The Pearsall Leader (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, December 11, 1914 Page: 3 of 8
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THE PEARSALL LEADER, PEARSALL, TE£AS
Broken Promises
By DANE COOUDGE
Author of
"The Fish tins Fool”
"Hidden Water*'*
"The Texican, " Etc.
Illustration* by Don J.Lavin
+. W Ruk A. Muoscy) §
oi! Even as he washed out the
gold Phil’s mind wandered far away,
back to the hotel where Gracia Ara-
gon sat watching by the window.
Her hair was the color of gold, 6pun
me and refined again; yes, it was
orth more than this golden dross
that he caught In the bottom of his
pan. And what was gold if he could
not have her?
He paused in his labor and a dreamy
mile parted his lips—then he broke
Into a! song:
"•ve-et honey bee, be sweet to me.
My heart is free, but here's the key:
’•ock up the garden gate; honey, you
know I’ll wait.
Cnder the rambler rose tree-ee. ~
Once more he returned to his work,
bumming now the dulcet strains of
V Merry Widow,” and when Bud
came back from the cut it was to hear
j a coon song: -,
' 'os I want yer, me honey, yes, I want
yer, want yer:
’ os I want yer, ma honey, yes I do!
Ho he labored and sang, until finally
the labor ceased, and then the song.
He .vent about other things, and other
'h oughts, not so cheerful, filled his
mind. u
Bud, returned sadly to the company
: the Yaqui and gave it up. Perhaps
is pardner had been right when, rid-
out of Agua Negra, he had en-
d upon the dangers of Old Mex-
“the land of manana and broken
-onuses.” Certainly hie speech had
prophetic in regard to dark-eyed
. eru for, even as he had said,
Ping seemed to please them better
an to come between man and mam
It was a madness, he felt sure—the
: of the hot country, where the
m a look out from behind barred
inflows and men sing beneath their
monies at midnight. Already it had
it him his partner—would It con-
r his will as well and make him
n | forget his trust?
In his impotence the idea of some
-v fate—some malign influence
which he had no control—was
ng with Hooker; yet when the
fell he was not prepared for it
vas the third day of their mining
ith Amigo, he had been driving
into the face of the cliff.
Already their round of holes was
. 1, the fuses cut, the charges set
: as he retreated before the blast
iced absently that Cruz Mendez
In camp. The shots followed, one
? another, and he counted them to
sure there was no miss-fire—
looked around and discovered
g I that Phil was gone.
i - re is Don Felipe?” he Inquired
:Iez, and that low-browed broth-
er burro bowed fawnlngly be-
! fore he replied.
has gone to Fortune,” he said,
a his face with a bath towel
ich he wore about his neck.
■- d what for?” demanded Bud im-
! peratively,
don’t know, senor,” writhed Men-
: - z ‘I brought him a letter.”
“From whom?”
know. It was given to me
: a, the servant of the Senorita
. j 4 m w
" breathed Bud, and pretended
i j not to be surprised.
let ’im go!” he said to hlm-
aad went back Into the mine. It
%
nto Its SHng and
>r Town.
xpected, in a way,
im keep his hands
norning, when the
aided or done, he
its sling and start-
; the Jail he halted
gh the .windows—
be hotel and asked
*ou not heard?”
“Ah. it Is most
d not have had It
Bud succinctly,
el—the encounter
yl I did my best,
reveat U, for the
town has been put under martial law
and the captain is in full charge. They
quarreled over the favor of a lady, and
now your friend is in Jail.”
"I didn’t see him when I come by,”
observed Hooker.
“Ah, no—not in the care el—in the
cuartel, the. guardhouse of the
rurales!”
—“Much obliged!” nodded Bud, and
rode on through the town. The street
of th& .Mexican quarter was filled
with strange people harrying to and
fro; long packtrains loaded with
trunks and curious bundles came
swinging up from below; and a pair of
rurales, looking fierce under their
huge sombreros stood guard by the
cuartel door.
