.
SYNOPSIS
toberta Antrim, beautiful East.
ern soclety girl, who lives with her
uncle, William B, Latham, known
as "Crooked Bill" because of his
amusing slyness, receives a tele-
gram from Jaime Miguel Higuenes,
owner of the Rancho Valle Verde,
in Texas, informing her her Uncle
Tom Antrim has died, a violent
death.
CHAPTER I—Continued
Die
“He is also good-natured and easy-
going, otherwise he would not bother
himself with the probably thankless
task of protecting the Interests of a
stranger—and an American at that.
Probably he acted thus because I am
a woman, which proves he is gallant
and chivalrous.”
“A sort of Kknight-errant,
Ml murmured mi
Hackett shot him a
ure. “Well, Mexic
class, are very polite to a
always. mi
en. The chi
an edues
I wish he hi
Robin,
& cowman.”
“I wonder If he g
murmured.
“Does it
”
Crooked
rliciously,
look of disp
ans, of whatever
lady. They
ike a great-to-do about wom-
are this Higuenes is
Cock
Glenn
away
tle Bright
1 } 1
on the red
piacing my money
“Who,” ti irl de
Jaime Miguel Higu
“1 don’t know,
suspect, and some
and
of your sweet
Roberta's brow
body knew
how
better
she cherished su
think I should go
Tom's fun
the last of
be rather
strangers -an
strangers, I fea
Crooked
even If myster
that, hones
won't keep
never he
Los Algod
ly sealed
any. I has
ever, and 1
obsequies
and a wres
“Why
Uncle Tom so?"
“Because you're his nied e. not
and he's never sl
interest In
five dollars
birth 8:
holy wretch in
he sold out the cows refu
the loan, went to Mexico
couldn't collect and sot up | the
sheep business «
from birt
was not
tub
eral, she
the
have you always
owed the sl
you, except gond you
at Chri is and on your
the an-
and
because staked
the
because he w
h and looked
what I would
As ornery
Your father
call a mental
giant, Roberta, but he was kind and
amusing and on the square
your Uncle Tom was a
black sheep.”
“Every family
defended.
“Well, honey, you haven't yours any
more I"
-. » - * . - .
The following evening Glenn Hackett,
having recovered marvelously from
his Indisposition of the day before,
called for dinner. “The bank gives
the man Higuenes most flattering
recommendations, Mr, Latham,” he
whereas
throwback, a»
has them,” the girl
announced. “He has plenty of eash
and worldly assets and his record is
clean, He 8 known as a man of
honor and can be trusted implicitly.”
Crooked Bill nodded, as If this re.
port was not a matter of surprise to
him. Hackett resumed:
“I cannot go to Texas to attend to
this matter of your, Roberta. It will
be necessary to engage a lawyer down
there to handle your affairs there, and
I suppose Higuenes can direct you to
a good one. I imagine you will have
to proceed to Los Algodones imme-
diately.”
“I shall start tomorrow,” Roberta
decided, and added maliciously: “I
can hardly wait to meet that adorable
Jaime Miguel Higuenes!"”
CHAPTER II
A Sabbath calm lay upon the
hacienda of Don Jalme Miguel Higue-
nes, lord of the Rancho Valle Verde,
notwithstanding fact that it
not S ny, Don Jaime gazed
arched entrance of
patio toward the | tant, blue,
rated hills where
of Am i
the wns
out
through the his
erica
of Mexico began
“1 wond
ever-ready
mndsome fea.
unbel
anded
here,
irs from San Ysidro
ped into them on your range
¥ thousand of them,
although I'm no judge
The brand
ievably
88 Cot
in quantity.
Antrim’s
miles
outfit
from
Well, If he's
here he's trea.
on my range. Thanks for the
Ken. Feed is pretty
scarce to the east of me and I suppose
Tom Antrim Yes
have your
vig you
dones
ing h
Roe
vit
ation,
got desperate,
uses,
you
gringo.”
care to run into Los
and swear to a warrant
and John Doe and Richard
James Black and Thomas
Green and say a dozen other off-color
gents with trespassing, I'll pick those
boys up and lodge them in the juz.
then you and your boys can
run the sheep off in peace.”
“1 don’t want to run them
Ken.” Don Jaime replied lan-
“I've done that before and
it doesn’t work, They always come
back Sure you haven't got
other work to do tomorrow?”
