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Show TOE PAYSON CHRONICLE, PAYSON, UTAH In the death of Captain Lestrange, of resisting arrest and of making an unprovoked attack upon a superior officer in the person of Colonel Lopez, and of desertion Id that I had fled and had not returned to the service of the Empire for more than half a year. My sentence, of course, was death. Anon, the silent guard appeared bringing my supper of baked cldva. frljoles and tortillas; and with him came Neville and Bruglere, who sat mute or sighing deeply, and watched ieasrdly By i- Fred McLaulilm -i x- Copyright bf -x Bobbc-Merri- W. N. U. Service C, 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAi.Ak AAAAAA AAAAlAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAlAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAi.AAAAAAAAAAAAAA CHAPTER XI Continued 13 His Jaw dropped, the fires of anger his eyes died down, passion went out of his face and a happy smile preod over It Francois!" he cried. None other, Bruglere." Ue held my hands and laughed (eloud In an excess of Joy; he put We gave you ,lils arms around me. ,up for lost, dear friend. What are He pointed to you, Francois twins? If you the still form of Madrella. are Francois and you are beyond a doubt who. In the name of God, la j k that? Who Is he? killed I.estrange, He la the man who and stabbed the Lopes. He Is Captain Francois de Vigny, late of his majesty's service, and being dead h Is, therefore, no more a fugitive from good Colonel Justice What a thing ! cried Bruglere. escorted by a squad of soldiers, came from the garrison at Cuernavaca and carried away the body of Madrella. Bruglere told me that Louis Nn poleon of France, who cared 'Teas for Mexico than he did for his mustache, had withdrawn all support, that the great republic to the north of us, awakening slowly from a disastrous civil conflict, hnd made a gesture of displeasure, and the good Fouls sensing tils own danger from a rising tide of Prusslanlsm In the East had dodged. He said that the feared attack of Juarez upon Cuernavaca had not materialized, and that Maximilian, needing badly the rein forcements he had sent, recalled them Then Cuernavaca will fall, my friend," said L "and after that the city." 1 cannot say, said Bruglere, my service, Frnncols, calls for fighting, not for thinking; nnd Maximilian still leans upon a lurge army. Bruglere seemed less interested tn Cuernavaca's problem than In my own peculiar case, As he Is dead Madrella, I mean nnd Captain Vlg ny will be buried tomorrow or the day thereafter, who are you? I laughed. 1 am not De Vigny, and X find substautiul faults about the Identity of Madrella, so I cannot he that clever gentleman. Besides a lady glorious La Anita, whom you have doubtless seen told Mudrella that she didn't love him, and I do not CRre to be one whom the senorlta cannot love." "Could she love De Vigny? In qulred Bruglere. A wagon, Aye I" And De chuckled. cols 1" He Vigny ts dead." luck Is out, Frnn- lour CHAPTER XII The Fall of Cuernavaca an Intermittent firing, and the French and Belgians fired also; and. for the first time In many months I heard the soft drowsy drone of speeding bullets The excitement of the battle got Into my blood; I must see It, I must get Into It. I found a narrow water-bufashioned from the skin of a goat I filled It. nnd, with a drinking guard set out. No one would stop a bent old man Intent on giving wounded soldiers the blessing of a drink. The dash of contact came to me: the thudding of cannon and the rasp Ing screech of a shell; the swift crash of musketry, the wild yells of sudden charges, and the shrill agon Izlng scream of a wounded horse. It was all so real to me, all so vivid; nnd I longed to be shoulder to shout der with the brave French and Bel glnn lads who were waging a hopeless fight. But I was nobody, I had no Identity, no country, no future, I was Just an ol no tics. man, following In the wake of a vie torlous urmy, bearing a water-bag- . Now I saw l.eroux nnd Besancon. captains In the Juarlst army. The) led the center of that vast force, nnd 1 Some remembered their words: day a great battle between the Rm pi re nnd the Republic will hang tn the balance: then will come our opportunity and the Republic will ... lose I" The v, scarce a half-mil- e away. Iny before us, and between us nnd that goal an army burred the way The right wing of the Liberal forces touched the