“Where Is the captain?” demanded
Hooked. After requesting him to hang
hie pistol-belt on his saddle-horn, a
sergeant showed him In to the chief.
Manuel del Rey was very busy with
papers and orders, but as the Ameri-
can appeared in the doorway he rose
and greeted him with a bow.
“Ah, good morning, senor,” he said,
with one swift glance to read his mood.
“You are in search of your friend—-
no?”
“Si, senor,” answered Hooke*, but
with none of the animosity which the
captain had expected. "Where is he?”
"I regret very much,” began the of-
ficer, speaking with military formality,
“but it is my duty to inform you that
the Senor De Lancey has left Fortnna.
Last night he did me the honor to en-
list in my company of rurales—he is
now on his way to the north to assist
in guarding the railroad.”
“What?” shouted Bud, hardly able
to believe his ears. But when the cap-
tain repeated it he no longer doubted
his Spanish.
“But why?" he cried; “why did he
join the rurales?”
“Ah, senor,” shrugged Del Rey, “was
he not a Mexican citizen? Very well,
then; he could be summoned for mili-
tary service. But the circumstances
were these. Your friend came yester-
day to this town, where I am at pres-
ent military commander, and made an
unprovoked assault upon my person.
For this, according to law, he should
have been shot at sunrise. But, not
wishing to occasion unpleasantness
vjkh the Americans now residing here,
I offered him the alternative of mili-
tary service. He Is now enlisted as a
rural for a term of five years.”
“Five years!” exclaimed Hooker;
and then, instead of starting the ex-
pected rough-houee—upon which the
rural guards were prepared to jump on
his back—he simply threw down his
hat and cursed. Not anyone in par-
ticular, but everything in general;
and at the end of it he turned once
more upon the watchfud captain.
"Dispenseme, senor,” he said, “this
is the truth, is it?”
“Si, senor," returned Captain del
Rey. “But before leaving with his de-
tachment your friend wrote this letter,
which he requested me to deliver to
you.’*
He offered with a flourish a sealed
envelope, from which Bud extracted a
short note.
Dear Bud:
When you get this I shall be far away.
I must have beep mad, but It Is too -late
now. Rather than be executed I have
enlisted as a rural. But I shall try to be
brave for her sake. Take care of her.
Bud—for me! PHIL.
Bud read it through again and medi-
tated ponderously. Then he folded it
up and thrust it in his pocket.
"Muchas gracias, senor capitan,” he
said, saluting and turning upon his
heel; and while all the Mexicans mar-
veled at the inscrutable ways of Amer-
icanos, he mounted and rode away.
CHAPTER XVII.
There was a world of Mexicans in
the plaza when Hooker rode down
through the town. Never, It seemed to
him, had he seen so many or liked
them less.
To the handful of Americans who
remained to man the mill and mine,
they were easily a hundred to one;
and though their eyes were wide with
fear of the imminent rebels, they had
an evil way of staring at him which
he did not relish.
Even at the hotel, where the Span-
Ish-Mexican aristocracy was massed
ten deep, he sensed the same feeling
of veiled hostility and wondered vague-
ly what It might portend. If Philip De
Lancey, for making love to a girl, was
drafted into the army, what would
happen to him if these people should
ever break loose? And did they ha^e
the courage to do their worst?
He lingered around the door for a
while, hoping to meet Don Juan or
some American who -would tell him
tree to hold It in his stead; and that
he determined to do—not only hold it,
but work it for a stake. Then, when
the tide was passed and all made cer-
tain, they could turn it over to Kruger
and quit the accursed country.
As for the girl. Bud decided that
she could take care of herself without
anassistance from - him, • and die-
. missed her from his mind: *
Back at the mine he found'Amigo
guarding camp from the hilltop, and
aftef telling him the gist of his trou-
bles, vthe two of them went to work.
Every day, while one of them dug out
the ore, the other crushed and washed
it and watched as he horned out the
gold.. Their rifles they kept beside
them and pistols in their belts; and
every time a Mexican dropped into
camp, as one did now and then in the
general unrest, he felt the silent men-
ace of arms in readiness and continued
on hie way.
