The Washington herald., 1919-11-11


a dozen places the heidS burst INTO .
flame. From sornewhere came : nd
shouting, then shot OF WV
finally the ringing OF Dell, 49,
Estebau waited only unth hs -,
that mis- work Of devastation w. mSn
under way, then he led hh ~
back toward the hills. Al suns
reIned In upon the crest OF . nut
and looked behind hip Int tne v
ley, The whole sky was piack .e"
smoke, as 10 Q city were 70 nAu
Removing his wide jipi-japa nat ~
young man swept q mockins
tion to the east. ~.
so now, good Psncho custo. ne
cried, "L leave you the compnmeh''
Of those twins you love % weh
In the shelter Of o fsvtne the psIS
took time to eat supper tneir ns.
meal since leaving home, ana II 80
after dark when they hnished' tas
negroes, who were Thoroughly utee,
were for spending the night here. oa'
Estsban, more cautious tpan ues'
would not have 1t 30. Accoroinsy'
the men renountsd their weary horsee'
though not without some srumDmhs,
and set out. II ives slow travehns,
for the woods were dark ana tne
trails were blind; the men Were
fairly obliged to feel their way n.
length they crossed the summn ana
worked down toward the Yunufi, out
It seemed a. II daylight would neVsr
come.
"k weary ride" Esteban yaWneo.
"I shall sleep for q week"
Asensio agreed. That cueto wii1
be furious" said he. Some oay'
perhaps, he and I will meet face 70
face. Then ] shall kill him"
Estsssn refined in his horse. LOOK"
said he. "Yonder y = light
The other horsenien crowded close.
staring throush the darkness. IL was
very still In the woods; dawn was less
than half an hour away.
"What Is Evanselina thinkins
about?" Asensio muttered.
"But, see! 1t grows briEhtef
There followed q moment or two dur-
ing which there was no sound sxcept
the breathing Of the horses ana the
ereak Of saddle feathers - Ne riders
eraned their necks TO see over the low
trestops below them. Then Estsban
cried: -.
Come! I'm afraid it's our house.
Fear gripped him. but he manased
to say, calmly. Perhaps there mas
been an-accident"
Asensio. muttering excitediy' was
trying to crowd past him: for Few
yards the two horses brushed along
side by side The distant point OF
light had become glare nov; II
vinksd balsfuliy through the openings
as the party hurried toward II. But
1t was still long way off, and the
eastern sky had grown rosy before
the dense woods of the hillside gave
way to the sparser growth OF the
low ground.
Esteban turned a sick. white face
over his shoulder and terked out his
orders; then he kicked his tired mount
into q swifter gallop. II was he who
first broke out into the clearing. One
glance, and the story was told.
The hut was but Q crumbling skele-
ton OF charred poles. Strung out
across the little field Of maiangas.
yuceas. and sweet potatoes were sew
eral hilarious volunteers. their arms
filled with loot from the cabin. BE-
hind them strods an officer bearing
Rosa struggling against his breast
Esteban did not pause; he drove
his horse headlcng through the soft
red earth Of the garden. His sudden
appearance seemed briefly 10 paralyze
the marauders. II was a moment be-
fore they could drop their spoils. un-
sling their rifles. and begin to fire at
HIM, and by that time he had COW
cred half the distance to his sister.
Those rife shots came family to Este
bans ears; he scarcely heard them;
he merely lowered his head and rode
straight at that black-visaged colonel,
sobbing and whimpering In his fury.
But In spite of his speed he made no
difiicult target. A bullet brought his
horse down and the boy went flying
over its neck. Nothing but the loose
loan saved him from injury. As he
rose to his feet. breathless and COW
cred with the red dirt. there came .
swift thudding OF hoofs and Asensie
swept past him like a rocket: Estebau
caught one glimpse of the negro's
face. a fleeting vision Of white teeth
barred to the gums. Of distended yell
low eyes. OF fiat. distorted features !;
then Asensio was fairly upon Colonel
Cobo. The colonel. who had dropped
his burden, now tried to dodge.
Asensio slashed once at him with hfs
long. murderous machete, but the
next instant he was engaged with q
trooper who had fired almost into
his face.
(To Be Continued)