The Crosbyton Review. (Crosbyton, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, August 3, 1917 Page: 7 of 8
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--W-
w'«
SET
By REX BEACH
Author of "The Spoiler*," "The Iron
Trailt" "The Silver Horde," Etc.
mvne
smm.
CHAPTER XVII I—Continued.
$&<j ' —18— . . * >*—"'
, Years of experience had taught htm
to be always alert, even during his mo-
te nients of deepest preoccupation, and
so, froip force of habit, when he came
to the purnphouse road he carefully
^ ^fc&nned it. In the dust were "fresh
hoof-prints leading toward the river.
H^Jfow he knew this road to be seldom
"-•used,- and TherSfoce he wondered who
"Tould be riding It at a gallop in this
blistering midday heat. A few rods
farther on and his Suiek eye detected
^StSl^ilie^swwy^eTSjgsrtBgr
brought him from his saddle. Out of
the rut he picked a cigarette bhtt, the
fog of Which was eold hut tl® pa^gr of.
which was still wet from the smoker's
SttjpiS. Me' examined it carefully; then
lie remounted and rode on,*pondering
its significance.
Dave loped out of the thicket and
straight across the clearing to. the
Morales house. Leaving Montrosa's
reins hanging, he opened the. door and
..entered -without knocking. Rosa ap-
peared In the. opening to.another room,
' her eyes 'wide with fright at this ap-
parition. and Dave saw that she was
•dressed ta her flnest, as if for a holiday I
or for a journey.
"Where's your father?" he demanded.
"He's '"gone to Sangre de Cristo.
*VVhat do you want?"
"When did he go?"
"This morning, early. He—"
"Who's been here since he left?".
,; Rosa was recov.eriftg'from her flr§t
and po.W here .black brows
ilrew together in ijinger.'' ""No one has
•come. You are the first. And have
you no manners ^o., stride into a re-
spectable house—?"
Dave broke in harshly: "Rosa, you're
lying.- , Jose Sanchez has been here
. within an hour. Where is he ?" When
the girl only grew Whiter and raised a
hand to her breast, he stepped toward
her, crying,-. "Answer me!"
Rosa recoiled, and the breath caught
In her throat like a sob, "I'll tell you
nothingr' she said tn a thin voice. Then
she began to tremble. .".Why do'you
want Jose?"
«*Y<m know why. He killed Don
iardo, and flheri he rode here. Conie T
as if to retreat, but Dave was too
quick; he seized her, and for an in-
stant they struggled breathlessly.
Dave had reasoned beforehand that
Ins only chance of. discovering any-
thing from -this girl lay in utterly ter-
rorizing her and in profiting by her
first panics therefoVe he pressed his
advantage. He succeeded., bet:
lie had dared to hope.
, "You know who killed Senor Ed," he
orted, fiercely. "The fortune-teller read
your plans, and there is no use. to deny
"it."
~ .Rosa screamed again; she writhed;
. She tried to sink her teeth Into her cap-
s' tor's flesh. In her. body was the
strength, of a full-grown man, and Dave
'. n could hardly hold her. But suddenly,
as the two scuffled, from the back room
of the house came a sound which
caused Dave to relefile^Hie-girl as afi-
'ruptly as he had seized her—it was the
clink and tinkle of Mexican spurs upon
a wooden floor.
CHAPTER XIX.
- L The Water-Cure.
—Without an instant's hesitation- Dave
flung himself past Rosa and through
the Inner door. :
Jose Sanchez root him with a shout;
the shock of thqir collision^pvefljqjre
the lighter man, and the two went
down together, atms and legs Inter-
twined. The horse-breaker fired his
revolver blindly—a deafening explo-
sion inside those four walls—but he
was powerless against his antagonist's
strength arid ferocity. It required but
amoment.fbi'-Lawtomaatcrhlm.to
-wrench the^eapon from his grasp, and
then,, with the. aid of Jose's silk neck-
aaftrf. to bind his wrists tightly.