bench to the east of the city, the left wing spread across the valley, while the center held to the road. The wings were thrust forward like a great, swooping bird of prey. I could not but wonder bow helpless the bird would be without that body . . . and Leroux and r.esaneon controlled the massed force In the center which made up the body The two brave sons of France must Imve had the same thought also, for the center came apart opened grad ually ns soldiers under orders of their two captains went eastward toward the bench or westward toward the valley; leaving a gap that even a force of French entering small qulrkly and turning might hnvp put the Juarlst army to a grievous dis advantage. Now Leroux played the game thnt he and Besancon hnd doubtless re hearsed. He stood out In the middle of that fatal opening In the Liberal position nnd, facing the Allied forces, fashioned a sort of bugle with his French have wod and that the Em saved. Thank the good God whispered l.eroux, smiling and smiling, died. pi re Is I The short, mild winter had gone and spring Imd coine aguln; the sun at midday wus hot, nnd the early morning had lost Its chill. We had broken ground for the spring crop Iasqual and I had sowed the seed and now the tiny shoots were coming np. But In my heart there was no spring, no happiness, no rebirth. The fields, the horse, the plow, food and sleep that was my life.. I had be rome. In very truth, a brother to the ox. They had put away De Vigny, bad prayed for the salvation of his soul, nnd De Vigny was no more. was only the husk of a human being the empty shell from which Identify had long since fled, from which the soul hnd been removed. Since the Mexicans hnd taken Cuer navaea nnd held It against the French I Imd never been to tbut city, though It was only a mile or two away. After the fall of Cuernavaca I hnd given up. a prey to bitter discouragement, and had set out on the road to Acapulco, where I hnd taken a sailing ship for the States when But the i'oeifle port had dropped behind us, sinking In the mists of the ocean, the Irresistible lure of La Anil a came bnck to me. nnd I knew that separated from tier by so vast a distance I should die So 1 left the boat at Manzanillo, and took the next one hack to Acapulco, labored for a pittance, load where ing ships with bales of cotton and lings of sugar and coffee. One night in nn Acapulco cantina I hnd heard a dashing Mexican officer give a toast to the Glorious Ar rellnnos the goddess of Cuerna vnea !" Curenavaen? Then she had left the city? That sent me back to the plantation of Bnsqual, where 1 resumed my work In the fields. The knowledge thnt she was neni gave me consolation, .yet I never won tiered why she had come, nor hail I ever gone to Cuernavaca to see her My mind could not conceive of my looking upon her again. I was deal 1 1 Come on," he called In French ; the way Is open! Approach, sons of France, nnd win an empire!" I wrung my hnnds In Impotent mis ery. Why why did not they charge? Here was a chance to save the eitv to crush the Juarlst army, to capture possibly, the great general himself Mon Dieu had they turned to stone? Surely they could hear him, less than three hundred meters distant. Are you cowurds," screamed l.e- tl-- 1 'dust-raisin- g what I beard that the menacing cloud of Imperialism, which had hovered over the land for three years, was passing gradually and away, the bright sun of freedom had begun to shine again. The Empire had failed . . the emperor Imd lost From afar came faintly to us the sound of cheering; a ripple of applause swept over the waiting crowd, punctuated by sharp cries of Viva-V- iva Juarez! Viva Escobedo 1" As the carriage, drawn by a pair of magnificent black horses and con talning two generals in gorgeous uniform came Into view, a booming voice roared at my ear: Viva La Senorlta I" Now 1 looked and saw La Anita nnd her aunt! Their backs to Mie driver, they faced the Mexican gen erals, and, although she smiled at the multitude, I thought her lovely face was very pale. All the old love came hack to me, burning me again like a flame, filling my empty soul with new resolve. A hat a highcrowned sombrero hurled doubtless by some devout disciple of drink, 1 wide-brimme- sailed gracefully through the air and struck one of the nervous, horses hitched to the glittering car He squealed, reared, plunged, riage. filled his mate with his own fear, and the two beyond control