The Snowflake herald., 1917-09-28

house feeling some concern over the
summons that took him thither. He
wondered what could have induced
General Longorio to forsake his many
important duties in order to make the
long trip from Nuevo Pueblo; surely
it could be due to no lack of zeal on
his (Jose's) part. No! The horse
breaker f1attered himself that he had
made a very good spy indeed; that he
had been LongOrio's eyes and ears SO
far as circumstances permitted. Nor
did he feel that he had been lax in
making his reports, for through Rosa
he had written the general several
lengthy letters, and just for good meas
ure these two had conjured up sundry
imaginary happenings to prove beyond
doubt that Sonora Austin was miser-
ably unhappy with her husband, and
ready to welcome such a dashing lover
as LongoriO. Therefore Jose could not
for the life of him imagine wherein
he had been remiss. Nevertheless, he
was uneasy, and he hoped that nothing
had occurred to anger his general.
But Longorio, when he arrived at the
meeting-place, was not in a bad humOr.
Having sent Rosa away on some err
rand, he turned to Jose with a flashing
smile, and said:
''Well, my good friend, the time has
come"
Now Jose had no faintest idea what
the general was talking about, but to
be called the good friend of so illustri-
Gus person was flattering. He nod
ded decisively.
ayes, beyond doubt" he agreed.
upon Jose's shoulder. "The first time
/ saw you / said There's a boy after
my own heart. / shall learn to love
that Jose, and l shall put him in the
way of his fortune Well have not
changed my mind, and the time is
come. You are going to help me and I
am going to help YOU"
Jose Sanchez thrilled with elation
from head to foot This promised to
be the greatest day of his life, and he
''You haven't tired of Rosa, Ell? You
still wish to marry her?" LongoriO was
inQuiring.
'Yes. But of course I am a poor
man."
"Just so. I shall attend to that.
Now we come to the object of my visit.
Jose, l proposed to make you rich
enough in one day so that you can
marry"
"But first, wait!' exclaimed the
horse-breaker. II bring you something
of value, too" Desiring to render fa-
vOr for favor, and to show that he was
fully deserving of the generals gene
rOsity, Jose removed from inside the
sweatband of his hat a sealed, STAMPED
letter, which he handed to his en-
plOyer. Yesterday l carried the mail
to town, but as I rode away from Las
PalmaS the sonora handed me this.
with silver dollar for myself. Look
1t is written to the man we both hate"
LOngorio took the letter. read the in
scription, and then opened the enve-
lOpe. Jose looked on with pleasure
while he spelled out the contents.
When the general had finished read
ing, he exclaimed: "Ho! A miracle!
Now l know all that ]. wish to know"
'Then did well to steal the letter.
eh?"
'Diablo! Yes! That brute of a hus-
band makes my angels life unbearable.
and she fees to La Feria to be rid of
him.. Good 1t fits in with my plans
She will be surprised to see me there
Then, when the war comes, and all is
chaos-then what? Til warrant I can
make her forget certain things and GER
tain people" Longorio nodded with
satisfaction. "You did very well, jose"
The latter leaned forward, his eyes
bright. "That lady is rich. A fine
prize, truly. She would bring a huge
ransom"
This remark brought smile to Lon
gOriO's face. "My dear friend, you do
not in the least understand" he said.
Ransom! What an idea" He lost
himself in meditation, then, rousing
spoke briskly: Listen! In two three
days your sonora will leave Las Pal
mas. When she is gone you will per-
form your work, like the brave man
know you to be. You will relieve her
of her husband"
Jose hesitated, and the smile van
ished from his face. "Senor Ed is not
bad man. He likes me; he" Lon
gOrio's gaze altered and Jose fell silent.
"Come! You are not losing heart,
eh? Have 1 not promised to make you
a rich man? Well, the time has ar
rived" Seeing that Jose still mani
tested no eagerness, the general went
on in different tone: ''Do not think
that you can withdraw from our little
arrangement. Oh no! Do you remem-
Der promise made to you when you
came to me in Romero? / said that if
you played me false l would bury you
to the neck in an ant-hill and fill your