From the front of the little house
- came the crash of a door violently
slammed as Rosa profited by the diver-
sion to save herself.
' When finally Jose stood, panting and
snarling, his back to the wall, Dave re-
garded him with a sinister contraction
:df.the lips that was almdst a grin. ^
breath, "I see you didn't go to the east
pasture this morning."
' 3o. you want of me?" Jose
managed to gasp. - - . , - ■
- There was a somewhat prolonged
silence, during which Dave continued
to stare at his prisoner with that same
" disquiets vision. ""Why*dld±y$u
kill Doh.Eduardo?'* he asked. "■ >.
"I? Bah! Who says I killed him?"
><• "Why am yeat
■- looking at in®? ComeX Take ine to
Jail, .if you think that will do. 'any
good." - . . - , ' ■
''"H'-s lucky I rode to Las Palrnasjh!
have been, across the Rio Grande—
with Rosa and all her iliie clothes, eh?
how fortune goes." * : ^• . ^.:'"■
The horse-breaker tossed, his head
of indifference; he laughed shortly.
"Yon can tfrtivn nothing." • ■'. '-...
rt'YeSf" continued Dave, "and Rosa
will go to prison, too. Now—suppose
I should let you go? Would you help"
me? In ten-minutes you could be safe."
He inclined his head toward the
muddy, silent river outside. "Would
you be willing to help me?"
Jose's brows lifted. ''What's this
you are saying?" he inquired, eagerly.
"I Would only ask you a few ques-
tions."
"W.hat.questions?"
JiWhere is Senora Austin?" ' '
Jose's face became blank. "I don't
know."
Oh yes, you do. She started for La
Feria. But—did she get there? Or did
Longorio have other plans for her?
You'd better tell me the truthk for
your general can't help,you now." Dave
did his best to read the Mexican's ex-
pression,- but failed. "Senor Ed's death
means nothing to --lae." he • went on. jta-againat his agonizinglTfe'ars fjoi^
Alaire's safety. Had he in the least
doubted Jose's guilty knowledge of
"but I must know where his wife Is.
and I'm willing to pay, with your lib-
erty*
was plain. '.^
Jose exclaimed:
Ho! 1 under-
stand. He wasjjj your way and you're
glad to be rid of "him, Well, we have
no business fighting with each other."
"Will you toll me—?"
"I'll tell you "nothing, for I kaow
nothing." '
"Come! I must know."
Jose;.laughed insolently.
Law's face became black with sud-
den fury. . His teeth bared themselves.
He took a step forward, crying:
"By heaven! You will tell me!"
Seizing his prisoner by the throat, he
pinned him to the wall; then with his
free hand he cocked. ,Lo,mg o r i o' s re-
VOlVeTt<and thrust itSj muzzle against
Jose's body. "Tell me!" he repeated.
His countenance was so distorted, his
expression so maniacal, that Jose felt
his hour had come. The latter, being
in all ways Mexican, did not struggle;
instead, Tie squared his shoulders and,
staring -fearlessly into the face above
him, cried :
"Shoot!" .
1 For a moment the two men remained
so ; then Dave seemed to regain control
of himself and-the murder light flick-
ered out of his eyes. He flung his pris-
oner aside and cast the revolver into
a corner of the room.
. Jose picked himself up, cursing his
captor eloquently. "You gringos don't
know how to die," he said. "Death?
Pah ! We must die some time. Aqd
supposing I do know~something, abqqt
the senora, do you think you can force
me to speak? Torture wouldn't open
my lips."
Law did not trust himself to reply;
and the horse-breaker Went on with
growing defiance:
"I am Innocent of any crime; there-
fore I am brave. But you—the blood
of innocent men means nothing to you
—Panfllo*s murder proves that—so
, I know everything."
