The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-10-29

During this conversation fuehtoo
hand had crept to that revolver oy
which he had come 20 strangely
One shot - one shot - Into that
sneering high-bred face, and what
mattered anything that might como
after? but hard on this came an
other thought--his oath--the bones
o. the saint, All. he thought. II
tina; oath had only never been
sworn
"Wcll.' said Don O.. you die TO-
morrow. and the manner OF your
death Is this: You know the great
prrripicc which ovcrhangs the cast
rrn gorge? There is plateau there.
You must know Il we'll. for you have
watched from It IA an outpost.
There YOU will be taken at dawn.
Your eyes Will he handaRrd. Your
comrades. Robledo. GaSpar. and the
rest. who will. know OF your in:amy.
will prick you forward with their
knives in the direction of the preci-
nice. and then-farcwell. F'uentes."
Now truly once more temptation
came upon F'ucn,es. for his hatred
OF Don q. wa$ great in that hour.
The bricand watched him with
Kind OF grim amusement. AT length
ne spoke.
Have YOU anything to say. for
grow weary OF your company"
Yes" cried t'uentcs. Il have .
/ fcw short words TO say. The truth
il not as you tell T. It Is true that
the Governor signed these papers.
II il true that came here to kill
yuu 1t Ia true that ere now would
have done so or attempted to do so
! had Il not been for my oath, my oath
upon Tho bones OF San Pedro OF tho
! Mountains. See. all this time death
has been staring you In the facA
and what has held II back? My
oath-the fact that am true man.
Sec. all this time 7 have held in my
hand this''-and he flung the ~
yolvcr upon the taole.
Don @. looked up and clapped his
hands.
. Rnbledo and Gaspar came running
ub from the fires.
This man Is n traitor" said the
chief cold!y. Tomorrow morning
as soon as tho sun rises come for
ME and We will lax" him TO the
prcCiuirc above III" eastern gorge.
There he will learn how traitors
die
Then. turning and pointing to the
revolver: las 10 that toy. II was !
who ordered Rohledo TO give 1t to
YOU in III" !,adow OF the lentisco
shrub. YOU 10 r. Remove the pris-
oner."
Dawn was just beginning 10 rise
lemon colorcd over the rims OF the
mountains when Don as men ban
daqed the eyes OF Fuentes. Before
that they had taken him forward &"
look down the vast precipice where
hp was 10 find his death.
Don Q. gave an order and the
bandits led FnIentes away and
blindfolded him. His knees theF
tied together 80 that he must hop
forward. and presently he began to
hop. He never knew how many
hops II" took. though he strove to
count them. but he thinks II was
at the eleventh that he left the earth.
4 moment later he found himself
living vpon bank with all the
brigands grinning around him. and
~ 10
than he had ever seen it.
"Wha; has happened?' he cried.
Have done anu torture me no
more"
But Don O. laughed no. no. Flu
entes." said he. You have proved
yourself a good Catholic. and so
have shortened the length Of your
drop hy some hundreds OF feet. See.
they pressed you oyer this LITTLE
hank. rot that great precip.ce. Now.
Fuentes, lay choice before you.
You stay here. or YOU 20 from
among US. but II YOU stay here il
must hr as my true man. After all.
You will not change the nature OF
YOUR employment. for when Manuelo
TuiZ signed that paper he knew that
the reward upon m. head had been
inc7caa"d 70 nifty thousand dollars.
He IS one kind o: hr!gand I am an
other That is all. There lies the
path to he pll!ns--hcre the path to
our fires. Choose
Without word FEcntes turned
iack to tho hrigands' camp.
Don .. laughed again. 4 forcsee.'
said he. that /: will he interesting
when YOU go down into the plains
20 report my death. for myself will
accompany YOU. and together We
will draw the :if.y thousand dnllrrs
reward from his Excellency. Don
MInuclo.