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Show I The Land of Broken Promises I I I ! r :i: S: . . By DANE COOUDGE ; A Stirring Story Author ar y f m 1 M "Thm Fighting Foot" : or the Mexican -H.dd.n wa,." & "Thm Tmxtcan, Etc. Illustration by Don J. Lav in : (Opyntl. 1914 br fank A. Uoaacj) 8YNOPSI3. Bul ITooknr and I'M! De Ianry are torcl, owinf to a revolution in Mexico, un Klv up titeir mlnlni; claim and return to ttie lTnlto! HtateB. In the tor'itir town UtidHdon Hud mtx'tH IIiiry Kru?Hr. a lr&llliy mlnrr, who tiiaken him a oropo-UtUtn oropo-UtUtn to return to M:xt:o to acnuiro title to a very rich mine which KniKtrr liad olown up whim tie found he had bren ttioatwd out of the title hy one AraKon. The Mexican mjhsuently had Hlerit a lairpn sum of inoney in an urwucceflafui iltrmpt to rvlorula the vein and then al-wd al-wd tho land to revert for taxes. Ilook-ir Ilook-ir and Do ljinrey arrive at Kurturui, near where the KhkIo Tail mine la located. They enaKe Cruz Mendez to acquire the ci'le for them and hein preliminary rurk. AniK'in aci.'usi them of Jumping lis claim. Hookrrr ulncovurH that matrimonial matri-monial entanKlmentH prevent Menriez 'rem acquirlro; a valid title. F'hll. who lao been paying attention to Gmcia Ara-ton. Ara-ton. dechl!H to turn Mexican and acquire tie title. Aragon fallH In his attempt to Irivo them oil the claim. ltelelH are re-orted re-orted in the vicinity. A rich vein of fold is Btruck and work on the mine la (topped until the title can bo perfected, f'hll In arreHtcd by Manual do! Key. captain cap-tain of tho ruralos and HUltor of Grai'ia'a. la relea.sed on promlHe to stay away 'nim firnciiu I'iill Is forced to enlist In Jie ruralos. He asks Hud to take care )f Oracla. Tho rebels are defeated in a loree battle near Korlunn. Phil deserts ind ri-luiTis to the United States. Hud .urns Mexican and takes steps to socure Utlo to tlio mine in his own name. CHAPTER XIX Continued. Ho looked the adobe house over Jioughtfully, listened long to the tews of the border and of the rurales' .aid on their camp, and retired to the ocka for the night. Even Bud never ;new where he slept somewhere up n the hillside in caves or clefts In he rocke and not even the most dressing invitation could make him Jiare the house for a night. To Amigo, is to an animal, a house was a trap; ind he knew that the times were reacherous. So indeed they were, as Hooker was o learn to his sorrow, and but for the aqui and his murderous knife he night easily have learned it too late. It was evening, after a rainless day, nd Eud was cooking by the open fire, hen suddenly Amigo vanished and tour men rode in from above. They were armed with rifles, as befitted the dines, but gave no signs of ruffianly iravado, and after a few words Bud in-fited in-fited them to get down and eat "Muchas gracias, senor," said the jader, dismounting and laying his rifle jgainst a log, "we are not hungry." "Then have some coffee," invited looker, who made It a point to feed jvery one who Btopped, regardless of .heir merit; and once more the Mexi-a.n Mexi-a.n declined. At this Bud looked at tim sharply, for his refusal did not lugur well, and it struck him the aan's face was familiar. He was tall or a Mexican and heavily built, but with a rather sinister cast of counte-lance. counte-lance. ''Where have I seen you before?" isked Bud, after trying in vain to jlace him. "In Fortuna?" "No, senor," answered the Mexican jclitely. "I have never been in that :iiy. Is it far?" "Tea miles by the trail," responded 3ooker, hy no means reassured, and uider pretext of inviting them to eat, te took a look at the other men. If they had not stopped to eat, what Jien was their errand while the eun was 6inking so low? And why this mllen refusal of the coffee which every Mexican drinks? Bud stepped into the house, as if on ome errand, and watched them un-veen un-veen from the interior. Seeing them ichange glances tnen, ne leanea nis Je just inside the door and went .bout his cooking. It was one of the chances he took, Iving out in the brush, but he had :ome to know this low-browed type of eml-bandit all too well and had small espect for their courage. In case of xouble Amigo was close by in the rocks somewhere, probably with his jun In his hand but with a little pa-aence pa-aence and circumspection the unwelcome unwel-come visitors would doubtless move So he thought, but instead they lingered, lin-gered, and when supper was cooked he decided to go to a show-down and if iey again refused to eat he would send them on their way. -Ven amigos," he said, spreading out the tin plates for them. "Come and ?at!" The three low-brows glared at their leader, who had done what little talking talk-ing there was so far, and, seized with a