"Lies! Lies I" Rosa's voice grew
shrill. "Out of,this house! I know
you. It was you Who betrayed Panfiio,
and. his blood Is on your hands, as- , „„ , , „ m
r!"'Withthelast:word.sh&.made4^WDBlete^Q^W0ri£- Make,_anf^iwLA£,}^lils;-
' ' . •. —fast— me." - ■ ? . . •
"Be still!" Dave commanded, thickly.
But the fellow's hatred was out of
bounds now, and by the bitterness .of
his vituperation he seemed to -invite
death. Dave interrupted^ his vitriolic
curses to ask harshly:
"Will you tell me, or Will you-force
e
Jose answered by spitting at his cap-
tor ; then he gritted an unspeakable
epithet from between his teeth.
- Dave addressed him with an air of
finality. "You killed that man and
your life is forfeit, "so ft doesn't make
much difference whether I take it or
whether the state takes It. You are
brave enough to die—most 6f you Mexi-
cans are—but the state can't force you
SfeAircW
A/alcwIWCJ
"Shoot."
to speak, and I can." Jose sneered!;
•"Oh yes, I can ! I intend to know all
that you know, and it wlll be. better
for you to tell me voluntarily. I musT
learn where Senora. Austin Is, and/I
must learn quickly, if I have to kill you
by Inches to get the truth."
—-Tor4uFe,-eh?Good.—I-ean-bCN^
lieve It of you. Well, a slow fire will
not make me speak."9
"No. A fire would be toa, easy, Jose."
"Eh?"
Without answer Dave strode out of
the room.. He was back before his
at-his bonds,'and with him he brought
1bils4arlat and his canteen.
"What are you going to do?" Jose in-
more at bay.
'.'I'm going to give you a drink,"
ilsky? You think you can make
ik?" The horae-breaker laughedr
but anpasily.
"Kot whisky ; water.' friBr going to
give you a drink of water."
. L''What capers!": ' „
"Wh^n you've "drahk enbugh you'll
tell me why you killed your employer
h^s tiikeh
his wife. Ye?, . and everything else'I
to 'flelgtog, (he amu^twl
Mexican, Dave flung him upon Mo-
rales' hard Jboard bench, and in spite of
the fellow's struggles deftly made him
fast. . When he had finished—and it
was no easy job—Jose lay "spread-
eagled" upon his back, his wrists and
ankles firmly bound to the corners and
foot posts, his body secured by a tight
loop over his waist. The rope cut
painfully ab'cLbrought a curse from the
prisoner when iie strained at it. Law
sarfreyed stone.
"I" don't want tcTdcT this," he de-
clared, %ut I know ypur kind. I give
you one more chance. Will you tell
me?"
Jose'-.drew htB Hps back in a snarl of
rage and pain, and Dave realized that
farther words were useless. He felt, a
certain pity for his victfm and no little
admiration' for his courage, but such
feelings were of small consequence s
«<a a trnnirincr ^cJo ra -f r r ~ «=-.
.Msiteted^JBefor^em
barous, measures he had in mind, but—
there was nothing else for "it.-He.pulled'
the canteen cork and jammed the
mouthpiece firmly to Jose's lips. Clos-
ing the fellow's nostrils with his free
hand,-he forced him to drink.
Jose clenched his teeth, he tried to
roll his head, he held his breath ui-til
his lace grew purple and his eyes
bulged. He strained like a man upon
the rack. The bench creaked to „&is
muscular contortions f the rope-tight-
ened. It was terribly cruel, this' crush-
Lng of a strorig-rwilt bent on resistance*
'tb~lEe~uffen#osl; "but never was an
executioner more pitiless, never ..did a
prisoner's agony receive", less consid-
eration. The warm water spilled" qyer
Jose's face, it drenched his neck and
chest; his joints creaked as he strove
for freedom and tried to twist his head
out of Law's iron grasp. The seconds
dragged, until finally nature asserted
herself. The imprisoned breath burst
forth; there sounded a loud gurgling
cry and a choking inhalation. Jose's
body writhed with, the convulsions of
drowning as ;the water and air were
sucked into his lungs. -Law was k&eel-
ing over his victim now, his weight .arid
strength so applied that.. Jose had no
liberty of actlon"_and could only drink,
coughing and fighting for air:. Swfiip-
how lie managed to - revive himself
briefly and agafn shut his teeth; but*
a mo,ment 'more and he was again
retched with the furious battle for air,
more desperate now than before. After
a while Law freed his victim's nostrils
and allowed him a partial breath, then
once more crushed the mouthpiece
against Ills lips. By and by, to relieve
his torture, Jose beghn to drink in
great noisy gulps, striving tos empty
the vessel.
