Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-03-24

cnliHtins his willing support. lie lau
written Dave Law. telling him that
she Intended to 20 to LII Fcrlu, there
70 remain pending the hearing of her
suit. 10 be sure she would have pre-
fcircd SOME place Of refuge cher than
la Fcri. but she reasoned TINT there
she Wou.' NJ least he undisturhed. and
that Ed, even If he wished to effect Il
her. since hr was persona non grat;i
in federal Mexico.
She had counted upon seeing Dave
during her stay in Brownsville. and her
failure 10 do SO was Il grave disap.
pointment as she knew that he was in
town attending court. Yet she tolt!
herself that it WAS brave Of him to
obey her niuncttons so literally and to
leave her unembarrasscd by his pres
ence at this particular time. Il in.
spircd her to be equally brave and to
wait patiently for the day when she
could welcome him with clean hands
and II soul unashamcd.
In the midst Of Alare's uncertainty
Of mind It grutitied her 10 realize thai
Dave alone would know of her where.
ahOutS. She wondered II he would
come 10 see her. lie was II reckless
headStrong lover. and his desires were
all too likely TO overcome his DELHI
crate resolves. She rather hoped that
in spite of his promise he would ven
ture to cross the border so chat she
could see and be near him. If only for
Il day or for an hour. The possibility
frightened and yet pleased her The
conventional woman within her
frowned, but her outlaw heart beat
fast Mt the thought
Alairc did not explain her plans even
to Dolores, but when her preparations
were complete she took the Mexican
woman with her, and during Eds alb
sencc slipped away from the ranch.
Boarding the train at JonesviIle. She
/ was in Pueblo that night.
/ II seemed at last that war with
Mexico was imminent. After months
of uncertainty the question had come
to issue. and that lowering cloud which
+ had hung above the horizon took ONT
nous shape and size. Ellsworth awoke
/ one morning to learn that an ultima
i tum had gone forth to President Po-
/ tosi that the Atlantic fleet had been
/ ordered south; and that marines were
/ being rushed aboard transports pend-
ing Il general army mobilization. 1t
/ locked as if the United States had
/ finally risen in wrath, and rs II moth
Ing less than Il miracle could now avert
! the long-cXpccted conflict.
Blaz6 Jones took the San Antonio
paper out upon ,hc porch and COM
posed himnelf in the hammock 10 read
the latest war news. Invasion Troops
The Stars and Stripes Those were
words that stirred Jones deeply and
caused him to neglect his work Now
that his country had fully awakened
to the necessity of a war with Mexico
IA necessity he had long felt--he was
fired with the IOftiest patriotism and q
youthful eagerness to enlist. Blaze
realized that he was old and fat and
near-sighted; but what of that? He
could fight. Fighting, In fact, had
been one of his earliest accomplish
ments, and he prided himself upon
knowing as much about 1t as any
man could learn. He believed in fight
ing both as Il principle and as an eX-
ercise; In fact, he attributed his good
health to his various neighborly "un.
pleasantnesses," and he had more than
once argued that no great fighter ever
died OF sluggish liver or Of any one
or the 0ther'ills that beset sedentnry
peace-loving people. Nations were
IKE men--too much ease made them
flabby And Blaze had his own ideas
OF strategy, too. So during the perusal
OF his paper he bemonned the mis-.
takes mis- government was making
why waste time with ultimatums? he
argued to himself. He had never done
so. Experience had taught him that
the way to win n battle was to beat
the other fellow to the draw; hence
this diplomatic procrastinntion filled
him with impatiencc. II seemed al
most trensonnble to, one OF Bluzc's In.
tense patriotism.