The Ordway new era., 1917-11-16

n .No matter. / muss NOT critfesse-
what I must not criticize. surtns
more, It 10 my duty to whisper ID sou'
ear l word Of advice"
i IF you please said Patrta simply
-surmislng what was coming.
Yet the general hesitated.
"You understand" he said, . trace
embarrassed. II am acting under IN
struction."
II quite understand"
"Then I must tell you-frankly-
that you are coming perilously near
to usurping a power which the Con
stitution vests with congress alone
"The right to raise and maintain .
standing army" Patria added.
"Precisely. II that is not what you
are dolng-on a small scale, but none
the less in an admirably efficient way
Il have misunderstood all you nave
shown and told me here today.
"Perhnps," Patria agreed. smiling.
"And yet you will find upon inVesti-
CATION, that every man In my employ
aside from the ranch hands nnd others
who have definitely peaceabie i"oors
to perform. is carried on my pay Tolls
as watchman!
"An. army Of watchmen"
Again the eyes of the general twin
kled.
Precisely. The Constitution does
not prescribe the citizens right 10
protect his own property, l believe.
by employing men and arms to guard
1t. That Is all that I am doing here
on my lands. have my properly
and my people to safeguard, ana 1
mean to do It."
No further reference was made TO
the object of the visitation. but the I'M
derstanding was implicit that report
must be made to Washington ana that
Washington would then take such ac-
ton as 1t might see fit.
Noon-and still no word from Bess
Morgan or the party which had ridden
forth to rescue her.
But Patria betrayed no inkling OF
the anxiety which gnawed at her mind.
To confess that she was waiting the
outcome of an armed invasion OF a
nominally friendly land which she. Pa
tria Claiming, had authorized! Even
the favor her patriotic spirit had found
in the esteem of her guests could hard
ly mitigate the disaster to her plans
which must follow any such discov-
cry.
And it was nearly two o'clock before
she was finally rid of them.
With heartfelt gratitude she saw the
dust of their wheels drift away down
the road-then turned and jumped
into her own motor car and had 1t
moving back toward the aviation field
almost before Donald could take his
place beside her.
One Of her fliers was making land
ing as Patria alighted at the field.
He had nothing to report.
Again clambering into the pilots
seat Of her own particular blplane,
Patria committed her fate to the ad-
venture Of the air lanes.
For a little she climbed steadily.
but not for long; content to leave the
greater range Of observation to those
on the higher levels, with their power
full glasses, she quartered the land be-
yond the border at an elevation bare
ly sufficient to escape the eddies and
currents that made navigation inter-
esting II not devoid of danger above
the submits of the lowland hills.
Here, comparatively close to the
ground. she might be able to pick up
indications Invisible to the airmen SO
far above her.
And so, in the end, 1t proved.
She had been flying a little more
than an hour-was returning from q
wide circuit through the south toward
her starting point. OF sudden she
was conscious that the monotonous
drone Of the motor behind her was be.
ing punctuated-one cylinder was be
ginning to miss fire.
Patria began to foresee that she
might be obliged to make landing
south Of the border. She searched
the landscape that swan beneath heI
anxious eyes.
Then she saw mOtor-car abrupt!
sweep out Of a narrow gulley at som'
distance off to the right, making /,
furious pace northward. The mel
who occupied it wore khaki; for al
instant she thought them soldiers fl
American uniforms. Then she say
that they were men of an averag
stature smaller than that of Ameri
can troops. They were standing VI
In the tonneau and firing pistols bacl