But the stomach's capacity is "lim-
ited. In time Jose felt himself burst-
ing; the liquid began to regurgitate.
W/gm j i ii ui in
terror—a terror too awful to be jen*
-dttf*$d+^rad ■ Sip^" """T"
^He was; no longer th« insolent detfer,
■■ ^ r . : , -
wretch, whose last powers-of,/
ance had been completely shattered.
His:ft4ghteut^^
devilish vessel in which his manhood,
had dfssOlved, the fear of' itjmade e
Woxiiah of hiiii. ' I ~ '
'Slowly, in sighs and whimpers, in
agonies of reluctanqe, hi§ story ciime-;
his words were rendered, almost incom-
prehensible by his abysmal fright.
When he had purged himself of his
secret Dave promptly unbound bTfiJ&l
then leaving him more than half dead,
lie went to the telephony which con-
ihj^pumping: s|atioo^ith- Las
Palmas and called tig' the. ranch.
He was surprised when Blaze Jofles
answered. Blaze, it seemed, liad just
arrived, summoned by news of the
tragedy. The countryside had been
alarmed and a search for Ed Austin's
slayer was being organized.
"Call it off," Da'Ve told him. "I've
got your man." Blaze stuttered his
surprise and incredulity^ "I ineaa it-
Itls Jose Sal&he£,Yaiui he*^'aS""ci5ii-'
fessed. I want you to come here,
quick I and
mind. I need your help.'*
his automobile inta^the clearing beside-
the river, and, leaving his motor run-
ning, leaped^ from, the car.
Dave met him at the door of. the
Morales hfiuse and briefly told him the,o
story of Jose'd capture.
"Say! That's quick work," the
rancher cried, iadmlringly.. "Why, Ed
ain't cold yet! You gaVe him the "war
11
■ i
jnt v m ]
1
f.
TMlto fJ
YAlU/V
II fik.it
WWwM
ESTABLISHED VOGUE FOR SUMMER FURS.
variety.
fefed, but the ultimate nightmare hor-
ror of death more awful thaD anything
he had ever {magined. Jose would
have met a bullet, a knife, a lash, with-
out flinching; flames would not have
served to weaken his resolve; but this
s 1 oivj.,.,^1 rowning*'*was infinitely worse
than, the •"'Worst he had thought, pos-
si'
black, agonizing minutes. Every nerve
and muscle of his body, every ceil in
his bursting-lungs, fought against the
outrage in a purely physical frenzy
over which his will power had no con-
trol. Nor would .insensibility come to
his relief—Law watched him too Care-
fully for that. lie could not- even v.oice
his sufferings by shrieks ; he eouhl only
writhe and retch and gurgle while the
ropeflbit Into his fleSh and his captor
knelt upon him like a nionstrous stone
weight.
But Jose had made a better fight
than he knew. The canteen ran,dry at
last, and DSw was forced to releaUe his
hafdf—
"Will j^ou speak?" he demanded.
Thinking that he had come safely
through the ordeal, Jose shook his
head ; he. rolled his bulging, bloodshot
eyes and vomited, then'managed to call
God to witness his Innocence.
Dave went into the next room and
refilled the cantefen. When lie re-
appeared with the dripping vessel in
his hand; Jose tried to scream. But
his throat was torn, and strained; the
sound of his own voice frightened him.
