Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ror Copyright by P?t?r B. Kyn?. WNl J Sorvlc*. CHAPTER XIII? Continued ?14?^ Hobart looked back. In the distance he could see his five men following him. Ho waved his hat and one of them waved In return; so without further ado he rode down to Join Ro berta. The girl held up her hand, enjoining silence, as Ilobart reined In beside her. "Listen !" she commanded. He bent his head. Faintly to him . came the report of rifles. "There were twenty herders with the band an hour ago," the girl re ported. "Don Jaime counted them. There doesn't appear to be thut many now." Hobnrt swept the scene with his binoculars. "Ten! Half the gang went ahead to preempt the wnter, and Don Jaime has walked into them. He's alive and kicking, though. If he were not, there wouldn't be any shoot ing. And Julio hasn't got there yet Well, he'll be careful. He'll probably come In from the rear and help the boss out. I wish I knew whether Jaime is in the old corral or at the water-hole. Smokeless powder, you see. One cannot tell. But the sheep move forward ! That indicates confi dence. Yes, Dingle has the water!" "Then Don Jaime's fighting ten of them." "Looks that way. He must be in the old corral, because he wouldn't last a minute in the open. The cor ral is boarded close and the light is failing. If he keeps moving he will not be too easy to hit." Julio rode out into the open a quar ter of a mile south of them. Instantly Hobnrt pulled his rifle, sighted care fully and threw up the dirt in front of the boy to attract his attention. When Julio pulled up and looked around to see where the nttack came from, Ilo bart waved his hat at him and moved out from 'the sheltering fringe of bushes onto the grassy floor of the valley, Roberta by his side. Instuntly Julio recognized them. "You stay where you nre, girl," Ken Hobnrt commanded. "My other five men will be riding down the hill pretty soon. You tell them my orders are to charge the men with the sheep Imme diately." "What are you going to do, Mr. IIo bart?" "I'm going to Join Julio, nnd the two of us will ndvance along the south side of this valley toward the water hole. The range will be too long for 'the herders with the sheep to stop us, I think. Jimmy's In a Jackpot and needs help mighty bad, so Julio and I will furnish what we can. Adios!" He galloped away diagonally across the valley, motioning for Julio to Join him. The boy did not hesitate. Ro berta watched them in an agony of apprehension. The herders with the sheep wero firing at Hobart and Julio, galloping across their front. Ken had stated that the range would be too long for effective fire by men not versed in the science of accurate shooting at ex treme ranges, but nevertheless the girl saw Julio's pinto go down, saw the boy shoot out over the animal's nock. lie wns up Instantly nnd back beside the horse. "Getting his rifle," Rohertn thought. Ken Hobart had pulled up and was riding back to Julio, who, in turn, was running to meet him. There was not an instant's pause in the stride of the horse, yet Julio mounted double be hind Hobart, the horse whirled, nnd the daring pair were on their way again. There, alone at the foot of the hill watching this drama, Roberta prayed for those men as she had never prayed before: she cried out In agony when Ken Hobnrt's horse went to Its knees, rose again ? and stood still. Even one inversed In warfare as Roberta t .v'd realize that the poor brute had been hit nnd crippled. She saw Ho bart and Julio dismount and, kneeling ?ome twenty feet apart, open firtLon the distant herders ns calmly as If shooting at a mark ! ?And then, over the crest behind her, 'came the five men detailed to follow Ken Hobart. They camo down the slope at a fast gallop, spurred on by the sounds of conflict in the valley be low, but slackened speed as they sighted the girl, holding up her hand In a signal to halt. t She trembled so she could, with diffi culty, speak coherently. "Don .Talma ? engaged at the water-hole with ten men ? Ken Hobnrt and Julio over south ? shooting at the herders ? Ken saya ? rear attack." The three American riders gazed at - her, not quite comprehending, desirous, x>erhnpa, of receiving more explicit In atructions in such an emergency. "What are you standing there for?" Roberta cried hysterically. "Follow roe. I'll ahow you." With a savage llttla dig of her dull dress spurs she was off, the five men streaming behind her. Across the northern flank of the talla* they raced, tha patter of rifle Are from tha herders probably drown ing tha sound of their thudding ap. proach, for they were within a hun dred yarda of the nearest men before thd lattar saw them. O nfl flred at Roberta. ... She thrilled with a , cold fear and a wild exaltation as the tullet whispered past har head . . . J - A \ ? ?'