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Show • ( 50 ) noz "or else I would carry your messa<YC to the fort, as. Mateo wo~ld not think of preventing me and my followers. from go1ng any where. But I must keep them in their good resolntwns by my pre~ r,ence nnd by sharing their fate whatever it may be." 'Vaanataa said: '' lf none of us can get aero s these wicked Carn~nches, to ca :ry the messa_g;e to our fort, a dog m:•y get throu gh Without attractrng their attention; so I rr:opose Matador a:l our messenger .. Brother 1 Adam "'rite a letter Jn French to Carrel, as Mateo 1mght. have learnt 'to undcrstaQd a little English, in conseflncnce of mingling with Americans. I will fasten that letter under Matador's neck with a string around it and a piece of reel cloth on the top, to attract the attention of those in the fort; but poor Matatlor must have nothing to eat and a good flogging, before we let him go, that he may run the faster to the fort." "vVaanataa!'' cried Adam, "you are a capital fellow and more cunning tlun we all together. I will write immediately, and you may beat Matador a little in the mean while; but we must after· wards well compensate the poor dog for those sufferings and good services." He took a piece of a paper, which he alway~ carried with him "s our journ ali st, and wrote the following message: "Dear Brother: 'Ve are surrounded by a hundred hostile Camanche Indian robbers, commanded by Mateo, a .Mexican, to whom we will sacrifice our animal while you are cumin~ to attac]\ them from t.he outside, when we shall do ~o simultaneously from our side. Come ail! leaving the women in ~he fort with the mnles, except those you will mount to come hither to Valerio's h:1bit<tt.ion; he, his wife and his son; Sylvia, Waanntaa, Yonl<a and myself, .with a friend to V. Munoz, who is the chief of 18 men, ready to fight for us. Wh<:tn you will ar!'i\·e or attack, let every rifle or pi stol be fired twi ce successively-we will do the same. Let our watchword be 'Ca.lifo~·nia,' and thea.nswer be 'Phalanx!' Every other ''rriting wh1 ch 1s not accompanied by a copy of this is null; arrest and shoot the bearer of such a message as a robber. Matador shall bring you this. Written on Saturday, at noon, January 27. AnAM." After reading this. message to the others, ·who nll agreed with ita contents, Adam cop1ed and folded it up in letter form addressing it to the "~halanx." Then Waanataa wrnpped it car~fully up and fasten~d 1t under Matador's neck, as he had before said ; th n he uncha1ned and gave the poor dog some more blows with a Rticl{, wh~reupon 1\!Iatador beg:w to cry and to run like a luromotive, whrle the company expressed to. each olher th eir rep; rr ts at being compelled by danger and neces ~nty to such a cruel f'Xp ~ d i P.n t. Matador had scarcely run aw:Jy, when one o.f the nwn commal: decl ~y .Munoz reportP.d, that .l\lateo's Camanche. ,,· ~re forming a w1de c1rcle around the habitation. Soon aftet· Mate.o made his ::tppearance at the door, greet ing the persor~s pre~ent w.1th an asr-;umetl air of di~nity and politenes8. '"·hicb were mdecd nothmg hut a clownish haughtinesB. .. • ( 51 ) ~uno~ went to meet Mateo at the door, Valerio and Sylvia fof lowing h1s example, to shake hands with the new-comer; while Wa& ~nataa an.d Ada~. only bowed a little towards him. Yonl;:a and feres~ With Alej~Co \i\'ere sitting in a corner. Munoz introduced Valerro ·and Sy 1 vro to Mateo ns two friends whom he had formerly know~ at Santa Fe and Pueblo. where the; were still engaged in the sk1n-trade. "Bien, mny bien," (well, very we11 ,) said lVIateo in reply; "then they have money and mules, I suspect." '?f course they have these two articles" an~nvered Munoz with a smrle,. "and I have already told them th~t you are very fond of such thmgs." .'' Ha! ha! ha!" lau~hed Mateo, "ha.ve you? that's right. If you wJJ1, you shall have your part of the booty; as to that of the beauty, I know th~t you have come hither only to secure that before your departure for El Dorado.'' He said the last twenty words in a rather low tone, not to be l.lnderRtood ?Y the ot~1ers. At a wink from Adam, Sylvia left him, and went w1t h Valer1o to .the corner where Teresa and Yonka were flitting, with whom they began also in a low conversation in which Waana~aa joined with Yonli:a, sa that Adam sat ''vriting a1~ne. "Qu1en es este Caballero?" (Who is that gentleman?) jnquired Mateo, nnd Munoz replied: "U n .A mericano, who neither understands nor speaks one word of Span1sh; therefore, we may talk here behind or before him whatever \1\'e lil~e, with9nt any danger of being underst ood a~d betrayed by h1m. In English he is a f!;reat scholar, and at the ~arne time a great fool, as all those learned fellows are you know who rea d an d wn.t e books: the more they study and w' rite the less' they kn~w of. and do for the world. He is always writing his journal, wh1ch, lrl\e many another writing of that kind, will never ue read and good for any thing, except perhaps for ·wrapping cheese in.. l~ut, .Mateo, I entreat you, don't mention to any body what you 1<now of my life hi~herto, nor wh:1t I ~ave told you of my Jove to D?nn~ Teresa; for 1f Valerio should learn that, he would get crazy w~th .Jealo11sy and not go along with her to California, whither I ·w1ll Induce them to emigrate with .me. l{eep vour tongue and I will help you to ~et the mules and the money.of these other fellows, on the condition that. yon ~ive me half of what you shall get of the latter article, of which they have a good deal, I know. Bnt. you must not shed any blood: no murder is necessary, if you will do as I tell you." "Bravo!" whisperecl Mateo; "you talk l1ke a learned man, althoug; h not like a fool, Munoz. ~' hat will you have me to do?" "First, you must promise me not to shed blood. Then I will act ns :m old friend of yours." . "Caramha, indeecl!" answered Mateo in a suppressed pasSion; '' have you ali at. once turned a real saint, to be thus afraid o{ l~uman b.Iood? Napoleon is called a 'Gran Heroe,' ( ~reat hero,) lske AleJandro Magno, (Alexanuer the Gre:tt,) because he has sheJ |