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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1912)
TIYE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, FORTXAND, MAT 5, 1912. 7 L ' , J Unusual Spectacle Presented of Prominent Senators v,";V'?V ' J MJMiy f lOt 1.. V Representatives Voluntarily Leaving Public Life !" Sf JFJ W V: ? f t ' - 7 Fourteen Members of Congress Retire at End of Pres- f "v . s" ' lt I 1 ' V ';A'VX Ss' ii ent Session Sixty-Second Congress. ( n . -:Jr WL vfO- - - - V . ' J It:: If .'v.M dcllninic another term In Congress,! X-".-. S ' ' POCK' lira vei Ol'RTEEU Cor. ere i mm runalnr ray from Concreis. Did you iver hear of th like bafor? Fourteen men. Fenatora ni Kepreient atlree, hare decided to quit public life forerer at the end of the preeent e- lun of Conferees. Fourteen men. of all political creed, numbering amonff tiiem snme of the most brilliant law yers and orators of the Nation, actual ly runnlr.ir away from public life la the answer to the terTlflc strain of the political maelstrom of today. Many of these men entered the arena In the hey ley of life, with their pulses throb blnjr la anticipation of the (lurlous prospect In front of them, and now af ter a few years of the tnerry-KO-round. are retiring;, some of them broken In health and nervous wrecks. The Id Congress will hold a con spicuous place In the history of the American Nation, because of this ex odus of men from Us rank. There have been many Coosresaes from which men nave voluntarily resigned, but never before have so many men voluntarily nnlt public life In any one or two ses sions of Contrrefts. The reason I not far to seek. This Conarress will no down m the history of the Nation on or the most strenuous sessions ever heia by that body. Several months ago an announcement appeared of the voluntary retirement of a member of Consrress. This was followed every little while by similar statements of other Senators and Rep resentatives, and finally the number became so jrreat as to attract public attention. It occurred to the writer that there must be some reneral rea son for this extraordinary movement. ' and durlns; the last 10 days he has In terviewed the men who have decided to retire to private life, ilany explan atlons were lven. but the chief reason seemed to be that they had to leave or become active candidates for an In sane asylum. Coaadraec Caaeea Retirement. There are several members of Con jrress now In santoriums In various parts of the country, nervous wrecks. all due to the extraordinary upheaval tiow a-oln? on all over the country. There were other reasons given for the contemplated action. One Senator and one Keprecntatl ve told the writer they simply had to quit because under pres ent conditions they could not do their duty as they saw It- In other words, both are men with active consciences, and during; their public service they claim they have been compelled to do thir. k atralnst the dictates of con science and asratnst the best Interests of their constituents. A Conirrrssman elected four years ago gave his word that he would not seek re-election after two terms, and while he believes he could be re-elected should h run strain, he prefers to keep his word rather than remain In public life. Other Congressmen gave as a reason the peculiar artificiality of of- ficlal Ufa In Washington. They pre ferred to have their children grow up In their own little home town, to re turn to the simple life, rather than ac quire habits so different from their home life. All their friends are at home, and sooner or later they must return, and they prefer to take the stop now than wait until It is too late. Some Representatives lawyers pre ter the practice of law to public life. and while they gave up a lucrative practice to enter the service of the people, they feel It would be better to get hack In harness again oeiore u is too late. As Expeaslv Lire. Many people consider It humorous to talk of a man getting a salary of $7500 a year and not being able to live on It. but If they could take the time to make a fair Investigation. It would be found that there Is more truth than poetry In the statement. For Instance, a Congressman comes to wasningxon for two years. He hardly gets settled before be must start the ball rolling lor bia campaign for re-election that Is, crovtded he wants to return. Thla campaigning Is the eras of the situa tion. It Is the most expensive Item to be considered when reckoning the cost of living of a member of Congress. Many members say: "Of course we can live, pay household expenses, carfare. and take an occasional ride In the park, but It should be remembered we must make these campaigns every two rears. Just figure up the cost of bands, halls, campaign literature, and the thousand and one other little Items that enter Into campaign expenses, then it will be seen at a glance why the salary of a member of Congress Is not so great after all." A reason advanced by one or the men about to retire la that a new represen tative does not take his seat until 13 months after his election: this means one year and one month from the date of his election. And then, even be fore the new representative takes his seat he is under the necessity of start ing on a campaign for re-election, and his first session must be largely taken un with an appeal to his constituents for his retention In an office for which , ?eaz-ca'. time to sho.. any par ticular fitness. This same representa tive gave as another reason for his declining another term in Congress, the short term and the constantly re curring elections, with all the neces sary expenses Involved, which not only exhaust the time and energy of a repre sentative, but also deplete his pocket book, and Is a source of constant Irri tation. One of the moat unusual characters among the many men running away from Congress Is John Martin, of Pueblo, Colo. He is a big man, physi cally and mentally. He measures In his stocking feet something like 6 feet 2 inches, and weighs probably 200 j pounds. Now. to look at John any one would say It Is ridiculous to think that such a man could be bothered with such a thing as "nerves." but John Martin, although a giant of a man, h acquired a bunch of nerves such as the merest bit of femininity would not be ashamed to own. When John Martin entered, Congress six years ago he was In the prime of health, and didn't know that such a thing as nerves existed, but since entering the political arena he has found out his mistake. The Call at Destiny Was Feeble. "Perhaps the prejudice of my up bringing should discount my views." said Mr. Martin, when requested to give his reasons for retiring from public, life. "Putting It In my words. I axn one of those men who came up from the ranks. I left a Job as section band at $1.10 a day. at the age fit U crawled Into a boxcar and beat my way to Colorado. I fired an engine until was 26 years old, and never bad a law book In my hands until that time, when I took up the study of law. This was right after the big strike In lilt. I had neither Job. money, nor friends. After a few years' digging I was ad mitted to the bar. established myself as a lawyer, and scrambled Into Con gress between the age of 2$ and 40. I used to dream it was my destiny to go to Congress, but It did not take me (Ten long to find out that the call of destiny was very feeble. But through it all I have preserved without change the principles and simplicity formed while at the shovel and on the road, and my experience In Congress has not made me at all cynical, but it has been sev eral years now since there were any dreams of the destiny business. "When I return to private life, there will go with me, unimpaired, my Inter est In National affairs, and I shall try to help and advise all who come to me to the best of my ability. I shall work for measures which will enlarge and Increase their Influence over the af fairs of government. I am leaving pub lic life because the nervous strain Is too great. I am well enough physi cally, but I have found the nervous wear and tear of the last few years so severe It has robbed my life of all Its pleasures, and In order to get square with myself I feel that I must get back to the simple life. The Cost of the Poll! leal Game. "Another thing. Congress la the last place on earth for one or two-term service. It should be for a life career and a man has no business coming here under any other conditions. A Representative from my part of the country could not stay In Congress a half dosen terms, no matter what his ability might be. Aa soon as a man eomes here the thought begins to prey on his mind that he la Just going to I stay here long enough to lose out com- ! . 1 -1 . . H. . . . . . . . ....... 1. Iiictci; ab Hume, lu uni vul vt luuuu with local conditions and with his pro fession and In a measure become unfit for it If he is a poor man, like my self, having nothlngr but his profession and his salary while in office, he Is 1 bound to go broke and have to begin all over again. Further, he will have to beeln all over again without the heart for the fray he had In the first place. "I had less money In the bank the morning after my last election to Con gress than I did the morning before my first nomination, and. In addition to that, I had no law practice left. I must say, however, that I would be glad to accept these financial conditions if the constant recurrence of the campaigns were not such a grneling strain. There Is a most erroneous popular impression abroad that most men come to Con gress to have a good time. But the real truth of the matter is there are more men in Congress who break themselves down through nervous strain and over work than in any other activity. "If a man is at all reflective and philosophic, he will be impressed by the pathetic ease with which even leaders at Washington may drop out of the race and the mad rush go on without a moment's delay. I have myself wit nessed a member of Congress making the usual formal announcement and presenting the usual resolution on the death of a prominent member of Con gress when there was so much noise srolntr on he could not be heard 20 feet. All around him there were men Just I as human as anybody could be, but in I the rush of life such a Bmall thing as the death of any one man, even though he had been a great leader, was hardly noticed. "I am going and glad to go. If I should be haunted with lingering re grets for the life back in Washington, I will be consoled by the recollection of the small alloy of Joy as against the great mass of grievances which made ut my work while nere. ana Dy tne certain knowledge that sooner or later I would go to the discard anyhow; the later, the deeper and more lingering the regrets." William O. Brantley, or BrunswicK, Qa., Is