. ? yi f v \ . afterward she had a faint recollection of a dark, frightened, but defiant face that loomed for an Instant In front of her before she rode the man down. Pistol shots . . . then a backward look. Behind her the five rode with upraised pistols, flourishing them at her. yelling a fierce approbation of her leadership The sheep, In panic, fled wildly, leap ing over each other, bleailng, leaving a cloud of grayish white dust behind them. Roberta rode Into the cloud - rode through the fringe of stragglers, knocking them down, leaping over and among them. Iler horse, plunging and swerving, was striving, with common sense rather uncommon In a horse, to nvold the woolly bodies under his feet, and Roberta was forced to ride as she had nevei* ridden before. Pistols popped behind her. . . . She was clear of the sheep. . . . Iler dull little rid ing academy spurs prodded her mount's flanks; the quirt rose and fell. . . . She caught the gleam of sunshine as the last level rays of the dying day were reflected on a pool. Among some rocks beyond the pool three figures moved, the crackle of fire grew loud er; she could discern the sharp, spite ful reverberation of it now. Where was the corral? Don Jaime was there, wounded, dying perhaps. . . . She saw It ? a circle of weather beaten boards, nailed so close together that the fence appeared like a wall. Straight at It she drove her mount, realizing vaguely as she did so that it was a hurdle at least a foot higher than she had ever faced in sport. She saw her horse's ears flicker, felt his stride slacken a little; then his head shot forward and his ears came up straight. Good horse! He was not going to refuse the jump! She felt him gather himself for the leap, and took a firm grip on the reins. "Alley oop !" she cried. While in midair she saw Don Jaime off on the right flank, standing In the bed of a wagon, firing over the fence ; then she xvas over and Inside the cor ral with hi in. "Jimmy !" she shouted. lie turned, staring at her amazed. Then he Jerked the bolt of his Spring field and yelled: "Down ! Flat !" She rode up to the wagon, slipped off, pulled the rifle from the scabbard and untied the cartridge belt from her pommel. Then, with a slap on her horse's rump, she sent him trotting across the corral. And then Don Jaime acted. He leaped down at her, his powerful arm swept her backward and off balance; she slid down his body gently to the ground and he threw himself beside her. ??Oh, niy G ? d. sweetheart, why did you come?" he almost moaned. "Because I love you, Jaime Miguel Hlguenes. You are In danger and I couldn't stay away, I'll help you, Jim my. If you have to die I? want you to know before that happens ? that life without you ? will be desolate ? " He crooned to her In Spanish, his hot eyes devouring her, his grimy per spiring hands caressing her cheek. "I always knew you were a thorough bred," he gulped finally. "Lie here and do not move. This is a private fight and you haven't been Invited. I've got to keep* moving. I've run miles from one Ride of this corral to the other, firing through knotholes and gaps In the boards. If I stay still they'll locate me and I can't afford that ? now 1" He rolled away like a tumbleweed. A bullet crashed through the fence and struck where he had been lying a second before. And then Roberta proved herself a woman. She fainted. CHAPTER XIV She came to lying In Don Jaime's arms In the dry grass beside the wa ter-hole. She looked up at him without understanding, then closed her eyes again. "Well, Jimmy," she murmured pres ently. "We're back In the sheep business ngaln," he assured her solemnly. A silence. Then: "Any casualties, Jimmy?" "Yes. Three dead horses and two wounded and about a dozen sheep with broken backs and legs. It seems you rode over them. Ken Hobart's pinked, but nothing worse than what he's been used to. Adolfo do flaro, one of my riders, Is dead, and I/amhert, O'Orady, and Martinez TruJIUo are badly hit, but I do not think they will die. Julio Ortiz has lost a little finger. Dingle and nine of his men are dead to date and the final