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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1901)
lO- nUS OMAHA DAILY REE: ST K DAY, JULY 14, ffiOl. ji The (Copyright, by S. R. Crockett.) CHAl'TKIl I. The Making; of nil tint I tin. Ramon Garcia, called El Sarrln, lay crouched llko a wild bcaist. And he was a wild beast. Yet ho smiled as be blinked Into the mldnoon heat under his shaggy brows from his den beneath tho great rock of limestone that shadowed him. El Sarrla was hunted and there was on his bands tho blood of a man to be more particular, on his left hand. For El Sarrla had smitten hard and eager to soon as he had seen Rafael FlorcB Rafael, tho pretty boy, the cousin of his young wife, between whom and her relatives there was at least cousinly affection. So the neigh bors said, all but Manuela, tho priest's housekeeper. 80 Ramon stnoto and wiped his Man cbegan knlfo on his vest, In tho place under the flap at tho loft side, where ho had often wiped It before. Ho used tho same esturo as whon he killed a sheep. In his cave of limestone Ramon was olng over tho scene In his own mind. A tiger does that whon, nfter a full meal, ho snovoi tho looso skin over his neck twltchy ways and yawns with overfed content. And Ramon, even though hunted, did the samo. When he married little Dolores Ramon Oarcla bad not dreamed that so many things would happen. Ho was a rich mail, as men go; had his house, his garden, bis vines, a qulntatno of olive troes, was ac counted quite a match by .ld Manuela, tho village go-between, the priest's house keeper, In whoso hands wcro tho hearts of many maids. Thcso things he, Don Ramon Garcia, had possessed (ho was called don then), and now he had his knlfo and the long, well balanced gun which was placed across tho rests In tho dryest part of tho cavern. He remembered tho day well. Ho had been home, down by Porta In tho Cerdagne, tn buy cattle, and returning homo more wtttly than ho had expected, his cattle folio vlng aftor In tho herdsman's care, tho thought of pretty Dolores making his horses feet go quicker, a song upon Ills lips, he had approached tho village of Sarrla do la Plana and tho homo that was bis own and hors. A swlft-fnlllng Spanish twilight It was. ho remembered, tho sky broadly banded of orange and rooe was seen behind tho highly-piled houses. From the whiteness of the long frontage, dots and flecks flashod out. Black oblongs of glassless window space splashed the white. Hero and there a hint of vivid cotor flung Itself out almost defiantly a woman's red petticoat drying on a cord, tho green slats of a well-to-do window blind. Thero carao to the ears of Ramon Oarcla the click of castauets from tho semi-dark of wide arched doors, and the soft tlnk-a-tank of lightly-thrummed guttars. Ho Baw a lover or two "eating Iron," his hands clasping the ban behind which was the llstonlug ear of his mistress. And throughout this village were peaco and well-accustomed pleasure; Ramon smiled. It was his homo. But not as he smiled up among tho rocks of the Montblanch on the bordor lands be twixt Arragon and Catalonia. He smiled well pleased and minded him upon tho nights not so long gone by, when he, too, had "eaten Iron," and clung a-tlp-toe to the window bars of little Dolores, who lent him such a shy attention, scut tling off llko a mouse at tho least stirring within tho houao whero all her kinsfolk slept. Thero was nono like her, his llttlo Do lores! God had given hor to a rough old fellow llko him, who had endured the trampling of tho threshing floor as the car oxen drovo round. Llttlo Dolores how nil the men had been wild to have her but she had loved none but Ramon Garcia alone! 80 said Manuela Durlo, the go-botwecn, tho priest's house keeper, and It any did, she knew. Indeed, there was little told at confession that he did not know. Ramon smiled again, a wicked, knowing smile. For If Manuela owned tho legitimate CO years, which quali fied her for a placo In the presbytery of Sarrla do la Plana, her eyes and lips bo iled hor official ago. Anyway she. kept tho priest's conscience and what was more important, sho sworo that llttlo Do lores loved Ramon Oarcla alono. "Caballero! Dou Ramon!" Ho started. Ho had been thinking of tho woman at that vory moment and thero was her voice calling him. Ho turnod about. Tho broad roso-glow had deepened to tho smoky ruby of a Spanish gloam ing, as It llngcrod along tho western hill tops. These last ohono, In spite of tho glowing darkness, of a limpid and translu cent turquoise llko that of tho distant land cape In a Slenncao picture. "Don Ramon! wait I would speak with youl" It was Indeed tho priest's Manuela who called him, and though his heart hosted forward to Dolores, and overleaped bound nrles ns a dog leaps a wall, still ho could cat refUBo Mnnuela. Had she not brought thcra together at the first. "Ah, Manuela, you aro kind there Is good nows up at the house, Is thoro not? No 111 has bofallen tho llttlo one?" "What has brought you home so soon?" cried the woman, a touch of Impatient eagerness In her tonos; "you will frighten Dolores If you blunder In upon her all un shaven and travel stained llko that. Have you no more sense when you know " "Know what? I know nothing!" Ramon slurred his speech In