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6 Continued from Friday ^ 1 "Twos left about! C.allop!" I The orders shot out like the shots j from a machine gun; almost before he knew It the major found himself galloping back to the little camp. , "Have twenty men saddle up at , once, sergeant!" cried Kynaston. "Take nothing but canteens, rifles, and j a hundred rounds of ammunition per j mau. Get the men ready at once." The sergeant hesitated and finally ventured on a liberty that was rare In- ( deed for him. t "Sir, is the lieutenant goin* to cross j the line?" he asked. "Do you remem- ( ,ber, sir, what the orders are? It'll t cost the lieutenant his commission." , "If it'll cost my commission to help ( couple of American ladles who are t In trouble?then I'll have to pay the { price, sergeant. Hurry up! Tell that l j old priest to come over to my tent at , once." Joyfully the grizzled soldier depart- , ed. Soon his men were scurrying about among the tents. While etufP.ng < his belt full of cartridges k/n&ston J was interrupted by an eager orderly. 3 "Sir, the major presents bis compliments and says that the lieutenant had ' better turn over to him any valuables 1 that he has In cainp, if he is going 1 to leave for any length of time." ? Kynaston ?asped. In the thought of t seeing Mrs. Kane again he had forgotten the saddlebags and the jewel. He dashed across the tent, seized the sad- ? diebags, and hurried to the tent that hud been pitched for the major. i "Here it is, sir. I'm glad you 1 thought of it. I'd have gone and left i it on the floor of my tent if it had not > been for you. Here it is?" < He unbuckled the hags and turned i out upon tha little camp tahle tin un i savory mass of dirty oiled rags that 1 he had so curiously unwrapped a fewhours before. ( "I'd have been in a nice mess." he said frankly, "if I'd left tins here and someone had walked off with it. Good thing for me that you're here, sir. I can leave it here with you till 1 return. What is it, trumpeter?" I ] For a disheveled and excited (rum- j peter had thrust hi? way !-.io the tent. , *"Sir, Sergeant Mark ha <?!f etrd me to inform the troop commander that ' tho old padre has left the camp, 'ih' sentry on the picket line he seen j ' him pull his freight out on the i j 1 that leads up on the mesa Just af >' 1 the lieutenant and the major wer.t out j 1 of camp an hour ago." Kynaston, his brow wrinkled with ' astonishment, picked the bunch of rags ; to pieces. 1 Then he began frenziedly to turn | over the saddle-bags. Finally turning 1 them Inskle out he threw hags and rags upon the blanket-covered table and leaned forward with whitened face. "The Bell Is gone!" he said in a voice that shook with anger and mortification. "The Bell is gone!" CHAPTER IV. Across the Line. A long silence fell. Kynaeton w?f the first to break It. "Sergeant," he said quickly, "send i two inen to round up that old priest He cannot have got very far. for he is blind and could not see his road Stay after him till you get him and then bring him back here to me. I "I want a few words with him," I he added grimly. 'Isn't this a sweet mess?" he said. j turning to Major Updyke. ; The older officer nodded. ! "Kyna8ton," he said pr^s^ntly. J "take my advice and send a wire at onco to department headquarters re I porting the loss of the stone. It's too ' valuable a thing to leave to chance Don't you see that when those prison ,ara of yours discover that it has beer, lost they'll put up an awful howl? Then If any Investigation is made, It'll * only show that you had the stone In your possession, and that you declined to turn It over to the priest. The papers'll make capital of It. and you'll achieve a very undesirable notoriety. Report the matter at once. If youH write out a wire I'll send it for you. When will you be back?" "In three hours at most, sir, 1 think. 