sudden animation, he immediately rose to his feet. "Many thanks, senor," he said with a crinjing and specious politeness. "We have come far and the trail is Jong, so we will eat. The times are hard for poor men now this traitor, Madero, has made us all hungry. It is by him that we poor working men are driven to insurrection but we know that the Americans are our friends. Yics, senor, I will take some of your beans, and thank you." He filled a plate as he spoke and lifted a bixcuit from the oven, continuing con-tinuing witli his false patter while the others fell to in silence. Perhaps you have heard, 6enor," he went on, "the saying which is in the land- Mucho trabajo, paco dinero; do hay frijoles. viva Madero! Much work, little money; no beans, long "That, in truth. Is no jest to the Mexican people. This man has betrayed be-trayed us all; he has ruined the country coun-try and set brother against brother. And now, while we Btarve because the mines are shut down, he gathers his family about him in the city and lives fat on the money he has stolen." He ran on in this Btyle, after the fashion of the revoltosos, and by the very commonplace of his fulminatlons liud was thrown completely off his guard. That was the way they all talked, these worthless bandit-beggars that and telling how they loved the Americanos and then, if they got a chance they would stick a knife in your back. He listened to the big man with a polite toleration, being careful not to turn his back, and ate a few bites as he waited, but though it was coming dusk the Mexicans were in no hurry to depart. Perhaps they hoped to stop for the night and get him in his sleep. Still they lingered on, the leader sitting sit-ting on a log and continuing his harangue. Then, In the middle of a sentence, and while Bud was bending over the fire, the Mexican stopped short and leaned to one side. A tense silence fell, and Hooker was waked from his trance by the warning click of a gun-lock. gun-lock. Suddenly his mind came back to his guests, and he ducked like a flash, but even as he went down he heard the hammer clack! The gun had snapped! Instantly Hooker's hand leaped to his pistol and he fired from the hip pointblank at the would-be murderer. With a yell to the others, one of the Mexicans sprang on him from behind and tried to bear him down. They struggled for a moment while Bud shot blindly with his pistol and went down fighting. Bud was a giant compared to the stunted Mexicans, and he threw them about like dogs that hang on to a bear. With a man 1b each hand he rose to his feet, crushing them down beneath him; then, in despair of shaking off his rider, he staggered a few steps and hurled himself over backward into the Are. A yell of agony followed their fall and, as the live coale bit through the Mexican's thin shirt, ha fought like a cat to get free. Rocks, pots and kettles ket-tles were kicked in every direction, and when Hooker leaped to his feet the Mexican scrambled up and rushed madly for the creek. But, though Bud was free, the battle bat-tle had turned against him, for In the brief interval of his fight the other two Mexicans had run for their guns. The instant he rose they covered him. Their chief, who by some miracle had escaped Bud's shot, gave a shout for Threw Them About Like Dogs That Hang Onto a Bear. them to halt. Cheated of his victim at the first he was claiming the right to kill. As Hooker stood blinded by the smoke and ashes the fellow took deliberate de-liberate aim and once more his rifle snapped. Then, as the other Mexicans Mexi-cans stood agape, surprised at the failure of the shot, the cannonlike whang of a Mauser rent the air and the leader crumpled down in a heap. An instant later a shrill yell rose from up the canyon and, as the two Mexicans started and stared, Amigo came dashing in upon them, a spitting pistol in one hand and his terrible "wood-chopping" knife brandished high in the other. In the dusk his eyes and teeth gleamed white, his black hair seemed to bristle with fury, and the glint of his long knife made a light as he vaulted over the last rock and went plunging on their track. For, at the first glance at this huge, pursuing figure, fig-ure, the two Mexicans had turned and bolted like rabbits, and now, as the Yaqui whirled in a.fter them, Bud could ! bear them squfulinc and scrambling as he hunted them down among the rocks. It was grim work, too, even for his stomach, hut Hooker let the Indian follow fol-low his nature. When. Amigo came hack from his hunting there was no need to ask questions. His eyes shone so terribly that Hooker said nothing, but set about cleaning up camp. After he had washed the ashes from his eyes, and when the fury had vanished van-ished from Amigo's face, they went