his eager ness. "What Is thore to know?" Manuela laughed n little strained sound, as It sho were recovering a shakou equanimity, and sho was not yet euro of her ground. "You so long married five, six months, Is It not so and yet not to know! But a fool Is always n fool, Don Ramon, even If he owns a vineyard and a charming young wife ten tlmos too good for html" "Truth of God!" gasped Ramon, with his favorite oath, "but I did not know. I am tho father of all donkeys. But what am I to do, tell mo, Manuela? I will obey youl" Tho woman's countenance suddenly clearod. "No, Don Ramon, wo will not call the promised one tho blessed one, a donkey a father? Yes, Don Ramon, but no father of burrlcos. No, no! Thoro will not bo so brave a babo from Navarro to Catalonia ns yours and Lola's, nut wo roust go quietly, very quietly. Hj walks far who begins slowly. He who trends upon eggs does not danco the bolero. You will bldo horo and talk to tho holy father, and I myself will go, to the bouse of Ramon of the Soft Heort and tho Lumbering Hoofs, and warn the llttlo ono warily. For I know her yes, Manuela knows her. I am n widow and have borno children aye, borno thero also the grave, and who It not I should know the hearts of young wives that aro not yet mothers." She patted his arm softly as Bho spoke n the great rougb-huskud heart of Ramon Firebrand. By S. R. CROCKETT. of Sarrla, the Arragoneso peasant, glowed Boftly within him. Ho looked down Into Mnuuola's black oyos that hid emotion as a etona Is hidden at tho bottom of a mountain tarn. Manuola smiled with thin I'.cxlblo lips, hor easy subtlo smile. She sow her way now, und to do her Justice sho always did hor best to cam hor wages. Lovrrn would bo lovers, so sho argued. God had mado It so. Who was she, Manuola, tho housekeeper ot Padre Mateo of Sarrla, to lntcrfe.ro for tho provcntlon of tho designs ot Provldenco? And cousins, too and tho young cavalier so gallant, so handsome and so generous with his money. Had ho not oven kissed Manuela herself ono night, whon he tamo coaxing her to contrive something? Who could resist him after that? And what was a hand thrust through tho rejaa? What a kiss If tho bars ot the grille happened to be broken? A glass that Is drunk from, being washed, Is as clean as before. And when Ramon Oarcla, that great Arragoneae oaf, kissed llttlo Dolores, what know he of protty Don Rafaol do Florcs, the alcado'a son? Thoy had been lovers since child hood and thero was no harm. 'Twas pity, surely, to part them botoro tho tlmo. Rafael was to marry tho rich Donna Felesla, tho daughter of tho wlno grower of Montblanch, who farmed the revenues of tho great abboy. Ho could not marry llttlo Dolores! It was a pity yes, but sho had a fcollng heart, this Manuela, tho priest's housekeeper, and tho trade had been a paying one slnco the beginning of tho world. "Padre Padro Matool" sho cried, rais ing her volco to tho pitch calculated by long cxperlonco to reach tho father In his study. "Come down quickly. Hero Is Don Ramon to speak with your roverencol" "Don Ramon what Don Ramon?" growlod a volco from tho stairhead, a rich barltono organ, unguentcd with dally dolo of oil and wine, not to speak of woll but tered trout In a lordly dish, and with rappee colored rod with tho umber of Carthagena to glvo tlmbro and richness thereto. It was tho volco ot Don Mateo Balln, mast pious and sacerdotal vicar of Christ In the township village of Sarrla. "Don Ramon Garcia, most rovorond father!" said Manuola, somewhat Impa tiently, "It you will tap your snuffbox a little less often you will be all tho sooner able to hear what ho has to say to youl" "Don Ramon, Indeed I there's advance ment," grumblpd the priest, good humor cdly, descending tho staircase one step at a time. To do this he held his body a llttlo sideways and let himself down as If uncertain of tho strength of the presbytery stairs, which wcro of stono of Martorel solid as tho altar steps ot St. Peter. "Oood good!" ho thought to himself. "Manuela wants something of this chuckle head that she goes Don-lng him, and, I wager, battening htm with compliments as greasy as an old wlfo's cookery the first day after Lent." While Don Mateo thus spoko, and, talk ing all the tlmo, moved lightly for so gross a man to and fro on his veranda, Manuela with a quick hitch of her muffling mantilla about the lower part ot her face, took her way swiftly up the village street. Ramon had seated himself on a chair at one, corner ot the priest's veranda a deep screen of leaves was over them. Tho mosqultos and gnats danced and lit, hum med and bit, but neither the priest nor yet Ramon minded them In the least. They wero men ot Sarrla, bred of the reed fenced vlllagos ot tho Arragonose border, blooded to the gray-backed, whlte-bellled mosqultos which took such soro toll alike of tho stranger within the wall and through the Bkln of tho proselyte ot the gate. But 09 tho prles't boomed his good humored gossip In a voice monotonous and soothing as the coo-roolng ot a rock pigeon, suddenly thore rose out of tho tangle ot roses and vino leaves behind him an evil thing against which Don Ramon's birth right gavo him no immunity. It stung and fled. "Go home, fool!" hissed a volco in his car as he sat silent and spallbound