trustee, who was at
first tempted to rush out and face the
bandit, reconsidered. and putting his
| gun away, he decided to try and throw
| the leader off the scent So, advising
Liberty and Pedro to remain out of
sight, he stepped outside just as Lopez
pulled up his horse within a few feet
| of the doorway.
'Have you seen the senorfta and
that slave of hers, Pedro. around
here?" inquired Lopez as Pancho ap-
preached.
''They rode by here, not long SINCE"
replied Pancho. They were headed
towards the American border. and
were going in that direction" he add
Lopez studied the face of Pancho
for an instant. and then. assuming to
believe him, the bandit started his
horse and beckoned to his men to fol-
low.
After he had felt certain that he
had saved them, Pancho returned to
the house and reported the coast clear
to Liberty and Pedro, who cautiously
made their way outside, to where they
had hitched their horses.
However, the bandit leader was not
SO certain that Pancho had told him
the truth, and, after making a short
detour, he started back towards the
house just as Liberty and Pedro were
about to mount their horses. They
saw him, and quickly putting the
horses in the barn, the three made
dash for the hacienda.
They reached there just in time, for
Lopez saw them and opened fire just
as they closed the door. Inside, the
three started to barricade the doors.
Then Pancho told Liberty and Pedro
that he would steal out another way
and go to the peon settlement for help.
And, picking up gun, he started out.
But he did not get far, for Lopez
and his men quickly surrounded the
house, and one OF the bandits, seeing
Pancho as he started toward the set
Element, called to the leader.
I'll get this man." said Lopez. 1.-The
rest of you capture the two in the ha-
cienda"
Liberty and Pedro had secured arms
and ammunition, and were looking out
anxiously, awaiting the attack, while
Pancho turned and. seeing Lopez,
rushed into the barn, warning the
bandit back with his gun, which was
leveled straight at the chief of the
bandits.
Lopez, realizing his danger, paused
and looked around for some way to
gain the barn under cover. But see
ing there was no other way. he adj
vanced in the open, firing as he went
His shots struck only the barn, for
he had no way of telling just where
Pancho was located within. But
Pancho saw him, and he knew that at
last he had the bandit at his mercy.
He stood behind the big doors and,
putting the muzzle of the gun through
the crack, he fired straight at Lopez
as the latter approached. The first
shot missed him, but the second struck
him in the chest, and he heaved a sigh
of satisfaction as he saw the Mexican
fall to the ground with curse.
Seeing that Lopez was laying quite
still, Pancho opened the doors and
started towards him. AS Lopez saw
him approaching he cautiously reached
for his gun, and before Pancho real
lied what had happened. the bandit
fired, hitting him in the side. He
dropped to his knees, and then the
two started crawling towards each
other, shooting as they closed, until
they were but few feet apart
While the duel between Pancho and
Lopez was going on, the bandits were
firing into the hacienda-Liberty and
Pedro returning their fire behind the
barricade and wounding three of them.
The men and women in the peon
settlement, hearing the fusillade, came
running from their houses. They
reached Pancho, who told them to go
to the hacienda and save Liberty and
Pedro. While two of them remained
to assist Pancho, the others ran to-
| wards the house.
The Lopez men saw the poems, and
after an exchange of shots, two more
bandits dropped to the ground, while
| the three or four remaining escaped,
leaving their leader at the mercy of
Pancho. Liberty and Pedro, seeing
the bandits mount their horses and
| ride off, realized that assistance had