Evening star., 1936-03-29
CHAPTER YXVI


Sonoma Valley, a region he had
never hitherto visited, Joaquin,
Il with his Juanita spent the Winter.
and, the better to avert suspicion. he
found employment as a vaquero on
the Cotati Rancho. now owned by an
American. He subscribed to the San
Francisco papers, which reached him
via the stage line two days after pub
lication, and through their columns he
managed to keep track, more or less,
OF the adventures of Three-fngered
Jack and his men. They had raided
far to the north in the Sacramento
Valley, but keeping below the snow
line; they had worked back to Stock
ton; lying in ambush among the tules
In slough they had pulled out in
skiff and boarded a shallow draft scow
schooner bound to San Francisco with
four miners aboard as passengers.
And these miners had with them some
$4,000 in gold, the net proceeds of
two arduouS years in the Sierra Greek
beds. Jack and his men had climbed
aboard after shooting the helmSman;
in the ensuing fight they had killed
every man aboard, taken the gold, set
the scow schooner afire and retreated
to the shore where, mounting their
waiting horses, they had disappeared
down into the San Joaquin Valley
Each issue of the papers carried a
story of highway robbery and murder
done for pittance; of pursuits and
escapes as the band scattered like
quail, only to come together at some
distant point. And for all this Joa-
quin received full credit: while con-
demning his barbarity and breathing
ultimate vengeance, men gave him
unstiuted credit for adroitness, devil
ish cunning and deathlesS bravery. 1t
irked Joaquin to realize that this
praise was not his just need, that
Three-fingered Jack was the real
hero. He wondered if Three-fngered
allegiance and obedience. and If the
jovial animal would see to it that,
eventually, Joaquin received the cap
tain's share of his loot. He worried,
lest Jack and his men would gamble
it away, spend it in wild caroussal or
give it to the ladies of their passing
fancies. Letters written to Claudio,
addressed to him under an alias to
his home in San Miguel, remained
unanswered, so eventually he decided
that Claudio had been killed or had
succumbed to the charms of Dolores
Largo and declined to kill her. This
thought occurred also to Juanita and
filled her with worry, alleviated, how
ever. by the knowledge that for the
present. at least, she and Joaquin were
far beyond the reach of treachery.
She was almost happy in the peace
of their life that Winter and saw in
1t an eugury of greater peace in
Sonora, Mexico, IN the years to come
Joaquin had promised that in Sonora
they should be married. Juanita
looked forward to motherhood then.
In Juanita there was a touch of the
psycopath with its accomplishment of
brilliant, but uncontrolled intelligence
the tendency to be ruled by her wild
emotions, to war upon convention.
Her love for Joaquin, despite her early
training and environment, approached
madness. 1t was something quite be-
yond her control Whatever he did
was right; it was his privilege, nay,
his holy duty, to slay Gringos and take
their gold. Even when he took to
killing Chinese miners she excused
him and blamed ee-fngered Jack,
who had again fallen victim to his
old passion for killing Cinnamon and
cutting of their ears. Jack, it ap-
.peared from published reports, now
killed Cinnamon for the sheer delight
OF holding them by their pigtails while
he cut their throats with his huge
knife, fashioned by him for that sole
purpose. Once he had varied his Gus
tom by hanging nine Celestials to
beam by their queues and leaving
them there to die Of thirst and starva-
ton. Fortunately one of their num-
ber, presumed to have been killed by
bullet, was only Stimulating death;
upon the departure of Jack and his
merry crew this survivor had cut his
countrymen down. none the worse for
their experience, but grieving for the
necessary loss of their caudal ap-
pendages.
One thing Joaquin realized very
clearly. Once he had had company
Of 100 men. but that company had
been whitfield down, scattered, cowed
and left without leadership. Morons
that they were, nevertheless dozeus of
the latter recruits had seen the wis
dom of return to honest labor as
vaqueros and n1uleteers or laborers on
the ranches. The life of the peon,
once rebelled against, had now as
suned its old attractiveness. The old
lawless days were passing and the law
Of the Gringo had secured a firm
foothold; when it failed to function,
vigilante committees acted in an Or
derly manner and from California
there was an exodus of white thieves
and murderers. Order was rapidly
being restored; bold, vigorous, fearless,
shrewd. hard-riding and accurate
shooting Americans, tireless and bent
on vengeance, were everywhere doing
a good job: the mere sight Of as small
a group as three Hispano-C Californians
riding together was the signal for pur-
suit; If they were armed, If they ran,
even without firing on their pursuers,
they were supposed to be more of an
asset to the community as corpSeS
than as living men. War, to be effec-
tive, must ever be ruthless, and the
ruthlessness Of the Gringo peace off,
GERS was having its effect.
During the Winter Joaquin grew
beard and when he quit his job on the
Cotati rancho and rode forth again
with Juanita, she had cut her hair
and to the casual observer she was
merely handsome boy riding with
an older brother. each leading pack
mule. His gay clothing had been dis
oarded; no longer did he appear to be
the Hispano- Californian dandy. In
the plain boots Of an American cow
boy, rough woolen shirt, blue Jeans
and jumper he appeared to be one
who had taken on the protective COL
Grafton Of his American surroundings