In the dusk; "go homo, shamed one. Your wife Is with her lover and Manuola has gone to warn them I" Tho good priest hummed on, plaiting and roplaltlng his fingers and purBlng his Hps. Through this sacordotal meditation tho hissing whisper lifted Itself again. Ramon bad not moved. Hla great band lay along the stono balustrade. A mosquito was gorg ing hlni8olf at a vein upon tho hairy wrist. "There Is a broken bar on the lower window, Ramon, tho fool! Thoy aro kiss ing each other thereat and calling sweet names thcso two, the cousin whom she lovos Rafael, tho pretty boy, and little Dolores, whom you have made your wife" "God's blood! for this I will have your life!" cried Ramon, so suddenly that the worthy priest tumbled backward before he had oven tlmo to cross himself. And Ra mon was over tho parapet with his long knlfo bnro In his hand. It had gone 111 with tho traitor If Ramon Garcia had caught him then, But oven as.ho had arisen, exhaled from tho undergrowth like an evil breath, so he vanished into tho night, blown away by Ramon's rush over tho edge ot the bal cony llko a fly before a man's hand. "I will follow tho liar to tho world" ond!" snld Ramon botwecn his teeth, furiously, and ho threshed through tho tanglo as an elephant charges through young Jungle. But oven as he went tho words of tho viper fermented In his brain till bo went mad. Ho would go! Yes, ho would know. If this thing weio false, us AO prayed God. ho would kneel and kiss her llttlo whlto feet. But that cousin Rafael de Flores ah, tho rich youth. Ho remembered onco upon n tlmo, when ho was a young man going to market, driving his father's oxen, seeing Rafael rushing about tho orchard playing with Dolores. They had been together thus for years, more llko brother and sister than cousins. Wua It not likely? How could It be otherwise? Ho know It all now. His eyes wero opened. Even the devil can speak truth sometimes. Ho know n wuy, a quicker way than Manuela dreamed of up the edge of the ravine, across by the Dlno tree which had fallen In the spring rains. He would go and take them to gothor In their lufaiuy. That would be his homecoming. "You dog of dogs I" In tho darknoss of the night Ramon saw a window from whoso grille, bent outward at tho bottom llko r.1 many hoops, one had been slipped cunulngly aside. "Lola, my dearest my belovcdl" Tho faco of tho speaker was within, his body without. Up rose behind him tho great bulk of Ramon Garcia, the vino dresser, the man of means, henceforward to bo El Sarrla, tho outlaw. Tho Albacote dagger was driven deep be tween the shoulder blades. The young, tltho body drew Itself together convul sively, as a clasp knife opens and shuts again. There was a spurt of something hot on Ramon's band that ran slowly down his sleeve, growing colder as it went. A snrick came from within tho rcgas of bowed Iron. And after this fashion Ramon Garcia became El Sarrla, tho man without .1 homo, without friends, tho outlaw of the hills. CIIAl'TUtt II. The Jin 11 Without n l'rlcint. Yet on tho side of Rafaol and llttlo Do lores Garcia thero was something to bo aid. Ramon, had ho known all, need not have bocomo 'El Sarrla,' nor yot need oung do Florcs, tho alcaldo's son, luvu boon cur ried homo to tho tall house with tho court yard and the ono fig tree, a stab under his right arm, driven through from sldu to side of his whlto, girlish body. It was true enough that ho went to tho house of Ramon to 'cat Iron,' to 'pluck the turkey,' 'to hold tho wall.' But 'twas i-it Dolores, tho wife of Ramon, who knew of It, but pretty Andaluslan Concha, tho hand maiden and companion ltanion had given his wife when they wcro first married. Concha was nlcco to tho priest's Manuela, a slim, sloe-oyed, witty thing, light of heart "I WILL and foot aa a gooso feather that blows on a northerly breeze. Sho bad had moro sweethearts than she could count on tho fingers of both hands, this pleasantly ac commodative Concha, and thero was llttlo ot tho teaching of tho happy, guileful provlnco In which Concha needed Instruc tion, when for health and change, ot scene sho came to tho house ot Ramon and Do lores Garcia in tho upland village- of Sar rla. These wore the two fairest women In all Sarrla nay, In all that border country whero,' watered by tho puro mountain streams, fertile Catalonia meets stern and dosolate Arragon, and the foothills ot the Eastern Pyrenees spurn them both farther from the snows, Woll might her lovors say there was none like her this Maria de la Concopcton, Concha Cabczos, who had passed her youth In a basket nt her mother's feet In tho tobacco manufactories of Seville, and never known n father. Tall as a tower of Lebanon that lookoth toward Damascus, well-bosomed, with eyes that promised and threatened alternately, repelled and ca joled nil In one measured heave of hor whlto throat, Concha ot tho house of Ramon, called '"little" by that Spanish fashion of speech which would havo In vented a diminutive, for Minerva herself, brought flro and destruction Into Sarrla. As the wild flro flashes from tho east to the west, so the famo of her beauty went abroad. Also tho wit of her replies how sho had bidden Pedro Morales (who called himself, llko Don Jaime, "el Conquistador") to bring her a passport signed