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20 In the Han cs cl <1 e Cave Dwellers. The Story of An Apache Raid- By G. A. HEXTY. Copyright, 1900. S. S. McClure Cos. (Copyright, 1900, by S. S. McClure Cos.) CHAPTER VIII. Three days later the party stood on the brow of the steep bluff looking down upon the Colorado Chiquiia river. It had been e. weary journey. It was evident tfcnt the girl had. after the second day's rMMng, allowed the horse to go its own way, trusting perhaps to its instinct to make for some habitation should there be any in the region. There had been no difficulty in following its footsteps un til the third day, when they were passing over a stony plateau. Here even the kaee sight of the Indians sometimes fail ed them, and hours were lost in taking up the trail. There was no water to be met with here, and the Indians agreed that tha horse was going slowly and weakly and the girl for the most part walking beside it. as they pointed out by a crush ed blade of grass or flattened lichen by the side of the horse's track. Later in the day the trail was straighter, and the WLBJM 'W r . ™ WMSmI ' V ‘* uH Here a sight met their eyes t hat filled them with horror. :hlef said confidently. "The horse smells water, the river cannot be many miles away.” It was an hour after starting, on the third morning, that they reached the bluff opposite to them. For a distance of a couple of miles rose a steep Island of basalt, some hundreds of feet above the plain around It, and on the summit la large village could be seen, i' "Moquls,” the Indian said, pointing to it. "Then she must have got there In safety,” Will exclaimed in delight. The chief shook his head. "Horse not able to 6Wim river, must stop to-day to eat grass. There horse!” and he pointed to an animal 700 or 800 feet below them. "That Is its color, sure ’nough," An- 1 tonlo exclaimed, "but I don't see the aenorita." “She may be asleep,” Will suggested. "Dikeiy enough, senor; we shall soon see.” Dismounting they made their way down the steep descent. Then all leaped In their saddles and galloped forward to the edge of the stream, a quarter of a mile away. The mare, which evidently scent ed that the newcomers were not Indians, cantered to meet them with a whinny of pleasure. There were no signs of the girl, and all dismounted to search among the low bushes for her, Will loudly calling her name. Presently the Indian who, with his followers, had moved along the bank, called them. "She slept here yesterday,” he said, and the level grass close to a shrub tes tified to the truth of the exclamation. The two Indians looked serious. “What is it. chief?” •'lndians!” he said. "White girl come down river to drink, then she lay down here, then Indians come along, you see footprints on soft earth of bank, they catch her when asleep and carry her off. Teezeuma and the Wolf have looked, no marks of little feet, four feet deeper marks when they came along; Indians carry her off.” "Perhais they have taken her along the river to some ford and carried her up to their village." "Soon see," and he and the Wolf mov ed along the bank, the others following I at a fhort distance, having first tak-n off itheir horses’ bridles, allowing them to take a good drink, and turned them loose to feed." "Small men,” the chief said, when Will with the two chief vaqueros came up to him. "Short steps; got spears and hows." "How on earih does he know that?” Will said when the words were translat ed to him. Sancho pointed to a round mark on the ground. "There Is the butt end of a and I dare say the chief has noticed some holes of a different shape made by the ends of bows. Half a mile further the blults ap proached the river and bordered It with a perpendicular cliff, which had doubtless been caused by the face of the hill being eaten away by the river countless ages before. The stream was here some thirty yards from the foot of the cllfr. More anil more puzzled at thp direction In which Clara had been carried, the trackers fol lowed. They had gone a hundred yards along the foot of the cliff when a great stone came bounding down from above, striking the ground a few yards In front of the Indians who leaped back. Almost Instantly , shrill voice shouted from above, and, looking up. they saw a num ber of natives on a ledge a hundred feet above them, with bows bent threatening ly. "Back, all of you!” Sancho shouted. "Their arrows muy be poisoned." Seeing, however, that the party retreat oil In haste, the Indians did not shoot: when a short distance away a council was held and all returned to their horses, mounted and swam the river; then they rode along to a view of the cllfr. Three ar four openings were seen on the level of the ledge on which the Indiana were posted, and Will was astonished to see that above the ctllT, which was here quite perpendicular, was covered with strange sculptures, some of which still retained the color with which they had in times long passed been painted, j "They are the old people, the cave j dwellers,*' Sancho said. "I have heard of I them; they were here long before the Moquis were here. They were a people 1 dwelling in caves. There are hundreds of these caves in seme places. They have al ways k*pt themselves apart and never made friends with the Moquis. In