Evening star., 1936-03-28


still. Dolores withdrew the stilleto
and walked down to the entrance
to No. l40. In front of the doorway,
lying half in the embrasure and half
on the sidewalk, she found the body
of a young girl with her throat cut
from ear to ear!
Dolores continued on to her own
abode. about block further on, and
as she walked she thought: 1T is
well I tested him. One can put no
faith in his kind. He made love to
quickly, too gibly. 1t was like
speech rehearsed So Joaquin-no, it
is that woman of his. that daughter
of a don-who distrusts me-and-
ah, well, he was in hurry, as I
knew he would be. He did not pause
to make certain in the dark that
the woman who came to that door was
his beloved Dolores Well, what if
did permit her to walk to her death?
She was not a friend of mine; in
Arroyo Cantova it was she who in
duced Juan Garcia to cast me aside.
We are quits now"
In the privacy of her room she
burst into savage weeping. "Ah, Joa-
quin, what love I could have given
you" she walled. But you would
have none of me. For you the daugh-
ter of a hidalgo. eh? Nor was she,
although unmarried. permitted to as
sociate with US. All, but she is in
telligent She is woman. She
knew-and it was her wish to play
safe. Well. she has failed. Woe, woe
unto you and your Joaquin when next
you come to spend some quiet months
in the Arroyo Cantova."
From which it will be deduced that
in all probability Dolores would have
made better mate for Joaquin than
Juanita.
AS for Claudio, nobody knew him,
so nobody could identify him. He
was just another Mexican found mur-
dered in an alley. He had about a
hundred dollars in gold on his person
and of this the first Mexican to
stumble over his body relieved him;
in a Potter's Field Claudio found a
haven. When three weeks had passed
and he did not return to Arroyo Can
tova Joaquin shrugged:
The rascal" he assured Juanita,
having obeyed orders, takes his de-
light with an old sweetheart. In the
fullness of time he will rejoin us
elsewhere-perhaps in Sonora. But
have no fear, dear one, Claudio never
fails. He is my left arm"
That night Three-fingered Jack and
half a dozen men rode into Arroyo
Cantova. He was surprised to find
Joaquin and the remnants of his
troop there Il was bound south to
meet you my captain, at San Gabriel,
but being pursued and out of am
munition-blood of the devil. we have
done much fighting-I lodged in here
to rest few days and get more am
munition. Why do you come here,
my captain?"
Joaquin explained that the south
ern expedition had not been a sue
cess, hence his early return. Il left
word with our representative In San
Gabriel to turn you and Reyes Feliz
back when you came there" he added
Have you seen him and his COM
mand recently?"
"Ah, the poor fellow" Jack blub-
cred. The Gringos have slain him
and half his command. 1t is ap-
parent my captain, that the Gringos
have adopted your method of engaging
our own people as spies. Against such
treachery what can one do? 1t is
terrible. No sooner did We enter
Hornitos than We found many armed
Gringos at the other end of the
town; when we would retreat We found
them in back of us. The same thing
happened in Sonora the day after we
reached there and settled for a rest
We are ambushed; dozens of armed
bands roam the country seeking us;
one by one they pick us off" He
dried his tears and blew his nose. "Ot
course, my captain, for these sue
cesses the Gringos have paid a price.
Still, it is diScouraging.
The loss of Reyes Feliz was body
blow to Joaquin, for he had much
more confidence in the sagacity of
Reyes than in Three fingered Jack.
Jack was the tiger, Reyes the fox.
OF the original company but two
now remained-Three-f fingered Jack
and Claudio-and Claudio was long
absent. On a sudden, now, the fear
smote Joaquin that Claudio. too, would
never return. Verify. the luck of Joa-
quin Murietta was turning.
He turned sadly from the blubber-
ing Jack and found Juanitas glance
fixed on him; suddenly he felt COM
forted, for did he not have her SYM
pathy and understanding? He went
to her and she drew his head down
on her breast and mothered him. She
knew that for Reyes Feliz Joaquin
had entertained great admiration
and a genuine affection, so wisely she
drew him into the privacy of their
thatched log cabin where he could
weep in private. When he had put
his grief behind him and was once
again concentrated on his problems,
Juanita, out of her acute feminine
intuition, said to him:
ut is time to stop, beloved. The
Gringo rises in protest and he is as
a hundred to one against us. Truly
we fight alone. Our people are cowed;
there can never be revolution, for,
look you, my sweet, each day another
thousand Gringos enter California. Let
us take such riches as we have and
depart for Sonora to dwell in peace"
Il have had delivered to my young
est brother there $4,000 pesos, but it is
not enough. When those traitors alb
sounded with that gold we took from
the ship at San Pedro they struck me
a heavy blow. Juanita, have, per-
haps, $4,000 buried here in Arroyo
Cantova and no man knows the
hiding place. I have gold buried on
the Stanislaus, outside Murphy's Dig
gings, at Rattlesnake Gulch and on
the Big Oak Flat road. A little more
added to that-and we depart for
Sonora. You are wise little bird
my Juanita."
; Let us depart now," she urged