The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1917-08-04

ly determination in her look.
Then Parr was aSsailed from be-
hind. A dubbed rifle descended on
his skull with murderous force. He
rocked blindly for an instant. then
pitched forward into unconscious night.
That proved the elimination IF the
attack. With Captain Parr insenSible
and prisoner. the leader of the raid
ing party ordered retreat in good
time to escape the charge of the Chan
ming cOwpunchers through the rose
garden.
LOVERS LEAP.
Pelting across country at a round
pace. jOying in the free swing of the
unjaded animal beneath her, drinking
in delight with every deep-drawn res
piration of the clean. cool air of early
morning, Patria swung wide are
through trackless fields before, some
twenty minutes after leaving the ha-
cienda. she drew rein TO rest and
breathe her horse.
1t was then that a sound of distant
firing was carried TO her on the wings
of the wind which was moving from
the quarter wherein lay the hacienda.
Definitely frightened. she swung her
horses head about and spurred him
down the main road, but a hun
I dred yards or so short of the junction
with the road TO the bridge at the bor-
der checked the animal again and SAT-
still, listening to the growing rumble
of many hOofs.
| Fearing lest she be caught in this
rush of hOrsemen. she jumped down
and led her mount into the shelter OF
| the roadside trees, then secuted on
afoot for little distance to point
whence she commanded a view of the
fork in the rpads.
There she saw, first, an Oxcart,
counterpart of that which she had
passed in her mOtorcar the previous
afternoon, stalled by an accident to
one of the wheels, which the Mexican
driver had just succeeded in repairing.
An instant later a cloud of Mexican
horsemen swept up the road from the
hacienda and paused at the fork. The
leader. burly ruffian, stopped long
enough beside the cart to admonish
the driver in accents that carried
clearly to the girl-familiar as she
was with Spanish:
Hurry that ammunition across the
river before the Gringoes get here-if
you set any value on your skim
That was all; but the sight Of the
captive lying unconscious across the
horse ridden by one of the Mexicans-
figure all too readily identified by
the girl as that of her betrothed-was
enough to decide Patria's course of &C
! ton.
The raiding party swung on at tor
, speed for the bridge. The driver OF
; the oxcart picked up his goad ant
, prodded his beasts to the best pace
they could make. Patria ran back Il
: her horse, fumbling in the pockets o.
+ her riding coat and finding there th'
envelope of an old letter.
With the soft-nosed bullet of load
, ed cartridge for a pencil, using thu
| Sduulc lOE u ucSh, shc 'ohtAA'co "
scrawl a simple message on the bacl
: of the envelope:
: Mexieans with Capt. Parr prisone
: crossing border by bridge-safe ant
trailing them-rush heIp-P. c.
Folding and tucking the envelope in
to the bride, Patria turned the horse
: head homeward and slapped its sid
: with the fat of her hand. Surprises
and indignant, the animal snorted an
!. scurried off. Without giving it an
other thought the girl set off after tn
: oxcart.
L She was somewhat surprised to fin
I that it had made such progress
l Obliged to overtake 1t ere it came witt
Il in sight of the bridge, or else give u
her foolhardy scheme, she succeede
in the nick of time, with none to SPAR
An instant before the cart, lumberin
/, in a haze Of dust, left the shelter G
| the woods that clOaked the road, tn
| girl labored up behind it and. unsee
by the terrified driver, climbed aboar
| and buried herself in the mass G
| straw that hid the cases of ammun
l ton.
Then, half.choked with dust an
| suffOcating with lack Of air and hea
as the sun beat down upon the straw
she resigned herself to enforced ina
| ton that endured for many hours.
| The cart had successfully negotiate
| the passage of the bridge and won
4, a considerable distance beyond
II when q fusillade in the rear embo
\ dened the girl to lift up her head, b
4 meath the straw, and gasp in a fe
4 breaths of clean air while recOnnOite
ing.
u The cart was then on rising groun'
4 The bridge across the arroyo lay D.
Il meath il and some distance back. 81
could see the main body of the Mex
Il cans which ambushed the Channin
Il cowpunchers.
A few fell in the charge. Her heal
Il bIed for them. but her grief on the
Il account was trifle compared with M
anxiety for Donald. He was alread
far ahead of the Oxcart, escorted I