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Show A fThe I ; BLADE of PICARDY By fred Mclaughlin Copyright by The nobbs-MorrlU Co. W. N. U. Sorvlc I forced my fulling fucull ios to the utmost, fur I must reach the shelter of the woodland before the nlghf had one. North of Coyoncnn I left the fund nnd took to the fields as the clouds broke awny and the rain leased nnd a deep purple sky with Its pinpoints of sprinkling stars be-jan be-jan to show. As the night waned, and the gray 0( dawn began to fill the world. I climbed through fields of small grain and of hay, through orchards, and "L over a double line of low pomegran-te pomegran-te trees, where I filled my pockets irltli the questionably edible and exotic ex-otic fruit Reaching the shelter of the timber at last I dropped to the soft blanket of needles under a giant pine tree, and, lying exhausted, hopeless hope-less a prey to bitter defeat and dls- t couragement I watched the sun come up over the smoke-plumed crest of Popocatepetl, and I listened to the gentle chimes of the bells of San AngeL And lying thus, fatigue exacted Its toll, and I slept. When I awoke the son had gone and the moon had come again. My garments were dry, a bitter bit-ter cold possessed me, and the pangs of a great hunger made me forget until I tried to arise the pain of a rounded shoulder. The pomegranates accorded me an hour of labor and slight appeasement of my appetite; then I sat and looked upon a moon-; moon-; bathed world. I bad, at least, another day of liberty, lib-erty, and the timbered fastnesses would be my refuge. In his dubiously dubious-ly dual role of Imperialist and Liberal, Liber-al, Lopez, I knew, would seek me through the channels of both armies, would turn the heart of every man against me. I would be, in very truth, an shmael of the mountains. Well, I could wait, I could fight, if necessary and I could hope; so I turned my face toward the south. To one who knows the woods many channels chan-nels for obtaining food are open. Clev. erly concealed between the scales of the pine cone are tasty and nutritious ,nuts, walnuts and pecan trees abound In the plateau area, and berries of a dozen kinds are everywhere. So the days passed unnoticed. At first I moved only In the night, sleep-! sleep-! Ing by day, but, learning the ways of the woods, I became more bold. Two weeks and more had gone, and I had not seen a man. Gradually the peace ! of the great forest entered my soul ; j away from man I became less of man, and more a creature of the ennobling I forces of nature. And as my mind hecame attuned to nature's moods 1 I ceased to be a hunted thing. I took I on a new identity. The hatred that ; had filled my heart mellowed, and was forgotten ; the wrongs that men had visited upon me seemed things of Insignificance; my love for the Senor-Ita Senor-Ita Arrellanos purified until it became be-came the sacred sort of worship that mortals offer up to saints. As the days went by, another problem prob-lem offered itself for solution. My wounded shoulder, Instead of healing, had taken a sudden evil turn. Fever spread along my arm and through my chest until the pain was such that sleep was impossible. My arm assumed as-sumed a size twice its normal pro-Portion; pro-Portion; periods of faintness nnd semiconsciousness came on, during which the sun went out and the earth billowed like the sea, and the giant trees wavered drunkenly. I cried out In my agony, stumbling blindly H through the forest: falling exhausted and unconscious, then, when the spoil LJ had passed, arising and driving on again ; moving because I could not ,. rpst- and resting when I could not V no move' 0f fO0(J 1 had none; tne lnb0' 1 and Ingenuity required to get it were beyond me. iff'' Then, one day when the sun was teaS blgb and the faint music of the bells igjitf' ot Cuernavaca came to me, I realized that I was going to die, and I deter- i mined regardless of the cost to 'fflPl 1 8eek my own kInd a?aIn- Turning lll J my face toward the sound of the bells i I made my way as straight as any Ml;! other benst of the forest might have itisiii, done. 1 droppea, exhausted, at the base i of a mighty cedar, and looked out over the Cuernavaca valley. A pound- fg 01 u' t lng as of the hoofs of many horses otii ! came to me' arjd I sighed, feeling sure W i that this was only in my head. Now the mingling sounds of voices reached Bs' i fy ears laughter and snatches of , 80nS- I knew this could be no figment tfl1 i of my fevered brain, so I dragged my 9llJ' wretched body around the tree until i th great trunk might hide me from ,, hy one who should ride by. jpfi i From the noise they made 1 Judged ' rfi that there were six or eight horse- n 1 1 Jl n- They stopped opposite my hid- J; lng-plaee, and, although I had started j out to seek my own kind, I was filled ,1 w'th terror lest they find me. j ij "Here's a good place to tack him ri J UP," said a deep voice in French. 