at all his former houses of call; bow sho had "cast out tho sticks" of half the youth of tho village, till despised batons strewed tho ground llko potsherds. And so tho fame of llttlo Concha went further afield. Yet when Rafaol, tho alcalde's son, camo to tho door on moonless nights Concha was thero. Hers was tho full blood, quick running and generous of tho south, that loves In mankind a daintiness and effemin acy which they would scorn in their own sex. 80, many wore the rich golden twilights whon tho two lovers whispered together beneath the broad leaves of the fig trees, oach dark leaf rimmed with tho red of tho glowing sky. And Rafael, who was to marry the vine dresser's daughter, and so must not "eat the Iron" to please any maid, obeyed tho word of Concha, moro than all holy writ, and let It bo supposed that ho wont to tho Casa Ramon for tho sake ot bis cousin, llttlo Dolores. For this he paid Manuela to afford him curtain opportunities by which he profited, through tho cleverness of Concha, For that lnuocent maid took hor mistress Into her confldonce that Is, after her kind. It was wonderfully sad, she pleaded, Sho had a lover, good, generous, eager to wed her but his family forbade, and If her kind mistress did not afford her tho opportunity she would die. Yes, Concha would dlo. The maids ot Andalusia ofttlmes died for love. Then the tears ran down her cheeks and llttlo Dolores wept for company, and because she also was left nlono. Thus it chanced that thts foolish Rafael, tho alcaldo's son, marched whistling to his fate. His broad (sombrero was cocked to the left and looped on tho side. His Cordovan gloves were loosely held In his right hand along with his tasselcd cane. He had an eyo to the pavemcnted street lost he should defllo his lacquered shoes, with their points carved llko eagle's beaks. He whistled the Jota of Arragon as he weut and he quite forgot Ramon, the great good humored giant with whom ho had Jested and at whom ho had laughed. He was Innocent ot all Intent against llt tlo Lola, his playmate Ho would as soon have thought of besieging his sister's bal cony, or 'plucking the turkey' under his own mother's window. But he should not havo forgotten that Ramon Garcia was not a man to wait upon explanations when ho rhanred nn what teemed to touch tho honor of hi house. So Rafncl do Flores, because he was to marry Felesla Ornmmutit and her vino vats and Concha, the Andaluse, because to bo known to be Rafaol's sweetheart might Interfere with her other loves, took the name of Ramon Garcla'a wife in vain with light hearts. This was Indeed vnlorouily foolish, but Conclm with her much wisdom ought to have known better. But a woman's experience, such a woman as Concha's, at least, refers exclusively to what .1 man will do In relation to herself. She never thought what Ramon Garcia might do In the matter of lit wife Dolores. Coacha thought that giant cold, stupid, Inaccessible. With such a man who could do any thing? It was n blessing nil men wero not alike, said Concha with a pout. And indood, from Cadiz by tho sea to the moun tains ot the north, sho had found men otherwise always qulto otherwise, this much experienced llttlo Concha. 1 Meanwhllo tho hunters closed In on I Ramon, tho brigand, on tho hills abovo Montblnch. Ono cannot kill (or as' good ns Ivlll) nn alcaldo's son without suffering BE OLAD TO MEET ANY ONE OF YOU ANYWHERE." for It, and it chanced that tho govern ment, having been reproached on all sides for lack of vigor, and being qulto unable to capture Don Carlos or Zumalacarregln had resolved to make an example, ot Ramon, called "El Sarrla." So, to begin wltb, It had confiscated nil that Ramon possessed house and farm, vineyard and ollvo yard, wine presses and tiers of well-carpentered vats with the wtno of half n score ot vintages maturing therein. Thcso wcro duly appropriated In tho name ot tho government of tho Most Christian Regent Dona Maria Christina. But how much of the produco stuck to tho fingers of General Rodcrtgucz, the military governor, and ot Senor Amado Gomez, ad ministrator ot so much ot tho provlnco as was at that time In the hands ot tho Chrlstlnos, who shall say. It Is to be feared that after thcso gentlemen bad been satisfied thero remained not 11 great deal for tho regenclnl treasure chest at Madrid. Meantime Ramon lay on his rock ledge and wondered whero llttlo Dolores wob, chiefly, and to thts ho often roturned. It he had had tlmo that night would he have killed her? Sometimes ho thought so, and then again well, sho was so small, so dainty, so full of all gentlo ways and wlnsomonesses and hell and furies, It wan all deceit! She had been deceiving him! "Ping!" "Ping!" Two rifle bullets sang close past tho brigand's head as he lay In his rocky fastness. Ho heard them splash against the damp stone behind him and the limestone fell nway In flakes. A looso stone rumbled away down and finally leaped clear over the cliff Into the mist. El Sarrla's cavern lay high up on the slopes of Montblanch, the holy mountain, or rather on an outlying spur ot it, called tho peak of Basella. Beneath hlra, ne ho looked out upon tho plain, 3,000 feet below, the mists wore heaped Into glistening whlto sierras, on which tho sun shone as upon tho winter