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Show V. V. ; :: The Land of Broken Promises . . . By DANE COOUDGE 3 A Stirring Story t,,r0 x- of the Mexican "Hiddmn Wa art" !' JeVollltlO " Thm Tixiean, " Etc. pi Illustrations by Don J.Lavin : (Cocrijlit. WW, by Prank A. Mamcy) SYNOPSIS. Fiuil Honker and Phlt Do I.anrr-y nre forced. uwlnK Lo a revolution In Mexico, to K'vi) up their mlnlnK ckilni find ruturn lo tin! United Hlatea. In the border town of Oud.Milen Hud meetH H.-nry KrUKet, a wealthy miner, who miikcn him a proposition propo-sition to return to Mexico to acquire title to a very rich mine which Kruiier had Mown up when he found he had been chealed out of the title by one Arafinn. The Mexican mibsoquently had Bpent a larKe mnn of money In an un.sueee.s8fu! attempt to relocate the vein and then allowed al-lowed tho land to revert for taxes. Hooker Hook-er and lie l.nncey arrive at Kortuna. near whore the KukIo Tall mlno la located. They friKami Cruz Mendez to acquire the title for them and betfln preliminary work. AraKon accuses them of JumpinK his claim. Hooker discovers that matrimonial matri-monial entan;,'lemenl s prevent Mendez from acquhint? a valid title. Phil, who has been paying attention to Gracla Ara-pon, Ara-pon, ilecldeH to turn Mexican and acquire the tllle. Aniffon falls In his attempt to drive them off the claim. Rebels are reported re-ported in tlie vicinity. A rich vein of Kold Is struck and work on the mine Is stopped until the tltlo cnn be perfected. J'tdl Is nrresied by Manual del Hey. captain cap-tain of the rurales and suitor of Craclu's. Ho is released on promise to stay away from C.rnola. Phil Is forced to enlist In the rurales. Ho asks Bud to take care of Oracia. The refiels are defeated In a fierce battlo near Fortuna. l'hll deserts and returns to the United States. Bud turns Mexican and takes steps to secure tltlo to the mine in his own name. Hired assassins of Arapon make an unsuccessful unsuccess-ful atlack on liud and four of them are killed. CHAPTER XXI. On the morning after they had laughed at the comic paper and decided decid-ed that all the world was fair, Hooker and Amigo were squatting by the Are and eating a man's-size breakfast. The creek, swollen by yesterday's torrential rain, had settled to a rivulet. rivu-let. The wind had not risen and the sun was Just over the hill when, with a rush and a scramble, Amigo threw down his cup and was off in a flash for tho rocks. A moment later two men rode down the canyon, and then two more, and two more. It was a column of men, all armed with rifles, and they cast envious eyes at Copper Bottom as they halted before the camp. As for Bud, he saluted gravely, for he knew them for what they were. These were the lost forces of Bernardo Ber-nardo Bravo and Salazar, Rojas and the other bandit chiefs, and they marched, as he well knew, upon Fortuna. For-tuna. They marched quietly, and the great whistle had not blown. It would make a rich prize, Fortuna, If they could take it by surprise! The ansom for tfto Spanish haciendados alone would amount to thousands of dollars, and the mine-owners could afford to pay anything In order to save their works. A box of dynamite under the giant concentrator and the rroney would be produced at once, and yet the scoundrels scoun-drels halted at a one-man' camp to steal a single horse. ; A flicker of scorn passed over Hooker's Hook-er's face as the leader came dashing p, but the Texan greeted him with a slow smile. "Btienos dlas, general!" he said; "you have many men." "Enough!" observed the "general" hurriedly, "but some In the rear are on foot As I suppose you are In sympathy sym-pathy with our great cause, I will ask you for that horse. Of course, I will give you a receipt." He fetched out a blank-book as he spoke and motioned to a ragged beggar beg-gar at his heels. Bud checked the man's rush with a look. "One moment!" he said, and as the soldier turned back his general glanced Bp 6harply. "Only this, Senor General," answered an-swered Bud. "You are welcome to anything I have food, blankets, money mon-ey but I cannot give you that horse." "But, senor!" protested the general, regarding him with arrogant pig eyes that glinted wickedly, "this poor soldier's sol-dier's feet are sore. Surely you would not -make hirn walk. Only name your price and I will give you a receipt for him, but my man must have the horse." Thare was a pause and men began to dismount and move in closer. At a word from their commander any one of them would draw and kill him, as Hooker very well knew, but his love for Copper Bottom made him obdurate. ob-durate. "If the man is lame," he said, "I wi.l give him another horee but he cannot have this sorrel." He stepped quickly over to the corral cor-ral and turned with his back to the gate, while the commander spat out orders in