1 heard the light swift tapping ot a Iminmer against a tree, una tlle party rodo on. Now 1 crept out of my refuse and Ix'I'Hng to the tree for support, raised my eyes to greet my own picture Iremhllng, renJ the prIlU1 be neath tho reproduction of my face. I was wanted for murder, nnd a reward re-ward of one thousand pesos was offered of-fered fr ,0 dead or alive. All and sundry were warned that an oiler of "Id to me would constitute a crime against the Empire, punishable by l'th. It was signed by Colonel Mig-";' Mig-";' l.Poz-for his majesty, Maxl-nilluui. Maxl-nilluui. The whisper of wheels and light thud of a trotting horse broke upon I slipped Into the bushes across Hie mud and waited. A familiar calico" pony came in sight, drawing n light, two-wheeled cart. Upon the narrow sent sat two people, a broad Holding to the Tree for Support, Raised My Eyes to Greet My Own Picture. shouldered Indian and a slim little figure In brown. My heart gave a leap of joy when I saw them, for it was Pasquai and his lovely little Dolores! Opposite the picture Pasquai pulled the horse to a standstill. Dolores gave a little gasp of happiness. "It is Pancho, Pasquai mio is it not?" "Yes,'' said Pasquai solemnly, "it is Pancho. He was in the service of the French, he has killed another French officer, and they seek him so that they may try him for murder. It says there is a thousand pesos to be paid any one who captures him." She pressed slim hands across her breast. - "But, Pasquai, did he tell you that he served the French?" "He did not," said the Indian. Pas-qual's Pas-qual's face was a study. "Yet he did not tell me that he didn't serve the French." In his earnest honest heart Pasquai was-trylng to be fair. Now, watching the face of this, my friend, I felt a vast regret that I had ' tricked him so grievously; and, as I had determined to surrender, I knew that I could not have found a man who might better use that thousand pesos, so, parting the bushes, I stepped into the road and stood beside be-side the cart. Dolores cried out In fear for I must have appeared a terrible being and Pasquai .put an arm around her shoulders. There was no fear in the Indian's face. "What is It?" he asked. "Ah, Pasquai," said I, with a hopeless hope-less attempt at smiling, "Is this Sunday?" Sun-day?" "Sunday?" His dark eyes bored Into In-to me. Aye that you should take Dolores for a ride?" "Por Dios," she gasped, "it Is Pancho!" "Senor," said Pasquai, "ah senor!" With great labor I tore the damning damn-ing placard from the "tree and, folding fold-ing it carefully, proffered It to Pasquai. Pas-quai. "I have played an evil piece of deception upon you, my friend, and you offered your life In my service." I held to the wheel of the cart to keep from falling, for I was very weak indeed. "You deserve some reward re-ward and I deserve some punishment. If you deliver me to Colonel Lama-drid Lama-drid at the Cuernavaca garrison he will see to it that you receive a thousand thou-sand pesos." "And they will bring you up before the court for murder, senor?" "They will; they will hang me, Pasquai, Pas-quai, but it makes no difference, my friend, for I am dying anyway." "Oh !" cried Dolores.. "But you have been my friend, senor, and friendship cannot be bought nor sold." "Yet a thousand pesos, Pasquai, is a thousand pesos, and you might do much with it Besides, I intended to surrender." "It is nothing, Pancho," said Dolores Do-lores softly, "a thousand pesos is nothing." Yet that amount of money, In a land where the wage of a man is less than half a peso a day, was a fortune. . -Do you mean-r I cried, aghast. "If you are sick, senor," said Pascal Pas-cal "or wounded, we will take you in and care for you, because we love you- but there is not silver enough in ail these hills to make us give you over to the French." Now my weakness overcame me, their faces disappeared in a mist of tears and, reaching out blindly, I ound their friendly hands and held to them as darkness descended upon up-on me. . . (To be continued next week.) |