1 can't thank you enough, sir, for the Interest you have taken Here's the message, sir." He scribbled a cart message and swunf into saddle. "Oood-by, major! Ill be back in a little while. Adios. sir. Right by twos? Trot, march! Route OTder!" And the little squad of excited cavalrymen moved quickly off up the road. After Kymuston left him Major Updyke sat deep In thought for some .time. He was finally roused by a sob 'filer's rapping gently on the tent-polo, "Come!" called the major, and tho man stepped Inside. "Sir," he said, "the officer who ootnhpanded the prisoners hjwi asked me * VtL? . I UOUL VILLAS 1 /-MEN ^Jbi/ Capt. George B. ?888/^ Rodney ,o asK tr>p major if he can set nun." "Certainly. Co and tell the sergeant of the guard to rend him up icre under guard." The soldier left. "Now," thought Major Vpdyke, "3 wonder what new devilment s ifoot?" A moment later the Mexican cap ain of infantry entered the tent and ntroduced himself as El Capitan i'gnaclo Torres. "1 have asked for the honor of an nterview, senor. because I am sure .hat the Americans do not desire to end themselves to a piece of injus ice. 1 refer, penor, to the taking of )ur stores. The arms, of course, 1 mde.rstand are to be held until the 'essation of hostilities, as is required )y international law, but the other hings?the money and our personal jelongings?are net these respected is in war?" "What personal belongings do you nean. sir?" "1 mean, sir, that there was on one )f these pack-mules a very valuable iewel that wo took from the rebels In light. They had stolen it from the Shrine of Our Lady of Olvidados. iown in Trocanto to the south, and were bringing it north to purchase wms with. We fought with them Mid took the plundt r, and 1 wiBb now to enter formal claim for it." "Who was the blind priest who came into tamp yesterday and claimed it?" asked Major Updyke. "A blind priest, senor? I kuov Only that a man came and claimed the stone?the Fell. 1 mean. J am told that he came Lard intc camp upon the arrival of the pris oners. 1 know that be claims the stout us a part of the property of his shrine down in Yucatan; but. senor that is a claim that might well be made by any man who has seen or heard ef the Jewel. Has he seen itT* "Not since its arrival here, ceitninlv." "Can he describe It?" Major Vpdyke Is' ghed. "It is hard v to he expected, et nor, that a Lima man can sj accurately describe such i h* r r.s to convince anyone He ha;- certainly heard someone else doicribo .t, at least. "1 ti.sk." insisted the Mexican, 1 that tie bo Questioned in my presence an to how and where and why the stone tame into our possession. It is true that the. slonc was looted from th< south fcv the rebels. It is also true that wt defeated them in open light and that they fled leaving their packmule? "These mule? wo captured, nnd Ftftnward were compelled to abandon when the rebels had received re-enforcements and drove us across the border Then, sencr, your lieutenant held us as prisoners of war and took our baggage. "1 ask this, scnor, because one of my men* has told that he saw the hlind priest leave the camp a short time ago. 1 know him well enough to know that if he has left a good bed ind good meals he must have had sound reason. May I see the stone, penor, to he assured of its safetv?" Major Updyke hesitated. A refusal >f the request, which was but reasonible, would certainly create suspicions of Kyn&ston's honesty. A itatement of the actual condition of ilfalrs would not he believed. He emporized. "Sener Kynaston turned over the '.addle-bags to me a while ago," he ?aid. "I think it would be better to vait until he returns." "But. senor," persisted the Mexi an, "did you sefc the Bell? It is a wonderful stone?" Did you see it?" "No. I have not seen it; in fact, lenor, to be perfectly frank with you, vhen Senor Kynaston sent for the *adre to speak to him about the mater of the Bell, the padre had left he camp and the stone was gone." The Mexican started "Senor," he Bald, "I had feared mme ench thing. El vlejo dlablo! I night have known that eome such hing would happen if the lieutenant rere not warned. Blind as he is, hnt old rascal can see more with his ightlpps eyes than many sound men vlth two. Where is the lieutenant, lenor?" "He, too, has left camp, and he has ant a party to arrest the padre vherever they shall find him. Best ;ontent. senor, the Jewel will be re:overed, and when It Is recovered It vill not again be placed in Jeopardy. Vill you not sit down and have a igar? I can guarantee them. They :ome from yotur own state of Tainkullpas." In the meantime Kynaston, with lis men, had pushed on across the -ango, from which he had seen, earlier n the evening, the flames that told ilm of the attack upon the Santa Crus nine. The mine lay a long three miles icrofis the border; but though well Lf knew that ?mder the existing orders fHE LANCASTER NEWS [ io bad no "buslnes