For a week they labored on together,
grim, watchful, expectant—then, at
the break of day, they heard a distant
rattle of arms, like the tearing of a
cloth, and knew that the battle was
on.
The great whistle at Fortuna opened
with its full, bass roar, and Amigo
snatched up his gyn and went loping
down the canyon^ drawn irresistibly
by the sound of conflict. Bud lingered,
climbing higher and* higher to get a
viewAof the country. But his young
blood clamored for action too, and
soon he was mounted and gone.
The fighting was not at the Ameri-
can town, but down the valley by Old
Fortuna, and as Hooker galloped on
toward the sound of the firing he no-
ticed that It was on the move. Al-
ready the cowardly rebels were re-
treating—the volunteers from. Fortnna
were hurrying to get closer to them,
the rurales were riding to flank them;
and when Bud jumped his horse up
the last hill and looked down into the
broad, cultivated valley he saw the
dust of their flight
Down the fenced trail that led to the
lowe^,country the mounted insurrectos
were spurring in a rout; across the
newly plowed field, of Aragon the men
on foot were making a short cut for the
hills; and all about them, like leaping
grasshoppers, sprang up puffs of dust
Now they plunged into the willow
brush along the river, where it swung
in against the ridge; and as their pur-
suers broke into the open they halted
and returned the fire. The bullets
struck up the dust like hailstones in
front of the oncoming irregulars, a
man or two in the lead went down,
and they faltered. Then, as frantically
as the rebels, they turned and ran for
cover.
While defenders and invaders shot
back and forth across the broad field,
Bud put spurs to hie horse and rode
closer, and when he came out on an-
other hilltop he was just in time to see
the rurales come pelting in from the
west and >take the revoltosos on the
flank. There was a great deal of long-
distance firing then, while the rebels
slowly retreated, and finally, with a
last defiant volley, the defenders
turned back from their pursuit and
marched triumphantly to Old Fortuna.
There, amid numerous vivas, Don
Cipriano rolled out a eask of mescal
and, after a fiery speech, invited the
victors to help themselves. So they
fell to drinking and carousing, and the
one defender who had been wounded
was bandaged and made much of,
while a great crowd from *£he upper
town looked on in awe and admiration.
At last Manuel del Rey. and his
rurales returned from harassing the
enemy and with several wounded pris-
oners in their midst, the valor-drunk
Mexicans formed a riotous procession
and went marching back to town.
Every horse and mule was carrying
double, guns were being dropped,
broad hats knocked off, and ever, as
they marched, they shouted:
“Viva Madero! Viva Mejico! Muerte
a los revoltosos!”
It was an ediflying spectacle to an
American, and with the rest Bud
tagged along to the plaza, where they
had speeches and cheers galore and
more mescal at the company’s cantina.
But in the midst of it, while he sat
laughing on his horse by the hotel,
Bud felt a gravel strike hie broad
hat from above and, looking furtively
up, he beheld Gracia Aragon smiling
down at him from the balcony.
She beckoned him with a swift
movement and gazed out over the as-
semblage again, and after a few mo-
ments of deliberation Hooker tied his
horse and wandered Into the hotel.
A tingle of excitement went over
him as be tramped up to the ladies’
parlor, for he had never met Gracia
face to face. But he disguised his
the room—but for the love of God, tell
me, where is Phil?"
“I don’t know,” answered Bud, try-
ing to lower his big voice to a boudoir
softness; “he Joined the rurales and
was ordered north—that’s all I know.”
“Yes, yes, to be sure; but haven’t
you heard*from him?”
She seemed to be all impatience to
snatch his news and .fly with it, but
:Bud was in no such hurry. And so
far was he from being a carpet knight
that he immediately raised his voice
to its normal bass. It was all right
for Phil and his kind to talk by signs
and whispers, but that was not his
style. 4
“Not 6ince he went away,” he said.