of the driver and maddened by their own Increas ing terror dashed away, plunging wildly, the frail equipage lurching like a tiny dory In a storm. She was In danger. La Anita might be killed I I took no thought of con sequences; my life and the spending of It was hers. As they sped by launched my body at the racing horses reaching blindly. My fingers touched a strap clutching ; the great ring thnt forms the end of a Mexican hit found Its way hy good fortune into my other hand, nnd, thanking God for the good strength that He had given me, I held and held -- as the pounding hoofs heat me down One of the horses fell, and before he could find his feet again the crowd She was safe then, she closed In. was unhurt; and ns the myriad faces above me wavered and were lost In the sea of blackness and came back again my heart sang, because she was safe, she was unhurt. Now saw her, she was coming to I tried ward me, nnd I was afraid. to arise and failed, so I lay, waiting She bent over me, fear and anxiety All what a in the deep amber eys. glorious being she was! If I tnigh die with my eyes on that exquisite face thats all I asked; just to look upon her while 1 died, to curry that picture away with me, to hold for high-strun- 1 1 hands: After the burial of Madrella us De Vigny I left the town of Cuernavaca, for I wanted to be alone; I Imd no wish to see people. 1 had lost an Identity, I had died disgraced, I Imd roux ; "why dont you move? Ap lost La Anita because 1 bad killed De proaeli the gate Is wide, the gate to freedom, to glory . . . Come Vigny and she burl loved De Vigny I bad killed the man she loved, and In! lie waited, expectant, but they to take his place 1 must face did not moe. other disgraceful death. Now Ills voice shrilled far above the ere There was one solution, an easy clauior of strife: "Name of O one. I could still die De Vigny, and you dead on your feet, or do you as she Imed De Vigny, 1 might take stand out there to have your pictures away with me wrapped up In uiy taken; have you come to buttle or soul a portion of that wondrous love do you seek siesta? of hers, to be with me through all The Mexican soldiers understood Yes, that was the easiest eternity. bis gestures. If not his words. A doz way and I hud faced death too many en guns spoke behind him, and l.e times to fear It. The thing was too roux, raising tils arms In final sup easy, the problem was solved, for The promising ga plication, fell. surely such a love as hers could reach closed again, and the body of the into another world. giant bird of prey moved on. My mind was made up; I would go i approached Leroux, lying beside I raised bis bead and home, I would take the hand of brave the road. honest t'asqual in mine and would poured a gourd of cool water down I would thank him I bid him good-by- . his throat. He opened his eyes. 1 and his lovely little Dolores for the thank you," tie whispered. A glorious many things that they, hnd done for thing, Rene I" I cried me; 1 would write a letter to my "It Is Francois do you know me? He smiled a little. mother, and a letter to Anita, and Eer a clever then . . . rascal I General Juarez never knew for Madrella never came. Well, we Now, approaching me Rt breakneck speed, a horseman came Into view, tried." lie attempted to raise his head and looking more closely, I recognized and failed, a film came over his eyes Why did they not come In, Francois the "calico pony and knew the lidet for Iasqual. Why should he ride so with the way so easy?" I raNed my eyes to the field of tint swiftly, why should he hurry? Th world held much for him. Wonder tie. The Allied army had retreated Into the town, and the wings of the Ing thus. I waited. He brought the pony to a sliding, invading force had closed In I knew hull In front of me. His that Maximilian had lost the last eyes were wild with excitement and strategic gateway to the historic city What do you see, Francois? Kv his tall body trembled. Senior, the soldiers of Benito Juarez! They are erythlng Is black before me; tell me what you see." everywhere, senor; they approach n 1 see. said I. "a man on yondet house, they fill the valley and they line the ridges. There sre many thou ridge who wigwags a signal with two sands of them." flags. What does he say, dear friend?' Now I knew thnt Bruglere would Rene's Ids service whisper was faintly audible the signified, fighting get I booked that message from across and I