Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1919-08-29
CHAPTER xi-continued.

Dempton's pale lips opened, but no
through him.
eve have learned everything. Demp-
ION" Stairway went on in his whiS-
nerina voice. 'Even to the hiding
nlaca. There Is Tire door" He point
ed to tbs panel with the thumb-print
mon it. 81 think that we can send
YOU to the penitentiary for a long time
with very little trouble. viii you talk
now, Dempton?"
Dempton hesitated, denial upon his
hips, growing fear in his eyes.
"What do you want to know" he
asked in a shaking whisper. 'T- Oh,
nv God This has gone further al
ready"
II want to know how many men are
with Tore in this thing2"
"There-there is Juarez-and-and
-
'Don't be a fool as well as a cow
ard, Demptonl" muttered Stairway.
"You are such petty little thief that
nobody is going to want to prosecute
you If you help US now. There is
Tore and Juarez and you. Who
elseY
Il don't know" Dempton licked
his dry lips and swayed between Vidal
and Mendoz as though he were going
to fall. "Oh, was fool"
Granted. But tell what you know
while you have the chance. How
maDyT
"Seven, I think" chartered Demp-
ton. "Seven besides Tore and Juarez.
Five inside, two outside with the
horses"
"Outside?" queried Stairway.
Eyes. To ride away, leading extra
horses, so that it would sound like a
number Of riders were racing for the
border. To leave the trail which you
followed south. The other five to do
the work inside"
sand De la Guerra was never to be
taken from the houseT'
"No. 1t seemed safer this way"
"There was every hazard in IT."
simply because you happened to
be at the rancho" returned Dempton
with little flash of bitterness. HAD
there been only the senorita, it would
have been easy to have worked on her
love for her grandfather"
Sand Torre?"
KILLED a man a month ago in San
Antonio-is running away from the
gallows. With the money he expected
to make from this he could buy the
silence of the one man who can iden-
tify him as the murderer. 1t was his
only chance"
"JuarezY
us actually rebel captain. Tore
was to give him his share. Then Tore
was to have commission In the rebel
army. He looked to distinguished fa-
vors when the rebels fought their way
into power. Now"
Now what?"
Now, If he goes into Mexico the
rebels will shoot him as a traitor.
That was another chance he was TAX
Ing. He was to give five thousand dol
lars to the cause. For that they let
MIN have JuareZ and the other men.
them, if he tricked them or-if he
failed. He could never get across the
border without their spies finding
him."
Then Gaucho returned with word
mat everything was ready. Vidal, at
Stanway's command, bound Dempton
securely once more, hand and foot, and
tossed him to the bed as one might
TOSS a sack of wheat. The men had
kicked off their shoes and boots, and
stood eager and expectant.
Stairway, his revolver in his right
hand, pressed with the left thumb upon
the spot In the paneling where another
thumb mad pressed
There was little click, and the pan
ei Slid back into the wall, showing a
narrow doorway, narrow passageway
oeyond. There were candles burning
mere, their steady flames casting a
clear, yellow light.
Each man keep three feet behind
Tue man in front of him." whispered
Stanway. ''We MUST have room.
'ldal, Gaucho, come just behind me-"
de stepped through the door into
me two-foot wide hallway which ran
along inside me wall, its trend east
"afd and downward. There were no
steps, but the slant led quickly under
me foundations Of the great adobe
building.
stairway passed the first candle set
quo a niche in the rough wood wall.
already he felt that he must be below
tae level of the floor when he came to
me second candle. Here the fame
was less steady, a little breath of air
Playing with it.
he turned a corner, the hallway
opened up suddenly into a small,
.ough-walled room some eight or ten
ieet square.
across the room was a heavy barred
uoOf In the center of the floor was
oueh' and on the couch a man was
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