“Now, look here, Jimmy,
ger protested, “you listen to me.
Antrim’s there to stay,
to hang around the neighborhoods
He's got twenty herders with him
and 1 noticed they all earried rifles”
“A man's house is his castle.” said
Don Jaime contemplatively, “and 1
presume that principle applies to the
lands contiguous thereto: One has a
right to defend his castle from un-
warranted trespass, and I'm here to
tell you, old keed, 1 am very weary
of Tom Antrim and his sheeps—I
mean sheep, Den it, will 1 never get
over the habit of slipping on my plu.
srals, like any Mexican! Three weeks
ago the sheriff of this county arrested
Tom Antrim and held him and his
men long enough to permit me to
Algo-
charg-
gado :
off In
peace,
guidiy,
some
* the ran
Tom
So I'm going
drive his sheep off my range; and be-
fore I called the sheriff in 1 talked
with Tom Antrim. I told him he must
not come back again, because eef-—-—I
mean {f—he did"—here Don Jalme
shrugged eloquent shoulders—"well,
I would not bother the sheriff to fight
for my rights for me: No, by Santa
Maria la Purisima! It is in the blood
of the Higuenes family to fight their
own fights.”
The ranger protested
heard all about the defi of
yours to old Antrim, and I happen to
know the old skunk don't take orders
worth a cent. Yet, he knows you
mean business. That's why his men
are all armed. He expects a battle
and he knows you'll lead your forces.
Now, {f you shonld get killed in the
fracas, your executor would be the
one to protest against his trespassing
in the future, Who might your
ecutor he?
“The Federal
Paso,”
again, “1
famous
ex-
Trust company o
pan) £
“Tom owes them a lot of
money f 'y year they might not
he too that An-
our range—that
discover
Calm Lay Upon
Hacienda of Don Miguel Miguene
or
to the drav
“You are
murmured
“Now,
Ken Ho.
rrow 1 shall
make it my business to drop In to that
for luncheon. A little
ride alone and
armed, I' port
bent op an
in the smoke: and
to yon, becan
bart
sheep ca
later you
you're
strongly
final
coming f
ancestry He'll
and afraid and rourse he'll disre-
gard the war:
“Well, has
back home,
and take
holes where
warnis
your proud
you're weak
i you ride
gather your gang together
possession of the water.
Antrim must, of necessity,
water his sheep tonight. Don't let
him water them. He'll fight for the
water, rather than backtrack with
his flock over ground that's been
eaten over, only to find your men
guarding the water-holes In that di.
rection, too, A sheep can’t stand such
warned him,
—
hardship, and three days without wa-
ter will see his sheep dying by the
thousand,
“You understand me, Jimmy? You
provoke the fight but he shoots first.
Then you clean up and clean up good,
because that's the only way you're
ever golng to have peace. Antrim's
fate will be a lesson to any other
grass thief with designs on your range
—and 1 don't think any jury In this
country will conviet you of murder,
because Antrim and his men will
have early outside the law,
You have a record for patient forbear-
ance In the past, and 1 will be your
witness to prove that you rode up to
Antrim’'s camp unarmed and talked to
him like a gentleman—sabe usted,
amigo mio? A captain of rangers’
testimony carries weight with a jury.
Anyhow, it just isn't possible to con-
vict a Higuenes in his unty., You
have never killed anybody or Invad
another's ri g-—and th
zard, Antrim, never
thing
"You i always,” Don
Miguel Higuenes reiterated,
good friend. And you are
a treefu You pl
the onsummate craft
been cl
has
ike cortn
fe ts ™
goeR it
“Where?
“Where
replied
to marry yon
is ranch e to Ho
or Dallas or 3 Antone or
“The Higuenes men do
ders from women.” Don
terrupted, “And this rancho
never be sold, Four generations
my family have owned it and fought
for it. 1 love it"
“Well, If she asks it. vou'll buy her
a town house and live there wi ith her
part of the year, will
“Asking is not ordering or
ering uitimatums-."
“Ultimata, Jimmy," the
rected him, mischievously
"At any rate,” Don Jaime resumed
nnt
yo i ul and mos
ton
not take
Jaime
sou, not"
deliv.
ranger cor
Are you fat or lean? In either case
you will appreciate these valuable sta-
tistics revealed by a magazine writer
regarding ad pose tissue, says the De
troit News, New fat added to the
frame naturally has to be nourished
by the extension of blood vessels, And
a pound of fat, says a writer, requires
small vessels totaling 568 of a mile in
length. When a man puts on 830 pounds
he Interlaces his system with 25 miles
of new capillaries, veins and arteries.