as by common consent and gazed at the body of the chief of the desperadoes. Even in death his face seemed strangely strange-ly familiar; but as Hooker stood gazing gaz-ing at him the Yaqui picked up his gun. "Look!" he said, and pointed to a bullet-splash where, as the Mexican held the gun across his breast, Bud's pistol shot had flattened harmlessly against the lock. It was that which had saved the Mexican chief from instant in-stant death, and the jar of the shot had doubtless broken the rifle and saved Bud, in turn, from the second shot. All this was in the Yaqui's eye as he carefully tested the action; but, when he threw down the lever, a cartridge rose up from the magazine and glided smoothly into the breech. With a rifle full of cartridges the ignorant Mexican had been snapping on an empty chamber, cham-ber, not knowing enough to jack up a shell! For a moment Amigo stared at the g-un and the man, and his mouth drew down with contempt. "Ha! Pendejo!" he grunted, and kicked the corpse with his foot. But If the Mexican had been a fool, he had paid the price, for the second time he snapped his gun Amico had shot him through and through. CHAPTER XX. In a country where witnesses to a crime are imprisoned along with the principals and kept more or less indefinitely in-definitely in jail, a man thinks twice before he reports to the police. With four dead Mexicans to the Yaqui's account, and Del Rey in charge of the district, Hooker followed his 6econd thought he said nothing, and took his chances on being arrested arrest-ed for murder. Until far into the night Amigo busied himself along the hillside, hill-side, and when the sun rose not a sign remained to tell the story of the fight. Men, horses, saddles and guns all had disappeared. And, after packing a little food in a sack, Amigo disappeared disap-peared also, with a grim smile in promise prom-ise of return. The sun rose round and hot, the same as usual; the south wind came up and blew into a bellying mass of clouds, which lashed back with the accustomed ac-customed rain; and when all the earth was washed clean and fresh the last trace of the struggle was gone. Only by the burns on his hands was Hooker aware of the fight and of the treachery which had reared Its head against him like a snake which has been warmed and fed. Nowhere but in Mexico, where the low pelado classes have made such deeds a subtlety, could the man be found to dissimulate like that false assassin-in-chief. To pause suddenly in a protracted speech, swing over and pick up a gun, and halt his victim for the shooting by the preparatory click of the lock that Indeed called for a brand of cunning rarely found in the United States. There was one thing about the affair that vaguely haunted Hooker why was it that a man so cunning as that had failed to load his gun? Twice, and with everything in his favor, he had raised his rifle to fire; and both times it had snapped in his hands. Certainly he must have been inept at arms or accustomed to single-shot guns. The reputed magic of the swift-firing rifles evidently had been his undoing, undo-ing, but where had he got his new gun? And who was he, anyway? With those two baffling questions Bud wrestled wres-tled as he sat beside his door, and at evening his answer came. The sun was swinging low and he was conecuug wuuu uowu mo &un.u for a fire when, with a sudden thud of hoofs, a horseman rounded the point and came abruptly to a halt. It was Aragon, and he was spying on the camp. For a full minute he scanned the house, tent and mine with a look so snaky and sinister that Bud could read his heart like a book. Here was the man who had sent the assassins, and he had come to view their work! Very slowly Bud's hand crept toward his six-shooter but, slight as was the motion, Aragon caught it and sat frozen in his place. Then, with an inarticulate cry, he fell flat on his horse's neck and went spurring out of sight. The answer to Bid's questions was very easy now. The Mexican who had led the attempt on his life was one of Aragon's bad men, one of the four gunmen whom Hooker had looked over so carefully when they came to drive him from the mine, and Aragon had fitted him out with new arms to make the result more sure. But with that question answered there came up another and another until, in a sudden sud-den clarity of vision, Bud saw through the hellish plot and beheld himself the master. As man to man, Aragon would not dare to face him now, for he knew that ha merited death. By his sly approact, by the look in his eyes and the dismay of his frenzied retreat, he had acknowledged more surely than by words his guilty knowledge of the raid. Coming to a camp where he expected to find all dead and sttil, he had found himself face