snows of tho far-away Pyrenees. As tho sun grow stronger Ramon knew well that his mountain fastness would be stormed and enveloped In these delusive cloud-continents. They would rise and dls. slpato themselves into the faint bluish haze of noonday heat. Already there appeared far down the cleft called tho Devil's gulf, which yawned be low tho Peak of Basella, certain whlto Jets of spray tossed upwards as from a fountain, which wero the forerunners of that coming Invasion of mist that would presently shut him out from tho world. But not a moment did Ramon waste. As quick as tho grasshopper leaps from the flicked forefinger, so swift had been El Sarrla's spring for his rifle. HIb cartouches lay ready to his hand In his belt of untanned loathor. His eyes, deep sunken and wild, glanced everywhere with that Instant ap prehension of tho hunted. Ping! Ping! Again the bulletu camo hissing past him. But Ramon was further back within his cavo this time, and they whistled over his head. The chips of brlttlo limestone- fell with a metallic clink on tho hard stone floor. El Sarrla saw from whenco one at least of his enemies had fired. A llttlo drift of white reek was rising from the mouth of a cavorn on tho opposite escarpment of the Montblanch. Ho know it woll, but till now ho hod thought that but oho nthor person did, his frlond, Luis Fornandez, ot Sarrla. But at tho samo moment he caught a gllmpso of a blua Jacket edged with red, round the corner of a gray bowlder, up which tho young Ivy was climbing,' green as April grass. Tho con trast of color helped his sight, as presently It would assist his aim. "Tho lads of tho squadron!" he mur mured grimly. And then he knew that It had come to tho narrow and bitter pass with hlra. "They have found mo out, Indeed how I know not. But they have yet to take I Ramon Oarcla'" he muttered, as he exam lined tho lock ot his gun. j Ho knew of a cleft, deep and secret, the I track of nn ancient wnter course, which led from his cavo on the Pulg, past the ' cliff at the foot of which was perched tho ! grcnt and famous llbbey of Montblanch, to I another and a yet safer hold among the crags and precipices of Puymorens. This nono knew but his friend and brother, dearer to his soul than any other, savn llttlo Dolores alone. Luis Fernandez, whose vineyard had neighbored his In tho good days when when he had a vineyard. Ho was tho groomsman, who even In those old days had cared for Dolores with moro than n brother's care. Tho secret of the hidden passago was safe with him. Ramon held this thought to his soul amid the gen oral wreck. This one friend nt least was true. Meantime yonder was a Mlqucllte behind a stone a clumsy one, withal. He, El Sarrla, would teach him the elements ot his trade. He drew a bead on the ex posed limb. Tho piece cracked and with a yell tho owner thereof rolled back bo hind his protecting bowlder. For the next hour not a cap-stem was seen, not a twig of Juniper waved. Ramon watted till tho mist was at Its thickest, rising In hissing spumo clouds out of the deeps. Then with a long indrawing of breath Into his lungs, like a swimmer beforo the plunge, ho struck out straight for the cavo on the face ot the Montblanch tromiwhlch the bullets had come. But ero he reached It the ground, which had been fairly lovol so far, though strewn with myriads of rocky fragments, chipped off by winter frosts and loosened by spring rains, broke suddenly Into a succession of prectplces. Thero was only one way down, and El Sarrla, making as It ho would de scend by It, sent Instead a great boulder bounding and roaring down tho pass. Then, without waiting to ascertain the effect, Ramon plunged suddenly over the overhanging rock, apparently throwing himself into space. Ho found his feet again on an unseen ledge, tiptoed along it, with his Angers hooked in a crack, and lo! the rock faco split duly In twain, and there was his cleft, as smooth and true as If the mountain had been cut In half, like a bride cake, and moved .1 little apart. Thero was tho samo glad defiance- In the heart of El Sarrla, which he had felt long ago, whon as a boy ho lay hidden In tho. rambling ccllnrs of the old wlno barn while his companions exhausted themselves In loud and unavailing research behind ever) cask and vat. Tho evening darkened apace. Ramos, made his way slowly to tho bottom of th. cleft. Thero was tho wldo arroyo beneatk him, brick-red and hot, a valley of dry bones, crcssod here and thero by rambling goat tracks, and strewn with boulders ot all sizes, from that of a chick-pea to that of a cathedral. It was very still there. An Imperial eagle, serenely adrift across the heavens, let his shadow sail slowly across the wldt marled trough of the glen. Thero could be no fear now. Very cautiously, for now It was llfo or death, yet with perfect assuranco that none knew of his path ot safety, Ramon stolo onward. He was In tho Jaws now. He was out. Ho rushed swiftly for tho first huge bouldor, his head drawn In between his shoulders, his gun held In his left hand, his knlfo lu his right. But from tho very mouth of tho pass six men sprang after him, and as many more fronted him and turned him as he ran. "Tako him alive! A hundred duros to tho man who takes El Sarrla alive!" Ho heard tho voice