Spanish and armed men came running. "Senor," he said, advancing brusquely brusque-ly upon the defiant Hooker. ."I must trouble you for that pistol." "No, senor!" answered the cowboy, keeping his hand upon his gun, "not to you nor no man and I'll never give H up to a Mexican!" "Carail" exclaimed the officer impatiently, impa-tiently, "you are an Americano no?" "Not only that," rumbled Bud, drawing draw-ing himself up In his pride, "I am a TejuDO also, and if any man touches that norse I'll kill him!" His voice trembled with anger, but lis hand was steady and the Mexicans did not deceive themsolves. "Ha, un Tejano!" murmured the men who stood about, and one or two who had started to climb the fence fought better of it and dropped back '3 the groun 1 i,H im' fate of srerl nin who had proclaimed themselves Americans Amer-icans to the insurrectos boastfully done, It was said to be the quickest way there was of drawing a Mexican bullet. But to be a Texan was different differ-ent somehow the very name suggested suggest-ed trouble to their minds and an Alamo Ala-mo fight to the death. Hooker saw that he had made an Impression, and he was not slow to follow it up. "If you need a horse," he said to the general, "let your man go up that arroyo and he will And one hobbled on the flat. Then give me your receipt for two hundred dollars gold and I will contribute a saddle." It was a reasonable concession, under un-der the circumstances, and, best of all, it saved the general's face. The hideous hid-eous frown with which he had regarded regard-ed the American changed suddenly to a look of pompous pride. He jerked an Imperious head at his ragged retainer re-tainer and drew forth his receipt-book with a flourish. While he waited for the horse to appear ap-pear he turned upon his snooping men and drove them to their mounts with curses. Evidently It was no sinecure to command In the army of the liberation, liber-ation, and the veiled mutterlngs of his followers showed that they were little better than tigers in leash. Mounted upon horses, mules, and even burros; armed with every conceivable con-ceivable weapon from a musket to standard repeating rifles, they were a tatterdemalion army, more fit for "treason, stratagems and spoils" than the sterner duties of war. Bud looked them over closely, well satisfied to have his back against a wall, and when the low-browed re tainer came hurrying back with the horse he quickly took the worthless receipt and watched them on their way. Then, as the last camp-follower disappeared, he ran for his saddle and rifle and within a minute he was mounted and away. There were rebels below him very likely there were more to come the only safe place for Copper Bottom was over the hills at Fortuna. Without With-out stopping for path or trail, he headed head-ed straight northwest over the ridges, riding as the cowboys do when they rake the range for cattle. Hardly had he topped the first high crest when he came In sight of Amigo, loaded down with his cartridge-belts and carrying car-rying his heavy Mauser. In a long, shambling trot the Yaqul was drifting along the hillside with the free grace of a wild creature, and when Hooker pulled down his horse to keep pace with him he laughed and motioned him on. Taking the lead, he loped on over hogback and barranca, picking out the best trail by Instinct and setting such a pace that Bud was hard pressed to keep up with him. He had heard It said that in the Yaqul country no white man, no matter mat-ter how well he was mounted, could Speed Was What Was Needed. outdistance the Indians on foot, and now he knew It was true. But why this killing ha6te .on the part of Ami-go? Ami-go? He had neither friends nor kin in town; why, then, should he run so fast to warn them of the enemy? They racked on, up one hill and down another, while the insurrectos followed the canyon that Bwung to the south, and finally, in a last scramble, they mounted a rocky ridge and looked down upon old Fortuna. Already the hard-driven peons were out in the fields at work and smoke was rising from the mescal, still. Ara-gon Ara-gon was busy, but his labors would be worse than wasted if the red-flaggers took him prisoner. As Bud breathed his horse he hesitated whether to ride back and warn him or press on and notify Fortuna; but even for that brief spell the Yaqul could not wait. "Adios," he said, coming close and holding out his black hand; "I go this way!" And he pointed along the ridge. "But why?" said Bud. still at a loss to aGCOtint for hie haste. Then, seeing the reticence in the Indian's eyes, he thrust out his hand in return. "iJ!os. Amigo m!o!" he replied, and with a quick grip the Yaqul was gone. With that same deceptive speed he shambled through the bushes, still lugging lug-ging the heavy rifle and making for higher ground. Bud knew he had