The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1923-05-26

hoS8 racks u net farI
mond can't be kept in the dark much
longer. Make your report to her."
The cowboy shifted his dark gaze
to Madeline. "We're losing q few cat
tie on the open range. Night-drives
by vaqueros. Some Of these cattle are
driven across the valley, others up in
to the foothills. So far as I can find
out no cattle are being driven south.
So this raiding Is blind to fool the
cowboys. Don Carlos Is a Mexican
rebel. He located his rancho here q
few years ago and pretended to raise
cattle. All that time he has been
smuggling arms and ammunition across
the border. He was for Madero against
: Diaz. Now he Is against Madero be-
cause he and all the rebels think Ma
dero failed to keep his promises. There
will be another revolution. And all
the arms 60 from the States across
the border. Those burros told about
were packed with contraband goods"
"What is .my-my duty? What has
it to do with me?" inquired Madeline,
SOMEWHAT perturDeO.
oval, Miss Majesty, reckon it
hasn't nothing to do with you," put in
Stillwell. "Thet's my bizness an Stew
arts. But I jest wanted you to know.
There might be some trouble follerin'
my ORDERS"
'Your orders?"
II want to send Stewart over to fire
Don Carlos an his vaqueros off the
range. They've got to 60. Don Carlos
is breakin' the law of the United
States, an dom it on our property an
with our hosseS Hev your permits
sion, Miss HammondT'
"Why, assuredly you have! Still
we'll, you know what to do. Alfred,
what do you think bestT"
It'll make trouble, Majesty, but it's
got to be DONE" replied Alfred. "Here
you have a crowd Of eastern friends
due next month. We want the range
to ourselves then. But, Stillwell, If
you drive those vaqQeros off, won't
they hang around in the foothills? I
declare they are bad lott
Hell have to be forced off," replied
Stewart, quietly. "The Don's pretty
slick, but his vaQueros are bad actors.
It's just this way: Don Carlos has
vaqueros coming and going all the
time. They're guerrilla bands, that's
all. And they're getting uglier. There
have been several shooting-scrapes
lately. It's only matter of time till
something stirs up the boys here. Still
well, you know Nels and Monty and
Nick"
"Sure I know, 'em, an you're not
mentionin' one more particular cowboy
in my outfit" said Stillwell, with dry
chuckle and glance at Stewart.
Madeline OWNED the covert mean
ing. Stewart, see you carry a gun"
she said, pointing to black handle
protruding from a sheath swinging low
along his leather chaps.
eyes, ma'am."
"Why do you carry it?" she asked.
"Well," he said, 'ft's not a pretty
gun-and it's heavy"
She caught the inference. The gun
was not an ornament. His keen,
alarm. What had once seemed cool
and audacious about this cowboy was
now cold and powerful and mystical.
Both her instinct and her intelligence
realized the steel fiber of the mans
nature. As she was his employer, she
had the right to demand that he should
not do what was so chillingly manifest
that he might do. But Madeline could
not demand. She felt curiously young
and weak, and the five months of
western life were as If they had never
been. She now had to do with a ques-
ton involving human Life. And the
value she placed upon human life and
it's spiritual significance was matter
far from her cowboys thoughts. A
strange idea flashed up. Did she place
too much value upon all human life?
She checked that, wondering, almost
I .r@.