6
(Continued front Tuesday),
"''Breakdown, en: I'm Rind it hai
pened whore you could help then
Kynaston. You never met my daugl
ter before, did you? You girls wi
know enough to take ray advice lies
time. I'll take you on now. and th
machine can wait till the man get
back.
"If you ever get a chance. Kynai
ton. como over to the Santa Cru
mine. We'll be glad to see you. Wha
are you going to do with all you
plunder that I see here?"
Kynaston told him that he -oul
have to send a messenger that nigh
to the nearest telegraph station witl
a dispatch asking what to do with th
valuables that he had captured.
"In the meantime,'' he added, "
suppose I'll have to sit on the bel
here, if It is a9 valuable as the padr
says."
"What bell?"
Kynaston and Dorothy explained t<
gether.
"Let's see it!" cried Mr. Upton ei
citedly.
So Kynaston for the second tim
that morning unwrapped the mass c
dirty rags and displayed to the woi
dering eyes of the miner the gree
glories of that wonderful boll. I'ptoi
drew his breath hard.
"I've heard of it all my lifo dow
here in Mexico, but 1 never believe
it. I wonder if it can be bought froi
the shrine?"
He asked the question of the priesi
The old man shook his head emphat
cally.
"There be many things, senor, tha
money cannot buy, and this bell is on
of them. It was the price of a lifeMontezuma's
life, that was at'terwar
taken by his own subjects, sy> it i
said, at the time the Spaniards licl
the city of Tenochtitlan. Money cai
not buy it, senor. 1 trust to the wel
known honor of the American to rt
store It to the shrine."
"You shall wait here with m<
nadre." said Kvnn?inn
ly, "till I hoar from headquarters, an
then I will set you on your wayNVhat?
Going?'
For Upton was holdinK out his ham
and Mrs. Fane and Dorothy wnr
waiting to say farewell.
Ho watched the whirl of the re
dust down the road, reflecting sadl
on the fact that all the pleasant thing
of life are transitory. And througl
his thoughts there glinted the shire
mering gold of Dorothy Upton's hail
Suddenly breaking off his reverie
he turned to the first sergeant.
"Send a man to the nearest tek
graph station," he ordered. "I've go
a message for headquarters."
Within a few minutes the man wa:
rapidly trotting off on his twenty-mili
errand. Kynaston spent the next twt
hours in chat with the old priest, whc
was a golden talker. So the inomenti
passed quickly till the rapid drumming
of hoofs on the trail told of the returx
of the messenger.
He banded Kynaston a letter.
"I got the adjutant general him
elf, air, and he answered right away.'
Kynaston tore open the envelopi
and read:
Kynaston, CavalryKeep
possession of valuablea till officer
arrfvea to receipt to you for It. H?
will come tomorrow.
Jephaon, Adjutant General.
"Thank goodness, that will take the
responsibility off my should ira," h?
commented as he swung a couple ol
the heavy Navajo blankets over the
extra cot to tnake a resting place foi
the old priest, who sank heavily tc
rest
Kynaston passed out of the tent tc
see to his horses.
CHAPTER III.
Gone!
A little later Kynaston sent a corporal
with two men and a led horse
to the railroad, ten miles away, with
instructions that after the officer came
they should wait till moonrlae before
starting back. Aftor *? ? >? *?
... ?U* wx<vil*5 <UiO llllic
party start he took refuge In his hammock.
Pipe In month, he lay watching
the night drop down over the pnr
pling htlle.
The old padre felt his way palnfnlly
ont of the tent that Kynaston had assigned
for his use, and very laboriously
made his way to the tree, guided by
the purring of Kynaston'H pipe.
"When dost thou expect thy visitor
to arrive, my son?"
"Should be hero am hour after the
moonriso. padre," aald Kynaston.
"But, scnor, moonrlse means noth
tag to n blind man who never sees It"
"Wall, padre, it means that in about
four or Are boura the officer who has
been sent to receive the stolen articles
will arrive. When he does come
ft will be 'op to htm,' as we Americans
say, about giving back to yon the
bell that you have traveled so far to
get. Won't yu be seatc '! -and well
AjfOUL
sviiias
MEN
Wy Cap!
*. ^ George B.
Rpdney
Willi a word of thanks the old nan j
Hank Into the reclining chair which the '
i, officer pushed forward,
j. In the course of that long talk, punc j
11 'uated by the purr of his pipe and the
;t heavy breathing of ?he over-baked
e oarlh. Kvnaston learned much, for he
8 was an apt pupil.
He learned of hVuvy-footed wander5.
ings over liot plains and well-nigh
z trackless mountains; of nights spent
t in the weterless desert, with only the
r yelping of the tireless coyotes for company.