to' face with the very man he had sought to kill. How, then, had the American escaped destruction, and what had occurred to his men? Perhaps, in his Ignorance, Aragon was raging at his hirelings because they had shirked their task; perhaps, not knowing that they were dead, he was waiting In a fever of impatience for them to accomplish the deed. Howler How-ler it was, Bud saw that he held the high card, and he was not slow to act In the morning he saddled Copper Bottom, who had been confined to the corral for weeks, and went galloping into town. There he lingered about the hotel until he saw his man and started boldly toward him. Surprise, alarm and pitiful fear chased themselves them-selves acroBS Aragon'B face as he stood, but Bud walked proudly by. "Good morning, senor!" was all Bud said, but the look in his eyes was eloquent of a grim hereafter. And instead of hurrying back to guard his precious mine Hooker loitered loi-tered carelessly about town. His The Artillery Drove Them Back. mine was safe now and he was safe. Aragon dared not raise a hand. So he sat himself down on the broad veranda and listened with boyish interest to Don Juan's account of the war. "What, have you not heard of the battle?" cried portly Don Juan, delighted delight-ed to have a fresh listener. "Agua Negra has been taken and retaken, and the railroad will soon be repaired. My gracious! have you been out in the hills that long? Why, it was two weeks ago that the rebels captured the town by a coup, and eight days later the federals took it back. "Ah, there has been a real war, Mr. Bud! You who have laughed at the courage of Che Mexicans, what do you think of Bernardo Bravo and his men? They captured the last up train from Fortuna; loaded all the men into the ore cars and empty coaches; and, while the federals were still in their barracks, the train ran clear into the station and took the town x storm. "And eight days later, at sundown, the federals took it back. Ah, there was awful slaughter averted, Benor! But for the fact that the fuse went out two hundred Yaqui Indians who led the charge would have been blown Into eternity. "Yes, so great was the charge of dynamite that the rebels had laid in their mine that not a house in Agua Negra would have been left standing if the fuse had done its work. Two tons of dynamite! Think of that, my friend! "But these rebels were as ignorant of its power as they were of laying a train. The Yaquis walked into the town at sundown and found it deserted de-serted every man, woman and child had fled to Gadsden and the rebels had fled to the west. "But listen, here was the way it happened actually, and not as common com-mon report has it, for the country is all in an uproar and the real facts were never known. When Bernardo Rrairn cnntnrpd thn tnwn nf Acrna Mo. gra the people acclaimed his a hero. "He sent word to the junta at El' Paso and set up a new form of government. gov-ernment. All was enthusiasm, and several Americans joined his ranks to operate the machine guns and cannon. can-non. As for the federals, they occupied occu-pied the country to the east and attempted at-tempted a few sallies, but as they had nothing but their rifles, the artillery artil-lery drove them back. "Then, as the battle ceased, the rebels began to celebrate their victory. vic-tory. They broke into the closed can-tinas, can-tinas, disobeying their officers and beginning be-ginning the loot of the town, and while half of their number were drunk the federals, being informed of their condition, suddenly advanced upon them, with the Yaquis far in the lead. "They did not shoot, those Yaquis; but, dragging their guns behind them, they crept up through the bushes and dug pits quite close to the lines. Then, when the rebels discovered them and manned their guns, the Yaquis shot down the gunners. "Growing bolder, they crept farther to the front the rebels became disorganized, disor-ganized, their men became mutinous and at last, when they saw they would surely be taken, the leaders buried two tons of dynamite In the trenches by the bull-ring and set a time-fuse, to explode when the Yaquis arrived. "The word spread through the town Hie wildfire all the people, ail the soldiers fled every which way to escape es-cape and then, when the worst was expected to happen, the dynamite failed to explode and the Yaquis rushed the trenches at sundown." "Did those Yaquis know about the dynamite?" inuired Bud. "Know?" repeated Don Juan, waving the thought away; "not a word! Their commanders kept it from them. "en after they discovered the mine. And now the Indians are making boasts; they are drunk with the thought of their valor and claim that tie rebels fled from them alone. j "The roadmaster came into town ( this morning