another man who has decided to quit public life after a .service of 28 years. When asked his reason, Mr. Brantley said: "It is one thing to re main in Congress at a pecuniary sacri fice, but quite another thing to stay on until no sacrifice is involved. A man without means In public life can stay on until he becomes dependent upon public favor for the actual support of his family, a position that is unfair to him and to the public I have never wanted to stay so long that I would get so far along the road that I would not be able to turn back the other way, I have an opportunity now to enter upon a lucrative law practice, an op portunity that might never again offer Itself to me. Mr. Brantley grew reminiscent, and recalled the day In June, 1898, when. unexpectedly and unsought, a unanl tnous nomination to Congress was of fered him. . He ald he never campaigned for a nomination, and never made formal announcement of his candidacy, and yet eight Bucceesslve unanimous nomi nations were given him. Jt Is this record that he points to with pride, coupled with the fact that his desk ia Know oiled hlerh with letters from his district, tendering him yet another term in Congress. "For those devoted friends to whom I owe all I have achieved I have love everlasting and a tenderness be yond me to express. The fact that I won and throughout the years have held the confidence and esteem of my friends will ever remain with me the real achievement of my life, and the one thing of which I can always be proud." Afraid of Washington's Kseclnatlosu Ben Cravens, of Fort Emlth, Ark., gives up puVlc life in Washington without a gregret. Mr. Cravens was the first member of this session to an nouncs his determination to retire to private life. He is another man who takes the view that he had better re turn to private life and the practice of law before It is too late. In answer to the query for his reasons for retiring. Mr. Cravens said he found he had to give up one or the other Congress or the practice of his profession and he came to the conclusion that as his pro fession was the most attractive he pre ferred to give up Congress. "Another reason is. because I want to get back home," said Mr. Cravens. "I llko It better and all my friends are there. When a man gets out of touch with the people at home, he not only loses their friendship, but will In the end get turned out of Congress, and become a man without a home, busi ness or profession. There are two oth er reasons that nave lnriuencea me to quit. I have two children, a boy and a girl, and I want them to grow up at home and not In Washington. The life here In so different from home, or in any other place for that matter, they might become dlsssatisfled with the more simple life away from Washing ton and acquire the Washington fever. I believe It is better for young boys and girls to grow up with the people th whom they wl l associate in after life. Of course, if I were independent ly wealthy, or had a fixed income to make the future of myself and family secure, regardless of whether I was re-elected or not, then public life In Washington might appeal to me more forcibly; but the" fact that I must have something to depend upon for the fu ture lead me to take this step before It is too late. I am a believer in the simple life. There Is no place in the United States where life Is the same as in Washington, and the majority of people who become accustomed to life here generally become dissatisfied with life at home. If you take the official life oat of Washington there Is nothing left." John M. Moore, of Texas, Is return ing to the simple life. Mr. Moore is the owner of a large cattle ranch in Texas, and he could be returned to Congress without opposition if he de sired. He Is a married man and has five children, but he expressed a simi lar opinion to that of Mr. Cravens, that he prefers to have his children grow up In the surroundings they will have in after life. Arthur W. Kopp, of Plattflold, Wis.. Is the man who is voluntarily retiring because he would rather keep his word than have all the flesh pots of Egypt If he should have to choose between the two. "When I first ran for Congress I was asked how many terms I would seek: the officer" said Mr. Kopp. "This was Just after we had a bitter fight over Mr. Babcock, who had held the office for many years. The people of my dis trict seemed to think a man should not remain longer than two terms, for fear he would get out of touch with conditions at home. I told them I would seek the office only; twice, and that ia my only reason for retiring from pub lic life, because I prefer to keep my word rather than remain in Congress." Mr. Kopp expressed the conviction that the term of Representative In Washington should be Increased from two to four years, and also voiced the same opinion as many of his colleagues that the life in Washington is not conducive to the development of home ties. "In the nature of thing. Mr. Kopp said, "a man is away from his family, his friends of years' standing and Is living In an unnatural atmos phere. A longer term would tend to obviate some of the Inconveniences, for the reason that a man might then bring his family to live with him while In Washington. With only twe years' service he hardly gets settled before he is compelled to pull up stakes and return home." Senator Bailey's Unique Position. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey, of Texas, has voluntarily announced his intention to resign his seat in the (Senate. This ia something that rarely happens. It is seldom a man in the prime of life resigns a seat in the United States Senate. There are other men who have an nounced their intention to retire from public life at the end of the Sixty- second Congress, but the length of this article will not permit of giving their reasons in detail. Among them are Arsene Pujo, of Louisiana; George Felton Lawrence, of Massachuseets; Martin W. Littleton, of New York; William Kent, of California; Martin E. Olmsted, of Pennsylvania, and Will iam Hughes, of New Jersey. The pre dominating influence, however, which is causing so many men to run away from Congress seems to be the terrlflo nervous strain, continual campaigns, the short two-year term and the fear that should they remain too long they would be without friends at home or abroad, and be in the position of the man who reached the end of the road but had burned the bridges behind him. (Copyright, 112, by William L. Alt-dorfor.) PERIL AND HEROISM IN A BRUSH WITH MEXICAN BANDITS A True Story How Three Americans and a Peon Boy Won a Desperate Fight Against Odds. Tlr1sty James. vh tills the following story, was graduated from tho Columbia ecnool or Mlr.oa In lnOs, and went Immtdl ately to Mexico mm a mlmn tniknwr. Ho la bow In tho Philippine working oo the THE shrill, insistent whistle of a hostile bullet near your head la a sound never to be forgotten. 1 have only heard It once that was Christmas Eve in 1310 but even now I wake from a sound sleep to listen In fancy to the tune the little lead pel lets played that night. I was an assistant entr.necr at the Esperanxa mines down In the atate of Guanajuato, Mexico. On thla particular night there was a dance at Santa Rosa. 20 miles away, ana an tne. boys naa gone. I had expected to go. but the previous evening Charles Knight, man ager of th mines, had called me aside and asked me to stay with him. "James." he said. "I don't Ilka the feel of things. That sounds foolish to you, bat I've been In this heaven-forsaken land so long that I'm almost a barometer when there is trouble afoot. There's enough gold bullion stored In the mill to be an attractive bait and I wouldn't feel easy about leaving It alone. The men have been surly, as you've noticed, ever since the strike, and the short of it all Is that I think you and I had best camp right here and look after the outfit." 1 was a bit disappointed, but I saw the reasonableness of the thing, and after the boys, four of them, had can tered away for the 20-mile ride to Santa Rosa I realized how absolutely unpro tected the place would have been bad we all gone. There was not another white man short of the 20 miles, ao far as we knew. Christmas Is a big day with the Mexican and all the peons had left camp for one or other of the celebrations at the nearest town or villages. An olJ woman rrepared the eternal frlioles and a tortla for us and then I shambled off to visit In some adobe hut In the hills. That Is what we called supper, and after the meal we sat In front of the hacienda and smoked cigarettes and chatted about the way we used to spend Christmas eve at home. I got to know Knight pretty well during that talk, but I knew him better when the sun rose again. Mt-n don't stare into the eyes of death to gether without learning either to de galas: r love) one another. I learned I to rospect. and. yea. to love, Charlea Knight during what followed our talk. "Isn t It ouieir ne aaio. tiior a wuua. In a pause of cur reminiscences. "Peo ple back home don't know what quiet Is." " 'Twas he night before Christ mas," he started to quote, 'and all through the house how does tha rest of It go, Chris?" A Peea Bay's Story. I was trying to remember how the next lines ran, when there rose on the still air the wildest, nerceat shriek I ever heard. Knight sprang to his feet, two shots rang out from the side of the mountain behind us, there waa a crashing and scrambling In the brush, and we heard a heavy body hurtling down the cliff. The yells continued and w ran to the rear of the hacienda. Turning the corner of the building someone rushed Into Knight, who grasped the unknown In his bear-like arms, swearing mean while at the way he had been startled. All waa quiet on the mountainside. and whoever It waa In Knight's anna aeemed not disposed to harm u "Who are you and what la the mat ter?" growled the manager. He had dragged his captive Into the light and we could see that It was Pablo, a Mexican boy employed In the mines. "Ladrones! ladrone!" he groaned In fright. Knight shot a glance at me. "Kobbers. you see," he said. "If lucky we stayed. Hurry up, boy! tell us what Is the matter." Incoherent In his fear, the lad In formed us that he had been on his way to a friend's some six mllea away, when he had seen on the crest of a hill a band of armed men riding to ward him. He waa frightened and had turned about to hurry for the camp. The men on horseback had seen him and followed 'until he scrambled Into the brush and started down the moun tain side to gain the camp - without following the road. They had called to him to stop, but he scrambled all the faster, and one of the men had dismounted to chase him. Just before Pablo had gained hla refuge two shots had been fired at him. but both had missed. His on!.' hurts were bruises sustained In falling the last few yards dowa the eUC to lh hacienda. It was hla body we had heard thudding down the bank. Pablo's story was scarcely finished before Knight and I had started run ning toward the mllL The boy fol lowed, braver now that he had com pany, and before morning he proved that when, time came for action he was a hero. In the mill were aminunl tlon and all the firearms which were kept on hand for emergenoy. Wa car ried them all Into one room, where the bullion was. for we had little doubt that the ladrones, knowing most of the men were away at Santa Rosa, had aeciaea to raia tne camp. A ColJoejay With the Rob! "Some one is coming out of the bush," I said without leaving the win dow where I was watching. "We can't let them get too dose," said Knight, and walked to the door, opening It. "Who la coming." he called In Spanish, "and what Is yeur bual Three men who had been crawling close te the ground stood ereot and on of them ahouted: "Senor, If you and your friends will go away peaceably, no harm shall come to you. But you must take. noth ing with you. All that la in th hacienda la th government's." "What government ar asked Knight. He knew what the answer would be- but we had to spar for time. Pablo and I were busy piling a low breast works of or and slag against each of th three exposed walls of th build ing. "The government of Mexico, replied the man. "Madero's government" "Th liar!" muttered Knight. Then he argued with th man and Pablo and crept t th door, lying prone and being sheltered by the wall eaoh aide of the opening. If you have a commission from Ma- dero." aald Knight, "come forward and let us aee it." Her It la!" ahouted the Mexican. and he fired a pistol, aiming at th manager. It waa what w had fore seen, and aa the three ladrones rushed to th attack Pablo and I opened fir from our concealed position. I do not know whether we hit. but the three men were taken by surprise and ran pellmell back into th woods. e had not long to wait for the next attack. A heavy fire was opened from .th aid where th three men had dis appeared. We dropped behind our atone breastworks and did not attempt to return the fir. It would have wasted ammunition. Th robbers knew they had all night and were content net to com out Into th open. I suppose for half an hour we may have been there, with the bullet sip ping Into the wooden walla and shat tering the windows. It seemed like half a century, and when there was an occasional lull In the firing we longed for it to start again. The quiet was harder to bear. From time to time Knight or I peered from a window to make sure th ladrones were not crawling up upon ua under cover ef the fir. Pablo Perilow Joaraey. We had to have help. That was our only chance for escape. The manager and I talked It over, discussing every plan w could evolve, but the only one which waa tenable aeemed to be to send Pablo. He might be shot in try ing to get away, but even then hla chances for life were better than they would be if he remained In the mill. His face waa white and his Hps drawn when we asked him If he waa willing to try, but he answered with out hesitation: "SI, Ben or." There waa a stream about fifty yards from one side of the mill and a project ing cliff mad a sharp angle in it. If Pablo could reach this cliff In safety, along th water's edge, he would prob ably be safe. In that case, he could make his way some four miles along the stream and then strike a trail which would lead him to Santa Rosa. It waa twenty mllea and he would probably have to do It on foot, but it we did not get word to the boya they would not return until after Christmas night. We said never a word to Pablo as he started out. We could not. for our feelings were too strong. There was a great big lump in my throat as I shook hands with him and I saw tears glisten in Knight's eyes. He had an eighteen-year-old boy of his own In Santa Rosa, Anxiously we peered from the win dows, waiting for the next assault. If Pablo had been stopped we were doomed. If he had escaped it would be only through a miracle that we could survive until help arrived. We dared not have light and we groped about in the darkness trying to build a barri cade of machinery and timbers la th middle room against the possibility of the robbers rushing us. There were really three rooms In the mill, which was a. one-story building, and we de cided to make our final stand in the rear one, which was the nearest to the cliff, after holding the middle one as long as w could. Into this we car ried as much of the bullion as we could and we were about to build a barricade there when, amid a mighty crashing and roaring, a boulder hurtled down the cliff and carried away a corner of th roof and part of the rear wall. Knight was struck in the arm by a splintered beam, but it had only grazed him and did not break the bone. We could not resist that sort of an attack and we retreated to the front room, leaving the bullion. Four more bould ers, and all the debris they carried with them, crashed down the moun tain side and the whole rear of the building was wrecked. It Is a marvel that the entire shack was not de mollsbed. Almost simultaneously with the fall of the last boulder, about a dozen men rushed out of th woods In front and dropped to the ground, halfway . be tween the brush and the mill, and opened fire. We fought them off as long as