The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 26, 1901, Page 5

Copyright, 1901, by Jose de Olevares. HE east wind was blowing in fitful gusts off the dist desert as Ra- Velasco slowly rode through gatew f the Rancho del Mar in the direction of His present incor temperament. the circum- ating caballero. pproval and protest of the , and the iron t restrained him his wonted speed. heed to the idle With his wide over his eyes and in the hollow of the throat of his he jogged list- thought seeming- e broad horn of But, in truth, Velasco ivious of that circular ex; sther of his fmme- Wkat his thoughts on was his recent inter- a, the patron sters. wn pon ¢ sadg nse his first visit to the x campo. It was two s since he had led his troop of hardy ss the rugged were just g 1, to occupy the sta- m on the Sonora frontier. rval he sad been a f the Ortegas. In fact, week had gone by, barring the ns when he had been a with his command in their meteoric the recreant Yaquis, but what young captain had ridden his in the San Jacinto afternoon and evening rancho. And this week he had visitor witnin its gates; for before he stood out- barred casement wherein Inez, the most charming of Don daughters, and unfolded her a secret thfit for months he had & himself to reveal. Ere now he had led his doughty riders v a bloody fray, but this, he told was the one brave act of his life time he had ever been brought face to face with feaf. And he had won— won the gentle senorita’s consent to ask her father for her hand. But at the same time she had told him something that had occasioned her many e doubt and epprehension, and which was that another suitor had, contrary to her will, already leid siege to Don Felipe's and that suitor was none other than young Don Ricardo Sanchez, the heir to the great Hacienda San Miguel, whose broad leagues represented a princely share of Sonora’s vast area. But the rural chief had only laugh=d at the maiden’s fears, for young Sanchez was known throughout the length and breadth of more than one State in the Mexican republic as a character whom, despite his wealth, tew fathers would wish to own &s & son-in-law. Therefore, Velasco had imprinted a lovers kiss on the senorita’s hand and galloped away through the moonlight to his camp among the hills, feeling that having won her favor was more than half the conquest. Thus it was with a heart all aglow with hope for the future that he had mounted his horse on the following day and rode down from the hills to seek an erview with the patron of Del Mar. had found Don Felipe seated alone on e broad veranda of his abode, and with the straightforwardness of a soldier, had d his cause before him. The old don 1 listened In silence as the captain pro- eded, but at the close of his appeal had sen haughtily to his feet. Senor Velasco,” he had replied, “for years past the doors of this, my hotse, have been open to you and you ome and gone at your pleasure, and, I thought, as my guest. Your rank itary officer inspired myself and isehold with confidence in you; and re to come and tell me that you violated that confidence by stealing the affection of one of my daugh- rs—one whose hand I have already piedged to another. And even were this not so, what right have you to seek her for a wife—where is the home to which you would take her? Would you that she ehould follow you to your rural camp in the hills? Senor Velasco, you are mis- taken in presuming that my daughter cares for you—I promise that ere a fort- night ghall have passed you will be en- tirely out of her mind. And now that I have spoken, it will perhaps be super- the valiant a certain s pretty ear sam DWELT INTERVIZEW WITH DON FELIDE ous for me to add that I forbld further nce of this isits from you to my hot Throughout the nonious rebuke, Velasco could scarce- ly believe his hearing. At its conclusion he had half opened h!s mouth as if to reply, but recovering himself had choked back the words. For a moment there- after he had s hat in hand, and ed unfiicchingly into Don Felipe's then, without a word, had turned e, and swinging into the saddle, rode slowly away from the ranche. And now, as word after word and sen- tence after sentence of thé old Don's scathing and unwarranted denunciation of himself, to say nothing of his haughty rejection of his suit, recurred to Velasco's mind, his bitter discouragement can scarce be wondered at. To that all his con think fondest hopes and plans had been so cru- elly and complet shattersd! What, now, to him were the 3000 pesos he Lad sured up out of his salary for tie 1g of a home for his future bride? senorita who could ever grace that home had been denfed him—and when her heart was already his own. In the midst of this depressing train of thought he suddenly realized two things, namely, that the desert wind, which had blown hot against his face an hour ago, was positively stifling now, and that his pony had left the plain of Del Mar and was climbing the rocky trail into the hill country beyvond. The Joint revelation seemed to madden him. His brain was being consumed, he told himself, because of the increasing distance between the rancho and himself. With a quick move- ment he wh hill slope and from his feverish horse on ‘he ste2s ing his sombrero back bro turned bhis eyes in the direction of t w ant b ings. As he did so first object that attracted his notice was a solitary horseman entering, at a gallop, the same gateway through which he had, re- cently emerged. Though the distance was too great to distinguish the rider there could be no mistaking his identity, for the rural's trained eve recognized the coal- black charger invariably ridden by Ricar- do Sanchez. At sight of him Velasco recalled Don Felipe's recent utterance regarding his daughter, “Pledged to another.” A bale- ful t kindled in his dark eyes as he muttered the galling words and realized how well grounded had been thne fears confided to him on the preceding evening by Dona Inez. And, while his spirit of rebelliousness was at its flercest stage, his attention was drawn to another cir- mstance which had until then escaped his notice. 