acrosfe the UneT yet I i he rushed on without hesitation. Mile after nii'e they put behind ( them as a carpenter throws sliav- : lngs behind him. Finally they paused on a little declivity looking down > | ward the great sweep of the range. ' on the farther slope of which stood the minehouses. "You stay here, sergeant, with the rest of the detachment, on the American side. 1 wil? cross over, and if I find 1 need you 1 shall start a fire. :l 1 1! I '' '"^*s I Mile After Mile They Put Behind Them. "You can Bee it for ten miles. If you , tee a fire show three times, como right j 1 Into Mexico with all the men. I shall : take one man with me. I "It is just possible that we may be ; able to help the people without getting ourselves into trouble. In any case, we must not get into a row on the wrong side of the line. He sure to keep a man on the lookout. 1 shall make two flares if I want you. Nolan, I you come with me." , The old soldier would have liked to 1 remonstrate with his officer, but the j habits of discipline of twenty years were too strong, lie saluted, and, bid- j j ding his men dismount and loosen 1 their cinches, watched his young suj perior and Nolan as they walked their horses down the hill in the growing , light. When they reached the level ground they took up the trot, and presently were out of sight among the scrubby cadi and the mesquit bushes that covI ered the iace of the land. It was a great risk to take; not that Lac danger of actual conflict was great, ! but there was the certainty that if his i interference should become known to the higher authorities Kynaston would i have to be offered up a? a suer i lice to , Mexican complaints. "We'll move lip to thnt hill Just above tie imnehouae, Nolan, and see what we can from there. There go some more shcts. Tt looks to me as though tb.e phi e is being attacked from tlio southern side. If so, we will hide under cover on the range to iho I north and work down toward the house. W e'll bide our horses among the bowlders :.nd scout down afoot." So, moving very carefully along the bowlder-strewn hillside, they tied their horses to a great inesquit bush that 1 stood in the bottom of an nrroyo. Taking their rifles from the scabbards, they picked their way warily up the slope to the summit, a point from which they could plainly see the attack. The Santa Crtiz mine lay some six hundred yards below them. A little cottage built of adobe showed where the superintendent lived, and across from it stood the general store. Hehind this again, surrounded in front with adobe walls that marked the cor- | j rals where the mine mules were kept, j stood the long engine house, j Dark, yawning mouths gaping at I them from the hillside showed where ; the lines of the ore-cars were loaded 1 ; in the drift, for the Santa Cruz wu | ' fortunate above most mines in that it | was possible to?tunnel straight into 1 the breast of the hill without digging I a shaft. Far below the line of the buildings l Kynaston and Nolan, looking down from the vantage-point of their hill, < saw in a far hollow a group of riderless horses, with one or two dismounted men guarding them. "There's their herd. Look, Nolan! : Do you see their line?" llefore Nolan could speak the long crack and rattle of rifle flre broke out from the line of gmnt cottonwood trees that marked the bottom of the i now dry watercourse. The bullets whined over the house: 1 some of them kicked up spurts of dust j from the adobe walls. An answering shot from the house told that the de i lenders were wide awake. Kynaston i saw the shot take ground on the slope below him. At once awake to the necessity of ttndtng some way of getting to the ; house undiscovered, Kynaston scanned j the ground in his front carefully. The hillside where he lay was cut up by- many acequias, or little ditsbes, made by the rains of past years. These little ditches ran straight dowa the .< slope toward the house. Where these ran out into the burned alfalfa patches i stood the cottage, and beyond this ; again tl*e corrals and the stables. Still farther to the south, beyond , the lines of the adobe walls, the ground sloped more gently, to a little stream bed bordered with cotton- | woibds, along which the attacking party bad taken UP its position. _ TO RB CONTINUKD FRIDAY. MAY 16, 1916. I 190 PAl I Florshem I | FOR ? 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