This fact supplies a very amusing
pastime for persons addicted to laying
things end to end. and is supposed to
explain why fat folks are so contented
ond Jolly. Every evening, as thelr
weight Increases, they can sit by the
fire and,
puzzle,
after doing the cross word
lay a fresh supply of capil
laries end to end. Or, when losing
weight, they ean remove them end
from end. It keeps the mind Innocent
ly and pleasantly occupied, and makes
for happiness and good citizenship,
Beware of us fellows with the lean
and hungry look. Such men are dan
gerous,
Large Gold Nugget
The National museum has a record
showing that the largest gold nugget
found in California was found In the
Monumental mine, In Slerra county,
and weighed 1,000 troy ounces
argument, “it would be
led but h—l to be
declining the
a delight to be
driven”
“Well, when some girl starts lead-
Ing you, you'll need a good manager
for this ranch, Jimmy. I'm growing
weary of the modestly pald
life of a ranger . . . at least I could
be depended on to this range
free of sheep.”
“There
the border who raid my
cemetery of the Rancho
has grown fast of late
lorder fighting is
alley, Jumes, old son.”
“AS a ranger you
behind you, You
noral But as manager of
. which God pls
need too close
for
very ca
reckless,
Keep
are also bandits from below
cattle. The
Valle Verdw
years."
right ap my
fight with
start with a
the
law
victory.
Grande comfort, you
It Is
ousas
to be reful.
a m
However,
they're emis
nd I'm
rancl
and manage
1 the
The revolut
m and 1 support
I'm prond of them
1 that
and if they
this ranch
cents on the do
again
much
ruines
they're dd
find their
and the
lar in order
And a Mex
too
fine on
they a gol)
for fifty
to start splurging
conscien
the
Iv 1. with
conservatiam,
fean grandee is
tions a splurger to
job
my
muat
contd
indefinitely Consoequent
acquired American
look after the poor devila™
“Don Hobart protested
“I'm your now, mm
the governor of Texas my resignation
and, without wa ig for ite accept
ance, I'll ride back in time to be pres
ent when Antrim’s sheep come to the
guarded water-holes”
Don Jaime smiled “As you will
Ken While 1 require no additional
proof that 1 have made no mistake in
hiring sou, stili”-<he shrugged and
grimaced ax only a Latin ean—"it Is
nice to have it, As you knot, we of
the Higuenes tribe are easy going peo.
ple. We do not require the services
of supermen, for we have never had
them, but we have been accustomed to
loyalty. Because I know you are
loyal to your job 1 have engaged you"
“Thank you, Don Jalsa"
(TO BE CONTINURD,)
Jaime."
employee wire
“Splitting” Headaches
Uni she learned why she was slways
miserable -- and found out shout
NR Tablets (Nature' 3 Remedy) Mow she gets
slong fine with everybor 16 wale .
able, all vegetabl re brought g
and quiet nerves because it Cleared her RED
of poisonous wastes made bowel action
easy and re 3
It's such a
non - habit - forme
ing. No bad alter.
effects. At your
druggist’s—2Zx
4” HH Quick relief far ac acid indigese
TUMS tion, heartburn. Oniy 0c,
ED NICHT
diiia pies ts
Sound Dietary ldea
Bacon, iu his Regimen of Heal
any gre
sity enfo
it is
stnte,
things
is a saf
agreeth not
I will not
continue
in your
child ?
Acr Qurckiy?
Picking ot nostrils. Gritling the
teeth. Loss of appetite. These are
Symptons of worms. Rid your
ild's body of these ruinous par-
asites that sep health and strength,
Give Comstock’s Deed Shot Worm
Pellets. Prepared like confections.
Children take them without suse
pecting testment,
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WORM (70) PELLET
$122 0 | f WH Comstock lst.
is SHO eristown KY
et Dr
al
m's Vegetable Com
It May Warn of Kidney or
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A per istent backache,
bladder irregularitics
tired, nervous, depressed
feeling may warn of some dis.
ordered kidney or bladder cons
dition. Users everywhere rely
cn Doan’s Pills. Praised for
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