'The line of foothills waich lay beyond the broad, grass-growrr campo Lo the eastward of Del Mar was enveloped in vast, ominous-looking clouds of smoke, and Velasco knew that in the midst of those hills were situated the ranch houses of the"Haclenda San Miguel. Now, there were three distinct compo- nents in the material constructién of Ra- mon Velasco, and, as is frequently the case with mortals, those elements were apt, under certain circumstances, to in- spire him with very diverse impulses. To begin with, he was intensely human; he was also’a Mexican; likewise a rural. Un- fortunately, one of the first tendencies of & strictly human nature is a proneness to rejoice at the misfortunes of an enemy and, if possible, to reap a selfish profit therefrom. Wherefore Velasco promptly announced himself that he cared not if the whole Sanchez estate should be wiped out of existence, and—yes, he doggedly included the Rancho del Mar in the pros- pective conflagration. For the latter ca- tastrophe might afford him a most ex- cellent opportunity of rescuing his lady love, thereby winning the sanction of Don Felipe to thelr union. Then the *‘Mexi- can” ingredient asserted itself, and he hated his weakness of a moment before, telling himself that if he wanted the fair Inez above all else in the world the proper course to pursue was to ride back to the rancho and|take her, regardless of Don Felipe's objections., Just what the out- come of this mental contention might have proved had there been but two ele- ments involved in the controversy is prob- lematical; but right here the third factor in Velasco's triune comstitution came to the surface, and peremptorily commanded o WHAT HLS THQUGHTS CTUALLY UPON WAS His RECENT him to put aside his affairs of the heart, forthwith assemble his troop and ride to the assistance of the stricken Haclenda San Miguel. A second later he was spur- ring his eager pony up the trall toward the headcuarters of his command, at a surprising rate of speed considering the ruggedness of the hiliside. Metaphorical he was neither “human’ nor *Mexi now—he was wholly, distinctly a Upon arriving at the camp Ve found his troopers already iri the and impatiently awaiting the explanation of their readiness for d was quite in the nature of a revelat to him. Several hundred Yaquls had denly descended from their stronghold in the neighboring mountains on one of their characteristic raids, the burning of the rarch buiidings at San Miguel being th an attack, which even then was supposed to be at its he'ght. The new had been brought into camp but a few moments e by one of the rural scouts which accounted for the readiness of tt troop to move. return. result of It was five good leagues to the burning hacienda, and Velasco knew that ere he could cover the ¢ there s strong probabil that the foe woul stance 1 have finished their fiendish work at. t point and have ‘departed for new enes of destructicn. Therefoze. by way of pre- caution, he first detached a 8quad of twenty men from his command and di- rected them to ride pesthaste to Del Mar, the next adjoining estate, in case that should prove the succeeding object of at- tack. Then, without another moment's loss, he placed himseif at the head of his remaining Tourscore horsemen, and, strik- ing his rowels, led them at full gallop down from the hills and across the campo in the direction of The afternoon when the burning hay field an Miguel merging into dusk hed through the on the outs s of the hacienda. Ard now it - became evident that the direst destruction their worst fears had predicted had been visited upon the place; for ouly the blackened walls remained of the oace substantial buiid- ings, among the smoking ruins of which lay the charred bodics of the mas victims, while the & of the Gecd were rowhcre to be s éred human perpetrators n. Instantly deploying themselves, ho ever, ihe rurales circled around and around the premises in search of the hos- ti trail. Presently an exultant shout announced that it had been found. Dash- ing up to the spo: co prang to the ground, and stooping, examined, the s. To his keen judgment thef re- vealed two positive facts, namely, that the trail was an hour old apd that it led to a line of foothiils extending to the south and west, in the shelter of whicn the marauders migat travel unnoticed up to the very gates of the Rancho del Mar. With a look of grim desperation in his bronzed features the rural swung himself back into his saddie, and, signaling his troop to follow, took up the pursuit. Darkness had set in Lefore half the length of the trall among the hills had been fol- lowed, but from that time it was unneces- sary to trace it further; for from the di- rection of Del Mar there emanated a pan- demonium of demoniac yells, Interspersed with rifle shots, that left no doubt in the mind of the rurales as to the whereabouts of the Yaqui band. With forms bent low over their saddle horns and, rowels buried deep in the sides of their foaming horses, the grim riders thundered onward. At length a depres- sion In the hills brought them out on the cpen plain, with the rancho less than a mile away. But the sight that met their eyes caused their feverish blood to grow chill in their veins. The broad veranda fronting Don Felipe's dwelling was a mass of leaping flames, while the bril- lantly lighted space in the foreground seemed peopled with a legion of exulting devils. A half mile farther on, at Velasco's hoarse command, and without the silght- est slackening of their whirlwind speed, four-score bridle reins were shifted to as many sets of teeth, and four-score sabers and revolvers leaped