Once more the torment began. The
tortured man was weaker now, and in
but not until he was less than half con-
sclous did Law spare 'him to recover.
Jose lay sick, frightened, inert. Dave
•watched him without pity. The fel-
low's wrists were black and swollen,
his Hps were bleeding; he was
Stretched like a dumb animal upon the
vlvisectlohist's table, and no surgeon
with lance and scalpel could have
shown less emotion than did his In-
quisitor. Having no intention of de-
feating his own ends, Dave rillowed his
-victim ample time in which to regain
Tils ability to suffer,
Alaire Austin had beea_rjgiit, when
she said that Dave might be ruthless;
and yet the 'matt was by no tne&ns In-
capable of compassion. At thepreaettt
moment, however, he considered him-
Belf simply as the Instrument by which
"Washington won't do anything.
. ... mnAiioh — Whatcad b^ donewhen there are tbou-
I -AJalre was to be saved. Ills own feel- sands of American women In the same
ingS had nothing to do with,the. mat-'
ter; neither-had the sufferings of this
Mexican. Therefore he steeled himself
Once again he put his question, and,
again receiving deflatlce> jammed the
canteen between:Josefs teeth. ■
< But human nature is weak. For •" > .
Slowly, in Sighs and Whimpersf SHeo
of Reluctance, His Story Came.
ter-cure,' eh? Now I reckoned It woulcj
take more than water to make a Mexi-
can talk."
"Josejwas hired for the work: he
laid for Ed Austin in th« pecan grove
and shot hini as be passed."
"Hired! Why this hombre needs
quick hangin', don't he? t told.'em at
Las Palmas that you'd rounded up the
guilty party, so I reckon they'll be here
in a few minutes. We'll just stretch
this horse-wrangler, and save the-coun-
ty some expense." Law .shrugged. "Do
What you like with" him, but—it isn't
necessary. He'll confess in regulation
fonni, I'm sure. I ha^i to work fast ti
learn what became of Mfts. Austin."
"Miz Austin? What's happened t .
Iter?"
Dave's voice changed; there was g.
sudden quickening of bis., words.
"They've got her, Blaze. They waited
until they had her safe before they
killed Ed." „.
'>'They?' Who are... you talkin'
about?"
"I mean Longorio and his outfit. He's
got her over yonder." Dave flung out
a trembling hand toward the river.
Seeing that his hearer failed to com-
prehend, he explained, swiftly : "He's
crazy about her—got one of those
Mexican infatuations—and you know
what that means. He couldn't steal
her from Las Palmas—.she wouldn't
have anything to do witn him—so he
used that old cattle deal'as an excuse
to get her across the border. Then he
put Ed out of the way^- She went of
her own accord, and she didn't tell
Austin, because they were having
trouble. She's gone to La Feria, Blaze."
"La Feria! Then she's in for It."
Dave nodded his agreement; for the
first time Blaze noted how white and
set , was his friend's face.
was coming," Dave went on. "That
country's aflame'; Americans aren't
safe over there. If war is declared, a
good many of them will never be heard
from. He knows that. He's got her
safe.' She can't get "out." v
Blaze-was very grave when next he
spoke. "Dave, this is bad—bad. I
can't understand what made her go.
Why, she must have beefi' ^ut of her
head. But we've'got to do something.
The vogue of summer furs appears
to be established .and the globe-trot-'
flng public is probably responsible for
it. The whereabouts of those who
finally make fashions appear to be de-
termined by the variations of the
thermometer and. these fleet and fleet-
ing seekers after comfort and change,
carry"their furs with them to the four
corners of the glebe. While we are
looking for reasons for wearing furs
in summer weather we are not to over-
look tlje fact that they are-amazingly
becoming. - ^
But furriers have seen to It that fur
garments for summer wear look Very
different from fur garments for Win-
ter wear. Summer furs borrow a sum-
i-mery look from crepe and silk liberal-
ly, used in combination with them.
