Yes the deed itself was nothing—a trifle, at most--but in its relation to her, how great, how terrible, it might become!

He was not deceived. He felt that by a word he might fan into a resistless flame the fire that lay smouldering in that resolute heart-a word which would be no surprise to her, which would but confirm the conviction, against which, in loyalty to Ramirez, she struggled with even a certain anger against the persistent suspicion that made the legendary and unheroic figure of the American a mute denouncer, more powerful, more persuasive than the living man, who had revealed the author of the tragedy, which through all her life had been so dark a mystery. It seemed to Ashley that she held her breath to listen to his next words; but he could be hard as she was herself to this girl, whose heart seemed incapable of feeling aught but a personal injury, or any passion but revenge.

Señorita," he said, "I went back to the hacienda. My horse had fled; there was nothing else for me to do, if I would find means to follow this man, who had suddenly become my debtor in all the dues of outraged kinship. My object was to obtain money, a horse and guide, and to regain the troop as quickly as should be possible; to denounce this murderer to Doña Isabel, and reveal the plot, which had appeared to me so weak, so absolutely absurd, but which now assumed an importance commensurate with my detestation of him whom it was designed to serve. But with further thought my resolution changed. If all her agents were false-Pedro, Ruiz, as well as you-whom I know to be"-Chinita winced -"and Pepé should be successful in inducing Pedro to play into the hands of Ramirez, what power could Doña Isabel employ to prevent that change of leadership, which it was more than probable the the troops-indifferent to the cause, eager only for action and booty-would accept with acclamations? Clearly, my only course

was to proceed to El Toro, and arouse the too confident Gonzales, who in incomprehensible inactivity was awaiting the promised succor incomprehensible if the emissaries of Doña Isabel had reached him; for, as I knew, not one word in reply had been returned.

"I had much to ask of Doña Isabel Garcia-questions which had burned upon my lips before; but reflection told me I was no more ready to ask them now than I had been, that her pride might be still as obdurate. No, there were months before me in which by gradual assault I might gain all the knowledge I would in vain endeavor to gain by sudden force. I was confident that, if by no stratagem or treason Ramirez should place himself at the head of these troops, he would be found in the field against them. I learned that he hated Gonzales as a personal, no less than a political, foe. Gonzales then, was the man for me to follow. In serving Doña Isabel against the machinations of those she had so blindly trusted, I should serve myself-keep in view the mocking fiend, whose downfall I had sworn, and perchance satisfy myself in regard to the still importunate doubts, which had led to my presence amid these strange scenes.

'I had intended to leave the hacienda upon the very night of my return, but on my way--Well, that is nothing to the purposeI reached it exhausted. I reached it exhausted. But the early morning found me in the saddle. My strength revived with every step towards El Toro. Once we caught sight of the long line of the hacienda troop crossing the open plain. We had passed through cañons and byways and were far in advance. More than once in the mountains we heard the name of Ramirez, and made wide detours of hamlets where men were gathering in twos and threes and sixes--ragged, unkempt, unarmed for the most part, but full of enthusiasm in their leader, and confident of booty and glory. Without doubt, the reverse at El Toro would not remain unavenged, I real

ized the power of Ramirez's name-the very echo seemed to be as eloquent as the living voice of most men, chieftains and leaders though they might be."

Chinita's eyes glistened; she raised herself with a proud gesture, as if the involuntary tribute to his genius was a personal commendation.

"Though we avoided the villages," continued Ashley, "I did not hesitate to question the few passengers we met upon the roads. These were chiefly wandering traders, stooping under their burdens of clay-ware or charcoal, adherents of no particular party, and reticent or the opposite, as their natural impulses or the supposed necessities of the time prompted. These I plied in vain for news of Pedro, Pepé, or even the noted Ramirez himself. Each and every one seemed to have passed, and left not even a memory behind; for from these very ranchos and hamlets I knew Dɔña Isabel's troops had been drawn, and here the followers of Ramirez were daily drawing more-forcing those they could not persuade, laughing at the protestations of the women, and feeding the adventurous ardor of the men with tales of daring exploits and promises of plunder. All this we heard, and knew the whole country was in a ferment, yet passed through it undetected, on our own part unable to catch a glimpse or hear a word of the covert from which Ramirez directed and inspired the movement. Traveling rapidly, we entered upon the third day a deep gorge, which cut the foothills of the very mountain that overshadowed the towers of the convent town towards which I was journeying. Still a painful stretch of twelve hours, of an almost pathless labyrinth of rock and sand, I was told, lay before us; and early in the evening I ordered a halt, intending to set forth before the day broke. One of my servants spoke of a spring which he knew of, and though the season was so dry that we had little hope of discovering it, we

decided to push on, although at every step the horses seemed to protest against the effort; for they had been ridden mercilessly, without change and almost without food or rest. As we neared the spot where we hoped to find water, the aspect of the country seemed to grow even more forbidding.

