Show r By FRANK H. SPEARMAN Franl H. SP SYNOPSIS Don Spanish owner oi Southern California refuses to heed several warnings of a raid by a band of Sierra One day he has finally decided to the protection of the nearby mission for his wife and the Indians Don Alfredo Is killed and his two young daughters arc torn from the arms of the family's faithful and are carried away to the Padre missionary friend of the arrives at the ruins of the ranch and learns the story of the raid from a trying and difficult trip across the plains and mountains from Texas to youthful Henry a Texas with his Ben and an Indian sight the party of Indians who have carried oil the two little girls The three attack the war party of fifty-odd Indians and through a clever scatter the savages to the The girls are The group makes Its way out of the hills and meets the distraught the children's The girls are left with Monica and the friendly Padre at a and the Texans proceed to Here Bowie completes his business for Sam Houston of who has commissioned him to deliver an Important message Bowie decides to have a look at the wild untamed country that California was in the middle Nineteenth Bowie disappears from California but returns eight years later and makes the of a friendly Spanish family the Rancho He Is attracted by the lovely daughter of Don the rancho's Bowie saves Don Ramon's life In a fierce fight with a huge grizzly CHAPTER VI Continued 7 But Pedro dared take no His horse was and he knew the deadly danger of a wounded Casting a hasty glance at who lay on his he urged his frightened horse closer to the monster of the The vaquero eyed the beast narrowly while he rode his kicking and around him until he caught sight of the handle of a bowie knife sunk to the hilt between the ribs under the left The grizzly lay quite Hastening to Pedro slipped from his horse to examine Dust-covered and the Texan lay in a rapidly widening pool of his own His heart was beating and giving hurried orders to his raised the unconscious man in his pushed up from one car n flap of scalp torn from Bowie's shouting for plastered the dry spores as best he could over the unconscious man's shoulders and CHAPTER VII woke in- bed to see a tall bald man in the brown woolen habit of a Franciscan padre sitting in a chair beside him and eying him with a suspicion of a As Bowie opened his eyes the padre raised the forefinger of his right hand and laid it across his own lips as if to enjoin no he said in a low sympathetic words from you for some time I want to see some nourishment for you before you expend any strength you left most of in the he in know what you want to You were brought back to the ranch given up for When they sent for me at the mission I is this A mangled by a they told I And when they assured me you I I Texan is not I have seen many men tom by but the Texan outlasts the I say to you few words and on your back till we can get more blood coursing through your Bowie lay so utterly weak he could hardly find but speak be he breathing with the bear is dead I want my My he repeated with an my For answer the Franciscan turned to the bureau in the took from it the long knife and the Colt have been cared as you But I advise you to rest up for at least three months before you resume a grizzly That a remarked the holding up the bowie knife for interested did you get blade was made from a blacksmith's returned Bowie with a trace of pride in his calls for a long strong arm to wield mused the Don Francisco entered the room on He greeted Bowie he to God that you are Tell what happened In that The padre put up his is too weak to in a few begged Don a few responded Bowie had more or less of a dc exclaimed Don would call it more than Mess of a Pedro has nev-er seen so big a bear not in all his he truly But you must know Padre He has been our We had none else to call Doane was In Santa Doctors arc scarce In very We feared you would die from all the blood you lost But Padre Mar who graduated a surgeon In Spain before he became a came quickly to our aid and you Bowie weakly acknowledged his obligation by pressing the hand of Padre who sat beside his and the padre silenced Don Francisco by waving him out of the room and then following At the door he encountered Don Ramon Just coming to speak to Bowie in matter of to apologize for exposing his guest's life to such Don Ramon brought back his nephew Francisco for a few exclaimed Don he saved my I at thank who In the everyday course of the life of a frontiersman would not have looked on his narrow escape as an extraordinary found himself the hero of the and shining in the penumbra of his prestige and though secretly elated at the put on airs of Indifference among the va-queros to intimate that where they came from such incidents were everyday The days went almost for an active man like Dona realizing that her husband's life had been spared through the diversion of the bear's was unremitting In her solicitude for the Texan's And when he was ready to sit Carmen sent flowers and a Chinese confection to During the Impatient days that Bowie had one faithful Don Francisco spent hours at his bedside and entertained him with stories of California and of his the Bowie was a good One day while Don Francisco sat with Bowie a jar of Canton ginger was sent In with the compliments of assuming such indifference as he could asked why Carmen wore had a Don Ramon de He had a twin brother Now if you are an admirer of General Don Francisco Interrupted himself to would not like to hear said nothing to one day this took a boat at Yerba Buena to row over to San RafaeL They wanted to see Fremont about getting pay for a bunch of steers his men had taken from the De Haro They took with them an old Don Jose de to The three men landed at San and when they were seen by Fremont he detailed three to meet them and kill echoed continued Don of these three men sent by Fremont was his Kit before he set asked Fremont whether he should take these three Fremont got no room for and his two men dismounted about fifty yards from the De Haro boys and who were walking up the covering them with deliberately shot the Bowie tightened up a that the kind of a man Fremont he for returned Don Francisco For a moment Bowie made no heard some tough stories about he said nothing to equal buried the boys fine young fellows and poor You can imagine how Carmen was Don Ramon she were what you but they were deeply In I really believe if she could have got hold of Fremont she would have strangled No wonder she hates Bowie's padre came When the danger had passed he confessed he had greatly feared I should have known he said one are strong You may be discharged from my let us sec It is four You are a lucky Senor What will you do This was the question that was being asked in the Estrada After prolonged discussions in which Padre Martinez was consulted Don Ramon spoke to have come to California to You mean to go to Join Captain I have something If you will become major-domo of Rancho Guadalupe I will make you a rich Bowie thanked Don Ramon but shook his would rather be Don I