returns from the river should make the affair unanimous. Fraser, Juan Kspinosn, nnd Julio Ortiz are following them. They took our mounts and now I'll have to get busy, load our wounded on Dingle's chuck wagon and go home." "Was that his chuck wagon in the corral?" "Well, it used to be your Uncle Tom's, so ! presume it's yours now. Dingle got. here first, ran his chuck Outfit into the old branding corral to camp for th? night and turned hi* mules loose there. Then he occupied the rocks boyond this water-hole and waited to see what might turn up be fore dark. I turned up ? unexpectedly ? - rod? wide around the herders, ap <proachod the corral from the rear and had opened the gate and entered be fore either side discovered I was trapped. They couldn't see me clearly, but through the chinks in the corral boarding they could see something moving against the light At that they couldn't be sure that something was me. my horse, or their mules, and they didn't want to hit the mules, so they were careful. "It was close work and after I'd moved around a lot and had located nil the knot-holes and wide chinks In the boards I made them keep their heads down. Then when the firing started out on the flat, and they saw Ken's men, led by you, making a pis tol charge on the men with the sheep, Dingle got cold feet. l"ou rode through quite a barrage, sweetheart, but once you'd topped the corral they figured I had reinforcements, so they ran for their horses and rode south. That is. some of them did. I climbed upon the wapon seat and fanned their rear; as they fled down the south side of the valley they bumped Into Ken and Julio, who emptied two saddles each. Do you know, darling, that you have a pistol bullet through the muscles of your back, rather well on the right side? Nothing fatal, but you'll sleep on your left side for a month!" "I'm a little fool," Roberta mur mured weakly. "Yes, but a gallant little fool. You have some of your late Uncle Tom's ferocity and courage In you, Bobby. Oh yes, old Tom always preferred odds and good shelter In combat, but he would stand up to It when he had to. He couldn't be bluffed off this range and ho forced me to make good." "Are you hurt, Jimmy?" ? "Not a scratch." She raised her left arm and curled It around his neck ; he lowered his face until his cheek touched hers. "You're such a terrible man," she whis pered. "Oh, such a terrible man!" "But you love me, Just the same?" "Yes, but I wouldn't have told you ? I'd have died first. It's all due to Ken Hobart. He told me ? " "Ilush, sweetheart. lie's confessed. He told you a few of the most wonder ful lies on record, and when he found you'd been hit he cried like a baby. Swore that If you died he'd commit suicide? provided I didn't kill him first 1" He lifted her to a sitting posi tion. "There's old Cupid Hobart sit ting over yonder. Look at him. He's still blubbering." "Ken !" Roberta called weakly. The ex-ranger got up and limped painfully over to her, knelt and took her hand. "You're a grand liar," she murmured, "and a grand fighter, and a grand friend ? and now I'm going to decorate you, Ken Hobart ? on the field of battle." "Kiss her, fool," Don Jaime roared. "And you can kiss her again the day we're married. That's the privilege of the best man, but after that, believe you me, partner, she's not going to give away any more samples to hard boiler old waddles like you." "Oh, my God, forgive me," Ken sobbed childishly, and brushed her pale cheek with his tobacco-stained lips. "On the lips, man," Don Jaime com manded. "You don't know good kiss ing -when It's offered to you." "I been chewin' tobacco," the victim proteste''. "I don't care," Roberta assured him. "Jimmy chews It, too." So the embarrassed wretch obeyed orders, and Roberta fainted again. "Dun Jaime, thin time It's your fault," Hohart almont moaned. "Fan her and mop her face with thin wet bandanna,'* t)on Jaime command ed. He went to the corral and searched In the chuck wagon for the tin box containing the nmall field flrnt ald kit he nunpected might he there. It wan, no he returned to the girl, cut her clothing away from the wound and applied flrnt aid In a nlngularly work manlike manner. Thereafter he at tended to hln wounded men nnd when that tank wan done he caught tho clui^k wagon mulen In the corral, har "Allay Oop!" 8he Crl?d. onT1 n""d l>ltcl"!<1 spread out ding roHs?i,rV''e.;V"K"" box the "f'J W. casualties 'XZZ' '?QdCli In "oobbs 'perry0 Westel '7 "fC"n"?s Into uc'Jk' bff?re )'ou?" ?' J'our?teeui ;r. , i site" ??? <? ss checrfullv ?? ' he nss"red her henrt nrlf'you?" 86 s?