on a velocipede and said , that the Yaquis are insufferable, think-j ing that it was their renown as fighters fight-ers and not the news of the dynamite that drove all the soldiers from town. However, Agua Negra is once more in the hands of the government; the track Is clear and most of the bridges repaired; so why quarrel with the Yaquis? While they are, of course, nothing but Indians, they Berve their purpose in battle." "Well, I guess yes!" responded Bu warmly.' "Serve their purpose, eh? Where were these Mexican soldiers and them Spanish officers when the Yaquis were taking the town? And that was just like a dog-goned Mexican Mexi-can setting that time-fuse and then not having it go off. More'n likely the poor yap that fired it was so scairt he couldn't hold a match probably never lit it, jest dropped the match and run. They're a bum bunch. If you want to know what I think. I'd rather have a Yaqui than a hundred of 'em!" "A hundred of whom?" inquired a cool voice behind him, and looking up Hooker saw the beautiful Gracia gazing gaz-ing out at him through the screen door. "A hundred Mexicans!" he repeated, and Gracia murmured "Oh!" and was gone. "Miss Aragon is very loyal to her country," observed Don Juan, but Hooker only grunted. Somehow, since those four Mexicans had come to his camp, he had soured on everything Bouth of the line; and even the charming Gracia could not make him take back his words. If she had intended the remark as a challenge chal-lenge a subtle invitation to follow her and defend his faith she failed for once of her purpose, for if there was any particular man in Mexico that Bud hated more than another it was her false-hearted father. Hooker had, in fact, thought more seriously of making her" a half-orphan than of winning her good-will, and he lingered about the hotel, not to make love to the daughter, but to strike terror ter-ror to Aragon. The company being good, and a train being expected soon, Bud stayed over another day. In the morning, when he came down for breakfast, he found that Aragon had fled before him. With his wife, daughter and retinue, he had moved suddenly back to his home. Hooker grinned when Don Juan told him the news. "Well, why not?" he asked, chuckling chuck-ling maliciously. "Here it's the middle mid-dle of the rainy season and the war going on all summer and nary a rebel in sight. Where's that big fight you was telling about the battle of Fortuna? For-tuna? You've made a regular fortune out of these refugees, Brachamonte. but I fail to see the enemy." "Ah, you may laugh," shrugged the hotel-keeper, "but wait! T,he time will come. The rebels are lost now some day, when you least expect it, they will come upon us and then, believi me, my guests will be glad they are here. What is a few weeks' bill compared com-pared to being held for ransom? Look at that rich Senor Luna, who was here for a time in the spring. Against my advice he hurried home and now he is paying the price. Ten thousand pesos it cost to save his wife and family, and for himself and son his friends advanced ten thousand more. I make no evil prophecies, but it would be better for our friend if he stayed on at my poor hotel." "Whose friend?" inquired Bud bluffly, but Don Juan struck him upon the back with elephantine playfulness and hurried off to his duties. As for Hooker, he tarried In town until he got his mail and a copy ol the Sunday paper and then, well satisfied sat-isfied that the times were quiet and wars a thing of the past, he ambled back to the Eagle Tail and settled down for a rest. Flat on his back by the doorway he lay on his bed and smoked, reading his way through the lurid supplement and watching the trail with one eye. Since the fight with Aragon's Mexicans Mexi-cans all his apprehensions had left him. He had written briefly to Phil and Kruger, and now he was holding the fort. It had been a close shave, but he had escaped the cowardly assassins and had Aragon in his power. Not by any force of law, but by the force of fear and the gnawing weakness of Ara gon's own evil conscience. Aragon was afraid of what he had done, but it was the suspense which rendered him eo pitiable. On a day he had sent four armed Mexicans to kill this Texan not one had returned re-turned and the Texan regarded him sneeringly. This it was that broke the Spaniard's will, for he knew not what to think. But as for Bud, he lay on his back by the doorway and laughed at the funny page. As he sprawled there at hiB reading, Amigo came in from the hills, and he, too, was content to relax. Gravely scanning the colored sheet, his dark face lighted up. It was all very peaceful and pleasant, pleas-ant, but it was not destined to last. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |