? THE RED 9
N
r TRAIL 3
CHAPTER IX. (Continued.)
The traveler looked at him fixedly for
moment or two, and then laid hla hand
firmly on hla arm and pulled him toward
the table.
"Now, look here," he said to him curtly,
I Intend to paea two houra In your hovel,
at all rlaka ; I know that between thla and
eleven o'clock you expect a large party."
The landlord attempted to give a de
nial, but the traveler cut him short.
"Silence," h'e continued, "I wish to be
present at this meeting; of course I do
not mean to be seen; but I must not
only see them, but hear all they say. Put
ase where you please, that is your con
cern; but aa any trouble deserves pay
ment, here are ten ounces (or you, and
I will give you as many more when your
visitors have gone, and I assure you that
what I ask ot you will not In any way
compromise you. Now, I will add, that
If you obstinately refuse the arrangement
I ffeT "
"Well, suppose I dor
"I will blow out your brains," the
traveler said distinctly.
"Hang It, excellency," the poor fellow
answered, with a grimace, "I think that
I have no choice, and am compelled to
accept"
"Good 1 now yon are learning reason;
but take three ounces as a consolation."
The landlord, forgetting that he had de
clared a few moments previously that he
had nothing In the house, instantly cov
ered the table with provisions, which, If
not particularly delicate, were sufficiently
appetising. When their hunger was at
length appeased, the traveler who seemed
to speak for both thrust away his plate
' and addressed the landlord, who was mod'
eatly standing behind him, hat In hand.
"And , now for another matter," he
aid; "how many lada have you to help
you 7
Two, excellency the one who took
your horses to the corral, and another."
"Very good. I presume you will not
require both those lada to wait on your
friends to-night r
"Certainly not, excellency; Indeed, for
greater security, I shall wait on them
alone."
"Better still ; then, yon see no Incon
venience in sending one of them into the
Oludad?"
"No inconvenience at ail, excellency;
what is the business?"
"Simply," he said, taking a letter from
his bosom, "to convey this letter to Benor
Don Antonla Ralller, in the Calls Mon-
terilla, and bring me back an answer."
"That is easy, excellency; if you will
have the kindness to Intrust the letter to
me."
"Here It is, and four piastres for the
Journey."
The host bowed respectfully and im
mediately left the room.
"I fancy, Curumilla," the traveler then
said to his companion, "that our affairs
are going on well."
The other replied with a silent nod of
assent. The travelers rose; In a twink
ling when the landlord returned and re
moved all signs of supper, and then "hid
els guests behind an old-fashioned coun
ter.
CHAPTER X.
The travelers had scarce time to con
ceal themselves ere several knocks on the
door warned the landlord that the myste
rious guests h expected were beginning
to arrlv.
The door was hardly ajar ere several
men burst Into the Inn, thrusting each
other aside in their haste, aa If afraid
of being followed. These men were seven
or eight in number, and it was easy to
ee they were officers, In spite of the pre
caution of some among them who had put
on civilian attire.
They laughed and jested loudly. The
door of the rancho had been left ajar by
the landlord, who probably thought it un
necessary to close it ; the officers succeed
ed each other with great rapidity, and
their number soon became so great that
the room was completely filled.
As for No Lusacho, Nhe continually
prowled round the tables, watching ev
erything with a corner of his eyes, and
being careful not to serve the slightest
article without receiving Immediate pay
ment. At length, one of the officers rose.
"Is Don Sirven here?"
"Tes, senor," a young man of twenty
t the most answered as he rose.
"Assure yourself that no person is ab
sent."
The young man bowed and began walk
ing from one table to the other, exchang
ing two or three words in si low voice with
each of the visitors. When Don Sirven
had gone round the room, he went to the
person who had addressed him and said
with respectful bow:
"Senor colonel, the meeting Is complete
and only one person Is absent ; but as he
did not tell us certainly whether he would
do ns the honor of being present to-night,
I "
"That will do," the colonel Interrupted ;
"remain outside, watch the environs and
let no one approach without challenging
nun, bnt If yon know who arrives intro
duce him Immediately.
"Ton can trust me, colonel," the young
man answered, and, after bowing to hla
superior officer, he left tb room and dos
ed the door behind him.
The officers then turned round on the
benches and thus found themselves ace
to face with the colonel, who had eta
tloned himself la the middle of the room.
The latter waited a law Blast till aer-
feet silence was established, and then
spoke as follows :
"Let me. In the first nlaee. thank nn.
eaballeros, for the punctuality with whloh
you have responded to the meeting I had
the honor of arranging with you. I am
delighted at the confidence It has pleased
you to display in me, and, belleva me, I
snau snow myself worthy of it; for It
proves to me once again that you are
reauy devoted to the interests of our
country and that I may freely reckon on
yon In the hour of danger. You under-
stana as well as I do that we can no
longer bow our necks beneath our des
potic government The man who at this
moment holds our destinies In his hands
has shown himself unworthy of his man
date. The hour will soon strike for the
man who has deceived us to be ever-
thrown.
The colonel had made a start, and
would probably have continued his plaus-
ioi speech for a long time In an em
phatic voice, had not one ot his audlenoe
Interrupted him ;
"That Is all very fin, colonel" be said.
"we ara all aware that we are gentlemen
devoted, body and soul, to our country;
but devotion must be paid for. What
shall w get by this after alir
The colonel was at first slightly em
barrassed by this warn apostroshe: but
he recovered himself at once, and timed
with a smile to hla Interpreter t
I was coming to it, my dear captain.
at the very moment when you eat across
my speech."
Oh, that k different," the captain an
wared.
In the first place," the colonel went
on, "I have news for you which I feel
assured yon will heartily welcome. This
is the last time we shall meet."
"very good," said the practical cap-
tara.
The colonel saw that he could so long
er dally with the matter, for all hla hear
ers openly took part with their oom
rade. At the moment when he resolved
to tell all ha knew, the door of the Inn
was opened, and a man wrapped IB a
large aloak quickly entered the room pre
ceded by the Alferes Don Sirven, who
shouted In a loud voice :
"The general, Caballeros, the general,
At this announcement silence waa r
eetabllehed aa if by enchantment. The
person called the general stopped In the
middle of die room, looked around him,
and then took off hla hat, let hla cloak
fall from his shoulders, and appeared In
the full dress uniform of a general offi
cer.
"Long live Oen. Guerrero," the officers
shouted as they rose enthusiastically.
"Thanks, gentlemen, thanks," the gen
eral responded with numerous bows,
"This warm feeling fills me with delist ;
but pray be silent, that we may properly
settle the matter which has brought ns
here ; moments are precious, and. In spite
of the precautions we have taken, your
presence at thla inn may hav been de
nounced. I will come at once to facts,
without entering Into Idle speculations,
which would cause ns to waste valuable
time. In a word, then, what Is It we
want? To overthrow the present govern
ment, and establish another more In con
formity with our opinions, and, above all,
our Interests.
"Yes, yes," the officers exclaimed.
"In that ease we are conspiring against
the established authority, and are rebels
in the eyes of the law, the general con
tinned coolly and distinctly ; "as such we
stake our heads. If our attempt fails,
we shall be pitilessly shot by the victor
but we shall not fall," he hastily added.
"because we are resolutely playing a ter
rible game, and each of us knows that hla
fortune deends on winning.
"Yes, yes," the captain whoee observa
tions had, previous to the general's ar
rival so greatly embarrassed the colonel,
said, "all that Is very fine; but we were
promised something else In your name, ex
cellency.
The general smiled.
"You are right, captain," he remarked
"but I Intend to keep all promises but
not, as you might reasonably suppose,
when our glorious enterprise haa suc
ceeded."
"When then, pray?" the captain asked.
curiously.
"At once, senoree," the general ex
claimed.
Joy and astonishment so paralysed his
hearers that they were nnable to utter a
syllable. The general looked at them for
a moment, and then, turning away with
a mocking smile, he walked to the front
door, which he opened. The officers eag
erly watched his movements, and the gen
eral, after looking out coughed twice.
"Here I am, excellency, a voice said.
Issuing from the fog.
"Bring In the bags," Don Sebastian
ordered, and then quietly returned to the
middle of the room.
Almost Immediately after a man enter
ed, bearing a heavy leather saddlebag. It
waa Carnero. At a elgnal from his mas
ter he deposited his bundle and went out.
but returned shortly after with another
bag, which he placed by the side of the
first one. Then, after bowing to hla mas
ter ha withdrew.
Th general opened the bags, and a
flood of gold poured in a trickling eai
cad on the table ; the officers lnatlnctlvi
lv held out their quivering hand.
When all the gold had disappeared and
the effervescence was beginning te tk
side, Doa Sebastian, who. Ilka the Angel
f Bvfl, bad looked aa with a
mocking smile, slightly tapped the table
to request silence.
Senores," he said, "I have kept all
my promises, and have acquired the right
to count on you. We shall not meet
again, but at a future day I will let you
know my intentions. Still be ready to
act at the first signal ; in ten days is the
anniversary festival of the Proclamation
of Independence, and if nothing alters
my plans I shall probably choose that
day to try, with your assistance, to de
liver the country from the tyrants who
oppress it. However, I will be careful to
have you warned. So now let ua sepa
rate ; . the night is far advanced, and a
longer stay at this spot might compro
mise the sacred interests tor which we
hav sworn to die.