<" ;;Vot'8e." mi, | Roberta wearily. fllcked'th* rmnps 'of ^ho .'"V,'""- """ "l? Ions whip, cont J l,? ,"'11' fules Into their co Li ?. -ay up ov,.otun'l!1"'|lo,!'0,i"C''n ""ls ""0 descried *??? ?'"> ?asr?sss S^tarSSa wa'tch? 'i,?- r'nnd i ni21" ?f ^'w'T v:,,xk ;f ??> ?v. ^ ^ ,?A5vrr^ ?lw car ??d donorted L J""' '00li done., to bring b?ck ,h(t Also. tors | here, while (Ion Jain, e aided Mrs Oanhy nmke hor ,mUcm3'tf?^: About noon the nevt ,i?., t . Miguel lllguenes raine ?,aL T room and sat down on her V, 0* Caraveo and his men have iust hack safely," he Informed her "vo " m,,n "f Hwt bandit gang got hncj across the river, so I ventnrt ? this has been a lesson to "he * t ?' aglne the Rancho Valle Verde 'win ho' regarded In beyond-the-Border circles J?s a good place to keep awnv fr hereafter. How'. the future Mrs w!" uenes feeling now." ' "'<?? youNf?ee,rry Ch"",er' "?? do "Guilty as a sheep-killing doc qmi EfZ&SrFuS s^x?zrz-~r, my lambs. And I have n t?\l from yo .r Uncle Bill it ?, egrftm when the news of the battle ?at Algodones last night via th sent ai.er the doctors the LT" ' the local palladium of ilbertv th^r BcCT" "erald' cons'dere<f'lt of suf* to *l,e ,","0,""nc,! to I?'t on the wire "re s s , ^80 ??Ce of the "nite? pers tlds m tlu> El P?so pa. re5',M,re" nt' ?n" r?Ur ??' Infr^!^' ? - ^d?. "En route to Vallo -cnme^Tni "ifS wa5S?r?= ^??rr-th'rre?r,x Plotting ngdlnnt their VZ,A['TZ hurl v? m"- '*><?? ?e know "Z r>7 wlrijThiT'n ther'trn,r"?"'"ry' his tears until our wedding day' 0 wo en#aged, Jimmy? j rnr,.f remember that you've ever asked "! to marry you." mo Oh. didn't I, sweetheart?" Never." He rubbed his tanned chin nml hi. .'""J 'oved "?er her whlm,^,,,' ?Lt:; zaV m"",t "pMk you came stampeding Into Thl? cor?" yesterday nnd broke the glad news to mo, I couldn't, us a mau of honor, pro tend I didn't undersvatd you. So I rather took It for granted. " He bent low over her and swept her cheeks with his eager lips. "Still Interested In those bummer lambs, boll-weevil and Irrigation, brown babies and o.holo men and women, heaj, dust and purple lights on the buttes at dawn and sunset, darling?" She nodded. "I can be a good part ner, Jimmy. I never had any respon sibilities ? and now I want so badly to share yours ? always. IIow are your wounded men?" "Taking an Interest in life. I sent them over a quart of thirty-year-old IJourbou whisky a friend gave me re cently. Mrs. tlanby Is still weeping with joy over our engagement, and | Robbie is Jealous as a collie dog. He ! has an ltlea that when we're married I he'll have to leave the ranch." | "I wouldn't even have a ground ( squirrel leave that ranch, Jimmy. " * "Then we'll keep Robbie and his ' ma on the payroll." | "Does Uncle Bill know of our en- | gagement ?" Don Jaime produced the telegram and read : "I never figured on you taking over my principal responsibility but now that you Insist on being reckless take a tip from one who knows stop Do not spoil her stop I did that long ago stop You are as welcome In our fam ily as the silence that follows a con gressional oration "Sheepishly yours "UNCLE BILL" "Why does he sign himself 'sheep ishly yours,' Jimmy dear?" "Some far-fetched allusion to the sheep that brought you here, Bobby. Just some of Ids gringo humor, I Imagine." "I see." She was silent, turning his brown, strong, useful hands, counting the calluses on them. Hands that had known toll and would always know It, the hands that build empires, hands that, when folded at last In the peace that would mean their parting, would be kissed by lowly people and sprin kled with their tears. "It will be forever and ever, Jim my," she whispered, ''and I'm so happy ? and grateful." "The Hlguenes men keep their women," he assured her gravely. She thought of Glenn Hackett. "Poor dear," she murmured absently. "He never had a chance," Don Jaime assured her. with a flash of that prescience, that clairvoynncy, that would always make him, for Roberta, a new, puzzling, yet wholly under standable human being and a Joy for ever. Yes, he would bo the same al ways, yet always new, always chal lenging her Interest, always holding It. Of him (the girl thought) It might be said that age could not wither nor custom stale his Infinite variety. "I'll get my guitar and sing you a little Spanish love song my grand mother taught me," he suggested. "It's