feared that, so far as tin the valley: Lamadrid Is dead!" French were concerned, Cuernavaca That was It . . . Colonel Lama would be closed. Behind us came the clear notes ot drid, the commandant of the garrison at Cuernavaca, had been killed. This The Cuernavaca garrison a bugle. was preparing the frail skeleton ol then, was why they hadn't charged I could not repress a Mon Dieul a host that would have been required I Juarez. to hold the city against sigh. What Is It. Francois; what mes had saved if once, and It hnd dropped docs he send? I cannot see. ! of a dream fool's sage into hack security cannot hear the guns. Tell me quick Ah, well ! touchThe Mexican advnnce-gunrd- , ly I am going. "lie says Rene," 1 lied, that the ing the French outposts, opened up Alii AAA What Is It, Francois; What Message Does He Send? she loved me; surely that was sufficient, for coming back to life would be no gain. Ah the years I lived In those few months I One day In April the Acapulco road suddenly filled with people. They traveled afoot, on the bnck of bur ros mules, horses, nnd even oxen; In wagons. In carts. In great, high wheeled prairie schooners'' that held a score or more, and In every con cplvnhle manner than man will travel bound all, for Cuernavaca A wagon, filled with half drunken soldiers and drawn by two lean mules, stopped. Al, vlejo old one I they yelled Come on; we go to Cuernavaca wher the generals review the troops before we inarch upon the city I Ride with us!" I shook my head; whereupon aftei some boisterous consultation, four ot them descended from the wagon, climbed the fence, took me by the nrms half dragging, half carrying me toward the wagon - laughing gaily all the while. They deposited me as tlipy would have a bag of coffee Into the bay lint I equipage and thrust a bottle into my hands. Drink vlejo fids Is Cuernavaca's greatest day I" It was fequllla, the fiery I drank. poison that the Mixa.m (icon con siders drink. It put a llamp Into in v Mood; the years fell away from me. waved my hat at passers-by- , and nnd yelled, and whistled, and sang in fervor. So we came to Cuernavaca, where the streets were lined with people nnd where a holiday spirit filled thr air 1 gained 'he impression from anil 1 s ever. How brave a thing, senor I she said, and the music of her voire wus Are you hurt? sottly soothing. I "No," I said, tried to smile. searching her face In eager hunger At the sound of my voice a shadow of fear crossed her face, rested one brief Instant In her e.ves. She touched her throat with slim fingers, as If to Monsieur!" she vvhis stilte a cry. pered in the tone of uwe that one might use In speaking to a ghost. A I raised my hands toward her. Anlla no min, are helpless. longer you nor In the power of the French nm.v I tell you that I love you?" Now a nauseating dizziness came over me, a vast weariness possessed me; and. as her exquisite face failed sadly In a misty turbulent sea and the shadows came, nnd darkness set tied upon the world, I heard, us In a dream Just as I and heard In oth er dreams the voice of La Anita: and Francois. Francois again 'Francois!" They moved me, under heavy guard from the gloomy hospital where . I had lain three weeks while ribs had healed anil wounds had disappeared to the even more gloomy prison where they east me with scant cere mony and less gentleness into a eeh with one barred, narrow window through which the morning sun came for an hour or two So, a prisoner, a spy. I waited. My heard had been removed, and with It the mantle of age; my IdentPy re vealed. The trhk I had played up on Juarez and Escobedo laid doubt less long since been discovered, and I was ertniu I would Imve to pnj for that. few days later thp rising sun me on the Toluca road with sturdy mountain ponies between my knees, nnd ten tatterdemalion soldiers I had been as a guard. exchanged to the French for nn officer of equa rank, nnd was on my way to my trav esty of a trial A found CHAPTER XIII The Coming of La Anita Through the window of the rail laid watched across the narrow ball tin red sun go down behind the Sier rn Agostino. and had looked with mv soul lu my eyes, ns the shades of twilight fell for this was my last sun set. this Che last time that I mlglr see th soft purple veil that come before the night. . had beeu found guilty ol uiurdet 1 me eat "I cannot stand it, Francois." Neville said at last ; you eat the food as though you might enjoy It, and