we could, but when they made another rush we retreated to the mid dle room. From behind our barricades we fired through the front door, which tottered and groaned under the blows which were rained upon it. A head appeared at a window. My revolver flashed and I think I hit the man for the face disappeared. The bolts of the door held, but one of the robbers was half through another win dow before a bullet from Knight's rifle atopped him. We must have done considerable damage while the men were rushing the open space before the mill and while they were lying on the ground In front of us, for the at tack lagged after the attempts to enter the building by the windows. The room In which we were had been almost demolished by the falling bould ers and there was a perfect network of timbers and Jumbled machinery In the reaf part of It. Even the battering on the door had been given up, and we crawled Into the front room, over our barricade, to re-enforce the door before the attack should be opened again, shots splintered through the wood. We scuttled back Into our stronghold and began firing again through the door, always guarding the windows. Some heavy instrument was used now, and with a few blows the door crashed in ward. The first rush of the ladrones through the aperture we stopped with our rifles, but we dared waste no more ammunition firing blindly. The Battle In the Mill. Presently the firing ceased abruptly and three men rushed at us, knive gleaming in their hands from the In stantaneous flashes of our pistols. One stumbled and fell headlong over a beam, His shoulders were within reach as he sprawled on the ground, and Knight's pistol butt crashed down on to his head. I fired at one of the others and he re treated. The third man did not wait to take any punishment, but fled, dragging to safety the one who had fallen. Then there was a lull In the gun play. I believe the ladrones thought there were more than two of us in the mill. I was panting from sheer excite ment and from the strain. Knight gripped his wounded arm, closed his Jaws tight and swore softly through clenched teeth. Suddenly a flickering, reddish glow filtered into our stronghold. It was very dim. We heard the men shouting and thought that they had torches and were preparing to burn us out. It meant they could not get the bullion, but they would wreck vengeance on us. The thought unnerved us. We could not fight fire, and we would die like rats, A few more seconds and we would have been burned alive, or at least so we thought. Even if this was not their plan the next rush would plunge u into a hand-to-hand conflict with their whole force, and we knew we could not live through It- It's time to run," whispered Knight, "Bullion or no bullion, we would only sell our lives uselessly." Our only chance was to escape by the way Pablo had taken. We crawled through wrecked timbers and ma chinery to the rear of the building. There was not much chance of our getting away, but we would be shot. not roasted to death. I was Just ahead of Knight. Go slow, he whispered. "Don't show yourself till you are sure they But the robbers were readv for us. are not guarding the rear.' and hardly had we approached the door Just at the wall I lay still. It was so with, a portion of a bin when, several 1 battered to pieces that we could slip through at almost any point. I pushed my big felt hat through an opening along the ground. It was hardly out of my band before two rifles banged from somewhere on the cliff and we knew certain death waited for us that way. I relaxed, sick with despair, and hid my face In my hands. I feared death yes, and I am not ashamed of it but it was not for that I almost wept, I could grit my teeth and face death without flinching, but it was the thought of home and friends that made me hide my face, try to blot the vision out, for fear it would make a coward of me. "What is that?" hissed Knight sud denly. I listened. There was a new sound of firing oft to the right. Was ' it help c reinforcements for the enemy? We knew Pablo could scarcely have reached Santa Rosa, to say nothing of returning with aid, yet the hope that It was help for us would grow. There was a drumming of hoofs now, forming an undertone to the firing. Then a series of yelps, the hoarse shouting of commands. As though it were a dream, I saw the men before me turn and flee. Outside there waa fighting, but I sank upon a fallen beam exhausted. I heard Knight groan ing and knew that he, too, had dropped. Horses were stamping and snorting in the yard and I crawled from the debris to find a party of rurales, with Pablo in their midst, alive and astride of a horse. Though it all I had come untouched. While some of the soldlor police chased the ladrones into the hills. we carried Knight, who had merely fainted from loss of blood, to the ha cienda and bound up his flesh wound. Pablo had run the gauntlet of the enemy and had started for Santa Rosa, but had met with the party of rurales who rode to our rescue. In the dark ness the firing had been rather Inef fective. How many of the ladrones were wounded I do not know; there were two dead, and the rurales took the bodies into the hills and burled them. That was all. Knight and I had only stuck by the bullion and done what was expected of us. But Pablo, to my mind, Pablo, the little peon boy, waa a hero. (Copyright, 1912, by the Associated Lit erary Press.