very old. It came Into Peru with Plzarro and worked north. Oh, by the way, I forgot something ! Let's get this on record officially. Miss Antrim, will you do me the great honor to marry me?" "You outrageous Celt," she laughed. "You're the last of the troubadours, Of course I will." [TUB KND] "Are W? Engaged, Jimmy?" Dog s Brain Not Unlike That of Average Child The don piles up his knowledge al most wholly by as&bclatlon of Ideas, onpeclnlly pleasurable associations ; and thin comes very near to ft percep tlon of cause and effect, Sir W. Reach Thomas writes, In tho Atlantic Monthly. He cnn lenm up to nhout 100 words. He can acquire a strong artistic sense ? that Is, can tell fine shades of black and gray, and distinguish a very round ellipse from a circle. He can distinguish both separate notes and ranges of notes. His brain matter behaves very much ns n chlld'R, especially In shutting off attention from things thnt bore him hy their unlntelllglhlllty, nnd rnn ho concentrate on thing* thnt Interest him thnt nil tlio rout of his mind, and Indeed, his other senses, nre shut down. The study of tho dog's nctusl brnln hn? given concrctn evidence of how like It Iff to the mind of the child. Though soon the humnn mind climbs to heights thnt tower over the dog's attainment, Its loan In permnnent If It misses the perceptions proper to Its doglike Infancy. RADIOTIC OLD SWEDISH DRUG STORES The seven oldest chemist shops in Stockholm have a combined age of 1,800 years, or an average of ?0."i years each, according to a recent sur vey. The eldest one is "The Lion," which has celebrated its three hun dred and tenth anniversary. It is an old tradition among the Swedish druggists to give animal names to their shops. Thus, besides "The Lion," there Is "The Haven." "The White Bear," "The Swan." ''The Owl," "The Deer," "The Unicorn," and "The Grinin." A FAMOUS MAN VER sixty years ^-'apo Dr. Pierce, whose picture ap pears here, placed in all the cirutf stores of this country his Favorite Proscrip tion for women suf fering from weaken ing cramps, monthly sickness, headaches, backache*, hot flashes. Women ot all ages testify to its merits. What it has clone for 1 others, it should do for you. Try it nowl This is one of Nature's reme dies composed of roots and herbs and I contains no alcohol. If 70a want free atMre, write to f>r. Pierce's Ollnio la Duffalo, N. Y, I Bronchial Troubles Need Creomulsion Bronchial troubles may lead to some thing serious. You can stop them now with Creomulsion, an emulsified creosote that is pleasant to take. Creomulsion is a new medical disoovery with two-fold ac tion; it soothes and heals the inflamed membranes and inhibits germ growth. Of all known drugs, creosote is recog nized by high medical authorities as one of the greatest healing agencies for per sistent coughs and colds ami other forms of throat trouble*. Creomulsion contains, in addition to creosote, other healing do | ments which soothe and heal the infected membranes and stop the irritation and in flammation, while tne creosote goes on to the stomach, is absorbed into the blood, attacks the seat of the trouble and checks the growth of the germs. Creomulsion is guaranteed satisfactory In the treatment of persistent coughs and colds, bronchial asthma, bronchitis and other forms of respiratory diseases, and is excellent for building up the system ?fter colds or flu. Money refunded if any cough or cold, no matter of howlong stand ing, is not relieved after taking according to directions. Ask your druggist. (Adv.) Life's True Purpose Life Ih mount for work, and not for mine. ? K 1 n^sley. End Colds Quick XJK wai an eaty victim to cold*? nrvl they 11 hung on no long? until ahe autncMted the uvs of NR tablet*. He aeldom eatchwi colds now When he doc* they are quickly broken up. This aafe, dependable. ?ll-v?|fetar>le corrective ? Nature'* Remedy? atrennthen* and regulate* bowel action aa no other laxative can ? carries away pol*onou* waatea which make you auacep tibln to cold*. di?xy apells, headache*, bill ousnea*. Works (leatanlly, too. No jjrlplnR. Try a bo*. 25c? At ymir drtigffi*tV 'Tl liAC" Q ukk rettef for acM TUMb tton, he*rtbt?ra. Only 1<^ Characteristic F'airneia "The American peopln always piny fnlr." ? MnJ. <Jcn. Hmedlcy Hutler. Put Mentholatum In noMtriU to open them, rub on chest to reduce congestion. HKND NO MONKY ft. O. D. Frostproof CabWfe and Onion Plnntn AI.L VARIKTfKS IWW Mo 1 ,000-790 STANDARD PLANT CO. - TTTON. OA.