from their scab- bards and holsters. At the same time the savage horde became aware of the caval- cade's approach and thought to stay it ORTEGA. THE SUNDAY OCALL. with a scattering volley from thelr rifles. But as well might they have sought to stay the 1lightning from heaven, for in an instant more the avengers were upon them and a deadly hail of revolver bullets was poured into their midst, followed by death strokes right and left from the flashing blades of the rurales. All resistance to the furious onslaught was futile and after 2 momentary strug- gle the Yaquis, though outnumbering their chastisers three to one, scattcred and fled into the darkness of the campo. But not, however, until their random fire had laid one of the riders low. That one, who was first to dash into their midst and whose keen blade had smote them most relentlessly, was Ramon Vel- asco. His last order had been to extin- guish the flames of the burning veranda, in obedience to which command a score of ready hands had torn away. the flam- ing timbers. Then, as they lifted him down from the arms of the rural who had caught him as he reeled in his saddle, the door of the dwelling opened and Don ¥elipe appeared on the threshold. At the sight of his stricken_dellverer a deadly palior overspread the features of the old Mexican. “Ramon—Ramon!” he cried, entreating- ly, catching up the rural's inert right hand in both his own. “Speak to me, Ramon, and say that you are not hurt unto death! Ah, Dios a mio, senores!" he moaned, “he does not repl, INERT RIGHT HAND IN BOTH HIS O They bore their leader through the en- trance and gently laid him on a couch within. As they did so a white-faced senorita glided to his side, and, with her slender hands clasped together before her, gazed fearfully into his pallld features. It was Dona Inmez. Her presence seemed to reanimate the fallen rural. His eyes opened wearily, vaguely, then brightened with an expression of caressing recogni- tion as they rested upon the face of the girl before him. “Ah, mi novia, you are safe then!” he exclaimed, in rapturous though scarcely audible tones. The girl bowed her face in her hands. ‘Yes, Ramon,” she fal- tered, “but you''—here her voice failed her. “'Tis *nothing—I promise you!"” pro- tested the wounded man with a feeble affort at reassurance. “I—I shall be bet- ter soon. And the others—Don Felipe and the rest—are they safe also?” ’ “Yes, Ramon,” was the reply, “all—but Don Ricardo: he rode away alone across the campo just before the Yaquis came.” At the first mention of his rival’'s name a shadow had fallen upon Velasco's fea- tures, but it was instantly succeeded by an expression of deep concern as he real- ized the danger that menaced the way- ward heir to San Miguel. *“Alone across the campo’’—the desolate, death-ridden campo! To the rural chief the ominous words seemed fraught with even more potency than the adored presence of his “ RAMON-RAMON ™ HE CRIED, ENTREATINGLY, CATCHING UP THE RURAL'S W, lady love. They recalled his sense of duty with the same vividness as had the sight of the burning haclenda bulldings when e had sat struggling with his emotions on the hillside a few hours before. With a supreme effort he raised himself on one arm. At this a number of his troopers who had until then deferentially stood apart hastened to his assistance. But their leader motioned them back. “To your horses!” he commanded, with all his wonted ardor. “To the rescue of the patron of San Miguel! I will lead—" But in spirit only would Ramon Velasco lead his valiant riders on their merciful errand. The desperate exertion called forth by his final command had exhausted his last atom of vitality. As his voice broke he cast a helpless, imploring look at the weeping girl beside him, a spasm of pain convulsed his body, and the chief of the rurales lay lifeless in the arms of his attendants. People Are Living Longer. From statistics and the result ot cer- tain changes in the methods of living we can safely affirm that the span of life is steadily lengthening, says the Roya! Mag- azine. Three thousand years befors the Christian era the average daration of life was sald to be three-score years and ten; this would make middle age come at 35. Dante considered that year the middle of life’s arch, and Montaigne, speaking for himself at the same period of life, con- sidered his real work practically ended, and proved that he thought he was grow- ing old by falling into the reminiscent age. At the present time fifty years is com- sidered as middle age. In the days of the revolutionary war prominent men at that time were looked upon as old at fifty years. We are justified in supposing that the span of human life will be prolunged in the future because the possibliity of living to an older age has been demon- strated by the great advance made in medicine and hygiene during the last tem years. We have attalned a vast amount of knowledge as to the causes of disease, and new remedies for their successful treatment have been discovered. We have no new diseases, at least of any serious character, and we are better able to treat the old ones, which, like old foes, appear to us with new faces. One of the most interesting and trust- worthy statements in respect to old age is the report on the habits of cente- narians, made some years ago by a com- mission appointed by the British Medical Assoclation. Without going into partiou= lars of the different cases it is valuable to note, generally, the result of this in- vestigation. Nearly all of them had enjoyed uninter- rupted good health and many had never known what it was to be sick. They were all moderate In eating, mossof them using lttle animal food. Few indulged at all in Intoxicating drinks,“and those only in notable moderation. They tovk constderable outdoor exercise and nearly all possessed the good-natured, placid dis. position.