CHAPTER XL
The Alameda of Mexico Is oae of the
most beautiful la America. It Is situat
ed at on of the extremities of the city,
and forma a long square, with a wall of
cireumvsUlatloa bordered by a deep ditch,
whoee muddy, fetid waters, owing to the
negllgeoo of the government, exhale pes
tilential miasmas. At each aorner of the
promenade a gat offers admission to car
riage, riders and pedestrians, who walk
silently beneath a thick awning of ver
dure formed by willows, elms and poplars
that border th principal road. These
tree are selected with great tact, and are
always green, for although the leave are
renewed, It takes place gradually and Im
perceptibly, so that th branches are nev
er entirely stripped of their foliage.
It waa evening, and, as usual, th
Alameda was crowded; handsome car
riage, brilliant rider and modest pedes
trians were moving backward and for
ward, with cries, laughter and joyous
calls, aa they sought each other In the
walk. By degrees, however, th Drome-
nadera went toward the Buearelll: th
carriage became scarcer, and by th time
night had set In th Alameda was desert-
ad.
A horseman, dressed la a rich Cam-
prealno costume and mounted on a mag
nificent horse, entered th Alameda along
which he galloped for about twenty mln
ate examining the lid walk th clump
of trees and the traahee ; la a word he
seemed to b looking for somebody or
something.
At the moment when th traveler reach
ed th Buearelll th last carriages war
leaving It and It waa soon a deserted
the Alameda. H galloped up and
down the promenade twice or thrice look
ing carefully down th aid ride and at
th and of hi third turn a horseman.
coming from the Alameda, paased an hi
right hand, giving him In a low role th
Mexican salute, "gantisslma noche cabel
lerol"
Although the sentence had nothing pe
culiar about It th horseman started, and
immediately taming his hone round,
started in pursuit Within a minute th
two horsemen were side by side ; th first
comer, so soon a hs saw that he waa
followed, checked hla horse's pace, aa if
with the Intention of entering Into . direct
communication.
"A fine night for a ride, senor," th
first horseman said, politely raialng hla
Hand to bis hat
"It is," the second answered, "although
It la beginning to grow late."
"Th moment Is only the better chosen
for certain private conversation."
Th second horseman looked around.
and bending over to the apeaker, said ;
I almost despaired of meeting you."-
"Did I not let you know that I should
come?"
"True; but I feared that some obsta
cle "
"Nothing should Impede an honest man
from accomplishing a sacred duty," th
nrst horseman said.
The other bowed with an air of satis
faction. "Then," he said, "I can count
on you. No"
No names here, eenor," th other
sharply Interrupted him. "Caaptta, an old
wood ranger like you, a man who haa
long been a Tlgrero, ought to remember
that the tree hav ears and the leave
eyea."
"Ye, you ar right I do remember
it bnt permit me to remark that If It la
not possible for us to talk her where can
w do o?"
"Patience, senor, I wish to serve you,
as you know, for you were recommended
to me by a trusty man. Be guided by
me, if you wish us to succeed In thla
affair."
"I ask nothing better; still you must
tell me what I ought to do.
"For th present very little; merely
follow me at a distance to th place where
I purpose taking you.
(To be continued.)
Just a Boy,
"Hold on I" said the learned chemist.
"Didn't I give yon a bottle of my won
derful tonic that would make you look
twenty year younger?" .
"You did," replied the patient, "and
I took It all. I was then 88 and now
am only 19."
"Well, then will you pleaee settle
thla lVttle bill you owe for the treat
ment?"
"Oh, no. As I am only 10 now,
am a minor and minors axe not bold
responalblo for th bill they Incur.
Good-day, air."
Made Himself fev
Nsybor I called to aea Nervey laet
night but be wasn't at noma,
Subbube Oh, yea, ha waa.
Naybor Not at all. I tell
Subbube But I tell you be was, and
very much at borne. Ha monopolised
the morris chair In my dan all even
ing." Philadelphia Frees.
I thought you'd like him," said tho
man In the white waistcoat, with a dis
appointed air.
I did at first," Bald the man In
the negligee shirt "If I hadn't, I
wouldn't have asked him out"
He always seemed to me to be a
good fellow," urged the man In the
white waistcoat
I'm surprised to bear you say so,"
said the man In the negligee shirt. "I
thought you were a Judge of a good
fellow. Oh, he may be all right in
bis way, but he strikes me as off-color.
