The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1917-06-01

a mau enGeren 1t waa Manner 6ns
thought 1t was him from the first.
AS soon as he stepped his foot inside
she spoke.
Don't novel" she began. "stay
right where you arer
But, Manuel was not prepared for
such q reception, and It annoyed him
immensely. He had come on a very
serious mission this time, and to have
his wife stick q gun under his nose
before he had time to explain, was
indeed irritating.
Il have come to offer you freedom"
he began as he started towards her.
whats the price?" she inquired.
Il cannot talk to you II you are go
Ing to keep that ugly-looking gun
pointed at me all the time" said Man
uel.
1T is too bad that you are the type
OF man that has to be treated like
that" remarked Liberty.
Just then something outside the win
dow attracted Liberty's attention, and
she lowered her arm. It was only for
an instant, but long enough to give
the shrewd Manuel an opportunity to
snatch the gun out Of her hand and
throw 1t out Of the window.
"Now then, I'm going to prove to
you l am not as cruel as you think l
am" he remarked as he stood in front
Of her.
Nothing could convince me Of that
but a message from heaven" replied
Liberty.
"Now, listen to me-" began Manuel.
You cannot play with rae any longer.
You are my wife. Whether you think
so. or not, 1t doesn't make any differ
ence In the eyes Of the law. I know
you hate re. but, you hate re be-
cause l arr a Mexican. You do not like
them you never cid, even when you
were q little girl. / hate then myself.
Yes, ! know you are wondering why
l say that. I will tell you. / lived
most Of my younger days across the
border; over there in that land, some
people call Gods country. l was
stunned by the American boys, when
my father sent rae there to school.
They called me a greaser, anc said
there wasn't any decent Mexicans
that we were all bad.
II was a good boy then, and 1t hurt
ne to have my people spoken of il
such q way. Later, when / entered col
lege I found my seat at the rear of
the classroom. / was seldom Invited
to any Of the social functions, and,
though I qualified for the track teams
aad other athletics, they never let me
In. My college life was made raiser-
able because OF these things, which
caused ne great embarrassment, and
made me gradually learn to hate not
only America, but ny own country,
too"
THAT IL q poor excuse for becom-
Ing m outlaw" interrupted Liberty.
who had been listening attentively to
every word.
1T has Fever occurred to you" re
turned Manuel. IF 1t did, you might
feel different about It. There are
many people who think that every
Mexican is bad and not to be trusted.
They think he lives on chile con carne
and steals all he gets. Well, IL he has
that kind Of q reputation, the best
thing for him to do In live up to 1t.
! ara not q bandit, o a bad man.
Lopez gave me an opportunity to Join
his forces. and, II I refused l was to
be taken out ard shot. Life, under
any conditions, Is much pleasanter
than death. That il why l decided to
becorse his lieutenant. But, cow / am
through. and II You will cone with me
! will help you to escape. We will
cross the border and 60 up .orth.
where we will be safe from these tel
lows"
you do not love ne, Manuel" re
piled Liberty. Love does not ap-
prove Of the things you have done.
Love guards and protects. You do rot
know what real love r., and l cannot
permit you to speak Of It to me; es-
specially IN q place like this. II you
loved ne you would not hold a condi-
ton over my head. You would free me
even Il It requested your life."
III I did that I would never zee
you again." argued Manuel. Il have
aided In keeping You Z prisoner be-
cause ! wanted you near me. I wanted
to sec you, wen II I could not be per
r1itted to have you for my own" And
he moved slowly towards her, his rare
riveted on her. c~ountenance. She
seemed to look more beautiful to him
tonight. Liberty had listened to his
words, which interested her. Had she
rot known him 20 well she might have
believed what he said, but she was
distrustful. Manuel Leon was not the
sort OF q maj that women love; Meth
er was he capable Of loving any WON
an. He was cruel ana selfish. His
every movement showed this, AMI his
eyes revealed It
She stood with her back against the
wall Of the hut, staring into the face
OF the man whom sho had married.
The rays o1 the moon shone through
the little window and Tell across his
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