“He left me a little note, then, say-
ing—”
- "Saying what?” she demanded
breathlessly.
“Well, saying that he had enlisted
to keep from being executed, and—
that’s about all!” *
“And not a word about meT*
“Yes,” admitted Bud; “he said he’d
try to put up with it—on account of
you—and—”
• “What?” she entreated, taking Min
beseechingly by the coat.
“Well,” stammered Hooker, shifting
his feet and looking away, “ho told mo
A good cigarette
must be made of pure
tobacco and the most choice
leaf. Such is Fatima—the
most popular, mild Turkish-
blend cigarette, now smoked
almost universally in this
country! "Distinctively IndhUktaL”
■ 't
*
the news; then, disgusted with every-
thing, he flung away and left them to I qualms by assuming a masklike grim-
themselves. Fortuna was not a white ness of countenance and, when the
man’s country—he could see that with- ! glorious Gracia glided out of her room
out a diagram—but at the same time *° meet him, he only blinked and 6tood
he intended to hold his mine until he j pat
could hear from Phil. j A long experience as a poker player
I-et the tides of insurrection come ! was all that saved him from betrayal,
and go, let the red-flaggers take the ! for there was something In her very
town and the federals take it back presence which made his heart leap
again—at the end he would still be ! and bound. But he only gazed at her
found at the Eagle Tail, unless Phil
received his title to the mine.
As for Aragon, whose fine Italian
hand he perceived behind the sudden
taking off of Phil, let him make what
trades he would with the rurales and
Manuel del Rey, even to the giving of
his daughter’s band; but If, taking ad-
vantage of the unsettled times, he
dared to try to steal their mine, then
there would be war to the knife.
It Is a fine, comforting thing to be
single-minded and of one purpose. AH
the rest of life is simplified and or-
dered then, and a man knows when to
raise his hand and when to hold It
back.
In his letter Phil had said nothing
about their mine, but he was a Mexi-
can citizen still, and the mine was In
his name. Bud was his partner and
somberly, without even so much as
raising his hat.
Back in Texas, in his social world,
it was considered almost unmanly to
thus salute the ladles. So he stood
there, his big sombrero pulled down
over hla mop of light hair, gazing at
her without a blink.
Perhaps It was not altogether as
friendly a scrutiny of her charming
features as Gracia expected, for he
remembered what she had done to his
partner; but If she sensed such & rare
thing as disapproval from a young
man, she was too excited to show It
Her lips trembled, and she looked back
furtively, meanwhile drawing him into
an alcove by the slightest twitch of
his sleeve.
"Don't talk too loud,” she whis-
pered. “My mother Is listening from
“But I’m In Trouble Now!” She Cried
to kinder take care of yon—while hi
was gone.”
“Ah!” she breathed, still standing
close to him, “and will you do it?”
“I reckon so,” said Bud, "if we hare
any trouble.”
“But I'm in trouble now!” she cried.
“I’m watched—I can’t get away—and
Fm afraid!"
“Afraid of what?” he demanded.
“Of him!” she answered, her voice
breaking; “of Manuel del Rey!”
’‘Well,” replied Hooker bluntly, ”I*ve
got nothing to do with that— I can’t
interfere in your love affairs—but if
they’s war and they try to take the
town, yon can count on me.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, bowing
satirically. “And do you expect a
war?"
“Not with that bunch of hombree!"
returned Bud, waving a disparaging
hand toward tha noise of the shouting.
At this she broke down and laughed.
Evidently she waa not so fearful of
discovery after alL
"You forget, sir,” she said, “that I
am a Mexican!”
Then, as he failed tp show any signs
of contrition, she changed her mood
again.
“But wait!” she ran on, her eyes
flashing. “Perhaps we are not so eager
to defend our government when we
have a new one every year. But if the
men who are gathering in Chihuahua
invade our country, you will find that
as Sonorans those men will fight to
the death.