have always been A Texan just naturally hates to be tied I want to see more of this It Is very And who I might be called back to Don Ramon did not press his you you arc always with your at And If you honor us again with your company I shall be careful not to lead you Into any more bear You have saved my As the last day of his stay Bowie began to wonder whether he should catch a final glimpse of the young girl who had occupied his thoughts so much since coming to the She had been visiting In Monterey and came home the night before Bowie and his scouts took their The scene In the morning as the trio made ready to mount their horses was a lovely The sun had broken into flame above the eastern Sierras and flung its billows of gold over the They livened the spreading green of the pepper trees and brightened the pink tips of the burgeoning The family were grouped After good-bys to Don Ramon and the Carmen came with her cousin Francisco for to thank Bowie for the Bowie yielded to an Impulse and stepped up to Carmen to thank her for the Canton I can't take It with I have left It In the car of Don he was most kind of he while Don Francisco think of the stranger within the I shall not forget He watched her narrowly as Don Francisco repeated his but her manner was her smile Yet at the end as he turned away he perhaps that a faint flush crept Into her ever I am happy enough to revisit Guadalupe remarked as he rode shall certainly have learned to speak In I won't come back till I He kept his They heard from him at For months after the Texan had ridden away there came from almost choice bits of game from Bowie saddles of venison and Canadian mallard ducks not from the of the silver-tipped Of these there were always soft tanned and deep for the Dona and her Texan has the Instincts of a observed Don Ramon at one he exaggerates in his mind the slight hospitality we have been able to extend to him and his Nor docs he forget Padre for Pedro tells me that Santa Clara receives much courtesy from him not alone In gifts of but so Pedro says he and have helped the padres recover horses and sometimes driven oil by thieving Indians are growing constantly Don said his nephew hear it on every They raid our neighbors Soon they will be after our and Stanislaus long ago taught them They need to be driven out of these undertake it Don remarked his who knew his my you will see them give us trouble if they are not taught a Don Francisco proved too good a prophet The horse-stealing Indians did grow Their depredations and they raided the big ranchos with less fear of Every young Californian along the foothills was They demanded something be done by the soldiers at the mission or the But the authorities were indolent Following minor depredations at Rancho the ran one dark every saddle horse on the Don Jose Martinez and his son had to borrow horses from Don Ramon at The neighbors were They organized a party set out to recover the horses and chastise the Don Francisco of Guadalupe was chosen The posse was in the saddle early next and two tracked the marauders through the hills to a canyon in the mountains toward they charged the Indians in a surprise It was made too the red scattering at the onslaught of the sent back a cloud of arrows at their Pedro and his took advantage of the sudden confusion of the warriors to run the stolen horses out of the canyon and head them downhill for For a time the brush was but there were too many Don Francisco called a and the slowly retired from the As the leader of his little Don Francisco was the last to wheel from the scene of The youngster was fearless beyond his as he after his an arrow struck him between the For a moment he swayed In his but before he had galloped a hundred striving to cling to his he pitched forward headlong to the A score of Indian horsemen In hot pursuit yelled in triumph at he His companions turned to attempt a But the fighting line of pursuers had already passed the fallen and the pitifully few were driven back without being able to save their youthful The duty of Informing Don Ramon of the capture of his nephew was put upon Don eld-est of the young Hat In he headed his companions Into the living The family there Don Dona Maria and No sooner had Don spoken than all seemed to grasp the dread tidings at Don Ramon into a Dona Maria burst into and ghastly Like wildfire the bad news spread to the servant that night was a house of It was midnight when a clattering of hoofs was heard in the living was still trying to comfort her Don Ramon sat gazing Into the dying He had smoked a final cigar and given himself over to painful At the sound of horsemen he stirred answering a rapping on the rose to his feet Don Ramon thought some of the neighbors had The visitor strode somewhat forward and spoke easily In do not remember Don It Is more than a year since I have seen I am Henry the The Don's gloomy features he could be more I am only sorry that you find us grief Bowie raised his is why I am The bad news reached me in Monterey tonight I came down the river this morning with and bringing a batch of They are with And I came at once to offer any help that I can to my Don Francisco and Don Ramon recounted briefly the tragedy and said the rancheros were waiting for daybreak to assemble for tell me that Pedro was with May I go to the vaquero quarters to speak with He will come tell Pepita to call When the sleepy-eyed vaquero appeared Bowie plied him with rapid Don Ramon impressed by the ease with which Bowie step by the fatal fight It was almost as If he had been CHAPTER VIII say you can find the canyon In the you think you know the led I know Bowie turned to Don seems sure he can find the ground of the fight We will start at might easily go wrong on a night like It is raining Bowie shook his hour is precious if Don Francisco is The Indians will not kill their prisoner before Since they drove off the they may have remained in the about men are well see that your have carbines with plenty of dry hatchets and Bowie spoke His eagerness to get started was most In the vaquero quarter and who had gone to were roused with the vaqueros picked for the rescue Under the conditions it was not possible to go fast after the beaten trail was left Yet Bowie was keenly anxious to make The party halted for a moment while Pedro took his want to get to the canyon by said on whenever you are sure you're But be careful not to get lost Except for I like the rainy night The others of the party were cautioned to stick close to make no noise and not to attempt to light The faintest light of penetrating the leaden sky and the driving found the rescuers riding fast They reached the canyon entrance an hour but the high walls shut out the added daylight and utmost caution was used In threading the winding Pedro suddenly halted and waited for to come is the ho pointing to a sharp rock that jutted well up from the canyon fight was we'd better scout ahead a way to look for We'll go on He spoke to and and I will work he boys Keep your priming pans The horses were left with the and the four stole forward on foot BE |