Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1917-07-20

to come. Wen pretend we're having a
picnic
Dolores sighed at the suggestion.
'That would be heaven, but there can
be no sitting down for me-"
Garcia, who had been standing in his
stirrups scanning the long, fiat road
ahead, spoke sharply: "Caramba !
Here come those very soldiers now |!
Sect"
Far away, but evidently approaching
ut q smart gait, was body of mounted
men. After one look at them Dave
cried:
Into the brush, quick !" He hurried
his companions ahead of him, and
when they had gone perhaps hum
dred yards from the road he took
Juan's repeater, saying: "Ride in a
little way farther and wait. I'm going
back. If you hear me shoot, break for
the river. Ride hard and keep under
cover us much as possible" Before
they could demonstrate he had wheeled
MontrOsa and was gone.
This was luck, he told himself. Ten
miles more and they would have been
safe, for the Rio Grande is not diff
icult river either to ford or to swim.
lie dismounted and made his way on
foot to a point where he could COM
mand view, but he had barely estab-
Iished himself when he found Alaire at
his side.
"Go back" he told her. But she
would not, and so they waited together.
There were perhaps a dozen men in
the approaching squad, and Dave saw
that they We're heavily accoutred. They
rode fast, too, and at their head gal
lOped large man under a wide
brimmed felt hat. 1t soon became evil
dent that the soldiers were not uni
formed. Therefore, Dave reasoned,
they were not federals, but more prob
ably some rebel scouting band from
the south, and yet He rubbed his
eyes and stared again.
Dave pressed forward eagerly, in
credulously; the next instant he had
broken cover with shout. Alaire was
at his side, clapping her hands and
laughing with excitement.
The cavalcade halted; the big man
tunlbled from his saddle and came
straddling through the high grass, wav-
ing his hat and yelling.
"Blaze! You old scoundrel!" Dave
cried and seized one of the ranchman's
palms while Alaire shook the other.
"Say! We're right glad to see you
ALL" Jones exclaimed. 1--WE reckOned
you might be havin' a sort Of unpleas-
antness with Longorio, SO we organized
up and came to get you"
The other horsemen were crowding
close now, and their greetings were
noisy. There were the two Guzman
Boys, Benito Gonzales, Phil Strange,
and a number of Jonesville's younger
and more adventurous citizens.
In the midst Of the tumult Benito in
luired for his wife, and Dave relieved
MS anxiety by calling Dolores and Fa-
Their O'Malley. Then, in answer to
the questions showered upon him, he
swiftly sketched the story Of Alaire's
rescue and their flight from La Feria.
When he had finished Blaze Jones
lrew a deep breath. "We're mighty
glad you got out safe, but you've
kicked the legs from under one of my
pet ambitions. / sure had planned to
So hidn horn door
Yes, and you've taken the bread out Of
he mouths of the space writer's and
sob sisters from here to Hudson's bay.
Miz Austin, your pictures In every
newspaper in the country, and. believe
NE, it's the worst atrOcity of the war;"
"Warp' Father O'Malley had Joined
the group now, and he asked, "Has war
oeen declared?"
"Not yet, but we've got hopes" To
Alaire Blaze explained: "EllswOrth's
IN Washington, wavin' the Stars and
Stripes and singin' battle hymns, but I
reckon the government figures that the
original of these newspaper pictures
would be safe anywhere. Well, we've
got our own ideas in Jonesville, so
some of us assembled ourselves and de-
clared war ON our own hook. These
gentlemen'-Blaze waved his hand
proudly at his neighbors- constitute
the Jonesville Guards, the finest body
of American men that has invaded
Mexican soil since me and Dave went
after Ricardo Guzman's remains.
Blamed If 1 amt sorry you sidetracked
our expedition"
It was evident, from the words Of the
others, that the Jonesville Guards were
indeed quite as needless of interna-
tional complications as was their COM
mander. One and all were highly In
censed at Longorio's perfdy, and, had
Alaire suggested such thing, it was
patent that they would have ridden on
La Feria and exacted reckoning from
him.
Such proof of friendship affected her
deeply, and it was not until they were
all under way back toward Romero
hat she felt she had made her appre-
.iation fully known. When she reflect
ID that these men We're some OF the
very ne1ghbOrs whom she had shunneu
opI c,l;t,bto1 op1 yunoco hODaSt ipfprpSt