The Raymer enterprise., 1919-03-20

Iofo inc oeoeo Wo00e 0x tne nlil00e
gave way 70 the sparssr growth Of
the low ground.
Esteban turned . sick, white face
over his shoulder and jerked out bis
orders; then he kicked his ured
mount into . swtftsr gallop. It was
hs who first broke out Into the clear.
ing. One glance. and the story was
told.
The hut was but q crumbling sksi.
eton Of charrsd poles Strung out
across the little neld Of mahngas,
yuccas and sweet potatoes were sev.
eral hilarious volunteers. their arms
nlled with loot from the cabin Be-
hind them strobe an oficer bearing
Rosa struggling against bis breast
Esteban drove his horse hsadlong
through the soft red earth Of the
garden. His sudden appearance
seemed briefly 10 paralyss the ma
raudera II was Z moment before
they could drop their spoilA unslins
their rifles. and begin to drs at him.
and BY that time he had covered half
the distance to his sister. A bullet
brought his horse down and the boy
went flying over it, neck. Nothing
but the loose loan saved him from
injury. A. he rose to his feet. breath.
less and covered with the red dirt,
there came Z swift thudding OF hoCb
and Asensio swept past him Ike Q
rocket. Esteban caught one glimpse
Of the negro's face. q fleeing vision
Of white teeth barred to the gums, Of
distsnded yellow eyes. Of Dat. dlstort.
ID features: then Assnsio was fairly
upon Colonel Cobo. Ths colonel. who
had dropped his burden, now tried to
dsdgs. Assnsio slashsd once at him
with his long. murderous machets.
but the next instant he was engaged
with q trooper who had nrsd almost
In his face.
Cobo's men. led BY the terrified Pan
cho Cueto. turned and hed for cover.
believing themselves In danger Of an
Inhalation. Nor was the colonel him
self In any condition to rally them.
for Asensio's blade had cioven one
full dark cheek to the bone, and the
shock and pain had unnerved him.
The neld was small, the jungle was
close at hand. A moment and the In.
terlopers had vanished Into II. all but
one, who lay kicking among the broad
maianga leaves. and over whom Assem-
do kept spurring his terrified horse.
hacking downward with insane fury.
This was the frst hand.to-hand en-
counter Esteban's men had had, and
their swift victory rendered them fero-
cious. Flinging their guns aside, they
went crashing into the brush on the
trail Of their enemies.
Rosa found herself In her brothers
arms. sobbing out the story Of the out
rage and quivering at every sound Of
the chase. He was caressng her. and
telling her to have no further fears:
both Of them were fairly hysterical.
Evangelina. thanks to her thick skull.
was not dead. In the course Of time
under Rosa's and Esteban's ministra.
lions she regained her senses. and
when the other men returned they
found her lying sick and dased, but
otherwise quite whole.
Then. there beside the ruins Of the
hut. was q strange scene Of rejoicing.
Asensio recovered now from his burst
Of savagery, was fearful. compassion
ate; his comrades laughed and chat
tered and Dragged about their prodig-
ious deeds Of valor. Over and over
they recoupted their versions Of the
encounter. bach more fanciful than the
other, until II seemed that they must
have left the forest nlled with corpses.
Esteban was grave. he had heard
Of Colonel Cobo. and. remembering
that denlm-clad figure out yonder In
the trampled garden. be knew that se-
rious consequences would follow. The
volunteers were rsvengeful; their
colonel was not the sort Of man to
forgive . deep humiliation. Doubt
less he would put a price upon the
heads Of all Of them. and certainly he
would never allow them another en-
counter upon anywhere Ike even
terms. Then, too. the narrowness Of
Rosa's escape caused the boys heart
to dissolve with terror.
After q conference with Asensio he
decided that they must prepare for
flight and late that afternoon they all
set out to seek . safer refuge. Evange-
lina In tears It leaving hsr prsceus