"The dry season has swallowed it,' said the servant dejectedly, after a careful survey of the locality. 'There is nothing here but sand-a dry welcome for our thirsty beasts'; and at a signal from me, he threw himself from the saddle, and tethering his panting horse, clambered up the gorge to gather a handful of dry huisatche to light a fire. Meanwhile, his fellow busied himself. in unpacking the few articles we had brought, and I threw myself on the ground against a rock, feeling myself more secure in that wild and secluded pass than I had done since I left the hacienda.

"The place was very still. Although it was yet daylight in the world without, the whole gorge was in shadow. The crackling of the herbage under the horses' feet, a low word occasionally spoken by the men, was all that broke the stillness. I suppose from thought I was gradually falling into slumber, when the sound of horses galloping, of men laughing and shouting, broke upon the air. I started to my feet and seized my arms, calling for the men; but they had disappeared; the three horses were rearing and plunging. I caught and succeeded in mounting my own, but as the cavalcade drew near, I realized that they were so numerous and in such mad humor that it would be worse than folly for me to approach them. One of my men had recovered from his panic, and stole up to me with blanched face and wide staring eyes. I pointed to the horses, and with wonderful dexterity he bounded into the saddle of one, and caught the bridle of the other. In as little time as it takes me to tell it, we gained the shelter of the rock. Calmed by a few low words,

the horses stood motionless, and from our covert we saw the company of lawless soldiery go by.

"Ramirez was at their head; and by a cord at his bridle rein was tied a man, who vainly strove to keep pace with the gallop of his horse. At almost every step he fell, and was struck by the hoofs of the foremost horses, whose riders leaning down brought him again to his feet with blows from the flat sides of their swords. There were perhaps thirty ruffians engaged in this brutal sport; and after them ran one, at such a pace as only an Indian would maintain even for moments, wringing his hands and praying and crying-alternately a prayer and a curse. And in him, more by his voice, gasping and hoarse though it was, than by sight, I recognized Pepé Valle."

Chinita would have screamed, but the ready hand of the peon closed over her mouth. "The man! the man tied to the horse's rein!" she gasped, when he released her.

"I could not see his face, and he had no breath to cry out," said Ashley. "They passed so closely, I could have shot Ramirez like a dog. But I seemed paralyzed by horror. It did for me what perhaps a moment's reflection would have done had I been capable of it-it saved me from suicide. To have moved then would have been certain death. I could not comprehend the mad jests of those around him; but a moment after they passed I heard a sound which to all ears conveys the same meaning -a pistol shot-and the voice of Ramirez crying,

"Caramba! the next fall will kill him, and the dog shall die only by my hand. There! I have paid the debt I owed theethou knowest for what. It should have been paid thee like the other villain's years. ago.

Would that I had dragged him at my horse's rein as I have thee!'

"The man fell; a soldier, with a laugh, cut the riata; all swept on with shouts and

laughter-Ramirez the quietest among them. In a few minutes they were far up the gorge. One glance had satisfied Ramirez that his shot had reached its aim.

"None seemed to remember the panting wretch behind. I had reached the prostrate body as soon as he, and together we raised it up. Under the mask of bruises and blood, and the dust of the roadway, I recognized the man I had been seekingPedro Gomez."

Pepé caught the girl on his outstretched arm-she had staggered as though struck by a heavy blow. Ashley sprang to her side in remorse he had spared her nothing in the recital-but she had not fainted. raised herself slowly, and lifting her arms above her head, wrung her hands in speechless agony.

She

The man who had been murdered years before had been a shadow, a myth, in her mind. He became at that supreme moment a living presence, joining with, blent with, the martyred Pedro in denunciation of the man, whom she had raised to a pinnacle of glory. The idol of years crashed to the earth, in semblance of a demon-and with it fell the stoicism and pride that had encased as in bands of steel the softer emotions of her nature. "Murdered! moaned at length.

murdered both!" she "Was it not enough he

should bereave me even before I came into the world, but that he should so vilely slay the only creature who has loved me? O my God!" she added shuddering, "why have I been so cursed as to have given one thought to such a wretch? Oh! forgive, forgive! forgive!"

XXXV.

To whom was that vain cry addressed? Ashley questioned not, but clasping in his the icy hands, which strove to smite and beat each other, spoke such words of soothing as came readiest in the stranger tongue

"He himself!" she echoed at last, turning her wild, tearless eyes upon his face. "Ah it is because thou art here, that I know he is dead, else thou wouldst not dare to leave him!"

"And by my faith, it is not of my own will I am here!" answered Pepé bluntly, "Señor Don 'Guardo, you can tell her that."

"I can in truth," replied Ashley, who seeing that the peon's words were received by her but as empty attempts to defer the evil moment when the inevitable assurance of the death of her foster-father must be given. her-so well did she know the customs and manners of her country people, ever prone to useless prevarication, even in their deepest sorrow-hastened to describe to her the few scant means they found in his extremity to recall the exhausted Pedro to the life that had apparently been thrust, and beaten, and driven from him forever.

The ball of the pistol had but grazed his cheek; the blood and dust had deceived the accustomed eyes of Ramirez, as it had deceived their own. The greater danger arose from the frightful condition of laceration and fatigue to which the mad race through the stony cañon had reduced him.

