Gunnison news-champion., 1920-01-16

scarcely hFIrl- lie lau not ls-7I tliri
chorus of alarm 70 know that Pschee,
VAS dying-Was lead.
Yet thsr. had been nothins-abso.
lutsly nOthinE--aye only the quics
bending Of JItendra's lean body In the
captains directIon-a swift inclination
of the turbaned head at the instant
following the cowErlly blow.
The sergeant. Jesus Corabafo. vol.
Ieyed a command and the column
halyed, while the corpse of Manuel
Pacheco was stripped Of uniform and
equipment. Following the unique but
simple Mexican lnsurrecto method o.
promotion COraBado donned the neat
blue jacket, with its heavily trinsed
epaulets. and buckled the sword around
him.
on the same principle. a corporal
substituted the former SsrEcant's coat
for his own. and a private In his shirt.
sleeves put on the cDrporals jacket.
'yOF..ts," ," cried the new captnin-
The soldiers closed In and the col
umn moved forward. Manuel Pacheco
that was lay rigid and stark on the
rulichs gazing 81 the cerulean sky with
fixed and Sightlcss eyes.
Buck Williams turned to look at
Iliendra. The Orieatars face was in
srrufrble H.. WIS gazing straight,
ahead. lmmoyuble, as II beholding some
-cene yet to emerge from the womb Of
time.
They rode on for several miles. the
American growing NOR. and more per.
picked. Someihing-frOn somewhere
had unuihllated the man who had
vented his brutality in contemptible
blow upon the face Of one powerless
to resist
Had Bucks hands been unbound
Manuel Pacheco, .N-foreInan IN the
employ Of tn. RI Tigre mine. would
never have dared TO offer such an
affront to its owner; no. no; II he hac
been In the center of a regiment Of
disciplined troops instead Of mere
company Of ragged poems whose c1un
terfeii military air only heightened
their ridiculous appearance ana mag.
niticd their ignorant swaeser
They were bandIt,i. not patriots !,
and their movements now were those
OF body Of half-terrified. yet revenge
ful men sctuated by some intelligence
superior to their own. The hideousiy
sudden and unexplained death Of theii
previous commander had dazed them
The more he thought, the more In
eOmprchensibie the whole affair APP
peared to Buck Williams. He knew
Mexico. His acquisition Of the min
eral land ON which II Tigrc was 10.
Gated had been achieved during the
last years Of the Diaz regime.
The very name Of the mine itself had
been derived from him. Fl Tigre Sig
niiied The Tiger" and that name had
fallen once from the lips of Il thIeving
pcon. who WIS oyertaken and effectu-
ally chastised by Buck himself for
stealing camp supplies In the early
days Of his operations
For Buck was named ''The Tiger
because OF his implacable fury when
any attempt to victimize him wns made
by the subtle methods which Mexicans
usually employ with "gringo" un-
accustomed to their ways.
Now THE Tiger" was bound fast to
the back of "A horse. en- route TO some
tribunal of whose authority he was ig
rant but OF whose Judgments he
ould guess.
Pacheo. OF himself. would not hsvc
dared to presume to lay hands upon
him. nor did the indolent Mexican
foreman possess sufficient initiative to
seize oil mining property of the mag
nitude of FL Tigre unless with inspira-
tion from bigger minds than his. But
Pacheco WIS dead-a bioated purple
corpse-st~ ~ick down almost at the in
stant OF his atrocious blow anu hurieo
into the 2 unknown.
Pachcc, cath vas. and f,reye
would be, sriy uIai.s. pl-r y
iiams knew-unless J,endra could and
would explain it.
He turned to glance at the little Hin
du with growing feeling Of respect,
bordering on awe. He noticed that.
while surrounding them. the soldiers
we're riding well away from Jitendra
nd himself.
The mysterious demise Of their cap
ain had evidently not been without its
feet Buck wondered why Jitendra
md himself had not been shot down.
II must be because definite orders
iad ieen sent out both for his capture
ID disposition-o,herwise the rifles
% tae bandit command would. ere this.
have visited death as sudden. but by
means as mysterious. upon both.
"Jitendra." whispered Williams. :
The Hindu turned.
"What was 1t that killed Pachecof''
"The vengeance Of vishnu. sahib,' -
answered the other.
Il do not understand" replied the
mine owner. He was little irri;ated
20 think that he, a strong. lusty Ameri-
can, was inferior in resources for re.
sistance to his enemies. while gaunt,