(1 "I bog tho lieutenant's pardon, sir, '
but there's horses coruin' up the trail." i
h It was the observant trump* tcr who j
A spoke. Kynaston, obedient to the
summons, laid down his pip*; and
I walked down upon the flat. He now
II plainly heard the horses come quickly
e up the rocky trail. Within a moment
or two they pulled up before the camp,
and he went forward to greet an offleer
who dismounted swiftly and introduced
himself,
t- 1 am Major Vpdyke, Mr Kvnas-1
ton. The general sent me down here j
e to relieve you of part of your em- |
if barrassment. He also requested me;
i- to take a look over your camp and
n your location, lie is under the imn
prcssion that with an affair of this
importance happening here you should
n have a larger force,
d "He is reluctant to send an entire
n troop of cavalry here because that will
make it necessary to send a captain
I. in command, and he has been so fa
Peered at Him With the Intent look
t of the Blind.
vorably impressed with the way you
B have handled the situation since you
8 have been here I bat he does not wish
J tO BUnerfteilo vnn <* "? w~ ' *
, ? _ Den, >n, an conciuaea, "I
couldn't properly turn the thing over
, to the priest, though I believe hit claim
is correct and Just."
"Ever hear of him before?" asked
, Major Updyke sharply.
"Never, sir. Why?"
"Nothing. It Just occurred to me
that In order to obtain possession of
a Jewel like that almost anyone would
' or could tell an Interesting yarn. Have
you ever been In Trocanto?didn't you
say that's the name of the place the
man says he came from?"
"Trocanto, yes?no, I've never been i
there. And I've never heard of It either.
How about you?"
"8ame."
"Of course," Kynaston hesitated,
"that actually proves nothing."
The staff officer laughed.
"All the same," he cried, "I'm glad
I came down here. If you were really
.. ,i <.n.n uo itvoiuoa
> I may add that he suggested to mc*
that I should drop you a hint to the
5 effect that he wanted you to know
1 that he appreciates the manner In
which you have conducted affalrB durI
ing the past six months."
Kynaston flushed warmly. Words of
appreciation are rare In military life,
1 where the efficient performance of
fluty is assumed. Neglect or dereliction
is a rarity. But the present department
commander believed that
- Just as a commanding officer should be
quick to repremsnd, so also he shmitrt
not be cbary of appreciation. The re'
suit w?h that his subordinates were
J more than willing to work themselves
to a shadow to carry out bis faintest
\ hint.
"You see. Kynaston," went on the
staff officer, "we have had several
hints to the effect that attempts were
* being made to smuggle money across
the line, so when your telegram came
the general sent me off hot foot. How
many of these prisoners are there?"
Kynaston told him.
"And three pack-mules. Where did ,
they come from?"
Kynaston answered briefly, and fol- i
lowed his report with an account of
the priest's arrival and the discovery
of the valuable emerald that had set
two continents agog three hundred
years before.
"Hn vnn ??? -i- " 1? * "
THE LANCASTER NEWS
so worked on by ihe oh! fellow that 1
you thought about giving the stone to
him. You'd have found yourself in a '
pretty pickle if you'd let him have it. ;
and then a claim had been mude by
your prisoners that you'd taken the1
stone. Jt would have cost you your
commission, or at least?"
"Like to see the stone, sir?"
"Of course I should, but I'd like even 1
better to have a drink and something
to eat."
Kynaston produced his last bottle. '
and, bidding his "striker" improvise a
supper, sat chatting with his visitor
till the meal was ready. When Major:
TJpdyke was through and had rolled a
cigarette, the youngster sent a trum-,
peier to give nis compliments to the |
priest and to ask him to come to the
tent.
The old padre, hearing the summons, j
came slowly from his hot little tent |
and picked his war painfully across
the stonoB of the trail.
"I heard thee asking for me, my son. i
I am here."' . *
"Tills is the priest I was telling you I
of. sir.''
Major ITpdyke shook hands with tho
olil man, who peered at him from under
bent brows with the peculiarly in- i
tent look of tho blind. The padre
seated himself for a moment upon a
great rock, clasping his hands loosely j
across his knees.
Presently. In answer to a question,
the old man began to 'alk. and for an
hour tho staff ollicer sat. an interested
listener, while the old man made his
ivii me rrsioraunn to nis stirlno
of the priceless Jewel that. Kynaston
had taken the day before.
"But the proof, man, the proof! Thou
must understand, padre, that American
law. upon whose Justice we prido our-1
selves, requires proof. How canst
thou prove that this stone Is indeed
the stone that thou hast described??
What is that. Kynnston? It sounds
like firing breaking out. in the southeast.''