yoo face your last night with a drenmy sort of smile upon your face. Are you mad. dear friend; has life been so unfortunate a thing a thing of such overwhelming sorrow that you leave It with a smile? Life has been a beautiful thing. Neville a glorious thing and I have lived It. No man has got more out of life than I." "Madness, Francois; you have lived as a stupid old man so long your brain has dried. There are left so few of us. so very few; all In less than a year. Some day, Francois. I will have to tell your mother." Now, having finished this final meal of mine, I got up and put an arm across his shoulder. There Is no man In all the world that ! would rather have tell her than you. my friend. And you may tell her thnt I died for a love worth dying for and that I was happy. Now a little cheerfulness, Neville; is It thus thnt you come to my death chamber and pull a sigh thnt fairly bends the bars of my cage? A slow smile spread across his handsome face, but a hurt lay deep In his eyes. Do you know, he said, after a long silence, that the emperor plans Proof Demanded Inventor (to capitalist) This, sir, machine. is an Capitalist Is it? Then let me see It make an epoch. Christian Evangelist. epoch-makin- g to break through the Liberal lines and make for the city or the sea? He can do It, said Bruglere; when? "Tomorrow a forlorn hope. Ue has hut ten thousand men, nnd all of Mexico Is up in arms against him. "Tomorrow; ah! Not so forlorn a An effort worthy of hope, Neville. our emperor. But ten thousand men" said Neville. "Is enough. Xenophon led ten thou sand men across fifteen hundred miles of alien country and lived to write about it Shall Maximilian do less?'" I began, but stopped, If Lopez because the sound of footsteps on the cobbled walk under my window came to us; footsteps and a voice -- a low musical voice that brought my heart I whisInto my throat Anita, would she come here? pered, shall she Aye," said Bruglere; Journey a hundred and fifty tulles over this God forgotten land to see you and pause at the portals of a prison? You do not know La Anita. I gasped, Mon Dieu: Mon Dieu, she would come here?" Brugiere grasped ray Assuredly arm "Shall she find you sad. Fran cols or happy? Shull we wait sol enin, silent fearing death. o shall she find three merry soldiers of the uny Empire, facing thing thnt mny come?" I thauk you. dear friend. We must She shall find us tn not hurt tier. we shall drink loyful celebration; nnd laugh and sing!" We might have been at our accus touted table at the Cafe Mirumon; we were laughing gaily together nnd inadequate trying, with woefully to sing when the guard voices, brought her to the door and let her in Ah what a dory she brought Into that prison! She gave me hei hand, a warm sweet smile, on her lovely face "What wondrous friends you have senor." "A good friend, senorlta. Is a gift ot God. Then you are twice blessed." She offered slim fingers to Neville. Bru giere caught her swiftly in Ids arms nnd kissed her: then, while she stood, blushing prettily, said: "Francois Is thrice blessed, gracious lady, for he has a friend among the angels. You should 8a ve your honeyed He Is be words for Colonel Lopez. side himself with fury. Our FrankenBrugiere laughed. stein will hesitate before he builds another monster. Yet be will do. some desperate thing. I fear. No one may reach his majesty; I have tried. The colonel," explained Neville, has thrown a cordon of his own creatures around the emperor. I have striven for a week to gain the ear ot No one may even ap Maximilian. proueh Lu Cruz. What Lopez Is plan nlng to do I cannot Imagine. Wlint the estimable colonel may need choose to do," said Bruglere. concern us this uighl not at all. foi wlmt be does wil' be stupid or dis honest, and neither stupidity nor dis honesty can avail him anything. Whei the emperor hears the truth about I.o pez we will have another chief ot riorities have definitely established Champion as the better spark plug. That is why Champion outseUs all others throughout the world. CHAMPION SPARK PLUGS TOLEDO, OHIO Just Do Their Stuff Men singled out by Destiny for some great purpose seldom have an inkling of the history they are American Magazine. mak- ing. YOU GET BOTH fitand satisfactory wear when you buy LEVI STRAUSS Bib orWaist Overalls theLeading Brand for over 56years epee ANEW pair. rrvi--E. IFTHEY RIP staff. 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