some purpose he even had a sneaking sneak-ing Idea that it was to take pot-shots at Captain del Rey but six months In Mexico had made him careless, and he half hoped the Yaqul would win. The captain had It coming to him for his brutality, but with Aragon it was different Aragon had a wife and daughter and, with the memory of Gracla in his mind, Bud sent his horse plunging down the ridge to warn them before it was too late. There were some brush fences to be Jumped, but Copper Bottom took them flying, and as they cut into the river trail he made the mud-puddles splash. Across the fields to the south Bud could see the peons running for cover the insurrectos must be in sight beyond be-yond the hills. He was going south, they were moving mov-ing west, but it was five miles north again to the town. Speed was what was needed and Copper Bottom gave his best. They dashed into Fortuna like a whirlwind, and Hooker raised his voice in a high yell. "Insurrectos!" he shouted. "Ladro-nes! "Ladro-nes! Pr-onto a Fortuna!" There was a rush, a moment's b1-lence, b1-lence, and then heads appeared from every window and women ran screaming scream-ing with the news. Aragon came rushing rush-ing from the store and confronted him angrily; then, reading conviction in his tones, he called for horses and ran frantically into the house. A shrill screech came from the hill-Bide, hill-Bide, where a serving-woman had scampered to view the valley, and, as she pointed her finger and screamed, mothers laid hold of their little ones and started up the valley on foot Still the men ran about in the horse-pen horse-pen and Aragon adjured his womenfolk women-folk in the house. Burning with impatience. im-patience. Bud spurred his way to the corral where they were fumbling with reata and rigging and dropped a rope on the first horse he saw. Then he snatched a side-saddle from a trembling trem-bling peon and slapped It on the brute's back. Grabbing up the bridle, he led the horse back to the house and bridled It while he shouted for haste. Still the women tarried, and the sound of galloping came from the south. Then, as all seemed lost, the Mexicans came bumping out from the stable with the family coach, Aragon and his wife leaped in, and Gracia, neatly attired in a riding-skirt, came tripping down the steps. Even in such times as these she seemed to realize her first duty to herself, and Hooker had to gaze for a moment before he helped her up. She offered her foot and vaulted lightly into the saddle; the coach went pounding pound-ing on ahead; and as the servants scattered before her she galloped off at the side of Bud. Behind them the rumble of distant hoofs rose up like the roaring of waters, wa-ters, and the shrlekB of fleeing women echoed from the roadside, but once safely In the canyon their lead waB never lessened and, with coach-horses ' galloping and postilions lashing from both sides, the whole cavalcade swept into the plaza while the town of Fortuna For-tuna went mad. Already the great whistle was blowing blow-ing hoarsely. Its deep reverberations making the air tremble as if with fear. Americans were running back and forth, distributing arms and rushing their women to cover; Don Juan, his chin quivering with excitement was Imploring all comers to be calm; and the Aragons, coming flying up to the door, added the last touch to the panic. They with their eyes had seen the rebels; they were riding in from the south! Other men, equally excited, swore they were coming from the north, and a disorderly body of So-nora So-nora miners, armed as if by magic with guns which had long lain hidden, banked themselves about the store and office and clamored for more and more cartridges. Then a rip of gun-fire echoed from across the canyon, and the miners made a rush to the attack. The whistle, which had obscured all sound as a cloud obscures the light stopped suddenly in its roar, and the crowd at the hotel became calm. The superintendent, a wiry, gray-haired little man, with decision in every movement, came running from his fort-like house on the hill and ordered all the women to take shelter there and take their children with them. So, while the rifles rattled and stray bullets began to. knock mud from the walls, they went straggling up the hill, rich and poor, patrician and peon, while the air was rent by the wails of the half-Indian Mexican women, who held themselves as good as captured cap-tured by the revolTosos, concerning whose scruples they entertained no illusions. The women of the aristocracy bore themselves with more reserve, as befitting be-fitting their birth and station, and the Americans who gathered about them with their protecting rifles pretended that all would be well; but in the minds of every one was that same terror which found expression in the peon wail and, while scattered rebels