In a few words Pepé told the tale. They had met but the day before, and it was while hastening to El Toro to apprize Gonzales of the plot, that Pepé, in the petition of Chinita, revealed to him, that they had encountered face to face the irate chieftain and his followers. Pepé understood little of the cause that led to their being seized, dragged from their horses, and threatened with instant death. Both alike

VOL. X.-No. 2.

protested innocence of any scheme to baffle or injure the mountain chieftain. He understood too well the ease with which a foe too weak to fight could assume the aspect of a friend; but, at the worst, Pepé imagined, they might be forced to turn back on their way to spend a few unwilling hours among the bandit followers, until chance should. give them opportunity to escape. But Ramirez's memory was keen as it was vengeful. Suddenly he bent and gazed searchingly into the face of the elder pris

oner.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, with an oath, "I know thee! Thou art Pedro Sanchez."

Pedro, who till this moment had bent his head to avoid the gaze of his captors, raised it swiftly with an ejaculation of amazement. A red handkerchief bound the brows of Ramirez; his face was swarthy and grimed with hard riding.

"Ah, and thou knowest me, too!" Ramirez cried. "Thou hast called me a devil more than once in thy life time; and now I will prove thy word true! Hereafter thou wilt have no chance for that, any more than for opening the gate to the man who would make my―" He gnashed his teeth in speechless rage, and with his sword struck the keeper across the face.

The action spoke louder than words. Some one, in ready comprehension of the leader's mood, threw a lasso, and catching the prisoner across the breast, began to mimic the wild shouts of the toreador. But Ramirez was in no humor for pastime.

"On! on!" he cried. "'Tis nearly sunset. Let us see how far on our way this fellow can accompany us till then; and then by a vow I made to my patron, San Leonidas, more than a score of years ago, he shall die. Caramba! did ever man play Ramirez false and he forget to pay him his dues."

Pepé, amid the vivas and laughter of the band, heard the words with only a wild sense of terror; but it was only when he

beheld Pedro struggling at the side of the plunging horse, that he realized that the man was to be dragged to his death. He had heard of Ramirez's wild jests and imagined this might be one, until he beheld the cortége speeding forward, urging the unhappy Pedro before them with blows and jeers, or exhibiting their wonderful horsemanship in evading his prostrate body; which, however, more than once sounded under the thud of the horses' feet.

Pepé could have escaped at any moment, for in the concentration of attention upon Pedro, his companion had been utterly forgotten; but he followed madly, expostulating, entreating, cursing, while his breath allowed; and then was seemingly swept onward in the whirl, almost unconscious, till he heard the shot that ended the mad scene, and found himself staggering over the body of the bleeding Pedro.

The sight of Ashley, as unexpected, as assuring, as though an angel had arisen, saved him from utter collapse of mind and body. But for the new excitement, he would have fallen prone, and had he ever regained consciousness, it would have been to find his comrade dead. But under the impulse of Ashley's energetic action and sustaining words, he even helped to raise the victim, in whom, lacerated though he was, Ashley soon discovered a feeble flutter of the heart.

was

"We took him to the shelter of the rock," said Ashley, who had by signs hastened Pepe's conclusion of the account, which, related in his own profuse manner, far more agonizing than the brief outline here given;" and found that his extraordinary powers of endurance, though strained to the uttermost, had stood him in wonderful stead. An arm was broken; and every muscle so wrenched and strained, that when he regained his consciousness the resolute. will, which during the progress of the torture had withheld him from uttering protest or groan, utterly gave way and he screamed in agony. Happily his persecutors were too

far distant to be recalled by those unrestrainable cries of returning consciousness. Even while we poured brandy down his throat, and rubbed and stretched his limbs, it seemed as though it would have been a thousand times more charitable to suffer him to die, than to recall him to such agony. When he regained full consciousness, however, the cries ceased-not because the pain was less, but that the will regained its mastery.

"As his eyes fell upon me, he gazed at me a moment as upon an apparition. So wild was his look, I thought he was going mad.

"Don Juan! here! here!' he muttered hoarsely. 'Are we in hell together? But no!' he sprang up, then fell back with a groan. I shall live to warn her yet. The

It

child shall not fall into his accursed hands. Never! Never! Ah, Pepé, thou art here; hasten, hasten, tell her she is the child of the man he murdered. What though I die? she will be saved! Go! Go!"" Chinita started. "The recreant Mozo had returned. was Stefano, whom you know well. He is a coward, but ready in resource, and with a kindly heart. He knew the country well, and told us of a cave he once had slept in, and he led us to it unerringly. To our surprise, we found there a scanty supply of pinole, left by some wandering tenant, and a quart of water, still fresh enough to show that the cave had not long been empty. There was a remnant of a woman's dress in one corner,-heaven knows how brought there-and this we used to bind the pistol wound; while Stefano used the best means available in setting the broken arm. These rancheros are possessed of strange accomplishments-I don't believe a surgeon could have done it with more skill.

"During the course of our passage through the dusk, bearing as best we could our groaning burden, his hallucination that I was John Ashley merged into recognition. It was but little I could do for him, but it filled him with gratitude. You are buen