Just my opinion, you know."
"I've known hlra for close on twen
ty years," said the man In the white
waistcoat. "I've known hiin for that
long, anyway, and I never heard of
his doing a mean trick."
'That may be. Mind you, I don't
say that he would."
'And I've known of his doing some
mighty fine things."
"I can quite believe that. But be
needs watching."
'There's nothing stingy or mean
about him."
"Probably not"
"On the contrary, he's liberal and
big-hearted. He's fond of bis family
and he's public-spirited and he's good
company tells a good story. I'm sure
he's as straight as a string."
"You needn't get worked up about
it," said the man In the negligee shirt
I don't deny It"
"Then what In thunder '
"I'll tell you, Jim. Do you know,
that fellow doesn't like strawberries
won't eat 'em, In fact?"
The man In the white waistcoat
stared. Then he laughed.
"That's right" said the man In the
negligee shirt "I'm telling you the
honest truth. I'm not joking, Jim,
The evening he was out I had on the
Ice four quarts of the dandiest berries
you ever set your eyes on or curled
your thrice-blessed tongue around.
They were scarlet as sin and too big
for a well-bred man to take Into bis
mouth all at once, and as to the fla
vor! No, I can t tell you anything
about the flavor. Nobody could de
scribe that I've been eating strawber
ries all my life, and I genernll.r get
about the best there are In the mar
ket, but I never had the luck to strike
any like these. I knew .exactly what
they were, because there were six
quarts of them originally, and I used
up two boxes sampling them before my
wife dragged me away by main
force."
The man In the white waistcoat
picked up the bill of fare and looked
at It. "They wern't extra good here
yesterday," he observed, "but I guess
I'll have to try 'em again."
"I liked this chap, mind you," pur
sued the mnn In the negligee shirt
I told you I liked hlm......My heart was
warm to him. I wanted to confer
ecstasies upon him. I yearned to see
him smack bis lips and roll bis eyes
heavenward4n a fine frenzy of rapture.
I thought the 'time had come ns we sat
out on the porch, and I nodded to my
wife.
"She signaled the maid, and the
strawberries came on in a lordly dish,
accompapled by thick yellow cream and
sugar white as snow and flue as flour.
I smiled on him benlgnantly as my wife
piled a liberal whack for him, and
" Thank you, but I don't eat straw
berries,' he says.
"'What?' I shouted.
"'They really look very nice," he
said, with a smile a smile! 'but I
never eat them.'
"You're Joking,' I said.
"'No,' he replied, 'I'm not Joking. I
never learned to like 'em,'
"Now, that's as true as I sit here.
And he doesn't even like' strawberry
shortcake ! Don't you think, now, that
there must be something wrong with 1
man like that? Screw loose some
where, eh?"
"Perhaps you're right," admitted tha
man In the white waistcoat
"If It was anything else I wouldn't
care," said the man In the negligee
shirt "But strawberries I" Chicago
Dally News.
OCEAN RAILROAD A WORLD WONDER.
""M&pfp. ; ' """
rnxic-jwym
m
a
The top picture kIiowk where foundations ure being In I1 In the ocean for
viaduct; middle picture shows rolling stock on bcow following viaduct con
struction. At bottom Is hotel on a small key out In the ocean where engineers
and workmen live close to their work.
SEA RAILWAY A MIRACLE.
Crosses 160 Mllee of Oceea, and Will
Cost 9.12,000,000.
The railroad which Henry M. Flag
ler and bis millionaire associates in
the Standard Oil Company are build
ing over the Atlantic wean from the
mainland to Key West, Fla., has made
such progress that It Is announced that
the line will be completed by the sum
mer of 1909.
Thla railway Is the world's moot er.
Every day there drop Into the eof. 1 traordlnarv engineering m-olect to-dv.
fan of the New York elevated railway 1 and engineers at least say that when
JT.000 nlckals, to say nothing eg tkf completed It will be a wonder of the
otter eats d bma. j world Tne rajwajr wm m miiea
long. All the way from mainland to
Key West are small Islands or keys,
as they are called, some an acre or lew
In extent. The builders of the road
are connecting these keys with Immense
viaducts, supported by huge abutments
of solid concrete. At one point two
keys are three miles apart, but the en
gineers dll not hesitate. They found
the ocenn only forty feet deep, and they
proceeded at once to construct a grent
connecting bridge. Cofferdams were
sunk and the bed of the ocean wax
dredged out In places to solid rock.
Then the soil concrete foundations were
laid. The engineers are confident that
the worst ocean storms will not disturb
their bridges.