and newly armed miners exchanged volleys on both sides of the town, the non-combatant Americans sought out every woman and rushed her up to the big house. There, if worst came to worst, they could make a last stand, or save them by a ransom. So, from the old woman who kept the candy stand in the plaza to the wives of the miners and the cherished womenfolk of the landowners, they were all crowded inside the broad halls of the big house; and seventy odd Americans, armed with company rifles, paced nervously along the broad verandas veran-das or punched loopholes in the adobe walls that Inclosed the summer garden behind. ' Along with the rest went Hooker and Gracla. and, though her mother beckoned and her father frowned sternly, the wilful daughter of the Aragons Ara-gons did not offer to leave him as they scampered up the hill. In fact, she rode close beside him, spurring when he spurred and, finally, when the shower of 6tray bullets had passed, she led on around the house. "Won't you help me take my horse inside the walls?" she asked. Bud followed after her, circling the fortress whose blank adobe walls gave shelter to the screaming women, and she smiled upon him with the most engaging en-gaging confidence. "I know you will have to go soon," she said, "and I Buppose I've got to be shut in with those creatures, but we must be sure to save our horses. Some bullets might hit them, you know, and then we could not run away! "You remember your promise!" she reminded, as Bud gazed at her in astonishment. as-tonishment. "Ah, yes, I knew you did I W&L, Women and Children Took Shelter There. otherwise you would not have picked such a good horse for me. This roan is my father's best riding horse. You must put yours inside the wall with him, and when the time is right we will get them and ride for the line." "What?" cried Hooker incredulously, incredulous-ly, "with the country full of rebels? They're liable to take the town in half an hour!" "No, Indeed they will not!" responded respond-ed Gracla with spirit. "You do not understand the spirit of ub Sonorans! Can't you see how the firing has slackened? slack-ened? The miners have driven your rebels back already, and they will do more they will follow them up and kill them! Then, when the rebels are in flight and Del Rey and his rurales are away, that will be a good time for us to slip oft and make our dash for the line!" "Nothing doing!" announced Hooker, as he dismounted at the corral. "You don't know what yonre talking about! But I will leave my horse here," he added; "I sure don't want him to get hurt." "But you promised!" protested Gracia Gra-cia weakly. "Promised nothing!" retorted Bud ungraciously. "I promised to take care of you, didn't I? Well, what's the use of talking, then? You better stay right here, where you're safe. Come on, let's go to the houBe!" "No!" cried Gracla, her dark eyes turning misty with imminent tears. "Oh, Mr. Hooker!" she burst out, "didn't I keep them all waiting while I put on this riding-skirt? I thought you had come to take me away! What do I care to be safe? I want to be free! I want to run away and go across the line to dear Phil!" she faltered. Then she looked up at him sharply and her voice took on an accusing tone. "Aha!" she said, as if making Borne expected discovery, "so that is it! I thought perhaps you were afraid!" "What?" demanded Bud, put suddenly sud-denly upon the defensive. "I might have known it," soliloquized Gracla with conviction. "You are jealous of dear Phil!" "Who? Me?" cried Hooker, smiling down at her grimly. "Well, let it go at that," he said, as she regarded him with an arch smile. "I'd certainly be a fool to take all those chances for nothing. Let him steal his own girl that's what I say!" "Now that, Mr. Hooker," burst out Gracia in a passion, "IS very unkind and rude! Am I a woman of the town, to be stolen by one man or another? Am I" "That's what you would be," put In Bud, with brutal directness, "if these rebels got hold of you. No, ma'am, I wouldn't take you out of this town for a hundred thousand dollars. You don't know what you're talking about, that's all! Wait till the fighting is over gee! Did you hear that? Come, on, let's get into the house!" He ducked suddenly as a bullet went spang against the corrugated Iron roof above them and, seizing her by the hand, he half dragged her through a side door and into the summer garden. Here a sudden outcry of women's voices assailed their ears like a rush of wind and they beheld peon mothers running to and fro with their screaming scream-ing children clasped to their breasts or dragging at their skirts. A few helpless help-less men were trying to keep them quiet but as the bullets began to thud against the adobe walls the garden became be-came a bedlam. Gracia stood and Burveyed the scene for a moment, ignoring the