the early times, with the Spaniards there were missionaries among the Moquis, but they j could never do anything among the cave ; people, who are. they say, idolators and offer human sacrifices." "How do the people live?" Antonio asked. "They fish and steal animals from the Moquis when they get a chance, and they dwell in such inaccessible caves that once there they are safe from pursuit." "If you like, senor, I will go up to the Moquis village and try and find out some thing about them. I don’t know the Mo quis language, but I understand some thing of the sign language which is under stood by all Indians, and I dare say that I shall be able to learn something about these people." Will dismounted ns the vaquero rode off, and, bidding Antonio do the sam* 4 . told the man to take their horses a quar ter of a mile away, and there to dismount and cook a meal. "Now. Antonio," he said, "we have to see how this place can be climbed." Antonio shook his head. "I should say that it was altogether impossible, senor. You see, there is e zig-zag path cut in the face of the cliff up to that ledge. In seme pldces the rock is cut away alto gether, and then they have got ladders which they would no doubt draw up at once if they were attacked. Y'ou see, the lower ones have already been pulled up. Like enough, sentries are posted at each of those breaks when they are threatened with an attack. Besides, the chances are that tf they thought there were any risks of our getting up they would kill the senorlta.” “I see all that. Antonio, and I have no thought of making my way up by the steps; the question is, could it be climb ed elsewhere? The other end of the ledge would be the best point to get up at, for any watch that is kept would certain ly be where the steps come up.” Antonio shook his head. “Unless one could fly. senor. there would be no way of getting up there.” ”1 don’t know that,” Will said shortly; "wait till I have have had a good look at it.” Lying on the ground, with his chin resting on his hands, he gazed intently at the cliff, observing even the most trifling projections, the tiny ledges that here and there ran along the face. “It would be a difficult job and a dan gerous one,” he said, “but I am not sure that It cannot be managed. At any rate, I shall try. "I am a sailor, you know, Antonio, and am accAistomed when we have been sailing in the gale, to hold on with my toes as well as my fingers. Now do you go back to the others. I shall want two poles, say fifteen feet long, and some hooks which I can make from ram rods. Do you see Just in the middle of that ledge where the large square entrance Is, the cliff bulges out, and I should say the ledge is twenty feet wide; this is lucky, for if there are sentries on the steps they would not be able to see beyond that point. If they could do so I should not have much chance of getting up. for it will be a bright moonlight night. When I get to the top, that is. If I do get there, I shall lower down a rope. You can fasten the lariats together. They would hold the weight of a dozen men. The lightest and most active of you must come up first. ; When two or three are up we can haul the rest up easily enough. Now you can go. I shall be here another half hour at | least. I must see exactly the best way to climb, calculate the number of feet along each of those little ledges to a point where I can reach the one above with my i hook and get the whoie thing well in my mind.” Antonio went away shaking his head. To him the feat seemed so Impossible that he thought that it was nothing short of madness to attempt It. Buch was the opinion of the rest of the vaqueros and the two Indians when, on arriving at the tire, he told them what Will proposed do ing, Their leader, however, when he Join ed them, had a look of confidence on his face. ”1 am more convinced than ever that It can be done,” he said. When the meal of bear's flesh had been eaten he lit his pipe and began to smoke quietly. The chief came up and spoke to him. “What does he say, Antonio?” "He says that you are a brave man, senor, but that no man could do what yoq are talking of, and that you will throw away your life.” “Tell him I will bet my horse against his that 1 shall succeed, and you shall be witness to the bet in case 1 don't come back again.” The chief nodded gravely when the offer was made to him. Indians of all tribes are given to wagering, and, as the horse Will was riding was a far better one than hip own, he regarded the matter rather as a legacy than a bet. An hour later Sancho came down ac comiKinled by several of the Moqul In dians, leading four aheep as a present and followed by women carrying pans of milk baskets of eggs and cakes of various de scriptions. Sancho presented the chiefs to 'Will. “They are quiet friendly, senor; they THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, JULY 1, 1900. hate the cave dw -ilers, who are constant ly robbing them, ind who compel them to keep guard ovei the animals at night. I can understand them pretty well; they bid me tell you *nai they would gladly as sist you against the cave dwellers, but that it is impossible to rtach the caves." Will shook hands with the chiefs and asked Sancho to explain by signs that he was much obliged for 1 their presents, j "Tell them, Sancho. that lam going to ; try and 6cale the cliff to-night." "You are going to scale the clifT?’