of tho ameer of Mlquelltcs. Ho saw tho short sword bayo nota dance about him llko flames. The uni forms mixed themselves wltb the rocks. It was all strango and wlerd as In a dream. But only one face he saw crystal clear. Ono man alono barred his way. Ho dropped his gun. He could run better without It. They wore too many for that, and It was not noeded. He tore his way through a braco ot fellows who had closed In upon hlra, eager for the roward. But through all tho pother he still dashed, full at the man whoso face ho knew. This time his kntfe made no mis take, For assuredly no enemy, but a friend, had done this oven Lulg Fornan dez, tho brother of his heart. And, leaving tho wounded strewn among tho gray boulders and leaving tho turmoil of ehouttng mcp Ramon, the hunted, broke away unscathed, nnd tho deaolato wilder ness of Montblanch was llko this roan's heart as he fled down and down with his knife still wet In his hand. Ho had uo tlmo to wipe It and It dripped as ho ran. For this man had now neither wlfo nor friend. CIIAI'TKIt III, CouU o tint .North, "Carat! Caramba! Car I This bantam will outface us on our own dunghill!" "Close In there, Pedro!"' Tako down the Iron spit to htm, Josel" "Heaven's curses on hts long arm!" "A foreigner to chal lenge us to tight with the knife, or with tho sword, or with the ptstoll" From the kitchen of tho vonta at San Vlcenclo, Just where the track up tho Montblanch takes Its first spring Into tho air, camo these and other similar cries. It was a long and narrovrlah apartment tho upper portion merely of n ground-floor chamber, which occupied the whole length ot the building. First in the fray were n round dozen of Mlquelltes, come In from an unsuccessful chase, and eager to aveuso on a stranger tho falluro and disgrace they had suffered from one of their own race. Next eame a young butcher or two from the killing yards, each already a toreador In his own estimation. The rest wero chiefly arrleros cr carriers, with a stray gypsy from the south, dark as a Moor, but every man as familiar with the use ot his long curved shoathkntfe as a cathedral priest with hts breviary. Meanwhile the tall young man with the long sword was not silent. His Spanish was fluent If Inelegant, and as It had been acquired among the mnjos ot Seville and tho mulo clippers of Arragon rather than In moro reputablo quarters, his speech to the critical car was flavored with a certain rich nlluslveness of personality and virility of adjectlvo which made ample amends (In the company In which he found himself) for any want of grammatical correctness, A knlfo In his left hand, nnd tn his right tho long waving sword, bitter and some times unknown and mysterious words In his mouth, this youth kept his onemles very successfully nt bay, meeting their blades six at a time, and treading and turning so lightly that as ho lungod this way and that there was n constant disorganization of tho opposing ranks, as ono and the other sprang back to elude his far-reaching point. "He Is of tho devil a devil of devils!" they cried. "Wo shall nil perish," walled nn old woman, shrinking back farther Into the chimney corner and wringing her hands. Meanwhllo the youth apostrophised his blade. "My bonny Robin Fleomln' as guld ns ony Tolrdan ste-ol that ever was forged! What do you think o' that for Lclth Links? And thoy wad hae made me either a min ister or a cooper's npprentlco!" As ho spoke ho disarmed one of his chief opponents, who In furious anger snatched a pistol and fired point blank. Tho shot would Indubitably have brought down the young hero ot the unequal combat had not a stout, ruddy-faced youth, who had hith erto been leaning idly against the wall, knockod up tho owner's arm at the moment the pistol went off. "Ha, done!" cried the newcomer, In EnglUh; "twenty to ono Is bad enough, spcclnlly when that one Is a fool. But pistols In a housoplaco are a disgrace! Stand back there, will ye?" An with no bettor weapon than a long pronged laborer's fork, snatched from tho chimney corner, ho sat himself shoulder to shoulder with tho young Scot and laid lustily about him. That son of an unkindly soli, Inatead of being grateful for this Interference on his behalf, seemed at first Inclined to resent It. "What call ha ye to put your neck In danger for nn unkenned man's sako?" he cried. "Couldna yo hoc letton mn fill thae carle3 skins as fu' o' holes as a riddle?" "I am not the man to aland and see a countryman In danger!" said the other, whllo tho broad sweeps of his companion's sword nnd tho energetic lunges of his own trident kept tho enemy at a respectful dis tance. Suddenly a thought struck the English man. Without dropping the fork, he rushed to tho hearth, whero tho ollas and pucberos of the entire- company bubbled and steamed, ho caught tho largest of tho pots in ono hand and threatened to over turn the entire contents among the ashes nnd debris on the floor. "I speak their lingo but 111," he cried to his companion, "but tell them from Jack Mortimer that It they do not crate their racket, I will warrant that they shall not have an onion or a sprig ot garlic to stink their breaths with thts nlgnt. And If that does not fear them, nothing will not pur gatory itself!" The young man communicated this In