They do not fake the business of pro-
^Bteiggwanittn m all serlnusly-but %rr
made up usually In small, loose-hang-
ing capos, worn as if slipping off the
shoulders. Scraps of white fox fur-
nish one instance of a fur piece good
for both summer and winter wear and
scarfs in dark gray taupe, appear
among summer furs that will be use-
ful in winter.
of Hudson seal trimmed with ermine,
lead the little procession of summer
furs and, next to them, capes of
It f's so very dark that It la •
really blue-lilack and the combination
Is the most reserved and elegant thing '
in mdrtai eyes.
The big.black hat knows nothing
warning favor, either for summer or
>vinter. One of the pretty and simple1 i
summer models is shown In the pic*
ture. It Is of black satin with a wide
border of fancy h'alrbraid about the- - ; -
edge which fs b'ouqd with satin. A jPfSfBfj
long sweep of slender feathers and a r *-• i^SSa
little ejnplacement of ribbon tnake a
trimming exactly suited to the " "'—
A large and plctiiresque" liat is of ,
white georgette cr^pe with a border
about the brim and crown of narrow
mllan btaid. White...satin camellias
and little white roses are wreath&l"
about the crown, with the small rosea
Th6 "clilc siuall hat of white r\~;
georgette, faced with black velvet and
finished with a border of white feath-
ers about the -upstanding brim IS as
cool and crisp as frost. It is a late
summer hat of the kind that may be
worn at almost any time and any-
where. ■ - :
For sports and outlngBf-Eough stray . j ■'
aTrors^tn' ifrTgli rand <^1 vid colors are ,-~~T
candidates for favor that are sure t®
win. Along with them appear,sqft.^ejl-: "
U£M
' —
mm
r« ^ m
quisite felts in wonderful shades of _
We've got to burn the wires to M'fehli-
ington—yes, and to Mevico City. We
must jsrpt the government to send sol-
diers after her. What have we got 'era
for, anyhow?" .;. ^ '-.-r 111
danger? What steps can the govern-
ment take with diplomatic relations
suspended? iThqse greasers arfe fllUng
flPO BE CON
Bggar « -
.. ..... ... ■. - -.
MILL IN E R Y IN BLACK AND WHl TE.
shirred silk or crepe banded with furs
are conceded, the place of honor. Of
course not everything that calls Itself
ermine Is really ermine, nor need we
Inquire too closely Into the pedigree
'3f all the tteck pieces that areTailed
white fox; furriers are amassingly clev^
er people. Imitations of, white fox are
especially effective and there with
small capes like those* shown in the
Illustration are Inexpensive little lux2-
uries that no one will begrudge the
.summer; girl.
July and August j sunuAer .Is'
crowned' with millinery Jh black, and
white. The reli^ft Of
:l|3ha£e<i| ,#«>' thi
with the cool
white com:
dark
VfiBi'b
substitute
ail-blagk hat
te-hat^an<
bi&ck iiii
the-hew colors, t^fmed
rosettes of ribbon,- in our
the most elegant type..
p *
Pock^te and f*|:
• One of the • attractive -^AliiaMMB
jaRai""of• silk, shows two. deep pockets ,
hanging
hip. This girdle Is yrfde, and the
it topSj| made.
litis one of those
at adds quite
vltb whic'i st
developed in sflfc
or cotton or'linen tub*
ground of which''
it -'"v-
"... ■; ...... .. ' • ■. .
■ - . ■■■ ' T . .. .. ...... ... . .... „ ....... . .• ,.f . . /
/'■ ---•. .T ' ■ ■•' • .. ■ - - . - 7. -
-"t-" -- . >—- • " .' - T:: •
. ■ . . - ■ - ... -v .. -■
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Buck, James T. The Crosbyton Review. (Crosbyton, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, August 3, 1917, newspaper, August 3, 1917; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth242401/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Crosby County Public Library.