* the ! vaquero asked, incredulously. "I did not say that I am going to scale It, but that I am going to try, and I may odd that I hope that I shall succeed. Will you ask if the cave dwell ers poison their arrows?" "I have already asked that, senor, tut he said no. The cattle have often been wounded by them, and unless the wound is a mortal one, they recover." "That is very satisfactory," Will said, ' for I own I have more fear of being hit by a poisoned arrow than I have of scal ing the cliff." "The chief cay's that if you will go up to their village he will place a house at your disposal, senor." "Tell him that I am much obliged and that to-morrow I may accept their invi tation. Our horses will require three or four days’ rest before starting back, an i I can hardly hope that the senorita will be fit to travel for a good deal longer than that." Althougii they had but just eaten a meal, the vaqueros were perfectly ready to begin another. A number of eggs were roasted In the ashes and washed down by long drafts of milk. The chiefs then left them, but a number of the villagers came down and watched the proceedings of strangers with grout interest. VY’iil at once proceeded to carry out his‘plan of mVV He found the weight much lese than he had expected. bending the ramrods, a hot spot In the fire was Selected and two of yie vaqueros In creased the intensity of the heat by fan ning it with their sombreros. Three oth ers went down (o the river and brought up a large flat bowlder, and two or three smaller ones, and using the large one %s an anvil the ends of the hooks were h in mered into sharp, broad chisel-shaped blades. Sancho had explained to the chiefs that two poles some fifteen feet long were required, and when these were brought down the ramr-ds were securely bound to them with strips of Wetted hide. Other strips were, by Will's direction*, bound round the pole so as to form pro jections a foot apart. "That will greatly assist me in climbing it,” he said. “I don’t say I could not do It without, but will make it very much easier.” In order to lull the cave dwellers Into security, the camp was shifted in the af ternoon to the foot of the Moquis hill, and there Will gave his men instructions as to the operations. "We will cross the river on the horses a mile above the cave,” he said, “we must use them or we could not keep our rifles and pistols dry. You must all remove your boots as soon as you dismount, and we will now tear up two or three blankets, and twist strips round the barrels of the guns, so that should they strike against the rocks, no sound shall he made. Y’ou had better do the same with the barrels of your pistols.” Then he chose the lightest of the va queros to follow him. Another lightweight was to be third. Antonio was to follow him, and then Sancho, and the order in which all the others were to go was ar ranged. Lariats were securely knotted together, and the knots tied with strips of hide, to prevent the possibility of their slipping. The men carried out his or ders, but it was evident from their man ner that they had not the slightest hope that his attempt would lie successful. An hour after sunset they started. It was two days after full moon, and they had, therefore, as many hours to reach the foot of the cliff before it rose. An hour was sufficient to traverse the distance, and they, therefore, rested for that time, after darkness set in, before starting, swam the river, and after re moving their boots made their way noise lessly along, keeping some distance from the river bank until they reached the spot where the cliff rose perpendicularly, then keeping close to its foot, they kept on until they arrived at the spot Will had fixed upon. There all lay down among the bowlders close to the rock Ffljliy frlTfH <ll ihiiSMi i Will sailed with his wife to Panama. wall and’remained there until the moon rose. There had been several discussions as to the best way to get Ihe lariat up, as it was agreed that, whether carried In a coll over the shoulder or wound round the body. It would hamper the climber's movements. The question was finally solved by his taking a coil of thin hide, A TEXAS WONDER. Hnll'n Great Discovery. One small bottle of Hall's Great Dis covery cures all kidney and bladder troubles, removes gravel, cures diabetes, seminal emissions, weak and lame backs, rheumatism and all irregularities of the kidneys and bladder in both men and women, regulates bladder troubles in chil dren. If not sold by your druggist will be sent by mall on receipt of sl. Gne small bottle is two months’ treatment, and will cure any case above mentioned. Dr. E. W. Hall, sole manufacturer, P. O. Box 629, St. Louis, Mo. Send for testi monials. Sold by all druggist and SoJo mone Cos., Savannah, Ga. Read This. Covington, Ga., July 23, 1898. This is to certify that I have used Dr. Hall's Great Discovery for Rheumatism, Kidney and Bladder Troubles, and will say it is far superior to anything I have ever used for the above complaint. Very respectfully, H. I. HORTON. Ex-Marshal. which, while little thicker than string, was amply strong enough to support the weight of the lariat. Four or five bul lets had been sewn up in a piece of skin and attached to one end. A strap was fastened to each pole so that these could be slung behind him, so permitting him the free use of both hands where it was not needful to use them. The saints watch over you, senor," An tonio whispered, as Will prepar and to start and he ar.d Sancho gave him a s lent grip of the hand, while the Ind.an chief laid his hand or his shoulder and muttered, "Ugh, heap brave." Fpr a short distance the ascent was comparatively easy. Then he arrived ai the first of the ledg s he had noti ed. It was seme ten inches wide. and. keeping his face to the wall and using his hands to grip the meat trifling irregularity, or to get a hold in small crevices, he made his way along until he arrived at a pro jection which barred further progress. Slipping one of the sings from his shoul der, he reached up until thehook reach ed the next ledge and obtained a good hold there. He then climbed the pole until his fingers got a grip of the ledge, when he hauled himself up to it. It was some fifteen inches wide here, and with out difficulty he obtained footing, again slung the pole on his shoulder and went on. The ledge narrowed rapidly, and he was row, at one of the points which ap peared to him the most difficult, for from where he had b en lying the ledge seem ed almost to cease, while the next ledge above it was also so narrow’ that he knew he could not obtain s anding room upon it. As he approached the narrow’ rath he took the poles, one in each hand, and obtained a grip of the upper ledge. He now’ made his way along on tip-toe, hav ing his weight almost entirely on the poles, shifting them alternately. To a landsman this would have been an extra ordinary feat, but accustomed to hang to the ropes by cne hand, it was not so diffi cult for him, especially as he obtained some slight support from his feet. With out the poles it w’ould have been impos s ble for him io have passed, as the ledge in some places was only three inches w’ide. At the end of some thirty feet it again widened, the next forty or fifty feet upward were comparatively easy, for the rock sloped to some extent Inward, and there were many fissures in which he was enabled o get a firm grip with his fingers. Then came several difficult places, but he was confident now in the hold the hooks had cn the rocks, and always working with great caution and us'ng sometimes his hands, sometimes the poles, he reached (he top in half an hour after starting. He threw himself down on the platform, w’hich was entirely deserted, and lay there for five minutes, then he unwound the coil of leather-thong, and threw the weighted end over. He knew that he had allowed ample length, and drew it in un til he felt a slight strain, then came three jerks. The party below had hold of the thong, two more jerks told that they had fastened the end of (he lariat to it; in a couple of minutes it was in his hands; there was a parapet some eighteen inches high along the edge of the platform, in tended doubtless to prevent the children from falling over. Seeing no place to which he could fasten the lariat, he tie! it round the middle of the two poles, laid these on the ground close to the parapet, put his feet upon them and then leaned over. Two pulls on the lariat told him that the next man was tied on, and he be gan at once to haul upon it. He found the weight much less than he had expect ed. not only was the vaquero short and wiry, but he was using both his hands and feet with such effect that in five minutes he stood beside Will. The work went on quickly now. One after another the men were pulled up, anl in less than an hour all were assembled on the platform, where, save three en gaged in pulling their comrades up, they had laid down as soon as they reached it. Will had been glad to re'inquish the work to others, for his hands were cut an.l bleeding. He had crawled along, keep ing by the point where the bulge or bend in the face of the cliff enabled him to se to the other end of the platform. To his surprise not a soul was visible, but peer-' lng over the parapet he saw four figures standing as sentinels at the points where there were breaks in the pith, and the moon light enabled him to make out that the ladders had been pulled up and laid beside them. He could hear a confused hum of voices from the principal cave, but though most anxious to know w-hat was going on the~e, he dared not venture further until all the men were up, as- any one coming out of the cave would at once see him. He there fore rejoined the others. Each man as he came up gave him a silent grip of the hand, and the Indian chief muttered some thing which Sancho whispered meant “heap great brave.” As soon as the last man was up they moved all. ntly forward Every man knew the part he had to play. -Sancho, with three others, crept forward on their hands and knees, under shelter of the parapet, to the other end of the platform, where they were to await the signal, the others halting at the front of the main entrance to the cave. Here a sight met their eyes that filled them with horror. The entrance opened into a wide hall, which was lighted by a dozen torches. At the further end was a hideous idol carved from a solid rock; in front of this was a sort of altar, upon which lay a figure, which they at once recognized as that of Don na Clara. Beside her stood two men nak ed to the waist, with their bodies paint ed with strange figures. They had knives in their hands, and rocking themselves to and fro were uttering some sort of prayer or Incantation. "You take the fellow to the left, An tonio. I will take the other.’ ’ The shots rang out together, the di stance was but sixteen or seventeen yards and without a cry the two priests or exe cutioneers fell dead. A terrible cry of astonishment and dismay broke from the crowd, but before they could recover from their surprise, vaqueros and the two Indians, headed by Will, burst their way through them. Will had given strict orders that here was to be no general firing, as men. women and children were likely to be mixed up together, but as they entered they caught the sound of four rifles outside, anil knew that the sentries had been disposed of. Will caught up the girl, who was evidently insensi ble, and thiew her over his shoulder, and, surrounded by his men, made his way outside the cave. Here he handed her over to Antonio, who was a very power fully built man, and tho latter, without a word, started for the steps. “Now, my men," Will shouted, as with cries of fury, the Indians followed them, “don’t spare one. of these bloodthirsty wretches, but don’t touch the women." The fight was short, half the Indians were shot down as they poured out on to the platform; the others, however, maddened hy the loss of their expected victim and the capture of their strong hold, fought desperately to the end, the Mexicans ueing the butt ends of their I rifles, while the savages fought with knives. After the fight was over the ! cave was thoroughly searched; many or the women had fallen, for they had join ed in the fight as fiercely as the men, and in the darkness and confusion, it was m i possible to distinguish them apart. Th rest, with the children, were forced to descend the s*eps. The ladders had been replaced by Sancho and his party, who, having finished their work, had run off at once to bring up the horses. Clara was still unconscious when they returned. Will mounted and Antonio handed her to him. Sancho and two of the men accompanied him, while the rest in charge of the captives followed more slowly. Fires were blazing high at the Moquis village, and it was evident that the attack had been eagerly watched, and that the firing on the platform had shown that the caves had been taken, for on the still night air came the sound of horses, drums and loud shouting. Will at once urged his horse into the water, his companions swimming by their horses close to him so as to render assistance, if necessary, but the distance was short, and it was not long before the horse felt the bottom again. The sudden chill of the w’ater had roused the girl from her faint. "Where am I?" she murmured. "You are safe in my arms." Will said, "we have got you safely out of the hands of those wretches. AH danger Is over." "Is it Will," she asked, "or am I dreaming?" "It is I, sure enough, Clara," he said, "and I am glad that for once you have dropped the don. I followed you with Antonio and Sancho and thirteen other vaquerors. We were joined by the Geni gueh chief, Teczuma, and one of his tribe, who have been invaluable in follow ing your track." "Holy Virgin, I thank you," the girl murmured, and then lay silent for a time. "Where are you going now?" sh# asked presently. "To the Moquis village, where you will be most kindly received, and where we shall stay till you have got your strength again." "Zona, my gallant Zonal Is she safe?" "Yes. She seemed pretty nearly recov ered from her fatigue when we found her tihs morning, and will be ready to carry you back again." As they approached the hill they saw a number of people coming down tho zig zag patch, with torches, who welcomed Will on his arrival with loud cries of triumph. The horses could go no farther, os the path, like that up to the oaverns, was at several points cut away, the breaks being in the daytime filled with long planks. As the girl was altogether unable to walk, some of the boys ran up the hill, and in a quarter of an hour re turned wdth some poles, with which a lit ter was speedily improvised. In this she was laid, and four Moquis carried her up the hill, Will walking beside her and holding her hand. The whole of the vil lagers were assembled on the top of fhe hill, shouting and dancing with joy at the destruction of their enemies, for Sancho had already made the chiefs aware that all the men had been killed and the women and the children were be ing brought in as prisoners. The Moquis houses surprised Will, as they had neither windows nor doors on the ground floor, and entrance was only obtainable by a ladder to the upper 6tory. Clara was here handed over to the care of the principal women of the village. Half an hour later the rest of the party came up with the prisoners. These were for the time confined in one of the houses, two armed Moquis keeping guard over them. The women would, Sancho explained to Will, he used as servants and to fetch water from the springs at the foot of the hill. The children would probably be adopted Into the tribe. It was ten days before Clara was strong enough to think of starting. She had for twenty-four hours been in a high fever, but the care lavished upon her fine con stitution speedily brought her through this, and two days later she was able to see Will. "Tell me all that has happened,” she said. “I feel sure that mother has been killed, for th© valley was full of Indians, and I know that there were but few men at home.” “I am afraid that there is no doubt about that,” Will said gently. "We may Ire thankful, Clara, that your father and Juan were both away or they, too, might have fallen. Then he related very briefly how those by the river had been saved, how they had learned from Sancho that she had been away at the end of the valley and how they had started In chase, and then in a few words told how he had sctaled the face of the cliff, had assisted his followers up, and had arrived just In time. “I will tell you about my journey an other lime.” she said. "I do not like to think of the last part of it, how we were both worn out, Zona and I, and if we had not come down upon the river we should both have died. I took a, long drink and then fell down and went to sleep. I was awakened by being lifted up, and found that I was being carried by two Indians, and that others were all round me. I was too weak even to struggle, but I remember being carried up a very steep path on Ihe face of the cliff. As soon as I was laid down I went to sleep, and I suppose slept all night. In the morning they gave me food and water, but left me alone’ till It was dark again, then they led me into a large cave lit up by torches with a horrible idol at the end. They laid me down on a great stone in front of it ami two men with knives came beside me. Then I suppose I fainted, and I remember nothing more till I woke up feeling strangely cold as we were swimming that river.” Almost the whole of the inhabitants of the village paid a visit to the cave on ihe morning after the fight, and when shown the rop:s still hanging by which i lie party had been drawn up, could at first hardly believe Sancho and the two Indians who assurtd him that Will had climbed up there unaided. After Clara’s illness had taken a turn and there was no longer cause for anxiety about her, Will was greatly interested In the Moqul village. He was talcen into one of the underground rooms that served as tem ples, and was horrified at finding that hundreds of rattlesnakes and other veno mous serpents were kept there, and still more astonished when he saw the priests handle them carelessly and take them in their mouths, and could not believe that they had not been rendered harmless until shown that they still retained their poison fangs. He was -old that once a year there was a great festival in which all the men HI Cures Dandruff, Falling Hair. Brittle Hair and all Scalp Troubles, such as Itching, Eczema Eruptions, etc. Purdy Vegetable, harmless and reliable. CURE GUARANTEED evtn after all other remedies fiave failed, or money refunded. A BANKER WRITES! Th*Bimr..on Dunk. Columbia*, TANARUS, F.b. S, 1999. Coke Dandru# Cur* ‘ l*th*T*rrb**t preparation for thnhoir thatlhnro ev*r uaed. 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On s-ailing on the return journey Clara rode with Will, the two vaqueros and the Indian chief to . the foot of the cliff, and was shown the spot wh re Will had climbed up. After looking at it for some time she suddenly burst into tears. “It is dreadful even to think of jour go ing up there, Will.” she said. “I should never have forgiven myself if you had been killed when risking your life in that way (0 rave me.” "You would never have known it,” he said. “I should have known it,” she sail earnestly, “when wo met In the here after.” The Journey home was conducted in easy stages. Wolf, the Indian, and one of the vaqueros had been sent off the day after Clara rallied from her attack of fever. If they found the Apaches siill in the valley they were to return to warn them; if not, they were to ride on until they met Senor Sarasta and told him of his daughter’s safety. “When half way back they met Juan with ten well armed vaqueros. The meet ing was a joyful one, although sadden ed by the loss, now confirmed, of their mother. ”Ah! Will,” Juan exclaimed, after his first tender embrace of his sister, “you are tenfold my brother now. You have saved Clara’s life, as well as mine; your messengers have told me how you scaled a cliff that seemed to all of them so im possible that none had the slightest hope that you could succeed.” "And how are things in the valley?” “Better than might have been hoped. The redskins only remained there three days, some 10,000 of the -cattle have been recovered, many were found in the woods In the hillsides, more still had gone flight up the valley, and when the red skins tried to follow them they were as sailed with such showers of arrows by the Geniguehs that they fell back, having indeed already as many cattle as they could drive away. Two of the men from the raft brought us the news to San Di ego, and the commandant at once told off 100 cavalry to accompany us, and In fu ture, a fort is to be built near the haci enda and fifty soldiers are to be sta tioned there. The commandant was rath er reluctant to agree to this, until he had received orders from government, but on our qndertaking to always supply the garrison with bread and meat he consent ed, seeing that it would be a distinct saving of expense. So we need have no fear redskins meddling with us again. My father has already sent down to Monterey to arrange for the purchase of 10,000 head of cattle from the ranches there, so in two or three years we shall he in full working order again. We found twenty of the vaqueros assembled at the hacienda; they had taken <o the woods at the first attack and had re mained In hiding until they found that the redskins had gone.” A messenger was at once sent on ahead to inform Senor Sarasta of the time at which the party would arrive, and he met them at the "Upper end of the valley. The meeting was an affecting one. After embracing hts daughter the Mexican threw his arms around Will with as much affection os if he had been his father. “I did not think,” he said, when the first emotion was over, “when I left you in charge that the duty would be so on erous a one, but you have nobly fulfilled your trust, most nobly, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” On arriving at the hacienda they found that great efforts had been made to re move all signs of the visit of the Apaches. Donna Sarasta had been buried in the little chapel near the house. The broken and torn up shrubs had been replaced, and although. Inside, the rooms were bare, for the furniture had been hacked to pieces by the redskins, everything was spotlessly dean. Will did not enter with Senor Sarasta into the house, hut went straight to the stables with the vaqueros and saw his horse and Zona cared for. When he went to the house Don Sarasta and Juan went out to him. "We have been talking together, Will,” the Mexican said, "and the result is this: I do not know what your sentiments may be, but I have ascertained those of my daughter. We have been as one family for seven or eight months. We all wish that we shall continue to be so In real ity, and I now offer you formally the hand of my daughter, Donna Clara Sa rasta, In marriage. I know that I can intrust her happiness to you, and the match will afford both myself and Juan the most lively satisfaction." "It would he altogether beyond my hopes, senor,” Will said, greatly moved. “I will not deny that I have from the first had a profound admiration for your daughter, but I should never have spoken of It, seeing that I am at present a pen niless man, and am, indeed, much below the age at which to think of marriage In the States.” The Mexican smiled. “According to Spanish law, and our own policy, the le gal age of marriage Is 14 for the man and 12 for the woman, and although it is not often that marriage takes place quite so young as that, they are very frequent when the man is 16 and the girl 11 or 15; therefore, that Is no obstacle whatever.” "Then, senor, I accept your generous offer most gladly and thankfully, and shall consider myself the most fortuna'e man alive in winning such a bride as Donna Clara." “Well, you had better go in and tell her eo.” the senor said. “I think that that will be more In accordance with your American customs than for me to go in "tend formally hand her over to you." Three months later a double marriage took place at San Diego. Don Sarasta settled a large sum of money upon his daughter, and with Juan's cO dial asen! arranged that at his death the hacienda and ranche and indeed, all of his prop erty, should become the joint property of his son and daughter, with power to make any future division of It that they might think fit. After remaining a week at San Diego Will sailed with his wife to Pana ma, crossed the Isthmus and took ship to New York, where he astounded his father and mother by presenting to them his wife and mentioning casually that she had a fortune of $200,000, and was joint heiress to estates and property worth at least $2,000,- 000, which caused Mr. Harland, senior, to acknowledge that Will's mania f r the s a had not turned out so badly after all. HOYAb AMI DEMOCHATIO ANTS. The Big Block Ant* Are Gregarious nml Feed nnil llnnge Together. The big black ant Is one of the very few creatures that once provided with serviceable wings voluntarily sheds them, and goes about ever after solely by help of its slender legs. A light of the south ern springtime, and the surest sign that danger frost is over, is the coming out of the flying ante. The nest Is nearly always either under or in decaying tlm- ber, by preference the sill of a barn, or a low set house. They remain in it half dormant throughout -the cald weather, stirring sluggishly to feed, and look after the eggs. When the eggs hatch the young ants grow very fast, especially the wings. They are furnished with a single pair, at tached a little way back of the head, and a little longer than the body itself. It, is by their presence or absence you dis tinguish the young ants from the vet erans. Full grown the Insects are about three quarters of an Inch in length. Notwith standing they do not bite so quickly nor so painfully os the little black ant—the ant par excellence of proverbs and hla tory. All the big black ants migrate, but only the young ones come out in a swarm. Almost invariably they begin Hying in the morning, when the sun is an hour or two high. Evidently th© migra tion is prearranged. Sometimes It begins ih the midst of a light shower, but checks quickly after the advance guard has been beaten down. Given a fair day, and a big nest, the ants fly out like the waters of a fountain, the wings of soft silver gray shirfimering delicately In the sunshine. The stream of them spreads fanwise and sometimes reaches more than a yard from the nest. As they touch ground tile winged ants fold their pinions above thslg backs and scurry away,* apparently In the direst confusion, but really to meet a tit t.e later, mass themselves, and go in search of anew home. Eight there the odd part c;mesi By the time they do meet, the wings have been shed. Some few shed in the flying out —then the unwinged drop at once and run off. It Is uncertain whether or' no the unwinging was accident or design. Wlrnt is certain is that the wings nr© very slightly attached. Feathered folk, wild and tame, are fond of young ants! and gather to the swarming as to a feast. Hens or blackbirds in flock almost upset each other in their eagerness to' catch ants before they settle. But after they are caught the captors do not swallow them at once. Instead, they hold the ant firmly in the beak and strike it against the ground until the wings fall off, then gulp it down. Country people say fhe wines are poison. The say Is borne out by the fate of a mother turkey, who dis covered ants Just swarming and called her brood to eat them. By certain little cries she seemed to warn as well as call them. Bui she was very hungry, and after she had shown her children the safe way of breakfasting, she began her self to swallow ants as fast as she could catch them. An hour afterward she died in great agony, writhing her neck and thrusting her crop against the ground to the very last flutter. But not a single young one was harmed. Ants of all sorts are gregarious, but these big fellows do not feed and rang© together as do the little ones. The small black ant, Aesop’s pismire, is far from being the pattern of ail the virtues he is commonly accounted. At heart he Is a roy alist, agreeing with (.’apt. Marryatt, that a kingdom is strong as a pyramid is, be cause it runs to a point at the top, henre is easier to endure than to overturn. His community is highly organized, more mo even than those of thy honey tree. Th© most important personages in It, how ever. are not the royalties, hut as in big ger kingdoms, the individuals who go out seeking what royalty and commonalty may devour. They are rangers, no bigger than their fellows, but ever so much bolder, and more intelligent. They go everywhere— to the tor* of trees, or houses, all alon? fences, or through Ih© depth and dark ness of cellars and crannied walls. One# let them find something eatable, partic ularly something sweet, as a lump of su gar. a smear of spilled honey,< or green leaves full of honey-dew. they strike straight for the nest, as they go in some mysterious fashion, blazing a path by which the working rank and file may car ry the treasure in. This path is barely broad enough for two lines of ants to travel. The workers go out one behind the other and come irt the same way. It happens sometimes that a rogue-amt going out light, tries to take away the load an industrious one, coming to the nest full-freighted. Ant burdens are carried on the head,' held fast by the mandibles-, so as to escape contact with the ground. The rogue-ant seizes the load and tries to snatch it away. In stantly both rise upon their hind feet, striking at each other with their forelegs, then turn sidewise of the path, so as to block it. Crowds quickly gather either side of them—crowds which bunch and crawl over each other if! the effort to sea the fight, much after the manngr of men. It dos not last long—one or the other gives in and the tangle straightens itself. It also happens Sometimes that an ant struggling home with a load twice a© big as himself gets a helping head, or even two heads, if needed. But the helpers do not seize upon his treasure. Instead, they pass him, then turn and push their heads under Ihe load, spreading their bodies fanwise. Avery big thing, such as a grain of wheat or rice, may be car ried home by four—three pushing it. a fourth supporting it in front, standing al most upright and walking backward, with ridiclous mincing steps. But this is only when rain threatens. Ants* are wonder fully weather-wise. In the season of honey-dew, six hours before a storm, they will so crowd the waths to It, they over run each other coming and going, so that what should be a hurrying, black line breaks up into angry knots and bunches. Blocking their paths either by accident or design sets up a great pother among them until a ranger comes. A pebble, a pinch of earth, even a slash of water will block it, thus seeming to proce that the making is a matter of scent. Almost In variably the rangers lay the new path out, around, not over the obstruction, which is odd, considering that ants crawl pward with as much ease as downward. The paths ore, of course, invisible, even when they cross bare earth. But there are few more entertaining patlmes for a summer afternon than to lie flat upon the grass beside one and watch the pasrengv rs upon it. sommer mmm, DYSENTERY, DIARRHOEA, CHOLERA MORBUS. 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