his own way, ond though every man among his assailants was to tho full ns brave as himself, tho threat of tho Englishman did not fall In Its effect. The orrloros and Ar ragoneso horsecllppcrs drew off and con sulted, while the Scot who had caused all tho disturbance dropped his point to the floor nnd contented himself with wrapping his clonk moro tightly about bis defensive arm. Ho had evidently been somo time In tho country, for he woro tho dark capa and red botna of Navarre and answered the deputation which now came forward, with readiness and com posure. Whoovor gavo In, It would cer tainly not bo he. That, at least, was the Impression given by his attitude. "Certainly, most certainly," he said. "I will be glad to meet any one of you, nnywhore. I will stand to my words spoken In any language, on nny field ot honor, from the carpet of a prlnib minister to ono of your Infernal dusty rampos, with any weapon from pistol and sword to a toothpick, with any Spaniard, or French man, mongrel tyke that ever lifted wine pot" "Is this the way to speak to gentlemen I put it to you, caballeros? " cried ono ot tho deputation, a hugo rawboned Gal llcclan, angrily. The Scot Instantly detected the ncccnt of the speaker, and, dismissing him with the gesture one usee to a menial, called out; "Caballeros, Indeed! What needs this son of the burden-bearing animal to speak of caballeros! Is there any old Castlllan hero of tho rich ancient stock? If bo, let him arbitrate botwecn us. I for ono will abide by his decision. Tho sons of gentlemen and soldiers will not do wrong to a soldier and a stranger!" Then from the darkest and most distant corner, whero ho had sat wrapped In hts great striped mantle with tho capo drawn close about his head, rose a man of little past tho m UUl lo years of llfo, his black beard showing only a fow threads of gray, whero tho toll-talo wisdom tuft springs from tho under lip. "Young sir," ho suld, courteously, "I am an old Castlllan from Valladolld and I will hear your cause of quarrel." CIlAPTEIt IV. A I.lttle CnmticultliiK. "Will the senor state his caso?" he said, bowing to the young man. "I came to this Vonta, the proprlotor of which and all his relations may God con found for liars and thlavesl When I en tered I paid one week's good straw and barley In coined silver of Mexico, The un shorn villain stolo the feed from under my horse's nose as soon as my back was turned nnd then tonight upon my com plaining sot his rascal scullions on to vilify my country, or at least a country which If not mine ts yet no concern of his or theirs. Whorcupon I tendered to nil the cleaner of them my cartel, offering to fight thorn with any weapon they might name and In any place for the honor of Scotland and tho Presbytorlan religion!" Though ho bad never heard of either of these lost the gray-lwarded umpire gravely wagged his head at the etattoment of the Scot, nodded In acknowledgment and turned with equal gravity nnd distinction to the Gallegan as tho reprosentatho of the op poslte faction, Ho motioned hlra to pro ceed. "This man," sold the Oalllclan, speaking In tho harsh stuttering whisper affected by these hewors nf wood and drawers of water, "this roan for those ten days hath given all tn the Venta bod money and worse talk. Today he would havo cheated Ducno, and we, llko truo men, took up the cudgels for tho good padrone. "Then, because ho would not exchange good monoy for the bad, and berauso of hla words which carried stings, we challenged him to fight, and he fought. That, worthy senor, l the beginning of the matter and tho end I" "Sir," said the Scot to tho old Castll lan, "thero was no question of money. Nono brought my rorkonlng to me" "No," sighed the landlord from beyond the bottle-encumbered counter whtrc he had taken rotugc, "because ho threatened to let daylight Into the vitals of the man who carried It to him!" "Hut as to tho Insults to his country," asked the old Castlllan, "you ought to. havo borue In mind that for that cause will a man fight quicker than for his sweet heart." "So It Is, snor; wo deny It not," an swered tho Gallegan; "yot this fellow, nftof abusing the English and their land till there were no moro words In tho language turned upon us because we chanced to agrca with him, out's with his pocketbook and deals round what ho calls 'cartels of defi ance,' as If he dealt a hand at ombre. Then, after some give-and-take of 111 words, as your honor knows the custom Is, ho pulls his blade upon us and makes play as you saw. Wo aro poor fellows and know no more than how to defend ourselves. And It we flght our custom Is to do It with s couple of Albacote knives before half tha town and be done with It' Hut this stranger was nil for duels and seconds and codes of honor nfter tho mode of Paris," "And a very excellent thing, too, sir," said tho old Castlllan, smiling at the Scot, "but In their due place, and their place la hardly In tho kitchen of the Vrnta of San Vlcontlo. Listen to me. My finding Is this; You will nil shake hands after an apology given, nnd received In the matter of th stranger's country, and since he has paid no reckoning these ten days according to his own statement, the which, 1 believe, shall defray his count so soon as It shall be presented to