CHAPTER VI.
ADRIAN MAKES A CAPTURE.
"By George!" exclaimed Billie, as he advanced to meet Pedro, "you surelydid come right in the nick of time. I thought I'd have to becomedog-meat, just to keep the others out of trouble, and I was going to doit."
"I don't think that would have been necessary," declared Donald, as hecame out from the kitchen, followed by Adrian. "But I'm glad you got outof the trouble without killing the peon's dog. I know how much the peonsthink of their dogs--more than their wives."
"I'm very sorry," said Pedro, "that you should have had so much trouble,and that I did not take you home with me yesterday. My uncle says I wasvery rude not to have brought you home to breakfast."
"Breakfast!" exclaimed Billie. "How could you have taken us home tobreakfast? It was after eleven o'clock when we met you."
Donald laughed.
"You don't understand," he said; "in Mexico they call the meal that wename breakfast simply coffee, as that is all they have to break theirmorning fast. From eleven to half-past twelve they have what they call_almuerzo_, or breakfast. Along about five o'clock they have _cena_, orsupper, and dinner comes anywhere from seven to ten o'clock. This theycall _comida_."
Billie's round face expanded into a broad smile.
"Four meals a day!" he finally exclaimed. "Fine! I think I'd like tolive in Mexico."
"I'm sure we'd like to have you," laughed Pedro, "and now that I havefound you again, you must come with me and have coffee. Then my unclewill send someone with you to show you the short way back to the RioBrava."
The Broncho Rider Boys looked at each other knowingly as Adrianexplained that they were not at all anxious to find a short road back,as they wished to see as much of the country as possible.
"That's fine," was Pedro's exultant exclamation, "for, if you are in nohurry, you can stay with us several days, and I can take you up theConcho. I surely want to do something to show you how much I appreciatewhat you did for me yesterday. My uncle thinks I was in great danger."
"How so?" asked Donald.
"Get onto your horses, and I'll tell you as you ride along," repliedPedro. "Here, Fillipe!" he called, "come and saddle the horses."
Not only Fillipe, but several other peons, who had made their appearancewhile the boys were talking, hastened to obey Pedro's command, and in avery few minutes the four boys were jogging along toward the Haciendadel Rio, for so the estate of Pedro's uncle was called.
"Now for the story," laughed Billie, "and I wish you would tell it inEnglish so I can understand."
"If you won't laugh at my English," said Pedro, "I'll try."
"What, do you speak English?" asked Adrian.
"A little. My sister, Guadalupe, speaks it well, as does my uncle; butthey call me the lazy one, because I have never tried very hard. I'msorry now I didn't try harder."
"Well, try now," insisted Billie. "We have so many foreigners in theUnited States and so many speak poor English that we can understand mostanything."
Pedro laughed heartily.
"I hope I can do as well as some; so, to begin with, I must tell yousomething about my home. We live on a large _hacienda_, in the State ofMichoa-can, and our house is built only a little ways from the shore ofa small lake, Tiasca by name. On the other side of this lake aremountains, very much like these across the Concho," and he pointedacross the river to the west.
"On the shore of the lake, nearest the mountains, is a little village offisher-folk, but they are a bad lot. They are lazy and dishonest. Theysteal at every opportunity. Hardly a week passes that some of them donot cross the lake and steal chickens, pigs, goats, and even cattle. Wecall them pirates, because they come over in little boats. They havealways been bad, but since they became Zapatists they are worse thanever."
"What do you mean by Zapatists?" asked Adrian.
"Followers of the robber, Zapata. You must have heard about him."
"Now that you explain, I believe I have. So these men are followers ofZapata?"
"Yes; and before the days of President Madero they were a part of whatwas known as the Las Cruces robbers.
"Well, ever since my father was a young officer he has always hadtrouble with these pirates."
"Do they ever try to break into your house?" queried Billie.
"They did once, and that is part of the story. It happened whenGuadalupe was a baby and I was only a little more. My father was away atthe time with almost all the rurales in the district, and the robbersmust have known that there were only a few peons left to guard thehouse.
"Three of them came to the gate and demanded that my mother give themfive hundred dollars. She refused, and they threatened to come and getit. Mother was not much afraid, as our house is very strongly built ofstone; but still she took every precaution to see that they could notbreak in; but that night about twenty-five of them surrounded the houseand sat down to a regular siege."
"Couldn't you shoot them from the windows?" asked Billie.
"I suppose we could, but mother didn't wish to do that. So she just kepteverything shut tight, expecting every hour that my father would return.
"After they had been there three days, one of our peons, Jose Gonzales,who had been away to Morelia on an errand, came home. He said that, ashe came up the shore of the lake, he heard a group of the pirates sayingthat they were getting afraid to stay longer, and that they were goingback across the lake. Sure enough, they did, and my mother was sorelieved, especially to have Jose home, for he was considered above theordinary run of peons, that she ceased her watchfulness and turned thecare of the place over to Jose.
"Along about midnight my sister was taken sick, and my mother wasobliged to get up to take care of her. As she came out into the rotundaand cast her eyes across the _patio_ toward the great front gate, shesaw a sight which frightened her nearly to death. Jose was standing inthe half-open gate, talking to men whom my mother knew must be thepirates. She realized at once that he was a traitor, and, drawingquickly back into her room, she barred the door as best she could, andwaited to see what would happen.
"She didn't have long to wait, as the robbers soon attempted to get in;but for a long time the bar held. Then Jose brought a great hammer andthe door finally yielded."
"The villain!" exclaimed Billie, whose fighting blood was stirred by therecital of such treachery.
"It is even worse than you think," continued Pedro, "for, as the piratesrushed in, Jose called out, as he pointed to my father's strong box:'There is the silver. You can have that, but the _senora_ is mine.'
"At this he seized my mother, and started to carry her out of the door;but, as he turned, he saw a sight which caused him to loose his hold anddraw his knife, for there in the door stood my father, his drawn saberin his hand and death in his eye. He took a step forward and aimed ablow at Jose, but as he struck, my mother, overcome with joy, seized himaround the knees and spoiled his aim. Instead of cleaving Jose's skull,he struck a glancing blow and cut off his left ear. We found the earlater."
"Good for your father!" exclaimed all the boys. "But then whathappened?" and they drew their horses down to a walk, so interested hadthey become in the story.
"Well, for a moment the robbers were surprised by the attack, but whenthey saw my father was alone, they all turned upon him and he wouldundoubtedly have been killed, but that his men, who had by this timeoverpowered the robbers in the _patio_, came to his aid. The banditswere soon secured, but in the fight and darkness, Jose escaped. Weafterwards learned that he had been an accomplice of the bandits foryears and had planned this attack for the sole purpose of stealing mymother. His aim was to become a gentleman and live in the City ofMexico, and for a while he did. Later my father learned of hiswhereabouts and his arrest was ordered, but again he managed to escape.
"During the Madero revolution he tried to win the good graces ofPresident Madero, but his record was too bad and President Maderoordered him out of the city. Since that time he has threatened vengeanceon the President and all his
friends. It is even said he is trying tostart a new revolution. He is none too good, I can tell you."
"But what has all this to do with your great danger?" asked Adrian.
"Why, my uncle thinks Jose is the man from whom you rescued meyesterday."
"What!" exclaimed all the boys in chorus. "That man!"
"That's what my uncle thinks. He has been reported in this vicinity. Hehas changed his name to Rafael Solis and I heard one of the peonsyesterday address him as Don Rafael."
"I didn't notice that he had lost an ear," said Donald.
"No," said Billie, "but you noticed that he wore his hair unusuallylong, didn't you? I expect he does that to hide the missing ear."
"That's it exactly!" exclaimed Donald. "I knew there was somethingstrange about his appearance, but for the life of me I couldn't tellwhat it was."
"Well, that's it," replied Billie, "and if I ever get my eye on youagain, Mr. Don Rafael, I'll know you."
"You mustn't say Mr. Don Rafael," explained Pedro. "Don means Mr. If youwant to, you can call him Don Rafael; but as for me I shall think of himalways as Jose the traitor.
"But here we are at my uncle's house and he will be more than glad tosee you."
As the little cavalcade drew up in front of the great white house, apeon opened the big gate and the quartette rode into the patio. Otherservants quickly took their horses and led them to the stable, whilePedro escorted the boys up a broad flight of stairs to the second floor,on which were located the parlors, library and dining room. It was abeautiful home and our boys felt just a little bit awkward on cominginto such a sumptuous house dressed in their travel-stained ridinggarments. But if they had any sense of being out of place, they werequickly put at their ease by a kindly faced gentleman of middle age, whoadvanced to the head of the stairs and greeted them pleasantly.
"These are the brave Americans who gave me such unexpected assistanceyesterday," said Pedro by way of introduction.
"I guessed as much," replied his uncle.
"And this is my uncle, Don Antonio Sanchez," said Pedro to the boys, "heis just as glad to see you and to have you here as I am. And uncle," hecontinued without stopping to catch his breath, "they are going to staywith me several days, aren't you?" to the boys.
"I don't think we promised, did we?" replied Donald, "but we will staytoday, anyway. We shall be pleased to see something of the Conchovalley."
Don Antonio lead the way to the dining room, where the boys wereintroduced to Pedro's aunt and to his sister, Guadalupe.
If the boys had been embarrassed upon meeting Don Antonio, they weremore so upon meeting Guadalupe, who was something different from anygirl they had ever met. When she was introduced to Billie and called himDon Guillermo, he turned as red as a turkey gobbler and wished he wassomewhere else; but, after a few minutes, he forgot his embarrassment inhis morning meal--for when it came to eating, there was nothing couldinterfere with the business of the moment.
Don Antonio and his wife were much pleased with the boys and askedDonald and Adrian many questions about the big ranches from which theycame. Both were able to give him all the information he wanted and heinsisted that after breakfast all should ride over his _hacienda_ andsee the American improvements he had put upon it.
A member of Don Antonio's household who attracted much attention fromthe boys was a great Newfoundland dog, by the name of Tanto. He wasGuadalupe's special property, and at first eyed the boys with a gooddeal of suspicion. But, when he discovered that they were friends of thefamily, he became quite as friendly as any of the others.
"He seems very fond of you," said Billie to Guadalupe, in an attempt tomake himself agreeable to the beautiful _senorita_.
"Yes, indeed," she replied. "I raised him from a puppy. Are you fond ofdogs, Don Guillermo?"
"Oh, yes," interrupted Adrian, who overheard the remark, "Don Guillermois very fond of dogs. If you could have seen him playing with them,about daylight this morning, you would have thought so," at which remarkall the boys laughed heartily, and Billie had to explain his adventure.
"Well, I think it was too bad that you should be caught in such a place;but Tanto will never do a thing like that. Will you, Tanto?" and shepatted the dog's head.
"Come on," called Pedro from the _patio_, "if we're going to look overthe _hacienda_, let's get started before it gets any warmer."
Accompanied by Don Antonio, the boys rode from place to place over thegreat farm, along the eastern border of which the Concho river wound itsway, while on the other side the mountains rose abruptly to severalhundred feet. At the southern extremity the river approached almost tothe foot of the mountains, making a narrow neck of land. Still farthersouth the river broadened out into quite a lake, upon which were anumber of small boats.
As the boys turned to retrace their path, Adrian lingered a moment towatch the flight of a flock of water-fowl, and, as he did so, hisattention was attracted to the movements of a boat, which had put outfrom the mountain-side, and which had started the flight of thewater-fowl. It contained three men, and, as it slipped silently out ofthe shadows of the overhanging trees, there was something about theappearance of the man at the stern which seemed most familiar, althoughhe had his blanket thrown over his shoulder in such a manner as toconceal his face.
At first Adrian started to call his companions, but upon second thoughthe decided to do a little reconnoitering on his own hook. He accordinglydismounted from his horse, and walked slowly around the trees whichobscured his view. At his left was a little point of land, extending outinto the water, and he slowly and cautiously made his way thither. Fromthis point of vantage he obtained a good view of the river for quite adistance, and could see the boat without being seen.
It was very evident that the boat had come out of a little inlet about ahundred yards from the point upon which Adrian was standing, whichappeared to be the mouth of a small brook. On the other side of thepoint, around which the boat was slowly being rowed, was a steep rock,at least three times the length of an ordinary skiff, beyond which itwas impossible for Adrian to see. The boat headed directly for the rock,and a moment later disappeared behind it; but that one look wassufficient to convince Adrian that the man who had attracted hisattention was the same who had tried to steal Pedro.
"I wonder what he is doing around here, anyway?" soliloquized Adrian."No good, I'm sure. The best thing I can do is to hurry after the restof them and tell them what I have seen. They'll be wondering where Iam."
Hastily he scrambled up the bank to where he had left his horse, when,just as he raised his head above the edge, he felt a hand grasp hisright foot, and he was pulled violently downward. For just a minute heclung to the shrubbery about him, and then, gaining his wits, hesuddenly relaxed his hold and, turning half way round, push himselfbackward.
It was an old trick he had learned at school, and the result was that hecame down on top, instead of underneath, the man who had grasped hisankle.
In another moment he was engaged in a rough-and-tumble fight, whichproved of short duration, for Adrian was much more than a match for hisassailant. Almost as soon as it takes to tell it, Adrian was sitting ontop of a white-shirted peon, whose only weapon was a great stone, withwhich he had doubtless intended to intimidate, rather than hit, the boy.
"Well," exclaimed Adrian, as soon as he had gained his breathsufficiently to speak, "what do you mean by dragging me down like this?"
At the sound of Adrian's voice the peon turned his head and looked up athis captor in the greatest surprise.
"Pardon me," he whined. "It was a mistake. I thought you were someoneelse."
"Who did you think I was?"
"_El nino de Sanchez_"--meaning the Sanchez boy--whined the peon.
"Oh, you did, eh?" exclaimed Adrian. "Well, you come with me and let DonAntonio question you. I think he is looking for you."