hulking Bud with disdainful eyes. Then she snatched her hand indignantly away and ran to pick up a child. That was all, but Hooker knew what she thougn of him. He passed through tha house, hoping ho-ping to discover where she had gone, but all he heard was her commanding voice as 6he silenced the wailing women, wom-en, and, feeling somehow very much out of place, he stepped forth into the open. After all, for a man of his build, the open was best. Let the white-handed boys stay with the ladles they understood under-stood their ways. CHAPTER XXII. The superintendent's house stood on a low bench above the town, looking out over all the valley, but protected by a high hill behind, upon the summit of which was placed a mammoth black water tank. In its architecture the casa grande was an exact replica of a hot-country hacienda, a flat-roofed, one-storied square of adobe bricks, whitewashed to keep off the sun and presenting on three sides nothing but dense trees planted near for shade, Along the front was a long arcade, the corredor, graced by a series of massive arches which let in the light and air. Inside were low chambers and long passages; and, behind, the patio and garden of orange and fig trees. Built for a sumptuous dwelling, it became in a moment a fort and, with men on the high hill by the tank, it was practically impregnable to direct assault. As Hooker stepped out on to the covered cov-ered porch with his saddle-gun in his hand he became simply one more of a band of excited Americans, all armed and ready to defend the house to the 'last Some were pacing back and forth In the corredor, others were hurrying up from the Mexican quarters with a last belated handful of women, but the major portion were out on the open bench, either gazing north and south at the scenes of the distant firing or engaging in a curio-mad scramble for any spent bullet that struck. The fighting, such as there was, was mostly up the canyon, where a large party of Sonoran minerB had rushed in pursuit of the rebels. The firing down the canyon In the direction of Old Fortuna For-tuna had died away to nothing, and for the moment it seemed as if the futile charge and retreat was the beginning and the end of the battle. A party of rebels had penetrated clear into the town, but it was apparently appar-ently more by accident than intention, and they had been quick to beat a retreat. re-treat. As for the main command of the insurrectos, they were reported at Chular, six miles up the railroad, where they had surrounded and taken a small mining camp and captured a train at the summit. The column to the south the one which Hooker had encountered had taken to the high hills west of the town, and, along the skyline of the buttellke summits they could now be seen in scattered bands making their way to the north. ' The defenders of Fortuna consisted of a rag-tag garrison of twenty federals fed-erals and the hotheaded, charging miners. But apparently that was a combination hard to beat, for, while the federals entrenched themselves behind be-hind the black tank on the hill and prepared to protect the town, the Sonorans So-norans In shouting masses drove everything every-thing before them and marched on to attack Chular. But In this they made a mistake, for the rebel scouts, seeing the great body of defenders pressing on up the narrow nar-row canyon, rode back and Informed the tricky Bernardo Bravo.' He would be a poor general Indeed who could not see the opening that was offered and, while the valiant Sonorans pursued pur-sued the rebel cavalry up the pass Bernardo Bravo sent the half of his thousand men to cut off their retreat from behind. Along the broad top of the moun tain above they came scampering bj tens and twenties, closing in with a vastly superior force upon the now defenseless town. In the depths of the canyon below the miners were still chasing the elusive cavalry, their firing fir-ing becoming faint as they clambered on toward the summit and the rebel headquarters at Chular. They had, in fact, been handled like children, and the Americans joined in contemptuous curses of their mistaken bravery as they beheld in what straits it had left them. Forbidden by the superintendent to participate in the combat, yet having in their care the women of the camp, they were compelled to stand passively passive-ly aside while rebels by the hundred came charging down the ridges. Only in the last resort, and when all diplomacy diplo-macy and federal defense had failed, would they be allowed to so much as cock a rifle. And yet well, twenty determined Americans might easily turn back this charge. Taking advantage of his Mexican citizenship, Hooker was already on the run for the trenches when the superintendent super-intendent stopped him with a look. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |