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SATURDAY, JUNE 20.
The Land of Broken Promises
A Stirring Story of the
Mexican Revolution
A «tory of border Mexico, vivid.
Intense, such ae has never before
been written, la this one of Ameri
can adventurers Into the land of
marvana. Texan, mining engineer,
Bpanish senor and senorita, peon,
Indian, crowd its chapters with
clear-cut word pictures of busi
ness, adventure and love, against
a somber background of wretched
armies marching and counter
marching across a land racked by
revolution and without a savior,
I
(Continued from Yesterday.)
CHAPTER XII.
to its Inception the Portuna hotel
had not been intended for the use of
Mexicans —in fact, its rates were prac
tically prohibitive for anyone not be
ing paid in gold—but, since most of
the Americans had left, and seven dol
lars a day Mex was no deterrent to the
rich refugee land owners, it became
of a sudden international, with a line
mixture of purse-proud Spaniards and
race-proud American adventurers.
Not a very pleasing combination for
the parents of romantic damsels des
tined for some prearranged marriage
of state, but very exciting for the dam
sels and most provocative to the Amer
icans.
After the promenade in the plaza
the mothers by common consent pre
empted the upstairs reception-room,
gathering their precious charges in
close; while the Americans, after their
pus tom, foregathered in the lobby,
convenient to the bar. Hot argu
ments about the revolution, and pre
dictions of events to come served to
pass the early evening, with many
scornful glanoes at the Mexican dan
dies who went so insolently up the
stairs. And then, as the refugees re
tired to their apartments and the Bpirlt
of adventure rose uppermost, Phil De
made a dash out into the
darkness and came back with a Mexi
can string band.
“A serenade, boys!” he announced,
as the musicians filed sheepishly into
the hotel. "Our guests, the fair seno
ritas, you know! We’ll make those
young Mexican dudes look like two
spots before the war Is over. Who's
game now for a eong beneath the win
dows? You know the old stand-bys—
'La PaJama’ and Terestta Mia’—and
you want to listen to me sing 'Me Ous
tan Todas* to Gracia, the fairest of the
fair! Gome on, fellows, out in the
plaza, and then listen to the old folks
cuss!”
They adjourned then, after a drink
Tor courage, to the moonlight and the
plaaai and there, beneath the shut
tered Window* and vacant balconies,
the guitars and violins took up “La
Patoms," while Phil and a few brave
spirits sang.
A silence followed their first at
tempt, as well aa their second and
third, and the comlaarlo of police, a
mild creators owned and paid by the
company, came around and made a
taw Ineffectual protests.
But Inside the company's conces
sion, where by common consent the
rnWtant ruratee kept their bands off,
the Americans knew the)’ were safe,
»od they soon foOted the ootnisarlo
Into jailing a drink and departing,
rhea Be Lancer took up the burden,
end the string hand, hired by the hour,
strummed on m If for eternity.
One by one the windows opened!
fretful fathers stepped out on the bol-
F?any bod, bound by the custom and
ponventton of the country, thanked
teem, and bads them good night. But
tea two windows behind which the
ftenor Aragon and hta family reposed
did hot open and, though the dwin
dling band stood directly under their
balcony, and all knew that his daugh
ter was the fairest of the fair, Don
dprtano did not wish them good night
tteupa he recognised the leading
tenor—and the big voice of Bud
Booker, trying to stm the riot —but,
however It w&a, be would not speak
te theca. sod De Lancey wo«M not
*em on Amertoan music i” be
criodv as everyone but Bod went away
in disgust, *the latest rag from Broad-
Way, New Tork. Here, gimme that
guitar, hombre, and listen to this
pawl'
be picked out a clever bit of syn
copation and pitched his voles to a
heady twang:
Wa In tin iwta wbtre th« r*S me
grow.
Oh my. I ions to sot
i Pitta* an 111 m a Sowar, oufldl* mo an hoar,
Low* tot mo torn tho Rod Rom R*-s»l"
There was some swing to that, and
It seemed to make an Impression, for
lust as he was well started on the
chorus the slats of one of the shut
ters parted and a patch of white shone
through the apaoes. It was the ladles,
then, who were getting Interested!
•Phil walled on:
■Wwot-oot honoy-bm, bo nrnt to mol
toy hoort U froo, but boro’i tho hoy I"
And then, positively, he could see
that patch of white beat time. He
took heart of grace at that and sang
on to the end, and at a suggestion of
clapping lg duigb-fhow he jave an en-
core and ragged It over again.
“ ‘Ev’rybody's doin' it, doin’ it, doin’
it!”’ he began, as the shadow dance
ceased.
" ’Honey, I declare, it’s a bear, It’s a
bear, it’s a bear!”’ he continued
temptingly, and was well on his way
to further extravagancies when the
figure in white swiftly vanished and a
door slammed hard inside the house.
Several minutes later the form of
Don Juan appeared at the lower door,
and in no uncertain tones he requested
them to cease.
“The Senor Aragon informs me," he
said, “that your music annoys him.”
“Well, let him come to the balcony
and say his ‘buenas noches,’ ” an
swered Phil resentfully.
“The gentleman refuses to do that!"
responded Don Juan briefly.
“Then let him go to bed!” replied
De Lancey, strumming a few synco
pated chords; “I’m singing to his
daughter.”
At that Don Juan came down off the
porch in his slippers and they engaged
in a protracted argument.
“What, don’t I get a word?” de
manded Phil grievously, “not a pleas
ant look from anybody? ‘Swee-eet
Gracia Waved Him Good-Night.
honey-bee, be sweet, to me 1’ ” he
pleaded, turning pathetically to the
lady’s balcony; and then, with a sud
den flourish, a white handkerchief ap
peared through the crack of the shut
ters and Gracia waved him good night.
“Enough, Don Juan!” he oried, lay
ing down the guitar with a thump;
“this ends our evening’s entertain
ment I”
After paying and thanking the stolid
musicians Phil Joined Bud and the
pair adjourned to their room, where,
In the Intervals of undressing, Phil
favored the occupants of the adjoining
apartments with an aria from “Beau
tiful Doll."
But for all such nights of romance
and music there Is always a morning
afterward; and a fine tenor voice set
to ragtime never helped much In the
development of a mine. Though Bud
had remained loyally by his friend In
his evening serenade he, for one, never
forgot for a moment that they were
In Fortuna to work the Eagle Tall
and not to win the hearts of Spanish-
Mexican senorltas, no matter bow at
tractive they might be.
Bud was a practical man who, If he
ever made love, would doubtless do
It In a perfectly businesslike way,
without hiring any string bands. But
at the same time he was willing to
make some concessions.
“Well, go ahead and get your sleep,
then,” be growled, after trying throe
times tn the morning to get his pard
a*r up; “Pm going out to the urine I"’
Thao, with a saddle-gun under hta
knee and his six-shooter bung at hi*
hip, ha rode rapidly down the road,
turning out from time to time to let
long cavalcade? of mules string by.
The dead-eyed arrleroe, each with his
oo m blued mule-blind and whiplash
swinging free, seemed to hare very
little on their minds but their pack
lashings, and yet they must be three
days out from Moctezpma.
Their mules, too, were well loaded
with the products of the hot country
—-fanegas of com in red leather sacks,
oranges and fruits in hand-mad*
crates, panochea of sugar In balanced
frames, long Joints of sugar-oane for
the dulce pedlers, and nothing to Indi
cate either haste or flight
Three times he let long pack-trains
go by without a word, and then at last,
overoome by curiosity, he Inquired
about the revoltosos.
"What revoltosos?" queried the old.
man to whom be spoke.
“Why, the men of Bernardo Bravo,"
answered Bud; “the men who are
marching to take Moctesuma.”
"When I left Moctesuma," returned
the old man politely, "all was quiet—
there were no revoltosos. Blnce then,
I cannot say."
_ “Bu t the soldiers I “ cried Bud,
Author of
“THE FIGHTING POOL,” “HIDDEN WATERS,”
“THE TEXICAN," Etc.
Illustrations by DON J. *LAVIN
(Copyright. 19M, by Frank A. Munsey.)
"Surely you saw - them! They were
marching to fight the rebels.”
“Perhaps so,” shrugged the arrlero,
laying the lash of his topojo across
the rump of a mule; “but I know noth
ing about it”
“No,” muttered Bud, as he continued
on his way; “and I’ll bet nobody else
does.”
Inquiry showed that in this, too, he
was correct. From those who traveled
fast and from those who traveled slow
he received the same wondering an
swer —the country might be filled with
revoltosos; but, as for them, they
knew nothing about it.
Not until he got back to Fortuna
and the busy federal telegraph wire
did he hear any more news of rapine
and bloodshed, and the light which
dawned upon him then was gradually
dawning upon the whole town.
It was a false alarm, given out for
purposes of state and the “higher poli
tics” with which Mexico is cursed, and
the most that was ever seen of IJer
nardo Bravo and his lawless men was
twenty miserable creatures, half
starved, but with guns in their hands,
who had come down out of the moun
tains east of Moctezuma and killed a
few cows for beef.
Thoroughly disgusted, and yet
vaguely alarmed at this bit of opera
bouffe warfare, Bud set himself reso
lutely to work to hunt up men for
their mine, and, as many poor people
were out of employment because of
the general stagnation of business, he
soon had ten Mexicans at his call.
Then, as Phil had dropped out of
sight, he ordered supplies at the store
and engaged Cruz Mendee —who had
spent his fortune In three days—to
pack the goods out on his mules.
They were ready to start the next
morning If De Lancey could be found
to order the powder and tools, and as
the afternoon wore on and no Phil
appeared, Bud went on a long hunt
which finally discovered him In the
balcony of their window, making slgna
In the language of the “bear,” as a
man who flirts with a woman In Mex
ico is called.
“Say, Phil,” he hailed, disregarding
hie pardner’B obvious preoccupation;
“break away for a minute and tell me
what kind of powder to get to break
that schist —the store closes at live
o'clock, and —”
He thrust his head out the door as
he spoke and paused, abashed.
Through the half-closed portal of the
next balcony but one he behold th*
golden hair of Gracia Aragon, and she
fixed her brown eyes upon him with
a dazzling, mischievous smile.
“O-ho!" murmured Bud, laying a com
pelling hand on De Lancey and baok
lng swiftly out of range; "so this la
what you’re up to—talking signs! But
say, Phil,” he continued, beckoning
him peremptorily with a Jerk of hts
head, “I got ten men hired and a lot
of grub bought, and If you don’t pick
out that mining stuff we’re going to
lose a day. So get the lady to exotuto
you and oome on now."
’’ln a minute,” pleaded Phil, and h*
went at the end of his allotted time,
and perhaps It was the imp of jealousy
that put strength Into Hooker’s arm.
“Well, that’s all right,” said Bud, aa
Phil began his laughing excuses; “but
you want to remember the Maine,
pardner—we didn’t come down here to
play the beer. When they’s any love
making to be done I want to be la
on it. And you want to remember that
promise you made me—you said you
wouldn’t have a thing to do with the
Aragon outfit unless I was with youl"
“Why, you aren’t—you aren’t Jeal
ous, are you, Bud?”
“Yes, I’m Jealous!’ answered Hooker
harshly; "Jealous as the devil! And
I want you to keep that promise, see T”
“Aw, Bud—” began De Lancey In
credulously; but Hooker silenced him
with a look. Perhaps h* was really
jealous, or perhaps he only said so to
have his way, but Phil caw that he
was In earnest, and he went quietly
by his side.
But love bad set his brain In a
whirl, and he thought no more of hts
promise—only of some subtler way of
meeting his Inamorata, some way
which Bud would fall to see.
CHAPTER XMt.
For sixty daye and more, while the
weather had been turning from cold
to warm and they had been laboring
feebly to clear away the great slide
of loose jock that oovered up the
ledge, the Eagle Tall mine had r*-
malned a mystery.
Whether, like the old Eagle Tail of
frontier fable. It was so rich that only
the eagle’s head wgs needed to turn
the chunks Into twenty-dollar gold
pieces; or whether, like many other
frontier mines. It was nothing but a
hole In the ground, was a matter still
to be settled. And Bud, for one, was
determined to settle It qulokly.
“Come on,” he said, a* Phil hesi
tated to open np the way to the lead;
"we got a month, maybe less, to get to
the bottoip of this; and then the hills
will be lousy with rebels. If thoy’s
nothing here, we want to find out
about It quick and skip—and If we
*-£?!£?. by .grab, they ain’t enough
■By DANE COOLIDGE=
fHE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA.
red-naggers In Sonora To pry Tile
loose from It So show these hombres
where to work and we’ll be up against
rook by the end of the week.’’
The original Eagle Tail tunnel had
been driven into the side of a steep
hill; bo steep, in fact, that the loose
ehale stretched in long shoots from
the base of the frowning porphyry
dikes that crowned the tops of the
hllle to the bottom of the canyon. On
either side 6t the discovery guich
sharp ridges, perforated by the gopher
holes of the Mexicans and the ancient
workings of the Spaniards, ran di
rectly up the hill to meet the contact.
But It was against the face of the big
ridge Itself that Kruger had driven
his drift and exploded his giant blast
of dynamite, and the whole slope had
been altered and oovered with a slide
of rock.
Against this slide, In the days when
they were marking time, Bud and his
pardner had directod their energies,
throwing the loose stones aside, build
ing up walls against the slip, and
clearing the way to the solid schist.
There, somewhere beneath the jumble
of powder-riven rock, lay the ledge
which, If they found It, would make
them rich; and now with single-Jack
’ and drill, they attacked the last huge
fragments, blasting them Into pieces
and groveling deeper until they could
strike the contact, where the schist
and porphyry met and the gold spray
had spewed up between.
(To Be Coatimied Tomorrow.)
AT PANAMA; THE OLD WAY AND THE NEW
TWEIIIE non MEXICO
The Absolute Disregard That the “Greaser” Has For
Death is Described By One Who Witnesses the Scenes
That Are Described Below—The Brutality and Un
civilised Traits of Mexicans.
AVe had not been in Hipolito half an
hour when five stretchers passed our
cav. going toward the hospital train he
mud us. Suspecting that an outpost
skirmish had taken place, we rushed to
the cuartei general for Information, only
to learn that the stretchers contained
the first day's toll of accidental shoot
ing—one dead and four wounded. Soon
the doctors had their hands full with the
men hurt by careless gun handling and
with those who rolled from car roofs o*
thoughtlessly went to sleep under trains.
A Mexican is careless of life, includ
ing his own. Through trains were clank
ing up and down the eight tracks at I ri
polito all day long, women and children
played tag under car bottoms, and 1 even
saw a slit-eyed soldier place Ids blanket
roll on a rail for a pillow and compose
himself for a nap with no apparent fear
of decapitation. Two ladles on the car
just ahead of ours quarreled over the at
tentions of an Adonis of the ranks, and
one. a big black woman who looked like
a Negress, lighted a hand grenade one
evening end blew off her rival’s head.
As we were pulling out of Hipolito for
Fraustro, a. town by virtue of a railway
switch, but at that time a terminus,
thanks to the track-destroying Federals,
word came that 3,000 men under den
erals Faoul Madero and Pablo Itobles had
taken Paredon in a fight that was fin
ished before Villa could get to the scene
of action. The Constitutionalists lost
only thirty men -and captured one
fourth of the 4,000 defenders of the
town; fifty men and thirty-five officers
of the enemy, including three generals,
being reported as “killed in action.” A
mortality of nearly four officers for
every five men Is rather suspicious; and
It was also a curious coincidence that the
only Federal officer who came alive out
of Paredon as a prisoner had been a
classmate of a Constitutionalist general
at a French military college. If Villa
does execute captured officers, however,
ho cannot be greatly blamed f<*r It. The
parole of an officer of Huerta is worth
less, and the Constitutionalist prisons
are already overcrowded: It is to Vil
la’s credit that he offers all the captured
regular Federal rank ami file an oppor
tunity to enlits with him, and treats the
wounded soldiers of the enemy with as
much consideration es his own.
Five or six miles from Fraustro our
train stopped for the night In a deep and
narrow canyon, the worst possible place
that could have been selected, for our
flanks were unprotected, and two thou
sand of the enemy sweeping overland
from Saltillo, only forty miles away,
could have destroyed the seven tVains
with ease, torn up the track, and cut
Villa off rom his base of supplies.
Moreover, there was the danger that
some of the 3,000 men who had been
driven from Paredon were lurking In the
neighborhood. We had Just; two sources
of reassurance namely, the fact that
Villa had never been surprised, and that
he had thus far been the only Mexican
general to indulge in night fighting.
Nevertheless, we gringoes were decided
ly uneasy, and went so far as to take a
census of our lighting strength, and to
make plans for a defense. Including the
Mexican captain and the two adventur
ers, we had ten fighting men in the car,
with four rifles and ten automatic pis
tols. The two Chlnnmen didn’t count.
Upon learning that we had enough mat
tresses and blankets to make passable
breastworks, wo turned in for an uneasj i
night. About midnight the Mexicans
must have decided that they were put
ting too much faith In Villa’s foresight,
and the apathy of the enemy, for the
trains were moved out to where the val
ley was much wider, the nearest hill be
ing six hundred yards to the east.
T was awake before sunrise end got
up to enjoy the beauties of that event
on a morning when the air was so clear
that It hurt the eyes, although it was
freshened by a gentle, moist (fraught
from the Chi If. Dawn and twilight are
short in the tropics, and day and night
come suddenly. Dike an Incandescent
cannon-ball the sun rolled up on the
rocky knoll in the cast, and from behind
it. all at once, came the wicked "sput,
spilt,” of Mausers. “Whlng, wheep,
wiling, wheep,” something whispered
overhead, and I realized that the huge
white bull's-eye sign of the “Mutual
Movies” painted on our car was the tar
get of the hidden marksmen. I heard
behind me curses in foirt* tongues Fng
lnsli, Spanish, kkitch and Italian—as my
sleepy companions rolled out of their
bunks and snatched with clumsy fingers
at tho pile of weapons on tlie center
table. Then, before more than a score
of shots had been fired, nil mercifully
going high, the fusillade ceased as sud
denly as It had begun. Some boys who
had gone out to shoot jack-rabbits came
in out of breath and reported having
seen fourteen Colorndos slinking off he
hind the easterly ridge. This same band
fired at Villa’s tVains the following even
ing and torn up a small piece of track
before they were captured and executed,
within a few hundred yards of our car,
by men of General Robles.
It may seem absurd that Villa had not
put out flanking forces to protect his
trains; but the flank movement, like
other simple military tactics, is almost
unknown in Mexico. Therein is the
most salient reason why in battles be
tween luVge and cumbersome armies the
Mexicans would be easy prey for the
American regulars. Warfare ill Mexi
co, aside from the guerrilla variety, con
sists In finding nut where the enemy is
and then marching straight up to him.
Villa was the man to defy the tradition
that only the dnvttmo Is suitable for
fighting, and he has also ruthlessly up
set precedents In “following up" his vic
tories Instead of sitting down and cele
brating until the enemy Is ready to come
hack and lake him unawares; but even
Villa has only the crudest knowledge of
nccepted military strategy.-—The Out
look.
HAS IT IN THE FAMILY.
"My dear,” remarked Jones, who
had just finished reading a book on
“The Wonders of Nature.” This
really Is a remarkable work. Nature
Is marvelous! Stupendous! When I
rend a work like this It makes me
think how guerlle, how Insignificant
is man.”
“Huh!” sniffed his better half. “A
woman doesn’t have to wade through
400 pages to find out the same thing.”
—Judge.
ATE UP HIS ACT.
(Chicago Nows).
A vaudeville artist who used to
tour t.ho theaters with a flock of per
forming ducks, found managers no
longer willing to book his sedate
show. After he had been resting for
some time he received a telegram
nsking him to open on the following
Monday at a variety theater In a dis
tant town. In reply he wired: "Re
gret I cannot come. Have eaten tho
act.”
Mrs. Newl.vrich, to her socitl secre
tary; “Miss Fletcher, I hate to say it,
but I’m afraid you ain’t up In all th’
requirements.” Tho Secretary—“ Please
explain.” Mrs. Newlyrlch—“Why, X
was talkin’ to that fat Mrs. Waddle
this afternoon an’ she said I ought to
join th’ Sapphira Club—an’ T don’t be
lieve you ever mentioned it.” —Cleve-
land Plain Dealer.
FIVE