him by the host. Are you agreed?" "Agrocd!" said tho Gallegan, holding out his hand to the Scot, "and I regret on be half of myself and my companions that wet ever said aught to the dlscrodtt of England, tho very distinguished country of which tho senor stranger Is a native." The Scot shrugged his shoulders In th French manner, but nevertheless held out his hand with soma show of heartiness. "I am no citizen of England. I own no such pock-puddlng laud, but It will be a! heavy day when Bollo Blair of Castlo Blair In the good shire of Fife sits still with his hands In his pockets and hears a garlto eatlng Frenchman abuse tho English, with whom his forbears fought so many good fights!" "I thank you on behalf of my country for your championship, such ns It Is," said tho tout Englishman, smiling, "things that cut and thruiit or go off with a bang aro not In my way. But It my knuckles aro any good against tho brldgo ot a man's nose, they shall bo at your country's service. For tho rest, bills of lading and exchanges nt thirty days aro moro in my line." "Ah," said the young Scot, twirling aa almost Invisible mustache, "commcrco Z know little ot. I was bred to the profession of arms. My good father taught me tho sword and the pistol, according to tho practice ot the bast modern schools. Ser geant McPhcrsou, his orderly, gave me In struction lu the saber and bayonet. I waa lntondcd for a commission in the Seventy seventh, my father's old regiment, when a pecuniary loss, tho result of an unfortunate speculation broko my poor father's boart and sent me out to seek my fortune with no moro than Robin Fleming's sword and my right arm!" "Poor capital to start on!" said tho Eng lishman In his bluff manner, as ho exam ined the article In question, "now you do not happen to write a good round hand, do you?" The Scot started and laid bis hand on his sword hilt. "Sir," he cried, "your avocations do not pormlt you to understand how great an in sult you offer to a gentleman!" "O," Bald tho othor, "I don't know at all that you would havo suited. Our manager down nt Barcelona Is n very particular man, but when I would have said a good word for you, and bolng the owner's son" "Say no moro of the matter, I beg of you," said the Scot, haughtily, "I havo not yet boon reduced to tho necessity of choos ing a mercantile careor!" "And that Is a moBt fortunote thing for youl" quoth the Englishman with the ut most gravity. "For mo, I enro nothing for money," sold Rollo Blair. "Eh, what ts this?" He wheeled round quickly In reeponso to a tap upon his arm, and tho Englishman looking at him keenly (though apparently Intently regarding the opposlto wall) saw blm turn visibly paler. The landlord was at Master Rollo Blalr'a olbow with the roekonlng written out upon a 'ong sheet of paper. A couple of serving men, who were probably privy to tho ex travagant total, stood sniggering and whispering In n neighboring archway. Tho Gallegan and his companions sat crossing their logs and gossiping watchfully, darting Inquisitive glances under their brows at their lato adversary, to boo how he would bear hlraeclf. Only that noblo gentleman, the Old Costllllan, sipped his chocolate un moved, and, with the perfection of good manners, stared at tho fire, From red to whlto and from whlto baok again to a kind of greenish palenoss went and came the hues of the young man's com plexion. Tho son of the house of Blair ot Blair woi manifestly unhappy. He put hit hand In ono pocket. Ho clapped another. HIb purso was not In either. "Perchanco 'tis In your honor's equipage," suggested the landlord wlekodly, "shall I call your body servant to bring It?" It waa a faco of bitter chagrin thot Roll Blair of Blslr lifted to the Englishman, who had mcantlmo never ceased from hl study of a fly upon tho wall. He beckoned him n llttlo apart wltb a look of Inimitable chagrin. "Sir," he said, "will you buy from me a sllver-hllted sword? It waa my grand father's, and he fought well with It at Ktlllecrankln. It Ib tho sole artlclo of value I posse." Hrre a kind of aoh came Into his vole. "God knows, I would rather sell my right hand!" he said, brusquely, "How camo you to run up such a bill, having no effects?" said tho Englishman, looking at him coolly, nnd taking no notlea of tho young man's offer of his weapon, which ho continued to hold by the scabbard. "I can hardly tell," eald the Scot, hang ing hts head, "but only two nights ag thore was a young French lord here whoj outtacod ino first at the cards nnd then at tho drinking of wlno. So I waa compelled to order In better and belter to be upsldM with him!" "Thero ts no meaner ambition, especially on an empty purso," said the Englishman, not moving from the angle of wall upos) which he leaned. "Curse roe that over I troubled myself to appeal to a cold-livered Englishman!" cried the young man. "I will go to tha Castllllan over yonder. Ho looks as If be mUiit have the bowels of a man. At least he will not palm off a gentleman In dis tress with moral precepts cull eel from last week's sermon I" Tho Englishman leaped forward and clapped tho hotheaded Scot on the shoul der. With tho other hand he drow a well filled wallet, with a mercantile caleadat 1 slipped Into the band, from bis pocket. (To Bo Continued.) M