It did sound like rifle firing. The
low. thunderous, reverberating crackle
that they knew so well brought every
man out of the encampment as a stick I
in the tee-hole of a hive brings out
the bees. Kynaston and Major Up-j
dvko ran to the top of the low hill back i
of the camp; here they had a good gen-!
eral view of the land.
"It must be another party, sir, in ;
trouble again. Wait till I get my
glasses; we can see more with them."
So for a long half hour they sat and
watched. The sound of the firing
grew fainter and fainter, and finally
died awav. onlv to brenk nut ?iroin
again as the two officers -were about to
leave the hill.
"I believe I'll send a detail over
there to see what is going on, sir. Sergeant,
go and tell the old priest that
the major and 1 are leaving camp and
shall not return till morning. Report 1
to me at my tent when you have told
him. Now, major, if you care to go
along 1 can give you a change of clothing
and a fairly good horse to ride."
The major nodded assent.
"Of course I'll go. That's what I
camo down hero for?to see for myself?and
tell the general just how
things are going. Hero como the
horses now."
Ten minutes later they trotted leisurely
out of the camp, headed southeast.
A horned moon was swinging clear
of tho cloud-capped Buffalo mountains.
The shadows of the mesquit looked
large across the plains as they trotted
down the trail, headed for the level
lanas or the mesa across which the
old priest had so painfully made his
way the day before.
Southward they could see In the
moonlight the dim mountains In old
Mexico, standing like silent sentinels,
looking with grim disapproval on the
scenes of riot and disorder, of murder
and of pillage that were making the
unhappy land a veritable wilderness.
As they reached the level ground, the
old sergeant rode back to bis young
superior, his hand raised to the brim
of bis scouting hat.
"What Is it, sergeant?" asked Kynaeton.
"There's a little Are over yonder, ,
lr."
The gauntleted band stabbed the
dark, Its Anger in the direction of the <
Are. and Kynaston's gaze followed. A i,
..V,~ .wwl * ??-? ? ?
U.auc-nua|icu liaum Biuua OUl in U16
blackness of the night.
"What's oyer there? Any houses?,
Any Americans live over there?" Major
Updyke's query was as quick as a ,
shot.
Kynaston paused a moment.
"No, air. That fire's on the Mexican
side of the line. What can it be,
sergeant?" i
The sergeant puzeled a moment or
two. Then:
"Sir, I know. It's the Santa Cms
mine, where the Uptons live. As sure
as I live, sir, the rebels are attackin'
the mine! Don't you remember, sir,
Mr. TTpton came through with the two
ladies today? Sure as anything, them
rebels have attacked the place; hegv-j
en help the Uptons!" he ejaculated.
"Any orders, sir?"
Kynaston turned to Updyke.
"1 know, sir, what the orders are.
I lrnnw thft
?~ ?.?=.? ?>n tci y linn insi ,
no American shall cross the line unless
he has a residence there. I wish 4
you were deaf, dumb and blind for a 4
few hours." ,
In the darkness Major Updyke
grinned behind his hand.
"Why?" he asked. 4
"If you were," said Kynaston slowly, ?
"I'd go back to my camp and? There
are two Amerlaan women over there," | *
he concluded lamely. >4
1 am deaf and blind/* said Major I <
Updyke Impressively. "1 nan neither j i
see nor hear at night. I am quite sure
that?" 1
TO BE CONTINUED TUE8DAY
f\ I I ftlfrv Illllllllrtilirisiimnii I I
I All grades <
I a Speci
I Latest Thing*
Blue Serge, K
Palm Bea<
the Rig]
A. B. Fergi
yk^A A^A A^A A^A A^A 4^4 4^4 4^4 A^A A^A 4^A A^AA^A A^A A^A A^A A^A A^A A^A A*t
W^f ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ "y
I ATTE1
i
T
X While attending i
? Thursday, Friday and
4 and 20, be sure to <
complete line of mercf
X Neckwear, Dress Got
% Ladies Waists, Shoes
?! Suits. :
i \ /
% We have on hand at i
% assortment of beautifu
1 of the latest novelties,
lar staples. :
X We will surprise yoa
X have to offer.
1 FUNDERB
I
- , >,V .
I MAY 12, 1916.
I ion DA
I i</V 1 ft
j Florsheii
| FOR
1 Svecial TraAi
IRS OF
m jhoes
$4.35
? Week Price
%
Shirts at
al Price
5 in Felt Hats I
.eep Kool and I
zh Suits at I
Kt Price r
and Men and Boys' *
j*
ill times a complete X
il fabrics inclading all %
as well as the popu
with the values we !
URK CO.
ison & Son I
NTION I
T
T
X
rchant's Trade Week %
Saturday, May 18, 19
call and inspect oar
i andise, such as
ads, Gloves, Hosiery, *