“You laugh because you do not un-
derstand. But why should we So-
norans fight side by side with the
federals and rurales? Are they not
the soldiers of Diaz, who have simply
changed to another master? That
Manuel del Rey was last year hunting
down Maderistas In the hills; now he
is fighting for Madero! And tomor-
row? Who can say?”
She shrugged her shoulders scorn-
fully, and Hooker perceived that she
was In earnest in her dislike of the
dashing captain, but prudence warned
him to say nothing If he would escape
being drawn into the quarrel.
“No!” she went on, after an expec-
tant pause, “let the rurales pursue
these bandits—they are hired for that
purpose! But If Orozco and Salazar
join this ladron, Bernardo Bravo, and
seek to capture our towns, then, Senor
Americano, you will see real war and
men fighting to the death! Ah, you
laugh again—you are a Texan and
judge us Sonorans by the cowardly
Chihuahuans—but It Is the truth. And
I, for one,” she added naively, “would
be almost glad to have war. Do you
know why? To see if you would really
defend me!”
She smiled, looking frankly Into his
eyes, and Bud blushed to the roots of
his hair, but once again he held his
peace.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
In Luck.
£mall Broth'- (whose rsters are
working for t nlr girl guides' am-
bulance badges “Come cu, here’s a bit
of luck for you I ve made Rupert’s
nose bleed."—Punch.
Guilt.
Commit a crime, an the earth Is
made of glass*—Mmere *
Domestic Menace.
On matters of feminine dress we sel-
dom venture to express an opinion un-
less it be occasionally a word in de-
fense of that liberalism which permits
a woman to consider her freedom and
comfort as well as her appearance.
But we are prompted now to utter
protest against the progress of Amer-
ican fashion designers, who, with a
free field for the first time in history*
can think of nothing better thah to
mimic the military uniforms of Eu-
rope. -
Is it not enough that we should have
the horrors of the war thrust upon us
by the news, filling our imaginations,
coloring our dreams? Is it not enough
that there should be signs of a mili-
tary epidemic in all our magazines,
articles on strategy, stories of fight-
ing and bloodshed? Must we have the,
world’s nightmare intenslged by the
very clothes the women wear?—Chi-
cago Post.
tea
Hla “Name.”
A young spark, notorious for his con-
ceit, was boasting in the presence of
several gentlemen about the conquests
which he had gained over the female
heart.
“Look,” said he,” here’s a handsome
present I had from my last inamo-
rata,” at the same time handing rounds, *
a beautiful cigar-case.
All admired the article, which had
an Indorsement of its quality stamped
upon It
“Very nice gift,** remarked one of
the company. ‘1 perceive your lady-
love even had your name put on the
case.”
“Well, that’s queer,” answered the
boaster. *1 never noticed it.”
' “Look again,” rejoined the candid
one. “The case is distinctly marked
‘Real calf.*”
m
- The Tip.
"Study a child’s character,” said
Henry Ford in Washington. “Note
his proclivities. Then choose a trade
or a profession for him accordingly.
“I eent a little boy out the other day
with a quarter to make a small pur-
chase for me. On his return he told
me the, article I desired was out o!
stock, and handed back my quarter—
in the form of two dimes and a nickel
It Happened In Boston.
“Did yonr husband cut his false
friend with acerbity?”
“No, mum, wid a razah.”
Let Them
Speak
For Themselves
-You needn’t take any-
body's word for the superior-
ity of Post Toasties—
Get a package ^ from your
Grocer, pour some of the
crisp, sweet flakes into a dish,
add cream or milk, and a
sprinkle of sugar if you wish.
Then be the judge of
Post
Toasties
The Superior
Corn Flakes
—made from the hearts of the
finest Indian Com, skilfully
cooked, seasoned, rolled and
toasted.
Toasties are not ordinary
“com flakes,** so remember
when you want Superior Cora
Flakes to ask your grocer for
Post Toasties
■ Ms?
- v&S
m
m
Ji
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Hudson, C. H. & Woodward, Roy. The Pearsall Leader (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, December 11, 1914, newspaper, December 11, 1914; Pearsall, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth920708/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .