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 rous fixity of .mpamng an intense and absorbing interest to his varied charact 
 are real miracles of mgenious complication, their denoumenta bein. riddle 
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 to a natural and probable explanation. P 1EK c* E<M N ' S pop,,^ is y colltinuall J 
 .ncreasc and most deservedly so-for he continual.y improves : so that hi.s Jv . 
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 BE WITT, Publisher, 33 Eose Streel 
 
JQAQU1N, 
 
 (THE CLAUDE DUVAL OF CALIFOKNIA); 
 
 OB, 
 
 THE MARAUDER OF THE MINES. 
 
 n 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 ROBERT M DE WITT, PUBLISHER, 
 
 33 ROSE STREET. 
 
 Enterevl according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by ROBERT M. DE WITT, in the Clerk's 
 Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. 
 
SYNOPSIS. 
 
 MANY are still living of those who can yet recall the feats of the man \vhose namo 
 gives title to this book. Joaquin Marietta was the son of worthy parents, and nothing in 
 his early youth betokened any traits of the monster which he afterwards became. He 
 left Sonora, the lovely country of his birth, and visited the province of Mexico, where he 
 became attached to the household of the then famous Santa Anna. Quarrelling with one 
 of the attaches, he openly insulted him ; but the man he insulted did not resent it, and 
 Joaquin scornfully rode away, to soon after ra-appear in his native town. Here he mar 
 ried a young Sonorian, Carmela Felix. A year of tranquil happiness had barely passed 
 before he was summoned by his brother to visit him at the Mission of San Jose, in Cali 
 fornia. He went, accompanied by his wife. Carlos, the brother, was rejoiced to have 
 Joaquin with him. Together they proceeded upon some business to the mines. Here a 
 friend of theirs, Flores, was found in possession of a mule alleged to have been stolen. 
 Carlos was with Flores at the time of his arrest ; and the first thing that Joaquin knew 
 of the arrest of his brother was seeing the two friends hanging from a tree dead ! From 
 that moment Joaquin's nature and disposition underwent a fearful change. Still, however, 
 at the entreaties of his wife, Joaquin resumed work us a miner. On one occasion a set of 
 ruffians tried to drive him from the claim on which he was at work. Joaquin resisted. 
 Pistols flashed, Joaquin fell, wounded and senseless. When he awoke to reason, it was to 
 find Carmela, worse than dead, beside him. From this moment the fires of perdition ap 
 peared to blaze in his heart. From crime to crime he passed on with furious rage, until 
 there was hardly a town in California that couldn't show the victims of his fatal bullet or 
 the smouldering ruins caused by his torch. In the following pages every trace of his 
 blood-stained footsteps is closely followed. Some of the facts are furnished by cotempo- 
 rary witnesses ; most of them by official documents. He proceeded from step to step, 
 wading deeper and deeper into crime, until quiet citizens were almost afraid to breathe his 
 name aloud. Nor was he alone in his nefarious exploits. His infamous notoriety sur 
 rounded him with a band of satellites only inferior to himself in his bad eminence. Reso 
 lute men went sometimes in parties, sometimes singly to waylay and capture him. 
 Very few. however, returned to say anything of his whereabouts. In some solitary gulley 
 the daring men would be found, with some token or other left to signify that they had 
 met their death at the hands of Joaquin or some of his heartless lieutenants. So great at 
 length became the terror inspired by his ruthless deeds, and fright so magnified them that 
 hundreds swore that there was not one Joaquin but a dozen at the least. Sheriffs of 
 counties hunted him with picked men. The Governor of the State offered vast rewards 
 for his capture, dead or alive. Eventually he fell into the hands of a brave American, 
 Captain Love, who secured him in the jail at Martinez, from which he was taken by force, 
 and hung by a number of Mexicans. He was decapitated, and his head publicly exhibited 
 in San Francisco. 
 
 In addition to this being a faithful narration of the fearful deeds of Joaqnin, incident 
 ally the work gives a faithful delineation of " life in the diggings" in the early days of 
 California, when almost every nugget of gold was blood-spotted ere rude Justice bared 
 her death-dealing arm. 
 
Bancroft Library 
 
 im^p 
 
 J O A Q UI 
 
 THE CLAUDE DUVAL OF CALIFOlliXlA. 
 
 THE sons are growing or grown up of the men who went it with a rush through 
 the Golden Gates, by the different ways over the Camanche infested plains, by 
 the sickly Chagres and the Isthmus innocent of railroad cars, for the treacherous 
 mongrels to scowl at in '50 '51 and '52. There are many of the brave hearts, 
 stout frames spite of fever of camp and field keen eyes, hands ready for friend 
 and against foe, generous pockets, and welcoming laugh left thanks to heaven 
 of the Returned Californians. They are the ones who will not hav3 to be more 
 than this once reminded who JOAQUIN MURIETE was, that Red-handed Ravager, 
 that King of Cut-throats, that Murderer of the Mines, that Pirate of the Placers, 
 that deepest-cursed of greasers in gully and canon. From Maximilian's north 
 ernmost lines to the British Territories, from the Rocky Mountain? to the beau 
 tiful Pacific, the blood-scored adventures, live yet, the celebrity is still well 
 known for robbery and killing. 
 
 England does pretty well with her Jonathan Wilds, Captain Bloods, cruel 
 highwaymen, and captains of other crews. Italy is all very well with her Maz- 
 zaronis, Rmaldo Rinaldinis, and Fras Diavolo (whom the opera makes fall into 
 a trap that a gosling depredator would have smelt out, a cub-fox avoid and a 
 chicken have fought its way out of.) And France may ring out its " la belle " 
 to good (or bad) purposes with Cartouches, Mandrins, Scorchers and Flayers, 
 just as Germany can gutterally chant the doing sof Robbers of theRhine, who 
 plundered to banquet on swine's flesh, beer, Bolognas, Limburger with or with 
 out speck, Schweitzer kaese and all, no less merilly than more fastidious bandits 
 oil wines and Cupuan dainties. 
 
 But very high, ruddy and glittering pile it takes the land of Gold to " rake 
 it." Joaquin is the implement in the croupier's hand. 
 
 To begin, no one, is to think El Dorado what it was from '48 to '52 ; not at 
 
 all. The spirit never winced when Sacramento and Saint ( anv name in 
 
 the calender) were flooded and washed to nothing, when " Charley the Chief" 
 couldn't save " Frisco " from the flames, has converted the chaotic Eden into a 
 proper paradise, where everything man can desire grows to more than perfect* 
 tion from lovely and grand-hearted maid to luscious fruits. In the days of the- 
 fresh-comes, when many had broken bad English and worse French in chat with 
 Capt. Sutter, had broken savings, (and hearts (?) rn^iy be) over the Bella Union 
 tables, had broken the peace of dark senoritas who dropped coward native lovers 
 for the fine, large Americans who stood twenty lassomen, with one six-shooter 
 or a twelve-inch Bowie hilt and blade. 
 
 In those passed times, not pastimes by a long shot, the man was liberal \vho 
 call the Shining Shore a civilized country, and he would not be believed either. 
 
4 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of '(California J ; 
 
 There were ugly crowds flocking there, and jail-birds, and those who ought to 
 have been encaged, were plenty as wild prairie fowls in a Chicago market. 
 
 Too many Italians, who gave themselves out as broken-down water-fountain- 
 stand keepers at Naples, Florentine money-changers reduced to the ranks of Laz- 
 aroMS by robberies on them, or Venetian gondoliers, were more than suspected 
 of being beggars who had flourished daggers and flirted out pistols as spurs to 
 charity. 
 
 Frenchmen there were who were reported to have revolutionized a little, with 
 out other authority than their own, principally devoting themselves to securing 
 " funds for the cause," a cause which Jeanneton and Lamourdemarie, girls of 
 caberets, were concerned in. 
 
 The Spaniards and such were merely ear-ringed sailors who had collided with 
 first mates and had to hide from justice, till the first vessel sailed with them in 
 the hold as stow-aways, in such seaports as kept gibbets standing ; or were 
 fellows indisposed to clean Havana's and Mexico's streets in a chain-gang as they 
 feared would come to pass. The English when " chummed " together, might be 
 overheard remembering in slang certain pocket-diving and crib-cracking feats, 
 along with " lushing " in and about St. Luke's Whitechapel, Elephant and Cas 
 tle, Golden Lane, King's Cross, and so on. The States' men hailed from the 
 chief cities and did not recognize one another,but preferred strangers to mate off 
 with instead of the acquaintances who accosted them so rudely and significantly 
 on the wharf or plank walk : ' Hullo, ol' Mississip', whar am de cards dat allers 
 
 turn Jack V -' Your term out, Ned 1 or did you jump Sing Sing ?' ' The 
 
 deuce who'd a-think Charlestown would a-give you up so quick !' ' Gaul darn ye, 
 if 'taint Baltimore who forgot his name warn't Rob Smith an' went an' signed 
 it to a promisory note ! Well, I'm te-totally darned.' And Sidney skylarks 
 floated over the Balboan waters, somehow or other. 
 
 And yet a number of these men, to counter-balance a number of the always 
 accounted good, dropped what seemed a mask (though worn for years) and 
 went to work with spiked pole, spade, pick, barrow, bowl, sieve and cradle as 
 honest, industrious and steady as the best. Their reverse counterparts, losing 
 their outfits and their money to live on in the saloons though they were clergy 
 men's sons, rich, of high station and all that, went down the stream after a 
 Niagara fall. 
 
 To this land of such strangely mingled people, came Joaquin Murieta at the 
 opening of 1848. 
 
 He was born in Sonora's capital, in Mexico, of a family respectable enough, 
 and sufficiently well off to give him a good education as education went in the 
 priest-ridden country. 
 
 He was noticeable during his youth for the gentlest and most placid of 
 natures ; everybody who knew him in those days speaking rapturously of his 
 then noble and generous spirit. 
 
 In '45, being sixteen years of age, Joaquin left his native place to seek hij 
 fortune in the capital of all the provinces, Mexico. 
 
 As he was of good figure and not unpleasing bearing, he soon obtained the 
 situation of squire in the wealthy household of President Lopez de Santa Anna. 
 
 Mean as was this post, the young blade was told that it might be merely the 
 first round of a ladder reaching to eminence, for he was ambitious and a little 
 chafed. 
 
 Santa Anna had always been a lover of horsemanship, a piece of information 
 received gladly by Joaquin,*vho was somewhat noted in his parts as a vaquero 
 for he had tamed wild horses time and again, not to say accomplished wonder 
 fully the lesser feats of tossing bulls on their backs, lassoing, picking up hand 
 kerchiefs from the dust at full gallop. 
 
 He saw in the governor's passion a means of pointing out himself and doubt 
 less of being promoted. 
 
Or, Tke Marauder of the Mines. 5 
 
 His elevated hopes did not come to effect as easily as he had anticipated. 
 He had to lower his pretentious a little, besides, on account of the way in 
 which his fellow riders discountenanced his attempts to shine above them. 
 
 One of these other horsemen was a Mexican named Camplido, who had often 
 growled about the somewhat aristocratic airs which Joaquin had taken. 
 
 The latter saw the enmity growing, but pretented at first not to notice the 
 sneers and scornful looks with which he was liberally favored : he minded lib 
 own business instead of letting himself be troubled with other affairs, an act of 
 good sense that seems unrivalled in a Mexican. 
 
 So unrivalled that Camplido dtd not imitate him. He made his padre pray 
 for an opportunity to come to him. 
 
 It came very soon. Joaquin was jumping up on his horse one day, not in a 
 stately, regular mode according to rule, but after a savage style which he had 
 caught from some Texan borderers. He lit fair and true in the saddle, but, in 
 half turning to make sure that the crupper had not been displaced by his fall, 
 lightly as it had been made, saw a grin on Camplido's face and half heard him 
 saying something to a couple of fellows beside him. . 
 
 " Did you speak to me 1" cried Joaquin, turning pale and then red under his 
 browned skin. 
 
 " Why, yes," replied Camplido, who, being a full grown man, was not going 
 to let the little bantam hear him deny his crow. " And, if you want to know. 
 Mister Sonorian, what I said, it only was : " Carajo, what a clumsy way to 
 bestride a nag." 
 
 " Clumsy !" echoed the other, holding in his mount, " it's an American way, 
 whijph none of you inland cowards dare try with a wild mustang as / can." 
 
 And he proudly smiled at remembrance of the days when the herds of wild 
 horses had been corraled and tamed by himself and his friends, boy though he 
 was. 
 
 " That's it ! speak well for the heathen Americans, the grasping, cowardly, 
 lying race !" cried Camplido with all a Mexican's contempt for the people who 
 had taken Texas and were afterwards to take more from the " sick man" of 
 America. 
 
 " Heathens, no doubt," retorted Joaquin hotly. " Grasping, eh ? yes, if you 
 mean the Americans are men to grasp a friend's hand heartily and a foe's 
 throat like a vice. Cowardly ! oh, yes ! Cowards generally do go trapping and 
 hunting in the Indian territory, they do tackle 'Rapahoes seven to one, they do 
 chase Comanches, they ten, the redskins a hundred and fifty and all braves ; 
 they do rescue poor girls stolen from the missions, out of Apache villages ; 
 thats the way of cowards, is it ? They lie, do they, of course ? They said 
 they would settle Texas, and they didn't, eh ? they said they would have there a 
 republic, and they hoisted no lone star on the tall cedar-poles left standing in 
 their clearings, oh, no ! Seems to me their piece of Mexico counts one in the 
 Union's twenty and odd states ! Any how," concluded the Sonorian, with 
 flushed cheeks and working hands, " I have not learnt bad horsemanship from 
 such fearless riders, though they're not up to your mark, Senor Camplido. 
 Suppose you see if / am." 
 
 " I'm willing," -said the Mexican furious, " and I don't mind seeing if your 
 little tender paws can handle a cuchillo of .a man better than they do a bridle 
 of a horse." 
 
 But the others prevented the contest being for the present any other than 
 one of cavaliers. 
 
 *' We must see the trial first," muttered one of the witnesses. " Caspita ! 
 they can cut throats afterwards." 
 
 On the appointed day, the whole household of the President got together, 
 with the secret hope of having a laugh over the foregone discomfiture of the 
 young Sonorian. 
 
6 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 The two contestants opened performances with a couple of short runs, 
 various tricks, rearings, prancings and all the artificial steps of the * manege.' 
 This was only to warm the blood of both horses and masters. 
 
 Leaping over an adobe wall, six feet high and three thick, with a hundred 
 feet for siart,. without a graze of a horse's hoof to tell the story, was the finale. 
 Carnplido was first, and over he went to the cheers of his friends. 
 
 Joaquin was smiling to himself, for he was thinking of how he had often 
 taken greater jumps over huge fallen trees, wide splits in the ground from 
 earthquakes, broken and dethroned boulders, clumps of cactus and thick hedges 
 of the chapparal. 
 
 He walked his horse on for fifty feet, and only began to gallop within half 
 the prescribed distance. 
 
 As he neared the wall, ere he was within a yard of the holes in the earth 
 made by the other jumper, he buried both his spurs in his steed's belly and up 
 it went in the air. At the moment, a white sun-scarf, tied to the end of an 
 escopette's ramrod, was floated in the up-rising and on-coming leaper's face. 
 
 The beast started, swerved, and, unable to prevent its spring, took the wall 
 sideways and, as a natural result, kicked a couple of the rude bricks before its 
 feet. 
 
 It all but fell, but the master had already slung one leg over its lowered head 
 and dropped to the ground. 
 
 Everybody was laughing, as he turned round indignantly, and Camplido's 
 throat was not the one that made the least noise. 
 
 Suddenly he lifted the be-scarfed rod which he still held, to parry a knife- 
 thrust which was dealt at him. It was Canales, one of the grooms. 
 
 He had had the same trick served on him at his own first entering the ser 
 vice and, though strongly suspecting the author, had never found it out beyond 
 doubt. 
 
 Now it was he who sprang upon laughing Camplido. 
 
 But Joaquin, leaving his quivering horse with a " So-hoa !" to him, rushed 
 forward in time to knock up a down-stroke which would beyond doubt have 
 made the traitor pay with his life for his act of baseness. 
 
 Joaquin declared that he alone would spill blood in his own defence, if that 
 must be, but, as it was, he did not care to have one drop of such a miserable 
 life-current let out of so worthless a man. 
 
 He mounted his horse slowly, to give Camplido a chance to show what little 
 courage he might have, but there was no movement on the hitter's part. 
 
 Then, smiling scornfully, he leaped his horse quietly over the wall, clean this 
 time, and rode out of the court-yard gate, never to enter it again. 
 
 WJien returned to his own country, he was determined to cast aside all his 
 ambitious desires and live happily and placidly in the charming hot sunshine 
 of Sonora. 
 
 Nevertheless, in the month of January, 1848, Joaquin did leave the province 
 and went to San Francisco, in quest of a brother of his named Carlos, who 
 since sometime residing in Upper California had obtained from one of the dis 
 trict governors, a piece of land of four square leagues. 
 
 Joaquin in vain made inquiries ; he could'not even gain ^ny intelligence of 
 him, and had to return home. To make up for that supposed loss, he had not 
 long been back than he married a young Sonorian girl, Carmela Felix. 
 
 At the end of a year's wedded life, he received a letter from his brother, in 
 which he was begged to hurry to the Mission of San Jose. 
 
 Carlos added that great quantities of gold had been discovered in the moun 
 tains and that if Joaquin wanted to make a fortune, all he had to do was to lose 
 no time in reaching the placers. 
 
 Joaquin instantly got ready for the journey, but the illness of his father and 
 other family matters delayed his setting out by some ten months. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 7 
 
 Then he started, accompanied by his wife. 
 
 When he arrived at San Francisco, Joaquin was so immensely astounded at 
 the change that had taken place since his former visit, that he made up his mind 
 to spend several days there to see how the new comers would open their new 
 life. 
 
 So he sauntered around among the shanties and tents and one or two patent 
 take-to-pieces-and-put-together-again houses, that were run up like card- board 
 palaces, watching the ships being unloaded slowly, for they were dreadfully 
 short-handed and the most monstrous wages for 'longshoremen were laughed a* 
 by the out-at-elbow-and-knee loungers even. 
 
 On the second day, in one of the gambling-saloons, already busy in fleecing 
 the floor idlers, who had made their pile even that early, and thought to risk a 
 few ounces Miiile waiting for a homeward bound craft, Joaquin met his brothei. 
 
 The latter nai the bad news to tell him that, by some flaw in his title, some 
 ol the advencurers had taken away from him the four leagues of granted land. 
 
 He was going to the mines to hunt up a witness of whom he had need, after 
 which they two would go to Mexico in order to see the giver of the concession 
 and recover the property, if that was possible at that stage of disorder. Joa 
 quin expressed a great desire to go to the mines to see about the gold. 
 
 Carlos was only too glad to have him along with him, but as he knew 
 
 something of the roughness of the camp-life where all were men he coun 
 seled Joaquin to' leave his wife at the Dolores Mission under guard of an old 
 friend there Manuel Sepulveda. 
 
 The very next day, the two brothers went up to Sacramento, where they 
 bought horses to go to Hangtown. 
 
 They found the witness that Carlos was after, there. 
 
 He was a young native Californian called Flores. 
 
 He was fresh from a miners' camp some distance off, which he had left to 
 come down to sell gold dust. 
 
 After supper at a Mexican eating-house, Flores borrowed Joaquin's mule and 
 went out for a stroll with Carlos. 
 
 Joaquin, a little out of sorts from the journeying over roads so bad and the 
 change of water (for liquor was so valuable that the creeks supplied two-thirds of 
 the contents of bottles of mezcal and aguardiente), stayed in the house smoking 
 cigarettes, contemplating the grand invasion of Americans into this lately rich 
 domain of Mexico. 
 
 He had become acquainted with many of the Northerners during the late war 
 and, full of disgust at so often having seen the imbecility of his fellow country 
 men, had preserved a most favorable impression of the American character, 
 often regretting that he had not been born under the stars and stripes. 
 
 He contrasted his lazy, cowardly, treacherous, lying countrymen with the 
 men of the Republic, so energetic, active, brave, and so filled with love of 
 liberty. 
 
 If it had not been for his little happy, peaceful home so picturesquely em 
 bosomed in one of the most charming vales of Sonora, w r hich he little dreamed 
 would ever become part of the Republic, he would have for ever flung aside his 
 nationality to become in fact what he was in heart, an American Citizen. 
 
 All of a sudden, Joaquin's reflections were broken into by wild yells from 
 some hundreds of people who were thronging the streets, if you have a mind to 
 call them that, and giving tongue in cries of: 
 
 " String 'em up ! hang 'em, hang 'em ! Rope 'em quick, Pete ! No Judge 
 Lynch for the greasers caught in the act !" 
 
 Joaquin sprang out of the cabin but only in time to behold two quivering 
 bodies dangling almost touching one another from the same bough of a tree. It 
 was his brother and Flores. 
 
 A couple of ragged rascals who had followed the two brothers from San 
 
8 Joaquin, (the Claude Duvat of <Jatifornia) ; 
 
 Francisco, with trumped-up receipts, had claimed the mules they had been 
 riding and sworn that the animals had been stolen from them. 
 
 Such was the fury of the mob, (for of course, where no law was except the 
 unnoticed Mexican alcaldes' which was too easily tampered with, justice had to 
 be dealt by themselves), that the victims had no chance to clear themselves, 
 and all their endeavors to put in a word of defence were drowned by the curses 
 and groans of the crowd. They were pulled off their horses, a couple of long 
 grazing-halters found somewhere flung over their heads as they were made to 
 stand on barrel heads ; these scaffolds were kicked from under them, and thus 
 they died. 
 
 The two false accusers, bestriding the animals still warm in reins and saddle 
 from the innocent and real owners, rode off as quickly as possible, after treating 
 the crowd at the nearest rum-hole. 
 
 Struck with horror and astonishment, Joaquin could do no more at first than 
 cast one glance on the bodies and the dispersing executioners to assure himself 
 that the sight was undesirably real ; then, bursting into tears and restraining 
 himself from giving way to dangerous weakness, he procured a mule and re 
 turned to Sacramento, on the way to San Francisco, and thence to the Mission, 
 where he embosomed himself of the awful story to his wife. It made her 
 shudder ; but, with the eagerness of woman, she conjured her husband not to 
 follow the path vengeance streaked out to him with blood, but to leave to 
 heaven the punishment of the villains sure sooner or later to overtake them. 
 She assured him that all Americans were not, could not be as bloodthirsty as 
 the assassins of her brother-in-law. 
 
 With all the strength of her sincerely loving heart, she besought him not to 
 yield to criminal designs. Her tears, supplications and words of affection and 
 consolation worked a great change in Joaquin's intentions, and lulled his heart 
 into forgetfulness of the misdeed. 
 
 " So be it," said he kissing her, " I yield to my good angel. All is over. 
 Let's forget and be happpy. As soon as I shall have gathered a little gold, we 
 will go home never to leave it more." 
 
 A few days afterwards, accompanied by his wife, he reached the mines on the 
 Stanislaus River, where he put up a cabin and began " wet diggings." 
 
 The district was extremely lively, agitated by a great number of wretches 
 who, covering themselves with the cloak of being Americans " down on yallow 
 bellies, by G !" worked only by fits and starts, patrolling the country, and 
 eyeing the native Californians and Mexicans who did throw off sluggishness 
 and take to labor, with a hateful eye, while regarding them as a conquered 
 race, good only when others had the whip-hand of them. 
 
 This scum did all they could to fan the flames of prejudice of color and the 
 innate antipathy of such opposite races. 
 
 One day, a gang of such loafing desperadoes, having been thrashed soundly 
 by an allied party of Americans and Englishmen forming the " United E 
 Pluribus Dieu et mon Unum Droit Mining Company," and smarting to fine 
 somebody to be revenged on, came across solitary Joaquin and coolly ordered 
 him to clear from his claim, as they had made up their mind never to let a man 
 of his skin scrape gold in that region. 
 
 As a show of his papers did no good, and his string of oaths more harm, he 
 told the shouting band plump that he'd see every man Jack of 'em at the 
 bottom of a Nevadan ravine with a ten-foot sand-drift covering them, before he'd 
 let a spade or a pick that had no business there break earth on his ground. 
 
 Weapons flashed out, thereupon. There was a scuffle. The poor wife 
 rushed out, handsome in her terror and grief, to behold her husband senseless 
 on the ground from a hail of blows from pistol-butts. The miscreants seized 
 her. When Joaquin came to life at the dusk, Carmela was more than dead, 
 dishonored ! 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 
 
 CHAPTERII. 
 
 THE STOLEN HORSE. THE FIRST BLOOD. THE BAND IS FORMED. MURDER OF 
 
 SHERIFF CLARK. YUBA ON THE TRAIL. 
 
 IMAGINE the feelings of the unfortunate Joaquin. 
 
 Naturally, vengeance sent }jis blood up to boiling heat, but he had enough 
 coolness left to know that he could not single-handed quench his thirst for re 
 prisal : that would be risking life and liberty for one or two deaths alone. He 
 forced himself to wait and grin and bear it all until some chance should aid him 
 to carry out his ideas. 
 
 In April, 1850, he went into Calaveras County and tried his hand at Mur 
 phy's Diggings ; but, seeing that he was not of the temperament that a good 
 gold-hunter must be, he gave up the wash-bowl and rocker and took to the less 
 honest and far less honorable monte table. 
 
 Mexicans do not consider that so very disgraceful, however, as we may as 
 well say. At first blush, fortune more than smiled, laughed on him and began 
 to make the gold coins roll over decks of cards into the folds of his sash and the 
 pockets of his inner calzoneras, while his hat's lining was not innocent of some 
 Bank of England notes that he had bought as more convenient than the solid 
 stuff, in spite of the chant he heard so frequently in the saloons, the classical 
 " Shove her up, shove her up to the bolt, I'd rather have an ounce than a 
 twenty-dollar note, for the slug it will sink and the flimsy '11 float, so I'd rather 
 have," etc. 
 
 But, after going down the hill gaily, he had to go up toilsomely and had to 
 lighten his load. If he had dropped his gains into the melting pot, he could 
 hardly have had them more speedily melted away. 
 
 He rolled into the depths of the gulf of crime. 
 
 One day, he had been visiting a friend out of town, so to say, and had re 
 turned riding a horse which Valenzuela his friend had loaned him. Just as he 
 entered the encampment-village of Murphy's Diggings, somebody raised a 
 hullabaloo, a crowd surrounded him and stopped him. 
 
 " Hoss-thief !" cried Westerner. " I swan if 'taint my maire Kezi'ah, if 'tis 
 shaved pesky close and the fly-brush docked," yelled a Yankep. " Give the fel 
 low a hearing," said a Pennsylvanian. " Give the beggar a jolly good hiding," 
 roared an Englishman. " Smother him, the bastely Mixican," said a Patlander 
 louder than all. 
 
 Everybody knew the animal, and all Joaquin could do was swear that he had 
 only borrowed it, and that no doubt Valenzuela had innocently come into pos 
 session. Half the crowd, with the Westerner on his recovered horse, sped 
 away to confront Valenzuela. The rest, after listening for a few moments to 
 * the asseverations of Joaquin, were going to let him off with threats alone, when 
 several, who had seen him idling about and only busy when cards in hand, in 
 sisted on giving him a round dozen lashes as a slight warning for him to quit 
 those diggings. 
 
 So they tied up the luckless young man to a tree, and an English sailor, who 
 knew something of cats, rigged up a whip from an old hairless buffalo robe, and 
 inflicted the whipping. They let the flogged Sonorian go, then. It was lucky 
 for him, for the others returned before long from Valenzuela's shanty. He had 
 been unable to satisfy them, and they had run him up to the lowermost branch 
 of a cedar, and had hurried back to give his supposed accomplice a similar 
 necklace. 
 
 Joaquin's passionate spirit underwent a fearful change never to be altered 
 
10 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 afterwards. Any barrier whatever lost power over his raging heart. He 
 took an oath only to live thenceforth for revenge and to mark his steps in 
 blood. He could not discriminate in his general scheme, and included all the 
 Saxons in his doom-roll. 
 
 Not very long afterwards the stout Englishman, who had proposed the " jolly 
 hiding," was leisurely strolling into the thinned out woods, on a fine evening. 
 
 As he descended into the ravine crossing the narrow path, he found himself 
 unexpectedly face to face with Joaquin, whom he could not help remembering, 
 The eyes of the sallow youth flashed like a tawny tiger's, and a shudder made 
 his whole frame vibrate. 
 
 The Briton was fascinated for the moment, but, noting the trembling of the 
 other, he set it down to the fear the latter might have of being captured again. 
 
 " I ain't a-goin' to tetch yer, friend Spaniard," said he, and he pushed on to 
 pass him, almost unconcernedly. 
 
 Joaquin, side by side with him, did draw aloof from the path as though to 
 give him passage, but it was really to have a fair sweeping stab at the man's 
 side. 
 
 " Oh !" and the stout fellow reeled and clapped one hand to his breast, while 
 the other felt in his belt. 
 
 " Die ! die !" yelled Joaquin, foaming at the mouth and tearing away at his 
 victim with his left hand, while his right brought down the dagger again and 
 again till the victim was borne to the ground. 
 
 " What've I done to you, you butcher 1" muttered the dying man. " Mercy 
 spare !" 
 
 " Did you spare me," returned Joaquin, pressing at the gasping throat and 
 winding himself round the other's sturdier form like a liana round a tamarack, 
 or a snake round a stung prairie dog ; " did you spare me when you wanted them 
 to whip me like a hoi'se, when you had a whole crowd to back you against me, 
 one innocent man ? Was you full of mercy then ? I didn't see you telling 
 them to lay on the lashes more lightly, or to be short in the number prescribed ! 
 No, by our Lady of Suffering, my brother and my wife are dead through just 
 such devils as you, and I'll out-devil ye, by G ! You've set me a-iirc by call 
 ing to mind my Carmela ! (stab !) my brother ! (stab !) Die, die ! wretch !" 
 
 Mad, Joaquin kept on perforating and hacking the temple, out of which by 
 too many entries already the soul had fled, and he only stopped at last when 
 his soaked sleeve, and streaming knife wet his painted and tired hand. 
 
 "There, that begins my work of death," said he, getting up from the pool of 
 blood in which the murdered man almost floated. 
 
 Joaquiri's teeth chattered convulsively, his body was drawn up to its full 
 height, and he swept with fired eye the beautiful azure dome of the Californian 
 sky. His clenched, stained hand still brandished the clotted blade. 
 
 " Number one of the doomed at my feet !" cried he. " Now that I've had a 
 taste of the feast, I'll keep at it till I clear the table ! Oh, dearly-loved Carme 
 la, if your pure, too-soon fled spirit seeks revenge, watch over me and protect 
 me in your battles as much as mine. Carlos, brother, poor, dead brother, put 
 your strengh in my arm !" 
 
 Next morning, the first party out after firewood found the corpse, which, 
 although so horribly mangled, was recognised. 
 
 As he had been so prominent in the chastisement of the supposed partner in 
 the horse-theft, was a good enough fellow otherwise, and did not seem to have 
 been robbed, the crime was attributed to the true author, which fact did not 
 much encourage an idea of the Mexicans not being of an assassinating turn ot 
 mind. 
 
 A little later, a doctor, who was coming to Murphy's with " Salvator's Spe 
 cific for spasmodic fevers," and other quick remedies, galloped in among the 
 workmen to the music of gasps for help, a clatter of broken bottles and the 
 
Or. The Marauder of the Mines. 11 
 
 neighing of his mare, on whose flanks the camphene, spirits and gums of the 
 let-out medicines had streamed, soaking through the saddle-bags. 
 
 He had met a couple of Mexicans on horseback, who had no sooner exchanged 
 a " Buena tarde !" with him than they drew pistols and blazed away. His nag 
 had an ear tipped, and he received a bullet through his tall felt hat ; he was 
 saved by a small inch. 
 
 Pie had not, as might be expected, taken a daguerreotype (photographs were 
 unknown) of the marksmen, but he had 'remarked enough of the better shot of 
 the two for him to be proclaimed, on that description, to be the Englishman's 
 murderer, Joaquin. 
 
 There was a general excitement among the set who had been chiefs of the 
 torturers of the Sonorian, and some of them felt such dread creep over them and 
 weigh upon them that they were noticed to be always with friends and not apt 
 to pass the last tent of the encampment. 
 
 Those that did not care went and came as ever, but, somehow or other, a 
 mysterious unavoidable fate hung over them and hardly were they out of sight 
 and earshot of help, then death fell sharp and unerring upon them. 
 
 Consternation began to spread. Every new arrival had a report to make of 
 a dead body or two having been encountered on the road, " knifed or bulletted," 
 and it was always found that the victims were those who had had something to 
 do with the whipping of Joaquin, 
 
 Judge Lynch called together a court, and the Sonorian was outlawed, and 
 compelled to find security only in flight or in a continuance of his murderous 
 career. 
 
 As he could not well accomplish his black plans without money and horses, 
 he had to add theft to his other crime. Thus was he a highwayman before he 
 was twenty. 
 
 So, in 1851, the band of robbers that ravaged the country was well known to 
 be commanded by Joaquin. 
 
 Prospecting parties and others changing from mine to mine were rarely so 
 strong as not to be stopped on the way and made to deliver. 
 
 The returners from the diggings were eased of their hard-earned treasure and 
 considered themselves lucky if they were let go back to resume work, half 
 stripped and with nothing to pledge to procure tools. 
 
 Most of the lonely travelers, and especially Johnny Newcomes who were not 
 up to the new life, were torn from their saddles by lariats and pulled into the 
 brush to be " stuck" and rifled at leisure. 
 
 Horses vanished from the ranches, of which not a few were burnt, and King, 
 Queen or President Pillage (just as you like) began to act as if he, or she, ruled 
 the Golden State. 
 
 Joaquin's intelligence and superior education, very naturally, had almost in 
 stantly won for him respect from his comrades. He cunningly made an appeal 
 to the rankling against the " Yankees," as the stupid Mexicans styled all the 
 fair complexioned and States' people, whether from Red River of the North, the 
 Rio Grande, the Merrimac, the Hudson or all along the Ohio, the Mississippi 
 and the shore of the Great Lakes. 
 
 The disastrous result of the Texan War had been very peppery dish for them 
 to digest, and, by the call of Joaquin, he collected many fellow countrymen, 
 respectable in numbers if in nothing else. His undreamt-of successes recruited 
 his ranks day after day, till his slight form had a train to it like a slave clipper 
 followed by sharks. 
 
 Among his followers, was to be remarked a young stripling of the name of 
 Reynardo Felix, own brother to Joaquin's wife, who burned like his near kins 
 man to avenge her dreadful death, lie was one of the lieutenants, and got his 
 name up by his repeated exploits at the head of a troop, side by side with that 
 
12 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 of Three-fingered Jack, another bandit who had come to Joaquhrs standard 
 from sheer love of blood-spilling. 
 
 This Mexican " Obi" was more of a fiend than a human being. He was 
 known in Mexico as Manuel Garcia, where he had had one finger cut ofF in a 
 skirmish of guerrillas, who had been a little mistaken in an idea which they had 
 had of catching a detachment of Uncle Sam's " blue-bellies" napping ; hence the 
 nickname he sported in El Dorado. 
 
 It was he, who, in '46, in company with half a dozen other cutthroats, fell 
 upon two Americans on the road from Sonora to Bodega, stripped them to the 
 skin and tortured them in so many and such ways that the papers never dared 
 print all : slicing them with daggers, cutting out their tongues and eyes, and 
 concluding by roasting their still animated, but lacerated bodies, over a slow 
 fire of green wood. 
 
 We may as well name here, as being satellites of Joaquin, Pedro Gonzales, 
 Luis Guerra, Juan Gardoza and Joaquin Valenzucla, fearless fellows when 
 they outnumbered the foe or were cornered, cunning but every coward's that, 
 hardened to fatigue by a life of poverty and laziness, ardent for vengeance. 
 
 The last named was brother to the man who had been hanged on the day when 
 Joaquin had been flogged. He had served a good while in Mexico with Guerra, 
 in the guerrillero band of Padre Jurata, a monk who had forgotten vows of 
 abstinence and goodness made under the crucifix to make money and tor 
 ture women under the lancier's red flag. 
 
 Gonzalez, above-mentioned, whose principal qualification was a knowledge 
 of horseflesh of which he ought to have known some trifle, from his having 
 stampeded and stolen so many of them was charged to keep the company 
 of cutthroats always well mounted. 
 
 Besides, he carried on the befitting and courageous business of a sneaking 
 spy and, from whatever quarter the band thought of visiting, s^nt, in an 
 exact report of the state of it, to procure which he hung around Regulators, 
 Committees of Vigilance, Eedressors, Lynchers, Shirt-tail Bend Justices, as 
 closely as he could without being hung up. 
 
 Joaquin's command was composed of no less than five-and-forty men then, 
 but every week saw additions from Sonora and Lower California, along with 
 roamers of the Gila, who had found meddling with Bill Williams's, Kit 
 Carson and other marksmen whose pieces carried six to eight dead shots to a 
 pound, did not " pay," in this world, at least. Leading this powerful flock of 
 vultures, Joaquin, in the course of the year '51, rattled over the State, which 
 was more gold than " grizzly" to him just then, when the black sand was " half 
 and half" auriferous dust in the common bowl, when cradles had their receiver 
 covered with a quarter inch of pea-size pepitas, when the veins made lucky 
 chaps jump and treat a crowd of thirty on the strength of " opening so rich," 
 when " salting" claims to catch the pig-tail Celestials hardly was tried, folks 
 w r ere selfish and let strangers be butchered and plundered within a few miles 
 of them. Too many said : 
 
 " The h ! that bloody greaser's killed another on the Smitty's Flats ! Blast 
 the show-no-fights! let Joe Quin, or Walk-in, or whatever he's called, come an' 
 lay paw on our waist-belts an' I'll be dog gone'd but he'll be cracked like those 
 finger-long fleas the Irishman left us in this here shanty we bought o' him. 
 Fetch him on hereaway !" 
 
 The numerous persons with whom the King of Cutthroats was on a good 
 footing could not suspect, seeing him so frequently among them, that this 
 young man had any share in the sanguinary deeds which were past count by 
 this time and which affected a whole state. He remained whole weeks in one 
 place, spending his time in gaming, utterly unknown for what he was. For 
 instance, in the summer of 1851, while he was living in a remote house in the 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 13 
 
 town of San Jose, he was arrested one night for being concerned in a " muss" 
 happening at the heat of a midnight fandango. 
 
 The magistrate, before whom they were all brought, sentenced him to a fine 
 of twelve dollars. Joaquin desired Sheriff Clark, in whose charge he was 
 placed, to come along with him to his dwelling, where he would count out the 
 sum and a little more for the trouble he had caused. They went side by side, 
 chatting gaily, but, as soon as they came to a spot that offered concealment, 
 Joaquin whipped out his knife, quickly told Clark that he had only led him 
 there to slay him, and gave him a death-wound before the Sheriff could draw 
 the Derringer on which he had already laid his hand. Mr. Clark had made 
 himself hated as well as feared by the highwaymen from the careful watch 
 which he had kept over their attempts in his district and as he had come several 
 times unpleasantly near to arresting some of them, their leader had thus taken 
 advantage of his opportunity to clear the stream of that top-sawyer. 
 
 Some months thereafter, Joaquin settled for the time being near that bunch 
 ing of tents and huts known under the Sonorous title of Sonorian Camping- 
 ground, three or four miles out from Marysville. 
 
 Pretty soon, everybody began to talk of murders, as frequent as diabolical. 
 From the seventh to the twelfth of November, 1851, in a stretch of land not 
 more than a dozen miles each way, there Were no less than eleven persons 
 found slaughtered by the mysterious troop : 
 
 The stout hearts of Marysville, as generous to avenge as brave to act, deter 
 mined not to let the crimes drop to the ground as had been done in other 
 places. 
 
 A company was formed to run down and hand over to justice those who shed 
 so much guiltless blood. 
 
 Poor fellows ! brave-hearted men who had left happy homes to seek a fortune 
 for loved wife and children, to be slain at the threshold of the riches which 
 their strong arms, nerved with honest desire, affection and industry, would 
 have surely given them ! 
 
 The avengers thought for this struck home to them of women waiting, 
 
 waiting for letters that never came, for husbands, brothers, sons that never 
 came. Next steamer, sure ! No 1 then, next ship that comes round the Horn. 
 No ? Then, he's crossing the plains, no roads, Indians, something's delayed 
 him. Oh, he's sure to come ! he must come ! 
 
 Poor hopeful ones ! ) ou are surer to meet him, than he you. There's a bit 
 of plank mouldering away in the bank of a golden sandy stream, there's a big 
 stone on this hillock's side, a heap of pebbles on that road ; nicknames scrawled 
 affectionately if rudely by loving " mates" who laid aside tools to take the red 
 chalk in. horny fingers, are all those poor gravestones bear, and no one 
 knows, though they may guess, that for little " Pet Pete" a heart broke slowly 
 and sadly in the East ; that for " Georgia Ned" the Etowah River bore a self- 
 drowned darling of a brunette on the way to the Coosa and the Gulf, if the gar 
 fish, had not attacked it and canoemen recovered it to sadden a whole planta 
 tion with ; that for this, that or the other unknown, she with the golden hair 
 wasted away in that city, she with the black curls is a widow unmarried, she 
 with the brown tresses is grey before thirty. 
 
 Enough that the Kedressors felt this far better than we can say, and were 
 untiring of foot. 
 
 After many day's researches, they only found, not far from the muddy ripple 
 of the creek, six men, dead, with that livid circle round the neck and horridly 
 distorted features which betrayed the lasso. 
 
 The whole of Yuba County was overrun, and yet not trace was found of the 
 murderers. The party returned to Marysville, disbanding with regret. 
 
 But, the very next day, news spread that several persons had been killed and 
 despoiled near Bidwell's Bar, whereupon the excitement grew greater. 
 
14 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 Few dared to travel. 
 
 Suspicions began to settle towards the Camp of the Sonorians, exclusively 
 occupied by Mexicans as it was, for without much striking with picks or 
 
 dabbling in the river's sands a great number of them possessed steeds of 
 
 value, magnificent serapes or blankets, costly Panamas, plenty of jewelry and 
 gold in large qua ntities. 
 
 Buchanan, Sheriff of Yuba County, set out on one beautiful moonlight night, 
 with Ike Bowen, to have an inspection of the place, and to arrest three very 
 suspicious fellows who were known to be in that neighborhood. 
 
 But, as they were getting over a stockade, four Mexicans sprang upon them 
 unawares and the Sheriff fell to the ground seriously wounded with a pistol 
 bullet through the body. 
 
 The Mexicans took to flight at the charge of Ike, who turned and attacked 
 them single-handed. Buchanan, carried back to Marysville by his companion, 
 was a long time in danger, but eventually recovered. The consequence of this 
 affair was that the ravagers did not 'stay any longer in those parts. 
 
 They stole off to the western side of Mount Shasta, where they kept secluded 
 for several months, only going down into the valleys at rare intervals to steal 
 horses. Few miners passed through that retired region, but, nevertheless, 
 there were found more than one bleached skeleton of human beings. 
 
 Some bore no trace of how they had been put to death, but the splintered 
 holes and the dislocated vertebal of others revealed the secret work of lasso 
 and bullet. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TRIP INTO SONORA. CARMELA's SUCCESSOR. IN THE OLD NEST AGAIN. DEFI 
 ANCE IN THE HELL. 
 
 As the first days of the spring of '52 came on, Joaquin and his band descend 
 ed from the highlands, with nearly three hundred horses stolen during the rainy 
 season. Taking care only to travel by night, they led this drove through the 
 southern part of the state into the province of Sonora. On their return after 
 a few weeks, the depredators pitched their head-quarters in the magnificent 
 country of richest pastures, known as Arroyo Cantuva. 
 
 It was a vale of seven or eight thousand acres in extent, well watered and en 
 closed all around by a belt of mountains, which had no other gap than one, 
 where the plunderers could hold an army at check. This fertile hollow is situ 
 ated between the passes of Pacheco and Tejon, east of the main range and west 
 of Tulan Lake. 
 
 Wholly hidden by the pile of rock, it formed a refuge all the more sure from 
 no dwelling being within fifty leagues. 
 
 Game abounded there : therizzly often clattered with his long claws over 
 the granite, deer, antelopes, big-horns, mountain sheep, the pretty plumed Cali 
 fornia quails, wood-cock, and a whole series of lesser animals seemingly put 
 there for the food of man. Hence, as far as eating went, theives had a good 
 time of it. 
 
 Under the speading foliage of a clump of evergreens, the young chief fixed 
 his cabin. 
 
 More than once, he was to be seen, in the cool of a fine day, reclining on the 
 carpet of verdant sward which Nature had smoothly laid over the floor of that 
 Eden ; by his side was a young woman, fair and affectionate, of whom he had 
 made the conquest in his late visit to Sonora. 
 
 Clarina, for that was her name, was the daughter of Don Sebastian Vallero, a 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 15 
 
 grandee of Spain who after having empoverished himself through his excessive 
 prodigality, had withdrawn to Mexico with the modest remnant of his fortune, 
 where he had purchased a piece of ground quite near the rancho of Joaquin's 
 father. 
 
 The first time that the girl was led into contact with the youth, though he 
 
 was but fifteen and she ten then, she could not help admiring for the girls 
 
 are women very early under 30 degrees north latitude the graceful figure 
 
 and alluring face of Joaquin, as well as the ease and elegance with which he 
 managed his half-wild horse ; everytime that they met, she could not help gaz 
 ing on him in passion akin to worship. 
 
 But the youth's large blue eyes only answered with an indifferent glance a 
 shade mocking, and the bright red flush of his cheeks did not have so pure a 
 cause as the gentle but deep blush that suffused her features. 
 
 The poor little romantic thing had felt her heart leap often and often again 
 while reading the old tales of the knight errants ; and her governess had only 
 fed her poetical learning by teaching her many of the favorite ballads an I 
 legends of antique Spain. 
 
 A couple that were all the time rising to her lips in her perfumed breath 
 were: 
 
 " While his hand lightly struck the mandoline, 
 
 Came singing so joyful the troubadour; 
 'Spared from Saracen's blades in Palestine 
 1 turn to iny love like hawk to the lure.' ' 
 
 " At the door of her grand house 
 
 Stood the gentle damosel, 
 Spying with her great black eyes 
 
 The youths who loved her so well." 
 
 When she watched every morning the departure of Joaquin and his fellows 
 nothing was easier for Clarina to imagine than that the party was one of cheva 
 liers going out to battle ; but, on the return, it was impossible for her to fancy 
 that it was her love's esquire, that young man who brought no trophies to her 
 and was far from coming to kneel at her feet. Grief and melancholy overcame 
 her and tears obscured the diamond lustre of her eyes in which they swam till 
 
 dropping from the long lashes, roses she had gathered for him who never 
 
 held out a finger for them fell to her feet while her hand, empty of them, 
 
 rose to her bosom. 
 
 So she sorrowed, unable to tell or even hint at her emotion. 
 
 Some years later, as Joaquin was on the point of quitting the paternal roof 
 with the woman of his choice and was bidding farewell to his friends and rela 
 tions, Clarina, her heart ready to burst with sadness, thrust a gold ring on 
 
 Joaquin's finger and as he looked at her startled and in inquiry she, 
 
 like a won an, ran away to her room to seek relief in prayer and tears. 
 
 Joaquin saw in this jewel merely a mark of friendship intended for his wife 
 and he hastened to hand it over to her ; but, perceiving that the circlet seemed 
 to be one of those precious talismans to which the Castilian nobles attach such 
 value, Carmela refused it and begged her husband to wear it for her sake. 
 
 " The trinket may have some virtue unknown to us, and perhaps will be a 
 shield in some hour of peril," she said superstitiously. 
 
 Joaquin smiled incredulously, at the time, but he never gave over wearing 
 the asserted charm until the fatal hour preceding his death. 
 
 Once, however, he did forget it, and that was the day on which he was so 
 shamefully treated at Murphy's Diggings. 
 
 The gem had been left in his room among other jewelry in a casket. Since 
 then, Joaquin, obeying the promptings of superstition, could not doubt that the 
 little round had in verity power to preserve him from dangers. 
 
 When Joaquin went home, he spent the first day and the morning of the next 
 
16 Joaquin, (the Claude Duva t of California); 
 
 in visits to old neighbors, to whom he could naturally make many rich presents 
 out of his store of stolen goods. 
 
 As soon as the heat 'of the day was over, and the exquisite hours came when 
 the feeling in the shade of the woods can only be expressed by the words "just 
 right," Joaquin strolled into the forest to treat himself to the re-awakening of 
 pleasant memories. 
 
 He gazed enchanted on the endless clumps of different cactus, on the nopals 
 in blossom, on palmettos, pines, cedars, oaks, dogwoods, on pond lilies, rushes, 
 reeds and all the varieties of grass befringing the waters of Capivi Creek. 
 
 Its now rapid running current washed the luxuriantly budded sides with its 
 back-waters, and reflected the taller trees in its depths. Myriads of birds most 
 brightly feathered hovered overhead, darted from side to side, fluttered close to 
 the ground or sprang from bough to bough in the scented air, that mingled its 
 odors with the multitude of songs. 
 
 Every now and then, a long fish, pursued by same chuckle-headed bristling- 
 jawed enemy eager for dinner, would spring out of the eddy and glitter in a 
 slanting sunbeam, silver-white, golden-yellow or steel-blue. And sometimes, a 
 
 hawk or eagle though oftener the king-fisher would give a scream that 
 
 sent all the songsters scuttling under cover, and, after a sweep or two, drop like 
 a heaven-shot dart, skim the ruffled whirls and streaks and rise into air once 
 more with a luckless wriggling plate of silver, hooked and nailed by the beak. 
 The wood-peckers were at work in the far-off, everywhere, tattooing trees to 
 come at the grubs. 
 
 Joaquin felt gradually stealing over him a forgetfulness of the immediately 
 past, but a strengthening of boyhood's recollections. He pelted the screaming 
 birds with pebbles, (perhaps valuable, for Sonora has wonders yet to unfold), 
 listened enraptured to the warbling of others, snapped off a cluster of berries 
 here, sliced a fruit there, drank at a spring, leaped over stones, swung himself 
 by creepers, and carried on like a boy, in a word. 
 
 No one would ever have believed him a bandit chief. He had left the stream 
 unconsciously, and desirous of regaining it, he let himself yield to a species of 
 fit of sprightliness, and ran at full speed down an open hill upon the very bank. 
 
 He just was able to pull up short there and not take an unpremeditated dive, 
 when a half suppressed scream, as if caused by the swish of the pebbles whioh 
 his feet had shot into the ripple, attracted his eyes to the other side. It is un 
 necessary to say that those eyes, thither drawn, were rivetted there in ravish 
 ment. 
 
 A young girl had raised that cry of surprise. She had been dressing, and 
 was half attired, on the wavelet'* edge, when he had made the rush to the place. 
 
 So he saw in disarray, trembling but fascinated to the spot, a female form 
 youthful and beautiful. Face, neck and arms darker than the rest of the fault 
 lessly proportioned frame, but that of a warm, tempting tint. 
 
 Fine and delicate features, magnificent black hair but not as silky as it 
 might be, for the sun seemed to have robbed it of gloss, eyes superior to In 
 dian's or Mexican's, velvelty in the pupil somehow or other at the same time 
 as liquid, and lustrous, the pearly teeth revealed from the mouth being parted 
 
 with surprise, most lithesome of forms, a child's feet and hands all more 
 
 than half uncovered that's the picture that appeared to Joaquin. 
 
 Only for the briefest space, though, for the scream was repeated, and, catch 
 ing up the rest of her apparel, the beauty darted into the wood. 
 
 So suddenly was she seen, so briefly viewed, so abruptly gone, that the young 
 man almost doubted his vision. But the floating of a scarf and some other 
 part of attire dropped in the fugitive's haste, were proofs of reality. 
 
 " By heaven, I must see her again !" muttered Joaquin. 
 
 As he spoke, he kicked off his riding boots, flung them over the creek, 
 wound his blanket round him to shield his pistols, and such a vigorous spring 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 17 
 
 into the water that he cleared the line separating the side-tow from the main 
 line. 
 
 It was hard swimming in the current, and the delay it caused him in reaching 
 the other shore, as well as a coolness which the stream, running under trees 
 rather than laying under the sun, possessed, set him thinking of the two or three 
 splashes he heard round and about him. 
 
 " It'll look well for Joaquin the Terror of the Miners to be dragged under by 
 tf caiman or stung by a water-snake !" muttered he, redoubling his efforts. 
 
 He reached land presently. The black spots on the surface that had caused 
 nim anxiety were only bits of rotten limbs tumbled in from trees. He ran 
 along breast deep into the whirls till he recovered the objects. 
 
 "Silk and first rate," muttered he examining the scarf; "no common girl, 
 then. I wonder who she is. So lovely Caramba ! She didn't have her feet 
 covered poor little dear and I think I'll find her near." 
 
 He trailed the fugitive for a short ways, but lost the track. 
 
 " D if her steps ain't light as air," he murmured. " I say, friend, young 
 lady, senorita ! I am a gentleman won't hurt you here, here !" 
 
 But no answer came to his calls. A little chilled by the soaking he had got, 
 though his pistols had not been wetted through the blanket, he, grumbling at 
 the vanished one's fear but reveling in remembrance of her beauty, was slowly 
 tracing his route through the underwood when a shriek, most intense and far- 
 reaching, came to his ears. 
 
 " The deuce! can some of my rascals be on the loose and met her !" cried he, 
 frowning and laying his hand on his weapons. 
 
 Like a dart, he flew through thorns and creepers. At last, he saw the white 
 drapery of the beauty, who was dressed now. , 
 
 But, most singularly she was not looking back at him, although she could 
 hardly help hearing his swift coming. 
 
 She stood firm as a statue, but quivering like a leaf, her limbs close together, 
 her body drawn back, one arm across her bosom and the fingers half veiling 
 some awful thing from her view, while the other hand was put forward outside 
 of that to repel the same cause of dread. 
 
 " Courage !" said Joaquin, suspecting the whole, and advancing less noisily 
 though no less rapidly. 
 
 A dark round line twisted into the form of an S with an extra curl at the foot 
 of it terminating in a wiry point and another flourish at the top bearing a 
 head with spiteful beads of glaring eyes and a vibrating tongue, rested itself on 
 a rotted plantain leaf. 
 
 It eyed the girl, and she it. 
 
 At the sound of the man's steps, the serpent moved, altered its S into an up 
 side down p (J), and was about to disappear. 
 
 A low ." Ah !" of relief escaped from the girl's lips. 
 
 " No, you don't !" cried Joaquin, springing forward. 
 
 The reptile slopped and turned its head fearlessly around, and darted out its 
 shiny red tongue, as much as to say it made no difference at all whether it was 
 asked to stay or was let go on. 
 
 " No, no," exclaimed the girl, finding speech, and laying 4 her hand on Joaquin's 
 arm, " its a moccasin snake !" 
 
 But the young man shook off the gentle hold, fell upon one knee within two 
 yards of the serpent, and leveled the revolver which he had drawn. The snake 
 drew up its folds calmly, and lengthened its wavy tongue more and more. 
 
 Joaquin saw what was coming, but seemed to be too sure of his triumphing 
 to care for that. 
 
 " Quick !" the girl uttered in horror as she saw the deadly animal move, but 
 her words were drowned by a sharp report. 
 
 The moccasin, received in the very act of springing by the bullet and a line of 
 2 
 
18 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 fire and smoke fell to the ground, the tail-half perfect enough, but tho head ar/7 
 rest blown into pieces which blackened and spotted the leaves and ground. 
 
 That snake was harmless henceforth, for the poison-bag even had been burst 
 to nothing. 
 
 Now, the rescued girl was Clarina. 
 
 Fancy the walk towards home of the two. 
 
 She had remarked, first thing, that her ring was upon her deliverer's finger, 
 and she did not hesitate to jump at the conclusion that he loved her. 
 
 So she confessed the state of her heart at the opening of their conversation. 
 
 While Joaquin had been in California, he had kept his family informed of 
 most of what happened to him and his, so that Clarina was aware of his wife 
 being dead and, moreover, that he had become a notorious bandit. But, not 
 withstanding his undoubtedly criminal career, Clarina was enamoured of hm: 
 still. 
 
 He, for his part, had been inspired with his glimpse of her bathing, that he 
 yielded to her influence and found it no hard matter to throw himself at her 
 knees and declare that his first love was only a died away passion and that this 
 time was the first that he knew what true affection was. 
 
 Hence, the two are found by us, seated on the moss and grass under the trees 
 of Arroyo Cantuva. Carmela's name was already forgotten, and all her ten 
 derness, faithfulness and devotion were banished from the robber's mind. 
 
 After several weeks spent at their headquarters. Joaquin divided his troops, 
 then composed of seventy-five, into detatchments, of which he gave the commands 
 to Valenzuela, Luis Guerra and Three-fingered Jack, sending them to fall upon 
 certain points. 
 
 Their order was to employ their time solely in running off horses and mules, 
 his attention being to put into execution a plan of his that required from fifteen 
 hundred to two thousand of the cattle. 
 
 He started off himself in another direction, accompanied by Reynardo, Felix, 
 Juan Cardoza, and Pedro Gonzalez. Three women -disguised as men and well 
 armed like their escorts, formed part also of this company : the first was Clarina, 
 and the others the respective mistresses of Felix and Gonzales. All were ad 
 mirably mounted 
 
 None except the chief knew the aim of their 'course. 
 
 On arriving at Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, they mingled with the 
 Mexicans who dwelt there, all of whom were friendly as a matter of course, 
 and, when they went the rounds of the gaming hells or traveled the streets, it 
 was impossible to distinguished them from the more honest inhabitants of the 
 place. The women re-assumed the habiliments of their sex and behaved them 
 selves so excessively well that they became almost wonders on that account. 
 The men went out on expeditions every little while on their splendid horses and 
 always made a long circuit before returning to their rendevous. 
 
 Joaquin had the semblance of a gambler in high feather, as his nocturnal rov- 
 ings gave him the means to appear. 
 
 This was April, 1852. 
 
 Meanwhile, the other divisions were pursuing ardently their mission in the 
 different quarters, and Joaquin found in the papers (the humble parents of the 
 well-conducted, enterprising journals of the present day) full accounts and 
 pleasing ones to him of how ranches had been rid of stock to a great extent. 
 
 Besides, the public sheets did not hesitate to lay the whole on his shoulders. 
 
 In the different murders and thefts in which he had taken a personal part, he 
 had always appeared under disguises, from which it resulted that he never less 
 resembled his masks than when he was the Simon Pure, indeed, a man who 
 had a good look at him on the highway, would have been unable to point finger 
 at him in the crowd of a town. 
 
 Often he had mixed in with a group, and overhead excited conversations in 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 19 
 
 which he alone was talked of, many a secret laugh he enjoyed at the suppositions 
 he caught of his appearance, manner of living and designs. 
 
 After having given as much time to Mokelumne Hill as he had intended, 
 preparations were made to leave it on the first of May. 
 
 About midnight while the horses were being got ready, and the women put 
 on men's clothes, and the rest of the arrangements being completed Joaquin 
 made a farewell trip into the gambling dens and drinking-housee, which were 
 only too plenty in the rough " days of the discovery." 
 
 He was taking his ease at a monte table, on which he had carelessly cast a 
 small sum to kill time when all of a sudden his attention was attracted from the 
 painted paste-board to a corner, where he heard his name pronounced distinctly. 
 His gaze stopped on four or five men who were warmly, but in a low tone, dis- 
 cusing the doings of the Miners' murderer. 
 
 There was one of them, a tall, well-built fellow, a dagger-knife and a revolver 
 of the newest style in his belt, his trousers stuffed into huge cow-hide boots that 
 seemed to tell of the overland route, who was perhaps the loudest-voiced. 
 
 " Look a-here boys," said he, " you all know me as Jack Gabriel, and they 
 all know me up an' down both banks of the Washita from the Lousian' border- 
 up. I'm good for three ounces, ain't I? O' course, I am. Well, I'll down with 
 
 that dust to any one as '11 set me face to face with this , , , 
 
 (oaths) Joaquin !" 
 
 As the words were uttered, the audacious outlaw jumped up on the table 
 sending the different leaves of the " devil's prayer-book" on the tobacco'd floor 
 a leetle promiscuously, and the money along with it, for which half a dozen 
 heads instantly bobbed down threw his breast open by drawing aside his 
 vest, held a capped revolver, with the hammer set, in his right hand and shouted: 
 
 " Keep the stand ! I am Joaquin ! Fire if you dare !" 
 
 Notwithstanding the defiance, the young adventurer was not such a fool as 
 not to take advantage of the general confusion that prevailed for the moment. 
 
 He pulled his sarape round him quickly, took a grand flying leap from the 
 table which was smashed under the on-coming boots of Arkansas Jack and, 
 slipping through the door, jumped upon his horse. There was some delay 
 given his followers from their own haste jamming them in the doorway, and 
 all they could do was jerk up their hands and try a salute of snap shots at the 
 gallopers, but he had the luck to escape a single scratch and the only satisfac 
 tion that his enemies received in exchange for their wasted " Dupont's superfine 
 granulated," was a yell of defiance shrill and prolonged that echoed in the night 
 air. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WAGONER GOES UNDER. A MEETING WITH BILL MILLER. HARRY LOVE ON 
 
 THE WAR PATH. THE " TEJON INJINs" CUT UP ROUGH. 
 
 ON gaining the trysting-place at Arroyo Cantuva, Joaquin found between 
 three and four hundred horses driven in by his men. The latter were encamp 
 ed and waiting for fresh instructions. The Chief of the Coyotes selected a part 
 to drive the captures into Sonora for the greater safety, and at the same time 
 had sent one of his secret bankers in the same place five thousand dollars. 
 
 About the end of the month, idleness began to grow heavy upon him, and 
 he could bear inaction no longer. He took to the highway again, still ac 
 companied by Gonzales, Felix, Cardoza and the three young women, who 
 formed, as they bestrode their steeds with limbs perhaps too plump and shapely, 
 the prettiest trio of cavaliers that ever cantered into a maid's heart. 
 
20 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 For the first ten days, the gang met no persons except unlucKy diggers 
 changing off from one mine to another, who were to a man to be smelt of 
 poverty a mile off, they were so redolent of lack of cash. Hence Joaquin's 
 purse remained in so flat a shape that he determined to fall upon the first man, 
 Chinaman or Jew, ex-soldier or ex-sailor, miner or speculator, or even a robber, 
 for the wolf was so famished that it was ready to bite wolf. 
 
 Towards dusk, a young man, Allan Ruddell, made his appearance, driving a 
 wagon-load of provisions. Joaquin left his friends, put his horse to the gallop 
 and, taking a short cut, came upon the teamster suddenly. 
 
 " I'll trouble you to turn over to me all the cash you've got about you," ac- 
 (jested he. 
 
 Ruddell took a squint at the challenger and, seeing a young^ blade who seem 
 ed to be only a novice at the worthy calling of Dick Turpin, Claude Duval and 
 Sixteen-stringed Jack and, in America, Mike Martin, he smiled to himself and 
 " took a fly off" the rump of one of his horses with his heavy rawhide-whip. 
 Joaquin pushed forward along side of him and, drawing his revolver then, com 
 manded in a brutal, peremptory tone : 
 
 "Stand, and deliver ?" 
 
 Ruddell pulled up short. 
 
 " Now, see here, my friend," said the young desperado, in a gentler voice, 
 " all I want to do is borrow your money ; for, though I am a toll-gatherer on 
 the roads of my own taxes, I never like to relieve of his gold a brave man and 
 I am sure you are one to travel the roads alone. As true as my name's Joa 
 quin, I will repay you every cent of what you lend me." 
 
 " Joaquin, eh ?" muttered Ruddell, clapping his hand on the stock of his 
 pistol. 
 
 Joaquin made a threatening motion. 
 
 " Come, none of your nonsense !" exclaimed he. " I am not often ' shoal on 
 the bar,' and you may rely on my promise. I have no wish to kill you, but if 
 you take to pop-guns, by Our Lady, you'll go toes up most certainly !" 
 
 Ruddell was not the man to take a robber's advice when it related to a game 
 two could play at ; and he tried to pull out his fire-arm, but the confounded 
 hammer had worked into the lining of his pants and he could not disengage it. 
 
 At this moment, Reynards Felix thundered on at a gallop, in order to tell his 
 leader to make, haste, as two well-mounted strangers were cunning up at full 
 drive. 
 
 " To hell's flames with them !" swore the bandit uncocking his Colt's and 
 stuffing it into its case ; at the same time he flashed out his long knife, leaned 
 over and, dealing the wagoner a dreadful stab, fairly tore him from the saddle. 
 
 Felix jumped down and turned out Allan's pockets, in which he four.d the 
 moderate figure of four hundred dollars. 
 
 Joaquin and his followers continued their way to meet the new comers. 
 Before five minutes had elapsed the latter came into view. 
 
 " Now," said Joaquin, " we'll see what this haul will be. I won't stand any 
 fooling this time." 
 
 A prick of the spur made his horse spring forward in advance of his little 
 band. The six holes of his revolver bearing on those approaching were suffi 
 cient without the summons accompanying the movement, to prevail on them to 
 draw rein. As the horses reared, one of the riders laughed and said : 
 
 " Why hullo, Joaquin, don't you know me 1 Is Bill Miller dead and under 
 in you mind 1 ?" 
 
 " By heaven, so it is you," said the Sonorian with a smile ; " I swear I didn't 
 know you at first. It's a slapping bit of horseflesh between your legs, Bill !" 
 
 " Oh, I'll bet you, yes. You see I've been picking out some good goers in 
 Sacramento Valley. Fm going down into that beautiful Sonora of yours on a 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 21 
 
 spec in horses. I'm dry as a mountain lake in summer and I've got to raise 
 some ' dough' afore long." 
 
 " The deuce you say, Bill ? You're a Yank, to be sure, but you've always 
 shown yourself to be a friend of mine. If a hundred will help you along any, 
 ask and here's the chink its yours." 
 
 " Thank you, my boy," said Bill, stowing away the sum, " it's as good a 
 windfall as if one of the Big Trees was blown down. Good luck till next 
 time !" 
 
 " Adios, amigo good bye ! luck to you as well," returned the captain of the 
 plunderers. " Don't mind a man and some horses just above on the road." 
 
 "What then?" 
 
 " The stupid fellow ran against a knife I had in my hand, that's all," added 
 the young leader. 
 
 " Hum ! that's settled," and off went Miller and his companion their way, 
 while the Mexicans went theirs. 
 
 The murder of Allan Ruddell stirred up the embers again. To slay a man 
 for four hundred dollars was held to be " mighty mean." 
 
 Now, one of the hot coals that news fanned into flame, was Captain Harry 
 Love, a Pacific State Jack Hays, who got the idea into his head of organizing on 
 his own hook a little company to hunt the bold brigand. 
 
 Since he had been able to reach a stirrup from the ground and to hold out 
 a pistol, Harry Love had been in the life of a ranger : his whole existence had 
 passed in braving fatigue and danger. He had rendered Uncle Sam great and 
 many services during the Mexican War, where he had been bearer of dispatched 
 between the military stations, through a country as wild and dangerous a 
 could be naturally, besides being bountifully supplied with guerrillas and inde 
 pendent lancers. A coolness under fire that was unequalled, remarkable skill 
 in handling rifle, six-shooter and bowie, made him the man of all others to be 
 fitted against a desperado of Joaquin's calibre. 
 
 After Ruddell's murder, Captain Harry Love set out on the assassin's trail 
 and pursued him to the Rancheria of San Luis de Gonzago, which served as the 
 usual haunt of the coyotes. 
 
 He got there after night-fall and, informed by a spy whom he had posted 
 there, that the men he sought were surely in a tent at the other end of the ran- 
 cheria, he led his men cautiously in that direction. 
 
 But, before they arrived at the door, a woman in the next canvas house 
 espied them and gave the alarm. Quicker than thought, Joaquin, Felix, and 
 Gonzalez and Cardoza made a slit in the back of the tent and slipped out and 
 away under cover of the darkness. 
 
 When Harry Love and his companions made a dash in through the front 
 opening, they encountered instead of a volley and a display of daggers the 
 feigned screams of surprise of four or five females, three of whom were the mis 
 tresses of the chiefs of the despoilers. The captain was not aware of this fact, 
 or he might have made hostages of them. He did not deem it well to press on 
 the chase at this juncture and let the thieves go quiet wijth the scare for this 
 time. 
 
 Meanwhile, the escaped four had fled straight as the crow flies to a place eight 
 miles off, called Orris Timbers, where they took their revenge for being made 
 fly in stealing about thirty fine horses, which they drove off into the highlands 
 near at hand. 
 
 On the following night, they returned to their light-o'-loves who donned theii 
 masculine in all haste, and all turned again to the Sierra. They stayed there 
 until dawn, after which the party crossed Tular Prairie to Los Angelos, driving 
 before them the stolen cattle. 
 
 On coming into the country of the Tejon Indians, they encamped on the brink 
 
22 Joa'quin, (the Claudt Duoal of California); 4 
 
 of a brooklet something less than five miles from the chief village of that 
 tribe. 
 
 Everything seemed to promise that there was nothing to fear on the part of 
 those redskins, next to the Pah-Utahs most inoffensive of unromantic, dirty, 
 greasy, grubbing, ignoble children of the forest. So they stacked arms, so 
 to say, and resolved for several days to do no other hard work than rest and 
 have their fun. 
 
 Now it chanced that one prowling savage, having snuffed roasting meat 
 with his capacious nostrils, crept up to the Mexican camping-ground, remarked 
 their showy raiment, their profusion of jewelry and the -valuable horses that 
 grazed around them, and ran off to the capital city and into th,e royal palace 
 [an old gutta-percha blanket and a piece of sail-cloth stretched on poles) of the 
 old Sagamore Zappatara, to whom he glowingly depicted the wealth of the 
 pale-faces. 
 
 One evening as Murieta, Gonzalez, and Felix, far from dreaming of danger, 
 were amusing themselves with their fair 'but frail companions, and as Cardoza, 
 stretched on the high grass, carelessly kept an eye on the cattle cropping choice 
 tufts of herbage here and there, they were all surrounded and overpowered by a 
 formidable crew of soiled aborigines, whose bonds not exactly of friendship but 
 of ui.breakable rawhide, speedily encircled them. 
 
 If a dagger had glittered, or a pistol had gone of by accident, or if even a 
 good fist-blow had drawn blood from one son of the woodlands' nose, ten to 
 one the whole party would have whisked round and shot back on the warpath 
 with antelope's speed. 
 
 But, inasmuch as nothing of the kind occurred, they were delighted at the 
 unalloyed success of the enterprise, and leaves fell off the oaks at the deafening 
 yell of joy that went up from the throng, dancing, kicking up behind and before, 
 brandishing weapons unpleasantly under the captives' eyes, and almost kissing 
 the lucky brother who had found out the fish and spread the net which had en 
 tangled them. Dragged to the headquarters of the valiant tribe, the prisoners 
 were stripped (with an expertness which they, though good judges, might envy) 
 of jewels, arms and clothing, being only permitted to preserve, as offerings of 
 respect to their modesty, several strips of cloth which were utterly useless to 
 the savages. 
 
 The Mexicans had the satisfaction of seeing old Zappatara circulate among 
 the ravished squaws in three of their suits, one over the other. The other male 
 garb went to the spy. 
 
 The Indians moreover had reaped and gleaned a harvest over and above the 
 horses of four thousand dollars in gold and half that amount in jewels. The 
 lives of the robbers were also in their hands. 
 
 For a whole long week, the venerable chieftain kept them prisoners of war, 
 while he puzzled his elevated brain as to whether he should have them made 
 living targets, have them shot, burnt, hanged, drowned, made to run the gaunt 
 let (for which the voice of the women spoke, as their dear little boys hadn't had 
 any sport of late), or what not. 
 
 At last, mercifully considering that they must be sufficiently punished for 
 the impudence of having entered his hunting-grounds, he came to another con 
 clusion. 
 
 He called a council. And he had translated to the captives a long speech in 
 which, after declaring himself almost ready to wash out in their blood the stain 
 on his tribe put there by his having heard them curse them for "rascally Injins," 
 he spread himself in moral reflections on the enormity and number of the crimes 
 which they must have committed to have become possessed of such a great 
 quantity of gold and jewels. 
 
 Then he had them " walked off Spanish" to the confines of his realm, escorted 
 by a detachment of his life-guard armed to the teeth with the knives and fire 
 arms late the Mexicans, where they were glad to be let free. 
 
Or The J/h-/v7.v.J?r of the Mines. 23 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MEETING WITH THE MOUNTAIN JIM. HARRY LOVE TAKES GONZALEZ AND ' BLOCKS 
 
 THE GAME" OF RESCUE. MURDER OF CAPTAIN WILSON AND GENERAL BEAN. 
 JOE LAKE DOES HIS DUTY AND IS WIPED OUT. 
 
 JOAQUIN had borne his durance with the most perfect resignation. He could 
 not help laughing to himself at his ridiculous position and was astonished that 
 the Tejons, not exactly accounted as copper-faced Chevalier Bayards, should 
 have ever had pluck enough to see out an exploit so risky. 
 
 After two days' journey, the little company gained the entrance of Tejon Pass, 
 situated a few miles from the San Francisco Ranche. They had the fortune 
 there to meet one of their supporters, Mountain Jim, who on having heard the 
 story of their adventure went back to the settlement, from which he brought 
 the vestments of which they stood in need, and besides furnished them with 
 three horse's. 
 
 One of them, a splendid animal, black without one white hair, elegantly 
 bridled and saddled, was made a present to the chief with a Colt's revolver and 
 a knife. Thus was Joaquin, late a defenceless fugitive, quickly turned into the 
 redoubtable King of Cutthroats, well clad, booted; and armed, by means of the 
 branch resources of the association formed and directed by his genius for plun 
 der. 
 
 All being well once more, Joaquin, Felix and Gonzalez mounted, took up 
 their love-lasses on the crupper arid went off at full speed in the direction of San 
 Gabriel. Cardoza followed them on foot. 
 
 They did not reach that place until far into the night. On entering their 
 place of meeting, an out-of-the-way house, they unexpectedly found Guerra and 
 Valenzuela with their commands. 
 
 Returned to Sonora sooner than had been calculated, and not finding their 
 outlaw general at Arroyo Cantuva, they had preferred to try a new expedition 
 of ravaging rather than rust in idleness. 
 
 They had committed numerous depredations since their return in the neigh 
 borhood of San Gabriel, but they had brought the attention of General Bean 
 upon them and he had so hotly chased them that they had only escaped two or 
 three brushes by superior running. 
 
 " That man must die !" said Joaquin. " He has become too dangerous to us, 
 and we will have to rub him out before we pull up stakes hereabouts." 
 
 " Death, death to the general !" was the unanimous cry. 
 
 The conversation turned next on the trip to Sonora. 
 
 The marauders told their commander that the stock run off had been placed 
 safely on the farm which he had designated. 
 
 The gang was abundantly supplied with food, clothes, liquors and cigars, so 
 they made up their minds to spend two or three weeks in this " location." 
 
 In the meantime, Gonzalez and Cardoza were sent on a private mission to the 
 Santa Buenaventura Ranche, which was where the Californian highway chief 
 took refuge in imminent danger. 
 
 Several days afterwards, Captain Harry Love, deputy sheriff then of Lo-s 
 Ange-los County, who knew Gonzalez by sight, perceived him with Cardoza 
 near Buenaventura, and instantly set to work to secure and him give over to 
 justice. 
 
 After having patiently watched them he saw them go into a little grocery 01 
 doggery, situated on a cross-path through the mountains. The captain took up 
 his position behind a rock, and kept a steady look-out. 
 
 Twenty minutes or so elapsed when Harry, beginning to find the bandits- 
 stay rather long, left his hiding-place and proceeded toward the shanty. At 
 
24 Joaquin, (the Claude Duva. of California); 
 
 the moment of his stepping up to it, Cardoza came out, but alone, and took 
 the mountain road. 
 
 Love sprang upon him, but the brigand gave him the slip and took to his 
 heels at a fast pace. 
 
 A couple of balls whistled after him, one of which furrowed his skull, while, 
 the other sent flying into splinters the angle of a boulder which the fugitive 
 leaped around and behind which he vanished. 
 
 The captain, who did not greatly hold the capture of Cardoza to heart, 
 turned all his attention thereupon on Gonzalez, whom he knew to be a des 
 perate scoundrel, whereas he could only suspect the fled one on the "birds 
 of a feather flock together" principle. On rushing into the cabin, pistol in hand 
 expecting to have a fierce and bloody tussle, he was astonished to see the thief 
 drunk on the trodden-earth floor. 
 
 Half an hour after, by which time he had brought the drunkard around by 
 shaking him and dousing him with water, the two were jogging along over the 
 road to the chief town of the county. 
 
 Cardoza saw them from the distance and he lost no time to inform his supe 
 rior of it. 
 
 The latter, followed by Mountain Jim and by the whole of Valenzuela's gang 
 flew in all haste with the intention of surrounding the captor and delivering 
 their entrapped brother. They travelled all night and, at dawn, came at length 
 upon the two. 
 
 Gonzalez heard their signal, and responded to it by turning in the saddle and 
 waving his scarf. 
 
 Harry, on his side, felt what was the jeopardy in which he was placed riding 
 alone with so dangerous a companion, and, on seeing the latter's appeal which 
 treachery broke all the tacit faith between them, he put a bullet in Gonzalez's 
 heart. 
 
 A glance behind showed him a whirling column of dust in which rode a troop 
 of horses as swift as the wind. He gave his steed the spur and rode on at that 
 tearing, break-neck gait which the rangers know how to make a nag take. 
 
 A few minutes afterwards, the would-be rescuers pulled up at the spot where 
 the prisoner had fallen ; finding him free by death, they, yelled with rage and 
 disappointment. 
 
 They could not do anything, for with the start the captain had the best of 
 Morgan or Eclipse blood could scarcely have overtaken him before he rattled 
 into town with the news of having cleared the roads of one red-handed rover. 
 
 On the baffled robbers returning to San Gabriel, Joaquin learned that Three- 
 fingered Jack and his division were at Los Angelos and that Captain Wilson, 
 deputy sheriff of Santa Barbara County, had visited San Gabriel the night before, 
 with the design of seeking the head of the highwayman, whom he had sworn to 
 take dead or alive. In eagerness to see Jack, Joaquin took two of his boldest 
 rogues with him and went down to Los Angelos, where he found his lieutenant. 
 
 The latter reported that he had burnt, ten miles out of San Gabriel, a house 
 of which all the people had been massacred one after another as they tried in 
 agony to flee through the flames. 
 
 The chief remained several days there in his old asylum. 
 
 One evening as he went the rounds to gather the news, he heard that Captain 
 Wilson had put up at the hotel, speaking openly of the resolve he had made to 
 put an end shortly to the criminal career of the young terror of the placers. 
 
 The next evening a couple of native miners got into a row in front of that 
 hotel, and a crowd speedily collected to witness the fight. 
 
 Like others, Captain Wilson ran down into the street in order to look at the 
 struggle. 
 
 A horseman was beside him at the outskirts of the ring, who bent down tc 
 say in his ear : 
 
 " 1 am Joaquin !" 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 25 
 
 Wilson startled, instinctively caught at the horse's reins, but they had been 
 already jerked away, and as he lifted his head a btillet penetrated it, and he fell 
 under the feet of the bystanders, breathing his last. 
 
 With a loud re-itterance of his outcry, the Sonorian spurred from the spot. 
 
 The quarrel between the Californians had been a trick invented by Jack of 
 the Three Fingers merely to draw Wilson out of the hotel and give his com 
 mander an opening for the assassination. 
 
 After a short conference with his lieutenants, the leader sent Valenzuela and 
 his men, including Mountain Jim and Cardoza, into San Diego County. 
 
 Their orders were to run off all the live-stock (equine) that they could come 
 across and 'take them to the depot at Arroyo Cantuva. 
 
 In the meanwhile, he retraced his steps to San Gabriel with Jack and some 
 others. 
 
 At the end of a week or so, Luis Guerra, who had been set to spy the move 
 ments of Genera] Bean, saw the latter one evening leaving his dwelling in the 
 town to ride to a piece of property which he owned some miles distant. 
 
 Joaquin, the spy, and Three-fingered Jack started personally on the mission 
 and ambushed themselves on the highway about a mile from the general's des 
 tination. 
 
 When he came abreast of the waylayers, they leaped out altogether on him, 
 and despite a vigorous- and gallant defense, the bandits rendered useless the wea 
 pons which Bean carried. 
 
 Guerra and Jack pulled him out of his saddle, and their master twice buried 
 his knife in the brave heart and stretched the man at his feet ; the three-fingered 
 miscreant, to satisfy his brutal instincts, concluded his share in the atrocity by 
 clapping his six-shooter to the corpse's head and emptying half the barrels in the 
 fractured skull. 
 
 This awful execution finished, the actors fled to their fellows, with whom they 
 went northerly into Calaveras County, " blazing" their path by a long series of 
 robberies. 
 
 The month of August was dying out in '52, when the Scourge of the Golden 
 State set foot in the town of Jackson. 
 
 One evening, as he' was strolling about unattended, he encountered a young 
 man of the name of Joseph Lake, who had been known by him before he had 
 taken to the road. 
 
 They had worked " share and share" in the mines on the Stanislaus, and had 
 been intimate during some time. 
 
 After a friendly greeting, the outlaw turned bridle and for several minutes, 
 rode on silently by the others side, boot to boot. At last, gently tapping Lake 
 on the shoulder, he said in a voice a little affected by emotion : 
 
 " Joe, there's no use talking. You know what I was, and what I am now-a- 
 days ; but, I swear to you before heaven, injustice and tryanny drove me to it !" 
 
 So say all such men. He who avenges a wrong on the committer of it, 
 may be pardoned by his fellow man, but there can be no excuse to the person 
 who wars against society, and deals his blows alike at old and young, innocent 
 and guilty. 
 
 " 1 don't ask you to like me and to esteem me now," continued Joaquin, " for 
 you are an honest fellow, but I beg one favor of you, don't betray me to those- 
 who do not know my real name and character here." 
 
 " Joaquin," answered the other, "it's true that we were hand in hand together 
 in the old days, we were thick as brothers. So we would be still, if you had 
 kept in the honest man's path ; but the papers are cancelled to-day and there's 
 too wide a gulch between us." 
 
 " You're right there, Joe," said the Sonorian ; " but for all that you won't 
 betray me. Though the Americans are my deadly enemies, I love you for the 
 
 sake of the past, and I'll be d sorry to harm you, but I will have to kill 
 
 you, rest assured, if you speak one word of this meeting of ours." 
 
26 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 " Never fear," replied Lake. " No danger of that. But you need not be to 
 free of threats." 
 
 Thus they parted. 
 
 The chief of the cutthroats took a roundabout way to reach his retreat, while 
 his former friend went on the road w r hich led him to the little hamlet of Ornitas 
 where he lived. 
 
 Lake thought over the whole during the night, and came to the conclusion 
 that it was his duty to waken his countrymen to the fact of the dreaded banditti , 
 no doubt being in seclusion so near, and he told of his meeting with Murieta. 
 
 Only a few feet from Lake, as he was acquainting his friends with this, was 
 half reclining a Mexican wrapped up in his blanket who seemed to be equally 
 wrapped up in the puffing of his cigarettes, one of which he oifered to the Amer- 
 can with that charming gracefulness, inborn in the Mexicans, the Spanish and 
 Italians, 
 
 About three hours afterwards, a man, whose horse was standing a little way 
 from him, walked up slowly to a party chatting in front of a shop, of which one 
 was Joe Lake. 
 
 " Friend, come here a moment, if you please," was the politely-entoned desire 
 coming from the heavy black beard of the stranger. 
 
 " Joe, you're wanted," said his friends, pushing him towards the caller. 
 
 " Do you know me, Joe ?" asked the latter. 
 
 " Why, I know you voice, 1 think, but " 
 
 The false beard fell off the face. 
 
 " Ha ! you are " 
 
 " Joaquin ! you've betrayed me, sir !" 
 
 With the words a bullet flew at Lake, and he dropped dead with a shattered 
 skull. 
 
 Thanks to the celerity of himself and of his horse, the murderer ran unscathed 
 the gauntlet of shots. 
 
 In a few minutes he was descried on top of a hill in the distance, leading 
 away some forty or fifty mounted men. 
 
 " The robbers, the robbers !" was the cry of all, to which a shout, made faint 
 by the space between, fiercely if low responded. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HAUNT AND NEW RECRUITS. 
 
 THE king coyote, uneasy about his acolytes, Valenzuela, Cardoza, and Moun 
 tain Jim, and about the results of their doings, directed his steps towards the 
 general rendezvous. 
 
 On the following day, they encamped on the high edge of a gully, where, af 
 ter having kindled a rousing fire, they all commenced an onslaught on sardines 
 and crackers, of w r hich handy comestibles the depredator usually had good 
 store. 
 
 In the middle of the meal, Jack of the Three Fingers directed the attention of 
 his comrades towards a little spark of fire which seemed to be a fixed point in 
 the cup of the ravine. 
 
 " Holy Mother !" exclaimed the Mexicans. " Who and what can that be ?" 
 
 " It is in all likelihood the camp-fire of some of the redskins," said Joaquin, 
 letting his eyes listlessly wander towards the indicated site. As you found it 
 out first, Jack," said he with a smile to the man of the mutilated hand, suppose 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 27 
 
 fou do us the pleasure of scouting a bit thereaway and seeing if a little dust or a 
 nugget or two is not to be had for the asking." 
 
 " That's me, Cap.," replied the other. 
 
 He jumped up on his feet and, after giving his large mouth a dry wipe with 
 his not over-clean jacket sleeve added : 
 
 " You'll always find this chap ready for that sort of biz." 
 
 " Good ! but finish your supper," said the robber chief. 
 
 " Oh, no, I'll set sail d'rectly. There's no fear of the sardines growing cold, 
 ha, ha !" 
 
 Sticking his revolver and knife into his belt the speaker walked into the brush 
 with the easy step of a man who would not in the least mind whatever might 
 jump up out of the shadows so thick in the underwood. 
 
 " Jack's a brave lad," remarked Felix, " he goes into a muss as freely as into 
 a fandango. But he's unluckily an awful lover of bloodshed." 
 
 " Oh, there's worse than he," interrupted Guerra, " he ain't half what was old 
 Padre Jurata, whom many of us had for chief in Mexico." 
 
 " No, no, certainly not !" chorussed half a dozen. 
 
 " He was a regular devil !" . went on Guerra. " A downright monster. You 
 remember the way he cleared out the Aparelhos, boys ?" 
 
 Some did, and some did not remember the said " clearing out," and those 
 who were on the ignoramus side pressed Guerra to tell the story. So applying 
 to a bottle first to wash down the dry cracker crumbs, the old Mexican free 
 lance began this story, which is only too true. 
 
 "Well, you must- know that an American sailor long before the war with the 
 confounded heritics of North Americans, cast anchor from cruising in Guaymas. 
 He married a Sonorian girl and very soon afterwards removed up north near 
 the border, up our way. His boys grew up not twenty miles from our house, 
 and we often went hunting together. The old chap was a skinny but very tall 
 fellow, all bones and muscle, which had given him his name, for his real one 
 was unpronounceable to us, these Smeets and Bruns and Gohanes are dreadful 
 barbarious, say, ain't they, compared to our musical ones." 
 
 " Oh, yes, yes !" rose all the voices unanimously. 
 
 " Well, Aparelhos, as his boys grew up, two he had I ought to have said as 
 well as a daughter, began* to have a reputation for wealth growing up as well. 
 He had huge luck, and he used to work right up to the first heavy fall in the 
 rainy season and begin again the moment the ground was the least dried. These 
 Americans are shockingly industrious, say, mates all "?" 
 
 " Oh, there's no name foi it " said the bandits groaning at the dreadful de 
 pravity of men who wouldn't be idle. 
 
 " He used to find gold, sometimes silver, choice pieces of fragrant wood that 
 brought thundering prices at the port and was h on hitting the animals that 
 had the finest skins. So it went on all well with him, his farm extended, for he 
 bought Ignacio Rosales, Martin Morelos, Fabrino Cartelho out and out, cattle, 
 haciendo and ground. But the war broke out when those gringos said Texas 
 was theirs and not ours and did get it, too. Galveston's five times the size it was 
 a few years ago just think of the devil's children being so busy !" 
 
 All the hands were lifted in pious horror and all the voices groaned a deep 
 " Oh !" 
 
 " Just about this time," went on Guerra, " Padre Jurata began to preach and, 
 a lot of us coming together you, and you, and you, know, eh ?" 
 
 Haifa dozen nodded. 
 
 " We formed a neat little guerrilla band and had a lively time skurrying 
 about to pick up such Yankees as were caught in the province, confiscating their 
 goods for the cause. Aparelhos had lived among us so long that none of us re 
 collected that he was one of the heritics. Well, one summer's night oh, how 
 
28 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 well I remember the scene, the horses around, the reverend father tight as a 
 brick, his lieutenant Fra Christino most as far gone, Ramon Ninonentz and me 
 playing cards LordJ I remember going to play * a seven of swords,' to his ' nine 
 of lozenges' ! Poor fellow, he was thrown out of One of those big two story 
 houses in Sansome street by a Goliah of a yankee who caught him in the room 
 of his girl girts were scarce in those days and poor Ramon was stunned and 
 smothered in a mud-puddle. Well, he and me were playing as our sentinels 
 brought a young fellow into camp, his hands tied behind him. 
 
 " ' Here's 'Mingo Aparelhos,' said our men ; ' caught hanging round camp, 
 coyote fashion.' 
 
 " ' You lie,' says he, ' I was coming to see the reverend father.' 
 
 " With that Brother Christino jumped up and says he : ' Padre Jurata is in a 
 religious ecstasy. What do you want ?' 
 
 " Now Domingo was a half breed who was the castaway from everybody in 
 the village heaven knows who his father was, the mother was a poor wretch of 
 a loose Indian-Sonorian who took to the woods when he was born. Evil tongues 
 said Sailor Aparelhos had something to do with the parentage I don't believe 
 it myself, and I won't speak ill of the dead and gone to purgatory. Partly 
 from that and more because he had taken pity on the boy and housed him. The 
 mongrel was half-cracked anyhow. 
 
 " While we were questioning him, old Jurata woke up. 
 
 " ' What's the row V ' A prisoner,' answered Christino. ' Oh, hang him !' 
 ' But he's got something to tell us.' ' Give him a drink and loosen his tongue.' 
 * But he's a half-breed son of a heretic and we don't want to foul our bottles 
 with his satanic lips,' said the fra who was death on the enemies of the faith. 
 ' Brother. Half hang him, cut him down, and kick him into a thorn bush, and 
 don't keep the mezcal all to yourself while you're doing it.' * But he talks of 
 money,' continued Fra Christino in a loud whisper. 
 
 " Jurata jumped up, and only staggered a little. ' Mother Church, in her 
 holy son here representing, is always ready to receive,' he began, forgetting he 
 was on the war-path. But a shake from his lieutenant set him to rights 
 
 " ' Well, what brought you here to the camp of the Loyal Lancers and Gov 
 ernment Guerrillas of the Province of Sonora,' challenged our commands to 
 scare him. 
 
 " ' I want to be enrolled in your band,' answered Mingo. 
 
 " ' The dev I mean, the dev-ouk vow I have to keep my ranks pure won't 
 
 allow that, my son. You're the son of a heretic the offspring of the devil 
 
 
 " * No more devil than you,' cried Domingo, who was very easily set fire. 
 " I'm in love with Donna Manyolina and I told her so this morning. She took 
 me by the throat and locked me up in her room, which I entered, till hei 
 brothers and the old man came home. The old wretch whipped me like a dog 
 and the cursed sons, laughing at me all the while, dragged me to the horsepond 
 and chucked me in.' 
 
 " ' You do look damp,' said Juruta, and we all laughed. 
 
 " < I've sworn to be avenged,' went on 'Mingo, ' I'll kill all the Aparelhos, 
 burn their houses, cut their cattle's throats, pull down the hacienda walls ' 
 
 " ' Go on ; I don't see that it's our business,' said Jurata, and we burst into 
 laughter again, the mongrel looked so comic yelling out and tossing his arms, 
 which we had unloosed, about. 
 
 " But Aparelhos is an American in heart so are they all,' screamed Domin 
 go in fury they are joyous when they hear of the victories of the United States 
 they were mad and sad when they heard of the Alamo.' 
 
 " ' Ha, ha !' said Fra Christino, ' we must look into this nest of serpents ' 
 
 " ' Silence !' roared Jurata like a bull ; ' Aparelhos can't help that. He only 
 talks, not does. He gave a thousand dollars and two silver candlesticks which 
 he got at Guaymas to our chapel, and he gave me that very horse there, for he 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 29 
 
 sakl 'twas a shame for a weak priest like me to have to foot it and it was a 
 shame on the Catholic farmers with their herds of asses, mules and mustangs ! 
 And he's always hospitable, and fetches out first-class wines to his guests, if 
 they are unworthy sons of the true faith like humble Padre Jurata !' says our 
 old leader, smacking his lips. 
 
 " ' But I know the secret hiding-place of lots of gold and silver coin the old 
 man's got ever so much !' howled Domingo, wild at all his entreaties being 
 wasted. 
 
 " We all looked at one another," said Guerra, " and then at our reverend 
 Captain. That last thing settled it. 
 
 " ' Ahem !' coughed Jurata. ' Well, my good Domingo, out with it. On 
 second thoughts, no traitor to the Republic must be let escape unpunished under 
 mistaken ideas of mercy, no ! He is amassing money to aid some grand plot 
 for helping the foe, who can doubt ? 
 
 " ' Of course/ cried we all. ' Death to the traitor !" 
 
 " ' Give me a horse and anything a knife even and let me join you/ said 
 Domingo. 
 
 " You ? no impure bloods are going to sully our cause !' answered the padre. 
 
 " ' You refuse, eh V yelled Domingo. ' May the Holy Mother curse you ! 
 May her son send lightning on you ! may all the saints " 
 
 " Down came Padre Jurata's machete on his skull, which it split, and he never 
 moved again. Christino had nearly got his arm taken off in trying to bar the 
 blow. 
 
 " ' Curse him ! 7 he couldn't help swearing, ' he's carried the secret of the 
 cache with him." 
 
 "So he had. But we, thinking that no one better than we could hunt up gold 
 and valuables, sprang to horse and rattled off to St. Mary of Leon's Butte, on 
 which Aparelhos' house was built. We reached it in half an hour, pretty well 
 scratched from going through the chapparel at such a pace. When we ham 
 mered at the big gate, one of the young men came out. 
 
 " (The peons, I ought to tell you, were away from the house in their dwelling, 
 and they left for the thicket, when we began to work). 
 
 " ' Who's there ?' challenged the son. We told him, when he said we might 
 
 be d d, and back he went into the house. They had been reconnoitering 
 
 from the upper windows, we could see. We surrounded the place, heaping up 
 the brush and lots of torchwood at the gates, which we burnt through. There 
 was a black and a couple of servants in the house who fought for their master, 
 especially after old Aparelhos had blown the brains out of one of them who had 
 tried to jump out of the window. Afraid of fighting at anything but close 
 quarters, for the three Americans, as I call them, were blasted fine shots, we 
 charged in two parties, front and rear. I was in the latter division, which Ju 
 rata led. We smashed in a window by exploding a horn of powder at it. 
 
 " The first of us who jumped through was cut into four neat quarters by the 
 old rascal's cavalry sword. He nearly stuck the old reverend next, but I push 
 ed Dormeli Punez at him and he ran him through by mistake. We had a lively 
 flurry in the dark, but no more of us were killed. We had to tumble back out 
 of the window. 
 
 " On the other hand, Christino had better luck. He had been beaten back but 
 he brought out with him one of the sons prisoner, and had killed the three men 
 servants as well as the wife. We tried a rush once more, no go. We waited 
 for an hour or two, till we had a lot of wood collected and made a monstrous 
 fire in front, leaving a few to keep a look out there. So under the couple of 
 windows each side. When the flames began to rise and drive the two men, left 
 to our side, we made our third attempt and dragged out them both. The son 
 was dead, the father only stunned with a head wound. 
 
 " Then we began to cry out that we wouldn't hurt anybody who surrendered. 
 Out came the camerosta, a luscious slip of a girl delicious ! Donna Mayolina 
 
Jflayitin, (the Claude Duval of California}; 
 
 appeared at the broken window in the light, for half the front of the building 
 was burning merrily now. We called her to come, but her father who had 
 come to life and recovered his voice, spoilt all by shouting : 
 
 " ' No, no ! they lie ! Join, join your dead mother, murdered by them !' 
 
 " We were going to strike him dead for this, but Jurata wouldn't allow it ; 
 one of us did tap him with the flat of his sword, and he swooned again. His son 
 looked on with set teeth and eyes like coals. 
 
 " The burning house looked like a skeleton one, with the blaze at the front, 
 and illumined the sky, but none of the far-off neighbors cared to come. Well 
 for 'em. The heat made us fall back. Suddenly the girl appealed on the up 
 per roof, up which she had to run as up a hill, for it had fallen in at the other 
 end some few feet. God ! wasn'fc she pretty, handsome, splendid, standing up 
 in that red and yellow brightened air ! 
 
 " ' I remember ! and I, and I !' said one or two. ' Guerra's telling it just as 
 it was !' 
 
 "Her hair flying loose in wild disorder, her robe torn and dishevelled, 
 showed her beautiful figure, almost like a marble statue. Such a lovely 
 form as that girl possessed we had never before gazed on. 
 
 " Seen too in that brilliant, dazzling light, she looked more like some angel 
 alighting from the skies than a mere mortal girl. I never saw the like." 
 
 The excitable and excited auditors listened, holding their breath and fastening 
 their flashing eyes on Guerra. 
 
 " There she stood like a new kind of statue. We could not stir for a mo 
 ment, when the same idea of saving her impelled half a dozen of us to run into 
 the heated air and hold out a horse blanket. And we shouted above the hissing, 
 crackling, roaring of the accursed flames - 
 
 " ' Jump down, senorita, for the love of God !' interrupted several, those who 
 had been witnesses with Guerra of the scene which he narrated. ' Yes, yes.' 
 
 " Yes, those were the words," said Guerra. " She hesitated. The tongues of 
 fire darted up behind her higher and thicker than ever. We shouted again. 
 She turned coolly round, and we thought we saw her bright eyes fill with tears 
 which ran down her doubly scorching cheeks, as she looked her last on our 
 prisoners. Her last, for the next moment she sprang into the very core of all 
 that immense bowl of devil's punch. We thought that the fire danced more 
 merrily than before, anyhow that's where she ended her life and destroyed all 
 her beauteous form." 
 
 The enthusiastic hearers murmured in Spanish words of pity, such as : " Poor 
 girl poor maiden. May Our Lady have her !" for they forgot the attending 
 circumstances to place all their interest on the central figure. There was a 
 pause, no one breaking the spell by either eating or drinking. Finally, one 
 spoke up : 
 
 " The rest, Guerra. What more ?" 
 
 " Ah, yes. Well, the brother of the girl, who had been watching her in hor 
 ror, fell down and we could not awaken him any more than we could his father. 
 They were not dead however. Jurata, who had not forgotten the treasure of 
 which Domingo had said so much, turned sharply on the camerista, and asked 
 her where her master kept his money hidden. She did not know, or would 
 not tell, whichever it was. Jurata gave orders, and off ran Juan Moliti to the 
 stables, from which he brought back a horse's nose-bag." 
 
 " ' You won't tell ? very well,' said the padre. ' Go ahead Juan.' 
 
 " Juan collected a couple of handfuls in quantity of the half burnt cinders 
 that were rained down near us, and put them in the bag, which had a bottom 
 too thick to be easily burnt through. Then he tied the bag over the mouth of the 
 girl, after Jurata had asked her again, saying he was sorry to spoil a pretty 
 bird's singing. The girl could draw a little fresh air through her nose, but hex 
 mouth took in the scorching smoke from tne bag, of course. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 31 
 
 " She began to twist and fight so that four of us could hardly hold her. Her 
 poor little bosom gave a couple of heaves and she worked her lirnbs so furi 
 ously that we let go. She stood reeling for a moment, threw up her arms 
 the bag falling off and gave a dreadful cough. Blood poured out of her 
 mouth, and she sank as if a mesquite had -fallen upon her. 
 
 " ' Curses she's dead without having spoken !' raged the reverend chief. 
 
 " ' Good !' broke in old Aparelhos, who had come to. 
 
 " ' Who said that bellowed Jurata, turning. ' Ah, ha ! you've found your 
 tongue again. I've been thinking how to make you speak. Will you tell us 
 where you keep your treasure ? 
 
 " ' My treas ' 
 
 " ' Yes, Domingo has let us into the secret of it at least of the being cue. 
 Come, out \vith it.' 
 
 " ' Give one dollar to you, you you !' and I don't know what he did not call 
 us. i Do your worst, you shan't learn.' 
 
 " Jurata Avhispered to somebody, Moretos the younger, I believe, but that 
 does not matter," said Guerra, " and he tore the scarf of the dead cameresta in 
 to strips, which he wound ground every finger of the American's right hand just 
 as if you were going to bind up a broken arm. And he was most securely 
 pinioned. 
 
 " ' Will you tell V 
 
 " ' I'll see you all in the hell's flames sure to be your portion first ;' cried old 
 Aparelhos doggedly. 
 
 " Old Father Jurata took the bottle of oil from Moretos, who was'our sur 
 geon for the horses and who had been to his saddJebags for it, and pomed it on 
 the bound up hand, the cloth on which soaked it up like a cayman in heat drink 
 ing a brooklet dry. Then a branch of torchwood was lighted and brought and 
 the hand was set afire ! The old heretic stood it for it for a couple of minutes, 
 but then began to howl. But he kept shouting out : 
 
 "'That's from the agony, God d you, but (gritting his teeth) I won't 
 
 speak.' 
 
 " As his hand burnt up like a big church candle before the siirine of Our 
 Lady the Queen of the Angels, the old American yelled and Wwled, he cursed 
 us in English, Indian and Spanish, till his son was roused by the jtioise, and, find 
 ing he could not get loose, for he was wound round with a reata, and rawhide 
 may give but it won't break, he called out : 
 " ' Father, dear father ! Oh, let the old man go and roast rne instead.' 
 
 " ' Will you tell where the riches are ?' asked the Padre. 
 
 " He looked at his father. 
 
 " ' No,' says the old American, ' they'll have their devil's sport anyhow.' 
 
 " ' See you skinned first,' answered the young fellow. 
 
 " ' Give him a handsome glove,' says Jurata laughing, ' they're so much alike 
 we had better mate them.' 
 
 " So the two hands blazed together. I've been hard up "on the sands and have 
 had to chew dead mulesteak a little touched and smelling," said Guerra, " but 
 I was sick like the rest, at the damnable stench of that burning flesh. They 
 twisted and groaned, but we could not get one word out of them. We flourish 
 ed knives and machettes under their eyes and jammed escopette muzzles against 
 their teeth but no use. At last Jurata had them run up to the boughs of a tree, 
 and we with empty hands had to turn our backs on the ruins of the house. Oh, 
 the good old times," ending the ex-guerrilla, sighing. " I don'c feel well to think 
 it's all over." 
 
 " Maybe our countrymen will give the Yankees a strong taste of the same in 
 this state yet," observed some one. 
 
 " Maybe. But here's Jack. And not alone." 
 
 The three-fingered freebooter indeed made his appearance, driving before him 
 
32 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 eight Chinese, complete in pig-tail, frock, loose breeches and cheap boots. They 
 had been trembling violently enough already, but when they saw themselves in 
 the presence of a large body of armed men, they tumbled down on their knees 
 and begged for mercy in the worst of mixed Spanish and English, but which 
 Nvas extremely expressive from their pitiable tone. Their earnest entreaties, 
 now in full rolling of the almond eyes, and active gestures, only excited the hi 
 larity of the whole band, who made the place ring with unrestrained bursts of 
 merriment. 
 
 Jack ordered the Orientals, by means of blended threats and pantomime to 
 change their position from standing, to setting on the rocks a few feet from the 
 fire. This command was executed with prompt obedience, after which Jack flour 
 ished his knife over the heads of the line by way of intimation that if they moved 
 an eyebrow or the tips of their queues, he would cut their heads off. He resum 
 ed, with as good an appetite as anybody could boast, his meal on the crackers 
 and sardines. 
 
 " Mi amigo Jack, my friend," inquired Joaquin, " whence that blood, still 
 fresh I should say, that I see on your dagger's blade ?" 
 
 " Oh, that spatter there. Why, I had to stick one of these funny Johns to 
 explain my meaning to the rest. As soon as they saw that one of their blessed 
 crowd kissed the ground and stayed there, one of them, turning as reasonable 
 as could be, took the head of the file and the rest trotted along after him like 
 Santa Fe sheep. That's how I made out to fetch them so far." 
 
 " Well, now that you've got them, what good are they going to be to any 
 body?" 
 
 " Why, they're too much like sheep not to be bled, the same way." 
 " You'd better hurry up your cakes, then," said Felix. " They're half way 
 to Mono Lake (the dead sea of California) already." 
 
 " Oh, they can wait," returned the semi-cannibal, darting on the captives so 
 significant a look that they began mumbling something to Joss. " I brought 
 them here to amuse the company, but I'm going to fill the barrel of my body 
 with a charge of soda crackers and a wad of sardines before I open the show. I 
 think the Yankees are right in one idea of theirs : * Business before pleasure.' " 
 A quarter of an hour elapsed in the consumption of the eatables by the 
 speaker and of tobacco with the others. Then the former sprang up and to the 
 poor Chinese, seven of whom he drew together by their tails and made a new 
 sort of a wheel of them by tying them all together. He grabbed the separate 
 victim by the long braid as well and hauled him backwards and nearly stum 
 bling up to the fire. The bandits jumped up. 
 
 " Stop, stop, Jack !" shouted several. " You ain't going to make cracknels 
 of them, blast you 1 Guerra's been story-telling enough of that without our 
 wanting the real. Don't ! a fellow can't keep his supper down with a frying 
 Chinese to look at." 
 
 " No, no, I only lugged him here to let the light fall on him." 
 Out came Jack's knife then, to be plunged up to the buckhorn haft in the 
 heart of the luckless devil. The dying man wrestled with his murderers for a 
 second, when the latter flung him off. The body fell beside the fire, and a 
 thick stream of blood, by the shock, gushed out of the horrible gash and put out 
 the flames. 
 
 " Carajo !" swore one Mexican, " you've spotted my jacket !" 
 " Caramba ! maldita ! the fire's a goner." 
 Joaquin stepped up. 
 
 " Enough of that, Jack ! I won't stand any such wantonness. Kill 'em all 
 at once where they are, and make no bones about it." 
 
 " Oh, all right, captain, just as you say, I thought the boys wanted some 
 sport, but I'll have all the fun to myself now." 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 33 
 
 So saying, he dragged the corpse to one side, let it drop and went over to 
 the shuddering remainder. 
 
 Without being in the least moved by their yells, screams, prayers, weeping 
 he stabbed some and cut the throats of others most leisurely. 
 
 Before the first one had been butchered, the three women had pulled their 
 blanket-shawls over their heads so as not to behold the horrible affair. 
 
 They might have applauded the bull who gored a toreador in a fight, the 
 man who brought down his opponent at sword's points or short pistol-range, 
 but they hated and were disgusted to be tacit accomplices in the slaughter of 
 the unfortunate descendants of the builders of the Great Wall which they were 
 wrong to have passed. 
 
 Clarina, who was seated by her lover, overheard him give the order for the 
 despatching of the prisioners ; moved by a deep feeling of compassion, she 
 wished to try to shield from cruelty those who yet survived. 
 
 Without uncovering her face, she let fall her head on the robber's shoulder, 
 and said in a tremulous voice : 
 
 " Oh, Joaquin, why won't you prevent that awful massacre, so useles, of 
 harmless men 1 Hear their despairing cries ! You can won't you hold back 
 the wretch's hand 1" 
 
 "My dearly loved girl, that's what I cannot do. Garcia is cruel and 
 violent, and he only linked his fortune to mine to satisfy his dreadful thirst for 
 blood ; but he is brave and does not know what danger is, so that it would be a 
 great loss for me to have to part with him." 
 
 " Are they beyond hope, poor things, then T' murmured Clarina. 
 
 " Yes. Tin sorry in the bottom of my heart for it. Hark ! There are only 
 two voices to be heard now Only one it dies away with its owner. There, 
 the whole woik of blood is ended. They suffer no longer, poor fools for ever 
 having crossed the Pacific." 
 
 " By all the saints," ejaculated the bloody-handed murderer, falling on a 
 bunch of grass and his blanket by the rekindled, fire, " if this isn't a red-letter 
 night on my books, shoot me ! Those funny dogs resisted just enough to put 
 an edge to it. One fellow scratched me and kicked beau-tiful ! Oh, San Mi 
 guel, Santa Antonina, let me have another such a treat and I'll walk to Cuba and 
 be joyfully garotted !" 
 
 At daybreak, the party set out again. Notwithstanding the tragedy of the 
 preceeding night, all were heart free and gay enough in looking forward to a 
 long quiet stay at their principal retreat. The females especially felt the good 
 effects ot the exchange from the terrors of the gloomy eve in the forest, to the 
 serene and brilliant dawn in the more open, sunlit land. 
 
 They galloped on lightly besicTe Joaquin and Felix, a little in advance ol the 
 main body, chatting to drive away whatever \vas troublesome in their minds. 
 Every now and anon they would dart on in a mock-severe chase of a quail, who 
 dropping its proudly-lifted plume on its beak, would skurry along near the 
 ground like a " road-runner" until, rising suddenly, good-bye to anything 
 reaching it but a shot. Clear, silvery peals of laughter rang out on the sono 
 rous air, and snatches of song emulated the birds awakening, while the smiles 
 added fresh charms to the countenances of the young women, and made their 
 eyes sparkle still more brightly. 
 
 After several successive halts the band arrived at length at Arroyo Cantuva. 
 What was the joy of that young prince of pillagers at view of the spectacle 
 1 extremely grateful to a horse-stealer's eyes, that was visible in the valley. 
 
 There were more than a thousand horses, grazing in herbage which brushed 
 their tallies with the high tops or leaping about with floating mane and tail 
 l and smoking nostrils through the wild oats and over the clover. 
 
 The stallions were already forming their manadas of a few mares unavoid* 
 
 3 
 
34 Joaguin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 bly taken in the mass, and every little while a vaquero would have to push his 
 korse into the press and lash the horses about to fight. 
 
 The whole formed a sort of patchwork ; the grass for groundwork and the va 
 riegated animals for embroidery, almost all being " calico" or "paint" horses, dun, 
 cream-colored, mouse-colored, black, streaked, speckled, spotted, white, stock- 
 ing'd and nose'd. 
 
 A cluster of tents, white as the snow on Shasta's summit, was glistening un 
 der the evergreen madrona. Which proved that the plundering detachment 
 had not only faithfully carried out their instructions, but were on the spot to 
 receive further orders. 
 
 The new arrivals raised the well-known shout which signalled their approach, 
 and all made for the canvass camp at headlong speed, where they dismounted . 
 
 They were immediately surrounded by Valenzuela, Cardoza and a portion 01 
 their followers, of whom the remainder were off on a hunt. 
 
 After mutual compliments and felicitations exchanged, the horses were un 
 harnessed and turned into graze with the others. 
 
 The riders rolled off on the gtfass to enjoy the repose so necessary to them. 
 
 They had slept as only men can sleep who have gone at the full speed of 
 California steeds, who do not know what pacing or a fast trot or any interme 
 diate pace is, for five hours or so, when they were aroused for supper. 
 
 The hunters had returned at nightfall well supplied with game. 
 
 A large fire had been made and from it rose the delicious emanations of bears- 
 meat and birds. 
 
 Quails and grouse, and .a few robins, spitted on twigs stuck in the ground, 
 hissed daintily and sputtered before the embers ; on the edge of the heap of 
 coals simmered the contents of large iron camp-kettles full of that herb used 
 ofttimes in the old days of El Dorado for tea ; a little further off, on a hundred 
 and more huge leaves were spread out as apologies for cloths on which again 
 set tin plates (bright, though old, for California!! air will not rust things, as other 
 countries), bearing portions of Mexican compounds and such " unconsidered 
 trifles" picked up from ravaged districts as Baltimore pickled oysters, New York 
 lobsters, jellies and truit. 
 
 Apples and pears from the famous San Jose Mission Orchard were side by 
 side with their mates, plucked by Yankee girls in the Bay and the Green Moun 
 tain States shipped in a California clipper by the stevedores of the Empire City, 
 and after rounding the awful Cape, rolled out of the side lading-port on San 
 Franciscan shores. 
 
 Beside each plate was more or less temptingly set a tin cup, a bundle of ci 
 gars or a packet of cigarettes, and a bottle of wine, whose hue as red as the 
 honeybud that a bee might choose to sleep in, glittered alluringly through the 
 transparent prison-walls. 
 
 The whole formed a display which no sharp-set marauder would have sneezed 
 at. 
 
 On a signal given by the cook : " Pitch in, boys, and never mind us !" the 
 famished crew took up positions as best agreed with their tastes and went to work 
 as if the banquet was a bank of good yielding earth and they so many hydrau 
 lic pipes aimed to wash it away. They did wash it down. 
 
 The seat of honor was occupied by the Chief of the Coyotes and his Clarina. 
 
 On his right hand was. Reynardo Felix and his mistress the charming Marga 
 rita ; to the left Juan Cardoza and the pretty Mariquita. 
 
 This latter had for some time worn mourning for her former lover, the Gon 
 zalez so summarily dislodged from his high eminence in the gallery of rogues 
 El Doradian by Captain Harry Love, and had settled her choice on Cardoza. 
 
 Her love for gay colors had gained her the nickname of Mariposa (the But 
 terfly) already, which was confirmed by her thus flitting from the dead flower to 
 the blooming one. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 33 
 
 Laughs went up more befitting a Montgomery street negro minstrel hall than 
 a Parisian drawing-room, let us say, but the upper end of the table was more 
 select and the lowered tones there compared to the rougher voices below, was 
 as a cooing of doves to the growling of grizly cubs boxing, dancing and at play 
 together. 
 
 Supper was finished, and conversation was rattling on, when the signal arose 
 again. 
 
 A score of men dashed up as fast as their jaded beasts could go, Mountain 
 Jim at their head. 
 
 Room was made for them. The cooks went to their work once more, and 
 the later comers plied knife and fingers, while receiving the warm congratula 
 tions of their comrades. 
 
 These recruits were natives of Chili, Peru and Sonora, who had been got to 
 gether by one of Joaquin's best friends, Fernando Fontes, who had accompa 
 nied them to the rallying place. 
 
 They brought, as a kind of tribute for their welcome, seventy to seventy-five 
 horses (without their true owners, of course), and Jim announced that two hun 
 dred more were corralled in the San Francisco Rancho which would be driven 
 to this retreat during the coming week. 
 
 The talk, thus for the time being interrupted, went on again briskly as be 
 fore, the new-comers being regaled with stories of which the " immoral" was a 
 lesson for their future exploits. 
 
 Elegant romancing and incredible yarns succeeded one another, and the 
 whole company would have had to have been credited with greatly thinning 
 out the population if the chronicles of crime were believed in. 
 
 In the interludes of hangings, flayings, burnings, shootings and stabbings, one 
 of the girls would sing some melody which from its excesssive sweetness had 
 some effect for the moment on the steel-hearts. 
 
 All at once, the general gladness was violently broken into by a quarrel that 
 arose between Three-fingered Jack and Mountain Jim. 
 
 The thing was serious enough, as the reader will see. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE OUTBREAK. JACK PUTS HIS FOOT DOWN AND JIM HAS A CLOSE 8HAVB. 
 
 FRENCHMEN AND MORE CHINESE. LOS ANGELOS LYNCHES FELIX, AND 
 
 HIS GIRL GOES TO JOIN HIM. JIM AND JACK PART COMPANY. 
 
 BLOOD IN THE MERCED. 
 
 THE Mexican had formally laid down a new law of his, thus : 
 
 " I'll never let one of these cursed Yankees put foot in the head-quarters here 
 and be let into the secrets of the band !" 
 
 On which declaration the rupture between the two aforesaid had resulted. 
 
 Mountain Jim, who represented in himself alone the element mentioned, gt 
 up on his feet, swallowed his last bite leisurely and replied bluntly : 
 
 " That cock won't fight. I'm an American by birth, but I'm Mexican in 
 heart, and you may all be sure that I have all the more interest in upholding 
 the party by the fact that I don't come to you only to be a butcher !" 
 
 " If you mean me by that," retorted Garcia, " you lie, and you're a coward 
 if you don't freeze to it !" 
 
 At the same time, the robber drew his revolver. To see him rolling his 
 tiger's eyes and frowning with his black brows, like the lightning and thunder 
 on Mont Diablo, and to see his whole face of a devil borne out in its fiendish 
 
36 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) / 
 
 promises by his gigantic limbs, it would take a stout heart to look at him twice 
 before in going in opposition to him. 
 
 But the other was not a man, as he might have said himself, to be bluffed 
 off with big looks. 
 
 At the word " coward" he had grasped his revolver, and he was so quick that 
 he might have had the first shot, but Joaquin had risen and in his sternest, most 
 imperious voice, ordered both of the antagonists to " down with their arms" 
 and have no more brawling. 
 
 " That's agreeable," answered the mountain man. "Pm willing to obey my 
 leader's word, though I don't care a dime." 
 
 " Stop a bit," muttered Jack. " I ain't no Jackass-rabbit to have long enough 
 ears to hear all orders " 
 
 Crack ! went his pistol. 
 
 But it was one of the new volunteers, who had had the ill luck to be next to 
 Jim, and who had leaped up to fall instantly, mortally wounded. One loud 
 shout broke forth. 
 
 As if moved by the same spring, every man was standing, and all the weapons 
 were leveled at or held against the slayer, ready to prevent his ever again dis 
 obeying the chief. 
 
 "No !" said the latter, stretching out his hand. " Jim Luis, all, down 
 
 with the arms !" 
 
 The order was obeyed at the word, but all eyes were bent nevertheless on 
 Garcia. He, standing, revolver in hand and finger inside the trigger-ring, eyed 
 his leader with an air of indifference. The silver mounting of the latter's pistol 
 glittered in the rays of the fire as it bore upon the rebel, while, with an angry 
 look and a voice of rage, Joaquin said : 
 
 " Jack, you've disobeyed your leader, and have not only rebelled openly but 
 have added the murder of one of your comrades to your misdeed. And the 
 slain man is not only the one with whom you were not concerned but was one 
 who was an utter stranger to you. You have earned death, and I'll show you 
 that I am a better marksman than you." 
 
 " Dead shot or not, Joaquin," replied Garcia, dropping his weapon and open 
 ing with both hands his shirt to lay bare his breast, " I ain't scared. Blaze 
 away, I'm ready." 
 
 As he was defying the shot, a little hand glided round upon the superior's 
 pistol arm, and the sweet voice of Clarina murmured gently in his ear. 
 
 " Pardon him, Joaquin, I entreat you." 
 
 For a space, the would-be executioner-judge was indecisive, but, at length let 
 ting the muzzle of his revolver droop, he said : 
 
 " Garcia, I can't bring myself to kill you. You're too fearless to leave the 
 world so, and though your bravery is next door to barbarity because you were 
 born so and cannot master your desires " 
 
 " Yes, yes, he can't help it !" cried at the same time a number of the despe 
 radoes, who, full of admiration at the wretch's coolness, had already forgotten 
 his crime. 
 
 The corpse was pitched into a hole somewhere, peace was proclaimed, and 
 the jollity went on more uproariously than ever. 
 
 After a night of such revelry, Joaquin despatched Antonio and Guerra, the 
 latter at the head of his division, into the State of Sonora with fifteen hundred 
 head of cattle. He himself turned towards San Luis Obispo, with Valenzuela, 
 Felix, Cardoza, Mountain Jim, Three-fingers and the three women. 
 
 On the ensuing day as they were jogging along a rough pathway in the moun 
 tains, they caught sight of a couple of French miners who had crept into one 
 cave of the many to eat their breakfast or dinner whichever it was under 
 shelter from the sun. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 37 
 
 " Pm 'a-thiuking," remarked Garcia playing with his dagger, " It would be a 
 good notion to test their pockets." 
 
 " Very well, go on," answered the captain, " but remember, no blood spilling.** 
 
 The next minute the cutthroat was confronting the two men and in a voice of 
 thunder ordering them to " shell out or he'd make sausage-meat out of them." 
 
 The blazing eyes of the bandit, the business-like way in which he measured 
 with his steel, and his ferocious mien, spoke clearly enough for the seriousness of 
 his threat. 
 
 So the poor Gauls hurriedly unbuckled their chamois-leather belts and trans 
 ferred them to the robber, who emptied them hastily. 
 
 " D you for a brace of frog-eating swindlers. Money must be scarce as 
 
 thunder for you pair to have only forty dollars worth of wire gold a-tween you." 
 
 In a moment, he fell upon the unfortunate devils, cut their throats and left 
 them in the cave which became their grave. 
 
 The outlaw commander saw them fall bathed in blood from where he and 
 the rest had pulled up to wait, but he contented himself with grumbling and 
 rode on. 
 
 As it came on sunset, the party reached a narrow canon on which, stiffened in 
 death, two Chinese and a third not far from the same condition. 
 
 Some of the miners, full of the feeling which years after remaining the 
 same does not permit the poor Orientals to work near Europeans, had doubt 
 lessly fallen in with them and been their death, for their awful wounds were 
 made by some such blunt-.pointed tools as pick-axes. 
 
 The one still breathing, though his wound was not mortal in itself, would 
 have certainly expired in a few days from the absence of proper medical as 
 sistance. 
 
 On seeing the troop pass by, the suffering victim lifted his head and in a weak 
 but affecting accent, and with a look which should have wrung pity from the 
 most stony of hearts, made out to gasp a few words of supplication. 
 
 " No use for us to stop," said Joaquin, " the poor devil's in a state past any 
 help that we can give him." 
 
 On happening to turn a moment afterwards in his saddle, the speaker perceiv 
 ed Garcia, who had jumped off his horse and run back to the dying man, pierc 
 ing his already bruised and bleeding breast with his dagger, and after wiping 
 the smeared blade on the now corpse's clothes, cut off the buttons- of abelone 
 shell which glittered on the frock. Then springing- to horse, he dashed on into 
 his place once more, pocketing the spoil. 
 
 " Jack," said the robber king, " that's your cruelty breaking out again. Why, 
 the man would be dead in a couple of days." 
 
 " Cruelty," replied the butcher, " I call that coming the friendly over him. I 
 only wanted to shorten his misery they're splendid abelones, and it's hard to 
 strip a wounded man." 
 
 " Shorten his pangs by churning your six inches of steel in him. Not a word 
 more, sir, your heart must be black as Old Nick's." 
 
 On arriving at the Mission of San Louis Obispo, Joaquin sent Reynardo 
 to Los Angelos and Mountain Jim and Three-fingered Jack (who were now as 
 thick as could be together) to San Diego, their instructions being to lay hold of 
 all the horses they could and to find out what was said about the assassination 
 of Captain Wilson and General Bean. 
 
 About a week elapsed since the departure of the three, when in came Texas 
 Jack, a member of the association of marauders, who brought the news that 
 Reynardo had not a sufficiency of the reynard in him to outwit the people of 
 Los Angelos. 
 
 While he had been slumbering after a series of fatiguing fandangoes in a low 
 dance-house, he had been noticed and recognized by an Englishman whom he 
 
38 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 had robbed along with other brigands in the neighborhood of Mokelumne 
 Hill. 
 
 Arrested on the spot, he was accused of complicity in the murder of General 
 Bean ; although there was not evidence to bring that charge fully upon him, still 
 the attendant proof of his being capable of such an act was shown in the fact 
 being undisputed of his being one of the ravagers under command of Joaquin. 
 
 During the few minutes given him to kiss the crucifix, the halter was made 
 ready and he took the leap from life. 
 
 So passed Reynardo Felix, without complaint from the honest and peace 
 able. 
 
 His mistress, Margarita, at first refused to believe the intelligence, but Val- 
 enzuela, who presently returned from Los Angelos, confirmed it officially. 
 
 Thereupon, drawing the silver and steel poignard that she had the habit of 
 carrying in so rude a place as a cutthroat's camp where a little of overplus of 
 liquor might make the men forget discipline to gain a young and pretty women, 
 she plunged it into her bosom before anyone could stay her and died pronouno 
 hag her lover's name. 
 
 Taking a trip down the shaft to meet Reynardo, was the general opinion 
 attributing the destination of their late partner to quite the opposition to 
 heaven. 
 
 This suicide had not been quite forgotten when, to add another testimony to 
 die truth of misfortunes coming Indian file at one another's heels, the three-fin 
 gered brave entered the camp to report his mate's decease. 
 
 Jack and the latter had stepped off the highway into a tavern a few miles 
 from San Diego, where they were scorching their case-hardened throats with a 
 couple of tumblers of detestable liquor, when a party of Americans, who also 
 entered for their drinks, began to regard them with so suspicious a manner that 
 Jack deemed it prudent to warn Jim that they two had better make themselves 
 scarce. 
 
 But the red-eye had had its effect on the mountain-man, and he began to 
 laugh at his comrade and, far from yielding to the advice, went back to the 
 counter for another " something screaming that 'd take the hair off a dead red 
 head mule." In a few moments more, another four or five Americans ru&hed 
 hurrying into the doggery to have treats of one of their number who had found 
 ** color" extremely rich. 
 
 The Mexican no sooner saw this reinforcement which destroyed the faint 
 hope of clearing out the bar-room with a fight, leaped over the doorstep, beckon 
 ing his companion to follow. 
 
 The latter belched forth a string of oaths with his rummy breath and clung 
 to the counter like a sponge to a rock. 
 
 One of the Americans, all of whom had had a talk together, suddenly stepped 
 up to the drinker and laying a clayey hand on his shoulder, said : 
 
 " I arrest you for being one of J oaquin's gang !" 
 
 Jim tried to strike him ; they grappled, and the scuffle began. 
 
 Jack outside, perfectly aware how things would be going on and knowing too 
 well that he single-handed could no more cut his way into his friend now than 
 bore through Tejon Peak with a willow rod, contented himself with sending a 
 couple of bullets through the doorway into the bunch of fighters and, clapping 
 spurs to his horse, " got away," as the P. R. says. 
 
 Some of the men rushed out of the place, but, mounted as Jack was and well 
 started, they had no chance at all on foot of course. An express-train locomo 
 tive could hardly have caught him on such a Bucephalus as he bestrode. 
 
 As he rounded the elbow of the road, under the shoulder of the little hill, were 
 some half dozen riders. 
 
 They would perhaps have offered to stop a man looking so excited as the 
 new-comer, but he, with presence of mind, shouted " Gay row at McNamara's ! 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 39 
 
 Two bored I'm after the doctor !" They hesitated, and he was out of pistol- 
 shot before one of them could reflect, and out of rifle-range before one could 
 speak. 
 
 In the meantime, the occupants of McNamara's drinking establishment had 
 overpowered Mountain Jim, who was instantly taken to San Diego and hanged 
 without any other delay than the time strictly required to make the hangman's 
 noose at the end of a rope. 
 
 A month after these disasters, Joaquin, who had only five companions with 
 him, including the two remaining mistresses of the robbers, undertook a pleas 
 ure excursion into Tuolumne County, his only design being to divert Clarina, 
 who had been by the self-murder of her friend Margarita plunged into profound 
 sadness. 
 
 They journey slowly but pleasantly and, in a couple of weeks, were treading 
 d jwn the tule-rushes along the River Merced. 
 
 There, on the very bank, in the shade of a clump of ancient trees with most 
 luxuriant foliage still, the hanging twigs of the white oaks switching in the 
 wind and the Spanish moss swinging its gray garlands under the knobbed syca 
 mores, the rippling of the stream and the far off grating of a squirrel's teeth 
 against a nut or the tapping of a woodpecker on a nut-pine being the only 
 sound, the party put up their tents, Joaquin having decided to dwell for some 
 time in this peaceful place where nothing seemed likely to intrude to disturb 
 repose. 
 
 But if honest folk are not let travel paths of lilies for long, the way of the 
 transgressor is still harder. This pretty determination was destined to be very 
 speedily and abruptly destroyed. 
 
 On the following morning, the Sonorian band was awakened by Jack of the 
 Three fingers. Four men in rough coats and high boots, miners evidently, were 
 walking along the othe? bank of the stream. 
 
 " Shall we invite 'em over to have a drink, and drown them ]" asked the dis 
 coverer with kindling eyes. 
 
 " Oh, no. If they are not hunting after us, let them pass on." 
 
 While speaking, he peered once more, and more attentively through the slit 
 for loophole which commanded a view of the opposite shore. 
 
 " Ha ! no ! yes, by the saints !" cried he instantly, as a ferocious expression 
 came upon his features. " Come, Jack ! Up, up, Cardoza, Valenzuela ! Turn 
 out ! Follow me " 
 
 Without listening to the entreaties and tears of the women, or explaining, he 
 caught up his revolver and leaped out of the tent, the rest keeping close to his 
 heels. 
 
 The travelers were sauntering along tranquilly, without thinking of the least 
 danger when a four-fold detonation rang out, and three of them fell dying or 
 dead in their steps. 
 
 The last only slightly wounded, turned round to see from whence had come 
 the shots. 
 
 " You d Yankee don't you know me Joaquin !" 
 
 Three times he fired, and gave vent to a yell of delight on beholding the man 
 measure his length beside the other fallen. He was slain outright. 
 
 " Jack," said he pointing across the water, " I do more than give you pei mis 
 sion, I order you to let loose your deviltry. Some of those dogs may live yet 
 they are at your mercilessness." 
 
 At the first words of the chief, Three-fingers had jumped into the Merced, and 
 before the last ones were spoken, he was breasting the current in which he 
 stood up to the neck. In a couple of minutes he had touched bottom again and 
 was soon at his hellish work. 
 
 With joy the infernal cutthroat perceived that two of the prostrate men were 
 not only not mortally wounded by were trying to rise, disabled as they were. 
 
40 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 One fired, with a trailing, broken arm, one shot at Jack, "but the latter un 
 harmed, was instantly trampling on him. 
 
 Nor was the enchained demon satiated until he had literally embowelled one 
 and torn the reeking heart out of the other. 
 
 The second two he kicked into the stream. 
 
 Then, on his return, he entered the canvas of the captain, he wanted to know 
 the motive of the latter of hatred and vengeance. 
 
 " Jack, answered he, " three of those scoundrels were in the number of the 
 murderers of my poor wife Carmela, and who drove me away from the mines. 
 t don't know the fourth from Adam, but he deserved what he got from being in 
 such bad company." 
 
 " He's pot all he wants and won't travel with that crowd again, I reckon,*' 
 said the Mexican, grinning hideously. " I hope, captain, that we come across 
 some more of the fellows who wronged you." 
 
 " If we do meet the villains, your steel shan't rust for want of blood. Bah ! 
 that's over. Let's quit these diggings and camp somewhere else to-night." 
 
 Half an hour afterwards, the whole were galloping Mariposa-wards, near 
 which place, in the rancho of a friend, they took refuge. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 -DROWNS OUT THE ENGLISHMEN. FLORESCo's FIRST. JACK 
 
 NEARLY GIVES AN EYE TO THE BLIND. REPAYS THE TEUTONIC SAMARITAN. 
 
 DURING the month which the gang spent in the neighborhood of Mariposa , 
 the most of them were idle, but two or three went off and performed little 
 strokes of their plundering. 
 
 The insatiable Jack Three-fingers had perpetrated half a dozen robberies ac 
 companied with death-giving in several instances, all alone, when a species of 
 attachment springing up between him and Texas Jack led to both of them un 
 dertaking the game together. 
 
 One morning as they strolled on the lookout along the valley from which ran 
 some feeders of the Merced, they heard -the ringing of picks against stone, the 
 grating of a spade through sand and the scraping of a knife searching for thre ads 
 of the precious metal in the rocks. 
 
 Looking down from the top of the hill whereon the two Jacks were, they 
 could see half a dozen men working for dear life at the damp drained bed of a 
 little rivulet. 
 
 They had put up a dam and caught the head waters, which had formed quite a 
 mass by this time, and, not knowing how soon the overflow would happen, were 
 anything but losing time. 
 
 " Come on down," said Garcia, " they ought to be making money, and we'll 
 mark if they are worth the whole of us making a call on. We dairsent tackle 
 'em alone eh T 
 
 " God, no. By the Lord, if they ain't every one of 'em, some of the crowd 
 who took poor Valenzuela. I know 'em, muddy as they are. Back, back, I had 
 had a narrow enough escape, then, they'll recognize me, I'll warrant." 
 
 "Oh, my eye! rubbish!" growled Jack, falling back under cover neverthe 
 less. 
 
 For the moment the pair looked down, undreamt of, upon the workmen. 
 The latter plied their instruments vigorously, their gasps of breath as they 
 labored unweariedly and the short exclamations of " Good bit, this time, Ned ! 
 Lend a 'and, 'Arry, to turn this stun hover, bless me hif an 'ell of a chunk hai'nt 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 4] 
 
 hunder hit ! Best bit yet, by the bricks of Westminster boys ! 'Eave 'arf 
 yer scoopful hinto my bag, Hackney, that black sand's h'all ' pay,' 'ard h'aa 
 h'it h'is !" 
 
 Every now and then, one or two of them would run up on the bank to the 
 hut, one side of which had had the planks removed to make the " torn" lying 
 like a stranded scow beside it, and deposit there the gatherings. 
 
 Garoia ground his teeth an instant but then smiled. 
 
 " So they are the set who nailed our comrade, eh 1 I wonder how much 
 they've made already no little, I'll bet. Jack, here," and the three-fingered 
 Mexican whispered something to his friend, which made the latter nod approv 
 ingly, smile and lift the cord of his powder-horn over his head. Texas carried 
 a rifle this n.orriing and had a double supply of ammunition. At the same time, 
 the other took off his neck-scarf and folded it up into a kind of bag, into which 
 he tipped a quantity of the gunpowder, thus, forming a rude " carcase," as they 
 call it in military mining. 
 
 " I'll do it," said Garcia, " for it came into my head first. You might have 
 an eye to any who looks up." 
 
 This was the scene. 
 
 A kind of tunnel with the upper half removed, something like two hundred 
 feet long and varying in width from thirty at either end to fifty feet in the 
 width parts. In the centre very nearly, the new drained bed hard clay and 
 gravel covered with rocks and a few stumps of trees inbedded beyond possibili 
 ty of movement, like a groove unevenly broad by some ten to twelve feet and 
 from two yards to three deep. At the upper end of the little ravine, having a 
 fall of twenty feet, the damned up torrent, spread out and leaking gently on 
 the other side to where the two bandits were plotting. This escaped water did 
 not rim into its natural course till having reached almost the other end of the 
 valley, thus, though making the grass and ground wet, not at all interfering 
 with the workmen. 
 
 A little vegetation which had escaped their hands in making the temporary 
 embankment and this line of earth itself prevented the eyes of any of them 
 below from perceiving Three-fingered Jack who, with the " carcass" in one hand 
 crawled over the moist, sticky and yet slippery soil towards the penned-in 
 water's placid but so potent, sheet insensibly enlarging. 
 
 Texas, rifle at the ready, peered through a barrier of cottonwood saplings 
 nearly choked by willows down upon the miners. 
 
 The latter, in thus venturing to interfere with nature, had not done so very 
 an imprudent an act as may appear. They had spent the whole of the pre 
 vious day in fashioning the wall, and had let the night pass in the bed be 
 coming dry, their guard being on the alert to prevent anybody surprising them 
 on seeing their idea and beating them off as might have happened in that lonely 
 place. The breakwater, made for the time being, would have probably lasted 
 all that day, especially with the side-loss relieving its expanding prisoner, and 
 they would make a new one on the morrow, if the " yield" of metal was 
 worth that. 
 
 Texas reflected on all this. 
 
 " Good thing for the John Bulls," said he approvingly, " baby Jack's go 
 ing to put a spoke in your wheel." 
 
 Meanwhile the Mexican had crept boldly out on the mud wall, and the 
 plashing made by a couple of missteps had made Texas shudder, but not 
 the foe look up. They had all their eyes on the ground, prying about for 
 ' indications" of that metal which had lured them from the sea-coast round 
 Torbay, the caves on the Irish Sea, the inland village and the metropolis 
 *f millions. 
 
 As far from him as he could, did Garcia push the cloth bomb in among the 
 
42 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 mass of cut wood, brush, stones and earth. He crept back as far as he could, 
 supported himself on his one hand so as to spring up without delay, held out 
 his other, in which was his revolver and, at the same time that he fired, he 
 jumped up and back, turned in the very air and made a prodigious leap. 
 . At the crack of the firearm, the laborers were not so enwrapped in gold-pick, 
 ing as not to be startled and look up that way. The horror they all felt pre 
 vented a sound issuing from them if they had shouted all together, no matter, 
 for the dull boom would have drowned it as it did all other sounds. The ex 
 plosion, from being so confined above, did not naturally do the damage con 
 cealed in that amount of powder, but was quite as powerful as the author had 
 expected. Not only was the artificial mound split asunder, but the shock acted 
 on the water in some peculiar way or else the edge of the miniature precipice 
 had been perforated by the element for, be the cause what it might, a mass of 
 yellowish granite, split downwards and along into a slice like a curtain of a 
 fortress, bearing a crown of mud and loose rocks on its top, leant over and fell 
 into the bed. 
 
 One of the miners was struck by the fragments and killed. 
 Another was thrown off his legs by the shock. 
 
 The others thought to fly, but already the enraged confined pond was rushing 
 out in a heavy spout straight at them. 
 All this in the smallest space of time. 
 
 The two robbers, Garcia still panting, for to escape from exploding the mam 
 moth cartridge had been a touch and go matter indeed, could only see the foun 
 tain playing its side-long jet forward. 
 
 A stream of mingled water, stones, stumps, dirt, first, all of purer water next. 
 The empty bed was half-filled already with the released prisoner and rushin^ 
 along to the opening of the valley with great speed, leaping all hindrances in 
 preference to circling around them. 
 
 In about ten minutes, the roar died away, the muddy cascade that had formed 
 for a while a murky rainbow, sunk into a paltry stream, pouring quite tranquil 
 ly through the opening began by the powder and enlarged by it. 
 
 No pond above, but an area of ground plastered down by mud, on which 
 floundered a few reptiles. 
 
 " That's done for 'em all, by heavens and their saints !" exclaimed Texas 
 Jack, as he and his colleague stood out on the edge of the chasm to look down. 
 At the same time, Garcia gave him a vigorous pull back. 
 Bang ! went a large pistol in the hands of one of the miners, who had caught 
 hold of some tree's root on the bank and pulled himself out of the danger at the 
 cost of a bucketful or so of spray and of the filling of his boots with water. 
 
 He had remembered the shot that had preceded the louder report and, when 
 on the safe land, had used his eyes more to discover the author of the evil than 
 to look after his no doubt dead comrades. 
 
 Hence, when the bandits above came into view, he had kept close, only hast 
 ing to re-prime the large horse-pistol which he had not lost from his girdle. 
 
 " Hit, Jack ?" queried Garcia, emptying two barrels at the man, whom they 
 missed from the distance. 
 No, Jack. And you T 
 
 " I'm hunk. Of course, I ain't hit if you're not ; he couldn't have had two 
 scattering balls in." 
 
 Meanwhile, the survivor had, after a hesitation as to whether he should try- 
 to enter the hut, turned to the hills and began climbing with all haste. 
 
 On the instant, Garcia was rolling and jumping down the ascent like a big 
 horn and running along the bank of the rivulet to get a good place to leap 
 across. 
 
 Texas Jack took steady aim with his gun, it cracked and spat fire, but ^the 
 man without a stop, continued his way. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 43 
 
 "Missed," yelled Garcia, lifting his revolver. 
 
 Hit !" said Texas. 
 
 Indeed, just as the fugitive's foot was pressed upon a jutting crag, he leaned 
 backwards though his head fell forward on his breast, half turned and, complete 
 ly losing his balance, pitched sideways downwards, shooting along like a limber 
 plank. Garcia had jumped into the water and was at the spot where he fell. 
 
 The wounded man said something indistinctly, and died before the Mexican 
 could pierce him with knife or shoot him. 
 
 "What did he say "?" asked Texas Jack, who had crossed and reached the 
 place as his comrade stripped the corpse of its gold-belt. 
 
 " ' Merry,' or ' Mary,' I don't know," answered the robber, thrusting his three 
 lingers into the divisions of the wash-leather to feel the quality of the dust and 
 grains. " All I do know is that he came down the hill quicker than he went 
 up." 
 
 " It couldn't have been ' merry/ for he was anything but that with my bullet 
 in his backbone," said the Texan. 
 
 " What of it 1 Make haste till we clear out the shanty," and the two ran to 
 the cabin. 
 
 They found themselves foiled. The miners had prudently buried what they 
 had gained in previous " exploiting" beyond their ability to carry on their per 
 sons, and all that was in the hut was the gatherings of the morning, some few 
 pieces of the " cucumber-seed" size being cleaned, but the rest being still in bits 
 of stone and glittering in conglomerates of sand. 
 
 " Curse it I" swore Garcia. " We ought to have known it." 
 
 They took what they could quickly. The Texan proposed following the 
 course of let-loose streamlet to find the bodies swept before its first rush, but 
 the other insisted on a return to the camp. 
 
 "Garcia," said Joaquin at a private conversation with the man, "have you 
 noticed that new hand Floresco T" 
 
 " The milksop, who always speaks against bleeding a sheep after one fleeced 
 it. Yes, captain. Is he a traitor 1 I thought so shall 1 1" and Jack touched 
 his knife meaningly. 
 
 " No, no, there's the making of a dare-devil in him, I fancy, but he must 
 be red-handed. I don't suppose he has ever killed a man yet." 
 
 " Time he began," said Jack, " there's a boy of fourteen in Jackson who 
 killed two men in a street fight last month." 
 
 " As you say. Well, take a stroll. Let Floresco be one of them and make 
 him settle a man." 
 
 " All right. " If he don't down he goes." 
 
 Off went Jack, and by nightfall he and his trio, including the designated 
 youth, were waiting, chewing the ends of their cigarettes impatiently, for 
 passers along the road out of Mariposa. 
 
 It was just the time when a few, and very few wayfarers might be expected. 
 All at once a sound of several horses made their horses prick up their ears, and 
 the masters start up. 
 
 Three horse dealers were returning from the mines, and had allied their forces 
 for security, as each carried the proceeds of sales about them. 
 
 " There you are, Floresco. Go in !" said Jack, giving his charge a push out of 
 the hedge of scrub spruce. 
 
 The young man resolutely planted himself in front of the three riders, dis 
 playing his pistol. 
 
 " Halt ! No passing here till we men of the highway assay your dust." 
 
 There was a moment of surprise and perhaps a little fear in the three. But 
 one of them, the middle horseman, who recovered his coolness more quickly 
 than his fellows, jerked a pistol out of his holster. 
 
 " Dry up, and step aside, or I'll break your head !" said he. 
 
44 Jbaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 At this juncture, a chorus of hoarse voices sang out of the bush : 
 
 " Joaquin is here ! down with your spit-fire, you fools !" 
 
 Out jumped the three bandits. 
 
 " Drop your belts on the ground, or you're dead meat !" roared Garcia in a 
 voice which was not his sweetest. 
 
 They obeyed, except the centre cavalier, who cocked his pistol. 
 
 " Now, Nopal Blossom (Floresco's nickname), lether up !" cried Garcia. 
 " It's you or him !" 
 
 The young man saw the speaker's eyes blazing in the dusk like a firebrand 
 blown upon. He nearly touched the man, and fired. The victim, at the start 
 of his horse, fell back and glided off the croup a dead man. 
 
 His pistol fell to the ground with him, but the cap had dropped off and the 
 hammer struck the nipple without an explosion following. 
 
 " They show fight, eh ?" growled Garcia, " don't leave 'em a color of metal." 
 
 So the three were completely despoiled, and the robbers retired, well pleased 
 at having gained so much coin as they did, and patting Floresco on the shoulder 
 applaudingly all the way of the return. 
 
 For three days the robber of the mutilated hand had been absent from the 
 band, and fear had been excited about him, but no news of accident having 
 arrived to him from justice was to be found in any of the surrounding settle 
 ments. 
 
 When he did show himself after that time, he was dressed in new clothes 
 somewhat too large for him and. had his never very handsome phiz ornament 
 ed, for nothing could make it worse, with a dreadful black blood-blister and 
 bruise beside one of his eyes. 
 
 This was the story which he told. 
 
 He had wandered away from the peopled parts just in mere idleness, and 
 camped in the wilds like the savage he was. 
 
 In the night-time while sleeping with his provision-bag as a pillow, something, 
 a stray coyote in all likelihood, had stolen it without his being aware of his loss. 
 
 Enraged, he had started on the trail the first thing in the morning, when he 
 had found the tatters of the satchel, but everything it had contained, to the very 
 tobacco, eaten or carried off. This had made him give up his stay in the soli 
 tude. Hungry with so much exercise and no breakfast, he had tried to bring 
 down squirrels with pistol-shots, but not one would let him get within range, 
 like the birds. 
 
 In the afternoon he had struck a trail of some animal of the deer kind, and. 
 he had followed it. As the sun went down, he had perceived small foot-prints 
 running among the large hoof-marks and had recognized them to be made by 
 one or two wolves. 
 
 The deer was probably wounded, for its steps were uneven and in many cases 
 \i had tumbled over stones and vines instead of leaping them. 
 
 This gave Jack hope, and he " loped" on as doggedly as the wolves. 
 
 At length the track doubled and turned back on itself, and to the pursuer's 
 surprise, a crash in the bushes to one side attracting him thither, he saw an an- 
 tlered body stagger along blindly. 
 
 He gave it one shot and was taking up the chase when a couple of growls be 
 hind him drew his attention that way. 
 
 A pair of red wolves, tongue out and their paws all bleeding and dusty, had 
 stopped on seeing this human barrier to their love of the chase and evinced their 
 disapproval of his smoking revolver. 
 
 " You little cusses !" said Jack, and he let the nearer one have a couple of 
 shots, which made it roll over and over in the chinkapin bushes with broken leg 
 and perforated head. 
 
 To the man's surprise, the other did not not scuttle off, tail between legs, as 
 he had taken for granted. 
 
0?*, The Marauder oj the Mines. 45 
 
 On the contrary, with a " warr-r-r !" deep down in its slimy throat, it fearless 
 ly flew at the bandit, who actually pushed it from him with his revolver. 
 
 It was up again in a moment and making its fangs meet in the front of his 
 boot-leg began to tug at it, at the same time as giving full play to its no less 
 sharp claws. 
 
 Down went . the man on the sugar-pine leaf carpet and the two growled and 
 fought till Garcia, remembering himself, pushed the barrels of his revolver into 
 the belly of the infuriated animal, and kept pulling the trigger (for he had a 
 new patent self-cocking arm) till the remaining loads were all exhausted in a 
 twinkling. 
 
 He actually had to hammer with the butt on the entangled teeth to get loose. 
 Then he kicked the dead beast over towards its mate which was howling in the 
 bushes, and indulged in a paean which was composed of the choicest curses in 
 the English, Spanish, Indian and mining vocabularies. 
 
 Loading as he went, the Mexican took up the pursuit once more. 
 
 From the extreme wildness of the animal's track, he conjectured that his last 
 shot had seriously injured it. 
 
 After a quarter of an hour's run, turning and twisting, a snorting and bleat- 
 ing of pain in a thicket told him where was the prey. 
 
 He looked through the natural fence of saplings, which had sprung up into 
 place again after being bent down by the brute. 
 
 An elk, larger than he had fancied it when he had seen it in motion, was 
 standing on tremulous legs, its flanks heaving and, at each inflation, fresh blood 
 leaping out of a hole in it's flecked skin. 
 
 \. few twigs dangled on its horns, one of the branches of which had lost its 
 tip. 
 
 The nostrils snuffed the air, but the eyes, though open, told the whole story 
 of the poor beast's blundering pace. 
 
 It was stone blind from some cause or other, perhaps age, for it was now 
 weaker than a long run would have made it. 
 
 While Jack looked, its joints gave way and, first settling down on its haunches 
 the head and breast upheld for a moment as proudly as of old, drooped and, 
 with a choking sob and a roll of the poor sightless orbs, the elk tumbled over 
 on its side. 
 
 A rush of steam from its wide nostrils, and no more sound. 
 
 " Save powder to drop so, you do !" muttered Jack, pushing into the sort of 
 small clearing. 
 
 He returned his revolver to his belt, in exchange for his knife and advanced. 
 
 A slight breathing was yet in the prostrate mass, but the wound had clotted 
 itself up and ceased to flow. 
 
 Jack boldly grasped the upper branch of horns and bent down to draw his 
 blade across the neck which he tightened. 
 
 His relish for leisure butchery was the cause of his mishap. 
 
 As if galvanised, the supposed corpse was only too lively. The hoofs struck 
 out furiously and made the sticks and stones fly. 
 
 The man, clinging to his hold, felt his arm nearly pulled from the socket and 
 himself jerked upward as the elk staggered to its feet. 
 
 Then, Jack saw and felt things as in a dream. His revolver fell out of his 
 belt, his knife left his hand stuck somewhere in the head to which he clung. 
 
 A series of plunges, tossings, kickings and short runs terminating in sudden 
 stops, a sensation of being pushed rapidly through the air and of being driven 
 into a mass of half-yielding thorny twigs. And he was senseless. 
 
 When he came to consciousness, he could not tell how long afterwards, . 
 he was in a small rude cabin, pervaded with a smell of cooking, on a blanket on 
 the earthen floor. Over one of his eyes was a large bandage and on one arm 
 was another. 
 
46 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 " Hullo !" cried he, sitting up and looking around in amazement, what in the 
 name of the devil is this ? ' 
 
 A man entered the hut while he was wondering. An undeniable German 
 and as undeniably a miner, for his dress and the earth upon it showed that. 
 
 " Ah, ha ! you bees came aroundt, hem ?" said he good humoredly. 
 
 " It looks so," answered Jack. 
 
 " It looks so, yah, you spicks truth," said the other laughing, as if there were 
 a joke in the response. 
 
 To the Mexican's questions he replied in broken English that he was a native 
 of Kreuznachtenberg, heaven knowns exactly where, and that he had come out 
 for a fortune not yet found (added he with peasant's prudence) to the land of 
 gold. 
 
 More immediately, he had located himself here all alone, and when out to 
 seek a better place and some eatables in the way of feathered and hairy animals 
 had chanced to strike the elk's trail. 
 
 He had followed it for a time without observing the man's steps and, when 
 he did, had kept on hoping to see a fellow being. 
 
 He had entered the clearing, where he beheld the carcass of the elk, and a 
 supposed dead man rammed into the bushes. He had shouldered the latter and 
 a piece of the other, and that was the whole. He was too good a man to ex 
 patiate on so simple and natural an act as thus relieving his " brother-man," as 
 he called him. 
 
 " You're green," said Jack ; " in these diggings or you'd a sliced the man and 
 marched off with the game." 
 
 The Samaritan did not perceive the necessity of cruelty, and Jack did not try 
 very hard to convince him. 
 
 " You has no tools," remarked the other, " dit you leab your lansmen some 
 where r 
 
 " Me ? Oh, I was prospecting when I cut after that plaguey deer burn 
 him !" responded the Mexican. 
 
 " Burn him !" ejaculated the other. " I forgotted !" and with that he hurried 
 to the cause of the odor that filled the one chamber, a huge joint of the elk 
 being roasted on a flat stone, which formed the hearth. 
 
 Enough that Jack displayed all the winning, ways that he could muster and 
 quite conquered the German, that the latter brought out his small keg of liquor 
 and that the two went to bed blankets, we mean, similarly fuddled. 
 
 The German dreamed, as a result of certain words that the Mexican had 
 dropped, that Jack, his partner, guided him to a spot covered with bushes 
 which had to be raked away with a mammoth deer's horns, when a layer of un- 
 clayed, unalloyed gold blazed in his eyes, that he returned to his birthplace 
 with the long name, a man far more wealthy than the chief syndic, bought the 
 title and estate of the Count-baron of Hochberg-Johaninsheimerweissbieren, 
 married the girl whom he had last seen knitting at her father's cottage-door, 
 and who had pricked him with a needle in the parting salute. ( 
 
 The robber, on the other hand, awoke instead of revelling in visions, as soon 
 as he slept off the liquor's fumes, considered for a moment, rose noiselessly, 
 felt about for the weapons which he had remarked to be placed in a certain 
 shelf, and knifed without a shade of remorse the man who had saved his life. 
 
 This done, still in the dark, he searched the hut, flashed powder to find hiding 
 places, and not poorly paid for his scrutiny, for the industry and steadiness of I 
 the Teuton had reaped its fruit for all of his inexperience. 
 
 Thus laden with the spoils, as guiltily acquired as could be, he came to the 
 camp to be welcomed as the prodigal son would have been greeted by the spend 
 ers of his substance, had he broken his repentance and robbed his father after 
 the feast for his return. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 47 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JACK THIRSTY AGAIN. THE DRUNKEN MINER. DARING OF JOAQUIN. 
 
 THE misdeeds in the neighborhood of Mariposa had so fluttered the people 
 that it was deemed proper to make a shifting of position. The \vhole party 
 erossed the Merced at a good ford and, now striking deep into the wooded land, 
 now climbing highlands, directed their route to meet a trail by which they could 
 reach the forks of the Tuohume River, that district where the best and finest 
 gold is obtained throughout the Queen of the Pacific's realm. 
 
 Thereupon, as soon as the stream had been passed with the horses, they went 
 on swiftly until near Shaw's Flats. 
 
 On all sides rang out a medley of picks, spades, toms, cradles and all the 
 instruments and mechanical assistants that could be brought into use to the 
 miner. 
 
 Numbers of Chinese in that quarter, which has been named since " Chinese 
 Camp" for pre-eminence as the Celestial's resort, had pitched their tents on 
 neighboring points, and, working in company, were assiduously working and 
 " clearing' up" profitably the refuse of the claims abandoned by others from a 
 " pile" having been made out of it or from disgust at the scanty returns. 
 
 The whole scene, animated by the spirit of Labor, glowed with peace, pros- * 
 perity and contentment. 
 
 Joaquin and his followers 'did not try to avoid general observation. 
 
 The state of the country favored him as much as the English and French and 
 German robbers were shielded by the usages of their own times. It was too 
 common a custom for wagoners, horse-dealers, drovers, hunters and travelers of 
 every description, to camp for days and sometimes during whole weeks, on 
 the edge of a water-course, or under the shade of some Big Tree in a lonely 
 valley. 
 
 And besides, there was n.o uneasiness to be excited by the band being well 
 equipped and armed ; the habit widely spread in Californian society of never 
 going even to see your next door neighbor without a " toothpick or a (lead) 
 pea-blower," permitted Captain Joaquin and his cutthroats to flash out their 
 steel in perfect security until they should willingly or perforce reveal their true 
 character. 
 
 The commander of this illustrious collection of desperadoes possessing sums 
 more than sufficient for temporary requirements, decided to make some 
 weeks' stay around the Flat. 
 
 His chief intention was, while resting and living in an agreeable style, to 
 spend several hundred dollars in circulations in the gambling houses, the saloonS 
 and the fandangoes of the vicinity. 
 
 Chance served him wonderfully: he found some miners, who having raised 
 the quantity of wind (otherwise, dust) which answered their expectations and 
 being on the point of going home (great word ! in those days, of Californian 
 (y)ore) were quite willing to dispose of the little cabin which they called their 
 house, along with all the household utensils with which it was not badly sup 
 plied. 
 
 Situated on a site not very tempting, which the association of diggers had 
 " coyoted" into and worked over and over again until the last precious particle 
 had been removed, the hut was doubly valuable to the new tenants from its 
 being in among the gold-seekers and yet not of them, for there they were not 
 likely to be sought for. 
 
 Every evening, the robber leader, accompanied by Cardoza and two girls, 
 would saunter through the growing village for amusement. 
 
48 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 The headquarters, during this time, was entrusted to Valenzuela and Garcia, 
 a formal order enjoining the latter to remain peaceable and, under no pretext 
 whatever, to compromise by theft or murder, the asylum of the whole band. 
 
 For the first time in his life, the butcher bandit seemed to have lost his hank 
 ering for human blood, and, during a period of three weeks, remained near the 
 common resort sharing his time between cards and liquor. In the end, never 
 theless, his nature retook the upperhand. 
 
 One evening, while Valenzuela was at Sonora along with Joaquin and the 
 others, the wretch whetted his steel and set out in search of a victim. 
 
 The Chinese, squatting before their tents, were busy in examining the pro 
 ceeds of the day's work, sorting and chatting over the " flour" " grain" and 
 " shot" gold, and raising a chorus of thanksgiving to Joss no doubt whenever a 
 five-dollar piece, (common to American miners but extraordinary to them) was 
 displayed. 
 
 Jack's eyes caught fire with a savage lustre resembling that of a hunter sight 
 ing favorite game. But, as the Americans had tents not very distant, all around 
 the abodes of the sons of the Sun and brothers of the Moon, the bandit, who 
 only had the wish to cut off two or three heads and not to get into a fight with 
 a cord in perspective, continued to walk on in the direction of Sonora with the 
 hope of coming up not only to a better place but a more advantageous chance. 
 
 On the way, at different times, he encountered parties of miners and raw 
 hands, but as they were armed to the teeth, he let them alone in their bristling 
 array ; once in a while a stray Celestial was encountered, but as they were 
 always hanging near to the large parties, he had to overcome his eagerness to 
 spring upon the man and keep his weapons under his blanket* 
 
 At the place where the Sonora Road forks and makes an elbow, too, he turned 
 towards Columbia and, when he was only a short distance from that town, sat 
 himself down by the wayside to tranquilly enjoy the flavor of a cigarette. 
 
 It was a fine evening, the sky sparkling splendidly. 
 
 Jack, before going any farther, resolved to take a little rest and smoke on 
 till two or three in the morning. Then, he thought, on retracing his steps to 
 his chief's cabin, he might, without too much danger, walk in among the 
 Imperial subjects, probably stupefied with opium, and slash half a dozen to 
 death as easily as kiss your hand. 
 
 While he was foretasting the pleasure he promised himself in such cold 
 blooded slaughter, he was interrupted in his reflections by a noise of footsteps, 
 intermingled with the sound of a voice man's it is hardly necessary to add, for 
 a " live woman at the diggings" was a Barnum's feat in the times we write 
 truthfully of endeavoring to sing fragments of melodies derived rather from 
 the operas of Rice, Christy, Buckley aud S. C. Foster than from those of Eu 
 ropean celebrities. 
 
 By listening to the laughable medley which the vocalist produced, it could be 
 guessed instantly that he w r as like a ship rounding the Horn, half seas over. 
 
 Multiplying by the forces concentrated in rifle-whiskey the original powers 
 of the lungs, the stranger, after having manfully " engaged" Zip Coon the 
 Ancient, and Jim Crow, ran on, without a bar or rest, into Possum up a Gum- 
 Tree, Hoop Jamborine and Coal Black Rose. He began next to whistle a 
 combination of Yankee Doodle and Ould Lang Syne ; but, not finding his exo 
 cution of this satisfactory to his Meyerbeerian taste, threw his whole powers 
 into a mingling of songs, yells, and shrill cat-calls. 
 
 This new sort of harmony may thus be hinted to the reader (the delicate 
 shades are left to the fancy) : 
 
 " Oh, ok ! Susannah ! don't you cry for me, 
 I'm gwine (hie !) to Call (hie) forny with 
 
 " hooray ! hooraw for hooroo ! hip f ki yi-i i ! (Apache charging-cry !) I don't 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines 49 
 
 care a cuss for nothin'. Wagh a wagh a a (Comanche) th' hundred-an'-one- 
 dol'r nug (hie !) nugget (Slow scalp-dance chant) hay, yay ! Hullo, old boy," 
 added he, trying to pull up short in front of the smoker. 
 
 " Go on, go on," said the Mexican, not minding him ; " you're drunk ajj over 
 like the ' paint' on Poor Man's Creek gold." 
 
 "Who in h are " began the man fiercely, but his ferocity vanishing, he 
 smiled, then scowled, then remembered the only words he had caught of tho 
 speech and, hurt at the implied contempt, went on : " Look here, you don't 
 know me come an' take a nip. I've made a steep lot on the bed-rock I foun' 
 the hundred an' one nugget in the Dead Man's Canon pocket I did, I'll bet 
 yer ! it's in the papers Come an' take a drink or fight's the word I can lick 
 any man any smoker any two smoke I tell you what, you're mean as earth 
 that ain't pay-durt ! You won't ? you're a go to the devil, then !" 
 
 And, having found that he must either move or fall, he without waiting 
 
 to follow Crockett's to " be sure you're right," " went ahead" by zig-zags, 
 uttering a preliminary shout audible for a mile around, to clear his throat and 
 resumed his interesting lay. 
 
 He had not gone far from Jack, tacking, backing, and filling, as he did, than 
 the latter, falling upon him unexpectedly, before he had time to change his joy 
 ous ballad into a cry of pain, struck him to the earth with a half dozen dagger- 
 blows between the shoulders. 
 
 In all haste the murderer rummaged the pockets of the corpse. 
 
 After having detached a heavy waist-belt, which contained in coin, dust and 
 some fine halt-inch " moccasin" pieces upwards of three thousand dollars, Three- 
 fingers retreated at a run to the cabin, where he flung himself on the bed for 
 repose. 
 
 Four or five hours afterwards, in dashed Joaquin and Valenzuela. 
 
 The first ran straight up to Jack and, with a violent shake, tore him out of 
 his slumber. 
 
 " What's up now ?" demanded the latter, at the point of using his weapons. 
 
 " A man's body has been found on the highway," was the answer, " ^nd from 
 the number of useless wounds, I believe that he can only have been laid out by 
 you," 
 
 " Are you quite sure of it ?" 
 
 "Yes.! so sure that I want no denial of it. .But do you know who it is you 
 killed?" 
 
 " No. I ain't sure I did kill. He has probably eaten some poison oak 
 leaves for tobacco." 
 
 " No nonsense." 
 
 " No, in truth," made answer Garcia, assuming an air of mock humility," and 
 I must say an idea that you might have need of a little funds, and I made that 
 game come down with the dust. I have the honor," concluded he with Mexican 
 gracefulness and politeness, brute as he was, " to present to you the result of 
 my hunt, and a very pleasant heft it has !" 
 
 " Very well, Jack," said the chief as he weighed in his hand the money-belt 
 held out to him, " certainly it's a nice round sum, and comes in very handy, fbr 
 the water was going down on the bar. The trouble of the thing is that, as I 
 have reason to believe, the man who ran against your knife is one of the two 
 miners of whom we bought this shanty. They could not resist having a fare- 
 Iwell bender, and they have been spending money furiously all around. The 
 'mate of this one, I hear, is at Sonora and ten to one, he will tell about the! sale 
 and bring suspicion on us." 
 
 " What do you think of doing in that case ?" inquired Jack. 
 1 " Stay myself here for a day or so, while you and Valenzuela put off hot foot 
 for Stockton. Clarina and Marquita are already en the way with Cardoza, and 
 you will probaby catch up to them before they get to the town." 
 4 
 
50 Jvaguin, (the Clai.de Duval of California); 
 
 " And he had best start at once, both of us as you say," said Valenzuela " To 
 horse !" 
 
 In a few minutes, the steeds were saddled and bitted. 
 
 Jack^nd the last speaker galloped off at the designated direction, and their 
 leader rode away slowly towards Sonora. 
 
 The dawn was breaking, and the gain ing-hells were being choked up already 
 with blacklegs and outsiders, all conversing animatedly about the Last Horrid 
 Murder, and expressing great unanimity on only wishing they had the assassin 
 in their power to lynch him. 
 
 Joaquin dismounted and tranquilly strode into a saloon for play, his cloak 
 arranged in the Mexican style. 
 
 He gave a nod 10 those of his countrymen whom he knew, took a stool and 
 seated himself in a corner of the place not far from the door. 
 
 There was a deal of stress laid on the brutality of the murderer, who seemed 
 to have found devilish delight in inflicting gash upon gash on the victim, although 
 any one of them almost would have been mortal. 
 
 This remark set everybody to swearing most energetically that they would 
 tarn every stone to get hold of the guilty. 
 
 " Blast me, with poor powder too," said one in the principal crowd, as he 
 banged the counter with a not delicate fist, " if I'd be one bit astonished if 
 them greasers had a hand in our friend's going under." 
 " What greasers f asked some one. 
 
 " Why, them bloody Mexicans, of course, who bought out the river claim. 
 Why did they buy it "? I don't know and don't want to guess. But there's 
 one d sure thing, that they haven't done one hour's streak of work. Riding 
 around like circus-men in the States, playing monte all day long like reg'lar 
 professionals, singing, laughing, chinking full and heaping over that's their 
 style of living since they have kept house in this location." 
 
 " That's so, if it ain't may I never lift pick agin' or see t'other side the Is'mus!" 
 said a third, as tall and slender as the first was stumpy and thickset. "By 
 George, it's the truth ! no one can say where them Mexicans of the deuce rake 
 ki the dough. Their pockets don't dry up, anyhow !" 
 
 " Swallow me up in a sand-storm !" thundered the first who had spoken ; 
 * just give a squint over yonder, Johnny ! May I never cross the plains agin, 
 if there ain't one of that Satan' own crowd squatting before us as cool as a 
 eowcumber in a jar of vinegar !" 
 He levelled his finger at Joaquin. 
 
 " It is one of 'em, as true as you live ! If he understood English, he'd be 
 shivering in his yellow skin by all the blue blazers, I'll go take his hide 
 see!" 
 
 Joaquin had not lost one word of the above elegant conversation. Yet he 
 had dwelt unaffected until the end, and all he did was smile and rise with the 
 utmost willingness when the man strode over to him and laid his heavy hand 
 upon his shoulder, saying : 
 
 " I'm a-thinking you're caught at last, my old boy." 
 
 The captive, before the smile had quitted his lips, had drawn his revolver, 
 reversed it and dealt his captor a most vigorous and swinging blow, at which, 
 with dented temple, the American fell his whole length on the " puncheon" 
 floor. 
 
 With a wild cat's leap, the chief of the bandits was out of the saloon, and in 
 a second more the clatter of horse's hoofs resounded without on the way tc 
 Stockton. 
 
 The Californian Claude Duval was once more free. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 51 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 GLITTERING BAIT. AMBUSH AT SAN ANDREAS. CARDOZA IS QUITS WITH MAR- 
 
 QUITA. " DOCTOR" JACK AND THE SICK MAN. HOW TWO OF 
 THE GALLOWS-BIRDS WENT TO ROOST. 
 
 ONE day was all that was required by the escaped highwayman to overtake 
 his comrades, whom he found at table in a Chicago frame house called a tavern, 
 half a dozen miles out of the town named after the Commodore of so much ser 
 vice to the state and the Union. He acquainted them in a few words what he 
 had been doing, and, on that, all jumped into saddle again. Another hour 
 sufficed to bring them to the end of their journey. * 
 
 On the following day, just after sundown, Joaquin, Valenzuela and the three- 
 fingered miscreant, as they strolled along the levee, suddenly had their gaze 
 attracted by three American miners who were making that immense display 
 which has vulgarly received the title of " splurge." 
 
 They were dressed in new suits of dark green, of which they had replaced the 
 buttons by good sized pepites or pieces of scale-gold. 
 
 One wore on his breast, like a European order, a prong of a sluice-fork, the 
 whole tine of which was heavily gilt ; another was similarly decorated with a 
 cradle-spoon, covered as well with the precious ore. 
 
 The third, except his glazed cap had a nice little lump of some fifty or sixty 
 dollars worth of metal over its peak,was unlike the others as to carrying trophies 
 of the trade. 
 
 They strutted with an air which proved that they were out merely to exhibit 
 themselves. 
 
 " A pretty set," remarked the chief, " they seem to be a least bit vain." 
 
 " I should say so," said Valenzuela, " and if it is founded on a solid base 
 they ought to be owners of a little of the ore." 
 
 " I was just thinking the same," chimed in Garcia, instinctively feeling for hi* 
 knife ; " they'll have to have a six-inch steel shaft sunk into 'em." 
 
 As he concluded his threat, the three cynosures stalked into an eating-house. 
 Joaquin, ordering his followers to await his*return, no sooner saw them dis 
 appear, then he darted after them. 
 
 He entered the saloon and sat down at a table not far from the Americans'. 
 
 In less than ten minutes, while trifling with a cup of a queer decoction digrii 
 fied by the name of coffee and charged just as much for, he gathered all the in 
 formation of which he stood in need. 
 
 Rejoining his satellites, he turned back with them on the way to the house iii 
 which they had temporarily installed themselves in the Mexican quarter of ttio 
 town, and, as soon as the horses were baited, off to San Andreas. 
 
 When four miles from Stockton, they pulled up, hid the' horses in the chap- 
 paral, and themselves in the brush near the roadside. 
 
 " Our men will be here very soon," remarked the captain. " On the eve of 
 taking the back trail to their native land with the fortune which they boast of 
 having amassed here, they talk of starting for San Francisco to-morrow. An 
 other ought to have joined them at Stockton at three o'clock to-day, but, as he 
 hadn't turned up, they are returning to San Andreas to find him." 
 
 "A regular windfall for us," said Valenzuela, "it oils the wheel for on* 
 idea." 
 
 " Hark ! I think I hear them," growled Three-fingered Jack, as he thrust his 
 head through the bushes. 
 
 " Indeed, here they come," agreed Joaquin. " Wait till they're fairly abreast 
 of us and then, boys, upset the cabaleros." 
 
52 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 The three miners, at a gentle gallop, were approaching. 
 
 They could be heard dilating openly on the prospect of the old scenes again 
 and their " sure thing" on marriages, and so forth. 
 
 How they were going to make the money fly, how they would stand treat for 
 years at Eastern village-taverns, how they would buy a house for this friend 
 of theirs, how they'd half-kill some enemy and buy off justice. They chatted 
 of their luck at the placers, and laughed to think of the envy felt by their fellow- 
 workmen at their sudden departure. 
 
 And they so sang, so laughed, and told such joyous stories that it proved 
 that no foreboding was putting them on the alert against the ambuscade of evil. 
 Hardly had they come up to the place where lay the banditti in wait than the 
 latter, springing up from the concealment like partridges on a " rise" from the 
 tall grass, grasped the reins of the horses, and, before the unfortunate miners 
 had time to overcome the surprise, a volley at point-blank blew out their brains 
 and emptied their saddles.. 
 
 The corpses were carefully stripped and dragged off into a thicket. 
 
 Altogether, the three yielded nearly eight thousand dollars in gold, dust and 
 grain. 
 
 This profitable waylaying over, the chief and Jack Three fingers started off 
 in search of a new refuge, while Valenzuela returned towards Stockton to escort 
 the two women and Cardoza. 
 
 That same evening, the whole party came together once more, on the way into 
 El Dorado County. They crossed part of Sacramento County and encamped 
 on the south fork of American River. 
 
 In a few days, they were joined by Hernando Fontes and his cluster of 
 rogue-grapes, one of the number of which, while scouting among the fringe of 
 tules, had espied the leader and his followers and hastened to inform his supe 
 rior. 
 
 Fontes had been charged with collecting all the horses he could run off and, 
 from different districts, he had already driven close upon four hundred to the 
 main rendezvous. 
 
 He told Joaquin, that Antonio and Guerra had returned from Sonora to the 
 Arroyo, each bringing a new mistress. 
 
 The captain was well satisfied with the intelligence. 
 
 For an instant, he was on the point of departing with all his gang to the 
 headquarters, so impatient was he to learn the details of his lieutenant's enter 
 prises and to see the new senoritas, but private affairs of much higher impor 
 tance decided him to defer for sometime the pleasure he proposed to himself. 
 Profiting, however, by the occasion presenting itself, he made Clarina and Mari- 
 quita go to the Arroyo, entrusting them to the guard of Cardoza, Fernando and 
 of a couple of other Mexicans. 
 
 In this way, he gave them rest from their fatigues, at the same time that he 
 shielded them from the perils to which he and his might yet be exposed before 
 they, too, could reach the asylum. 
 
 The two young women had hardly left the camp with their guard, than a 
 dispute arose between Mariquita and her lover. 
 
 The former asserted very plainly that the latter was not to be compared to 
 her preceeding flame Gonzalez as regarded affection for her, and declared that 
 she would not have anything to do with him thereafter. 
 
 Cardoza, finding that he suffered shameful defeat in a war of words with her, 
 cut a dainty little switch from the hedge and used it up, bark, inner peel, wood 
 and pith, to a few inches upon the rebel's shoulders. 
 
 The latter submitted to all appearance, with resignation most full and hum 
 ble ; but she was really revolving plans of revenge. 
 
 On the following day, as they both were ascending slowly a pathway which 
 wound among the peaks and crags of a very steep sierra, the vindictive Mari- 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 53 
 
 quita seized the opportunity when they were on the brink of a precipice more 
 than a hundred and twenty-five feet deep and, plucking her tiny but sharp dag 
 ger from her bosom, buried its needle-like blade over her lover's shoulder in 
 his heart. 
 
 Cardoza uttered a low moan, and tried to turn around, but, as he attempted 
 this, his horse reared, slipped and toppled over. 
 
 Down they went, rider and steed, to the bottom. Mariquita had so dextrousl v 
 and quickly executed her project that nobody at all had been witness of it. 
 By the time the rest came up, she had restored the weapon to its place. 
 She went so far even as to pour out a profusion of tears, very bitter, seem 
 ingly, over the loss. 
 
 It may be that they were the work of remorse. 
 
 But in any event, her grief was not of long duration. The try sting-place had 
 been no sooner attained, than, her gaiety returning, the merry murderess had 
 accepted as third gallant a young fellow named Manuel Sevalio. 
 
 Two days afterwards, Joaquin heard of the accident that was said to have be 
 fallen one of his command. Fernando having despatched one of his men to 
 carry the tidings, and thought it strange that so good a cavalier had had. this 
 happen to him. 
 
 It seemed impossible that any failure on his part had led to the catastrophe. 
 With a dozen of his bandits, he went with them to the place to ferret out the 
 facts and to bury the victim. 
 
 They used a different road to that taken by the former party and descended 
 to where lay the cavalier and his horse. 
 
 The corpse was closely examined, but it had been so cut by the points of 
 rocks below that the puncture of the poignard was perfectly past perception. 
 After having carefully removed all the arms and valuables upon the body, the 
 robbers tumbled it into a hole in the sand and left him alone in his homicidal 
 and felonious glory. 
 
 At the end of another week, Joaquin, accompanied by Three-fingered Jack, 
 Valenzuela and Fernando's troop, in all six-and-twenty proved rascals, took to 
 the road to recommence depredations in El Dorado County, as well as in the 
 neighboring one of Calaveras. 
 
 On coming near Mud springs, an isolated hut on the hillside drew their gaze 
 to it. 
 
 Believing it to be unoccupied and seeing at first glance that it was an excel 
 lent place in which to spend the night, Jack clapped spurs to his horse, rushed 
 up the plane, jumped off in front of the hut and, throwing open the door, walked 
 in unceremoniously. 
 
 Contrary to the idea that had sprung up, the dwelling was occupied. 
 The tenant was a foreigner who was kept to his bed by some serious ailment, 
 and thus gave to the surroundings all that appearance of abandonment and 
 loneliness which had deceived the gentlemen of the highway. 
 
 " Hullo ! sick man !" exclaimed Jack, seeing the couched person move. 
 
 " Pour 1'amour de love of God, a doct " murmured the low, weak voice 
 
 most supplicatingly. 
 
 " I'm a doctor," replied Jack, disengaging his knife. " Kill or cure is my 
 motto !" 
 
 And he drew his steel across the sick man's wasted, yellow throat. 
 Two or three of his comrades lent a hand and they carried the body outside 
 and tossed it into a near-at-hand ravine. 
 
 Thereupon the gang took possession of the hovel, which they found to be not 
 poorly supplied with all kinds of provisions, blankets, mining implements, 
 pipes and, of course, a fair stock of the Virginian weed. 
 
 Operations were commenced on the latter by making up a lot of it into 
 cigarettes which kept them smoking for a couple of hours ; then they spread out 
 
54 Joaquiiij (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 their blankets,wrapped themselves up and dropped off qu etly into slumber. 
 
 As the Aurora, with her sunny pencil, began laying the colors on the early 
 sky, the commanding bandit sent off three men to the Mud Springs Camp to 
 procure coffee and butter and whatever else was required by the dainty appetites 
 of his freebooters. 
 
 In about two hours, one of them came back, not only alone but empty-hand 
 ed. 
 
 '" Where, are the rest of you T' inquired the chief. 
 
 " Dead !" answered the man. 
 
 Dead how ?" 
 
 The returned one drew his finger around his neck and then lifted himself by 
 the ear. 
 
 " Hanged ?" asked all. 
 
 " Hung like beef. Yes, captain and comrades mine. Hardly had we set 
 foot in the cursed settlement, and had they two went into a grocery to buy, 
 while I stopped at a bar for my eye-opener, talking to the owner of the posade 
 who was a Mexican, than I heard a h of a row outside. I looked. Four or 
 five Yankees had hold of my mates, covering them with bowies and six-shooters. 
 One, with dreadful loud lungs, was shouting that he recognized Sebastiano 
 el Carpintero for a horse-thief, who had even run off not a few head from his 
 own raache in Sacramento Valley, in eighteen-fifty, and, after being trapped had 
 broken prison. 
 
 And he went on to cry in that same loud voice, that his partner must be one 
 of the same tribe or else he wouldn't be along with him. Just as if that proved 
 anything," remarked the bandit ; " why, I've been with honest men often and 
 I" 
 
 " Never was mistaken for one," said Garcia. 
 
 " Jes' so. However, there was no getting the best of the crowd that that 
 noisy brute scared up. While they hauled up my mates to an ugly tree, I 
 slipped through the back window of the bar and quit." 
 
 " A confoundedly provoking story," said Joaquin. " We must leave this 
 forthwith. If it weren't for the fact that I want to do something more import 
 ant, with my men, we would go down into the Springs and lay waste the whole 
 paltry camp. But the Yankees may hold their horses, they shan't lose any 
 thing by not getting their dose right away. To horse, boys, and away." 
 
 In a trice, the pirates of the placers were mounted and pushing their horses 
 on at such a pace as the pony-express man may take when the redskins are 
 after the mail. At first, good care w r as taken not to describe a straight line ; 
 by zigzags and detours they moved, and after making many stoppages at various 
 places, sometimes to despoil a traveler and at others to bait the steeds, the band 
 drew rein on an eminence of sad and gloomy aspect about a mile from Salmon 
 Falls. 
 
 There they passed the night. 
 
 The spot seemed to have been formed expressly by nature for the use to 
 which they put it. 
 
 Almost entirely concealed by the rocks all around, the wall having its gaps 
 and chinks filled up thickly with inextricably woven briars, there was a central 
 clearing of twenty feet or so in diameter, which was the most comfortable and 
 safe of all robbers' retreats. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 55 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE DESPERADO CHIEF. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. THE MAW 
 
 HUNTERS COME TO GRIEF. THE GERMANS TRICKED. 
 
 i 
 
 AFTER the necessary care had been taken of the horses, native-bred ones that 
 can beat any in the world for a long journey at full speed, the party proceeded 
 to attend to the comestibles which had been obtained during the day, after 
 which meal, the cigars had their turn. 
 
 " My lads," said Valenzuela, " a fellow hears nothing but hangings now-a- 
 days. It is fatiguing, muchacos. The Yankees are a mean-spirited set to never 
 let a man die unless in the air. We Mexicans at least half the time prefer to 
 give less elevated deaths." 
 
 " Your'e right there," said Carillo ; " hanging is a poor idea.- But the Ameri 
 cans will believe in it ; they're brought up to it from their birth. Listen t 
 them and you'll hear them swear ' hang it !' they ' hang out ' instead of live ; 
 ' hang' round bars instead of ' bumming ' ; have pistols that don't ' hang ' fire 
 as often as I wish, and so they go on. They must either hang or be hanged that's 
 a fact. But, look here, seeing we may not be able to keep them from stringing 
 our friends up, what prevents us swinging in the breeze every one of them we 
 catch r 
 
 " Bah !" growled three-fingered Jack, " it's a poor system ! When I kill any 
 one, I want to see the ' color' of his blood. Carajo, dry up with your execu 
 tioner's talk. Let them rope as they please I stick to steel and lead !" 
 
 " Comrades," said Joaquin, " more than any one amongst you have I suffered 
 by the passion of the Yankees for hanging people, for I saw my own brother 
 strangled. He never had done any harm. It was at a time when I could 
 neither save him or punish the wrong-doers ; but since I have taken my re 
 venge and I continue to seek it. But a truce to such sad topics. Let me re 
 late to you an adventure that happened to me not long ago in Tuolumne 
 County." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! hooray for the captain's story !" exclaimed all voices. " Silence !" 
 
 " I was entering upon the pursuit we gentlemen of the highway have the 
 honor to carry on at the present speaking," began the bandit leader. " I went 
 into Tuolumne County with my followers, amounting to the not very powerful 
 array of seven all told, to the little camp of San Diego, half a mile about from 
 Columbia, you know, which I found to be a place suiting us for many reasons. 
 During daylight, we kept busy at work killing and plundering the diggers, 
 whether we met them in small sets roaming about for placers, or mining in 
 solitary spots after a good result to their prospecting. When the sun went 
 down, we would go and leave in the hells of the town part or all of the money 
 thus made by marauding. 
 
 " As a matter of course, in paying these visits to the monte's quicksands that 
 swallow up one's funds so fast, I had to change dresses every time almost so as 
 not to be known but to be thought in every new saloon a stranger. Among 
 those who had seen enough of me in other days to have recognised me was one 
 constable of the name of Leary, whom I especially took heed to steer clear from 
 for fear that he would dive under my disguise and force me to stand on the 
 defensive. Besides, he was about the only man in the whole once blessed State 
 at whom I hated to level my revolver, for he had never treated me otherwise 
 than with the utmost courtesy and friendship. As I knew that he was fully 
 posted on my goings-on and as I thought that being a sworn officer and a man 
 of honor as well he would employ all his skill, courage and energy to make 
 sure of my arrest and punishment, I was determined, as I say, to never cross 
 his path. 
 
 " Now, one evening, it came to pass that I neglected a part of my disguise 
 
56 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 which I was in the habit of wearing : my false beard was bothersome, and I 
 believed that I could manage well enough to hide my face in my cloak. On 
 coming out of a certain gambling-house at midnight, I took great pains, indeed, 
 to muffle up my head in the folds. As ill luck would have it, just as I stood 
 on the threshold, Leary came along and went in, giving me a very sharp look 
 as he jostled me. I pretended to notice him in no way ; but, the moment I 
 touched the street, I set off at a run through the dark and reached our rallying 
 place. 
 
 " Day had not dawned that morning, before I being on the lookout, for I 
 always look to my companions' safety before my own dcn't I, boys !" 
 
 '* Yes, yes ! jou're a glorious captain," cried all. 
 
 Joaquin bou ed thanks. 
 
 " Just at da} break then, I saw suddenly shoot up into sight a number of men 
 coming on quickly towards our tent, led by Leary. You may bet that I had 
 no trouble to guess what they were after. I woke up my slumbering men and 
 all of us, understanding that to fly was the only course, slipped out and dashed 
 down the road with all the speed we had. A volley whistled by us, but did no 
 harm. They followed and cut off three of us, but they gallant fellows ! 
 though I feared that they were never to cry ' Stand' again fought as fiercely 
 as a cub-robbed grizzly, and regained their freedom, not the least hurt. I alone 
 was wounded, Leary shot me in the shoulder at the last fire, as they gave up the 
 chase. 
 
 " We were both on foot, you must know, which was what helped our flight, 
 so greatly, for we were lighter men than the big-boned six-foot Americans, and 
 travelled the narrow pathways in the grey light far swifter than they. So we 
 threw Mr. Leary off our trail, and found a new retreat which defied discovery. 
 That was the first time that I was pursued, hunted by the enemy ; but, if I had 
 had the good luck to have counted several more helping hands, I vow to you 
 that I would not have yielded an inch." 
 
 " Bravo !" cried the auditors, whose voices united to propose a toast to their 
 leader's health. 
 
 On the following day, the bandits encountered one of their countrymen who 
 was driving between forty and fifty mules, all laden with bales of provisions. 
 They purchased of him a large quantity of flour, coffee, sugar, frijoles and other 
 articles, and continued their march until they had gained the end of a lonely 
 prairie, well covered with trees, under one of which they camped. 
 
 The understanding was that they would remain there a week or ten days to 
 give the animals time to recover strength and the men freedom to rest and 
 amuse themselves. 
 
 At the place where begins the south branch of the Mokelumne River, in a 
 deserted tract, not far from the boundary line of the Counties of Calaveras and 
 El Dorado, was established a mining company composed of five-and-twenty. 
 
 Being out prospecting one day, well armed of course, they had chanced upon 
 this site, and, discovering indications of rich deposits, they had hastened to 
 pitch their canvas house there, well satisfied with a spot which had merely the 
 one disadvantage of being far away from dwellings. 
 
 One morning, as they were finishing the hearty breakfast of smoked beef, salt 
 pork and ship's bread, a young man on horseback came along, stopped and ad 
 dressed them. 
 
 He was chiefly remarkable for very fine black hair and eyes. 
 
 He spoke English so perfectly that, though he looked like a Mexican or a 
 native Californian, he might have been a man of the States under Mason and 
 Dixon's line. 
 
 They heartily pressed him to dismount and take a bite, or a pull at a brandy 
 bottle, but he politely refused. 
 
GA, The Marauder c/ the Mines. 57 
 
 He throw one leg ovei his horse's neck, however, and sat something like a 
 (ady on a side-saddle, and, finding himself at his ease by that means, he chat- 
 e,d freely on different matters more or less relative to the one topic of the 
 day, gold, until he saw one of the miners, who had gone to a spring to get 
 rfoine unmuddied drinking water, return. 
 
 "Jim Boyce, " muttered he on his first glance. 
 
 He threw his leg into place again, shook himself into the saddle and gave 
 ^s horse both spurs. 
 
 tf oyce had already shouted : 
 
 " That's Joaquin the robber, boys ! Quick, quick, fire !" 
 
 While he cried, he shot with his own revolver at the discovered chief. But 
 iselessiy. 
 
 The factor had directed his horse at hazard straight up on the bit of level land 
 thinking to nde &long it and off down the end. 
 
 But passage that way he found abruptly cut off by the perpendicular descent 
 of the rocks. 
 
 The only route left, a scarcely practicable one, was a narrow path which ran 
 along the face of a ui^h hill for fully a hundred yards. 
 
 The rocks over which IL \\ ent, overhanging the stream on the other side, were 
 in the same line as tne h*21 oii which the miners had encamped and not thirty 
 yards off*. 
 
 To venture upon sucn mi apology for a riding path was a rough act for any 
 man, even a Gaucho of the I'arrx^as, a hunter of the prairies, an English rough- 
 rider or a " Kit Carson '' to (tttempc. 
 
 Not only was there the danger ot having a fall from the top of the rocks 
 one hundred feet, but it was a line of ao le^s than a hundred or a hundred and 
 fifty yards on which he had to move within range of the large-sized revolvers 
 which the miners carried, no toy pop-guns, mind you, but ones which " hit to 
 kill." 
 
 Under the very eyes of Joaquin, as, after wheeling, he had to retrace his 
 steps, stood the whole company. As if he were a spboti.il rider on a phantom 
 steed, however, he flew along the perilous patn, cabling ihese words at the 
 marksmen as he passed : 
 
 " I am Joaquin ! Kill, if you can !" 
 
 At the same moment, as a platoon responds to the officer 'A \rovds, the five- 
 and-twenty pieces cracked in a dropping fire, but most of tne bullets, with that 
 fault which generally spares a man, went too hi^n and flattened on the stone 
 beside him, and now behind him. 
 
 His sombrero, nevertheless, struck in crown and bri?n by three buiietb aiid a 
 fourth composed of two that had " wedded " themselves in the flight, strange as 
 that may seem, flew off, flapping its torn pieces like a wounded bird, and sailed 
 downwards after a circling sweep. 
 
 His long black hair floated in the breeze his swift rush cauaed, like a contin 
 uation of the horse's mane. 
 
 Time was too precious for him to dream of returning fire, and he lelt but 
 too plainly that safety lay only in speed. 
 
 All he did, Spaniard like, was to whip out his dagger and flourish it over 
 his bare head in contempt. 
 
 The arms spat fire and lead once more, but a loud shout replied through tht 
 woods very soon after. The Pirate of the Placers, laughing at ihe broadside, 
 was sailing away on his equine clipper to the harbor of his crew. 
 
 Now Joaquin was acquainted with Mr. Jim Boyce, and he was aware of the 
 latter possessing a determined character which it was hard to shake from any 
 resolve which it might form. It was probable that he would do 
 towards checking the exploits of the brigand. 
 
58 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California] ; 
 
 Besides, there was a likelihood of his having some knowledge of the different 
 rewards offered here and there to anybody who should take or slay the maraud 
 ers' chief; and, rich as was the placer which his friends were working, they 
 might, for the money down of the rewards, " take one shy" at the capture, for 
 they could leave enough of their association on the spot to secure claims. 
 
 Miners' Law runs that, leave your grounds for the smallest space of time and 
 John a-Nokes or John a-Stiles, first passer-by, may stick in his pick and say : 
 "These diggings are mine 'ware! hands off, whether you please or no." 
 
 A risk was run therefore by the plunderers by remaining any longer in the 
 present halting-place, which was hardly three miles from the American mines. 
 
 Certain, though, that the foe could hardly be afoot before the day's end, that 
 time being fully demanded for getting together of horses and provender, as well 
 as preparation of weapons and munitions, Joaquin conceived one of those ideas, 
 the like of which he had no doubt heard of having often been carried out all 
 along the Texas border, in the Staked Plains, the Great American Desert, the 
 head-waters of the Gila and Red Rivers, and the Cross Timbers. 
 
 His design was, while effectually reducing to nothing whatever projects the 
 pursuers might combine, to make the hunted ones master of their chasers' 
 wealth. 
 
 Knowing that there is no reason that a trail cannot be laid during the dark, 
 but sure that until gas shall be introduced into the wilderness it is impossi 
 ble to follow it under such circumstances, he ordered his men to truss up the 
 girths of the horses and be ready to journey on again. 
 
 Not a question was put of course, to the leader at so seemingly unwarranted 
 a command, but by a few minutes, all were ready, toe in the box-stirrups, reins 
 in hand. 
 
 Joaquin put himself at the head, and, in the deepest stillness, the cavalcade 
 struck due east through the long avenues of sugar-pines vaulted over head with 
 bluish green foliage. The pace was a rapid one at which they went until night 
 fall, by which period they had got over twenty miles. They pressed on as long 
 as they could see, and at length halted. 
 
 Fires were built of boughs, pulled down by lassoes, to keep off wild beasts, 
 for in the woods, the smell of cooking was likely to attract them. 
 
 The horses were tied up as customary, and the men not on duty rolled them 
 selves up in their zarapes. 
 
 The watchers charged to attend to the security of the camp, relieved one an 
 other every half hour until sunrise, the spells of guard being so short to make 
 each sentry the sharper. 
 
 At the first peep, all were aroused 'and to horse once more, five hours had 
 been the time given to repose. 
 
 Until noon, the ground was got over with the same celerity as on the pre 
 vious evening. They were in the cup of a most enchanting valley, carpeted, as 
 Nature delights to do in the Golden Paradise, with richest flowers, changing 
 hues and species month after month. 
 
 It was watered by a limpid brooklet which, sweetly singing, stole a path 
 through the roots of a clump of trees. 
 
 Twenty miles must have separated the fugitives from the scene of their night's 
 encampment. Two hours' pasturage was given to the animals, and the same 
 time for feasting to the masters. 
 
 They resumed the march, after having left marks tending to make the pur 
 suers believe that they had passed the whole night there ; though, riding on 
 until nightfall, they added another score of miles to the space between. 
 
 They made a short stoppage, lit fires and ate a hasty supper, after which, 
 mounting, they traced a circuit of five miles, wheeled suddenly to the west, and 
 camped at about three o'clock in the morning a day's ride from their last stage. 
 
 At the end of several days of such moves, alternate dashes and halts, the band 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Minei. 59 
 
 found themuelves in one of the clearings in which they had already encamped. 
 
 Jim Boyce and his friends the miners had indeed taken up the trail of the 
 banditti, on the following day to that on which Joaquin, in scouting for himself, 
 had entered the lion's jaws. 
 
 Every night they halted by the abandoned fires, hoping a very natural cal 
 culation that eventually they would come in contact with the Mexicans, how 
 ever far the latter might go. They were not experienced " trailers," or they 
 might not have been deceived with the " planted" tracks. 
 
 Joaquin could hardly constrain his smile of immense satisfaction when he 
 discovered, by tokens that could not lie, that Boyce, whom he considered as the 
 most dangerous enemy, had fallen into the trap and was even now in motion 
 forward quite near him. 
 
 Night was come. 
 
 After having galloped all day long over mount and plain, through forest and 
 water, the chasers, seated at ease around one of the last fires of Joaquin, which 
 they had raked together and rekindled, smoked while chatting and laughing. 
 
 Their tired horses did not reveal the proximity of strangers, but there were 
 strangers indeed in the shrubbery. 
 
 The robbers had crept in towards the campers-out as close as they dared, and 
 their extended weapons covered each a breast of which the heart was soon to 
 cease to throb. 
 
 All of a sudden, some twenty shots rattled out one close upon another into a 
 long blending of reports. 
 
 The ring around the fire burst into flame for a moment just as a sable cloud 
 gapes to emit the lightning, and these who were not stricken by the first dis 
 charge, beheld aghast twelve or fifteen of them stretched on the ground. 
 
 Another volley lessened the number of the survivors. 
 
 Panic-stricken, the only two Americans left unharmed so far one of whom 
 was Boyce himself flung themselves into the thicket and, without thinking of 
 choosing any particular direction, rushed through the gloom at that pace as 
 sumed by fugitives when they fear the motto is : deuce take the hindmost. 
 
 Joaquin was already having the fire revived, for a dead body or two'had 
 fallen across it and scattered the embers, and was searching for Mr. Boyce as 
 earnestly as Edith looking over the heaps of dead at Hastings for the last of 
 the" 5 Saxon kings. 
 
 Jack of the mutilated hand, springing from here to there like a tigress 
 robbed of young, waving his dagger, was pitilessly finishing those of the fallen 
 who still breathed. 
 
 It may or it may not be known to everybody that the death resulting from 
 a bullet gives the corpse extreme pallor. 
 
 The bodies extended on the sward, illumined by the fitful flaring of the fire, 
 presented a sight so hideous and repulsive, especially where widely open eyes 
 seemed to follow you everywhere as in pictures, that the captain could not help 
 a shudder seizing him. 
 
 " If you have searched them all," said he, " let us be off from here. We 
 will camp till morning in a more cheerful place." 
 
 When they settled down for the night in a neighboring spot, making an in 
 road into the liquors by leave of the leader for rejoicing over the almost per 
 fect triumph, on the principle of double-grog being served out to the tars who 
 have beaten off a pirate, it was found that sleeping would have to be deferred. 
 
 Songs and stories took up the time. One of the latter which was less ex 
 ceptionable to the others for certain reasons, was as follows : 
 
 " Now, Carillo, for your turn," saiA the bandits to the one who was lying 
 comfortably on the flat of his back, the smoke of his cigarette curling out of 
 both mouth and nose. 
 
 " 1 hardly know what to tell. Anyhow, here's the first that comes to mind. 
 
 * 
 
60 Jooquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 Some time ago, I was at Calaveritas, which, became warm, in truth, to me, as 
 you'll see. 1 had a dispute with a girl, and, forgetting myself, 1 slapped her in 
 the face. Oh, I know I was wrong, I know one ought never to strike a woman 
 unless it is to strike her dead. But I did it. She left the house with that look 
 in her eye that spoke loud enough. I left directly after her, but she had already 
 given the alarm. 
 
 The whole place was up in arms against me, and I dared not leave it at the 
 time as every Mexican was arrested in the streets and made to give an account 
 of themselves. I was securely hid, though. 
 
 At about four in the morning, I, dreading daylight, determined to attempt a 
 sortie, and I did get out of the village. 
 
 But who should I espy on the road but a line of men, whom I recognized as 
 a lot of simple Dutchmen living thereabouts, whom I had been remarking as 
 they had shown all that greenness a rider of the road liked to meet. 
 
 An idea struck me, and I won't say that the last two or three drinks which 1 
 had taken, had nothing to do with making me so daredevilish. 
 
 I had made out to get around them, leading my horse, and might have rode 
 off unchallenged, but, instead of that, I hid my nag in the chapparal, and walked 
 back on the road. 
 
 " Standt still, you ! or I shoot you, !" said one of the Dutchmen in 
 
 beautiful English. 
 
 " Up came the rest, surrounding me. As I had calculated, all had the guns 
 which they had brought over from their own land, I suppose, and they were 
 not the men to purchase hundred-dollar Colt's. I laughed to myself. I pre 
 tended to fancy them Joaquin's gang, ha, ha ! only putting on the broken En 
 glish." 
 
 "Does I look's if I bees a Woukin 1 ?" roars a big paunch, who would make 
 seven of our chief. 
 
 " I let myself be convinced after a while, and on learning that they were 
 waiting for a robber. I offered to stay with them and assist. ' God ! didn't I 
 run myself down ? I said I knew this Carillo for having taken money out of 
 my pockets at least once no lie there, amigos ! I called myself a great ras 
 cal, a red-ball of villainy, a king-pin of wickedness, a knave of the pack of 
 thieves. In a word, 1 got * upon an egg' with 'em easily. We drank together 
 of course. Still Carillo did not come. At last, says I, I must be off to town, 
 when, just as I was going, I added :' 
 
 " ' 1 may meet him,' and J stopped. ' Oh, I say, if you hear me fire any 
 where near here, you'll run up and help 
 
 " ' Snalipolersneitchenbangtherrengaunterskinwett,' says one. 
 
 " ' What V says I. 
 
 "'Oh, I means to say yaas, yaas, we will see you all richt, all richt, all 
 richt,' says old capacious fifty times and wagging his head. 
 
 " Off I went towards the town. I wasen't twenty steps off before I set up a 
 shouting and let off two barrels of my revolver. Up rolled the Dutchmen. 
 
 " ' There he goes, there, there ! fire,' cried I, and expended another charge. 
 
 Bang, bang, bling, bang ! went their young cannon of fowling pieces and ri 
 fles. 
 
 " ' Where is de teef ?' roared the head man, blowing the smoke out of his 
 heavy goose-gun. 
 
 " * Here he is,' answered I, covering them with my revolver, ' down with youi 
 blunderbusses and shell out.' 
 
 " And so I robbed them every man, and ran up the road. By the time they 
 iwoke from the start I gave them, I was half a mile off." 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 01 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CARILLO IS CORRALLED. MELEE AT PHCENIX QUARTZ MILL. A CAMP OF CHINESE, 
 
 TWO AMERICANS, FOUR GERMANS. FLORESCO PARTS COMPANY NOT 
 
 EXACTLY AS HE WISHED. JACK HAS A FEAST. 
 
 Two or three days later, the band paid a visit to the tent of the luckless as 
 sociation who had dropped mining to take up man-hunting. After having 
 attended to the pack-mules and a few remaining horses, they began to search 
 for the o-old, and dug up cache'd dust to the value of fourteen thousand dollars. 
 The delTghted ravagers retired to Yacqui Camp, which is not far from San An- 
 dreas, where they had a retreat. 
 
 On the morning after his arrival there, J oaqum sent of half a dozen: of his 
 coyotes under charge of Valenzuela to Arroyo Cantuva with the live stock 
 which could not elsewhere be disposed of, and with greater portion of the gold. 
 The residue of the robbers he kept by himself and began a series of ventures 
 against the wayfarer and the wealthy, killing and plundering everybody who 
 came under his hands. 
 
 For many miles around San Andreas and Yacqui Camp, there was nothing 
 talked of but the audacious thefts and murders, and not a soul could tell how 
 they had been committed nor how the stolen goods could be disposed-*of and 
 not have drawn detection upon the desperado authors. 
 
 Men dotted the roads here and there and yet none, coming up even when the 
 body was warm, had seen the hand that dealt the blow. 
 
 All that was clear was the unpleasant certainty that, like ghosts, bravos and 
 pillagers were stalking among them without being suspected. 
 
 Hence, on every side, men scrutinized their neighbors, though they had 
 known them for months, and people almost drank in the old Danish fashion, 
 knife in hand. 
 
 Captain Ellis, deputy sheriff of the county, mustered a company from among 
 the bold hearts of the San Andreas citizens and, as soon as possible, took up the 
 pursuit of the highwaymen. 
 
 ' Havino- learnt by a spy that Joaquin was at Yacqui Camp and that one < 
 his cano- was a steady customer at the monte table, he went without loss of time 
 to the designated place, recognized the man of whom he had receivec 
 script ion and arrested him. 
 
 Carillo, for he it was that had been betrayed (some say by that woman 
 whose face he had confessed to have laid his palm upon), was sentenced to 
 receive a short shrift and a long rope instanter, as an assassin and thief, but he 
 was promised pardon if he would reveal the secret of his comrades refuge. 
 
 The brigand refused disdainfully, but still he consented, for the same reward 
 to help Justice in some other way by which his complicity would not be seen 
 by his mates. , v 
 
 But, remarking that this proposal was not favorably received, he changed 
 tone, and in one of bravado, said : 
 
 Go ahead with your work. If you'll take the trouble," added he, bragging- 
 ly, " to capture our baggage, you'll find in a valise that belongs to me a dagger 
 which is still encrusted with the blood of a Yankee whom I slew. I should not 
 wonder but that I have settled twenty of you with it. You can only fe 
 
 ^It ma^ easily besupposVd that this speech would be replied to only as it de- 
 served. The boaster, without any further ado, was slip-noosed under a tree 
 the wagon, on which he was made to stand, was driven from unde: nn, ai 
 so good bye to another private of Joaquin's ranks. 
 
62 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 The associates of Captain Ellis, heeding only their rage, thereupon proceeded 
 with their work, destroying and burning the huts and dens that might serve as 
 lairs to the coyotes. 
 
 The flames shot up from peaks and cast a light over the country as a sort of 
 signal to show how seriously the citizens of San Andreas had taken their share 
 in the matter in hand. 
 
 Joaquin, who was posted with his confederates on a not far distant hill, saw 
 all these proceedings. 
 
 " My men are leaking away, like mercury out of the limestone pores," mut 
 tered he. " Bah ! See the fires ! Whew ! if they had hold of us, I would not 
 wonder at all at them roasting us in the innocent brush they are burning up. 
 Poor Carillo ! He hasn't been able to shuffle off the coil that twisted his poor 
 neck ! No doubt, he's gone to see his old commander Jurata. Caramba ! the 
 first twenty English,German, French or Statesmen that 1 meet shall follow him 
 to hell and pay for my giving them the passage." 
 
 Convinced that Captain Ellis and his company indefatigable as himself, 
 would be scouting all over the country next day, he withdrew to the mountains, 
 his intention being to gain as soon as possible the spot appointed as the main 
 rallying-place, to gather all his men without delay and to give battle to any 
 moderate party of hunters who might follow him too closely. 
 
 As they passed along near the quartz-crushing mill of the Phoenix Company 
 a few miles from the camp, several individuals, entrenched in the building, so 
 to say, poured a volley on the Mexicans, of whom they slightly wounded two. 
 
 On the instant, Joaquin called a halt and returned the fire. 
 
 As the assaillants did not show themselves, he made a charge into the build 
 ing with Three-fingered Jack and his five or six others. 
 
 They found inside only two men, Americans, who, with that contempt for 
 the " greasers" which resembles the ignorant scorn, far from as well-based, 
 which the John Bulls, entertained in Waterloo days' for the Gaul, valiantly 
 showed an unflinching front to the force thrice their number. 
 
 But in a minute, during which ten or twelve revolver shots were made, they 
 were overpowered. 
 
 Jack dragged them out into the road and did not cease plying his knife until 
 he had shockingly mutilated the corpses. Meanwhile, the leader and his men 
 let off several shots more into different corners of the place, but, not liking the 
 idea of either getting into the loft or descending into the cellar, the entrances 
 of which places one man could defend against at least the first half dozen, they 
 left, and all pursued their route. 
 
 On the other side of Bear Mountain, at which they arrived- by a road that 
 follows the San Domingo Creek chain, the Mexicans came upon an encamp 
 ment of Chinese, on whom they levied to the extent of six or seven hundred 
 dollars, which was all that was owned by the subjects of the Celestial Empire. 
 
 " Not a very rich streak in the lode" joked Jack Three-fingers, who could 
 not refrain from a manifestation of great anxiety on seeing the poor weak 
 wretches. 
 
 So deeply did he interest himself in removing them from misery that he de 
 sired to effectually spare them from further pangs of existence ; but Joaquin 
 ordered him to ride on and bide time till Americans should be encountered. 
 
 They crossed the river at Forman's Ranch, and followed the highway along' 
 the waterside as far as the San Andreas Road. 
 
 About a mile from the town, they made an elbow and ascended an eminence' 
 not far from Greaserville. 
 
 On the way, two miners who were traveling on foot, were riddled with bul 
 lets and handed over to torturer Jack in such a state that the miscreant, to 
 satisfy his craving for blood, could merely cut their throats and smash in their 
 faces with his riding-boots. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 63 
 
 While going by a creek near Angel Camp, the marauding paity entered a 
 tent in which four Germans were sleeping. 
 
 They aroused them and, pistol to ear, steel to throat, forced them to give up 
 all the money and its equivalent that they had in the world, that is : a little 
 over two hundred dollars. 
 
 Garcia let his comrades leave without him. When they were a few steps 
 off, he sprang upon the poor fellows and, with one of his most terrific blasphe 
 mies, swore that he would cut their hearts out to pay them for not having more 
 money. 
 
 v The action would have followed close upon the words had not Joaquin, re 
 tracing his steps, interposed and overcome his executioner's intention by saying 
 that he was not going to permit cool butchery. 
 
 It will be remarked that Murieta displayed the temper of fits and starts that 
 his blood is accustomed to evince. 
 
 The monster was compelled thus to give over the pleasure which he had 
 hugged to himself in anticipation ; he tried once more, however, to give the 
 troop the slip and turn back, but the commander of the cutthroats had his eyes 
 on him and put a second veto to his motion. 
 
 The late recruit, Floresco, who had been made to stain his hands, had already 
 had some words with his superior. 
 
 " Captain," he had said, during a halt, " I'd like a word with you." 
 
 " Speak away." 
 
 " I bring back the revolver and knife and the honor of belonging to your 
 band which you gave me. I've found out that this bush-fighting don't suit me. 
 I'm too lazy. I think I'll see what t'other life is." 
 
 " All right. You can clear," remarked Joaquin coolly. 
 
 The young fellow was delighted. 
 
 " Captain, you're a regular King of Knaves." 
 
 " So you say." 
 
 " By the bye, about how much does my share amount to in the common 
 bank?" 
 
 " Well, you had something like a thousand, I suppose, if the horses are sold." 
 
 " Well, well say a thousand, down." 
 
 " You mistake," said Joaquin, sternly, " I said you had so much, when you 
 belonged to my troop " 
 
 " What ! would you " 
 
 " Senor Floresco, you came to us empty-handed, I let you go away the same, 
 charging nothing for your keep during the meantime, and you will admit that 
 you lived high, in expectation of dying higher yet. Think yourself lucky that 
 I don't blow out your brains." 
 
 " I'd better stay at the old trade, in that case." 
 
 " I should think so." 
 
 For a while, the would-be deserter had kept quiet; then he had gradually 
 broken out into a strain of mutinous talk which had made the captain watch 
 him attentively. A few days after the last robbery, Floresco had drawn rein 
 while the troop were on the way, and observed firmly that he was not going to 
 ride any further as he had some particular business which called him back to 
 Yacjin. 
 
 " What business T' inquired the chief. 
 
 " Oh, only a little private matter," answered the other carelessly. 
 
 " I don't doubt that," returned the leader, " but I cannot give you leave at this 
 moment. My design is to unite all the members of my band at the chief ral- 
 lying-place, and, unless you give me a good and solid reason, I cannot grant 
 you what you solicit." 
 
 " I did not solicit, I demanded," rejoined the young bandit haughtily. 
 
04 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 " Your demand, Senor Floresco, your demand is out of place," sneered the 
 captain, over whose lips passed a faint smile of scorn. 
 
 " Any place or time is good enough for me," said the rebel. " I think this 
 the hour, and this the place when and where I take my leave. You don't 
 seem to be in the humor for talking just now, so off I go and put off our dis 
 cussion till hereafter." 
 
 At the same time, with a wary eye though, he began to wheel his horse, 
 when out came Joaquin's revolver and a command for him to stop. 
 
 Hold !" 
 
 " Well, what now f said the bandit, drawing bridle. 
 
 " I think you are a traitor," returned the leader, furious at being so cavalier 
 ly treated before several new members of his force ; I don't doubt that you're 
 backing out to sell the secrets of our comrades." 
 
 " Oh, think what you like !" answered the rebel, drawing his revolver in a 
 significant manner and meeting his master's eyes with a glance both insolent 
 and threatening. 
 
 " Ha !" exclaimed Joaquin, "by the true and holy cross, you shall have your 
 leave, if only for your impudence." 
 
 At almost the same time, two shots rang out. 
 
 The captain had had all the advantages given by a forestalling in firing, and 
 Floresco, mortally hit, unable to keep foothold in the madrona-wood stirrups, 
 reeled and fell sidewise off the horse. 
 
 The animal, on feeling the reins loosen and the awful bit's spike dropping, 
 sprang away in terror and relief, but, after a plunge or two, let itself be over 
 taken and led back by one of the band. 
 
 " He's got the discharge /" said Garcia, laughing at his own jest. 
 
 All the robbers united in highly blaming the folly and insubordination of 
 Floresco, for, when the innocent do not escape after their death it is not likely 
 the wicked will ever be unspared, and felicitated their superior in so summarily 
 inflicting the lesson. 
 
 " He asked for time and place I gave him eternity and a grave," observed 
 Joaquin. 
 
 Some two hours after this, as a road was being used which buried itself deep 
 ly in the mountain gorges, the troop found itself, in presence of a freshly es 
 tablished camp of five Chinamen. 
 
 Though they were every one armed with knife and Derringer, they made no 
 effort to use them, for either attack or defence, but fell on their knees for life. 
 
 But Floresco's resistance had put this Massaroni of the Mines in no sweet 
 state of mind and he nodded to Three-fingered Jack. 
 
 Without throwing away one minute, the latter flew at the unfortunate wretch 
 es and, with flaming eyes and gnashing tooth like a wild beast, he poignarded 
 them successfully. 
 
 While the plunderers of the placers were thus carrying on their detestable 
 calling in the country, with an activity that equalled their audacity, more than 
 once an excitement like to " steamer-day," brought the people upon Montgom 
 ery Street to see " Joaquin who had been taken at last !" 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE RETIREMENT OF THE RAVAGERS. A PANTHER HUNT. THE LOVERS. AR- 
 
 KANSAW'S LITTLE ARMY. 
 
 ON arriving at Arroyo Cantura, the grand master of the marauders was 
 convinced that they had not been inactive; several hundred horses galloped 
 about over the plain, careering in delight at being at liberty. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 65 
 
 
 
 Instead of the ordinary rude camp, rose very pretty te its, clustered together 
 into quite a pretty village. 
 
 Grouped around, the brigands were passing the hours in playing cards or 
 dreamily smoking. 
 
 A little way off, on a knoll well carpeted with sward, soated beside their 
 gallants, seven or eight girls, their black eyes glittering, were smiling, laughing, 
 and chatting with the greatest lightness of heart. 
 
 As soon as Joaquin had entered the circle of his followers, compliments and 
 congratulations began to be showered upon him from all sides. 
 
 At the same time the necklace of a woman's arms encircled his neck and the 
 beaming eyes of Clarina welcomed him. Her joy at meeting him again pre 
 vented her from uttering a word. 
 
 After his thanks to his confederates, the chief withdrew with his mistress. 
 They sat down under the trees at some distance. 
 
 " Joaquin," murmured the girl, as her magnificent tresses were tossed back 
 from her shoulders and bosom, " you've been so long away that I could not 
 help feeling sad, and fearing the worst. And lonely as I have been, it was 
 dreadful to be thinking, thinking, grieving all the while." 
 
 " Lonely, Clarina ? how's that, when here's half a dozen gay ones about you." 
 
 " Alas ! it was their very mirth that made me more sorrowful." 
 
 " Indeed ! explain yourself ! I must know the cause of your moodiness. 
 Weeping ? Is the thing so serious as all this 1" 
 
 " I am weeping," said she, hiding her face. " I cannot, cannot help my tears 
 flowing my heart is ready to break. Do you remember your promise 1 Oh. 
 when will you give up this dangerous and detestable mode of life to return to 
 our dear, beautiful land ?" 
 
 " Our land ? Oh, would to heaven that I had never left it, I would not be 
 at this moment what I am ! But, have courage, Clarina. A few months more, 
 and we will see again the days of our youth. These hours of darkness will 
 float all away." 
 
 A shadow lingered on the girl's face at remembrance of the peaceful past, 
 but as with her truly womanly nature, she loved Murieta in spite of all his 
 crimes, she brightened when she gazed into those eyes which had never lowered 
 before any man's, and met her's now hopefully. 
 
 She found excuse for him in the treatment which he had unjustly met, treat 
 ment as bitter as the waters of Laguna Sal. 
 
 She knew most intimately the story of his mind, its sufferings, its yielding 
 to passions and the long course of villainy which had followed the loss of its 
 former purity. 
 
 He had declared to her that he would put an end to his career as soon as his 
 vengeance should be glutted and he should have obtained money equal to what 
 he estimated his losses to be. 
 
 Then, he added, he would retire into Sonora, where he would live in the 
 woods with her. 
 
 She listened to his project with the utmost confidence, for he was sincere in 
 his intentions, and he cared little for whatever the world might think of him, 
 regarding him herself, as was natural, as the handsomest, noblest and mo^t 
 generous of men. 
 
 She was not wise enough to have remarked that the greatest criminals have 
 always foiled their aims by never knowing when to leave off. 
 I " Are we now near to happiness ?" she asked in her sweetest voice. 
 
 " Yes, my love. My vengeance is all but satisfied, and my fortune will be 
 complete when I shall have added a few more thousands to it." 
 i As he finished these words, illustrative of the pitcher going too often to the 
 well, he was disturbed by one of his men coming up at a gallop to seek him. 
 
66 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 
 
 What he had to say will be repeated after a few events previously occurring 
 are related. 
 
 One of the bandits, while hunting, had come upon the track of a panther, 
 quite fresh, and he brought the news to camp. 
 
 The rest determined to have some excitement and they entered the woods. 
 For a quarter or half an hour, the bushes were beaten fruitlessly. 
 
 Then, a pistol shot was heard, and all ran in towards the point, greatly con 
 tracting the circle. 
 
 The lithe beast had tried to steal past Guerro and Antonio, one of whom 
 had repulsed him with a snap shot, which missed him however. 
 
 The whole ring closed, amid shouting, and the poor animal, more frightened 
 than ferocious, did not know which way to turn. 
 
 He made a couple of rushes but did not dare to receive a volley. 
 At last, the continual popping of fire-arms made it desperate and it was seen 
 every now and then leaping up and down in the brush. 
 
 So small was the circle of hunters now that they were nearly in double ranks. 
 The critical moment came. 
 
 Creeping forward, belly to ground, and the grass hiding it somewhat, the 
 long, slender body approached one part of the human enclosure. 
 
 A spring placed it on a low-lying oak bough, from which a second leap took 
 >t straight at the heads of Garcia and three of his neighbors, who stooped or 
 Jirew themselves to one side or the other. 
 
 Jack, while falling on his knees, fired two barrels of his revolver at the 
 smooth-skinned form cleaving the air above and by him, and when the brute 
 touched the ground, it tumbled over a bush upon its nose in a confused manner 
 that told of the balls having entered its body. It sought to fly, having had 
 enough of fighting, but a general discharge riddled it from tip of tail to ear, 
 arid it rolled over in the wild clover, making the dust fly in its agony. With 
 out waiting to bid his companions stop, Jack jumped upon the body and, avoid 
 ing the claws more by good fortune than from any prudence, drove his knife 
 through nerve and bone into one of the glazing eyes. He took good care to 
 jump back at the moment. 
 
 The tortured beast, as if galvanized, bent nearly double, gave a dreadful 
 " lashing out " like a vicious horse with the powerful hind feet, and, gnashing 
 its teeth, rolled over and over like a cat in a fit. 
 
 At last, the paroxysm died away, and the carcase lay motionless, with stiff 
 ening limbs and exposed teeth. 
 
 " The skin is almost too much riddled to be of any good," remarked Valen- 
 zuela, as he saw Garcia plying his knife in flaying the warm body. 
 
 a I only want some strips of skin hello !" exclaimed Jack interrupting him 
 self, and suddenly quitting his stripping off the hide to dig into the belly with 
 his blade. " Boys, scatter and find a fresh trail here's half a ramrod of a gun, 
 and none of us carried any." 
 
 " None," said Garcia, " but are you sure it ain't an old wound ?" 
 " Why, nothing could live long with so much in them four inches of hickory 
 and an iron top," said Jack, holding up the unusual projectile. " No wonder 
 the panther fought shv of us. She was only recovering from a hurt." 
 " Yes, yes, I see." 
 
 They let the chase of animals go for that of the suspected man or men. 
 At length, about a mile from Cantura Creek, one of the out-lying scouts struck 
 a quite fresh trail, made by no less than twelve or fifteen men. 
 This was the intelligence which had been brought to the leader. 
 It was important to give no stranger time to leave the valley after having 
 been so near to the bandits' den as to have divined their proximity, else they 
 must have been blind fellows not to be supposed to have taken to desert life. 
 Such an event as the secret being spread was defeat to the Mexican chief's 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 67 
 
 pi.iifi>, tt the same time as compelling him to change the head-quarters of his 
 
 sing without delay one of his best mounts, Joaquin started off, accom 
 panied oy twenty selected bravoes, foremost among whom were his usual right- 
 hand men Three-fingered Jack and Valenzuela, the no less brave and faithful 
 Guerra, Antonio and Fernando. 
 
 This detachment followed the discovered track at a " pressing pace," as the 
 language of the turf goes, for a couple of hours, when there suddenly appeared 
 before them eight or nine Americans, who were holding in their horses, waiting 
 carelessly for them to come on. 
 
 They hesitated for an instant, slackened their pace and halted at a dozen 
 yards' distance. 
 
 Joaquin nad remarked that one of the strangers was that miner who had tried 
 to arrest him in a gambling saloon of Sonora. 
 
 " What brings you into this valley 1" challenged the captain of banditti, push 
 ing on for a horse's length further to better see that man's features and make 
 sure of his belief. 
 
 The leader of the party hesitated. 
 
 Now Arkansaw (as the man was nick-named, who had failed to take Joaquin) 
 had been so tormented by the rough jokers for his miss, that he had made up 
 his mind that he would endeavor once more to make his word true. 
 
 He found a difficulty in getting as many men as he required, and, with one 
 or two friends who did stand by him, he joined a company of twelve formed by 
 the present leader, a New Englander whose speculative turn had seen a fair 
 chance in the high rewards out for the Mexican brigand, and off they had gone. 
 
 He had formed the idea that the chief was a dare-devil enough, but that his 
 supporters were a cowardly crew of cutthroats, who were nothing except he in 
 spired them. 
 
 But the sudden appearance of Joaquin at the head of a score of men well- 
 equipped, well-mounted and armed, all ugly-looking desperadoes, threw the 
 speculator on banditti stock all aback, and he, though brave enough, too, would 
 have liked to have steered one way or another or gone about altogether with 
 every stitch of sail out alow, aloft and on studding-sail-booms, at the bold chal 
 lenge. 
 
 He had such a vein of circumspection within him, that he felt sure nothing 
 was to be gained by fighting unless a bullet or a knife-blade is a benefit. 
 
 So he kept silent. 
 
 Joaquin grew more and more impatient, and cried in a tone no sweeter than 
 his former speech was couched in : 
 
 " Did you hear me, or must I explain myself more clearly ?" 
 
 " Oh, I heard," answered the Yankee, as he took a quarter of a fresh plug as 
 a chew, and glanced around on his associates as if to ask them what should be 
 done. 
 
 " Then, what do you say ? Quick 1 Who are you, and what in the name of 
 hoof and horns fetches you into this valley ?" 
 
 " Hold on, stranger, no hurry," replied the other, who had " calculated" on 
 his best course. " Give a man time to turn over what you say. You don't 
 seem to be half-civilized by the way you hurry up the cakes. Let the water fill 
 the sluice, can't you ? To say something, though, and give you a lesson in 
 politeness, our presence in this district of which you seem to be the selectmen, 
 is because we are a band of hunters after game. If you don't want to pick a 
 muss, we won't disturb you ! There ! what do - -" 
 
 At these words, which the hardy members of this prudent general's arrr-j 
 heard in disgust, surprise and scorn appeared on their bronzed phizes. 
 
 Several dull growls had already been audible, like the warning voices around 
 Cape Mendocino. 
 
.03 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 With a curse, Arkansaw put his horse in advance of the speaker's 
 
 " Boys, I'm cap., now, eh 1 ?" 
 
 " You, yes ! sail in ! To h with him /" 
 
 " I'm sure I know you !" cried Arkansaw, charging Joaquin. " You 
 
 Crack ack ack ! went the Mexicans' pistols to cover their chief. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE HAND-TO-HAND TUSSLE. ARKANSAW AND THREE-FINGERS. ESCAPE OF THK 
 
 AMERICAN. THE ARROYO DESERTED. 
 
 RANG blang, blang ! went the reply fire, while a chorus of hostile cries rent 
 the smoke. 
 
 Joaquin's first barrel sent its missile close to the on-coming Arkansaw, but 
 it slew, not him, but the Yankee whose place the bolder man had assumed. 
 
 The chief received a wound on the left shoulder, which a side-turn in his 
 saddle had only kept from his throat. 
 
 All were mingled in a general confusion. Five of Joaquin's men had lost 
 their seats never to move again, two of the opponents, beside the speculative, 
 deposed leader, had fallen under the combatants' feet -like them, but all the 
 wounded were fighting on. 
 
 The Americans, who suffered the most from pistol-shots, did all they could to 
 close in, and butt-ends of firearms and knives were principally employed. 
 
 Through the medley of oaths, groans, shouts and detonations, were to be 
 heard the voices of the leaders, encouraging and urging them on, while fighting 
 themselves most vigorously, the Mexican like a puma, the other like a grizzly. 
 
 Wounded and bleeding, but as brave and bold as ever, Murieta ran his horse 
 hither and thither through the tangled mass, and showed himself everywhere at 
 the points where the result was wavering, deciding victory often by his simple 
 coming. 
 
 The attacking party fought a little despairingly now. For a moment, they 
 had held the advantage over their antagonists, and they would have kept it, 
 only for the unseen devil that seemed to continually attend the bandit chief, 
 and overcome the foeman's courage and vigor. 
 
 After having emptied his revolver on the enemy, Three-fingered Jack had 
 flung the weapon into the nearest face, and with his usual ferocity, had begun 
 plunging about with his poignard right and left, and before him, so blindly that 
 at times he had wounded his own comrades and their horses. 
 
 When Joaquin, after having unhorsed one of the most prominent of the as 
 sailants, could survey the scene of action more calmly, he saw that nine of his 
 men were doubtlessly the same number of trodden corpses that strewed the 
 ground. All the others except one were sleeping in death beside them. 
 
 The sole survivor, of whom we speak, was the robust giant Arkansaw, who 
 was stoutly giving Three-fingered Jack all he wanted, each with a knife in hand. 
 
 The first, no doubt having had great experience in the steel, was indeed, 
 raining more stabs and cuts than he had to parry, which contributed not a little 
 towards augmenting the rage of Garcia. 
 
 Joaquin and the rest of the band, except such as had wounds to staunch, glad 
 of a rest and a treat at the same time, sat their horses, 'tranquil spectators of 
 the struggle, confident as they were of the issue from their knowledge of their 
 comrade's powers and address. 
 
 Now reining in, now letting slip, now wheeling, then lifting their foam-flecked 
 horses, whose iaws ran blood and their neck and fore-shoulders as well from 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 69 
 
 mis -directed blows, the two champions crashed their blades triflingly, so to say 
 waiting to deal the mortal, finishing stroke. 
 
 " You jes' give fair play a leettle longer," muttered Arkansaw, that s all 
 
 Jack swore all the time, and roared a tremendous execration at length when 
 he fancied that he had got the opening that he so much desired. 
 
 He gave a short, quick thrust, as if he had held a sword, drew back, changed 
 his grasp on the bloody handle and delivered a dreadful downward darting of 
 his knife which, splendidly warded off by the bowie, which made the thinner 
 stiletto bend, ripped up the thigh of Arkansaw. 
 
 On this cruel wound, and feeling that indescribable sensation of hot blood 
 scalding the gash it boils through, the latter so dextrously glided his arm 
 under the other's that the broad blade, prevented from penetrating the eye by 
 a miracle, laid bare the top of the Mexican's cheek-bone and left a clean cuf 
 from there down the cheek to the very edge of the lower jaw-bone; had the 
 mouth been open, the cheek would have been perforated. 
 
 Garcia, whose set teeth ground in agony at the awful pain when the bone 
 was scraped, all but yelled, and swayed in the saddle. His horse fell back, 
 just as Arkansaw made a second sweeping stroke. 
 
 The Mexicans, alarmed, hastened to the succor of their comrade, but he, re- 
 coverino- himself, forced them to stand off with horrid imprecations. They 
 obeyed & but it was plainly to be seen that they were eager to finish the Ameri 
 can, if he continued to conquer. 
 
 Arkansaw felt deafly that, do his utmost, yet he could gam nothing by con 
 tinuing to fight, so only waiting to catch one of Jack's stabs on his left arm, 
 and to make a return he lifted his horse round on its hind legs and pricked 
 him on into a flight swift as lightning. His savage antagonist, as well as Jo*, 
 quin, followed him at a distance. 
 
 For five miles, the chase, went on, Joaquin remaining a little behind (jrarcia, 
 who nearly touched the fugitive every time he made a " burst." Thus forcing 
 the pace, he often got so near that he lifted his dagger, but at that instant, the 
 American would compel his steed to make a " spurt," and down would drop 
 the steel powerless. Jack swore continually and louder and loudly as he felt 
 his mount failing him. 
 
 The chief, who had taken much out of his charger by his plunging about the 
 battle-field, was dropped behind considerably, and, when he had been within 
 pistol-range, Three-fingered Jack's motions in the saddle had prevented him 
 risking a shot. Jack had no fire-arms. . 
 
 Arkansaw showed himself to be a consummate rough-rider, and he had that 
 art, little cultivated, of conversing with his horse as though he were a man. He 
 would tell him of the impediments in the way, of the nature of the ground, of 
 the state of the pursuing party, promise him food in profusion, laugh to him, 
 chide him, pat him, smooth his mane, and whisper hopeful words in his turned- 
 back ears, to which he was bowed forward. Whether it affected the animal or 
 not, it at least pleases the rider. 
 
 " Good old nag," said Arkansaw, at length, after a glance over his shoulder, 
 " they're no where, my boy 1" 
 
 He laughed, and the horse stretched out in a greyhound s leap, as it new 
 powers had been given him. 
 
 In fact, convinced that, from some cause or other, the fugitive was getting 
 
 r more out of his horse than they out of theirs, which might be foundered if the 
 
 chase was prolonged, Joaquin called off his hound, and the two baffled bandits 
 
 walked their horses back to their confederates. The wounded were still there, 
 
 under care of some of their comrades, who understood a little of the healing 
 
 Fernando Fontes and another had received such wounds that they lingered 
 on only till the morrow, their deaths bringing the whole loss to eleven. 
 
TO Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 The chief though he was not hurt in a very serious manner, had lost much 
 blood, and he was obliged to keep quiet for several days, and receive such 
 attentions a were lavished upon him by the loving Clarina. 
 
 Antoniu and Guerra, no less lucky than their commander, found in the ten 
 der solicitude of their inamoratas relief to their sufferings ; hence, these three 
 were set a-field anew at the time when their less-favored companions were just 
 coining round. 
 
 Muricta could not help feeling some uneasiness at the recollection of the 
 iturdy survivor of the American party. 
 
 He reproached himself for ever having given him the chance to make off, 
 when a dozen bullets might have been bestowed upon him during his conflict 
 with Three-fingered Jack. 
 
 A fortnight had already elapsed since the bloody skirmish and, if the escaped 
 man had not died of his wounds there was everything to lead one to believe 
 that he would raise a body of adventurers, there being many hangers-on about 
 the diggings who would ask nothing better than such " sport." 
 
 At all events, the story he had to tell would have &s effect on the various 
 bands resting on their arms, which were ready to rise against the ravagers at 
 the first report of his whereabouts. 
 
 Arkansaw would probably offer himself as guide to such. 
 In the dread of such an event, Joaquin resolved to abandon for the present 
 at least the asylum on which he had set his choice. 
 
 By this means, he thought to deceive the seekers, who, on arriving and find 
 ing the valley untenanted, would imagine that the banditti had retired into 
 Mexico, or else they would divide into smaller detachments in their scouting, 
 when, each of them might be attracted into defiles and passes in the mountains 
 and there destroyed, at the cost, to his hidden, securely-posted men, of scarcely 
 one. 
 
 In this design everything was got ready for the departure. 
 The horses, which amounted to several hundreds, were formed into manage 
 able droves and started for Mexico under guard of four of the best vaqueroes 
 of the band. The tents were taken down and packed upon the mules, as well 
 as everything around the camping-ground which could be of any use. 
 
 The women attired themselves in their masculine traveling-habits and pre 
 pared bravely and gaily to cross highlands and low, dark gorges and sunlit 
 peaks ; there were not only privations and fatigues to be resisted, but, at any 
 moment, from the craggy wall at whose foot they trailed along, might spring 
 out or rofl down the treacherous American lion or the grizzly bear. 
 
 Those of the wounded in that late encounter where the fallen Americans had 
 sold their lives dearly, who had not yet been restored to strength, were placed 
 on the easiest goers in the cavalcade, which had been previously used by the 
 women. 
 
 The patient being seated on comfortable Mexican saddles, as large almost as 
 an elephant's howdah, were for the more precaution, attached to them by straps, 
 and had a free rider leading them. 
 
 Thus, the robbers streamed out of the valley, a long line of a hundred and 
 six men and nine females. 
 
 It was not without regret that farewell was said to the magnificent retreat, so 
 wild and desolate-looking of a sudden, which had lately been witness of their 
 rejoicings, pleasures and repose. 
 
 At the head of the column, rode Joaquin, surrounded, like a Napoleon of 
 marauders, by his marshals, by his lieutenants. 
 
 His handsome features wore an expression of sadness and gravity, as lie ex 
 plained to his companions the reasons which had led him to quit Arroyo Can 
 tava, a kind of another unconsumed Moscow. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 71 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE JOURNEY. THE NEW HEAD-QUARTERS. THE PLAN. REPULSED AT THE 
 
 RANCH. 
 
 THE journey did not suffice to distract the captain of banditti from his con 
 stant reveries. The -memory of his last affair with the party of self-appointed 
 police, still tortured his mind ; though it had been almost completely de 
 feated, nevertheless he had paid very dear for an unconsiderable victory, an<i 
 was compelled to acknowledge the powerlessness of his men at close-quarters 
 with the brave by intelligence men of the superior race. 
 
 He regretted that the whole of his troop was not composed of individuals as 
 active and fearless as Three-fingered Jack, Valenzuela, Antonio and Guerra. 
 
 Enraged at having let Arkansaw escape, he was compelled to admit as well 
 that the redoubtable Garcia was neither invulnerable nor successful all the time 
 and that he was no longer the Inconquerable of other days. 
 
 He was the strongest, the cruelest, the most cunning and resolute of all his 
 cutthroats ; he had been whilom the favorite, the right hand man of Jurata the 
 famous guerrilla ; moreover, he was wonderfully assisted by a long experience, 
 carrying on his body scars of many wounds received in numberless actions. 
 
 If this champion had come off only second-best in a fight with Arkansaw, no 
 wonderful man, would the rest of the gang be well off when pitted against 
 fellows of that stripe. It was not probable. 
 
 Joaquin was sure that his interest enforced his avoiding any heavy contest 
 with the followers of justice, regulars or irregulars. 
 
 A combat of this nature, even admitting the result to be fortunate to him, 
 would deprive him of a number of his foremost men, not to be replaced without 
 time and difficulty, which would be a serious obstacle to the carrying out of 
 projects which he had formed at the setting out on his marauding career. 
 
 These reflections, and many others springing from them, greatly clouded 
 Murieta's brow ; for the first time he experienced a sharp and weighty desire 
 of flinging to the winds and waters the guilty existence which he had hitherto 
 led, to withdraw into his native country with his well-loved Clarina. 
 
 The latter, meanwhile traveling in the rear of the main body, surrounded by 
 the associates of her own sex who were not at all affected by any forebodings, 
 was yielding to impressions quite the opposite to those which swayed her 
 lover ; she was as merry and laughing as could well be. 
 
 She was amusing herself perforce and vying with her companions in a kind 
 of pastime in which the victor was the one who was most mirthful. 
 
 The countless echoes which were bandied back from either enclosing line of 
 rocky steeps, repeated their songs and peals of merriment, until it might have 
 been believed that it was a virgin forest of the tropics full of bright birds with 
 melodious throat. 
 
 After having traversed the rich hollows which extend northward of Tulare 
 Lake, the Mexicans crossed the San Joaquin River some twelve miles from 
 Fort Miller, and pushed on towards the north-east as far as the foils of the 
 Yohamite. 
 
 Thence, passing the stream again, they worked toilsomely up the Sierra 
 Nevada, then down into the pleasant, the delightful, the tempting valleys on. 
 the other side and at length reached the mountains on the east of Lake Mono. 
 
 In their gullies, clefts and passes, the outlaw, at the commencement of his 
 adventures, had found shelter from some volunteer constables who had chased 
 him and his then insignificant allies from Hangtown to Castle Peak, not far 
 from the Sonora Pass. Since then he had always looked upon tins spot as the 
 best and surest hiding-place in the whole State. 
 
72 Joaquiti, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 The chief took the lead through a narrow path which would have been past 
 suspicion so completely had nature taken pains to dissimulate it by means of 
 precipitous rocks and super-abundance of vegetation, and when they had entered 
 by it, they Were in as retired and picturesque a site as they could have fancied. 
 It is a mere cleft in the heights about five-andrtwenty miles to the south-east of 
 Lake Mono, between two rugged walls, crested by masses of stone and earth 
 toppling over as if to fall. 
 
 If these sides of the narrow way were climbed, the country could be surveyed 
 for miles around. In this wild place, near a region well stocked, if the term 
 will pass, with red, gray and desert foxes, coyotes, wolves, and grizzlies, the 
 robbers pitched their tents. 
 
 The shades of evening were already stealing over the sky and earth, all 
 around 'seemed to invite to repose the adventurers, who were temporarily cut 
 of the reach of their sea of troubles. 
 
 On the perfumed sward of mingled grass and moss, in their ample blankets, 
 they slumbered until morning, with not one guard a-foot, they sleep no less 
 peaceful and deep than that of men whose hands had never been imbrued in 
 blood, whose hearts had never been darkened by even the idea of a criminal 
 desire ! 
 
 But it was the wearisome journey which fear of merited judgment had im 
 pelled that had alone given them this short stay of punishment. 
 
 The most hardened feel pangs of which an honest man never can dream of, 
 far beyond any of his earthly inflictions. 
 
 On the morrow, the outlaw assembled all about him and laid out before 
 them his plans and ideas as to the future. 
 
 " You know," he began, " that we count one hundred in active service. Our 
 spies, friends and associates, scattered all over in almost all the towns and 
 camps of the state, are nearly four hundred. These allies can only aid us ver 
 bally, I mean by information which they procure for us ; they cannot lend us 
 any open assistance for reasons which it is useless to explain to you just now. 
 I hold in secure places considerable sums, and my intention is to raise from 
 Sonora and Lower California a certain number of recruits who will bring our 
 forces in the field to three hundred. 
 
 " I will equip and arm these new hands and will begin a sweeping business 
 in the southern counties. I will destroy the Yankees by wholesale, burn their 
 farms, overrun their property, and do it all so rapidly that they shall not have 
 time to collect troops and organize resistance. By the time they are sufficient 
 ly powerful to fetter my further movements, I will have finished my task and 
 sought shelter in some of the Sonorian sierras. When theft, I will give good 
 bye to the life of roving and adventures which we have led together up till now. 
 In this way, friends, will we have taken vengeance for the evil done to us and 
 some overplus for the \vrongs which the Yankees, during the last war, wreaked 
 upon our unfortunate country. We will do our share towards wiping out the 
 cursed race, just as they have destroyed the buckeye-nut eaters. We will 
 divide the spoil of the expeditions, and let the rest of our days roll on in 
 peace." 
 
 " Long life to the noble captain !" cried every man long and loudly. 
 
 Enthusiasm kindled every eye. 
 
 The splendid picture which had been enrolled before them was so dazzling, 
 the design displayed so unexpected, that the bandits couid scarcely contain 
 their joy. 
 
 Although they had always loved and admired their superior throughout all 
 the phases of his dangerous existence, none of them had given him credit for 
 what they esteemed as genius discovered in his projects. 
 
 His speech electrified them with fresh energy and more than ever were they 
 eager to follow arid obey him, com-: \\h,.t n I;;';/. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 73 
 
 That same aay, Joaquin told off eight companies of ten men each towards 
 different parts of the state, to the east, south and north, with the express order 
 to procure money and horses with all their might and main. 
 
 He himself remained at the rendezvous with twenty-five, whose only occu 
 pation was the killing of game, and watching over the horses and weapons. 
 Few days passed since the departure of the little divisions in which interval, the 
 wounded had recovered. 
 
 Joaquin, seeing all he had in an efficient state, took with him Valenzuela and 
 Three- fingered Jack and a select party, and went off on a scout and for any 
 enterprise that offered. 
 
 Antonio, Guerro and the remainder were to protect the camp and the w omen 
 from the roamings of the wild beasts which had not quitted the neighborhood 
 despite the successive hunts which had been made upon them and the unpleas 
 ant acquaintance many of them had made with the firearms and steel of the 
 band. 
 
 On arriving at Fiddletown, Joaquin met the captain of one of the troops, who 
 had a bag of gold coin to give him and a bit of news which gave the direction 
 
 to the leader's move. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Darkness had stolen upon Jackson, but not so deeply as to prevent a dim 
 pleasantly vague view of the town and its surroundings. 
 
 A ranch, which an American named Fairgrove had purchased years before 
 and since enlarged into a double house of tw r o stories in height,occupied by him, 
 his wife and a widowed sister and two of her children, (a girl, with whom we 
 have little to do, and a boy of fourteen), sat upon the side of a gentle acclivity 
 about a mile from the town, and a quarter of a mile from the road. 
 
 Down to the road, from the front of the house, the ground was almost all 
 wooded ; behind and in the valley it was under cultivation, and the products 
 brought " gold" prices from the mining population. 
 
 Now, Fairgrove, who had been twice a loser of several valuable horses, no 
 doubt through Joaquin's band, had tried to take his revenge by doinor all he 
 could to have that robber taken, and half a dozen times, when applied to, he had 
 loaned horses to suddenly-organized constabulary forces. 
 
 He had made himself prematurely old by abuse of liquors, and was pre 
 vented going out thief-hunting himself, or he would surely have been at the 
 head of a party. 
 
 Rumor had it that the marauders had turned up in those parts once again, 
 and, as ill luck would have it, a most powerful and valiant dog which belonged 
 to his ranch had been shot accidentally by Fairgrove's young nephew, who was 
 practising at a mark as a study, as in more peaceful countries, he would have 
 had Latin, or French, or book-keeping or what you will to do. 
 
 The animal had not been killed, but to shorten his agony a finishing stroke 
 had been dealt him. For two days, Mr. Fairgrove had been going to town to 
 buy a guardian to replace the lost one, but he was of an easy nature. 
 
 As the requirement was one in which the women folks had interested them 
 selves, for they drank in greedily all the outrageous stories of the exploits of 
 the celebrated bandit, the ranchero had yielded at last to the dropping fire, but 
 continual, and rode over to Jackson to make the purchase. 
 
 This was at noonday. 
 
 He dined with a friend and took a stroll about the town to see the new 
 buildings run up since his last visit. 
 
 It chanced that a company in which his companion was concerned had the 
 great good fortune to turn up a large nugget, which led to a general rejoicing 
 by all concerned. 
 
 You could not rejoice in California without the very natural concomitant, a 
 
74 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 punishing of the " Oh, be joyful !" Mr. Fairgrove had hardly returned to his 
 friend's abode than he laid down to rest. 
 
 He was aroused at twilight for supper. 
 
 " Had supper-time come ? Good heavens ! whew ! won't they haul me over 
 the coals, at home ! I will take a taste of that brandy just up from 'Frisco, 
 and must be off. Oh, I ain't afraid on the road, pooh ! tush ! bah !" 
 
 Arid off rode Fairgrove at full speed. As a speedy arrival was his only wish 
 for though, of course, the non-prosecution of the canine demand would still be 
 a great grievance against him if he should not be home, he knew how his 
 family would cry out against having been left for one whole night with only a 
 lad of fourteen in the house, for the stable-men and farm-hands lived in build 
 ings two hundred feet and more from it as a speedy arrival lay closest to his 
 heart, he not only spurred on at his fastest, but struck off from the road across 
 a neighbor's land and entered his estate by the valley. 
 
 The remaining effects of his libations, not altogether slept off, prompted him to 
 attempt a little innocent practical joke. 
 
 He let his horse loose, and, hiding the harness in a bush, crept under cover 
 up towards his house. 
 
 He was already chuckling at the fanciful picture which he drew of how he 
 would be mistaken for a robber, and how all would end in laughter, so hearty 
 as to cover his sin of omission. 
 
 All at once he stopped. 
 
 Two of his men had come out of the stable. Two of his men no, good 
 God, no ! 
 
 This couple were sheathing knives and were stealing along towards the 
 house. 
 
 The fumes of liquor yet clouding the watcher's mind vanished at this appeal 
 to his affection and to his fears. 
 
 This couple were assassins, and all the workmen had been murdered, beyond 
 a doubt ! 
 
 He griped his revolver nervously and inspected the nipples ; all the caps 
 were on. 
 
 The two men had crept up under the extensive verandah, piazza, ground-floor 
 balcony, or whatever you like to style it, which ran around the whole building. 
 
 Fairgrove braced himself ready to run up and slay one or both before they 
 should make an entrance, but neither climbed over the railing but crouched 
 down and glided under the stoop, after cleverly and noiselessly ripping off a 
 board. 
 
 There was a hollow space under the verandah of many feet long and wide, 
 and three feet high. 
 
 As if their disappearance were a signal, two other men appeared over by the 
 out-houses, and carefully made the same transit, burying themselves in the 
 same way. 
 
 Two more couples, and at last one man. 
 
 All was still, and Fairgrove might have doubted his vision, especially as the 
 displaced plank had been fitted in again. 
 
 What pained him more, so poignant was the proof of his family utterly un 
 suspecting the impending fate, was that there came faintly to him, a snatch of 
 a song or a light laugh, which were uttered by his young niece. 
 
 He thought for a moment of rushing to the house and standing before the 
 opening, prevent the thieves from the movement until assistance should have 
 come. But he remembered that window only rudely boarded over, opened 
 from the cellar into under the piazza, and he was quite confident that the con 
 cealed villains had already discovered it. 
 
 His men being all disposed of, no assistance was about the premises. 
 
 He could delay, but not prevent the murder of his family and the cleaning 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 75 
 
 out of his house. He took the course which was hardest and might or not be 
 the best. 
 
 He could only go mad if they should all be slain in his absence ! 
 
 He never could tell how he hastened back to where he had turned his horse 
 a-drift, found him, caught him, bridled and saddled him, and dashed off, more 
 directed by instinct than by calculation. 
 
 All he knew he reached the nearest neighbor's house after an hour's madden 
 ing ride, and burst in upon the supper-table with the wild, crazy cry : 
 
 " Haste ! If it is not till all are asleep that they are waiting, good bye to 
 them !" 
 
 The moment he grew cooler and told all, the friend roused the household, 
 and set off back with him, sending one of his sons to town and another to the 
 nearest miners' camp, which was on the road. As these latter w r ould have the 
 road to travel, they would probably reach the scene before the others, who had 
 almost unbroken country to cross. If their signal should not be answered, 
 they were to wait, unless, of course, something was occurring in or about Fair- 
 grove's house. 
 
 It was Joaquin's men, under command of Garcia, who had made the descent 
 on the ranch of Fairgrove. They had heard of the dog's death and, as they 
 were all the more sure of success from that fact, which promised more likeli 
 hood of a perfect surprise, they had began as we have seen Fairgrove suspect, 
 that is : had mastered the tenants of the out-buildings just at the moment of 
 their entering their dwellings at dusk. 
 
 Masters were not very exacting when a harsh word or a cross look would 
 often send a man off to the digging, whose place it would perhaps be impossible 
 to fill at the most exorbitant of wages. Hence the short hours of labor. 
 
 Garcia had wanted to begin the proposed butchery at once, but Valenzuela, 
 who was second, had persuaded him that it would be better to wait until eight 
 or nine, when all would be asleep throughout the house. They did not know 
 that the master was away, and gave the lad of fourteen credit for more prowess 
 than he perhaps possessed. 
 
 Perhaps, you will wonder why the robbers did not charge without delay, as 
 here were only two males against their eight or nine. 
 
 Yes, but these fellows had found by sad experience that the few women who 
 were blessing the rude state then were, if beautiful ancestresses of the fair 
 daughters of El Dorado's brilliant to-day, made braver yet by the encompass 
 ing perils of exposed life and were seldom so unluckily gifted with stupid rela 
 tions as not to be compelled to learn to put an half-ounce of lead into the bull's 
 eye " plum center" at a reasonable distance. All of which Amazonian disci 
 pline was accomplished at no expense of modesty, a fact w'hich women who 
 have had their own honor and dear ones to defend will understand, if our 
 other readers do not. 
 
 All this time, frightening themselves for nothing, without dreaming of there 
 really being great foundation for their fears, the females were supping uneasily 
 and almost afraid to retire to rest. The chamber they occupied, for they would 
 not leave one another, was on that side where were concealed the thieves. The 
 servant and the children were in the other part. 
 
 The miners, who had been found at their encampment by the messenger, had 
 instantly responded to the call, and, on horses or pack-mules, as the case might 
 be, they had dashed along the road, only dismounting at the entrance to Fair- 
 grove's ranch. Thence they ran along quietly but quickly. When they came 
 in sight of the house, they twittered out the signal, an imitation of a bird. No 
 resp'onse, so they waited. But very restlessly though, for they started at every 
 noise. 
 
 At last, though only a few moments had passed, and one or two lights 
 showed yet in the house, it was deemed best to forestall the bandits' moves. 
 
76 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 They left the shadow of the trees and proceeded along the side of the house 
 in hopes of surprising the enemy, when a loud scream inside was followed by 
 a hammering as of a pistol butt on a door, and that by a shot. 
 
 At the same time that the miners raised a cheer to appal the assailants and 
 to encourage our friends, another shout joined in with theirs, and a number of 
 men appeared on their right speeding toward the house like themselves. Both 
 parties of rescuers were on hand ; not too early either. 
 
 One smashed in the piazza windows in front, the other forced a back window, 
 and four or five daring men boldly penetrated the empty space under the 
 verandah and went through the window into the cellar, which had been opened. 
 
 Some time before this, the women had consulted together on their heartless- 
 ness in leaving the young girl, the servant and the youth so far away. They 
 resolved to have them come over to their part of the house, the females to stay 
 with them, the lad to occupy the adjoining room. After a delay, Mrs. Fair- 
 grove's sister-in-law valorously determined on executing the delivery of the 
 desire, and on passing along down stairs, across the main room and up stairs, 
 again alone, and in the dark, for she preferred, with another feminine trait, not 
 to have a chance of seeing what she dreaded. With prudent preparation, she 
 took off all her jewelry and put it in her pockets, winding her handkerchief 
 round all to prevent jingling, had removed everything light-colored from her 
 dress, which was deep mourning, fortunately. She wen in her stocking feet. 
 She left the revolver they had with her sister, gave her final directions and 
 slipped out of the narrowly-opened door. 
 
 She descended untouched and entered the main room ; as she did so, she 
 heard on the other side the words, very faint : 
 
 " Sh ! back !" 
 
 She went on, feeling for the chairs and table, and, for an instant, did not 
 glance thitherward. When she did, she thought she saw that tha door, which 
 led to an entry and by that to the cellar, was not quite closed and she doubted 
 not that a white dot she noted about four feet from the floor was a finger hold 
 ing it ajar. The person, if there was one, had been about to enter when she, 
 or something else, had alarmed him. 
 
 This was one of those moments when everything depended on taking the 
 proper course out of half a dozen. If she continued her way, their return with 
 the children would be intercepted beyond doubt. If she flew back to her sister, 
 the house was divided, and each would hear the death-struggle of the other. 
 
 Like lightning, she sprang to the door and threw her whole weight against it. 
 A deep, though not loud, exclamation of acute pain told her that the strange 
 sound she heard was the snapping of that finger-bone ! The door would not 
 shut. Had it been farther open, it would have severed the finger ; it crushed 
 it, and tore off the flesh of one of the bandits, as it was. She dragged the table 
 to her and jammed it against the door, closing fully now, and bolted hurriedly. 
 The key was gone, lost long ago during non-usage. Like one inspired she 
 heaped up chairs and everything within reach to add to the barricade. 
 
 Pistols, bullets, and knife-handles began to hammer at the upper panels, 
 while kicks rained on the lower ones. A dreadful pressure was exerted against 
 it. The bolt started, and was bent out of the loosened sockets. It gave way ! 
 For a moment only, for, as fortune would have it, a tipped-up chair caught 
 the lock with its back, while its hind legs held on the floor, and no force except 
 that which would drive all before it, could open that door now. Still throwing 
 on the. furniture with frenzied hands, the woman worked. The robbers thought 
 the hindrance was the lock, so a pistol was clapped to the keyhole and fired. 
 Exhausted, for the paroxysm was over, the woman fell as if she had been "shot 
 and swooned on the carpet, fortunately for her. Her sister, at the report, 
 screamed from upstairs. The robbers, united in one grand push, burst the 
 door in at the hinges and tumbled over the awkward pile. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 77 
 
 While hesitating which way to go, the cheers outside started them. 
 
 " Fire the house !" growled Garcia. 
 
 " No, no, no delay," cried another. " Back !" 
 
 The rearmost turned and went down the stairs, but were received, after a 
 hail to which they made no reply from confusion, with a volley. They re 
 turned in quick time. 
 
 "Come on, all's up!" said Valenzuela; "follow me. We must save cur- 
 selves for the captain." 
 
 The shivering of glass of the piazza windows turned them from the front, a 
 similar sound warned them that the Lack was equally impracticable. 
 
 " Hell's flames !" swore Garcia. " I'd like to be at Fairgrove's throat for 
 rousing the country against us. We must fight out this way," and he turned 
 towards the entry terminating in. the stairs far above. 
 
 " There's somebody " began a cautious one. 
 
 " Somebody 1 a woman, and alone, or she wouldn't be so noisy ! I'll silence 
 her !" 
 
 And all followed Jack's lead to the upper story : not too soon, for from three 
 directions the storming party came into the main room, the flashing of the 
 shots they fired at the fugitives showing them the form of the fainted woman, 
 whom they supposed dead. 
 
 " Heaven, heaven !'^ answered Fairgrove, auguring nothing favorable from 
 this first sight. " No quarter ! Death, death !" 
 
 Luckily, at the very first alarm, Mrs. Fairgrove had locked herself in, and 
 the three-fingered desperado could only fire a shot through the woodwork and 
 was disappointed there. The whole of the Mexicans rushed through the ad 
 joining room and jumped out upon the 'piazza, over which they slung them 
 selves and slid down the columns. Here the last of them was the living target 
 in which was buried three or four shots, and he sprang off into the air, in which 
 he died, for it was a corpse that fell in a heap on the ground. 
 
 The others ran off, fired at by such of the pursuers as had jumped through 
 the windows upon the top of the verandah, and by the others, who had made 
 the circuit on perceiving their design and who had left the building by the 
 ground-floor. Fairgrove sprang off the top and, alighting with a shock that 
 would have used up a man under less excitement, (for he believed that his sister 
 was undoubtedly dead and 'his wife at least hurt by the passing shot which 
 Garcia had driven through the bedroom door, and after which she really fainted 
 woman had been silent), he took the lead of the pursuers. 
 
 The flying bandits had struck for the hills sheltering the ranch,, with a start 
 of sixty or seventy yards ahead of Fairgrove, foremost of those following them. 
 He was in advance of his friends by some twenty feet. The fugitives bounded 
 up the hills as men can fly when death is the same as delay. The pursuers 
 began to fire at them, but, besides the disadvantage of firing at any mark above 
 one's standpoint, there was that of each party being in haste and motion. The 
 fastest of the flyers had attained such an altitude by this time that they halted 
 in the bushes to cover their comrades with their weapons, and all being togeth 
 er on the top, and drawing a long breath while delivering a general discharge, 
 off they went again down the other side of the rising ground. 
 
 The chasers, pausing a moment on receiving a volley, divided into two 
 bodies ! Fairgrove with the smaller, composed of the youngest men, ran on 
 after the robbers, while the rest prudently went quite the other way to mount 
 their horses and try to overtake the escaped ones by this means. 
 
 But their scouring the neighborhood until morning was nearly all in vain, 
 for all they found of the robbers was one dead and another dying, whom their 
 companions had been compelled to abandon. The rest had reached the rendez- 
 TOUS, had been gloomily listened to by the captain and, almost immediately, 
 had started off with him to Indian Creek. 
 
78 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California}; 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 VALENZUELA MAKES A CAPTURE BY BEING HIS LEADER'S NAMESAKE. mi 
 
 "BANKER'S" MISTRESS. GARCIA COMES IN HANDY. THF DOUBLE 
 SURPRISE AND THE DEATH OF THE GO-BETWEEN. 
 
 THE companions of the highwayman were over in Hangtown, while he stayed 
 at the Springs, keeping quiet, after the failure to assassinate Mr. Fairgrove. 
 
 Joaquin, Valenzuela and Garcia, as a matter of course, went the rounds of tho 
 places of amusement, playing the games and making their faces a little known 
 to the girls in the dance-houses. 
 
 We have shown sufficiently already, and will show still more clearly here 
 after, how imprudent Garcia was, especially when liquor had reduced him to a 
 less cool state of mind than natural. 
 
 From this recklessness the following true as tragic adventure arose. 
 
 One evening as Valenzuela, alone, was strolling along, he noticed that he was 
 followed by a stranger, all the stranger, too, by its being a women. 
 
 Women were not so numerous nor so safe up by the mines as to be out un 
 attended after dark, for the robber not to notice this. 
 
 But, being a little inflated by drink as well as a vanity that it prompted, he 
 twirled his moustache and beard, smiled, dark as it was, and slackened his 
 pace. 
 
 Then, he turned abruptly and was on the woman before she could slip away, 
 if she had so desired. i 
 
 But on the contrary, she came right up to him, smiling reassuringly. 
 
 " Senor," said she in bad Spanish, and in a low voice full of mystery. " I 
 know of a senorita, a real preciosita, who is sighing her heart out to see you 
 close to. If you are brave enough, brave as Joaquin the gentleman of the high 
 way," added she with emphasis full of meaning, " you won't be afraid to meet 
 me under the tree, on that corner at eight to-morrow night !" 
 
 Seeing that only pausing to be sure that she had been understood the 
 speaker was going to leave him, Valenzuela hastened to catch her by the arm 
 and thus withdraw a part of the rebozo that hid her features. 
 
 " The deuce !" muttered he, disappointed and ceasing to lick his lips as he had 
 begun to do. 
 
 The face was that of a woman, as old as the hills and less attractive by far. 
 
 " I'm a stranger, I don't know the lady, who is she ?" said the bandit. 
 
 " Let me go, senor, I must be back. Be satisfied with what I said. Will 
 you come?" 
 
 A score of thoughts flashed upon him. 
 
 His name, it was clear, and his " handsome appearance (as he thought to 
 himself)" had made him be mistaken for his superior. 
 
 Flattering, but, if the lady of the rendezvous should turn out to be Madam 
 Vigilance Committee whew ! So he hesitated. 
 
 " Sainted Mother of Heaven !" cried the woman who rapped out Spanish 
 oaths better than she spoke more proper words, " can a young Mexican be a 
 coward pshaw ! there isn't a salteador who wouldn't risk the noose for the 
 beauty I speak for " 
 
 u Jj| 
 
 ' Do it, eh ?" and off she went, turning her head to show him her finger on 
 her lips. 
 
 Valenzuela watched her now a shadow amid the shadows, then in the light 
 streaming out of saloons, till she was gone. 
 
 " The confounded corrupteress of virtuous youth !" swore he in mock indig 
 nation. " Cool as anything, that ! What next, I wonder 1 Well, it'll keep, 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 79 
 
 while I look into friend Barcelonne's and imagine his daughter the beauty the 
 precious bait this old fisherwoman is trolling for me with !" 
 
 He thought no more about the affair till next afternoon when he woke up 
 after a drunken slumber. 
 
 He had dressed himself for another nocturnal promenade, when he called the 
 appointment to mind. 
 
 If the place had been the City of Mexico, or Guaymas, or even El Paso, 
 Tubac, or Arispe he would have let the pros very soon overpower the cons. 
 
 As he hated reasoning, he settled the matter by drawing three or four coins 
 out of his pocket and slapping them down on the table. 
 
 The Mexican eagles with their wriggling prizes of snakes, were uppermost on 
 every piece. 
 
 " Go's the word," muttered he. " The Libertad is very near Libertine." 
 
 He proceeded to arm himself, with a little more care than usual, for, as he 
 said: 
 
 " Spain, Mexico, California countries where weapons are plenty, so that's 
 there are daggers stuck in every girl's garter." 
 
 At the time, he went out. 
 
 The old woman was at the trysting-place and the two went on together. 
 * * * ' * * * * 
 
 Garcia sat before a monte table in Hannigan's saloon. 
 
 At the first of the evening, he had had great luck, but now he lost heavily, 
 sum upon sum. 
 
 At last, Jack slowly got up, hesitated whether to upset the table and smash 
 his chair on the heads of the crowd, did not do so fortunately, strode to the 
 sideboard, took a glassful of some liquid preparation from the hands of a 
 waiter, and took it all down, ice and mint-stalks at two gulps like a whale en 
 gulfing sprats and " squids." 
 
 Then he moved towards the entrance, slowly. 
 
 He had not reached it before a slight tap on his elbow made him look around 
 or rather down, angrily, for he felt in the " tearing" humor. 
 
 A crooked, dwarfed figure of about four feet six was beside him. 
 
 He recognized the face and trunk, which was perfect, as the bankers of the 
 very table at which his funds had been converted into decidedly sinking ones. 
 
 As the dwarf had always been seated, he had never noticed the malformation 
 of his lower limbs, which seemed to have been visited equally wickedly by 
 different sprites, for they were bandy, twisted, bowed, shriviled-up, and termi 
 nated in some peculiar mis-shaping of the feet, for the wadded boot was not at 
 all of a natural shape. 
 
 The three-fingered Mexican observed all this, and therefore set down the 
 maliciousness and imprisoned violence revealed on the countenance upturned to 
 his to no evil meaning to him. 
 
 " Do you want to make up your loss ?" squealingly hissed the dwarf, work 
 ing his fingers, as exquisitely shaped as a lady's, nervously till one would havf 
 thought they were handfuls of snakes. 
 
 Jack looked down and all over the speaker. 
 
 " I don't mind," said he readily. 
 
 " Steel recovers gold often," said the Quilp of the green cloth in a hoarse tone 
 now, for he was not master of his voice any more than a confirmed asthmatic. 
 
 " So they say," answered the bandit, most non-committalty if there is such a 
 word. 
 
 The two looked at one another, till their glances met into one of complete 
 agreement. 
 
 .The gnome gambler drew the broken gamester aside, and the two began 
 whispering, their voices being past hearing even if they had shouted in that ev- 
 
80 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 erlasting chorus of chinking coin, scuffling of feet, jingling of glasses, explosions 
 
 of excited voices in oaths, yells or laughter. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Some days passed. 
 
 Joaquin. the chief heard no bad tidings of his comrades and concluded no news 
 was good news. 
 
 Garcia and Valenzuela slept off their night's libations during the morning, 
 and had a little practice with cards in the afternoon perhaps ere sallying out, 
 but separately now. 
 
 The latter made excuses, which must have appeared for some reason comical 
 to his friend, for he laughed heartily to himself as soon as Valenzuela's back 
 was turned. 
 
 Dark was coming on when Garcia and* his employer, as the dwarf banker 
 may be called, were closeted together in a little room behind the bar, where the 
 staff of Hannigan kept their out-of-doors habiliments. 
 
 " Well ?" growled the dwarf eagerly. 
 
 " There," answered the Mexican, producing a small box of enameled iron 
 very tastefully got up and evidently a trinket-case from some lady's dressing- 
 room. 
 
 The large eyes of the little man seemed to swell into great globes of flame. 
 
 " Hers ! hers ! hers !" he repeated three times in as many variations of tone. 
 
 " His ! his ! his !" said Garcia, not actually mocking the speaker though, 
 whose " touchy " temperament he had learnt no doubt by this time. 
 
 With the utmost coolness, he proceeded to open the casket, of which the lock 
 had been broken already, and lift out a packet of letters. 
 
 He untied a strip of satin binding them, divided the bundle into halves with 
 provoking exactness and, while giving the banker one portion with his three- 
 fingered hand, put the other into his open jacket's bosom. 
 
 '* You know how to read " began Garcia half jesting. 
 
 But the excited dwarf had scarcely glanced at the first of the notes than the 
 blood rushed into his face and filled the veins so fearfully that it really made 
 his disproportioned head still larger ; his eyes rolled under their brows in a 
 way to remind those who have ever had the misfortune to see it, of the fiery 
 hull of a destroyed steamship rocking beneath an inky cloud on the still-tossing 
 billows that were changeful monuments over the loved but the lost gone down 
 with the spars and life-preservers they were yet lashed to ! 
 
 His excessive redness was almost -immediately blanched into a pallor, quite 
 as awful and unexpected. 
 
 He had bitten his lips or his tongue, too, for a bloody froth came out over 
 his beard and stained with a couple of drops, the immaculate shirt-front in which 
 glittered a wonderful diamond cluster-pin, those two chief parts of a profession 
 al blackleg's uniform. 
 
 " He's going to choke," thought Garcia, and he was almost on the point of 
 running out to the bar for water or brandy. 
 
 But men do not swoon or suffocate so easily. 
 
 " Bitter pill, I know, but it's got to go down, and the sooner the better," said 
 bandit Job's comforter, half aloud. 
 
 The dwarf was in too great a fury to mind him. 
 
 He leaped around the little room from side to side like some wounded ani 
 mal like a puma with shot-broken leg, till, getting more calm, he stopped at 
 the washstand, on which was the light, and began to read with a forced tian- 
 quility that was worse than the greatest violence would have been. 
 
 He grew paler and paler, shuddered, started, seemed* turned into stone till 
 AS suddenly he would shiver when he came on some pa-ssaga relating to him 
 self, perhaps, as if the rowels of a Spanish horse-breaker's spur was ploughing 
 up his flesh. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 81 
 
 His lips quivered at times like the poor fellows who died on the Isthmus 
 with the fever and ague, before many another life of white and mongrel had 
 been given to make that railroad which leaps past the deathful swamps and 
 murderous woods. 
 
 Then again his lips would be drawn together till the least sound could not 
 escape, and the mouth resembled those mute yet terrible old cannon that defy 
 the rust in the ruined yet standing walls of Panama's defence. 
 ' Garcia stood ready for a frightful outbreak, inwardly rejoicing, for he was 
 just fiend enough to relish agony of this kind, but the dwarf only said hoarsely: 
 
 " I want the rest, all !" 
 
 " Five hundred is the figure," remarked the bandit, rustling the letters he 
 had pocketed. 
 
 " What, bargain with me !" began the dwarf, giving rein to his fury's steed. 
 " Give them up, or I'll " 
 
 " You'll what 1 Pooh !" laughed the robber over him, eyeing him with 
 some such a look as a wild bull-elephant might give to a tiger-cub. 
 
 Meanwhile, the banker had checked himself, and taken out a well-filled wal 
 let, from which he took a check. 
 
 " For six hundred and some cents on the express men of San Francisco. You 
 can get it cashed at Sacramento, or anybody will buy it." 
 
 When the Mexican had carefully folded up the paper and put it away, he 
 handed the letters to his patron, who grasped them with his gaze too intently 
 fastened on them to notice how greedily the bandit had regarded his wallet. 
 
 " The same, same thing," muttered the dwarf after having scanned a few of 
 the notes, " love for him scorn, worse G d her ! for me ! oh ! I'll have 
 her heart's blood never mind ! Now, hark ye, amigo," continued he to the 
 bandit, " you are in the way to make your fortune, even as fortunes rate in this 
 blessed land. You kill this Joaquin and get the reward out for him, dead or 
 alive ! You have had considerable money already. Well ! am I rating a 
 woman's life too low at a thousand, say ?" 
 
 Garcia looked as grave and calculating as a Babbage inventing a new machine, 
 or a Socrates smacking his lips over the hemlock. 
 
 "Considering all things, I'm agreeable," returned he. 
 
 " But no blood of hers is to be shed, no, no, none by you. I want that satis 
 faction !" said the dwarf, growling, and grinding his teeth, while his fingers re 
 sembled the twining snakes once more. 
 
 The bandit held out his hands, over his hirer as if he meant to strangle the 
 latter himself, and worked his fingers in emulation of the other, till the four 
 hands were uplifted as it were in burlesque by demons who had witnessed the 
 oath of William Tell and his friends. 
 
 " Come along, then, since you understand," said the dwarf, rolling along in 
 advance out of the room, more like a tar on his " sea-legs" than anybody else. 
 
 " Understand 7" said his satellite, grinning. " May I hang high if I don't. I 
 knife Joaquin (here he laughed queerly), and choke the a woman, while you 
 slice her, ha, ha !" 
 
 " And we'll attend to the pocket-book afterwards," added he, to himself, 
 
 " Bleed bank and banker, that's rich !" 
 
 ******* 
 
 Meanwhile, the woman who was the main cause of all this, was with her old 
 serving-woman. 
 
 She was somewhat uneasy. 
 
 "What do you think of such goings on, Lizzie?" she asked. "Mr. Walters 
 never let a day go by without showing his hideous Tom Thumb figure here, to 
 me. Come, tell me what you think of it." 
 
 " I can only say, Miss Laury, that he don't guess how handsome you look 
 
 to-day, or " 
 
 6 
 
82 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 " Oh, away with such stuff. I might have lived in New York to this day, 
 pampered with every kind of luxury, instead of being out in this rude and 
 barbarous world* listening to a jargon about ' gulche.s,' and ' nuggets,' and 
 ' pockets,' and * claims,' and the deuce knows what else." 
 
 "Then all I can say is, that p'raps the imp beg your pardon has smelt 
 a mice with the ugly nose on his monstrous face. Maybe he saw something 
 yesterday that aroused his suspicions 
 
 " Well, that was all your fault for falling asleep, Liz. 
 
 " But no give the old fellow his due. He was in first rate spirits yester 
 day, for which I give him credit. But I cannot bear the sight of him. 
 
 " Oh, my Mexican is so different. 
 
 " But I grow tired of all this medley of mixed wealth and beggary of 
 mixed luxury and privation. One day drinking champagne out of tin dip 
 pers the next drinking common whiskey out of silver goblets. 
 
 " One day you are flattered, feasted, and caressed the next in danger of 
 your Hie irom slashing bowie knives or flying bullets. * 
 
 " You are introduced to a fellow dressed like a prince, with silver-mounted 
 saddle and fingers flashing with diamonds ; and a few hours after his high 
 ness is dangling by the nock from a tree, thanks to the promptitude of Judge 
 Lynch. 
 
 " Again, you meet with a man in a red shirt and pilot-cloth pants with a 
 three years' heard on his cheek and chin, and not a single red in his pocket. 
 You treat him with contempt, and find that you have been snubbing a real 
 gentleman, by birth, education, manners, and worth." 
 
 She was fair enough looking, was the woman who was giving utterance to 
 these snatches of sense, and she gave other evidences of having been well 
 reared and carefully educated in her far away home. 
 
 But, alas, she had parted with all that native goodness of heart that she 
 once possessed and was now sunk so low as to be the leman of every adven 
 turer. 
 
 " I was saying what? oh, yes. My monster was in good humor, indeed. 
 He promised mo some jewelry, especially a necklace. But neither he nor it 
 will be here to-night, I hope. But my love of a graceful, handsome, gallant 
 bandit will bo here hark ! oh ! quick ! Lizzie, run !" 
 
 While the speaker, quite animated now, took one hurried look at the glass, 
 and then sank down on the sofa, which was the article of the room's furniture, 
 in a tempting attitude so deeply studied as to seem natural, the servant was 
 away like a rather slow-flying arrow. 
 
 When she returned, she followed Senor Valenzuela, whoso face was 
 wreathed with smiles. 
 
 The old woman took a last survey of the apartment, exchanged, a knowing 
 glance with her mistress, and vanished. 
 
 If the couple on whom she had just turned her back had not been full of 
 themselves, they would have heard a suppressed sound and a faint scuffle in 
 the passage, and afterwards a growl, which signified in Garcia's vocabulary : 
 
 " Valga mo Dios ! the old hag all but made ma a Two-fingered Jack with 
 the one or two fangs she has left. Quiet, you venerable !" 
 
 The ancient camerista had run into the very arms of the bandit-in-waidng, 
 and ho had almost instantly reduced her to unconsciousness with the press 
 ure round her throat of his vise-like hands. 
 
 In the meantime the lovers had billed and cooed. 
 
 " Oh, my dear love of a hero !" sighed Laura, as romantically as a girl of 
 fifteen, " when, oh, when are we to start for San Francisco and the States ? 
 I have plenty of money, you have as much, you assure me, let us go there to 
 enjoy ourselves. You can be a Spanish prince ; you look it. Won't we lead 
 a life &f brilliancy ! theatres, moonlight drives, suppers, parties, all the balls, 
 every mortal thing heart can desire !" ^ 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 83 
 
 The syren looked very handsome. 
 
 Her cheeks were suffused with something of the red blushes of her spring 
 time ; her eyes danced and sparkled like brilliants ; and her superb figure 
 was set off with everything that could display it to the best advantage. 
 
 She forced him away with a strength generally to be found in the perfect 
 ly formed, a strength which explained why the dwarf required his bravo to 
 hold her while he should deal the blows. 
 
 " Joaquin, when we are aboard the steamer, and the coast out of view." 
 
 The slight, small Mexican girls were before sufficiently beautiful in the 
 robber's eyes; ho had no other kind to contrast with them, so that this love 
 ly woman, with dark brown hair,-and dark eyes approaching jet, but of a 
 milk and roses complexion, with a stature equal to his, splendidly rounded, 
 subdued him so that he assented to everything. 
 
 And all the while lie, the lady-killer, the mem experienc-ad in woman's 
 wiles, forsooth, did not dream that little was he to obtain from her, her sole 
 intentions being to attract him to San Francisco, where she would coolly turn 
 over the supposed Joaquin to the authorities. 
 
 The reward would nicely pay her passage homo, and fit her up in dresses 
 and jewelry, was to make her the belle who always gets the best seat in the 
 cabin, has the captain's telescope, books and conversation, as well as the first 
 help at the table and the wine of wines. 
 
 " And will not your little man, the tortilla, be in a dreadful state ?" asked 
 the robber. 
 
 " Oh, I suppose so. You ought to see him when ho is mad just like 
 a devil. He stamped around this. room like a I don't know what ; oh, he's 
 awful at times. He is quite agreeable by contrast just now, though. H<$ 
 has promised mo no end of things, which he will- have up from the city. He 
 is ricli enough and generous enough, that is true." 
 
 " Rich ? ho ought to be. Why, I've lost several thousand at his very 
 table," said Valenzuela. 
 
 "Indeed! Oh, you gamblers ! If you could only seo my banker when 
 he's in the humor and describes and mimics the faces of the losers and win 
 ners. He is impassable as statue." 
 
 " As a statue. Never winks as he draws the piles towards him or pushes 
 them away." 
 
 "So I believe. Then we'll only be enjoying your own money again, by 
 taking his," said Laura, with a smile that had nothing to do with her wordo, 
 but which was extremely bewitching nevertheless. 
 
 "That is very true, my girl," said Valenzuela. "Has he most of his 
 money here, or does ho send it to tho States ?" continued the robber, who 
 was not so enthralled as to iorget tho chance there appeared to be of enrich 
 ing himself with the gambler's hoarded wealth. 
 
 ** Oh, lie has any quantity of gold, in dust, nuggets, and coin, besides 
 he: ps of watches and rings, which he loans money on to his customers when 
 they 'get broke ' as they frequently do," replied Laura. 
 
 " Is ho not afraid of osing all this treasure ?" 
 
 "But this is dull talking, my girl," said the robber. 
 
 " True true," said Laura. " But I will soon surprise you." 
 
 " Surprise me in what manner ?" 
 
 " You shall soon see the present from my dwarf." 
 
 " The present *r" 
 
 "Yes. I'm promised a necklace of great value, but it hasn't come " 
 
 " Pardon, seuorita, here it is !" broke in a rude voice. 
 
 The lovers started up, and Valenzuela placed himself before the woman, 
 his knife in his hand. 
 
 But he lowered its point almost instantly. 
 
84 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 " Jack !" he exclaimed at the height of surprise. 
 
 *' Yes, Joaquin," returned the bandit. 
 
 *' What brings you here, of all in the world ?" 
 
 " I told you. Senorita, here's your necklace !" continued Jack, stretching 
 out his hands most significantly. 
 
 She recoiled. 
 
 lie laughed, and began whispering to his comrade. 
 
 " Not a moment to be lost !" cried the latter, thereupon ; " pack up your 
 valuables quickly ! The banker has paid this man to help kill you and me ! 
 Come." 
 
 Like one in a dream, the beauty caught up here and there an article, stuffed 
 all into the first little box at hand and while she robed herself, Valenzuela ex 
 changed a few last words with his companion in crime. 
 
 Then, the robber, carrying the jewel-box, and the woman ran out of the room, 
 he coolly, she mechanically. Garcia followed them into the entry, but only to 
 lift unseen the body of the stifled woman, and lug it back into the bedroom. 
 
 He flung it on the bed, covered it over, tossed a silk scarf of gay colors on 
 the face, and gave the body a severe pinch on the side, which, forcing an instin- 
 tive shrinking away, proved that Lizzie was not lifeless. 
 
 Next, the robber remembered his trade and, after repairing the disorder 
 caused in the *room by the flight, pocketed whatever there was portable and 
 valuable, flung a satisfied look over the place, indulged in what seemed a sudden 
 fit of madness in dancing about and kicking over a chair or two and the table, 
 Irom which slid the candlestick to be extinguished on the floor. 
 
 Then, he pushed out the window, and leant out. 
 
 A black ball was beneath, having just escaped the fallen sash. 
 
 " Quick !" said Jack, leaning out farther than ever till he caught hold of the 
 dwarf 's hands. 
 
 The latter was mounted on a gardner's wheelbarrow, standing on which on 
 tiptoe made him about a man's height. 
 
 Most unceremoniously, in fact with no more care than the Vigilance Com 
 mittee's hangman displayed when running their convicts up to the pulley-sheave 
 of the projecting beam of a grain-loft, the Mexican pulled his employer clean 
 through the window into the room. 
 
 His haste was compelled by his hearing a choking sob behind him, from the 
 bed, which betokened Lizzie's coming to. 
 
 He dropped the dwarf on the floor and crying : " Come, come !" darted at the 
 form just moving the coverlet. 
 
 He arrived just in time to smother the woman's voice, for she had recovered 
 consciousness and would have uttered a shrill scream only for Jack's iron 
 gripe. 
 
 He merely let her have a little breath, just as an angler gives a fish " play," 
 and hauled her upon the floor completely disguised by the whole of the sheets 
 and counterpanes. 
 
 " Quick, sir," said the wretch coolly ; " she's lively, and I cannot hold her " 
 
 The monstrosity gave full sweep to his rage. 
 
 While the woman suffered for her mistress, groaning, attempting to shriek 
 and writhing horribly, the dwarf plied the dagger, yelling : 
 
 " I'm a horrible, disgusting object ! I'm worse than a snake ! I'm a reptile ! 
 I'm a despicable, hateful crawling newt ! I'm a wretch ! I I ! ah ! Go, 
 shameful thing to find your superior man of a lover ! Is he dead, sir?'' 
 
 " If he ain't, he will be soon," returned Garcia chuckling. " She's a goner, 
 anyhow," pursued he, unclasping his hands from the neck of the mufHed woman, 
 a corpse bleeding at fifty gashes now. 
 
 " Light up till I see them both !" said the dwarf kneeling down by Lizzie, 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 85 
 
 and while holding his blood-running blade in one closely clenched hand, he 
 began unfolding the envelopes of the murdered one. 
 
 At the same moment that Three-fingered Jack tranquilly hunted up a candle 
 and lit it, he heard the dwarf emit a dreadful howl. 
 
 He had touched the face of the dead woman and had naturally been amazed 
 to feel wrinkles and roughness in lieu of Laura's matchless soft and even flesh. 
 
 His hair stood on end like a vulture's neck-feathers, and he leaped up and 
 snatched away the candle from the grinning desperado. 
 
 Hell fire ! it's the old jade V 9 
 
 " So it is," said Three-fingered Jack, as tranquilly as possible. 
 
 The dwart turned on him, and brandished his blood-streaked dagger. 
 
 " Are you false ! where's the dead man !" 
 
 " In your shoes, you fool !" roared the Mexican, whose knife was already out. 
 
 The candle was flung in his face, as the dwarf followed it in a spring at the 
 bandit's throat. 
 
 In the dark ihe struggle went on. 
 
 Suddenly as many as twenty shots rang out, and a shout went up in the 
 same place, outside the house. 
 
 " Joaquin the robber ! Fire, fire on him !" 
 
 " The devil !" exclaimed Garcia, half rising and kneeling on the conquered 
 dwarf, while he searched him. " It was time to finish the little hunchback with 
 a bone (of steel) in his throat. I've the money, anyhow." 
 
 He kicked the dwarf upon the other body and listened. 
 
 The sounds in the street had continued but went away from the house. 
 
 " All right. Valenzuela clear. I hope, with the booty. Good night, loving 
 couple," concluded he laughing as he backed out of the room, casting a farewell 
 look on the two bodies horribly seeming to embrace one another. 
 
 When Valenzuela and his beautiful charge made for the front door, they did not 
 progress as fast as they should. Their emotion more than the difficulty of ad 
 vancing in the dark, had delayed them. Before sallying out, the robber thought 
 to quiet his companion with a warm salute and a cheering word or two. This 
 occupation was so pleasant, that his caution was so lulled and he did not hear 
 the following low-spoken sentences without: 
 
 " S'pose it tain't," said one man of nearly a dozen who stood in the street 
 beside the door of the house. 
 
 " Oh, shut up, old Careful. I tell you it was Three-fingered Jack who went 
 in here and that proves the old woman is not lying. Joaquin must be in. So 
 use your shooters, I say. You can't hit an honest man in their s'ciety ; I guess 
 not ! 'Sh ! ready, boys !" 
 
 The instant Valenzuela opened the door and stepped out, three or four pair 
 of hands lunged at him, and they got a good hold of him before he could shake 
 off his surprise. 
 
 He struggled then, but to shake off their grasp was a less easy feat. 
 
 Furious at having fallen so blindly into a trap, he fought as only a madman 
 might have been expected to do, or a sane man whose head was doomed to the 
 halter. 
 
 He bit, struck, kicked, butted and plunged about in the ring of the dozen 
 men, who had already secured his weapons. 
 
 " Give in, you dod-rotted gopher ! The woman's sold you !" 
 
 " She ! the b " 
 
 " No, no !" screamed Laura, who had seen all this occur in a twinkling while 
 unseen herself and nailed to the spot by surprise and terror. " And I'll 
 prove I was true to you, Joaquin !" 
 
 When a man lies dying of wound or illness, the woman who little liked him 
 before, has been known to love him then ; when he, unthought of before, has 
 
86 Joaquin, (the Claude Dnval of California} / 
 
 been about to perish, the woman has suddenly been exalted from a passing 
 whim to a do-all, dare-all passion. 
 
 So with Laura. 
 
 Gay woman as she was, who had determined secretly to sell her plaything 
 for blood-money when it should become tiresome, yet here, with her own idea 
 embodied under her eyes, she hated the too-truthful assertion in one sense, 
 though unfounded in another. 
 
 Like a lioness, she burst into the centre of the group and frantically smote 
 and tore at the faces of the men. 
 
 Their astonishment aided her purpose, and, panting, bleeding a little, ex 
 hausted for the moment, Valenzuela stood comparatively free. 
 
 He caught his breath instantly, and wrenched himself from the hands yet on 
 him ; true, they were benumbed by the very tenacity of their hold. 
 
 Then, as if winged, ignobly forgetting her who had dashed in to save him, he 
 sped up the street towards the end from which no one was running up, as there 
 was from the other. 
 
 Out flashed all the fire-arms and the whole group hurried after him, scarcely 
 seeing, such was their desire to secure " Joaquin," that Laura ran amongst 
 them, striking aside this weapon, and that, as she saw them leveled at the fugi 
 tive. 
 
 She felt her strength failing her ; she made a great effort, for all the men had 
 stopped for the same fatal purpose, and darted in advance of them. 
 
 She flung herself straight in front of all the barrels and opened her arms to 
 embrace their missiles like Winkelried sweeping in the tyrant's spears. 
 
 A rattle of twelve to twenty shots was followed by a mocking cheer from 
 the fugitive bandit vanishing unhurt, and by a many-voiced ejaculation from 
 the marksmen as the smoke curled upwards and showed them a white figure, 
 spotted with red blots growing larger momentarily, stretched on the ground 
 t their feet. 
 
 ******* 
 
 "What's the news, fellows?" said a new comer from down the river, as he 
 slung his leg over his horse's neck and dismounted to saunter into the first sa 
 loon, next morning. 
 
 " News ! the hugest thing yet ! what'll you take ?" asked the bar-tender, who 
 was missing his own morning call. 
 
 " The black bottle, you know ! quit your joking, Joe !" 
 
 " Why, you know Shorty the twistified banker of Hannegan's ?" 
 
 "I should think it ! The side-show * walk in, ladees V gen'i'men V see the 
 smallest living man in the world,' as I allers said he was. Many's the ' slug' 
 his table swallowed of mine. Somebody's 'leaded' him for thumbing a jack 1 ?" 
 
 " Oh, no ! steel. Why, Joaquin and Three-fingered Jack had their gang in 
 town last night about eleven, broke into the dwarfs house, where he's been 
 keeping art all-fired beauty that would make Lola dim beside her a rosebud in 
 full bloom and a lee tie more, they say ! knifed him and a cook and an old 
 woman, had a fight with a crowd of volunteers and Constable Talbert, and got 
 off on the Di'mons' Spring' road safe, on'y that the beauty was shot in a dozen 
 places. Go down to the court-house and some of the boys you know will let 
 yer see lier worth it, I tell you, tho' I ain't been." 
 
 And this is the story, which we have truly told. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 LYING IN WAIT. STOPPING THE STAGE. THE CHIEF GAME NOT BAGGED, 
 
 SOME time after the failure to assassinate Mr. Fairgrove, on arrival at Dia 
 mond Spring, near Hangtown, Joaquin was informed by one of his associates 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 87 
 
 who kept in the first named place a dunce-house, that, on the following morn 
 ing, the stage between Hangtown and Sacramento would carry, besides the 
 mail and several passengers, a rather large sum of gold-dust destined for the 
 EavSt, via San Francisco. 
 
 During the opening months of his profession, Murieta had tried his hand at 
 stopping a stage running to or from Mokelumne ; but the insignificant result 
 obtained had disgusted him from that Dick Turpin line of his calling, and he 
 had preferred to increase his gains in a different manner. 
 
 Still, he did not deem it proper to reject the intelligence given to him and he 
 resolved at all hazards to make himself master of the Hangtown conveyance. 
 Forty thousand dollars, for so went the report, was not a sum to be sneezed at; 
 he wanted no greater one to be enabled to gain Mexico, enrol the forces of which 
 he stood 11; need, and enter upon the brilliant plan which he had formed of 
 sacking the lower provinces. 
 
 He took Valenzuela and Three-fingered Jack into his confidence and acquaint 
 ed them with the intention he had of attacking the vehicle : they, eager more 
 over to wipe out their last defeat, had only been waiting for some new chance. 
 
 That very evening they went out along the road to choose a site for the am 
 bush. 
 
 After having slowly proceeded through almost the whole night, the three, 
 Mexicans stopped at length, in an isolated spot, covered with lihick bushes and 
 stunted trees, situated about half way between Mississippi Bar and White 
 Rock House. Joaquin posted his two men on the left of the road, behind a 
 hedge of briars and wild vegetation but near the roadside, while he took up a 
 similarly concealed stand on the right. 
 
 Two hours of anxious watch crept slowly on, and already in the east were 
 the first streakings of dawn appearing, and yet there had been no signs of the 
 expected prey. 
 
 The chief had had it from a sure source that it was to have set out from 
 Hangtown between one and two of the morning, and yet here it was half after 
 six. 
 
 He doubted ; his informant must have been mistaken. 
 
 He crossed the road to his followers, almost decided to turn back to Diamond 
 Springs and run the risk of meeting the stage in some other place. 
 
 Valenzuela and Garcia, their horses' noses rubbing and they themselves as 
 comfortably settled in the saddle as possible, were smoking as they patiently 
 let time pass. 
 
 Seeing them so easy, Murieta thought to wait for another hour. But, at the 
 end of fifteen minutes, Three-fingered Jack drew his revolver and began cap 
 ping it. 
 
 " Here it comes !" exclaimed he. 
 
 " Yes," said Joaquin, " I hear the wheels. A few words before it comes up. 
 I was so busy with other matters until now that I forgot to tell you what to 
 do." 
 
 " Why, Santa Maria !" said Jack, " there ain't two ways of killing the goose. 
 Pistol 'em all and search for " 
 
 " Silence !" broke in the highwayman. " Hark to me : at the first signal, 
 dart out and take each a side of the stage, while I'll stop the horses. I don't 
 want a single cap snapped till my order says so mind that, Jack ! You un 
 derstand, friends ?" 
 
 " Perfectly, senor," rejoined Valenzuela, politely bowing. 
 
 " AH right," growled Garcia, " only I can't say I like the idea " 
 
 " Ready ! No more. Remember !" 
 
 And as the grating and grinding sound of the wheels grew louder, the captain 
 crossed to his place of concealment. In five minutes afterwards, the object of 
 
88 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) 
 
 their ambush, appeared round a turn in the highway. It was drawji by four 
 horses, who went at a gallop, seeming to be inspired by the fresh early air that 
 they drank in with open nostrils. 
 
 In another minute, all were abreast of the hidden highwaymen. Suddenly a 
 peculiar cry arose. 
 
 Joaquin shot out from the side of the road and, with a leveled pistol, whose 
 bright steel barrel glittered in the grey light, commanded the halt in a most 
 menacing voice. At the same time, Valenzuela and Three-fingered Jack made 
 their appearance and dashed up to the doorways. 
 
 The latter held his pistol so unpleasantly near the occupants that they shrank 
 over to the other side against their companions, who were recoiling likewise 
 from Valenzuela, and were half dead with terror at the Mexican's horrible im 
 precations. 
 
 The driver , on seeing Murieta, had drawn back and pulled up his four-in- 
 hand. He had seen at first blush that it was useless to attempt to dash past, 
 and he could remark, or rather had remarked, that Joaquin did not handle his 
 revolver like a man unused to weapons. 
 
 As soon as the stoppage had been completed, the chief exchanged his position 
 for Valenzuela's and took upon himself the delicate occupation of forcing the 
 victims to " deliver." 
 
 " Now, geiitlfimen," said he, looking in on the travelers, more dead thac 
 alive, " hand out that box and be quick, for I have no time to lose. Come, 
 make haste !" 
 
 " Yes caramba, make haste," echoed Garcia, ferociously, " or I'll make pepper- 
 bottle-tops out of your heads !" 
 
 " Bu but, mister highway ay Mister Mexican, I mean don't be so 
 quick," stammered a fat Englishman filling out a great deal of the back seat and 
 trying to ward off the revolver which Jack kept obstinately pointed at his ear. 
 " By George, there hain't h'any baux heah, I assure yaar !" 
 
 " We'd chuck it out mighty quick, if there was," said somebody else. 
 
 " Yes, yes," chorussed the other travelers, " there isn't any box whatever, 
 large or small," repeated they, drawing in against one another, till they were 
 like red herrings in a case, from the ominous sextuple muzzles of the revolver. 
 
 " Driver, where's the dust you're taking to Sacramento 1 ?" demanded Joaquin, 
 furiously. 
 
 " There's not a grain of gold, sir, in the coach. Yesterday, we carried a big 
 iron-bound chest to Sacramento, but this trip, nary box." 
 
 "I'll see, first, and if your'e lying, look out.!" 
 
 " I'll be d d if you'll find any, hunt as you like, sir," said the driver. 
 
 Joaquin flung open the door, while Jack did the same on the other side, and 
 cried : 
 
 " Out of this, every one of you !" 
 
 The order was quickly executed. 
 
 Two of those on Garcia's side made a little delay, when he caught one by the 
 collar and pulled him through in so unceremonious a fashion that the other 
 leaped out as lightly as a dancer. 
 
 The last was a young woman, of Mexican origin no doubt, who had not been 
 noticed before by the chief. 
 
 She threw back her shawl and held out to him a little crucifix of gold set 
 with diamonds, which he, after having taken and examined it, returned with 
 some compliment quite in the ancient highwaymen's vein. 
 
 After having minutely examined the interior, without having been able to 
 discover anything whatever, Joaquin climbed upon the roof and looked at the 
 boot but there was no treasure there unless the ends of useless whip-lashes and 
 spare buckles and straps are, accounted precious. 
 
 So Murieta, cursing his ill fortune, ordered the travelers to retake their 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 8iJ 
 
 places, after paying him for their trouble, and called off Valenzuela as a token 
 of his permission being given to the driver to go ahead. 
 
 He let out his \vhip, and off went the four horses at a gallant pace. 
 
 Three-fingered Jack, on hearing the order and seeing the stage started, wheeled 
 and sent a couple of bullets over the top of the dust-enveloped vehicle at the 
 head of the driver, who was not touched luckily. 
 
 With angry look and gesture, the captain commanded the treacherous mis 
 creant to put up his weapon, or else he would slay him on the spot. 
 
 " He ought to have carried the box of gold to-day !" growled Jack, as if he 
 were stating a most conclusive reason for his action. 
 
 Joaquin could not help laughing. 
 
 The thref hastened back to Diamond Springs, to the house of their friend, 
 whose ears were gratified by an account of the exploit and his eyes by the sight 
 of the preuy well-filled pocket-books and money-belts which had been taken 
 from the travelers. 
 
 For a whole week, the highwaymen dwelt in concealment in their friend's 
 house and, when the noise caused by the stopping of the stage had diminished, 
 they mounted their horses, which had been kept in a sure place, and directed 
 their steps still again to Sonora Pass. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE FIVE FRENCH. ARKANSAW TURNS UP AGAIN. CHINESE. THE BEAR AND 
 
 THE BATHERS. GARCIA AND THE GRIZZLY. THE HUNT. 
 
 A SHORT time after their departure from Diamond Spring the chief and his 
 comrades established a temporary camp on the northern branch of the Stanis 
 laus River. 
 
 The place had appeared to them on the previous evening to be utterly apart 
 from human habitation. 
 
 But, when they arose at the break of dawn they were surprised to behold at 
 a little distance an encampment of several men, who were guessed correctly to 
 be French. 
 
 The latter did not suspect in the least what undesirable neighbors they had, 
 and were quite ignorant of the true trade of the new-comers. 
 
 When the latter appeared before them and asked them what was their busi 
 ness in so out-of-the-way a place, they answered without any hesitation that 
 they were gold-seekers. 
 
 " So are we," remarked Joaquin, " we're gold-seekers and are very eager to 
 make a raise of the dust, if it is possible hereabouts." 
 
 " Ah, but it is ver' possible," replied the apparent principal of the party. 
 " The place is excellent, gold here abounds. But," added he in his best Eng 
 lish, " you have not of outils vat you name ah ! too-els for to work ?" 
 
 " Oh ! you're a little out there we are well supplied ; but are you sure the 
 diggings pay "?" 
 
 " Perfectly ! Believeey-vous that four or five men like us would muse our 
 selves in working for nothig ? No, no ! We have found what you call some 
 good deegin's, and we are well decided to dwell the longest time possible in 
 this gran-n-nd raypubleek !" 
 
 " You are likely to dwell in it longer than you fancy," said Joaquin, suddenly 
 drawing his revolver ; " but you won't live in it long enough to improve your 
 excellent English," added he, while his companions displayed their weapons, 
 " unless you turn over to us every particle you possess !" 
 
 " Holy heaven ! name of a saint ! mon Dieu Lord !" ejaculated the Gauls. 
 
90 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California}; 
 
 On seeing the menacing attitude of the Mexicans, they could not hope for 
 joke to be before them. Four of the five ran to their tents and re-appeared the 
 next moment, revolver in hand, but, before they had time to take aim, Jack, 
 Three-fingers and Valenzuela had fired two or three shots a-piece and slain 
 them. 
 
 The 'last of the unfortunates entreated mercy, but, hardly had he given up 
 several pounds of gold dust, the fruits of long toil, than he was killed pitilessly 
 like his fellows. 
 
 As unconcernedly as possible, the murderers sat down to the breakfast of the 
 Frenchmen, whose blood had scarcely ceased to flow. 
 
 While they were thus busied, they were abruptly interrupted, by a loud 
 shout. 
 
 They looked straight before them and beheld, on the other bank of the 
 stream, ten men, all on horseback, and armed with revolvers and rifles, the 
 foremost of them being the everlasting Arkansaw." 
 
 " That Yankee again !" exclaimed Joaquin, on foot at the moment. " Quick, 
 quick, to horse !" 
 
 Jack growled like a dog from whom a bone was being taken, and was only 
 quickened in his movements by two bullets buzzing near him and a third dent 
 ing a tin plate which he was just about reaching for. 
 
 He flew into the saddle like the others, at that, cursing the Americans IL 
 general and " Arkansaw and his crowd" in particular. 
 
 " Caramba ! to spoil a man's meal," grumbled he. " Here's the time tt 
 wait for them and pitch into them." 
 
 " Of course, it is," said Murieta sarcastically, " when they are three to one 
 and with rifles, too. I tell you, you may look upon yourself as very well off 
 that they haven't done for one or two of us, as it is. Fools for having given 
 
 us warning !" 
 
 " There they are crossing the stream. They'll be over soon. Push on," said 
 Valenzuela. 
 
 He plied the spurs simultaneously and placed himself so as to cover his 
 chief, while Garcia galloped on in the rear, enraged at having to turn his back 
 on the hated foe. 
 
 Hardly had they gained the summit of the nearest eminence, than they came 
 upon a couple of Chinese who were carry ng their mining implements on their 
 shoulders and were without other weapons than a couple of U. S. cavalry sa 
 bres, condemned and probably sold to them cheap at San Francisco, or bought 
 on the way from a deserting soldier. 
 
 Three-fingered Jack flung himself off his horse and on them not only poig- 
 narding them but cutting off, their heads which he slung by the hair towards the 
 pursuers. 
 
 Five miles further on, other Chinese were met, and the same act was each 
 time repeated, so that seven heads and seven trunks were passed by the Amer 
 icans, almost witnesses of the crimes without power to prevent them. 
 
 During four days, the bandits continued to fly until, after the chasers were 
 propably shaken off they made for Sonora Pass. 
 
 On the last of another four-and-twenty hours, they reached the head-quarters. 
 
 They dismounted without announcing their return by the signal agreed upon, 
 and, while Jack led the horses to. water to the neighboring pond, Joaquin and 
 Valenzuela advanced towards the camp. When at the first tent, they halted 
 and saw three of their comrades deep in the mysteries of the fifty-two leaves of 
 the Satanic prayer-book. 
 
 They were so absorbed in their games that they did not in the least notice 
 the comirg of their officers. 
 
 " This is nice !" said Joaquin sternly, " immense resistance you could offer 
 the Yankees, I don't think !" 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Nines. 01 
 
 Immediately the players, dropping their " hands," like sleepers suddenly 
 awakened, sprang to their feet and drew their revolvers, and, seeing whom thev 
 were that they had to do with, they tried to laugh it off, and wished their su 
 periors a hearty welcome. 
 
 " Carajo !" said one, " the devil fly away with me if I didn't think the Yankees 
 had the camp !" 
 
 " Which they might easily do," rejoined Joaquin, looking around on the 
 whole camp, then quite deserted ; " yes, without the least difficulty, with all 
 possible ease. Where are the men?" 
 
 " Out a hunting grizzly." 
 
 " Are the ladies hunting, too ?" 
 
 " Oh, no, captain. They strolled off towards the rivulet, and are under some 
 tree, I suppose." 
 
 " Very well ; I will go myself and see what has become of them. Stay here, 
 Valenzuela, and if the men come back before I do, put some of them on guard 
 on every point where you may think a sentry is needed. Those cursed fellows 
 are fully capable of not being thrown off our trail, for all our trouble, and pop 
 ping in upon us of a sudden." 
 
 " That is to be feared, senor," said Valenzuela, " and we must prevent their 
 kind visit, for the sake of the senoritas, at any rate. In case the rest of the 
 boys are not back in a quarter of an hour, I will put these three here on the 
 point furthest west of the mountains and go myself to attend to the pass." 
 
 Joaquin approved of this idea, and, trusting all to the lieutenant, sauntered 
 off to find the girls. 
 
 On coming to the pond, while keeping himself behind a clump of saplings, 
 he perceived them merrily bathing under the shade of some trees, hanging on 
 to the pendant branches and gracefully swimming. 
 
 As th^y were not unaware that the men might pass by at any time, they had 
 taken the precaution, in remembrance of past shamefulness, to attire themselves 
 in habits, which prevented the eavesdropper from a treat as delightful as that 
 of years ago in which Clarina and himself were the respective entertainer and 
 entertained. 
 
 In the woods, there was only a gentle murmur broken now and anon by the 
 whizzing of a fly-catcher's wings, or the "\\hit-er-wheel" of a quail. 
 
 Joaquin was waiting, calculating the effect which he would produce by an un 
 expected presence among the bathers, enjoying their alarm and confusion in an 
 ticipation, when a piercing scream, preceding many othois, came upon his ear. 
 
 Hardly had he heard the first, seemingly uttered by Clarina, than he sprang 
 out of his covert ; but the danger was passed already. 
 
 He only rushed upon the spot to see Three-fingered Jack plunging his knife 
 into the belly of a gdbd sized grizzly. 
 
 Jack, after tending to the horses, had left the harness on the ground and laid 
 down in the bushes, not far from the sheet of water in which the robbers' naiads 
 were disporting. 
 
 Calmer than usual and affected more deeply than he would have supposed 
 possible by the peacefulness round about, he fell off into a half slumber, dream, 
 ing while he dozed. 
 
 His thoughts turned back to many years before when he had been young and 
 unused to crime. 
 
 His remembrances of a woman whom he had loved, had a stamp put upon 
 them by his hearing faintly a clear sweet voice of a woman. 
 
 It awoke him and, still half-roused only, he staggered out of the thicket, 
 when a scream made him fully conscious and led him to save from the clutches 
 of the bear the mistress of his chief. 
 
 On beholding the animal, he had thrown himself between it and the flying 
 
92 haqmn, (the ClaudeDuval of California) ; 
 
 woman, and fin/y his blanket over its head, following up the momentary check 
 by savage staffs ; he was dealing the last stroke when his captain appeared. 
 
 Clarma w*^s following her companions, who were fleeing in all haste from 
 the scene of terror, but, at the sight of her lover, she stopped, turned and ran 
 to throw herself into his arms, explaining to him all that had happened. 
 
 Jooauin, without even thinking of asking how the brave rescuer had chanced 
 m bft there so opportunely, shook his hand, still wet with blood as it was, and 
 *nd warmly expressed his gratitude. 
 
 " Garcia," said he, " you have saved a life dear to me. I am made your 
 debtor henceforth by that ; I am your devoted friend, remember." 
 
 For the first time during many long years, a smile lit up the face, impassi- 
 ole and almost always ferocious, of Three-fingered Jack, the merciless bandit 
 who, under jthe flimsy cloak of revenging the death of his mistress, had com 
 mitted no end of horrible crimes. 
 
 " It's nothing to tumble over a bear," he said. " No use making a fuss 
 ibout it. And anyhow, if I did save the senorita from harm, it was more than 
 anything else from my thinking of another." 
 
 " Another what ?" 
 
 " Woman. What will you say when I tell you that my presence here was 
 from a dream of the past." 
 
 As soon as the speech was uttered, without adding another syllable, he 
 turned his back unceremoniously on the bandit chief and his mistress, and dived 
 into the shade. 
 
 '* Garcia in love, a's he seems to mean !" exclaimed Joaquin, in spite of him 
 self. " Really, if he had not just now rendered me a service beyond value, I 
 would be temped to make him the laughing stock of the whole band." 
 
 " Perhaps, " said Clarina, " his speech contains some mystery of which we 
 know nothing. He seemed to be referring to the pastj mentioning themernory 
 of a woman." 
 
 " At all events, there is something strange in it," concluded the captain, " but 
 he is not soap 'or sugar to melt. Come, we must return to camp unless you 
 prefer to visit a certain tree " 
 
 " Tree, Joaquin ?" 
 
 " Why, yes, dear Clarina. Oh, dont't you fancy that I haven't yet seen the 
 pretty little bower you have tastefully formed since I've been away. The 
 canopy of creepers, the flowers on the sides, our initials woven with evergreen 
 in a garland I know all. I was not back twenty minutes before love guided 
 me to the spot." 
 
 " So I lose the pleasure of surprising you. But you do not ah ! holy 
 Mother, what's that ?" 
 
 A dull crash, made by some heavy body in motion thorough the chapparal, 
 sounded out near the couple. An instant after, another bear, but smaller than 
 the former one, rattled with his claws on the carpet of rotten twigs and leaves 
 past Joaquin and his mistress. As the former tried to shake off Clarina, who 
 clung to him tenaciously, half a dozen of the desperadoes burst through the 
 brush at very nearly the same time, weapon in hand, hurrah'd on by Manuel 
 Guerra. 
 
 " Halt !" cried he, on perceiving his superior. 
 
 The robbers obeyed and, no less astonished than joyous, pressed around to 
 welcome him. 
 
 " You've made short-work of our bruin, captain," remarked Guerra, indicat 
 ing the carcase of the grizzly. 
 
 " No, no," answered Joaquin. " That is not your fellow it is some of 
 Three-fingered Jack's hunting." 
 
 " Caramba !" swore the lieutenant, " so 3urs has escaped 1 I thought we had 
 him sure when I saw this one." 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mir.., W 
 
 At the same moment, twenty or thirty detonations &t. >ed around in the 
 underwood. Joaquin and those who had met him hurried to the camp, where 
 all were united in four or five minutes, for the remainder of the hunters had 
 slain the second grizzly in the very heart of the head-quarters. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 RETURN OF THE RAVAGERS. AN ORQIE. SEVALIO NEARLY HANGED. 
 
 TOWARDS the evening of this day, so gloriously marked by the killing of the 
 two bears, Valenzuela and the three men who held the outposts, came into camp. 
 Behind them marched about fifty of their companions, who had been separately 
 marauding in different parts of the State. The commander of each detachment 
 gave over to the chief an account and the product of each expedition ; the amount 
 of the whole plunder went as high as a thousand ounces of gold. While the 
 new-comers related to their friends what they had done, the first who had 
 arrived made everything ready for a grand feast, which was to end in a general 
 fandango. 
 
 The great fire was kindled in the centre of the encampment, for the roasting 
 of the grizzlies slain so opportunely. This was to be the chief dish, plenty of 
 provisions, brought by the robbers, was to supply the other demands. Ere 
 long the cooks announced supper to be ready. 
 
 A truce was declared to conversation, and all took their places. The feast 
 was not let cool, for everybody had had their appetite whetted by the various 
 emotions of the day. After that, cigarettes and favorite drinks of the Mexi 
 cans went the round, and attention was given to the stories of such of the crew 
 as could rattle off a relation of adventures, highway or amorous. When almost 
 all subjects had been exhausted which could interest the assemblage, Joaquin 
 turned towards Antonio, who had been rather silent since the commencement, 
 and he begged him to say something. 
 
 " Heaven knows, my friends," said Antonio, flinging away the end of a cigar, 
 " that it is utterly impossible for me to recount my experiences for the last 
 quarter of an hour even, seeing that my head is full as an egg of visions of griz 
 zly bear. I was almost asleep and actually dreamed of one of the monsters being 
 about to let me have a left hander with those sweet teeth he carries out of fun at 
 the end of his feet ! Thank you, captain, for awaking me. However, if such a 
 thing as a song poorly sung can replace the story 1 am called upon to give, I 
 will be happy to be agreeable to you, besides it's driving the bear from my 
 mind." 
 
 " Yes, yes, a song !" exclaimed several voices. 
 
 " Well, what do you speak for ?" inquired Antonio. " The Castle of Saint 
 Anna, or the Serenade of Mount Sierra 1 or " 
 
 " Give us ' Our land of lands is Mexico,' " said Valenzuela. 
 
 " Willingly; but you must take care and join in the chorus lustily. Ii's a 
 jolly good bit, which Padre Jurata preferred to anything else, and he had a 
 good ear for hymns ; but it is not much unless the chorus is sung heartily." 
 
 " Enough, friend. Fire away !" 
 
 After the usual coughs to clear his throat, Antonio plunged feelingly into the 
 following ballad to the air < f " The Pretty Maid of Monterey :" 
 
 OUR LAND OF LANDS IS MEXICO. 
 
 Gay and free hunters 
 
 Of men and of gold, 
 Our arms are right strong, 
 
94 Joa-quin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 Our hearts true and bold ; 
 O'er prairies, through woods, 
 
 Up mountain, down vale : 
 Our horses our ships, 
 
 Oh ! swiftly we sail ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 They shudder in placers, 
 
 A cloud shades the land, 
 The miners pale to see us 
 
 The Mexican Band ! 
 
 
 
 Our bullets drive deep 
 
 In Englishmen's heurts, 
 The French of our knives 
 
 Feel the blade's sharp parts ; 
 The Yankee swings high 
 
 By lasso from branch, 
 The light in his eyes 
 
 The flames of his ranch 1 
 
 They shudder, &c. 
 
 Pleasure or peril 
 
 To either we run, 
 We fight or we sport, 
 
 By star or by sun, 
 When the angel us' bells, 
 
 On the cool night sing, 
 We gather the spoils 
 
 And dance in the ring. 
 
 They shudder in placers, 
 For blood stains the sand, 
 
 While rejoices with spoil 
 The Mexican Band ! 
 
 " Yes, yes," cried Antonio, " we are the Mexican Band, and we will be still 
 more worthy of the name when our captain is enabled to begin his plan. Long 
 life to Mexico ! the land of the Cactus forever ! it's the only place in all crea 
 tion, my lads, except Spain and Italy, where one can pass at ease through a 
 really pleasant existence." 
 
 " Why, have you ever seen those countries 1" inquired Valenzuela. 
 
 " Both, certainly," was Antonio's reply. " I was born in Madrid, to begin 
 with, and as for Italy, I may boast that I wasn't the worst brigand in the party 
 that followed the goat-skin jacket of the celebrated Carlotti !" 
 
 " Hullo ! did you know Giovanni Carlotti T' exclaimed Guerra. 
 
 " A little. Signor Giovanni Carlotti, the grandson of the one who was 
 secorid of the world-known Captain Alesandro Massaroni. But, comrades, I 
 will relate my history some other day, I am out of breath for the present." 
 
 " Here, Antonio," said Joaquin, pouring out from a bottle near him some 
 splendid wine, which California with its universal climate, promises to equal 
 some day ; " take a sip of this to refresh your mellifluous throat ! Fill up, 
 every man of you, and let us drink to the memory of brave Mazzaroni, the 
 valiant captain who said : 
 
 " Short and wise is our motto : Let money be the first of all things. Cow 
 ardice alone is a crime. For the rest, let every mother's son of .you do what 
 you please. Time's like a bird which is off on the wing and cannot be retained 
 or pulled back. It is easy for one to console himself if haste is made to enjoy 
 what he has." 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 95 
 
 Loud acclamation greeted the chiefs speech ; the glasses chinked merrily, 
 and the toast to one of the prides of the Italian highway was uproariously 
 quaffed by these rangers of El Dorado. 
 
 " Hush !" said Joaquin suddenly ; " I thought I heard a signal." 
 
 " Yes, yes," returned Valenzuela. "There are some of our comrades returned, 
 and if I am not mistaken, it was Sevalio's call, wasn't it, Margarita ? Before 
 ten minutes passes over our heads, you will have your lover by your side." 
 
 " I can't tell," answered the Mexican girl; "you appear to know the signal 
 better than I." 
 
 The chief pulled out of his breast a silver whistle -which he put to his lips. 
 
 A piercing sound vibrated around. 
 
 Some few minutes afterwards, the feasters saw Sevalio appear, followed by 
 two more men, who led their horses by the bridle. 
 
 The three were so broken by fatigue that anybody would have taken them 
 from their dragging gait, to have been patients fresh discharged from a hospital. 
 
 Joaquin went to meet them, with Antonio and Valenzuela, while the whole 
 band rose to bid them welcome and to make room for them by the fire. 
 
 " What news, Sevalio ?" inquired the bandit leader, when the lieutenant and 
 his men were seated. 
 
 " Stay, captain, stay ! And, comrades, pass us some wine quick, for we are 
 half dead !" 
 
 Five or six bottles were instantly handed to the new-comers, and truth 
 obliges us to state that they took more than was good for them. 
 
 " Now, captain," said Sevalio, encircling with one arm the waist of his mis 
 tress, who had come to sit beside him, " now I am ready to answer you, but I 
 must open fire by announcing that my tidings are bad. I think even that it 
 would be as well to put them off till to-morrow, if 'you don't want to becloud 
 the merry-making." 
 
 " No, no," replied the commander, " we must know this evening, uncertainty 
 is never agreeable. Tell us all that has happened to you. I see that you bring 
 back only two out of the whole company of nine that you started off with. 
 Are the rest dead ?" 
 
 " Alas, yes. Dead and buried, I hope." 
 
 How ?" 
 
 " Two fell in fair fight ; the others " 
 
 " Go on, the other five " 
 
 " Were hanged ! strung up like jerked beef. Dangling on trees ! curse trees! 
 Another bottle, comrades. Let me drink down the remembrance of the scene. 
 I think I feel the rope round my neck yet !" 
 
 " W'hat ! around your neck 1" queried Joaquin. 
 
 " Around my neck, and the slip noose was drawn d nably tight, as they 
 dragged me along to the tree, when I got my hands loose, I can't tell how, and 
 streaked for the bush where these two friends were hid, and away we went with 
 half a hundred bullets flying around us. Caramba ! the Yankees are more sav 
 age than Apaches, they're h when quiet, but when irritated, stand from 
 under ! More wine, boys ! Holy Cross, these Yankees don't do things by 
 half generally, and I'm glad I am the exception. They won't even be satisfied 
 with what would be enough for others. When hanging is the work, they want 
 to run a man up higher than any other people in the world would think of 
 doing. I suppose I am left to avenge my poor strangled friends." 
 
 " It is to be hoped," was the general opinion. 
 
 " Where did the bad luck befal you ?" asked Guerra. 
 
 " At the branch of the Rio de las Plumas, Feather River, just fifteen miles 
 from Spanish Peak. There was a company of miners there, from eighty to 
 hundred, whom I'll go bail for being the roughest savages in the state. You 
 ought to have seen how they were armed, real walking batteries, carajo \ 
 
36 Joaquin, (the ClaudeDuval of California); 
 
 Every one of them had three or four pistols or revolvers, a rifle and a knife as 
 big as a machete." 
 
 " Well," interposed Antonio, " now that you have told us how the affair fin 
 ished, we won't be sorry to learn how it commenced." 
 
 " I'm willing ; here it is," said Sevalio. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SEVALIO'S ADVENTURES. THE ATTACK. ARKANSAw's DEFEAT. RANGING THE 
 
 BATTLE-FIELD. RIVALRY. 
 
 " A FEW days after we quitted Red Bluffs," said Sevalio, who was at his 
 fourth bottle, " we reached Shasta, were we had the luck of meeting a train of 
 mules carrying gold. We stopped it a couple of miles from the town, took the 
 treasure and the back trail to Red Bluffs, each of us carrying twelve pounds of 
 the spoil. You may believe that we did not let the grass grow under our feet 
 on the road to head-quarters. 
 
 " The men whose goods we had taken were miners and we expected on that 
 account to be pursued very quickly. 
 
 " As we were finishing supper in Pedro's eating-house and about to be off, 
 Pedro warned us that we were watched and that if we did not make haste to 
 flee without being seen, we would run the risk of being handed if only by sus 
 picion. 
 
 " There was nothing tempting in such a prospect, and we hurried to clear off, 
 but separately and in different directions, our general rendezvous to be Oro- 
 ville. 
 
 " A numerous set of Germans, French and Yankees were at our heels, and we 
 only gave them the slip at Downieville. To make up for that, we gave chase 
 to four Americans in the valley of Lake Wey, and, catching them there, we 
 left them life in exchange for their money. 
 
 " It was in returning from the lake that we were attacked by the Feather 
 River miners. 
 
 " Two of our men were slain outright, while the enemy had five knocked 
 over. 
 
 " My two here and myself got off, as you know. 
 
 " We remained three days in the brush, eating and drinking nothing for the 
 very reason that we were out of all necessaries, and then we risked going out 
 to make for Sonora Pass. Ten miles or so out of Downieville, we buried the 
 gold, ran off a horse a-piece and and here we are." 
 
 " There is nothing very gay in that report," observed Joaquin ; " but we 
 must expect to turn up a low card once in a while. Pass around the bottle, 
 comrades, and let's have a lively time of it, while we may." 
 
 " Yes, yes, captain, you are right," said Sevalio, " 1 agree with you there. 
 Lopez, my friend, let's have a bottle or two, for, by all the saints and saintessea 
 in paradise, Tin weak as water yet ! The gallop along the precipices does play 
 a man out, I tell you !" 
 
 " Along the precipices," echoed Antonio. " Did you lose the way ?" 
 
 " Not at all, but we took the worst way by the highlands to give the pursuers 
 a bellyful of rackriding." 
 
 " So you were chased, eh? Come, Sevalio, explain in the fiend's name." 
 
 " What, didn't I tell you all about it ? The Yankees were behind us when 
 we dashed through the pass by Lake Mono; they rushed us into the mountains 
 and when we threw them off the track, I don't believe they were more than five 
 mile* from us." 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 97 
 
 " The duece !" exclaimed the chief, springing instantly to his feet, " this is 
 serious. If only that little bit divided you, they'll only' need the glimmer of 
 3ur big fire here to show them the rest of the road." 
 
 " Hush!" interrupted Valenzuela suddenly, " that sound can be only spurs 
 jingling on the rocks ! Still 1" 
 
 All listened. 
 
 " 1 hear, too," said Murieta, drawing his revolver. " Up, comrades, lo 
 arms ! Antonio ! take thirty or forty men and place them on the rocks com 
 manding the left side of the pass. I'll see to the right with the rest. Come on, 
 men, but softly, for we must not leave one of the spoil-sports to tell the tale." 
 
 The bandits, faithful to the recommendation just given, followed their re 
 spective leaders and noiselessly ascended the piles of stone overlooking the en 
 trance. 
 
 Each did his best to hide his advance by the ruggedness of the ground. 
 
 Meanwhile, the sound of steps approaching became more and more distinct. 
 
 Every now and then, there was to be heard a savage imprecation of some *f 
 the storming party, who hud stumbled or slipped on the moss. 
 
 They came into view but slowly on account of the labor required by the ad 
 vance. 
 
 About twenty feet below the place where Joaquin awaited, the tall, stalwarth 
 form of Arkansaw rose up, leading no less than forty rough-looking men, armed 
 to the teeth. 
 
 " Deuce take me if I fancy this location !" growled Arkansaw. 
 
 He had barely spoken than from every split in the rocky \vall before them, 
 a jet of lire issued and the air was filled with smoke and shook with the crash 
 of sixty or seventy shots. 
 
 Half that number of the assailants dropped dead, or fell back desperately 
 injured. 
 
 " Up, up the rock !" cried Arkansaw, whose hat had been blown heaven knows 
 where j " away you go ! hands and teeth ! It's the only chance, boys close 
 in!" 
 
 The survivors did begin to climb up the rampart sheltering the banditti, but 
 the one or two who did contrive to mount pretty high, had only the greater 
 distance to fall. 
 
 A second discharge no less deadly than the former, made the wall tremble 
 and down dropped the attacking party, dying or dead. Some of the robbers 
 ran instantly to camp and returned with torches. 
 
 Then the scene appeared in all its horror. 
 
 Nothing could be more frightful than the livid countenances illumined by the 
 flickering and ruddy glare of the resinous brands. 
 
 Joaquin himself could not remain long before such a sight, he hastened aw&y 
 to see no more of the awful eyes, staring in death. 
 
 His men who were less impressionable, removed the valuables and weapons 
 of the defeated, while taking heed to finish those who still breathed. 
 
 The most indefatigable Tn this latter task was the vindictive Sevalio, who 
 seemed to have conceived the idea of out-heroding Three-fingered Jack. 
 
 The latter, as if that idea had struck him, kept watching him all the time ; 
 his piercing sight, rendered more horrible than usual by an accompanying 
 smile of hideoasness, followed every movement of his companion ; Jack 
 seemed to be finding pleasure in seeing the latter cutting off the heads of the 
 corpses oj 1 churning his dagger in the bodies. 
 
 " By the soul of Padre J urata," swore Garcia, " this night you've robbed me 
 of half my fun, Senor Sevalio, but it doesn't matter so long as you do not be 
 come too formidable a rival. When that happens, look out for snakes, old 
 fellow !" 
 
 As he swung in air his flambeau to make it burn better, the light flooded 
 
98 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 both their faces, while Jack darted on Sevalio a glance, half in sardonic sport 
 half in earnest, before he went off to examine more of the fallen with the eager 
 ness of hunting up an acquaintance. 
 
 All the other desperadoes had gone back to the encampment, so that Garcia 
 was alone in his blood-thirstiness on the battle-field. 
 
 Holding the torch in one hand and in the other his knife, he tranquilly pur 
 sued his scrutiny lowering the light every few moments to take a closer look 
 at a blood-bespattered visage, when a noise made him glance around and see 
 Sevalio once more. 
 
 " Oh, you is it ?" growled Jack. " I thought it was a grizzly who had smelt 
 out the banquet." 
 
 " What keeps you here ?" inquired the other, with a grin. 
 
 " Somebody not to be found, I'm afraid." 
 
 "Whom?" 
 
 " Why, the leader of these fools who ran their heads into the lions' jaws. If 
 he's got off this time, I'll have to believe the devil is his friend." 
 
 " The leader of these cursed Yankees is a prisoner in the camp, along with 
 one other." 
 
 " Caramba ! who went and spared him ?" 
 
 " Murieta ; and I came to tell you he wants to see you first thing." 
 
 " Oh, ho ! come along ! I'm impatient to see the rough customer, who shan't 
 slip me this time as before." 
 
 When the two returned to the gathering, they found the whole band seated 
 around the fires which had been raked together and made again, and rejoicing 
 over the victory so easily purchased. 
 
 Wine was circulating anew and the drinkers were more untiring in disposing 
 of libations than beftfre. 
 
 The two prisoners, bound tightly with the red silk sashes of their captors, 
 were lying on the ground, talking together most bitingly of their conquerors 
 and paying no attention to frequent threats for them to " dry up ;" they were 
 trying to hasten their execution. 
 
 " Friend Garcia," began Joaquin, as soon as the three-fingered butcher had 
 thrown himself down at ease on the grass, " I want you and Sevalio to draw 
 lots to see who shall have the pleasure of killing one of these two." 
 
 " Which the chief?" asked Jack eagerly. 
 
 " No ; the other. I mean to keep the principal for a few days." 
 
 " But he may escape," pleaded the Mexican ; " I may as well drive the nail 
 into his chest !" 
 
 All laughed, while the speaker drew out his knife, only half cleaned, and 
 fixed his fiery gaze on his enemy. 
 
 " Ha, ha !" cried Arkansaw tauntingly, " who's a-scart ? You dassent give 
 a man a fair sight ! Bah, you dirty yellow-bellies, you greasers of Satan's 
 kitchen, I'll take any three, any five of you together ! There ! pah, you coward 
 ly mongrels !" 
 
 " No !" thundered Joaquin, as Garcia offered to spring upon the defier, " I 
 say * no !' I have my reasons for sparing him ; you must wait." 
 
 " Very well, I'll be satisfied with him. Let Sevalio have his own way with 
 the other. I don't feel that way inclined just now, anyhow." 
 
 A low gasp was audible. Sevalio had drawn his knife across the throat of 
 Arkansaw 's companion. 
 
 " A simple matter," remarked the slaughterer, returning to sit beside Garcia 
 and halve a bottle with him. 
 
 " Very simple, indeed," added Valenzuela ; " nothing could be more simple, 
 but it was done with a relish that friend Jack must appreciate." 
 
 " Now, comrades," cried Antonio suddenly, " let's have one song more. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 99 
 
 Why, we're all as stupid as gophers in the sierra's snow. Are you asleep, 
 every one of you f ' 
 
 The lieutenant's desire was not answered. 
 
 The copious draughts which the human casks had poured into themselves had 
 taken the wits out of all heads, and four-fifths of the troop were sound asleep. 
 The rest were not slow to follow the example, and the feast terminated in a 
 chorus of snoring which the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus might have envied. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 TEN o'clock in the morning had scarcely come, when Joaquin aroused his 
 men, and ordered them to strike tents and break up camp. 
 
 Although surprised at the sudden resolution and very much preferring a day's 
 rest to activity, all obeyed without hesitation and, before the sun had marked 
 noon, the whole band was leaving Mono Lake behind and proceeding toward 
 Sonora Pass. 
 
 Arkansaw was not with the troop. 
 
 An hour or so before the departure, Three-fingered Jack, who could not let 
 the first opportunity for revenge pass by, had slain, without a word to anybody 
 the man who had promised to defeat him in the previous contest. 
 
 Joaquin gave no token of having noticed his lieutenant's cold-blooded act, for 
 what could be done, short of death, to a man so dreadfully cruel 1 He pre 
 ferred to say nothing, and feigned to have forgotten the prisoner. 
 
 In any event, he was not very much distressed at what had happened, though 
 he had reserved the captive for a peculiar tit-bit in the way of torture : he 
 meant to make him, after the Indian style, a living target for his men. 
 
 On corning to the south fork of the Tuolumne River, Murieta formed his 
 troop into detachments of twelve or fifteen, which were to go to Arroyo Can- 
 tuva by different routes. 
 
 He himself, leaving the females to the charge of Antonio and Guerra, selected 
 fifteen stout fellows and took the road for Coulterville, by the south-east. 
 
 On the way from Don Pedro Bar to Snelling's, he fell in with three French 
 men, two Germans and as many Americans, who were driving pack-mules 
 laden with provisions, blankets and mining tools. 
 
 He did not hesitate to stop them and, while his gang stood ready by his side 
 to shoot at the first word, he strode up to one of the Frenchmen, who did not 
 make use of his firearms, took him by the collar and summoned him to point 
 out where the money-bag was put. 
 
 The man stammered and spoke slowly in order to give his friends the time 
 to offer resistance, which they did gallantly, but the banditti had been too 
 quick for them and shot the three principals who resisted at first fire. 
 
 Joaquin, annoyed at opposition being shown to him, flourished his dagger 
 and threatened to have every one of the survivors' throats cut if they did not 
 immediately turn over their gold to him. 
 
 They resigned themselves to their fate, and, drawing from under the blankets 
 a canvas bag, presented it to the captain, assuring him that it was the sum total 
 of all their exertions. 
 
 The contents amounted to four hundred dollars. 
 
 Murieta continued his journey thereupon, despite the entreaties of Three-fin 
 gered Jack, who wanted to finish the German and the French left, and ordered 
 the latter to move on in their own way. 
 
100 Joaquin, (the Claude Dvval of California") ; 
 
 They did not require a renewal of the command, for the very good reason 
 that, if the highwayman had made a more careful examination of their baggage 
 he would have found six more bags just like the one he had taken, containing 
 in all about five-and-t \venty thousand dollars worth of gold dust. 
 
 After this robbery, the committera of it crossed the Merced River at Snel- 
 ling's, and turned to the east to gain Mariposa. A couple of miles from Mount 
 Ophir, Joaquin was obliged to interfere to prevent Three-fingered Jack from 
 slaying a luckless Chinese, who was so sick and poverty-stricken that the ban 
 dit leader was thus affected. 
 
 In a few hours more, they entered Mariposa, two by two, though, for other 
 wise suspicions would have been excited. 
 
 They stayed there a week, having a good time in spending the booty lately 
 acquired. Then, they left the place, crossed the Mariposa River, and the Chow- 
 chilla. 
 
 At ten or twelve mijes from Coarse Gold Gulch, four Russian miner* were 
 met and killed and robbed. 
 
 Several Indians, who had witnessed the affair, after the departure of those 
 who had taken the lion's share, came in for the pickings and stripped the 
 corpses of their garments. 
 
 Being found some time afterwards in possession of the goods, they were 
 pointed out to some Russians, friends of the murdered, and made to expiate the 
 crime of Murieta and his command. 
 
 The latter had already gone over the San Joaquin, about twenty-five miles 
 above Fort Miller, after having laid over for two or three days at an Indian vil 
 lage for a rest ; thence, once again on the march, the morning of the third day 
 had seen them at Arroyo Cantuva, where the majority of their fellows, pre 
 viously arrived, were completing the putting up of tents. 
 
 Joaquin, set at ease by Arkansaw's death, had decided to dwell once more in 
 the old retreat, more commodious and safer than any other. 
 
 "When all was settled in the encampment, the plunderers reposed for a whole 
 fortnight, at the end of which they were started off in more or less numerous 
 bodies and with varied missions to perform. 
 
 It was necesary to obtain money and horses somewhere and also to keep the 
 men employed, while at the same time information and profit were procured. 
 
 Chiefs of such bands of marauders are often placed in the situation of the well- 
 known lottery -player who drew the elephant ; if it cannot keep itself, good bye 
 to any peace to the owner. 
 
 When all the divisions were off* to accomplish their instructions, Joaquin was 
 left with only a dozen men, among whom figured Antonio, Sevalio and Guerra. 
 
 Murieta and this handful spent a mouth very agreeably in eating, drinking, 
 sleeping, smoking, making love and hunting in the mountains. 
 
 The rainy season had by this time come on, which, everywhere unpleasant, 
 was peculiarly so in the highlands. Here the captain of ravagers decided to 
 take the field in person and find a site favorable for the execution of the plans 
 on which he had set his mind. 
 
 Two days afterwards, he directed his steps towards the north of the state, 
 accompanied by Sevalio, who was to show him the gold buried by him and his 
 companions on the bank of Feather River. 
 
 After several short halts at Mariposa, Sonora, Murphy's, Mokelurnne Hill, 
 Jackson, Drytown, Ragtown and Fiddletown, the leader and his lieutenants 
 arrived at Hangtown. 
 
 They opened performances by the unromantic act of having a good supper in 
 pne of, the eating-houses ; after which Sevalio went away on horseback while his 
 master entered a dance-house, where he was quickly surrounded by some pretty 
 Chilian girls, belonging to the establishment. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 101 
 
 Joaquin carried himself with so much gracefulness and attractiveness that ho 
 had many dances with the charmers. When he could believe that he had the 
 right to repose a bit, he went and sat down between a couple of the frail beauties 
 and chatted on all the topics on which such ignorant hirelings could converse. 
 
 The sound of this tri-alogue and the laughter of the women very soon attract 
 ed the attention of all upon the three, and the careless Joaquin recovered some 
 gravity on perceiving that he was examined most searchingly by some Ameri 
 cans, who seemed to be keeping the door intentionally. 
 
 In a few moments, he recognized in one of them the driver of the stage which 
 he had stopped near White Rock House ; for the man's part, the astonishment 
 depicted on every one of his features at such fool- hardiness proved that he had 
 known the highwayman again. 
 
 Without "discovering," as chess-language does, the least fear or even mere 
 uneasiness, which w r ould have been ruinous, the robber-king rose with thf 
 greatest serenity, wished the girls a good night, rolled his cloak around him and 
 went out. .At the door, a hand lightly touched him. 
 
 " Excuse me, sir, but I'd like to see you," said a voice. 
 
 Murieta had already sprang upon his horse, which had been left tied up be 
 fore the door of the next house. 
 
 " Well, replied he," mimicking the speaker, " you do see me, and you ought 
 to be satisfied with having seen me for the last ten minutes." 
 
 And away his spurred horse took him round the first corner. After a swift 
 ride, during which he had got over fifteen miles, he reached Junction House 
 where he put up his steed and spent the whole night, supposing with reason 
 that no chase would be begun of him before morning. 
 
 At peep of day, he galloped off to Taylor's Ranch, with the intention of trac 
 ing a semi-circle and arriving at Fiddletown in time to meet Sevalio. 
 
 He did not go at a very severe pace now, for he reckoned considerably on 
 the confusion which would be among the Hangtowners. He was passing the 
 ranch when he heard in his rear the hoofs of many horses and caught sight 
 before long of a good number of well-armed horsemen coming after him. 
 
 The one first look was all that was required to inform him what was to be 
 expected. 
 
 He gave the reins to his horse, which flew away as with wings of the wind. 
 The pursuers pressed on, with many an oath of the whites and many a whoop 
 like a redskin, but in this race the Mexican, born in the saddle, as one may 
 say, kept his lead. Rejecting his first idea, Joaquin turned abruptly towards 
 the south-east and entered upon the mountainous country, very certain that 
 there the followers could make nothing by superior speed, at least. 
 
 The treacherous nature of the soil rendered his own progress more difficult 
 than he had believed at first. More than once, in toiling up excessively steep 
 ascents, his horse had gone down on its knees, fortunately lightly, and as many 
 times, in descending, it had slid along on its drooped haunches from its hoofs 
 slipping and ploughing up the red clay. 
 
 At the base of one of the hillocks ran a rock-lined gully, in the depths of 
 which rolled a little torrent, on the way to add heaven knows what incalculable 
 treasures in its foam to the American River. 
 
 It was a very dangerous place for the best cavalier on the freshest steed to 
 attempt to traverse and Murieta hesitated to take the leap ; but seeing the fore- 
 most of his hunters rising on the top of the butte, only a hundred yards from 
 him at the most, he put his horse to it. 
 
 The next instant, he was across. 
 
 A narrow escape, nevertheless, foi his horse, which had missed footing OB 
 touching the opposite side, staggered on the very brink, damp and slippery, and 
 only recovered itself by an efibrt which its own dread supplied. 
 
102 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 The leader of the chasers tried to follow, but his animal retused the leap, and 
 he had to give it up, as spurs and even a stab with a knife could not overcome 
 its obstinacy. 
 
 His men pulled up at the edge and fired two or three shots a-piece at the un 
 harmed and disappearing Marauder of the Mines. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THREE OF THE RAVAGERS RUBBED OUT. JACK*S ADVENTURE. HOSPITALITY RE 
 
 PAID. TREACHERY REWARDED AND FOILED. 
 
 OVER mountain and valley land, Joaquin continued to fly until he could feel 
 confident that he was fully out of danger. 
 
 He went through Carson's Pass and on the fourth day came to a miners 1 
 camp on Walker River, where he passed the night. 
 
 But, fearing to be recognised, he started at daybreak, and by the same time 
 of the following day, came upon a second camp which he fancied belonged to 
 Indians. 
 
 On drawing nearer, he found himself, to his great surprise, in the presence 
 of Valenzuela and Three-fingered Jack, who no more than he expected such a 
 meeting. 
 
 While breakfasting, the chief learnt from them the result of their peregrina 
 tions, and how they had chanced to be at the same spot as himself. 
 
 On quitting the Arroyo, Valenzuela had led his company to Weaverville, 
 conforming in that to the orders of Joaquin. Before arriving there, he had 
 seized some horses and had chosen fifteen of his men to conduct them to the 
 rally ing-place. 
 
 He was then with Garcia and four others. 
 
 Pursued by several rancheroes, the servants of the horse-owners, the six 
 thieves had been compelled to seek safety by crossing, by swimming, a very 
 rapid stream. Hit and disabled by bullets, three of Valenzuela's men had been 
 drowned. Castillo, one of the three left, had managed to reach the opposite 
 shore, but a Missourian had saved him the trouble of proceeding any consider 
 able distance on it, by sending a rifle ball at him. 
 
 In brief Valenzuela and Jack were the only ones who had managed to escape. 
 
 When at Weaverville, Jack had wished to go into a dance-house, notwith 
 standing the objections of the prudent Valenzuela. 
 
 Four men standing up to the bar, were drinking while conversing on the late 
 horse-thefts. One of them had expressed his opinion that Joaquin was no 
 stranger to the affair. 
 
 " To see him and his rascals at the end of the ropes," said he, " I'd change 
 my head for a balloon." 
 
 Garcia placed himself in front of the speaker and said rudely : 
 
 " For a pistol ball, loon ?" sneered he, " do you mean ?" 
 
 " Who in thunder are you ?" 
 
 " If you know how to count, that ought to satisfy you," returned the Mexican, 
 holding up his mutilated hand. 
 
 "Three-fingered " 
 
 ft Jack yes, sir-ree !" 
 
 And, without waiting for more, the speaker drew his knife and plunged it 
 into the man's breast. 
 
 Three or four hands seized him and he and Valenzuela had to fight their way 
 out. 
 
 Their horses had not been touched fortunately and mounting them, they con- 
 
Or, The Marauder of Ike Mines. 
 
 10? 
 
 trived to drop their enemies before they came to Beckworth's Pass, and the 
 place where they had just met their superior. 
 
 The next day, the three Mexicans pursued the road to Arroyo Cantuva. 
 They crossed the Sonora range and the Tuolumne at the south fork. 
 
 Dismounting at Rattlesnake Bar, they entered a house and called for supper. 
 It was occupied by an old man, his son and his daughter. The three Mexicans, 
 armed to the teeth, surprised them somewhat, but they said nothing, and the 
 meal demanded was served up promptly by the girl. 
 
 Murieta, who was something of the gentleman for all of his cut-throat and 
 robber's exterior, chatted in the most affable manner with the latter while she 
 gracefully waited upon him and his comrades. 
 
 The old man remarked with suspicion their voracity, but kept his impres 
 sions to himself. 
 
 When the repast was over, Valenzuela rose, advanced towards the youth, 
 who had remained in his seat by the fire-place, and taking aim at him with his 
 revolver, asked him with extreme politeness what he had to say against their 
 sacking the house. 
 
 " If you've got any objections to make, speak quick," added he, cocking his 
 weapon playfully. 
 
 " Scnor, stay ! I didn't know you were robbers !" began the old man. 
 
 He commenced to make such an outcry that Three-fingered Jack had to gag 
 him. 
 
 Of course the youth had given his consent to the inevitable pillage, and the 
 whole dwelling was rummaged. 
 
 Only a few hundred dollars were found. 
 
 When about to -ride into Weavers vi lie, Joaquin reflected that the impru 
 dence of Garcia might bring difficulties upon him as well as upon Valenzuela, 
 and he resolved to enter the town alone. 
 
 Consequently, he ordered the couple to hurry on in company to the rendez 
 vous, while he himself would remain a couple of days in the residence of one of 
 the members of the band, Juan Berryessa. 
 
 This person had many times furnished excellent news, to members of the 
 active force, and at several other periods had lent them money and horses. 
 
 These services had been generously rewarded by the leader, who considered 
 him as a sincere and faithful friend. 
 
 He was, truth to say, nothing of the kind. 
 
 Without letting it appear, Berryessa had sworn and felt deadly hatred for 
 Joaquin, and had been constantly seeking a good chance to give him up to 
 justice. 
 
 At this very moment, believing that the game was in his hands, he was try 
 ing to find more actively than ever a means of consummating his treachery. 
 
 Three or four days had elapsed since the departure of Valenzuela and his 
 mate. 
 
 One evening when Joaquin was visiting the fandangoes in hope of meeting 
 some friend of his, he perceived by accident that his case was empty of its re 
 volver. 
 
 He fancied that the weapon had fallen out and that he had mechanically but 
 toned the strap over, while habit and the certainty of the cover being in its 
 place, had prevented him doubting the lightness. 
 
 Immediately, he retraced his steps to seek it. 
 
 First, he looked in the stable beside the house to see that his horse was not 
 grudged feed, and th^n entered by the back door a little room adjoining the 
 kitchen, which had b3en given to him. 
 
 While he was advancing in the dark and groping for his candle and some 
 matches, he heard voices in conversation in the next chamber. 
 
 One of these was an American, and the other, quite as certainly, his host. 
 
104 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) 
 
 In any other circumstances, Joaquin would have taken no heed of this fact, 
 but his name, distinctly pronounced by both of the dialoguists, and in a tone 
 arguing nothing friendly, set him on the alert. 
 
 Though the idea of " his friend " conspiring against him. had something too 
 absurd in it to attract him, he was naturally anxious to discover the why and 
 wherefore of the utterance of his name, and that motive appeared sufficient to 
 induce him to play the eavesdropper. 
 
 He crossed the kitchen on tip-toe, and glued his ear to the board partition 
 separating the apartments. 
 
 " Yes," Berryessa was saying, " so will my vengeance be satisfied, tor he has 
 mortally offended me at various times, either here or in Mexico. Besides, 1 
 want money. My losses at 'monte' have forced me to sell my rancho at half 
 its value, and by the bye, what's the figure out for the bandit ?" 
 
 " Well, I can't tell kerzactly. I reckon it's goin' on five thousand, and mebbe 
 nearer ten thousand dollars." 
 
 " Give me one thousand down on the nail to-morrow morning, and you shall 
 have him." 
 
 " But are you right down airnest sartin that it is him. If you kin swear to 
 it, I kin git the sum together jess' as soon as you say it's a first rate spec. 
 But are you sure V 
 
 " Why shouldn't I be ? I've known him a little too long to be mistaken 
 there." 
 
 " Where is he now ? You say a few miles from here where's that ?" 
 
 Joaquin could divine that, during the slight pause that intervened, Berryessa 
 was winking knowingly. 
 
 " Cararnba ! Arn I a greenhorn ?" 
 
 " I could take you for an accomplice, one of the band, and have you lynched." 
 
 " Bah ! you haven't any proof that I am even speaking to you now !" 
 
 " Very well. I don't keer to fall out with you. If you're willing to give 
 him over to us to-night " 
 
 " Hold on a bit ! what do you mean by us ?" 
 
 " Jee-rusalem ! do you s'pose that I was a goin' to take him single-handed ? 
 Ha, ha ! No, sir-ree, Number One can't do everything. There will be three 
 of us, and I'll get one of rny mates who'll fetch along the money you want." 
 
 " All right, then. That settles it. You pay me that sum, whether he's alive 
 or dead ?" 
 
 " To be sure, if you are serious." 
 
 " I am more serious than ever before in my life, and I tell you that, if it 
 haden't been for my bad luck at cards, I would have asked three times as much. 
 It's no child's play, 1 warn you." 
 
 " You can't skeer me. When and where arc we to tackle him ?" 
 
 " In this very house, and in. a couple of hours, provided you have the cash 
 ready." 
 
 " Never you /ear. I will be back before ten minutes, and look upon Mister 
 Walkin as walking out his career to-morrow. Wait for me." 
 
 On these words, the American stalked out, closing the door behind him. 
 
 In another second, Murieta sprang into the room like a wild beast and, hi* 
 dagger out, he caught Berryessa by the throat, petrifying him by the sudden 
 appearance. 
 
 " Silence !" hissed he when the other tried to speak. " You have spoken 
 your last. So," added he, after a few moments spent in tightening his hold on 
 the wretch's throat, " so you are betraying me for money, and to be revenged ! 
 revenged! for what 1 ? Haven't I always been your best friend? You sell me 
 for a few ounces of gold, trying to make the buyer believe that you are acting 
 through revenge. Who shall I trust henceforth ? Those who like you, wretch, 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 
 
 105 
 
 have hitherto shown themselves true and devoted, may turn on me anytime, 
 and give me up to those who want to deck trees with me and my comrades. 
 And you, Berry essa, act this way, when supposed I you most of all incapable of 
 such falseness. Die !" 
 
 He was driving his knife a second time into the traitor's breast when, the 
 door flying open, in walked the partner of the dying man. 
 
 He understood all, and, dropping the bag of gold, he grasped his revolver in 
 its stead. 
 
 " Who are you ?" challenged he. 
 
 " I'm the man you bought at that price," replied the robber pointing to the 
 fallen sack. 
 
 " Joaquin ? Surrender, or you're a dead man !" 
 
 " Very likely, only life for life ! As soon as you fire, I am on you with my 
 *nife." 
 
 " I prefer to take you alive, or a lot I'd let you do with your steel. You had 
 better be quick about it, but you can't escape anyway. Two of my mates will 
 be here in two or three minutes. I wasn't going to pay this man you've mur 
 dered so much money without witnesses." 
 
 " Murdered ? punished." 
 
 " It doesn't matter. Down with your dagger, or I fire !" 
 
 " Fate's against me," said Joaquin, " I see all's up. There, take my only 
 weapon ! All I ask is for you to give me up to the authorities and not to the 
 mob." 
 
 " I'm quite willing," said to the other. 
 
 Taking advantage of the moment when the man, who was too full of fair-play 
 himself to suspect treachery, lowered his fire-arm and extended his other hand 
 to receive the weapon, the faithless bandit leaped upon him like a panther, 
 threw him to the floor and pinned him down with a dagger-stroke; then, catch 
 ing up the revolver and uncocking it as he ran, he glided through his room and 
 out round to the stable. Merely bitting his horse, he mounted bareback and 
 galloped away at the very moment that the friends of the slain American 
 entered the house and room in which lay the two dead bargainers. 
 
 Joaquin was scarcely a mile beyond Mariposa when all the people were in 
 motion and many horsemen put off in pursuit. 
 
 But they exerted themselves all in vain for they could not overtake the chief, 
 especially when he had taken to the mountains. 
 
 Two weeks after this narrow escape from the Judas, Murieta arrived at the 
 main rendezvous, where he found collected almost all who were ranked under 
 his flag, with more than four hundred horses which they had run off from differ 
 ent parts of the state. 
 
 The captain explained the cause of his prolonged absence and hurried into his 
 tent to tell Clarina the same and learn from her whatever information of past 
 events in the camp that she might have to impart to him. 
 
 Among other pieces of news, he was told that one of his connections at San 
 Luis Obispo, called Texas Jack (who is not to be confounded with a rascal of 
 the same name who has had an account of his deserved execution mentioned 
 already by us), had presented himself to the band with two companions. 
 
 These latter were complete strangers, but Jack had gone surety that they 
 were meritorious recruits. They had been out horse.-stealing when they had 
 come upon the head-quarters by chance. 
 
 A great number of the troop had been on the point of kicking them out as 
 intruders, and even of killing them as spies ; but some who had been acquainted 
 with Jack in Lower California, placed faith in his assertion and so warmly 
 pleaded his cause that life had been granted them until the commander of the 
 desperadoes should have returned. 
 
106 Joaqwn, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 On learning this, Murieta charged Antonio instantly to bring the piisoners 
 oefore him. They had been placed under a strong guard in a tent at the south 
 eastern end of the Arroyo, where they could be in safety but not be mingling 
 with the banditti to learn valuable secrets. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 TEXAS JACK. GARCIA JUDGES AND EXECUTES 
 
 OF THE THREE COUNTIES. A PIECE OF BRAVADO. 
 
 A FEW words on Texas Jack, an arrant knave. 
 
 In 1836, he was twelve years old. His father, American, went off in the 
 army against Mexico, at the time of the Battle of San Jacinto. 
 
 Jack wanted to be of the expedition, but was refused as being too young. 
 Desirous to prove, like another and inferior Cid, that he could fight as well as 
 anybody thrice his age, he picked a quarrel with an Indian, a friend of his father, 
 killed him, cut off his head and tossed it by the scalplock at his fathsr's feet, 
 when the latter had done chasing Deserter Riley's gang and bestowing leaden 
 favors on guerillas. 
 
 Texas Jack was in San Francisco in '51, in company with the Louisianian 
 called Indian Fred, Bill Flanders, an ex-plug ugly of Baltimore, and a Mexican 
 known as Monty, abbreviation of Montezuma. 
 
 These four had with them a number of horses and mules, of which they had 
 relieved the rancheroes in the valleys of San Joaquin and San Jose. They 
 corralled these in a yard in Mission Street, near Primera Street, and went to a 
 tavern near the old police station. 
 
 In this house lodged several policemen, one of whom was sick a-bed. 
 
 From his room, he heard and recognized the voice of Indian Fred. 
 
 He called him and advised him to leave the city forthwith, as he knew of 
 there being three warrants out for him on heavy charges of theft and that, over 
 and above that, he was looked upon as the principal in a certain murder recent 
 ly committed in a neighboring county. 
 
 Fred informed Texas of what had happened to him and set out for Stockton, 
 with his two companions. 
 
 Scarcely were they gone than Jack had disposed of the best of the stolen 
 cattle to the hotel-keeper, and the same day he drove them all to the public 
 square and sold them at auction, a deed so bold that it was successful. 
 
 Then he went off some fifteen miles on the Santa Clara Road, entered a ranch 
 where the hotel-keeper had had his new purchase taken, stole him anew and 
 rode off with him to the Mission of San Luis Obispo. 
 
 There it was that he made the acquaintance of Murieta and several of his 
 
 :ng in a house of ill fame kept by one Victor Lie Nariss, situated between the 
 ission and the place where the coast seamen disembark. 
 
 Texas was lucky enough on a certain occasion to render a service to Joaquin 
 by furnishing him with intelligence of some of his pursuers, and the bandit, not 
 to be behind hand in generosity, made him a gift of a magnificent horse, a coun 
 terpart, except in sex (for mares are not used for riding by Mexicans), of Dick 
 Turpin's famous Black Bess. 
 
 In the course of his adventures, Jack had fallen into the habit of sleeping, 
 when he camped alone, with his head between the fore-legs of his intelligent 
 steed. 
 
 One night, while he was resting, near Sari Antonio Creek, he was suddenly 
 awakened by his horse, which was pulling his hair by biting it. He had hardly 
 opened his eyes than he caught sight of three or four persons, half breeds or 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 107 
 
 Mexicans, who were stealthily approaching him with the evident design of kill 
 ing or robbing him. 
 
 Indeed, he had barely got into the saddle before bullets began to shower upon 
 him, but he escaped, while the horse neighed cunningly as if he rather enjoyed 
 the outwitting of those who had forgotten that thief should not rifle thief, or dog 
 eat dog. 
 
 When he and his companions were led before Joaquin, the latter agreed that 
 his men ha J been right in sparing them, and he gave them their permission to 
 go their way immediately. 
 
 Several members of the band offered objections and so hotly that Murieta, 
 for fear that the three would be murdered, deemed it proper to have them 
 escorted by Valenzuela, Three-fingered Jack and a couple more, at least half 
 way to the San Joaquin River. 
 
 This party had left the camp behind by some sixteen miles, when Garcia 
 rushed his horse up to one of the three and deliberately blew his brains out 
 with a point-blank discharge. On seeing this, Texas Jack and his remaining 
 comrade clapped spurs to their horses and dashed off as fast as possible to 
 escape the second onslaught of Garcia. 
 
 The latter's two next shots disabled and unhorsed Jack's companion, who 
 however, had a grapple and? a fight of much fierceness with the assassin, by 
 which delay, Texas got off. 
 
 Seeing that it was impossible to gain ground upon him, as he was fifty yards 
 away and going three feet to his t\vo, the Mexican delivered the three last bar 
 rels' contents on the fugitive and, pulling up, cried : 
 
 " Good luck, old boy ! Close shave !" 
 
 With these words, he returned to his friends who, from the very first shot, 
 had dwelt stupefied, and in doubt whether to act for or against the prisoners. 
 
 " It's a pretty piece of work you've done," said Valenzuela, " but I suppose 
 you had the captain's orders." 
 
 " Orders," returned Garcia, charging his six-shooter. "I don't think so. No 
 other orders than you got yourself." 
 
 " What ! did you kill those men on your own responsibility ?" 
 
 " Why, yes, Caramba ! And I'd have settled the third only he 'scaped me, 
 curse him !" 
 
 " What did you do it for ?" inquired Valenzuela. " It was useless." 
 
 " Useless ! What do you say ? useless to kill Americans ? I advise you to 
 go back to Mexico and turn monk. Don't faint at blood-spilling. 1 suppose 
 those men had been let off" 
 
 " Well V 1 
 
 " They would have betrayed us." 
 
 "The captain did not think so. And, as it is, you have let one escape and 
 perhaps made an enemy of him, for, though I have every reason to believe that 
 he has always been our friend, he will believe that Joaquin commanded the 
 treachery." 
 
 " Let him and the captain and you believe whatever you please," growled 
 Jack. " I care as little for one as for the other." 
 
 On the return to camp, good care was taken not to relate what had happened 
 on the road, for the companions of Garcia feared their chief's wrath and they 
 felt that they would be considered as accomplices for not having prevented the 
 bloody assassination. 
 
 A week afterwards, as the month of March, 1853, opened, a series of brigand- 
 iah exploits commenced, which thrilled the whole country with terror and in 
 dignation. 
 
 The outlaws had chosen as the soat of their operations the three richest 
 counties of the Golden Land, to wit: El Dorado Calaveras and Tuolumne, 
 
108 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California} ,* 
 
 and never since the days of the Free Lances, of Alva and of Wallenstein, nad 
 an Eden been so swiftly and completely assailed. 
 
 Detached companies of four or five, at most a dozen, had been scattered all 
 over the district and such was the number, the variety and extent of their dep 
 redations that the voice of Runner could not enlarge upon them and we cannot 
 find space to record them. 
 
 Ask your friends who were in California then, and they will each have their 
 brace to a dozen of stories to tell, we warrant. 
 
 Theft, murder as atrocious as could be, fires and plundering formed the sub 
 ject of universal conversation and of much fear. Some of these misdeeds were 
 committed in broadest day, others were shrouded in blackest night, but every 
 body saw in them the mind or arm of Joaquin. Though the numerous lines 
 and circles of this vast and complex outbreak were greatly divergent, yet, like 
 a cobweb, they all were connected with a common centre, their originator 
 being there watching the result of his weaving. 
 
 There was scarcely a place of any importance in the state which was not una 
 voidably disgraced by one or two of his secret agents. 
 
 There rarely, or never,, were lacking places of shelter to hide wounded and 
 the stolen horses, and there might be named here certain farms, kept by men 
 then quite the thing for honesty and respectability in the eyes too often misty 
 and webbed of the world, whereon Joaquin and his associates found help in 
 times of need. 
 
 While marauding all along the road, Murieta and eight of his braves had 
 come upon one of the banks of theTuolumne in the middle of one of the March 
 nights. The ferryboat was so dextrously fastened to its little wharf that it 
 was impossible for them to make use of it themselves as they were in the habit 
 of doing. 
 
 They proceeded consequently to the ferryman's house, finding him so deeply 
 slumbering that the only way to arouse him was to break in the door. 
 
 He came out frightened, to see what was the matter. 
 
 " We want to cross," replied Joaquin, " but before making the passage, we 
 would like you to lend us all the money you have about you. This may prove 
 to you that no beating about the bush is allowed," added he, displaying his 
 six-shooter under the poor fellow's nose. 
 
 " Put it up," said he, " I will give you all there is." 
 
 He lit a candle and produced a purse containing only a hundred dollars. 
 
 11 Come now," growled Three-fingered Jack, who was- of the party and who 
 never wanted to miss burning powder, " this won't do. You've got more than 
 this, out with it." 
 
 He would have fired, indeed, but Joaquin ordered him to keep quiet. 
 
 " It is all I have, senor," replied the trembling ferryman. 
 
 " I don't trouble myself about so little," said the chief, with that generosity 
 which is sometimes seen in those who are " flush," "keep it. Take us over to 
 the other side and you shall be paid besides." 
 
 Without any other adventure, and that was scarcely remarkable, the little 
 party arrived in the vicinity of Stocton after a two days' journey, encamping 
 three miles or so out of town under a luxuriant clump of trees. 
 
Or The Marauder of the Mines. 
 
 109 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A STORY OF THE ' SCORCHERS ' OP FRANCE. THE PARIS LAWYER AND THE CHIEF OP 
 
 THE BAND. FOILED ! DISCOVERED. THE ATTACK ON THE FARM. THE FAILURE, 
 
 FLIGHT AND PURSUIT. 
 
 " COME, Rafael Quintara, let's have a story or a song," said Joaquin's men, 
 as they smoked round the fire, carefully sheltered on the side towards the sleep 
 ing town of Stockton. 
 
 " Very well, if it's my turn," replied the bandit, kissing the mouth of his 
 orandy-nask for a moment. " Wait a bit till I think of something. Well, here 
 goes. I heard it from a Frenchman at Guaymas who had been left there sick 
 in Raousset Boulbon's filibustering, and who was a relation of the great French 
 
 lawyer Berry er. So you may rely on the story being true." 
 
 ******* 
 
 Some dozen leagues -from Chartres, near the Vendomoise country, was a 
 great wood called the Forest of Orgares. 
 
 In its centre were large quarries from which had been taken the immense 
 quantities of stone required to build the magnificent Cathedral of Chartres. 
 
 One day when all the authorities of France had their hands full from the dis 
 tressed condition of the Republic, for France was in the great Revolution, then, 
 four or five young fellows, having crept into a cavern almost without end to 
 shelter themselves from a storm, began to wonder at the extent of the excava 
 tions and the loneliness of the surroundings. 
 
 " Body of me !" cried one, generally nick-named Henry the Handsome, 
 " what a place for a colony of fellows of our kidney !" 
 
 Half a year afterwards, the quarries were the haunt of the vilest and most 
 fearful gallows-birds, under that young man's lead. 
 
 Women were admitted into the band. 
 
 The wretches' most common plan was to pretend to be beggars and stop at 
 nightfall at farm-houses to ask for bread or shelter. 
 
 The moment they could, they would overpower the people in the dwelling. 
 
 If the prisoners refused to tell where was hidden their money for the farm 
 ers had no banks in which to place the proceeds of their produce in those un 
 settled days they were bound, and their feet and legs were toasted at great 
 fires until the skin was scorched off amid unutterable agony or they acknowl 
 edged anything. 
 
 Things rose to such a pitch that, as the wits of the country could not vie 
 with those of the cut-throats, the head department was petitioned to send down 
 some criminal lawyer who would undertake the ferreting out. 
 
 Monsieur Thomas Mereville was selected. 
 
 A sharp December wind was freezing the moisture on the trees and ground, 
 and making very grateful a larg fire that leaped up in the ample chymney- 
 place of the Brothers-All Inn of Saint Maurice. 
 
 The half dozen of the household of the tavern, landlord, cooks and servants 
 with a young and good-looking traveler were listening to the story told by Mr. 
 M. Mereville, as he dried his mud and ice spotted trowser legs at the fire. 
 
 He was addressing a soldier in a captain's uniform who stood near him. 
 
 " You're perfectly right, my dear captain, I was very imprudant," said the 
 lawyer. " I ought to have asked an escort of you as I passed through Churtrain. 
 It was folly that spurred me on. I wanted to get here by dark, but night over 
 took me when I was all of a league from here. I was a little uneasy but I 
 spurred on my post-horse. Suddenly, without my having had the least warn 
 ing, a whole troop of men jumped out of the roadside, right and left " 
 
110 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 " The Scorchers !" interrupted the landlord's rough voice and his servants' 
 shriller ones. 
 
 " 1 believe so, my friends," replied the advocate blandly. " One of them 
 shouted : * All right. That's him !' I was pulled off my horse quicker than 
 my smartest clerk can attest a will. I set up a cry, while they handled me 
 rudely. Just then, a gallop of horses behind me, alarmed them, and. after 
 knocking me down with a backhander in the mouth, luckily with a naked fist 
 and not with one of their ugly cudgels, they darted off, with my valise. I 
 think one of them said, as they ran : 'I'll see you again !' but I ain't sure. Any 
 how, I owe all my salvation, under heaven, to brave Captain Vasseur here pres- 
 erit," concluded the lawyer, shaking the officer's hand again with his old wrin 
 kled one. 
 
 " Did one of the Scorchers promise to pay you a visit ?" inquired the soft 
 voice of the traveler, who had the look of being a pedler in a fair business. " If 
 he did, sir, be careful ; they always keep their word, don't they ?" 
 
 " Always," chorussed the assemblage. " Francis is right." 
 
 " And could not the captain catch 'em 1" asked Francis, mildly admiring the 
 officer. 
 
 " Sir," replied the latter, taking the look as if he had received many such, as 
 indeed his noble bearing deserved, "I Hid not see the highwaymen at all. 
 Well for them. The darkness was enough to forbid pursuit, and the thicket 
 was impenetrable. However, I mean to be to horse at dawn, when I will scour 
 the country. Let me only catch one of the wretches to begin with, and I'll an 
 swer for the others. It's my opinion, too, that we have more beggars prowling 
 about that even the hard times make necessary. We may have the brigands 
 under our very hands often, without knowing it," said he. 
 
 " So you may, without knowing it" repeated Mr. Francis, while the landlord 
 and his retinue nodded, and left the room to dish up supper. 
 
 The officer went out of the tavern after the meal to see the chief magistrate 
 of the village. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Francis the pedler had made himself quite intimate with the 
 old advocate and had heard nearly a score of anecdotes concerning members of 
 the bar, all of which elevated the narrator into a station which should have 
 been that of the Government Prosecutor. Mereville even invited his new ac 
 quaintance into his bedroom, where they chatted by the fire. 
 
 All at once, the man of the blackrobe uttered an exclamation, ro&e and, with 
 a frightened stare, looked at the single window of the room. 
 
 " A man a man's face there !" gasped the terrified barrister. 
 
 Francis leaped up and to the place, threw open the four-paned sash and 
 looked on coolly. 
 
 " To the right. The signal" whispered he to a man indeed clinging to the 
 rough outside. " There's not a soul in sight anywhere below, much less there,' 
 added he aloud, returning, " you can see for yourself." 
 
 But the lawyer did not accept the invitation, though he did the assertion. 
 
 " I'm a little affected, I suppose, by the blow that stunned me. I attach too 
 much importance to that villain's threat mere words, mere words. " 
 
 " Perhaps," remarked the merchant-pedler ; " but, at all events, a good sound 
 sleep will cure you. Good night, will you permit me to say it?" 
 
 "G goodnight. Stay. Do you thhA that this room is s safe 1 ?" stam 
 mered the really affrighted man, who had commenced to believe that there was 
 danger in being the open enemy of the formidable Scorcher. " I have papers of 
 value about me which the robbers did not have time to take or I wouldn't 
 ask." 
 
 " Certainly !" exclaimed Francis, quite joyful at these last words for some 
 reason or other. " Nothing but a babe in arms could be forced through that 
 window and a ladder would be required even then it's all of thirty feet to the 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. Ill 
 
 stable-yard below. The doors are country made, none of your city card-boards, 
 solid oak and plenty of iron. That General Bonaparte who, they say, is deal 
 ing the Austrlans such hard knocks, couldn't break through that, 1 warrant. 
 This window in the wall opens on my room, and unless 1 give up my hon 
 est, if not too profitable profession of" selling lace and trinkets, scarfs and rib 
 bons," concluded Francis laughing, " for the black calling of a pillager you 
 need not fear." 
 
 "Goodnight." 
 
 All had gone to sleep in the tavern. , 
 
 All except Francis. 
 
 When he was convinced of this, he went to his table, fcr he had laid down 
 and made his bed creak an hour ago as the servant maids passed through the 
 entry to retire up-stairs, and cut his candle cleverly into eight pieces, each 
 small, to be sure, but still able to burn for a brief space. 
 
 Cleverly did he cut hollows round the wicks, and lighted them all set side by 
 side on the window sill. 
 
 In a few seconds, while they burnt, and while he peered over them out into 
 the gloom, he saw a star spring from the ground, turn a summerset over a tree, 
 and fall. This was done twice more. 
 
 Then, leisurely, he extingushed his little tapers one by one, each end at a 
 time, till, solitary gleam, the central piece burned on. 
 
 Fifteen or twenty minutes passed, Francis had replaced the light on the table, 
 pushed off the bits of melted tallow, and opened the little window. 
 
 He expressed no surprise when a kind of ball appeared on the stable-roofs, 
 rolled down on a dungheap to the walls of the house while the huge watch 
 dog look on silent and as if enchanted and began to ascend like a fly, until a 
 man's face- was beside Francis's. 
 
 "You, Acrobat the Thumbless ?" querried he cautiously. 
 
 " Of course. Who else can climb so fashion?" replied the man with a sort 
 of pride. "Pardon me, captain, for mistaking the other room, and coming be 
 fore the signal." 
 
 " You are fined forty francs a-week for two months," said Francis, sternly. 
 " Silence ! no excuses." 
 
 " The seven I had with me are dismissed." 
 
 " That's right. I don't want you either. Tell the band to lie perdu, and all 
 the outlyers to close in. That captain will be up and doing in the morning. 
 Go." 
 
 " Thanks, Captain Henri," said the man, glad chilled as he was by the icy 
 blast to accomplish his descent skillfully and disappear. 
 
 The watch-dog let him pass, unchallenged as before. 
 
 (When, long after the trials of the Scorchers took place, one Jean Pierre Fo- 
 laret, alias Acrobat the Thumbless, alias the Juggler, was proven to have the 
 secret of preparing a weed called by the peasantry " Our Lady's hair," into a 
 powder, which sprinkled over a man, "charmed" wild and tame beasts.) 
 
 Midnight was come. 
 
 Profound calm weighed upon the house. Outside, the north-wind rattled 
 boughs of trees and jingled the icicles on the swinging signboard. 
 
 The last sound of active life in the next room to the so-called pedler's had 
 been when " boots" had entered to see if the distinguished lawyer had all he 
 required. 
 
 Francis, listening, had heard a chink of money and some low words which 
 he had not been able to make out. 
 
 " If he is buying anything," muttered he, "he can invest in a gravestone and 
 a tomb-wreath with advantage." 
 
 Since then, he had heard the advocate slumber lightly, poorly, and broken in 
 rest by dreams. 
 
112 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 His uneven respiration gave token of how impressionable he was and how ho 
 had been impressed by the late outrage upon him. 
 
 Mr. Mereville was awakened from a vision of his in which he was walking 
 along an alley of which the trees on either side were gibbets adorned with dead, 
 when they all fell in upon him. 
 
 The ghastly forms, the greasy ropes, the hideous beams, descended on him 
 he tried to shake off the terrying load one gibbet-arm rested spite of all on 
 his shoulder he awoke ! 
 
 His shoulder was indeed touched. 
 
 He started up convulsively and faltered in a die-away tone : 
 "Who o is that?" 
 
 " Awake at last, M. Mereville," answered a cautious voice. " Very well. 
 We'll have our chat." 
 
 The poor veteran of legal warfare, whose ideas were not in order yet, quickly 
 pulled aside still wider the curtains of the bed to have a look at a person who 
 wanted " to chat" at such an hour. 
 
 The caudle burned dimly in its floating bowl in a basin, tremulously reflected 
 on the gloom of the room. 
 
 A man was between him and the light, seated on the chair from which he had 
 unceremoniously brushed the clothes of the man a-bed. 
 
 " What! M. Francis, my friend the pedler !" said he. 
 
 " Often that by day," responded the voice deeply, " but by night now } at 
 all events Henri the Handsome, with fifty other names, Captain of the 
 Scorchers, at yours and everybody else's service!" 
 
 " Captain of the Scorchers !" reiterated the man of law. " I am lost !" groaned 
 he, falling back on his pillow. 
 
 " Don't speak so loud you've no witness to bully now," said Henri the 
 ihief, severely. " To business. I suspect that you have papers in your posses 
 sion proving that the Henri Maisonforte who was sentenced for twenty years 
 to the galleys (but who escaped) is illegitimate son of Michel Dralange of 
 Dourdan, and not the lawful one. I must have those proofs and destroy them, 
 for his friends, though they know him a miscreant, must not know he is a bas 
 tard ! And I want the evidence you have that proves Michel's son to be the 
 same as Maisonforte. And 1 want all the papers you have concerning my 
 band." 
 
 " But I I haven't them," moaned the advocate, convulsively writhing in the 
 bed. 
 
 Nor had he, for with a fox's excessive cunning, he had sent " boots" with 
 these very documents to deposit them with the magistrate for surety. 
 
 But he dared not tell the desperate man before him, that. 
 
 " You have them, sir, I am sure. True, they're not in your clothes, or under 
 the pillow, for I have searched. Where are they hidden ?" 
 
 " I haven't got them. They were yes ! in the valise that the robbers took 
 from me on the road !" 
 
 " Liar ! Those robbers were my rascals, and my own hands opened your 
 valise. Do you not recal my voice ? 'Twas I who promised to visit you ? I 
 keep my word." 
 
 The lawyer shuddered more than ever. 
 
 " Methinks, Master Lawyer of Paris," sneered Henri the Handsome, " that 
 you have not learnt yet of what I am capable. Let me tell you that you ought 
 to tremble to think of being alone with me in this cjiumber where you are 
 wholly at my mercy." 
 
 The very excess of his alarm unloosed the man's tongue. 
 
 " I will cry out and they'll take you you're alone," half-threatened he. 
 
 " Bah I" returned tha chief of the brigands with a scornful laugh. "This 
 whole house is at my mercy, even if I could not handle its whole force singly. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 113 
 
 Fve only to open that window, give a signal and to-morrow's sun will light on 
 smoking ruins and some half-baked carcases." 
 
 Inarticulate and faint moans only came from the lawyer. 
 
 The impatient bandit bent down and said in penetrating accents : 
 
 " Have done, thousand thunders ! Where are the papers ] I must have 
 them " 
 
 But vainly did he wait for a word or a movement that would betray the 
 secret-place of the objects of his searches. 
 
 Hie wretched old man continued to gasp and shiver. 
 
 At the height of fury, Henri the Handsome drew his knife and was about to 
 nail the unfortunate man to his couch, when a suspicion struck him forcibly and 
 suddenly. 
 
 He bent over the lawyer and tore the clothing off his features. Then he be 
 held that the poor old man, broken by unwonted fatigue of traveling and by 
 the emotions of the late assault (perhaps affected by the blow), was suffering 
 from congestion of the brain. 
 
 His face was puffed out with blood, his eyes rolled awfully, and his tied 
 tongue revealed approaching paralysis. 
 
 The robber leader contemplated the horrid sight placidly, and laughed. 
 
 " A visitation by me 1 a visitation of God !" said he jestingly ; " a real, natu 
 ral stroke of apoplexy. By the lips of my love this is too much luck for me. 
 You're very kind to get into a fit, my dear lawyer of Paris. On my honor ! I 
 was wondering how I should clear myself of suspicion, and not have to take to 
 flight, and here you save me the trouble ! If that is Parisian politeness, by 
 heaven ! we country folks are clowns !" 
 
 The dreadful word ; " apoplexy !" appeared to have reached the already be 
 numbed intelligence of the sufferer, for his speech was thawed by a superhuman 
 effort and he slowly spoke : 
 
 " A doctor he Ip bleed me !" 
 
 "I intended to do so, my' dear sir," replied Henri, sheathing his knife, "but 1 
 can't bear to cut such a friend. I don't mind your making~faces do as you 
 please, while I hunt for the papers." 
 
 "Without attending to the tortured man, he scrupulously examined the apart 
 ment. 
 
 After having done so and re-searched the lawyer's clothes, which he replaced 
 on the chair carefully, he ruumaged the bed minutely. 
 
 The miserable old man seemed to be past seeing or hearing. 
 
 He did not move, except by a transient spasm, his limbs were too weak. 
 
 At intervals his eyes caught a spark, but were almost extinguished speedily. 
 
 " Sure enough, they are nowhere," said the commander of the Scorchers. "At 
 all events he cannot tell all he knows ! Things are so so." 
 
 He surveyed the apartment to note if he had disturbed nothing, and, bowing 
 as he took a final mocking look at the living corpse, said with affected polite 
 ness while a railing smile sat on his really handsome face : 
 
 " Good night and a long sleep, my friend of the Parisian bar who comes to 
 the country to hunt my Scorchers !" 
 
 On tip-toe of his stocking-feet, he left the room as he had come, that is : 
 through the common window of the two apartments and quietly laid himself 
 down, without hearkening to the groans, fainter and fainter, in the adjoining 
 room. 
 
 A little after breakfast the next morning, Francis the pedler presented him 
 self at the house ot the magistrate, M. Peursans, and being a relation of the 
 official was admitted instantly. 
 
 The magistrate was at work in his office-room signing papers. 
 
 Francis hastened, when asked the news, to acquaint him with the exciting 
 and sad affair that had happened at the Inn of the Brother-all, that is to say : 
 
114. Joaquin, (the Claude Duva* of California} ; 
 
 how the great Parisian gentleman of the long robe stopping there, had been 
 frightened into a fit of apoplexy, which had been his death. 
 
 " Very strange, untimely," remarked M. Peursans. " Excuse me a moment 
 till I send Jean to inquire further." 
 
 While he was gone, Henri the Handsome used his fine eyes in a search over 
 the papers on the table and in the pigeon holes over it. 
 
 A morocco pocket-book, which bore the stamp of " Faite a Paris. 22, Rue 
 des Deux Ecus, Alphonse Tirefin et Cie.," attracted his attention. 
 
 What more likely than that was the very thing he wanted. 
 
 That whispered colloquy with the servant of the inn, the money paid ! of 
 course. 
 
 Why had he not questioned " boots ?" 
 
 This idea, once born, grew into the proportion of a certainty, and, with fixed 
 eye and nervous hand, he contemplated the leather cover. 
 
 Incapable of resisting such a temptation, he had his finger on it, when the 
 magistrate entered. 
 
 " 'S death !" exclaimed the latter, " it is just as you say, for Dr. Daniel was 
 passing and he had been at the inn. When the servant entered, after they had 
 to break in the door, you know, M. Mereville was cold. Awful to be struck 
 dead thus, and after he had just escaped the assassin's hand." 
 
 " Amen !" said Francis, thinking of something else. 
 
 There was a silence, during which the magistrate thoughtfully covered sever 
 al sheets of paper with writing and filled up blanks, while Francis greedily re 
 garded the pocketbook. 
 
 By chance the former looked up and he perceived the object of his gaze. 
 
 He noticed the other's attention but did not understand it. 
 
 " Poor Mereville, it seems as if he had obeyed a presentiment in sending me 
 his papers," said he. " I must assure myself of the nature of his trust." 
 
 He took the leather case, undid the gum elastic fastening (a new idea at that 
 day) and opened it. 
 
 The robber had the notion of snatching it and running off. 
 
 Who could stop him ? 
 
 Peursans was no match for him and he could easily slip out of the house. 
 
 But the very consciousness of his power checked him. 
 
 Henri the Handsome liked to brave danger. 
 
 Hence he kept his seat, but instead of preserving the mask of mildness and 
 good humor which he had worn, he let his features assume a more natural ex- 
 a'ton of audacity and ferocity. 
 
 His bold look and haughty smile seemed to hint a spirit defying the world. 
 
 The magistrate glanced over the endorsement of several papers, had his wan 
 dering vision caught and brought to bear on one especially, read it, read the 
 next, and more with an intense fascination. 
 
 Abruptly he flung a fiery glance on Handsome Henri, who did not stir and 
 only smiled the more proudly. 
 
 He resumed the reading, until, throwing all the documents on the table and 
 leaning towards the cool captain, said : 
 
 " And are you Maisonforte the convict ? You must be you smile ! Ah ! 
 and did you kill this lawyer ! I see, I see ! oh, devil " 
 
 " My dear relative," said the bandit tranquilly, with a stress on the words, 
 " what flea has bitten you ? Can you be affected by the death of an old chap 
 tvhom you never set eyes on ?" 
 
 " Use no such trifling, insulting tone, unsuiting your dangerous position," said 
 the magistrate energetically. " 1 know you now, Maisonforte, escaped from 
 the galleys." 
 
 " And your relative, all the same. The papers prove one just as much as the 
 other." 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 116 
 
 " What a shame on our family ! But I will do my duty and denounce you 
 as the escaped convict and as the probable murderer of the lawyer." 
 
 " His real murderer, if it comes to that," said Henri, crossing his legs easily. 
 
 " And," continued the authority, as a sudden light broke in on him, " you 
 may be connected with that fearful band, the Scorchers !" 
 
 " The Scorchers follow my lead as the hounds do the huntsman," said the 
 brigand calmly. " But for all that, what can you do ?" 
 
 M. Peursans was silent. 
 
 He was alone in the house except a couple of female domestics, he had no 
 weapons, and the chief of the band of Orgares was not the man to be assailed 
 single-handed, as his attitude of confidence sufficiently indicated. 
 
 The responsibility weighing upon him made an icy sweat stand upon his 
 brows. 
 
 Henry the Handsome kept his seat in such a careless way that anybody 
 would have believed him the judge and the magistrate who paced the room, the 
 culprit. 
 
 At last the robber rose and took Peursan's arm. 
 
 " I only ask your company to the door and I'll leave you. You had better 
 make away with those papers when you return, if you know your own good. 
 Come." 
 
 " The stupefied magistrate obeyed mechanically. 
 
 They stood at the front door. 
 
 " Wretch, wretch !" burst forth the official as his indignation at length grew 
 past constraint, " how can you tempt me so. Do I not, by calling on you the 
 vengeance of the laws, prove to all that I am a righteous man who holds you ic 
 as equal scorn as horror 1 M 
 
 " Not exactly," hissed the bandit, " Folks will say : ' What a far-seeing kins 
 man, who \vaited till rewards were at their height, ere selling his own blood.' * 
 
 This last subtle argument, of which the magistrate felt the truth too clearly, 
 made him desperate. 
 
 He fancied himself already, dishonored, lost, ruined, accused of complicity 
 with his crime-stained connection, who had visited him and been closeted with 
 him at all hours and on countless occasions. 
 
 The peril appeared to be unavoidable, whichever Way he looked at it. 
 
 His grief was neither mute nor inactive, nevertheless. 
 
 " Off ! away, scoundrel ! let me never see you more. I keep my promise 
 now, but I will be the first to start in pursuit of you, after twenty hours' 
 grace !" 
 
 Luckily for the speaker, he had strength enough to push the bandit out of the 
 door and slam it to in his face, for the thwarted ruffian on seeing the barrier 
 put between them so timely ground his teeth and foamed at the mouth, wild 
 ly hammering on the door with fist and foot. 
 
 He called to Peursans in a wrathful voice, but the latter had no such impru 
 dence as to put himself in his power again. 
 
 The maddened chief was not slow to feel the danger in acting so like a ma 
 niac. 
 
 He hurried away to the inn, strapped on his back the case of finery which 
 covered his journeys from suspicion, and made for the retreat of his band, 
 threatening and planning as he went. 
 
 That night a large body of men, on foot, were marching out of the heart of 
 the Forest of Orgares to reach the highway conducting to the village of Saint 
 Maurice. 
 
 This part of the wood was within the bounds which Captain Henri had bold 
 ly formed as the territory of his band. 
 
 The trees were " blazed " as landmarks and names of him and his lieutenants 
 cut upon them. 
 
116 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 . No travelers dared to enter under the shadow of the oaks ; few of the peas 
 ants were in the outskirts except in broad day. 
 
 Armed forces were often afraid to pass along the grass-grown roads. 
 
 Such a terror did the malefactors spread that they took little pains to conceal 
 themselves. 
 
 It was found out afterwards that the farmers of the vicinity very well knew 
 the real character of the pretended beggars who forced them to be generous in 
 almsgiving. 
 
 , They ventured neither to complain or murmur and humbly submitted to the 
 burden, without thinking that they became accomplices in imposing it upon 
 themselves. 
 
 This party of the brigand were going soon to have a fresh proof of the fear 
 that they inspired, and a proof, less welcome, of the fact that human patience 
 and suiferance can be tried too far. 
 
 The miscreants had been more than an hour a-foot and they had become 
 very thirsty, from being so well wrapped up, though in rags outside, against 
 &e cold. 
 
 A little refreshment and a slight repose was their desire. 
 
 They stopped on the top of a hill, which was the last elevation of the plain 
 on which was the village of Saint Maurice at the other end. 
 
 Henri the Handsome surveyed the landscape. 
 
 It was gloomy enough, but bright star-light let large objects be distinguished. 
 
 After a moment's gaze, the commander pointed out a large farm-house which 
 rose half way down the hill-side. 
 
 " That's the crib of that old rascal Marchet. Come on," said he laconically. 
 
 They descended thitherward. 
 
 A light shining in the large hall, or main room, told that the people had not 
 retired to rest, despite the advanced hour. 
 
 Beyond a doubt they had caught some rumor of the band going to be " at 
 work " that night, yet nothing betrayed any apprehension on their part. 
 
 They had made no preparations for defence. 
 
 The dogs were chained up, and the big gate was half open. 
 
 Perhaps they feared that the least evidence of shrinking would invite an ad- 
 yance. 
 
 The band strode in boldly, and one or two gave the noses of the watchdogs 
 a tap with a club to make them keep quiet, while Henri the Handsome pushed 
 open the house door. 
 
 The farmer's family and farmhands were forming a half-circle round the fire, 
 while on the long table were the remains of the hearty supper. 
 
 The fire and torches of pine lighted up the place. 
 
 . At the entrance of the bandit chief, well known like his followers to the be 
 holders, everybody stopped talking or eating or drinking, as the case might be. 
 
 All the people turned white as ghosts, and some of them rose automatonical- 
 ly to offer their seats. 
 
 Henri the Handsome, with the action of a man pretty sure that anything he 
 did was allowable, stepped up to the table and lifted a cider jug to his lips. 
 
 His fellows imitated his act and cleared the board, without one word, much 
 less an excuse, being addressed. 
 
 Nevertheless, beside the old master of the house, there were his two stout 
 sons and four more young men of similar build, who might have given .the in 
 truders a busy time of it with their cudgels and the fowling pieces which hung 
 on their hooks. 
 
 The half dozen robust girls of the house and diary were not to be despised 
 in a fight, either. 
 
 But not a soul among them seemed to dream of resistance, but dwelt speech 
 less, and motionless. 
 
0r, The Marauder of the Mines. 117 
 
 The farmer, at first taken all aback by the unexpected inroad, recovered 
 somewhat. 
 
 With exaggerated politeness, he poured out : 
 
 " Goodness me ! it's citizen Henri, and my dear Acrobat the Thumbless 
 and the Big Norman, and the Doctor, too ! Lord ! quite a meeting of friends! 
 Sit down, bless me, sit down ! eat a drop and drink a slice or two of bread ! 
 Here, wife, and you, you staring hussies ! look alive, in the name of old Nick . 
 stir your stumps, you jades ! some ham, clean plates, wine, cider ! I'll bet my 
 head that Henri the Handsome and his gan his friends, I mean, will take a sup 
 of our home-brewed beer !" 
 
 The poor women, jumping up electrified, began to run about at random, 
 without knowing what they did. 
 
 With an imperious wave of the hand, Henri nailed them all to the floor, like 
 statues. 
 
 " Useless. We are expected and cannot stay." 
 
 His companions were finishing more cider. 
 
 " What ! going so quick, just like the angels !" said the farmer in an affected 
 regret. " If you are in a hurry, though, Citizen Henri, don't let us detain you 
 with our humble fare. It comes from the heart, though, from the heart." 
 
 Half the band had already stalked out smacking their lips like coachwhips. 
 
 The farmer, seeing he was going to get off cheaply this time, followed the 
 captain and the rest and, like a countryman of those parts, tried to gain some 
 thing else. 
 
 "1 may as well tell you, Doctor," said he to the lieutenant so nicknamed, in 
 an insinuating voice, " that my white cow Blanche is still sick look in on us 
 and give us a dose for her, that's a kind fellow. You know so many secrets of 
 curing men that you must be able to cure a cow !" 
 
 The Doctor, nattered exceedingly, w r ent out, nodding. 
 
 This promise obtained, Farmer Marchet presumed still further. 
 
 As the last of his unwelcome visiters left, he stood in his doorway, cap in 
 hand, and raised his voice to say loudly : 
 
 " And won't you be so kind, citizen Henri the Handsome, to pass the word 
 for your good people not to take all the fowls out of the poultry-house this 
 Christmas week like last ! Don't be hard on a neighbor I They only left me 
 one old rooster last year that the fox wouldn't take !" 
 
 The farmer had gone too far. 
 
 " ' Sailor Boy,' or whoever's nearest there," cried Henri, " send that chatter 
 box to sleep" 
 
 One of the rearguard swung his club in the air and knocked the old man into 
 the house, dead as a stone. 
 
 The robbers paid no further attention to him, when suddenly a young man's 
 voice shouted within the doorway as one of the murdered mail's sons lifted the 
 corpse : 
 
 " To arms ! Close the shutters ! We will have help from the soldiers soon. 
 The guns, the guns !" 
 
 The brigands, half out of the court-yard, paused instinctively. 
 
 Bang ! went a shot and one of the robbers leaned against the wall ; his arm 
 had been broken by the bullet. 
 
 One of the orphan brothers stood in the doorway with the smoking-piece. 
 
 " Back !" yelled Henri, forgetting all at this. " They have brought it on 
 themselves ! In, and make mincemeat of them !" 
 
 But the farmhands, having broken the spell, and having strong oaken planks 
 between them and the robbers were not ths terrified swains of other days. 
 
 They felt assured that the noise of a conflict would bring them aid soon, for 
 they had seen the numbers of troops pouring into Saint Maurice. 
 
 They were good rabbit hunters, and a man who can hit puss, can easilj 
 
118 tfoaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 bring down a man, and their four guns killed each their man at the next rush 
 of the brigands. 
 
 The fight was fairly inaugurated. 
 
 One corner of the farmhouse was fired, however, and the flames spread rapid 
 ly in the cold dry air. 
 
 At this juncture, there came running up the hill one of the connections of the 
 gang, who had seen the soldiers assembling on the village-square to proceed to 
 the conflagration. 
 
 , With a last volley, to which the peasants responded, the foiled bandit called 
 off his men, angry now that he should have let his grander project be thus turn, 
 ed aside. 
 
 They reached the woods before the hussars and foot soldiers came up the hill. 
 
 The latter spent the night in searching for them fruitlessly. 
 
 As the sun set the next day over the quarries, the robbers were assembled in 
 groups in the old haunt, singing, dancing and otherwise making merry. 
 
 They showed no tokens of the previous evening's defeat, unlike their chief 
 who sat apart under a tree. 
 
 As he was sulking and chafing, one of the videttes cried out the " who goes 
 there ?" which was repeated by many others. 
 
 A sound approached, and soon grew into a medley of outcries of pain and 
 oaths. 
 
 At length, several men appeared with a burden, which they laid rather gently 
 on the sward. 
 
 " Where is Baptist ?" shouted one of the bearers, " where's that rascally doc 
 tor *? Fetch him along quick for a wounded man ?" 
 
 " A wounded man ?" repeated Henri the Handsome, aroused from his rev 
 erie, " by all the devils, their horns and their hoofs ! is no one to have a mo 
 ment's repose 1 Who is hurt now ?" 
 
 " It looks the very picture of the Big Norman sprawled out there howling like 
 a sick hog," answered the * Sailor Boy.' " Come on, fellows, and see the fun." 
 
 He ran to the spot with others. 
 
 The chief himself hastened after. 
 
 A few only were too drunk to have any thought except for the dance. 
 
 The Big Norman was indeed extended on the ground, groaning and cursing 
 by turns. 
 
 He had been out with another knave, called the Red-eyed of Borgny, and 
 they had had admittance refused them in a farm-house for the country people 
 were becoming bold as lions since soldiers were in the district to back them 
 and had had a gun fired at them, of which the present sufferer had received the 
 charge in his breast and shoulders. 
 
 He was covered with blood and was in great agony. 
 
 The Sailor Boy bent over the sufferer with the joy of satisfied hate. 
 
 " Ha, ha ! my poor buck," said he in a delighted tone, " so you're winged at 
 last, you who are so fond of cuffing your comrades ! You are pretty far gone, 
 that's a fact! I don't think you'll kick up anymore fusses! You're losing 
 your blood, my friend, and if this keeps on, you won't have a single drop ir. 
 five minutes more. Small loss !" 
 
 The Big Norman was about to put a stop to these taunts by a blow with his 
 huge fist, but a dreadfully poignant twitch in his shoulder prevented him and 
 kspt his arm down by his side. 
 
 The Doctor had come by this time, and ordered his patient to be brought 
 nearer the fire for him to examine him. 
 
 He was obeyed. 
 
 The Doctor, taking off the wounded man's coat, opened his box of instru 
 ments and searched for the proper probes. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 119 
 
 The captain turned away Miid had nearly fallen into a new train of reflections, 
 when a loud noise arose in the direction of the fire. 
 
 Laughs and cheers in derision were to be distinguished. 
 
 To the leader's astonishment, the Norman was seen to jump up to his feet 
 and fall half naked upon his teasers. 
 
 The eminent Physician of the Scorchers himself, forgot the importance and 
 dignity of that station and joined in the hilarity. 
 
 " What means all this ? demanded Captain Henri, advancing to the scene. 
 
 " It means, captain," said Sailor Boy after a side-splitting peal of merriment, 
 ** that the gun that hit the big baby was only loaded with pepper and Salt." 
 
 "The wounds smart/' added the Doctor, " but they are mere flea-bites." 
 
 The wounded man was glaring in rage and shame at the circle of merry faces. 
 
 " We'll, never want provisions while we have the Norman in salt !" cried one. 
 
 " A pretty pickle he is in," shouted another. 
 
 " Well peppered, indeed !" was the roar of a third. 
 
 " Salted shoulder !" chorussed a dozen. 
 
 " A bucket of water to make him fresh again !" 
 
 Meanwhile, after the chief had silenced the tormentors, he questioned the 
 wounded man. 
 
 " Ha !" said he when he had heard all, " the kid reported that the farmer was 
 to market. Hunt up that boy we call Little Lad (le Petit Garr). I want to 
 see him." 
 
 The youth, one of the spies of the second class, had indeed played false. 
 
 When sent on the errand of finding out all about the farmhouse in question, 
 he had found the traveling too cold and had skulked around in the warmest 
 holes in the quarries till he had pretended to return, and had said the coast was 
 clear. 
 
 " If I go to old Crosspatch's farm," he had reasoned in his childish way. 
 " they'll set the dogs on me. I'll go and hide in the Greenstone Cave and roll 
 rocks for him. Then I'll come back and swear that there's not a soul at the 
 place. They can go and make sure of it themselves, if they like. Curse 'urn ! 
 they're all the time quarrelling and have made my mother hide herself away 
 off from here. I'll trick 'um out of spite." 
 
 This he had done. 
 
 He was soon found, being in the thicket, gnawing a piece of bread, and laugh 
 ing with the laughers at the Norman. 
 
 It was only when he felt the heavy hand of the Sailor Boy on his shoulder 
 that he began to fear. 
 
 But he uttered no word and offered no resistance to being brought before the 
 chief. 
 
 lie, though the youngest and weakest of the band, was too hardened to beat 
 ings to be much afraid. 
 
 The captain darted an angry look down on him. 
 
 " You have disobeyed me," said he, " you have lied and you've led to one of 
 my plans being crossed. Do you deny it "?" . 
 
 The little fellow trembled, but he tried to clear himself by effrontery. 
 
 " Pooh ! it was only for the fun of the thing." 
 
 " Ha ! do you acknowledge having made a false report about the farm in 
 the hollow ?" 
 
 " It was a joke the Big Norman was only shot with salt !" 
 
 " He might have been slain, as you deserve to be. But you are young and 
 I may spare you. Your mother Fanchette the Tall has disappeared from our 
 midst. Do you know where she is ?" 
 
 " No, I don't," replied the boy, affecting stupidity. 
 
 '* Come, speak out, or else " 
 
120 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California] ; 
 
 The youngster laughed in the speaker's face and made a face sc comic that 
 the audacity of it rather than its risibility caused a smile and even j smothered 
 laugh to appear on the faces of the brigands. 
 
 But they were hushed and the boy was alarmed at the possible c< ^sequences 
 of his temerity. 
 
 For the handsome tace of Henri had grown livid, he uttered a kii d of growl 
 and felt in his girdle for a pistol which he cocked. 
 
 The youth twisted himself out of the Sailor Boy's arms, and began nimbly 
 running towards the thicket, screaming : 
 
 " Mother, mother ! help !" 
 
 Several of the brigands who might have intercepted his flight, were too much 
 astounded to do so. 
 
 Alone, the bandit chief dashed into the foliage like a tiger infuriated. 
 
 They both disappeared in the shadows. 
 
 Active as was the terrible leader, perhaps he could not have overtaken the 
 child, winged by fright as the latter was, over the rough ground, easier for the 
 lesser than for the greater runner. 
 
 If the former had had the idea of dropping noiselessly behind some bush, he 
 would have escaped the pursuer's wrath for the present at least. 
 
 But as he was in a species of fit, he ran straight on and continued to scream 
 in his shrill voice : 
 
 " Mother, mother ! help, help, my mother !" 
 
 The explosion of a firearm resounded in the wood, and was followed by a 
 
 heart-rending shriek, more powerful than the boy could have uttered. 
 
 * * * * * * * 
 
 In the centre of a natural clearing, lighted by the rising moon which cast a long 
 coffin-shaped beam on the group, Henri the Handsome, his pistol still in his 
 grasp, but the hammer down in the powder-blued pan, was gazing on the boy's 
 body dead at his feet. 
 
 A woman, with disheveled hair and torn garments was kneeling over the 
 corpse, crying : 
 " Henri, you have killed our son !" 
 
 There she fainted, bathing her face in the blood of the child born in guilt, 
 dead in crime ! 
 
 The chilliness of the morning brought her to herself, and she rose benumbed 
 by the night's cold. 
 
 Her mind seemed to have gone on thinking while she had been in the swoon 
 for she was resolved when she awoke. 
 
 She disrobed the body partly, carefully put aside the clothes, and more care 
 fully placed the remains in a hole in the rock which she built over with stones 
 
 On the rude pile she placed a plainly made cross, murmured what she re 
 membered of a prayer over it and stood up, the little packet of clothes in her 
 shawl. 
 
 She looked towards the camp of the Scorchers, felt that a small pocket-pistol 
 was safe in her bosom, and turned away, thinking : 
 
 " I will bid mother good-bye first, and then ! then, will I die at his feet !" 
 
 She began to thread the crossing paths of the forest. 
 
 But she had miscalculated her forces. 
 
 The hard ground, too, was so unlike the elastic grass of summer that her 
 stiffened limbs soon tired. 
 
 Still she toiled on. 
 
 Her clothes were very scant against such a morning's rigor. 
 
 To add to all, when she had arrived in the more open country, a fine hard 
 snow was falling which pricked the exposed face like so many needles. 
 
 So hard was it that the grains would not adhere to one another like flaked 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 121 
 
 do, and, far from uniformity covering the ground, collected in ridges and heaps. 
 
 On she toiled. 
 
 Captain Vasseur had been out that night, or rather morning, with many of 
 ais men, though only two were yet with him, for the news of the robbers having 
 0een beaten olF the farm and the Big Norman being shot had been received by 
 him and he had thought he might be able to pick up the winged bird. 
 
 He had different luck. 
 
 As the three rode along, they espied coming towards them a countryman, 
 whose three-cornered hat was pulled over his eyes against the sleet, for the 
 riders brought the wind with them. 
 
 When they first descried him, he was a mere black speck on the white. 
 
 But as soon as he caught sight of the horsemen, which happened after awhile, 
 he did not appear to be in any hurry to make their acquaintance, for he stopped 
 and, after a look, dropped behind a hillock, perhaps trusting that he had not 
 been remarked. 
 
 But Captain Vasseur had observed this suspicious proceeding. 
 
 " Spur !" ordered he. 
 
 Off the three went at a fast trot. 
 
 Seeing himself discovered, the suspected man rose and cut across the fields to 
 throw the mounted men off his track. 
 
 " Keep on his heels," commanded the officer ; u Fll remain in the road and 
 prevent him taking to it again, as he may." 
 
 As he rode along, he suddenly perceived a kind of dark blot in the middle 
 of the highway on ahead. 
 
 It was a woman lying motionless and half covered with the drift of icy par 
 ticles. 
 
 He reined in. 
 
 " Halloa ! are you asleep, my good woman !" 
 
 Finding no signs of life, he dismounted and acquired certainty that the poor 
 woman was senseless and in a fair way to lose life. 
 
 She presented a wretched aspect : her feet torn through her tattered shoes, 
 bled slowly upon the ice ; her walking-stick had fallen from her one hand, 
 while the other and its arm stiffly encircled a small bundle. 
 
 The sleet did not melt on her face or form. 
 
 By temperament as well as by profession, Captain Vasseur was not easily 
 affected, yet he could not help great compassion moving him on beholding the 
 poor creature's deplorable condition. 
 
 He leaned over her with interest, shook her and called her in vain. 
 
 She did once open her eyelids the least bit, but almost instantly closed them 
 in that slumber of death by cold. 
 
 As the officer knew now that she breathed still, he hastened to wrap her up in 
 his ample riding-cloak, and forced a few drops of brandy between her set teeth. 
 
 He alone, and there, could not altogether accomplish the resuscitation. 
 
 He looked around him. 
 
 His companions were far off, still pursuing the three-cornered hat. 
 
 Besides, they would not have been of any utility under the circumstances. 
 
 Fortunately, not very distant from the spot, was a little cabin hidden in the 
 leafless brush, yet denoted by the smoke curling out of the chimney. 
 
 Its ragged straw thatch indicated rfo great wealth, but Vasseur did not hesi 
 tate to take up the unconscious woman and stride up to the cottage, as rapidly 
 as his heavy boots with his spurs would let him. 
 
 His horse followed him like the well-trained steed he was. 
 
 The house was very comfortable, after all, on a nearer view. 
 
 The garden had been well under cultivation. 
 
 Beehives were carefully sheltered by a wall, a goat, tied up, was bleating 
 and a cow was bellowing in the stable. 
 
122 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) f 
 
 Vasseui tied up his horse to the palings and walked into the cottage without 
 knocking. 
 
 An old woman was within slowly turning a spinning-wheel. 
 
 On seeing what had happened and being instructed by the officer's sharp 
 words, she sprang up and cheerfully enlarged the fire, made a hot posset of 
 wine. 
 
 On coming to chafe and warm the poor woman's hands, she uttered a loud 
 scream, which astonished the captain. 
 
 " Fanchette, Fanchette ! Good heavens, my daughter !" cried she, falling on 
 her knees, " She was dying, and you bring her to me, to me ! How strange ! 
 See, she's coming to she opens her eyes !" continued the old woman. *' She 
 lives !" 
 
 In fact, Fanchette's features lost their pallor by degrees and she became 
 more and more animated. 
 
 But there was a fear that the sudden reaction would give her a fever. 
 
 They put her to bed with all the blankets on her. 
 
 The captain had meantime examined the bundle, "which contained a boy's 
 clothes. 
 
 He believed for a moment that they had been stolen, poor as they were,when 
 a weak voice raved from under the coverings : 
 
 " My boy, iny son ! where are you ? Oh, he killed him because he would 
 not steal !" 
 
 These words, betokening a return of sense but not of command over the 
 brain, struck the mother with alarm and the officer with suspicion and amaze 
 ment. 
 
 " She's mad ! she's mad !" cried the old woman quickly. " Her boy di*>4 
 long ago when a babe." 
 
 But Franchette had sat up and looking at Captain Vasseur turning o\er the 
 contents of the bundle, said earnestly. 
 
 " Please, please don't touch 'em, sir. They're all that's left of my good little 
 child !" 
 
 " The deuce ! Ha ! a babe wear the clothes of a boy of twelve !" cried Vas 
 seur. 
 
 What he would next have done is doubtful, but whatever his intended move, 
 he was interrupted by hasty footfalls heard outside. 
 
 The back door of the cottage opened, and in rushed a man, with just enough 
 breath to gasp : 
 
 " Kind folks, I am hunted. Don't give me up !" 
 
 Vasseur promptly caught him by the collar and said : 
 
 " One moment, my man. I want a talk with you." 
 
 Nothing could equal the stupor of the stranger on perceiving his leap fron* 
 the frying-pan into the fire. 
 
 But he tried to escape nevertheless. 
 
 The officer's hold was too good and his hand too strong for that to be accom 
 plished. 
 
 The Red-Eyed of Borgny, for this was the companion of the Big Norman 
 found that cunning was his only resource. 
 
 He sat down on a stool beside the captain with affected resignation. 
 
 " Good heavens ! citizen officer, what can you want with me, hunting me ovej 
 the country as you have. I am a poor inoffensive soul, who cannot guess whj 
 I am so troubled. Here's my paper." 
 
 He handed Vasseur a greasy scrip, which the latter scarcely deigned a glance. 
 
 " Oh, I suppose it's all right, my good Germain Bouscant, otherwise the Red- 
 Eyed of Borgny, who called at the farm in the hollow last night along with 
 
 a 
 
 'he start of the rogue at this abrupt accusal confirmed its truth. 
 
 gigantic knave." 
 T 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 123 
 
 " Look here, sirrah, your sudden flight at sight of our uniforms is proo* 
 enough for your being guilty, your character apart of vagabond, beggar and 
 what not. So I cannot let you go " 
 
 " But I am innocent as a lamb." 
 
 " I arrest you in the name of the Law. It will be better for you," said the 
 captain, fixing his penetrative eyes on his shuddering prisoner, " to cease your 
 useless lies and lamentations and gain the indulgence of the authorities by mak 
 ing a clean breast of it. The government is stirring at last. The National 
 Guard is arming, and the regulars are coming in from all quarters. There's no 
 hope for the Scorchers." 
 
 The brigand was shaken, for he knew this was true. 
 
 " They are lost. The first ones who come in will be granted life, however 
 guilty they may have been. Besides, a reward will be added to whoever tells 
 who is the skilful chief of the band." 
 
 " A reward ?" exclaimed the Red-Eyed. 
 
 " A considerable sum." 
 
 The brigand was convinced, and he was about opening his mouth, when he 
 was interrupted by a woman's voice. 
 
 " Traitor ! coward ! liar ! woe to you if you sell him /" 
 
 The brigand looked at the bed. 
 
 " Hullo ! Franchette the Tall ! and her mother Old Caduque 1 What does 
 this mean?" 
 
 " It means that you had better be quick, or others will forestall you," inter 
 polated the officer quickly. 
 
 " No, no, he lies !" screamed Franchette, struggling with her wrappings and 
 her mother. " I won't betray him! He has led to all my shame and agony ! 
 he hates me and has killed my boy ! but I won't betray him, and won't have 
 anybody else do it ! I have loved him and love him still !" 
 
 " You speak of a murdered child," said Captain Vasseur, " avenge him by " 
 
 " Peace ! Cut me in bits you shall not know him. My poor, poor little 
 one !" 
 
 Meanwhile, Germain had come to the conclusion that Franchette would let 
 out the secret in her ravings, if not wittingly, determined on his course. 
 
 " My word of honor for what I promise," said the officer. 
 
 " Well, then," began the traitor, " I will reveal all about our association. To 
 begin with and to prove my knowledge, the leader, the Chief of the Scorchers 
 is known to us as Henri the Handsome, to the world, as " 
 
 A sharp crack of a pistol echoed in the room, and the speaker, with one eye 
 sightless, for therein the tiny bullet had buried itself, fell into the officer's arms, 
 dead. 
 
 The smoke filled the room. 
 
 There was a contused moment. 
 
 Captain Vasseur made a spring to seize the slayer, but it was the old mother 
 and not Fanchette that he grasped. 
 
 The door opened and a cold blast rushed in while the mistress of the bandit 
 leader flew out. 
 
 In another moment, 'a clatter of hoofs were audible. 
 
 " The devil !" thundered the officer, flinging from him the old woman, who 
 rolled over the dead traitor. 
 
 And he dashed into the open air. 
 
 On one side approached his two soldiers ; on the other disappeared, on her 
 horse, the fevered Fanchette, riding at full speed. 
 
 " No use chasing !" said he, seeing that she was country-girl enough to have 
 acquired tolerable horsemanship. " Give me your horse , Bandoni, while you 
 arrest an old woman inside this house and see if a man is dead." 
 
 The man was dead. 
 
124 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 But if he was not to reveal the important secrets, another took his place. 
 
 Old Caduque, on promise of mercy being extended to her child, began to 
 make known her acquaintance with the band of Orgares, as she rode in front of 
 the captain. 
 
 The chase was really begun at this moment. 
 
 Darkness was again upon the forest. 
 
 Its edge was being penetrated by a large body of soldiers, horse and foot, 
 under command of Captain Vasseur, who guided his little army in accordance 
 with what he had learnt from Old Caduque. 
 
 It was a difficult task, and many a time he had almost given it up. 
 
 But at last, the appearance of a changing red glimmer gave all heart. 
 
 "The fire of the wretches' camp," said he, aloud. " Cautious, now, men! 
 The curses of all honest men befal him who is hindmost at this pinch !" 
 
 The brigands were in their great cavern, on account of the cold. 
 
 A fire burned before its large mouth to heat the air that entered it. 
 
 They were all up and excitement, for not only had the news that Fanchette 
 had brought on the stolen horse been confirmed by spies, but the last arrival 
 had told of the approaching army, and of the complete confession of Old Ca 
 duque. 
 
 Fanchette was pardoned by the chief for her services and she had gone to 
 sleep in a corner, almost happy. 
 
 The Iright of the villains knew no bounds. 
 
 They would have rushed out of the cave, but that Captain Henri stood be 
 tween them and the aperture. 
 
 " Let none of ye stir !" said he, growling in rage. " You're a pack of cowards ! 
 Do you dare go against your leader's will T' 
 
 He drew a brace of pistols. 
 
 " I'll unroof the skull of the first who rebels !" 
 
 He thought they were more of soldiers ; they were mere cut-throats. 
 
 His attitude silenced their murmurings, and he endeavored to overawe or 
 decide them again. 
 
 But they were listening not to him, but to the tramp of armed men which 
 they fancied they heard. 
 
 Time was too precious for such hesitation to be prolonged. 
 
 As the commander paused, exhausted by his own vehemence, Sailor Boy 
 made himself spokesman and began : 
 
 " Let us go, captain ! You see we're a demoralized set ! We'll be nabbed 
 at a swoop with all this palaver." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! aye, aye ! speak to him, Sailor !" vociferated the farthermost of 
 the crowd. 
 
 " But / will not have you scatter like thistle-seed ! Am I not your chief?" 
 
 " Oh, that's all bosh our gang's broken up," returned Sailor Boy, embolden 
 ed by the nudges and pattings on the shoulder that he received. " Come now, 
 stash that ! our lives go ahead of our laws !" 
 
 " Hur !" they began to cheer. 
 
 But Henri's voice broke in. 
 
 " By all the horns of the devil, here you go on a voyage, my Sailor Boy !" 
 
 His pistol shot tore the ear of the rebel, and entered the throat of the man 
 behind him. 
 
 The brigand chief, changed his exploded weapon for the other, but he was 
 not let use it. 
 
 They rushed upon him altogether and upset him in a twinkling, notwith 
 standing the increase of his natural powers by fury. 
 
 A blanket was spread over his face to prevent him seeing who were the 
 principals in the revolution of time-honored authority and many hands held 
 him down. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 125 
 
 He struggled fruitlessly. 
 
 At length, he felt the many grasps relax and be removed, but he was bound 
 hand and foot with ropes. 
 
 His assailants were moving away. 
 
 He attempted to break free, but unsuccessfully. 
 
 In a little while, a small hand impatiently cut his bonds and pulled off the 
 cloth blindfolding him. 
 
 It was Fanchette. 
 
 He paid little attention to her, for his rage overcame his gratitude. 
 
 The pistol which he had not fired off, lay on the ground, as if no one had 
 dared to touch it. 
 
 He caught it up, rushed through the opening and leaped over the dying fire. 
 
 Only a few boys and old women were in the neighborhood, and they were 
 unworthy of his vengeance. 
 
 " Henri, Henri !" screamed Fanchette, " what are you going to do ?" 
 
 But he had seen his men running off or mounting stolen horses which they 
 had taken out of the stable-cave. 
 
 " Cowards ! only wait !" roared he more like a wild beast than a human 
 being. 
 
 "The chief!" exclaimed the Sailor Boy in terror. " Confound whoever let 
 him loose !" 
 
 Off they spurred, the shot following them uselessly. 
 
 All of a sudden, like echoes to that report, detonations broke the stillness on 
 several sides of the wood. 
 
 After a few minutes, some of the bandit on foot began to return to the haunt, 
 while the musketry began to rattle. 
 
 The soldiers had surrounded the wood. 
 
 Henri the Handsome thought no longer of punishing the rebels, who, indeed, 
 were being summarily dealt with. 
 
 He grasped Fanchett's hand and the two pushed through the underwood, as 
 Captain Vasseur and his men beat back the robbers in all quarters. 
 
 The two fugitives managed to get through the lines and left the spot by 
 some yards, when three soldiers started up before them. 
 
 " Halt !" cried one. " A move, and you die !" 
 
 The brigand chjef stopped but almost instantly sprang forward. 
 
 The piece flashed in the pan. 
 
 He was only a few feet from the soldier, who attempted to club his musket, 
 but Henri was too close and had him by the hair. 
 
 He bent back his head and was about to cut his throat, when the other sol 
 diers fired at him. 
 
 One bullet missed him, the other only went through and through the cords 
 between the shoulder and the neck and then struck Fanchette in the bosom, as 
 she came on to save her lover. 
 
 " I forgive Henri ! my ch " 
 
 She breathed her last as the soldiers pinioned their prisoner. 
 
 They let her lie there while they led their captives to their commander. 
 
 The open space in front of the cave lighted up by the fire which had been re 
 plenished, was full of dead, dying, and bound bandits, over whom the soldiers 
 stood triumphant guard. As soon as Henri the Handsome could get speech, 
 he begged Captain Vasseur te let him see Peursans the magistrate. 
 
 " Here he is," said the officer coldly. 
 
 "What does the prisoner want]" inquired the magistrate equally icily. 
 
 " A word in private," answered Henri, downcast considerably by this manner. 
 
 " What ?" said the bandit chief, turning pale. 
 
 " I am a nobody at present," returned the magistrate, turning away. " Cap 
 tain Vasseur is about to take you to Chartres." 
 
126 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 " Not till I repay your affection, kinsman of mine !" cried Henri the Hand 
 some with a return of his daring voice of old. 
 
 By strength as well as by a trick well known by galley slaves, the speaker 
 had freed his hands and drawn from his clothes a little needle of a dagger which 
 he had known how to conceal from his searchers. 
 
 But his feet were hampered and though Peursans was unsuspicious Cap 
 tain Vasseur had been on the alert. In an instant, the brigand was overpow 
 ered and disarmed. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Notwithstanding the thinning out by jail-fever which visited the numerous 
 culprits, and several escapes, eighty shot was the number of the Band of Scorch 
 ers brought to trial and to sentence of death and imprisonment. 
 
 Of the twenty-three who were adjudged to the extreme penalty, the chief was 
 naturally the foremost. 
 
 He died " handsomely," as the French criminals who envy his daring life, 
 jestingly say to this day. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 TURN PIRATE. SAN FRANCISCO. HOW GARCIA SPENT HIS TIME. 
 
 ONE Sunday morning, very fine, as the bells were calling Catholics to mass 
 and the no-religionists to amusements, and the men, generally fresh shaven and 
 in their " store-clothes," were mustering at the corners to watch the women 
 pass and criticise feet and ankles, they saw a man go by who was a stranger. 
 
 He was a good-looking young man of black eyes and hair, which floated 
 dow*i his shoulders. He rode along tranquilly, regarding with indifference even 
 such things as demanded inspection. He was so richly attired, and bestrode a 
 horse so good and so elegantly bedecked that he was the cynosure ere long of 
 all eyes and the subject of general remarks. 
 
 " Handsome ! Look at him !" murmured the ladies. " Some young Mexi 
 can noble! General Vallejo's son ! No, the general has no son." 
 
 " I swear ! he is gallus !" said a New Yorker. 
 
 " I reckon that chap will dew !" remarked a Bay State man. 
 
 " Thunder ! couldn't shine more if he had a plantation to back him !" observed 
 a Southerner. 
 
 The young horseman, apparently unconscious of having drawn all eyes upon 
 him, drew rein suddenly on passing before a board fence on which were posted 
 several handbills. One of them, more prominent than the others of " Great 
 Bargains ! New York Goods at Cost ! French Silk Scarfs, all colors !" was 
 thus lettered: 
 
 $5,000. REWARD. $5,000. 
 
 Five thousand dollars Reward to whoever delivers to the authorities, 
 
 JOAQUIN, 
 
 DEAD OR ALIVE ! 
 
 The Mexican cavalier had no sooner read this than he leaped off his horse, 
 drew out a lead pencil, scribbled rather leisurely some words on the foot of the 
 bill and rode on as quietly as if he had not stopped. A dozen people, urged by 
 curiosity, hastened up to the fence to see what had been written, and they read : 
 
 " I'll give ten thousand dollars, JOAQUIN." 
 
 Fancy the exclamations of astonishment which hailed this sight. Nothing 
 was spoken about throughout the week except this event, at least among tho 
 ladies. 
 
 Every one of them had remarked, " a something, my dear, about his eyes," 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 127 
 
 that was suspicious, and according to their account, as they had known Joaquin 
 from the first, he owed his safety to a silence not generally classed with their 
 gifts. 
 
 The daredevil freak in which the outlaw had indulged, did not prevent him 
 returning to the town every now and then in different disguises, to learn per 
 sonally what was going on. 
 
 He found out one evening that a little craft was going to leave Stockton for 
 San Francisco, at a certain hour. 
 
 A couple of miners from Campo Seco in Calaveras County, were the pas 
 sengers, bearing with them the gold which they purposed enjoying in the States. 
 
 Joaquin took with him three of his men whom he found roving about the 
 city and, getting into a small boat, they shoved off and proceeded to hide them 
 selves in the tule rushes under one bank. 
 
 The musquitoes were so plaguing that it almost made him give up the plan 
 but, on reflecting, the perspective of a magnificent gain made him persevere in 
 his original idea. 
 
 He regretted that none of them had brought matches, for then they might 
 have kindled a fire to drive off the gallinippers, and he was on the point of 
 flashing some powder and thus procuring fire when the fear of the flames being 
 descried, annulled that scheme. 
 
 Three long, long hours crawled by. 
 
 At length, they espied the sloop, which, very crank, leaned over daintily and 
 brushed the ripple gently though rapidly. 
 
 When she had approached the ambush, on which she nearly bore during a 
 tack, the waiters pushed out, reached the side of the vessel just when her crew 
 of two were busy holding the helm and foresheet respectively .when she went 
 about, and fired at them. 
 
 They dropped disabled or dead, on the deck. 
 
 At the ominous sounds of the detonation and of the double fall, the two pas 
 sengers rushed out of the little cabin, weapon in hand. 
 
 But the conflict was unequal. 
 
 The six shots rang out almost together, two of Joaquin's men were slain, but 
 three bullets entered one of the miners and another the other, and they breathed 
 their last. 
 
 Joaquin and his surviving comrade relieved the corpses of their belts of 
 gold and valuables, and, finding some matches in the cabin, set fire to the sloop, 
 after lashing fast the helm and letting the sails down by the run. 
 
 When the morning came, there was no trace of the crime to speak of; a 
 scorched hulk lay at the bottom of the stream and the earth began to cake up 
 against it to form another bar, some tinder had been blown into the woods and 
 even kindled a pitchy bough here and there, some rope twined and lashed 
 about in the eddy, and bits of wood, a sweep and a water-breaker bobbed up 
 and down on the current, and that was all. 
 
 Twelve thousand dollars was in the hands of the robbers. 
 
 On the next day, after having sent Three-fingered Jack to the head-quarters 
 with four more men, Murieta took Valenzuela with him to Sacramento. 
 
 They stayed there about a week before sailing to San Francisco, where they 
 arrived at about eleven in the evening. 
 
 They slashed through the bad streets and gloom, until they had come to a 
 house in Pacific Street near Dupont. 
 
 At the door they thundered for all of a quarter of an hour, when it was 
 opened a little. 
 
 " Who is there ]" whispered a voice. 
 
 " Friends, Senor- Blanco," was the reply, " good friends, too !" 
 
 " Oh, I recognize you, my paysanos," returned the voice ; " come in, come 
 in ! I've been expecting you some time !" 
 
128 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California} ; 
 
 " You don't say ?" queried Valenzuela, entering after his superior, while 
 Sonor Blanco closed the door behind them and carefully fastened it. " How 
 could you be expecting us when you are no magician to see into the future." 
 
 " Unless you have had a visit of Old Nick from Monte Diablo yonder/ 
 added Joaquin. 
 
 " No, no, nothing of that sort. My information ^came from no other devi 
 than one of your company. Come along and I will s'how you the man himself, 
 though I hardly think he will recognize you as easily, for he has been dead 
 drunk during the last forty-eight hours. A rough customer he is ! When I 
 heard you knock, I thought you were the enemy and I made a shift to arouse 
 him, which kept you waiting so long." 
 
 " Very well ; but who is this man of ours?" inquired the captain. 
 
 " Come and see for yourselves," answered Blanco. " This way here we 
 are. Here's the door ! I ain't surprised that you don't know my house when 
 you have not been here for so long. It has been burnt down since then, too, 
 but I had it rebuilt pretty nearly the same way. There's the man now !" 
 
 Joaquin and his lieutenant had entered a rather large room. They stopped 
 and looked around. 
 
 " Where ?" 
 
 Why, on the floor."' 
 
 The captain took the lamp off the table and held it over a recumbent form. 
 
 " It's Garcia ! he here !" exclaimed he, starting back. 
 
 " Yes," replied Blanco. " He told me that you ordered him to go to the 
 main rendezvous, but as he had some money in his pocket he came here to go 
 on the * tear.' " 
 
 " Let's see if he cannot be awakened," said Valenzuela. 
 
 He went up to the drunkard and gave him sundry shoves and blows which, 
 far from producing the anticipated effect, only drew from the three-fingered cut 
 throat deep growls and broken oaths ! " Cara or Caram " 
 
 Knowing that watching Garcia was out of the question, and yet fearing, if 
 his actions were not circumscribed that he would compromise them, Joaquin 
 took the course of avoiding him as much as. was possible while he should be in 
 the city. , 
 
 For this purpose, he bought a tent and put it up on one of the hillocks not 
 far from the Fremont House, near Battery and Vallejo Streets. 
 
 Every night, he and Valenzuela left their retreat to go the rounds of the 
 Bella Union, Diana, El Dorado and other exhibition-places of the tiger to be 
 fought. They lost and won piles of gold with a calmness and good humor 
 even which delighted the lookers-on, players or mere "lunchers" on the spread 
 side-boards, and the bankers themselves, who are not, as everybody knows who 
 has tilted on the field of the cloth of green, the most impressionable of men. 
 
 One evening as the pair were sauntering into the Bella Union, and about to 
 take seats at a faro-table, their attention was suddenly drawn to another table, 
 round which were packing a great number of the curious to see an interesting 
 game of monte. They stepped over to it, too, and beheld Mr. Mannet Garcia, 
 otherwise Three-fingered Jack, facing them, with five or six- thousand dollars 
 before him. 
 
 He had just lost about the same sum, and the banker was unconcernedly 
 shuffling the cards for a fresh game. 
 
 Out came a king and a deuce which he placed side by side on the board. 
 
 Jack, without hesitation, staked all he had on the court card. The dealer 
 continued to throw out the cards, and took in the two-spot ; in a few seconds 
 all was over. 
 
 The rake encircled and pulled away the pile of gold before the player, without 
 the least symptom of a smile appearing on the banker's cheek. 
 
 Nor did the loser express any more emotion. He called for a glass of 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 129 
 
 brandy, swallowed it down to the last two drops and went out of the saloon 
 without having spoken a word. 
 
 The captain and his companion had not been remarked by him. 
 
 They remained an hour or so in the place, going from table to table, losing a 
 good deal here, winning a very little there, and had no adventure. 
 
 Then they proceeded to Jackson Street, to a Mexican ball where they 
 found a large assemblage of their countrymen and women, who were bobbing 
 up and down in an atmosphere of smoke and dust, to the jingling and thumping 
 of a tamborine, to the scraping of a fiddle and the screak of a cracked flute. 
 
 They mingled with the throng and passed some time there. 
 
 It was a little after two in tha morning when the two bandits quitted the bar 
 room to return to their canvas domicile. Joaquin had lost at play so large a 
 sum that his comrade and himself could only find on them a hundred dollars, 
 an insignificant sum to men who had in a week at full spring sent ten or twelve 
 thousand dollars adrift. Valenzuela proposed to push on to the San Jose 
 Mission, where they had an ally who would not hesitate to loan them any 
 amount in thousands for a fair interest. 
 
 Joaquin would not follow this advice for reasons which he had, and preferred 
 to return to Sacramento, where the horses had remained in the keeping of one 
 Padrillo. 
 
 While passing a shanty on the road, they heard suddenly a clamor of oaths, 
 exclamations and bursts of laughter. 
 
 They turned back and went by, and did this again and again, until finally 
 hearing nothing but silence, as an Irishman might say, that made them all the 
 more curious and they stopped to listen. 
 
 " I'll swear that was Garcia speaking," said Joaquin, who had especially 
 noted one of his worthy satellite's favorite execrations. 
 
 The two began to peer through a couple of the many chinks in the miserably 
 put together planks of the establishment. 
 
 Thus they could see pretty well a scene full of interest to them, while nobody 
 within had a thought of them. 
 
 Through the cloudy air of the room full of the vapors from forty-rod rum, 
 cheapest whiskey and pipes, the witnesses ., beheld several clusters of men each 
 around a table of the half dozen, their aspect setting them down with photo 
 graphic accuracy as the most depraved and vicious of off-scourings of the city, 
 men, if they deserved the title, ready for anything, and the worst the better. 
 
 Every one of the tables ha 1 its deck of cards, and every individual had a huge 
 tin mug or cup, into which he was often pouring his ordered beverage, the 
 chief being whatever poison it was that was in a couple of kegs in the corner. 
 
 A smouldering fire every now and anon collected sufficient energy to dart up a 
 flame which danced around impishly on the faces of the outcasts, while over 
 head, a half dozen ends of candles, cheap fifty-cent dips, sputtered and fought 
 with the thieves in their gutters, as if giving a lesson thus vigorously to quies 
 cent society. 
 
 Between these upper and lower regions of feeble illumination, reigned a fog 
 that would have delighted a Londoner and made his northern neighbor recall 
 the Scotch mist. 
 
 At one of the tables, farthest from the fire, were seated four of the most vil- 
 lanous. One was no other than the illustrious Jack of the Three-fingers, whose 
 eyes were glaring most frightfully. His companions were Pedro Sanchez, Juan 
 Borilda and Joaquin Blanco, all three affiliated to the band in the honorable 
 office of spies, the. first exercising that position around Stockton and Columbia, 
 the second at Stockton and the third at the San Luis Obisque Mission. 
 
 The other groups were composed of English, Irish and American, who all 
 eemed to have drank more than they ought, but who, from that very reason 
 were imbibing more than ever. 
 
130 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 Notwithstanding the tumult which arose in the rough concourse, the two 
 eaves-droppers could distinctly hear some sentences carelessly thundered by- 
 Mister Jack, which surprised his commander not a little. 
 
 " You have had all you deserve," cried Garcia, " and I'll sefe you in h before 
 Pll come down with a dollar more. Confound you, there was only a figure six 
 of thousands, and every man Jack of you fingered his thousand, Caramba! by 
 the flames and pitch forks of purgatory ! did you think I was going to divide 
 even with you, when all you had to do and did do was leave the fellow alone 
 and I did for him. Share and share alike, hey 1 You go to grass ! I'll dig 
 my claim alone after this." 
 
 As the stamp is put on the sealing wax, so the speaker gave the table such a 
 vigorous thump with a mallet-like fist that the cards jumped up and danced as 
 if they were playing old sledge of themselves. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 BLACK DIAMOND CUTS BLACK DIAMOND. MORE TO HEAR. THE POLICEMEN ARB 
 
 TOO LATE AS USUAL. THE BOGUS JOAQUIN. MORE BLOOD. 
 
 WHILE noisy Garcia was thus emphatic, a scene no less momentous was 
 transpiring at the other end of the palatial shanty. One of the drinkers at that 
 part, after having studied with inebriate's gravity the speech he had heard, rose 
 and went as if only to the fire, blunderingly lit a cigar while carefully scruti 
 nizing the Three-fingered desperado with as much astonishment as his muddled 
 senses could let him feel, and staggered back to his companions, into whose ears 
 he whispered a few startling words. 
 
 They were no common ones, for six of the eight there seated, rose and reeled 
 out. 
 
 Murieta and his lieutenant, followed them easily in the obscurity; the 
 drunken men, though made sober by the cool outer air, were so intent on their 
 sudden purpose that they minded their watchers no more than they did the rats 
 that leaped out of the hollows in the rotten planking called the sidewalk. 
 
 Thinking intentively and quite correctly that three-fingered Jack had some 
 thing to do with the abrupt departure of the seven, the two Mexicans let them 
 enter undisturbed their tent, when they stepped up to it and listened easily 
 through the canvas. 
 
 They had drawn and set the hammers of their revolvers in case they should 
 be set upon. 
 
 " Did you take a good squint at him .*" asked one of the men inside. 
 
 " A first rate one, so good that I will remember him as long as my stick is 
 uncut." 
 
 " But are you sure it is that man ?" 
 
 " Look a' here, / can't be chiseled on that, no how you fix it ! I have seen 
 him many and many a time up in the mountains and, as sure as a gun, it is 
 Three-fingered Jack, one of the top-sawyers of Joaquin's cut-throats. And I'll 
 go as X besides that the old buck himself, Joaquin, is in town, for one is 
 always hanging around the other. They are jess like the pilot fish and shark 
 we saw in the Gulf coming out here in the Golden Gate. Anyway, those three 
 ugly mugs with him are of the band, I'll bet." 
 
 " Thin Oi'll till yees fwat, me lads," said a third, " it explins all, be the 
 powers ! there's not a bit o' wonder that we made Paddy Fitzsimmon's mothers 
 5f oursel's las' noit, and missed our game, bedad!" 
 
 " What do you mean, Redny ?" 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 181 
 
 " Shure yees ought to know. I mane the moiner that we ought to have 
 nailed he digger wid the pockets haping wid goold galore ! This three-fingered 
 Jack, as yees stoyle him, is the omadhaun who slipped in nately an' robbed us, 
 be Jabers ! An' thot's the mysthery, I'd go bail ! 
 
 " By jingo, maybe that's so ! I shouldn't wonder if the miners you speak Of 
 were taken care of, that way. But it couldn't have been any great shakes of A 
 robbery, for I saw our birds drop feathers and feathers of * slugs,' at the arcade 
 monte tables. To blazes and blackness with the Mexicans ! Here they are 
 leaving the woods and mountains to meddle with us in the city, r-r-rot em !" 
 
 We must do the speaker the justice to declare him quite truthful in his in 
 dignation. 
 
 " That's me all over," grumbled another. " Deuce take the yellow bellies. 
 What brings the cursed greasers here ? Here's five days and nights that we 
 have been on tHe lay ; and we may lay down and kick the bucket before we'll 
 make a raise !" 
 
 " Shure the man's truth- telling," interposed ** Redny," shaking the head which 
 had gained him the nickname as solemnly as if he were assenting to the pro- 
 foundest of philosophical axioms. 
 
 " I'll give you my pinion," went on the man interrupted by the exile of 
 Erin. " We must make hash of these interlopers. When we've cleared them 
 out, we will have all to ourselves." 
 
 "So, you mean a sudden muss with 'em " 
 
 " No, no, * Legs,' none of that. You're loony to think of fighting 'em. Of 
 course, we could lick 'em, though they are uncommon h with the knife, but 
 it wouldn't pay, d' you see. What I propose is : let's set the peelers on their 
 track, and if they can't root 'em out, we'll come into play and hunt up Joaquio, 
 You know there's a reward out for him and when we get him " 
 
 " When! don't count your gold till it's minted " 
 
 " Dry up, Dodger, will you ? Or else Joaquin won't be the first to get a 
 wipe with my knife. You are blind drunk, you fool. As I was a saying just 
 now when Clumsy shoved in his roar, where we get Joa n 
 
 " Who do you call fool and clumsy I I'll teach you " 
 
 " Will you shut ? I'll " 
 
 " No, vou won't. I can lick " 
 
 " Take that !" 
 
 A slap was heard. 
 
 " And you that, you bloody " 
 
 And the peculiar, awful sound of a well-struck knife passing through clothe* 
 to bury itself in a human body, accompanied the words. 
 
 Dodger had stabbed his mate. 
 
 On the instant all the others sprang upon the assassin and as noisy and e*- 
 eiting a struggle as ever took place in a circle of ten or twelve feet in diameter 
 and covered with, canvas, thereupon ensued. As Joaquin and his friends did 
 not care to see the upshot of the scuffle, they left their stand of observation and 
 proceeded towards their own tent. 
 
 They were born for adventures that night. 
 
 A few steps only from the Fremont House, they encountered a couple of 
 men, convicts who had quitted Botany Bay without applying for tickets of 
 leave, who were fresh from the taverns. They were both primed and charged 
 deeply, and just at the quarrelsome period. 
 
 " Hullo ! what in 'ell's this 'ere chap ? shouted one of them, stopping before 
 Joaquin. 
 
 " 'Ow's a fellow to know, matey ?" 
 
 " Min-d your own business and pass on," said Joaquin. 
 
 "Nosarseorl'll " 
 
132 Joaquin, (the Claude l)uval of California.) / 
 
 Before he could do anything with the weapon to which he carried his 
 he fell to the ground, with his poisoned breath forming his last gasp. Mu- 
 .rieta's dagger had entered its full length in his side. 
 
 His companion, sobered by the sight, recoiled and took to his legs, followed 
 by a bullet from Valenzuela, but he disappeared untouched. 
 
 The two Mexicans resumed their march peacefully as if nothing had taken 
 place, when they unexpectedly confronted a policeman, who had heard the shot 
 and demanded the reason of it. Joaquin slouched his hat over his face for pre 
 caution's sake, shook his arm free from his ample cloak and carelessly laid his 
 .hand on his revolver. But, seeing a second person coming up, and suspecting 
 him to be another policeman, he responded in a polite tone : 
 . " The shot was by accident, sir. My friend here was putting his revolver in 
 its case when the trigger or hammer caught in the strap and it went off some 
 how or other." 
 
 " What made you run so quick 1 ?" asked the second policeman of his comrade;. 
 
 "Oh, nothing. I heard a shot and thought it another murder," replied he, 
 and he added, turning to Joaquin : " You say your friend was putting up his 
 revolver what made him have it out?" 
 
 " He was carrying it in his hand, sir. There are too many rascals around at 
 this late hour for there to be no danger in the streets. My friend wanted to be 
 ready." 
 
 " Why didn't he keep the Colt in his hand ?" 
 
 " Because I laughed him out of his fears and told him that the police were so 
 ; active in this quarter that the rogues had been pretty well thinned out !" 
 
 The policemen felt merciful all of a sudden, but he continued his cross-ques 
 tioning, a delightful occupation to many men in office. 
 
 " But you were just now telling us there was danger in the streets," said he, 
 puttitig the poser with the tone of a Choate. " You are so prevaricativeory (how 
 he did rattle out the new word, a pet one, no doubt !) that 1 don't know whether 
 to believe you or not." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir, I meant that weapons were not needed till the dan 
 ger appeared." 
 
 " What do you think, Charley? Won't it be best to arrest 'em there are 
 so many rascaliions about, indeed, though our ward is so-so. And the wind 
 to-night is just th3 thing tor incendiaries and the time seams up for "another 
 Great Fire. 1 think it will be prudent to hold them." 
 
 " No, I don't think so myself. Let 'em alone, they're all right. Ned, you 
 Are too cheeky altogether. You are as lippy as a Tombs' Shyster who's fingered 
 a knuck's fee." 
 
 " 1 know what I say, never fear." 
 
 ., " 1 hope so, you're sure thing for judore naxt election !" 
 
 . "Shut up! You're worse than Billy Milligan. You who fire off six-shooters 
 so clumsily, be off to bed. A rest is hotter than arrest, remember. Come 
 along, Charley, we'll look into Neil's and have a whiskey skin." 
 
 " That's me." 
 
 Joaquin politely bade the worthy guardians good night and went off with his 
 companion in the direction of the rum-shop where they had seen Three-fingered 
 Jack. 
 
 " If that stupid had persisted in talking of marching us along to the lock up," 
 remarked the bandit chief, " I'd have left a place vacant in the force." 
 
 " So would 1, for the other," added Valenzuela. 
 
 The uproar which resounded inside the shanty was sufficient to prove that 
 his drinking continued. Joaquin looked through a crevice again and perceived 
 the man still in the same place but so drunk that he had much ado to keep his 
 head up, and it did fall forward every little while. Murieta charged Valen 
 zuela to watch outside, entered the drinking-place, strode straight up to the 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 138 
 
 table and roughly shook his lieutenant by the shoulder. Garcia rose furiousl/ 
 and felt for his revolver. 
 
 "Oh! Murieta!" 
 
 " Hush ! Come ! I want you to leave this town before dawn." 
 
 " What for] what's the row?" 
 
 " Because the hounds are on our trail and in a few minutes perhaps you will 
 be nabbed." 
 
 " Caramba ! that just suits this child. How many are going to try to take 
 me 1" said he stoutly. 
 
 " Too many for us to resist them when they will have a thousand citizens to 
 back them. Come along !" 
 
 " Have it your own way." 
 
 He rolled out of the place, followed by his three companions. 
 
 Joaquin conducted all his men to Blanco's house, where they slept till dawn; 
 then he sent away the Blanco, namesake of the host, to San Luis, and directed 
 Borilda and Sanchez to regain their respective haunts. Three-fingered Jack 
 was told to take the San Jose Road and make a bee-line for the general rendez 
 vous. 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day, the chief and Valenzuela took passage for 
 Sacramento where they found their horses all right. Thence they started 
 forthwith for Stockton in order to give Borilda some necessary orders relating 
 to other members of the band, who were to reach Arroyo Cantuva via Stock 
 ton. 
 
 Three or four days after Joaquin's departure, rumor had it in San Franciscan 
 street that the celebrated Marauder of the Mines had been arrested and was 
 caged in the jail. 
 
 A poor devil of a Mexican had indeed been caught who had been profiting 
 under Murieta's name. 
 
 A number of sight-seers rushed to the prison to feast on the dish of bandit 
 served in his jacket, potato fashion, and probably were as well satisfied as if 
 they had seen the Simon Pure. 
 
 All this time, the latter was on his undisturbed travels. 
 
 Three-fingered Jack had stolen a magnificent horse with fine saddle and bridle 
 and silver spurs from a rich Mexican who lived near the Dolores Mission ; next 
 he cut the throat of a Chinaman near Alviso in addition to despoiling him of 
 his blankets and clothes; so with one James Walsh, around the San Jose Mis 
 sion. 
 
 This latter murder gave him three hundred and fifty dollars, a gold watch 
 and a revolver. 
 
 Two Mexican rancheros suspected of this deed, were taken to San Francisco, 
 but they were lucky enough to be let off as they deserved. 
 
 A week later, another pride of the Pirates of the Placers, Rafael Quintara, 
 stabbed at Santiago, near Columbia, a man who had never harmed him in the 
 least, a most respectable citizen. This inexplicable assassination excited the 
 deepest indignation all over the country. 
 
 The energetic detective John Leary went in pursuit of the criminal ; but he 
 lost him in the intricacies of the mountain. 
 
 On the next day or the next after that, Quintara came out of his hiding, 
 place and knifed one Samuel Slater, from whom he took some specimens of ore, 
 two revolvers and provisions. It was only days after that the body was disk 
 <wvered half eaten by coyotes. 
 
134 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) / 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BAND BEGINS TO LESSEN. THE SPUR TO REVENGE. THE COMMENCEMENT OF 
 
 THE END. 
 
 AFTER having ravaged the country for many weeks and scattered desolation 
 and mourning among the population who could not find an enemy only known 
 when he struck, Joaquin called off his hounds. 
 
 He had lost many of his bravest and most useful men, and dared not stay 
 long in any one camp, but he perhaps believed himself rewarded for all that by 
 having as fruit of his many enterprises considerable sums. 
 
 The horde left Calaveras County and transported the seat of operations into 
 Mariposa County. This latter district suffered in its turn all that its neighbor 
 had undergone. 
 
 We have not space to relate here the crimes of which it was the victim and 
 witness, an everlasting record of bloody scenes like those already set before the 
 reader. 
 
 The devil that seemed to direct and protect Murieta, did not seem desirous 
 of abandoning him yet; leaden bullets seemed never to have been moulded to 
 slay him, and we are not afraid to assert that some of his baffled pursuers may 
 have cast balls of dollars to try the virtue of silver against him. 
 
 Though continually on the wing, these vultures were tireless in their swoops 
 for murder and booty. 
 
 Everywhere behind them, they left a sanguinary streak to mark their passage 
 and, at times, their most horrid crimes were executed under ths very eyes of 
 their chasers. 
 
 Cases were known when the latter had heard before them a yell for help or 
 of agony, had pressed on their winded steeds, but only to behold victims wel 
 tering in blood, and to see the bandits, dashing off, perchance lighting cigarettes. 
 
 At the most of the time, Joaquin' s freebooters were divided into small bands 
 of five or six. 
 
 Murieta himself had rarely more than four with him, but they were the lieu* 
 tenants. 
 
 Valenzuela and Three- fingered Jack were always beside him. 
 
 Guerra had the keeping of the camp. Sevalio was in the field and had no 
 rival for daring and skill in the plundering, except Antonio. 
 
 This latter had a particular liking for the country round about Putah and 
 Cache Creek ; he was the terror of horse-owners. Every day almost he was 
 chased, but thanks to a splendid steed which carried him, he always made out 
 to escape. 
 
 This animal was the same which Texas Jack had been presented with by Jo 
 aquin. 
 
 Some days before leaving Stockton, the captain of the coyotes, while lying 
 perdu in a "Hunter Street house, was told by Valenzuela that Texas Jack'waa 
 taken and was going to be tried for an important theft. 
 
 The chief went into the court-house and sat down quietly like any other spec 
 tator. While the judge was passing sentence on the culprit of five years' im 
 prisonment, the latter was looking over the hall and perceived his commander. 
 A scarcely perceptible signal was exchanged between them and the condemned 
 man thought himself sure of safety once more. 
 
 Unluckily for him, Joaquin had only three of his men in the whole town, 
 which was hardly a sufficient force. 
 
 He said afterwards that if he could have found a dozen men, he would have 
 tried to take the prisoner from the police officers as they proceeded to take the 
 steamboat for Benicia. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 135 
 
 Five months afterwards, a queer but true story went the rounds. 
 
 There had been discovered in a huge grave dug in the ground of a ranchc 
 belonging to Texas Jack, a man and a horse. The rider had not left the saddle 
 and his spurs were still on his boots. 
 
 All seamed to say that the man had been struck on the top of the head while 
 in that place and position, and the murder was of recent date. Besides him 
 were found skulls and bones, the last remains of other victims of the despe 
 radoes. 
 
 One evening, while in a tent of a connection of his association, three miles 
 from Mariposa, Joaquin was informed that two more of his men were off the 
 rolls, having been hanged for horse-stealing at San Juan. 
 
 They had been pursued and caught between Gilroy's and el Pajaro, bound 
 and taken back to the town ; and committed for trial by Judge Mahon. Tho 
 people, who had suffered Igsses in live stock, had assembled, taken the captives 
 from ths officers and strung them up according to Lynch law. 
 
 On this intelligence, the captain mounted and with his body-guard of four 
 went towards Monterey County. 
 
 On the banks of the San Benito, not far from San Juan, he established his 
 camping-ground, where they remained about half a week, carefully concealed 
 during the day, but employing the night in stealing all the valuable equino 
 cattle that they had marked at the different farms. 
 
 When they had believed that they had sufficiently avenged their gibbeted 
 comrades, they broke camp and drove the animals to Arroyo Cantuva. 
 
 The majority of the plunderers were already there. 
 
 Almost all the parties had luckily terminated their enterprises and wero 
 awaiting fresh directions. 
 
 Thereupon began the preparations for the important acts which were to end 
 with the brigand in California. 
 
 He had formed a connection with the richest and most influential Mexicans 
 in the state and was sure of their co-operation in his projects. 
 
 The other people did not dream of any great plan being conceived by a man 
 they considered a mere marauder. 
 
 Joaquin commericed by despatching to Mexico his intelligent Antonio, who 
 was furnished with funds and the necessary instructions for the arming and 
 equipping of volunteers and partisans, of whom he was sure beforehand, as they 
 were waiting only for the call. 
 
 Guerra was sent to the different ranches in the state where depots of horses 
 had been selected ; he was to get together these animals and conduct them to 
 the head-quarters, along with all the men he might meet. 
 
 The captain for his part, had an important piece of business to transact at 
 San Luis Obispo, for which he started the same day, with only one attendant. 
 It was an interview with the Mexican woman whom he had encountered acci 
 dentally some months before in the Hangtown stage. 
 
 This woman, sister of Joaquin's first love, Carinela, had wedded a wealthy 
 ranchero of Guadalajara, Mexico. On her husband's death, she had left her 
 property and come to California, to fan the flames of vengeance in Murieta'a 
 heart and press him to carry out his shameful plans against peaceful honest 
 citizens. 
 
 She had heard him with regret express his determination to give up roving 
 after one more burst, but, as she found she could not dissuade him, she held 
 council with him and returned to Mexico on the day after their meeting. 
 
 The next week, Joaquin thought of placing the girls in some sure place where 
 nothing could happen to them. He gave Sevalio a score of his most trusty 
 rascals as an escort to them into the province'of Sonora. 
 
 The bandit leader marked out the following road for them : along the Gulf 
 
136 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California] ; 
 
 of California, towards the San Pedro and Santa Catarina Missions, thence to 
 gain San Francisco Borgia and the Santa Gertrudis Mission, cutting through a 
 mountainous and thickly wooded district well known to Sevalio. 
 
 Joaquin accompanied the party some little -ways to see them off, took affec 
 tionate leave of Clarina, gave a kiss all round to the other girls, to their great 
 delight, and returned. 
 
 Reflecting that the'best plan was to await the arrival of the new partisans 
 from Lower California and Sonora, before assembling the men he had already, 
 he countermanded the orders to Guerra and sent off his available forces into the 
 region around him. With a party of six, he traveled Calaveras County 
 through. 
 
 While so doing, he came to Jackson, robbing a miner named Jewel of three 
 hundred dollars-worth of gold, a revolver and other valuables. His compan 
 ions, the inseparable Valenzuela and three-fingered Jack, had their share in the 
 understanding and never had the detestable Garcia been more in his element 
 than during the stay in Calaveras and the surrounding counties. 
 
 Success went hand and glove with the chief in all his past three week's 
 doings, in the northern part of Calaveras County. 
 
 Large sums of gold came into his grasping hands, so large that it was no 
 more than prudent to shift the locality. Before the place could cry " good 
 riddance," however, he was joined by fourteen or fifteen of his men who had 
 been making a descent on the neighborhood of Thorn's Creek, in Colusi County, 
 where they had obtained a quantity of horses, to drive which to the main ren 
 dezvous four of them were told off. 
 
 Joaquin kept this unexpected reinforcement, went up to the headquarters o>' 
 the Stanislaus and continued, in the rich valleys watered by that stream^ the 
 scenes of desolation which we have seen him renew so many times. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 * 
 
 MORE MURDERS. THE CAPTAIN TELLS HOW BEGAN AND HOW ENDED ANOTHER 
 
 GREAT ROBBER'S CAREER. THE STATE MOVES, AND CAPTAIN LOVE TAKES UP 
 
 THE TRAIL. GAPS IN THE ROLL. JOAQUIN AND THREE-FINGERED JACK FIRE 
 
 THEIR LAST. 
 
 After two weeks spent in the Stanislaus Valley, Joaquin made for the Rivers 
 Mariposa and Merced. He " blazed" his path as usual by extensive depreda 
 tions ; after which he sent off all his foilowerers except the original half dozen 
 to the Arrayo. 
 
 With them he retired to the rancho of a Mexican of San Jose, killing on 
 the way a Frenchman who kept a public drinking garden, and concealed him 
 self there for a while. The host was a secret member of the gang. 
 
 As they sat by the fire that night, Joaquin fulfilled a half promise which he 
 had made in times past, and related most forcibly the adventures of the celebra 
 ted Massaroni. 
 
 He had learnt his particulars from men like Antonio who knew well the be- 
 hind-the scenes of banditti life, and hence what follows is not a mere writer's 
 fancy but such facts as can obtained, if you are acute enough, from descendants 
 in Italy of the banditti who acted their parts. 
 
 The police accounts tell only one half the story. 
 
 Massaroni was a young man when, up by the head waters of the Tagliamento, 
 under the brow of the Alps, he lived to love a young girl of the country. 
 
 She robbed her parents of other valuables than herself and accompanied 
 young Allessgndro to Venice. 
 
 ' 
 
Or. The Marauder of the Mines. 137 
 
 For half a year they dwelt together, and marriage was agreed upon by them. 
 
 But at that time, the youth's habits and manners changed. 
 
 He was away whole nights and days and, after being profuse in harsh words, 
 one time struck her who had given him all, her future life and happiness, her 
 honor. 
 
 All the blood of the Italian flamed up at the insult, and she spoke to him as 
 he had little expected to be addressed. 
 
 Suffice it, that he left her, swearing he never would see her more. 
 
 She let him go, proudly silent, but then, bowed her head on her bosom and 
 kissed her own breasts, sadly saying: 
 
 " No more mine, no more his its only and evermore ! I live for that alone 
 Allessandro, thou faithless one !" 
 
 In a few weeks, Massaroni had brushed off his regrets and twinges of con 
 science and become hand and glove with the bravi of Venice the Free, the 
 Beautiful, the Powerful. 
 
 His extraordinary good fortune raised him speedily several grades, and he 
 soon attained such a position that he could luxuriate during half the week, on 
 the proceeds of robberies during the other half. 
 
 For the furtherance of his designs, he frequented pretty aristocratic, or, at 
 least, wealthy company. 
 
 For many months he held his assumed place of a stranger, preserving incog- 
 nite for reasons, silencing the easily corrupted police, and after learning val 
 uable secrets of rakish noblemen having them robbed as no other could have 
 done. 
 
 One night only, as he was about entering a casino, or gambling den, a woman 
 stopped him and begged him to follow her to the house of, she said, " one who 
 was dying, and loved him." 
 
 He thought it merely one of the too numerous intrigues and shoved her 
 aside. 
 
 He forgot all about it. 
 
 Besides, the next day was the great regatta and he had entered a boat for a 
 race, the agreement and stakes to be settled that night. 
 
 These races are great events in so watery a city as that Bride of the Sea. 
 
 Next day, the grand canal was covered with the flags of countless craft, 
 filled with gaily attired people, while banners floated from the windows of the 
 double rows of palatial buildings all along the aqueous highway. 
 
 The racers left Castello, skirted the Schalvonic Wharf and through the grand 
 canal to the church of Santo Lucia, where they turned a flag-buoy and returned 
 to the Foscairo Palace, where a grand stand had been erected for the doge and 
 chief persons. 
 
 It took some time for the chief matches to be concluded, but then began the 
 private ones, Massaronio's turn was next to the comic one of the women, a 
 most laughable burlesque. 
 
 The robber's antagonist was an Austrian named Pottergeist. 
 
 The gondoliers of both craft were Venitians, but the people were all on Mas- 
 saroni's side from his being as decidedly a countryman as the other was a 
 foreigner. 
 
 Off went the two hearse-like boats, keeping together well until out of sight. 
 
 On the return, the two prows were on the same line still, while they seemed 
 to fly over rattier than cut through the surface. 
 
 ' Good, Pietio! again, again, Giorgio ! Bravo! See, see, he's ahead! Italy 
 forever ! down with the Austrian !" 
 
 Massaroni was seated in the little cabin of his boat as his rival was in his, 
 for the gondolas u carried weight," which made all more interesting. 
 
 " But the spectators could not see into the covered receptacle for passengers 
 though the latter could incite their- servants. 
 
138 . - Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 ' On, Pietro, you are like a winged bird ! five hundred to you if you pass by 
 a length !" cried Massaroni.' 
 
 His gondolier looked aslant at his opponent and by a vigorous bending of his 
 oars, gained notably. 
 
 " Keep it up, and they are losers !" encouraged Allessandro. 
 " Hey there, Giorgio !" yelled a mocking voice from the shore, " you are 
 slow ! is it a i'at friar you've aboard who wants to go gingerly after his 
 dinner ?" 
 
 The Austrian's man doubled his exertions and recovered his former position 
 of neck and neck. 
 
 Cheers ran along each edge of the water, with intermingling taunts and laughs. 
 
 " On, on, Pietro, never fear !" 
 
 " Fear, signor ? By Saint Mark, if I had my gunwale loaded down to the very 
 water, I'd wager to beat Giorgio and his skiff empty." 
 
 The two kept very equal ; whenever one slackened his exertions for a space, the 
 other shot ahead, only to be overtaken similarly when his burst died away. 
 
 " Good heart, Pietro !" cried Massaroni, appearing in the cabin entrance, " the 
 goal is near ! Think of the crowd a-looking !" 
 
 '* A fico for them, signor," answered the man, working as untiringly as if his 
 muscles were of steel ; " By Santa Maria del Rosario, you may rely on the 
 rown ! Tough work, though," murmured he. 
 
 (These Italian gondoliers are .weariless fellows," said Joaquin ; " like those 
 boatmen on the Chagres River who pole the barges against the current they 
 don't know fatigue when they are at work, and only feel tired when resting 
 you understand, amigos ?") 
 
 The gondolier's speech had been heard by the Austrian on the other bark, and 
 he said to his man, severely : 
 
 " Giorgio, you hear ?" 
 
 " Bah ! his tongue works better than his arms," muttered Giorgio. " I'll be 
 
 if I dont sail in first your five thousand crowns are safe to you as if 
 
 they were in bank, per Bacco !" 
 
 " A thousand are yours in that case, besides a full indulgence that I will get 
 of the papal legate for your soul." 
 
 " Ha ! no more words, See !" 
 
 Giorgio closed his lips, knit his brows in resolution, and so well expended his 
 power that he drew a whole length ahead of the other, 
 
 " The Austrian forever !" cried many. 
 
 " Bravo, my man," shouted Pottergeist. 
 
 " Pietro, you villain, you're asleep," yelled Alessandro. 
 
 " Am I T returned the boatman, making an effort and slightly more than re 
 covering his distance. " Pooh ! I've been three years on the waters more than 
 that Giorgio." 
 
 But Massaroni's growing fears were far from being quieted. 
 
 " That Giorgio" seemed to have but the one idea, that of overcoming his ad 
 versary by tiring him out, which in fact he promised yet to do. He shot a bit 
 aheaJ, and every time tha,t his contestant endeavored to come up to him, he put 
 out his force so that Massaroni's champion, exhausted considerably by his efforts, 
 was compelled to work almost double to even keep in the other's wake. These 
 tactics so well aided Giorgio that he and his master became confident that if 
 things kept on as they were, to them would be the victory. Pottergeist under 
 stood the plan no doubt, for he tell back into the little cabin, after saying : 
 
 " A thousand." 
 
 ' Get 'em ready, master," replied the boatman, straining at the oars. 
 
 " You're failing, Pietro," cried his employer, clutching the curtains with his 
 nervous fingers. " That wretch goes like the devil !" 
 
Or, The Maraudei of the Mines. 139 
 
 The end was so near that both the principals came out of the cabins and stood 
 in full view like the boatmen. 
 
 " I'll beat the devil, be sure, master mine," growled Pietro, bending to it. 
 
 He was fully behind the Austrian, but he flattered himself that with an ex 
 traordinary essay, he could at least recover the former place of side by side, as 
 he had managed to do before. But Giorgio, attentive to his movements, put 
 out all his strength simultaneously with Pietro, and if anything gained some 
 thing by the exertion. But what finished the lingering of Massaroni's hopes 
 was that the opposing gondolier, three times in succession, repeated as many 
 long sweeps of the oar. 
 
 A thunder of acclamation broke on either side and echoed in the cornices and 
 niches of the carved windows. 
 
 " Malediction on you," roared Massaroni, " what flattery ever made you take 
 to gondolas for a living, old helpless, Pietro 1 Two thousand for you, if you 
 come in head !" 
 
 " I'll do it, if nothing breaks !" 
 
 Already incited by vanity and rivalry and now super-excited by the reward, 
 the loser made immense efforts. He seemed to forget to breathe, and his oars 
 were hardly to be seen feathering ; they moved like the sails of a windmill. 
 Hope returned to Massaroni, but he was only to have a short taste of joy. 
 
 The goal was at hand. All were on the alert, and too much interested to 
 make a sound of either applause or censure. 
 
 But Gorgio had spared his skill and power for this dash, and when he. saw 
 his adversary flurried and rowing desperately, he felt sure, that he was the 
 victor. Pietro was like the jockey who plies the persuaders and the thong on 
 his beaten horse, Giorgio the one who comes in without having touched his steed 
 with spur or whip, lie plied his oars as regularly as if he were at an every 
 day work. 
 
 " Won, won !" cried Massaroni, as his gondola forged ahead. 
 
 The flagboat to be passed was not twenty yards off. 
 
 At that very moment, poor Pietro fell forward on his oars, which were jerked 
 up out of the water, and measured his length forward. The Austrian flew on 
 amid waving of hats and veils, a fluttering of flowers and funs, and cheers and 
 clapping of hands. The other boat, nevertheless, followed and ran gently against 
 the victor. 
 
 " Allow me your hand, Signor Allessandro," said Pottergeist, as he stood on 
 the quay. " You have lost, my friend, but, per Dio, our horses ran well." 
 
 Massaroni felt an awful thirst for the speaker's blood, but that was not to be 
 indulged in there, of course, amid that throng. He could not conceal his pallor 
 but he felt that he had to put on dignity. So he kept down his envy and 
 hatred, and forced a laugh as he gave the winner his hand. 
 
 " Our men have well run," said he, " there is no doubt of that. I'm afraid, 
 though, that my old waterman is hurt." 
 
 " He's dead see !" said half a dozen voices. " Burst a blood-vessel !" 
 
 " Oh, no odds," remarked the captain, " a couple of paters and some masses 
 will make it all well, for Pietro is without kith or kin." 
 
 That was remedied, and Massaroni left the crowd. 
 
 That night, into a certain casino, sauntered he. He had some money, how 
 obtained, no matter. He wore his most smiling mask, for his pride would 
 have suffered if he had fancied any of the bystanders pitied him. Luckily for 
 him, his friends were feasting, and he was well warmed up by the supper. He 
 was the first to speak of his defeat and offer to pay the bet. 
 
 "But," said he, " do you mind trying if cards are as much against me as 
 gondolas, Pottergeist. Shall we say, double or quits ?" 
 
 " Just as you like. Ths double-eagle can outsoar St. Mark's lion at every* 
 thing," rejoined the Austrian gaily. 
 
140 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 Chance was for Massaroni at the first, and he cleared off his debt. Then ne 
 staked money, and won game after game, when as the Austrian was drained 
 pretty deeply, he gained a considerable stake. 
 
 " Time for you !" said Massaroni, forgetting himself. 
 
 "At cards, there is always time," returned the other coolly. 
 
 " Let's keep on, as I want to play on to the end. The blade, then the handle, 
 and even the knob on the hilt after that !" 
 
 " Just what I was going to say." 
 
 It was Massaroni's turn to lose what was before him. The other appeared 
 to regulate his play and made him pass through all the variations of the sliding 
 scale which he had lately undergone, until a thousand crowns was his antago 
 nist's all. 
 
 " Time for you /" murmured he. 
 
 " What do you mean ]" 
 
 " Oh, nothing. I was merely thinking what a fine thing it is for people to 
 keep cool." 
 
 What " 
 
 But the tone of this exclamation gave Pottergiest caution, and he was too ex 
 perienced a gambler to quarrel with a man who yet had money. So he 
 smoothed his brow and met the Italian's stake. 
 
 " By the bye, will you take my word for thrice this, so as to make it four 
 thousand ?" 
 
 "Certainly. You have lost, mio cam" added the Austrian in triumph. 
 
 " The devil has bewitched the cards," said Allessandro, tossing off a bumper. 
 " The devil a^ain ! the drink's bitter !" and he put down the glass so roughly 
 that it fell off and smashed on the floor. 
 
 " Bad omen !" croaked some neighboring voice. 
 
 " Thank you, unknown signer," sneered the ruined gamester. " A pretty 
 prophecy, after the act. Good or bad, I'll play no longer with you Pottergeist. 
 Where's my young friend Monteafiere 1" 
 
 " Busy," answered the Austrian ; " he always loses at cards with you, but he 
 gain's over you in the good graces of lovely Sylvia. By the bye, how is she ?" 
 
 " You saw her at the regatta as well as 1 do you laugh at me T' 
 
 Bachus forbid." 
 
 Allessandro turned and left the saloon. 
 
 " By the good Saint Pantaleone, he's very pale. Young Pisano looked so 
 the night when he leaped off the Molo with a huge stone in his cloak to sink 
 him," remarked some one. 
 
 " Tush. Massaroni is more like to kill than self-kill," said another. 
 
 Meanwhile the subject of these remarks had rushed frantically away toward 
 his fashionable lodgings. 
 
 As he was wildly picking his way through the labyrinth of poverty-stricken 
 lanes that are behind the canal-banks' grand and splendid buildings, he heard a 
 cry of " h-jlp !" 
 
 Help ! he wanted it himself and fancied that Satan was mocking him. 
 
 All was lost. Gold was gone and he had dipped already in his mistress 
 Sylvia's purse, shameful as he considered her gift. 
 
 Midnight assassinations and robberies had ceased to pay, for the nobles had 
 larger escorts than ever when they went visiting, since crimes had of late grown 
 to numerous. 
 
 " Help : " was the cry once more. 
 
 More deeply affected than he ought to have been to all appearance, Allessan 
 dro stopped and listened. 
 
 An infant's wail joined in the outcries. He strode through the mud up a 
 oiiry alley. A feeble light gleamed before him. 
 
 He burst in a door of a hovel. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 141 
 
 By the glimmer of a dying lamp, Allessandro beheld, on a heap of mouldy 
 straw, a shape of a woman who, writhing in the pangs of the fever of the marshes, 
 uttered the screams he had heard. 
 
 Near her was a quite young babe, whose similar cries grew weaker and weak 
 er every time. The fine but unkempt hair streamed ovjer the mother's face, but, 
 at the crash of the stove-in door, she seemed to collect her forces sufficiently to 
 sit half up and say in an awful voice, hollow and hoarse : 
 
 " Bread, bread ! anything to eat !" 
 
 At the voice, at the sight presented, Massaroni drew back as if the fuse of a 
 powder mine had been burning at his feet. Indescribable horror overcame his 
 senses, and for an instant he had much ado not to believe himself a plaything of 
 delirium. 
 
 Was this real, or had his losses driven him mad ? 
 
 The walls streaming with damp, like the plashy floor, the wretched mockery 
 of a bed, the dying child, the wasted wreck of a mother, this complete picture 
 of thirst and hunger added to the worst of woes was it possible on an earth 
 over which rounded God's heaven ? 
 
 But this shadow of a woman, this mere reflection of one of the darlings of 
 man, she to be here of all ! Satan must have enrobed himself in that shell to 
 wound him with many a dreadful reflection ! 
 
 The features, thinned as they were, were but to well known to him yet could 
 those faded, sunken cheeks be the same on which, rained his tears of excessive 
 joy and kisses of immoderate rapture in the days of their enticing bloom 1 
 Those hands, fine as threads,, mere bone, extended to him in ail the anguish of 
 despairing supplication they had a thousand times thrilled joy into him when 
 interlaced with his own 1 ? And those eyes, bright with fever and approaching 
 madness could they ever have been the twin wells from which had poured the 
 bliss which he had bathed in, ravished, and sworn to be inexhaustible] 
 
 " Isalia ! is it you 1" gasped he, trembling to receive the answer. 
 
 " Bread, bread," was all the poor creature could say, as she fell back on the 
 straw. 
 
 " Speak, speak again !" cried the man, moving nearer to the rotting couch. " Is 
 it you, Isalia ! Isalia, I say ! is it you? 
 
 " Ah h ! Allessandro ! All's not lost if it's you I die, no bread for four 
 day's starving and the baby cannot " 
 
 " Good God can it be ! Halloa ! ho there ! help help ! bread, bread !" 
 
 But louder though his voice was than hers, no better fortune was his. Not a 
 sound replied. 
 
 " No one comes," whispered she, " go yourself for a drop of water a crumb 
 of bread ! Don't let me die now, Pandro, with our child " 
 
 " Our child ! Wait, wait ! Hope, hope, I will make you happy." 
 
 So saying, he kissed avidly her wasted hands; he flung himself on his knees 
 on the cold floor, kissed her again and again, then the infant's forehead until, 
 suddenly called to their state, he sprang up and rushed away. 
 
 The air of the street so contrasted with that of the valley and the hovel tha 
 it made him shudder and reel. He hesitated. 
 
 At that hour, every house was closed and the streets and canals untenanted 
 except by miscreants and the police, which latter he feared more than the 
 other from being on only too intimate a footing with them. He made for his 
 residence, running at the top of his speed. Long and loudly did he knock at 
 the door, swearing at the sluggish servants and trying to break in. But the 
 whole household was away. 
 
 He remembered. 
 
 " Confusion ! I said I would be at the ball and gave them leave to be out all 
 night like myself. My valet is to await me at Sylvia's. To Sylvia's then !" 
 
 Off again "he set like a madman. Lights burned at the courtesan's, and he 
 
142 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 almost instantly was let in. Ho very nearly upset the porter. Before flying 
 up the staircase, he turned and, seeing behind him the shuddering servant, cried 
 imperiously : 
 
 " Giobbe ! bread, wine, instantly." 
 
 Poor Giobbe, as terrified as his patient biblical namesake was at the advent 
 of the whirl wind, ran away to obey his orders and tell the kitchen-girl of his 
 mistress's lover's state, relating circumstantially how he must haw, beheld 
 the ghost of headless Faliero, or the armless gondolier of the Canal della 
 Giudecea, or the twin ballet-girls of the Apollo Theatre who had been flying 
 off the Campo di Marte Bridge by drunken scions of noble houses. 
 
 In the mean time, Massaroni had ascended the steps and pounded at Sylvia's 
 room. 
 
 Delay. 
 
 At last, the waiting-maid opened and gave a shriek of alarm at sight of his 
 appalling face. She thought her last hour had come when those flaming eyes 
 poured a scorching fire on her, but he was impelled by too great emotion to 
 quarrel with the servant for her slowness. Like a thunderbolt he burst through 
 *he door of Sylvia's bedroom. 
 
 Now he recoiled. 
 
 Instead of finding the lovely courtesan abed and asleep, she was dressed and 
 standing pale and agitated, learning on the arm of a sofa. But Allessandro 
 was not in a mood to calmly analyse his surprise. 
 
 " Do you love me, Sylvia?" he asked. 
 
 " What do you mean 1" stammered she, her limbs failing her ; she almost 
 shrieked ! " don't look at me so !" 
 
 " Loving me or not, I must save her ! I have spent heaven knows how much 
 on you ! give me some money !" 
 
 The astounded Aspacia was far from understanding, but with an earnestness 
 given to her by the fear of irritating Allesandro she mechanically unlocked her 
 sacket and poured out the coin into her chief lover's hands ; she was going to add 
 her jewelry when, to her still greater surprise, Massaroni rushed out as abrupt 
 ly as he had come, pocketing the money. 
 
 In a few instants, the watering-maid came in to say : 
 
 " Whatever will become of us ! the signor has gone away with a loaf of 
 bread under each arm, and Pietro with a basket of wine." 
 
 " What can this mean ?" murmured Sylvia, sinking on the sofa. " I am 
 ready to perish with fear." 
 
 " Keep up a good heart, lovely one," said a man's voice, that of Monteafiere, 
 " I'll run to the casino and learn all. If he has found all out, believe me, you 
 will not suffer from his anger." 
 
 "What do you mean] Why, youth, he can undoubtedly defeat you at 
 sword, stiletto or pistolet," said the courtesan, seemingly to awaken to the su 
 periority of the lover she deceived over her present dialoguist. 
 
 Monteatiere dismissed the maid. 
 
 " i fight him, not as duellist, but as an unconquerable !" returned he proudly, 
 then. 
 
 "Who are you !" demanded Sylvia, letting a scrutinizing look dwell upon his 
 face. " You're not rich, or you would not levy on me, whose love, too, you 
 nave forced from me. Who, who ?" 
 
 " Either tremble or be fearless, my cherished one, no matter," laughed the 
 young man ; " it is true, anyway, that I bear a talisman that opens ail doors, 
 and puts all at my command. I am Montal, the second inquisitor, next to 
 Messer Grand himself!" 
 
 " 'Sh !" gasped the woman with blanched cheeks. 
 
 " But only a lover to you, dear charmer." 
 
 She smiled and turned away playfully, but, if the executor of the orders of 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 143 
 
 the terrible Ten had more attentively watched her, he would have seen her 
 dash a tear from her eyes, and, could he have read her thoughts but few men 
 ever did that to woman he would have found one thus : 
 
 " I love Allessandro more than ever now that I find I was right to feel dis 
 gust at this wretch forcing himself on me !" 
 
 " Is it true ?" asked she with cunning. 
 
 " True ! Behold !" arid he triumphantly flaunted a yellow card dotted in 
 one corner with a black seal, whose melted wax had fastened a little ribbon of 
 sable and a gold stripe to it. 
 
 She shuddered. That piece of pasteboard was as powerful as many a noble'* 
 purse or sword. 
 
 " I must escape from the city," she thought. " It is worse than death to bo 
 in his arms." 
 
 Nevertheless, she had to resign herself to them and assume her most winning 
 air. But her unpleasant task was not long imposed upon her, and she thanked 
 whatever divinity her courtesan's heart might worship when a prolonged knock 
 ing at the front door of her mansion gave her relief. 
 
 Monteafiere jumped up and did not look to be the fearless man he should 
 have been, and he grasped his sword hilt with a weak hand, lie had always 
 ordered the domestics to delay anybody's entrance so as to give him time to 
 hide or to escape. It was time to do the latter. He hastened to press a kiss 
 upon the yielding yet plump lips of the Lais. She, while mechanically suffer 
 ing the salute, used one of her hands in what appeared to be a caress but was 
 that " wire dip" known then as now to pickpockets. 
 
 Monteafiere rushed from the room and upstairs to get away over the roof 
 tops, while a sound of steps coming up the stairs made him speed quicker and 
 the mistress smile in anticipation. 
 
 " Allesandro comes ! Thank heaven. With this, we will give Venice -good 
 bye," she said as she looked at an object in her hand. 
 
 The yellow card. 
 
 The steps approached and the waiting-maid entered. 
 
 " Signora, signora, Signer Allesandro took Pietro into the alley of Santa 
 Maria dell' Orto, where they found a woman and a child dead just dead of 
 hunger skin and bones, my lady ! Then the signor flung down the bread and 
 was going to fling away the money he had in his pockets when he remembered 
 himself, kissed the poor woman and child, wept, sobbed himself quiet and then 
 rushed off, saying he was going to pay his debts, first to man, then to Nature !" 
 
 "Kill himself!" 
 
 " I'm afraid so," rejoined the servant. 
 
 " My course is clear. Send me Alvarez the Spaniard and Pietro, quick." 
 
 As the servant said, so had Massaroni acted on finding himself too late on 
 the return to Isalia. When convinced they were beyond earthly reach, he gave 
 way to heart-breaking rage till calm by exhaustion. 
 
 Subdued in appearance till not a soul suspected his slumbering, volcanic 
 feeling, he entered the cadfco which had been the first step of his abandonment 
 of the dead one. On entering, he refused to drink with an acquaintance, and 
 looked around for some one. While searching, the object of his scrutiny came 
 up to him and suddenly said : 
 
 " Beg pardon wanted to see you I've a debt to pay can you- ' ?" 
 
 " Pay mine, Pottergeist 1 What does such a question mean ?" 
 
 "Just what I say. If you can pay me, do so." 
 
 The ebbed blood flowed into his visage from his beart, but Massarnoi oolj 
 approached the nearest table and flung upon it the contents of his pockets. 
 
 " Count," said he to the Austrian. 
 
 " Three crowns short," answered the latter. 
 
 Allesandro pulled a ring off his finger. 
 
144 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 " You was with me under the Palazza Mocenigo when I bought it " 
 
 "I'm satisfied." 
 
 At this moment, one of the coins slipped off to the ground. 
 
 " You handle money less skilfully than cards," said Allesandro with raihery, 
 
 " Do you mean I cheat at play ?" furiously demanded the German. 
 
 " / mean what I say," retorted the Italian. 
 
 The Austrian's eyes launched fire, while the other's replied no less brilliantly. 
 A circle began to form. 
 
 " If you're not as white of heart as saucy of tongue," said Pottergeist. " a 
 ducth alone can be what you're driving at." 
 
 Before the speaker had finished, Allesandro did that act which anybody, and 
 an Italian above all, considers the height of insult. He spat in the hollow of 
 his hand and slapped the German's cheek. That cheek, and the whole face of 
 course, grew white as a virgin sheet, and he plunged his hand into his bosom 
 for a weapon, no doubt, but a murmur and the sight of so many round about, 
 checked that design. 
 
 " Actions speak louder than words," remarked Massaroni. " I do want a 
 duel to the death with you, cheat !" 
 
 " Single combat is prohibited strictly," said somebody. 
 
 " Silence !" shouted twenty voices, " gentlemen do not run after the police !" 
 
 " Come !" cried Massaroni, " come into the fencing hall these gentlemen 
 will be seconds and witnesses." 
 
 A rush was made into the designated room, for these casinos have reading- 
 rooms, libraries, and other apartments attached to the drinking-saloon portion. 
 The door was closed. A couple of foils had the buttons snapped off, leaving an 
 ugly jjigged point on each. 
 
 * Before fighting, of course the victor will be let go undisturbed," said 
 Pottergeist. 
 
 " Of course," answered the Italian, " Venitians are too much men of honor 
 not to make that a matter understood. But you shall not profit by the leave." 
 
 " We'll see thunder and lightning !" 
 
 The long steel threads clashed in equal rage but with different result. At 
 the first engagement, Massaroni's shirt-sleeve was torn off his shoulder, but his 
 weapon ran deeply into the breast of the German who dropped mortally 
 wounded. 
 
 " Away !" shouted all. 
 
 Allessandro darted out of the hall as if a fresh crime was not burdening his 
 shoulders. 
 
 At the door, he came in contact with a man running towards the casino. It 
 was Monteafiere. With a wrestling trick, learnt in the country in his youth, 
 Allessandro "gave" the runner " the foot," and down he sprawled, his head 
 cracking against the doorpost in so severe a way that he was certain not to re 
 vive for some moments. The victor in this surprise, very quickly and tran 
 quilly removed the senseless man's sword and belt and set off again, girding on 
 the baldric as he ran. ^ 
 
 While this was occurring, Sylvia had secured her^lwels on her person and 
 at length, calling her maid she gave her a splendid pair of bracelets. 
 
 " Take one of the serving men and haste to the Jew of whom the Count Cel 
 lini bought these. Make him give you half of the value in cash. Bring it to 
 San Marco Church, at once." 
 
 While this mission was in progress, Sylvia put on a couple of cloaks and 
 slipped out of the house privately. The night was growing darker, and the 
 courtesan was almost delighted to be under the gleam of the pendant lamps of 
 the great cnurch. She surveyed the interior carelessly when all of a sudden 
 her eves rested on a form kneeling under a painting of a minor saint : Saint 
 Alexander. 
 
Or, the Marauder of the Mines. 145 
 
 She softly approached. 
 
 All was so hushed in the lonely edifice that she heard her heart leap. It 
 was Massaroni, praying to his patron saint. 
 
 Should he try to retrieve his career of evil for the sake of the dead Isalia, or 
 continue it for the sake of his guilty self? 
 
 While he wavered, a pair of soft arms embraced him, and lips touched his 
 cheek, Sylvia knelt beside him ! 
 
 " I love you. I must leave the city ; will you come and be my joy ; or not, 
 and make me a miserable outlaw ?" 
 
 " I will go with you ! I have killed Pottergeist the German, and Montea- 
 fiere perhaps you did not know it !" 
 
 " My brave and gallant Allessandro an Alexander like of old, I love you all 
 the more ! Come, come." 
 
 " I was going to leave the city " he began. 
 
 And I." 
 
 " And the world !" added he hoarsely. 
 
 " No, no, and break my heart 1 Loved one, dear, my life of lives ! no, no !" 
 
 And her lips found the way to his this time. 
 
 When the maid who had been despatched on the errand came to the church 
 she found Massaroni, gloomy but resolved, beside her mistress. 
 
 " Have you the money ?" cried the latter. 
 
 " Yes, but I could not be any sooner." 
 
 " Very well. Go home. All there of mine is yours. Now, my Allessandro, 
 follow me to the shore." 
 
 The rising wind and the obscurity foreboded a night such as the fugitives 
 wished, for the sbirri were sufficiently dangerous without the moon to guide 
 them in the chase. Hasty steps suddenly became audible behind them, after 
 they had been walking swiftly for a few seconds ; they were by one of the 
 three hundred bridges of the Adriatic's Bride. They ran over it and hid them 
 selves under the hanging doorway of a second-hand clothes-man's shop. 
 
 Several men came along and crossed the canal at a run. 
 
 " Keep on to the left, while I take the right and see if any of the boats sheltei 
 them," shouted a voice which the listeners recognized as Monteafiere's. 
 
 They obeyed. 
 
 " The safest course is to follow the wretch," said Massaroni. " He is alone 
 and far from dangerous." 
 
 On he marched then, followed by his mistress. Soon they overtook Monte- 
 afiere, who had stopped to awaken several gondoliers and ask them questions 
 to which he got no satisfactory answers, of course. He pursued his way swear 
 ing. 
 
 Massaroni let him go on for a while, till he believed him to be .far enough 
 off, when he strode directly up to a gondolier, tapped him on the shoulder and 
 whispered : 
 
 " Fifty ducats for a trip to Trieste." 
 
 " Who are you are you the man they are after ?" queried the boatman. rt 1 
 shouldn't take you for a thousand." 
 
 " My man," interposed Sylvia, "you run no danger. See !" 
 
 She displayed the yellow card, which put an end to his obstinacy. 
 
 " I'm ready," said he to the astounded Massaroni. 
 
 The two entered the boat, but, after they had snugly ensconced themselves, 
 a man presented himself just as the gondolier was unloosening the painter from 
 its ring. It was Monteafiere. 
 
 " You're in danger, friend," said he. " I saw two shadows beside yourself 
 here. I forbid you to shove off in the name of " 
 
 He had leaped on the boat, when a beautiful white arm an arm which with 
 its mate had often been around him in compulsory embrace arose over hie 
 
146 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 head, armed with the end of a broken oar and down he went in the doorway 
 of the cabin. Massaroni's hand could hardly have delivered a more powerful 
 blow than this of Sylvia's. 
 
 " Push off!" said Allessandro. 
 
 Stimulated by fear as well as by the ample pay, the boatman was soon cleav 
 ing the boisterous water. 
 
 " We are served !" said Sylvia, enfolding her lover in her arms. 
 
 "But this man? what will we do with him? You can hardly have killed 
 him." 
 
 " I hope so," said she earnestly. " Any how he must never look upon Venice 
 or the world anywhere again !" 
 
 The presence of Monteanere was to the courtesan a sleeping horror, for one 
 word from him would have changed her companion's love into scorn and even 
 if she revealed the true position of the senseless wretch, she could not hope to 
 reinstate herself. With a strength which her alarm gave her, she half raised 
 the lifeless form out of the hollow of the boat and tried to cast it overboard. 
 
 " Stop !" cried Allessandro. 
 
 But woman's hate is swift ; the body was already vanishing in the crested 
 waves. 
 
 " Signor," said the gondolier, " red galley is cruising to-night. I saw her 
 awful sides bloodily shining in the sunset as she went down the port. What 
 shall I answer if we're hailed ?" 
 
 " There !" replied Sylvia, panting yet with her emotion, " show them that 
 card. Trieste, Trieste, you must haste to it." 
 
 Tossing the purloined pasteboard to the man, she drew her companion into 
 the little cabin and pressed him with frenzy to her bosom. 
 
 " We are safe ! We are happy !" said she. 
 
 Massaroni, his brain too much in a whirl for him to think in the least calmly, 
 gave himself up to repose. 
 
 Meanwhile, the storm, which had hung over the Adriatic for the last two 
 hours, burst in all its violence, and the billows, heaved as high as if they were 
 those of the broader Mediterranean. The fragile gondola, ill adapted for rough 
 weather, hardly answered to the strokes of the oarsman. He called Msssa- 
 roni to his aid and, with an air gloomy though respectful, asked him, to try his 
 hand at propulsion until he could take a rest. 
 
 " You tempted me with your gold," said he, " and heaven punishes me for 
 yielding to it. San Marco ! do you hear : a cannon shot. If the ships big 
 as houses are in danger, what chance has my poor boat ? Row, sign or, for I 
 will soon need all my strength to swim, perhaps." 
 
 Allessandro did his best at the oars, but his ]ack of skill rendered his good 
 will useless. 
 
 " We'll be broadside to it if you go on so," said the gondolier impatiently. 
 
 " Take the oars yourself, sirrah," interposed Sylvia, who was the most cour 
 ageous of all. "I double the promised sum if you bring me into Trieste." 
 
 " That's something like ! But if we go down " 
 
 " We cannot help it. But we will arrive, I say." 
 
 The man retook the oars, and Allessandro returned to sit beside his com 
 panion who, affecting weakness now, let herself recline on his breast). The 
 waves rose and rose, and the thunder, suddenly unloosed, rolled with few intei- 
 ruptions. The flashes kept the eyes in a state of dazzlement. 
 
 Suddenly the oars ceased to buffet the rollers, and the man hid his face in 
 horny palms. A scream even issued from Sylvia's mouth and she turned 
 aside in horror. 
 
 " Help, help !" faintly said a voice. " In the name of the Holy, give me 
 help !" 
 
 An enormous billow swept onward and broke near the bank. A zizzag of 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 147 
 
 the electric fluid ran along the crest down into the trough. Allessandro, bend 
 ing his sight towards where had come the voice, was seized like his companions 
 with deep affright, for there seemed to stand amid the spray that very Mon- 
 teafiere who was deemed dead. 
 
 In truth, only stunned by Sylvia's blow, and brought to consciousness while 
 the plaything of the waters, he had been taken off to sea by a recoiling current 
 and caught by the reflux, was apparently driving back the gondola of his slay 
 ers. The loss of blood which he had experienced had made him too weak to 
 swim and he was still living only by a miracle. On beholding the boat, a lit 
 tle hope had been kindled within him and, not recognizing its occupants,he had 
 gasped between two mouthfuls of brine, his imploring cry. 
 
 But his hour had come ! 
 
 The second wave broke over him and sent him under, and the third dashed 
 him against the gondola, while its snowy front reddened with his blood, and 
 nothing more was seen of him. 
 
 " A spirit !" said the gondolier, rowing again. " Heaven have mercy on us 4" 
 
 " It will not have mercy on me," groaned Massaroni in despair. " How 
 many horrors the last few hours have deluged me with. Oh, Sylvia ! were it 
 not for you, I would plunge into the deep to join my happier victims." 
 
 The courtesan, spray-bedewed, exhausted, terrified, was too much affected to 
 answer. She could not fill her lover with energy which she was far from hav 
 ing herself. Silence reigned over the bark, except the soughing of the wind 
 and the prayers of the boatman. 
 
 Finally, the tempest sensibly abated, and the first gleams of the dawn 
 appeared, while the gondola became more manageable. The fugitives breathed 
 again, and indulged in mutual caresses. The boatman especially hailed the 
 daybreak. 
 
 " Here we are all right, I hope ! Holy Virgin ! but my little boat has done 
 her duty not a one of my mates' could have breasted such hillocks of foam. 
 But, goodness of heaven ! how are we bearing ! Thunder ! the wind shifted in 
 the dusk, and here we are turned round so that San Marco,' s dome is in sight. 
 And oh, signer, signor, back into the cabin ! here comes the red galley hide 
 yourselves !" 
 
 Indeed, from one side, bore down upon the gondola a six-oared galley of an 
 appaling character. 
 
 Blood-red were its sides ; its prow and stern and its large cabin, with ample 
 hangings, being scarlet as well, the only relief being embroidery in shiny black 
 silk. A lantern was stuck in the ornamented beak, which bore a gilt lion, and 
 its glass sides, broken by slaps of waves, however, were stained red. The oars 
 men were attired in sable imitation velvet, as were four sbirri holding muskets. 
 As the barge approached, a black-robed man, wearing a silk mask and cap with 
 one long plume, appeared in the cabin entrance. 
 
 It had evidently been out all night, and was returning to Venice. 
 
 " In the name of Messer Grand, grand high servitor of the Inquisitors of the 
 State and prime executioner of the ever-just orders of the honored council of 
 Ten," chanted another black robe appearing behind the first, evidently a secre 
 tary, " cease motion, gondolier !" 
 
 He was obeyed. 
 
 " You are out early for customers ; have you any within !" went on the clerk, 
 
 " I couldn't help it, a will stronger than mine drove me out of port," answer 
 ed the gondolier. 
 
 " Oh, the tempest," said the clerk who seemed in good humor. 
 
 " No, a power higher even than that," said the boatman, affecting & great be 
 lief in his blasphemy, as he displayed the yellow card and jerked his thumb sign- 
 ficantly towards his cabin, which had been the object >f the Messer's scrutiny. 
 
148 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California} ; 
 
 " Ah !" said the latter, speaking instead of his clerk this time, "go on, sorry 
 to have detained you. Bound to Trieste T' 
 
 The gondolier looked grave and important. 
 
 " Very well. Wherever you land, spread the news that the murderers of 
 Duke Doscarli of Barberigo are caught and in our power," said the Messer 
 proudly and loudly. 
 
 Two men, bound hand and foot, were indeed inside the cabin of the barge, 
 which now moved off rapidly under the stout arms of the six men. The little 
 gondola resumed its course until the galley was a mere crimson dot on the grey 
 waters. 
 
 Day was come. 
 
 The gondolier shipped his oars, entered the cabin, opened a locker and took 
 out a bottle, whose large mouth was capped with a pewter cup which was also 
 the stopper. He offered his patron a drink, which did Massaroni good, and 
 took two or three times the same dose with much gusto. He took to the oars 
 again, fresh as a rose, he said : 
 
 " And up comes the sun huzza ! warm me, old boy of brightness ! for I 
 never hoped to see you again, yellow-face !" said he. 
 
 The god of gladness had indeed pierced the clouds and poured his startling 
 beams over the scarcely soothed scene. The Adriatic was level enough to re 
 flect in the distance the sails of moored ships, and of fishing boats leaving port. 
 The sky and land were assuming that loveliness which is elsewhere known in 
 only Turkey, India, Oceanica and parts of America. 
 
 Massaroni was affected by the beauty, and by the beauty of the woman by 
 his side. Her words so coincided with his thoughts that, on landing at Trieste, 
 Allessandro Massaroni was ready to be whatever that enchantress desired. 
 His all was complete. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 LOVER, LEAD TO THB GIRL, 
 FIRE TO THE ROOF ! THE DEFEAT. MASSARONl's AVENGER. 
 
 YEARS passed, (continued Joaquin) and Allessandro the brigand had upreared 
 a barrier between him and society of every species of crime, cemented with 
 blood. At times, he entered the circles in which he felt him so stained and un 
 worthy, but the end always was, a new exploit and a deeper dive into the abyss 
 of guilt. The mountains were his retreat. He was head of a band of adven 
 turers, outlaws like himself. 
 
 It was the middle of the afternoon, but the bright sun but dimly flittered 
 through the brushwood and a winding entrance into a large cavern, half natural, 
 half artificial. 
 
 Forty or fifty men with nearly as many females were drinking and revelling 
 by the light of some fine wax tapers which had been intended for the churches, 
 but had been captured by the banditti. 
 
 At the head of the immense but rough table, strangely covered with rich 
 damask, more plunder, and plate, were a young man and a woman not young, 
 but so exceedingly bewitching and supeib yet that no one could fail to recog 
 nize Sylvia the courtesan of Beautiful Venice. 
 
 " He's gone again ; oh, how can Allessandro so leave me ?" sighed she. 
 
 " All the better ! may it be for the halter," said her young gallant, embracing 
 her. 
 
 " No, no," cried another of the band, " if he is ever to be taken, let us give 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 149 
 
 him up, along with Carlotti, and receive pardon with the reward. But you're so 
 eager to succeed to Massaroni ; yes, you are, Giulio, that you forget even your 
 own interest." 
 
 Giulio, as he was called, laughed, and, encircling Sylvia's waist, kissed her un 
 ceremoniously. 
 
 " You see, as regards fair Sylvia, I have already entered into the succession, 
 The command of the troop comes next. With her, 1 will have the secret of Al- 
 lessandro's treasure. She alone, with Carlotti, knows where it is buried. 
 
 The courtesan, who was thus playing false, was immersed in reverie, yield 
 ing herself to Giulio's words. At these last words she started : 
 
 " The treasure !" echoed she ; " yes, I do know where it is, and it was by 
 my advice that Allessandro concealed it past all your searches. So long as 
 that is secret, he can trust himself among you ; it is a curb to your thoughts 
 of treachery, for you have no cause to injure him, if I have." 
 
 Excited by drink, for she- drank like the thirstiest man among them, sho 
 stood up and waved her arms over the table, like a priestess of antiquity. 
 
 " Oh, I would give all you, my love, that treasure, to have Allessandro all 
 mine again. I loved him with a true love ! Yes, look at ino in surprise ! 
 what care I ? When I see Allessandro moody, when I hear him curse and 
 swear in reply to my passionate words, when, exhausted by my entreaties, I 
 wait for one kiss or one word to prove he will be the Massaroni of old still 
 again, when I am crouched at his feet like a slave when he then repulses 
 rne Oh, I'd give the world to make things otherwise ! no wonder I threw 
 myself into your arms, Giulio; wounded pride, scorned love, make me yours. 
 I laugh, sing, and chatter, but my tortures won't sleep will they ever ?" 
 
 She tossed off a great cup of a hot preparation of wine, spices, and limes. 
 
 " But if my Allessandro handsome, brave Allessandro becomes once 
 more the man who so well answered to my love, I will forget all. But ho 
 rejects me, and if ever he is mine, 'tis only when liquor has mastered him. 
 Malediction ! perhaps he loves elsewhere ! no doubt he does ! Who, who ? 
 I'll I'll make her heart bleed ! Jealous, jealous that's the word for my 
 lite. Drink drink, let me drown my woes, let me forget how I sowed, how 
 I reap !" 
 
 Another goblet she emptied, and fell into Giulio's arms. The robbers laughed 
 at her ravings. 
 
 " She's half drunk, Giulio," whispered some one. " Give her more, and talk 
 the secret out of her." 
 
 " You lie, knave, I have all my reason," said Sylvia^ fiercely. " Sing, Guilio, 
 sing ! Shout, roar, you men !" 
 
 The orgie arose more frantically than ever, and all were as joyful as if they 
 did not hatch treason against the chief. 
 
 Where was he? Wending his was unsuspiciously towards the little village 
 of Velma, on the banks of the Isonzo River. 
 
 The mayor of this hamlet has finished his late dinner of grapes and coarse 
 bread, and was enjoying the siesta, so welcome to a man of fifty like him. 
 
 As he was aroused by ringing of the church bell, he sat up, stamped his foot 
 angrily and cried : 
 
 " Rosalia ! Rosalia ! curses on your love of dress. She'll make me lose my 
 mayorality. Rosalia ! it's time." 
 
 " So I thought, and I'm ready," said a very pretty girl, appearing in the 
 porch suddenly. " Am I well enough looking f 
 
 " Five hundred times better bait than the shark dsserves ! you look like a 
 bride." 
 
 " Much you know of dress to say that, father. I hope to be much gayer 
 when I wed the Lieutenant Salvator Rocco." 
 
150 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 " You've too much tongue ! if you keep on chattering, the vulture may be on 
 the wing ; then good-bye to my mayoralty and Salvator's captaincy in pros 
 pect. Go, go, my dear Rose, lose no time. Heaven guard you. Be prudent. 
 Settle things as we have agreed. Oh, women, women," mused he as his 
 daughter fluttered up the road, " what vines to train properly. She is as good 
 as the best, and yet she's not worth the rope that hangs her." 
 
 While this parental and philosophical opinion was being expressed, the sub 
 ject of it was threading the defiles of the mountains, where the shadows began 
 to thicken. 
 
 She did not perceive that a man was following her at a great distance. 
 
 He wore the green and yellow uniform of the royal border guard, and was 
 the Lieutenant already mentioned. 
 
 He carried his sword ready drawn in his hand. 
 
 " Confound it !" ejaculated he at last " now, which way did she go 1 I ought 
 to have kept closer to her." 
 
 He had lost his pilot, but he did not give up the search. 
 
 At length after an hour's rambling, he crept up to a thicket, where a man's 
 voice alternated with Rosalia's softer one. 
 
 Could the officer have seen as well as he heard, he would have bounded in 
 stantly to the spot. Allessandro the brigand was replacing the meaner earrings 
 of the girl with another pair, which a princess might have envied. Were the 
 diamonds as pure as they seemed ? Not likely, for they had come by the chal 
 lenge of " Stand and deliver !" 
 
 Rosalia could suspect this, but she made no resistance, either from indiffer 
 ence to their origin or from yielding to a delight for jewelry which many fe 
 males old and young have a weakness for. 
 
 " How handsome !" breathed she. 
 
 " Never mind them, Rose of love," murmured the mountain chief, " I implore 
 jrou to ba my friand friend, friend! for can I ask tha greater title? Oh, I 
 have so oftan baen visited by your image, so often have tried to kiss you in 
 dreams ! But waking or sleeping, I have always respected you as a sister. I 
 never had a sister, Rose ! You are weeping, child " 
 
 She was weeping, more over herself than for Allessandro, but she could not 
 lay bare the source of her burning tears. 
 
 " Have you indeed pity even for me, Massarcni the brigand?" ' 
 
 " Massaroni !" echoed Lieutenant Salvator, whose sword clanked in his ner 
 vous grasp. 
 
 A silence ensued. The robber was awaiting the response which the young 
 girl could not utter. Her hand was in his own ; he drew her to him, their 
 hearts heat against one another not as one ! Was it an augury ? thought the 
 bandit. 
 
 " What must I say T she murmured, her tear-bathed face close to his burn 
 ing one. 
 
 The contact of her pure breath on his lips that had been often scorched by 
 the fiery Sylvia, fanned the flame within him. He kissed her fervently. Sud 
 denly she tore herself from his enclasping arms, and moaned : 
 
 " I am a wretch ! Do you know why I am here ?" 
 
 Truth and the spur of conscience were the stronger, and doubtlessly she would 
 have told the robber what an infamous part she had been induced to perform, 
 but the listener had judged it high time to interfere, and made his unexpected 
 appearance, sword in hand. 
 
 " To-morrow, she was to sell you to us," cried Salvator, falling upon Massa 
 roni. " I gain a day, brigand, in taking you now !" 
 
 The lieutenant had understood in an instant the whole plot of his would-be 
 father-i'n-law. 
 
 But the officer's impetuosity was useless to him ; quicker than he, Allessandro 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 151 
 
 had leaped up, put aside the thrust with one arm, and plunged his dagger into 
 his breast. The lieutenant fell forward on his face, and drove the blade up to 
 the very hilt by striking the ground. Not a word, groan or sound did he make. 
 
 Rosalia had fallen on her knees before the outlaw, whose tall form towered 
 over the dead man and her, who was half expiring. 
 
 " Did that man speak true ?" inquired Allessandro in a hoarse tone, as he 
 drew a pistol. 
 
 " Yes, but listen I would not have betrayed you, for I love " 
 
 An ironical laugh and the report of the fire-arm was all the answer to this 
 exclamation coming from the depths of the poor girl's heart. A second corpse 
 poured out its warm blood on the soil which had drank up the man's. 
 
 " The whole world is against me !" yelled the brigand, hurling his weapon 
 far from him, and rushing into the wood. " Purity and innocence are leagued 
 against me. I will war now to the death F" 
 
 About an hour after* dark, some one knocked at the door of the mayor's 
 cottage. Thinking it was his belated daughter returned at last, he hurried 
 down to open it. 
 
 " Well, have your winning ways " 
 
 " They brought her death there it is !" shouted Allessandro, felling him to 
 the ground. 
 
 With a rage that awoke all his immense energy, he burst into the house, flung 
 an old servant whom he met from top to bottom of the stairs, kicked the fire 
 round the room and with one brand kindled the beds. He sallied out with a 
 last kick at the mayor's body that sent it away out into the garden, and tossed 
 his torch into the barn as he ran past. The blaze sent its rays even to the moun 
 tain haunt. 
 
 " Friends," thundered the brigand, as he appeared before the carousers, " I 
 have heard your mutterings. Come out and -see if Massaroni the brigand has a 
 dead hand !" 
 
 A few of the drunkards staggered out to glance at the conflagration, which 
 was spreading in the hamlet, and then dropped into the cave again. 
 
 "The g g good old Captain again !" stammered one. " Hurray for the old 
 times c come again !" 
 
 " Sylvia, here !" roared the brigand chief crazily. " Some drink, and your 
 glorious self!" 
 
 Sylvia crawled tremblingly up to her master's feet and executed slavishly 
 
 whatever he drunkenly demanded. 
 
 *#*##**#* 
 
 When the news of these three murders spread throughout the district, great 
 indignation and wrath was excited. People became ashamed of their fears of 
 the band, and their courage was fed by the reinforcements of troops that were 
 sent into the region. 
 
 The banditti spies informed him of all the preparations which had become so 
 formidable that flight alone offered itself. The cave was sure to be found out 
 eventually. 
 
 Massaroni made the valuables be packed and had all his force in readiness to 
 move that night. Darkness was necessary for the march unseen of so many 
 men. 
 
 " Giulio," ordered the chief, " send out the men to scout and study the ground 
 for our move to-night." 
 
 Three of the bandits started off, after receiving private instructions from tho 
 traitor. They boldly descended from the heights, and as boldly followed tho 
 highway. Before long they came upon a sentinel who cried out " to arms !" and 
 levelled his musket at them. 
 
 A corporal and his squad surrounded the trio and marched them along with 
 
152 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California) ; 
 
 them into the presence of a number of soldier's and country police. The ban. 
 dits began to repent of their imprudence. 
 
 u Who are you T' 
 
 " Outlaws." 
 
 " Aha !" said the speaker, the new mayor of Velma, " so you belong to those 
 wretches, whom we're going to settle ?" 
 
 " We did belong to them of late. We have come to propose a treaty, by 
 which we will give you up our leader Massaroni, who is the really guilty man." 
 
 "A treaty!" said the colonel commanding. "Well you are a saucy set. 
 We will have your leader and all his crew without striking hands with you, my 
 fine fellows. The mountain is covered with troops." 
 
 " You'll only lose the lives of many a brave man, sir. Give me and my 
 friends here and the others we left behind, our lives, and you shall have our cap 
 tain bound like a sheep, in half an hour." 
 
 " You're a shame-faced knave," said the officer. . 
 
 " Colonel Lucca," replied the bandit, " two years ago you did not call your 
 comrade Cesario Marani that." 
 
 The blood flushed up in the officer's face. 
 
 " On my soul ! you are Cesario the lieutenant in my Albanian regiment two 
 years ago ! you in such company ?" 
 
 " Who could help it, Colonel, a lieutenant's pay is petty. Stretch a point for 
 an old friend and fellow soldier, and let me go sardine-catching the rest of my 
 life." 
 
 At the word " friend" used by a bandit to an officer so proud as he, the Col 
 onel's confusion changed into wrath. 
 
 " My friend the Mayor," said he, turning to that official. " I flatter myself that 
 my character is above this rogue's aspersions. I did know him, true enough, 
 but he had not so deeply disgraced himself. He wants me to stretch a point for 
 him for the sake of Auld Lang Syne, does he ! Mr. Mayor, have the kindness 
 to make him stretch one out of the bundle of rope we have along with us." 
 
 " We are under flag of truce," said Cesario stoutly. " We are sacred accord 
 ing to the laws of war." 
 
 " We'll sacrifice you, my gallant wolves, and so we will your mates," said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 " If you delay us, Massaroni will escape !" 
 
 " But you'll not escape," said the mayor. " Finish with these rascals," added 
 he to a couple of ugly devils who looked like the hangmen they were. " Their 
 own confession convicts them. Any tree will be good enough gibbet." 
 
 The three robbers stared at one another. They had not foreseen any such dis 
 agreeable sequel to their faithlessness, and could hardly realize their position. 
 
 " You'll regret what you're doing, my sirs," said Cesario, essaying to talk 
 himself out of the scrape. " The true and only guilty one of all the crimes set 
 down to us, is our captain. We poor fellows never shed blood." 
 
 "Well, we'll not shed yours, be satisfied," interrupted the mayor impatiently. 
 
 On his sign, the two Jack Ketches stepped up to the bandits to pinion them, 
 but their approach restored the wretches their energy. They were disarmed, 
 but they knocked aside the soldiers and rushed for cover of the bushes. 
 
 " Fire !" shouted the colonel. 
 
 A rattle of musketry resounded, and two of the fugitives were seen dimly 
 through the smoke to fall, riddled with lead, among the brush. Cesario hesi 
 tated a moment, half fell, but, almost instantly, resumed his flight up the accliv 
 ity and vanished from the clumsier pursuers. 
 
 " You, fellows, must get your hand in," remarked the mayor facetiously. 
 " String up those two." 
 
 In a trice, the bleeding bodies swung in the air from the nearest tree. 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 153 
 
 " That volley will have given the banditti the alarm, colonel," observed the 
 mayor. 
 
 " No matter. My orders are out for the advance from all sides. The wretches 
 are surrounded." 
 
 The outlaws had heard the discharge, but they waited still. Several of them 
 with cords ready, had kept near Massaroni, to bind him at the signal from 
 Giulio. 
 
 All of a sudden, quickly falling footsteps were heard and Cesario appeared, 
 his hand deeply buried in his side, his lips red with an internal bleeding, his eyes 
 a-glow, in every lineament and every limb except that no triumph was on his 
 brow a model of the Spartan youth who ran himself to death to brii^ the news 
 of the battle to the Senate. 
 
 " They give no quarter fight, fight, and avenge us, comrades !" gasped he with 
 bloody foam between every word. " They come ! may this wipe out my my 
 treach er y !" 
 
 He fell back into his friend's arms, a corpse. 
 
 " Thank heaven !" murmured Sylvia, who ran to Massaroni and embraced him 
 with a joy he could not understand. " Your only hope, my men, is in your pro 
 tector and chief!" 
 
 " Massaroni forever !" was the universal cry. 
 
 Giulo had no longer a party. 
 
 " Read $ all !" said Allessandro, " ready all for ploughing our way through the 
 foe ?" 
 
 All ! all !" 
 
 Giulio instantly set out with the women and baggage, and a sufficient escort, 
 with orders to use the secret ways he so well knew. Scouts went out at the 
 8ame time, but very soon returned. From every quarter, they said, the enemy 
 was advancing. 
 
 " Captain," reported the last, " I saw from the mountain's brow, two men 
 hanged. They must be our poor friends." 
 
 " NO doubt." Bancroft L9nri 
 
 " The southern denies are full of countrymen," said this same man, " they are 
 not well armed and we can beat them." 
 
 " Very well. We will do it. But if we must fly," added Massaroni, " still 
 will we avenge our comrades. Follow me." 
 
 Giulio was gone, and with him his baleful influence. The outlaw had re-as 
 sumed his former tone of command which admitted of no reply. The state of 
 things, too, permitted no grumbling or wavering. They followed their captain, 
 who penetrated a little-used branch of the subterraneous. 
 
 Three kegs of powder had been properly arranged, with a match, which the 
 last of the file was to ignite. The banditti streamed along hurriedly, laden with 
 spoil and weapons, in haste to quit the underground retreat which had so long 
 been their asylum and was soon to be fatal to their hunters. 
 
 They breathed the fresh air at length, having come out on a distant hill-side 
 of which they had never suspected the connection with their place of refuge. 
 The rearguard had fired a few shots in the neighborhood of the cavern. 
 
 " That will not fail to attract them," said Massaroni. " May a thousand of our 
 enemies meet death for their blood-thirstiness." 
 
 Almost as ho spoke, and while all watched, a sound as of distamt thunder 
 rumbled, and the ground shook. A tall pyramid of flame, smoke and dust, in 
 termingled with huge masses of rock and fragments of trees, rose and stood on 
 its point, where the cavern had been. All fell thereupon, and the earth quaked 
 once more, till a more profound silence reigned all around. 
 
 A very distant detonation broke it first of all. 
 
 " Giulio has cut his way through," exclaimed the brigand chief, after listen 
 ing. Good ! Let us try our luck against the clods in the southern passes." 
 
154 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 They tried their chance against the peasantry who, poorly armed as they 
 were, nevertheless, made such a resistance that no more than fifteen of the rob 
 bers contrived to break through the lines. The rest, dead or crippled, fell into 
 the countrymen's hands. Massaroni bleeding at seven wounds from club, 
 pitchfork and scythe-pole, and with a broken arm, made the victorious party 
 forget how many had perished in the blown-up cave. 
 
 Massaroni was hanged, though Giovanni Carlotti, his faithful lieutenant (who 
 had unfortunately not been at his side during his captain's last adventures) 
 made a galliant attempt to escape him. 
 
 For three nights, soldiers watched the gibbet to prevent a rumored trial to 
 
 obtain the body. On the fourth, it was removed by whom none knew. 
 ********* 
 
 Months passed. 
 
 . . A man was swiftly dragging a woman along 
 
 up the side of a mountain. The man was Giulio the traitor, she Sylvia. Not 
 a word left the lips of either, as they ran upwards. 
 
 Suddenly Sylvia stopped, wrenched free her arm, and sat herself down on a 
 large table of stone that jutted over a tremendously deep precipice. In the 
 valley below, the first object that attracted the eyes of anybody was a little 
 mound on the side of the hollow, which earned its prominence from being 
 covered with a coarsely hewn but beautiful slab of marble, white as white could 
 be. On it were riveted the eyes of the seated woman. 
 
 "Why, Sylvia, what ails you V growled Giulio, seeing that she seemed de 
 termined not to move. " Forget your fatigue till we give them the slip." 
 
 She, with an effort, removed her gaze from that snowy spot on the dark 
 green and brown, and regarded the speaker fixedly. She shook her head, and 
 responded : 
 
 " I wish to avoid my thoughts, not our comrades who follow us." 
 
 " Oh, none of your nonsense, Sylvia. Massaroni's dead, and you ought to bo 
 satisfied now." 
 
 " Dead ! so he is, for that (and she pointed) is the grave of the leader you 
 sought to sell." 
 
 " That !" echoed he, following the direction of her wasted arm, extending 
 downward. 
 
 " Under that slab, no whiter, no purer than was his soul when J first won him to 
 my breast, lies Allessandro Massaroni, whom I made a brigand," said the cour 
 tesan, becoming beautiful again and magical in tone from the truthfulness of 
 her speech. " Carlotti and 1 there interred him." 
 
 " The deuce. Who'd have dreamed that's where he vanished. But, a truce 
 to that. Haste Sylvia, till we avoid our too good friends, and unearth the 
 treasure you know of, alone. Come ; come, we will roll in riches and luxury ! 
 Quick, I fear I hear them ! Come, you strange woman. I love you you 
 ought to give me the treasure ! Up, up ! Satan seize you they come ! Will 
 you rise ! 'S death, swallow me, but you shall come !" 
 
 Putting forth all his strength, he tried* to lift the smiling woman, but she 
 said bitterly : 
 
 " Too late, my dear Giulio !" 
 
 True, for a number of the bandits appeared and surrounded their captain, 
 threatiiiirly demanding a reason for his flight. 
 
 " You are cheating us We own as much of the spoil as you You promised 
 us fair shares or we wouldn't have turned on Massaroni arid left Carlotti after 
 We'll make your life answer for your false play Kill him ! The treasure, 
 the treasure, Giulio, or I'll knife you, by the ears of Saint Paul !" were some 
 of their savage outcries. 
 
 " Sylvia, where is the hiding place ?" cried others. " Your blood or the 
 money !" 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 155 
 
 The woman started as if the barb had touched a bleeding wound. 
 
 She knew who does not too soon find it out ? that she was no longer tho 
 handsome woman she had once been, when she was the admired of 
 every young man that know her. That was in the days of her innocence, 
 when even the hint of an evil thought would purple her round cheek, 
 when she could look up at an image of the Madonna with eyes innocent as 
 her own. No wonder that the fallen woman started. 
 
 But she regained her coolness by an effort and rejoined : 
 
 " In my abasement, I am still above you, for a grand and noble passion 
 burns, if impurely, still in my heart. I have said I will not go with you, so 
 leave me. Must I eternally repeat it ?" 
 
 " But how can you drag out existence? Alone now in the cruel world, you 
 have but me to lean on, I love you, do you hear ? Come !" 
 
 Not a syllable did she make answer with. Giulio and the others fancied 
 that she was selecting and, to make her decide, they drew nearer. 
 
 " Giulio hits it," said one, " where will you go, if not with him or us ? of 
 course he loves you yet, you are bella donna still, the pride of the band, by 
 San Pietro del Castello, I'll swear to that !" 
 
 " Have done with this !" broke in others, the more ferocious. 
 
 Giulio, seeing their choler rise anew grasped the woman by the arm rudely. 
 
 " You have promised us the treasure. Yield it, or " 
 
 " Or, what ?" returned she, not even shrinking at the pain. 
 
 " I will make you sorry !" 
 
 " Strike me, dastard !" exclaimed the robber's mistress, flaming up into the 
 spirited courtesan of younger days. 
 
 " Worse than that ! I'll I'll hurl thee over into this abyss, only less deep 
 than the gap to hell !" 
 
 " Coward ! enough !" 
 
 So saying, she rose, shook him off as if he were a feather and his grasp a 
 child's, and stood up before all the brigands. She drew from her bosom a key 
 which became the the pole-star to their eyes. 
 
 " With this bit of bronze," she began in measured tone. " I can make each 
 of ye richer than a Russian noble, an English lord, a French duke, an Orsini 
 or a Borgia ! But on one condition !" 
 
 They moved their lips in avidity and in mute promise of accepting any 
 proposition. 
 
 " I left Allessandro," continued she, " because he shunned me and wounded 
 my pride. Do you think I would bear more, scorn and insult, from this 
 Giulio, who only reigned over me by help of my jealousy 1 He threatens to 
 hurt, to kill me he is only fit for woman-murder! Let him die, and the 
 \thole is yours! He tried to rob you ol your shares avenge yourselves !" 
 
 At first astounded by the unexpected outbreak, Giulio speedily recovered him 
 self. He drew his knife and moved towards his denouncer. 
 
 " If you touch me, this beldame dies !" screamed he with ghastly face. 
 
 But the eager subjects of rapacity had had their impatience augmented by the 
 fresh temptation which Sylvia had with the subtlety that her sex, learnt of the 
 Serpent (so they say), glittered before them. 
 
 Giulio had barely spoken the words above, than he leaped in air, perforated 
 by a score of balls. His blood actually spirted on Sylvia, who watched him, 
 fiendishly rejoicing, as he writhed in the last gasp. 
 
 " He's gone," said one of the slayers', busy stripping the body. Now for 
 your promise." 
 
 Sylvia mounted up on the great flat crag that had been her seat, and from that 
 pedestal, said exaltedly : 
 
 " The place whither I go is far away. Ye who hearken to me and ask mo to 
 
156 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California] ; 
 
 guide you into possession of a treasure beyond price, shall not be deceived in 
 your hopes. But have you the courage to follow me?" 
 
 " Guide us, and you'll see," said all in one voice. 
 
 " The journey is long, but the way easy." 
 
 " Spsak. Whither ? To the world's end we'd go ? 
 
 " So eager, eh T continued she, but turning to hover over the awful gulf. 
 " Come ! I know of no treasure so priceless as that in yonder grave ! I lead to 
 it Allessandro, my love or " 
 
 Before a hand could check her, the woman had leaped away out into the 
 chasm. In the calm air she turned twice or thrice, but struck upon the slab 
 many feet beneath which had been the aim of her terrific leap. She rolled off it, 
 a mangled corpse. Its white was splashed with blood. 
 
 A curse from the lips of all the baffled men was the sound that followed her 
 in the fall to meet her death rattle coming up ! 
 
 ******** 
 
 The extreme prudence, over caution we may say, which the captain had gen- 
 eraly exercised, was displayed in the trifling case we cite. One evening when 
 he felt thirsty and yet dared not go into a public house, he sent to San Jose 
 from the rancho an Indian to get him a bottle of brandy. Hardly had his mes 
 senger departed than a misgiving seized him, he jumped upon his horse, made 
 a circuit, cut off the redskin and killed him on the road passing Coyote Creek. 
 
 Such were the unceasing tolls executed by the brigands throughout the state, 
 such their violence, cruelty, rapacity, in all their acts, that the people could 
 not stand it any longer. 
 
 It was no joke to hard working men in the towns or the mines when Jim or 
 Joe, hearing the cry " Bill or Tom's found dead murdered by those bloody 
 devils of Joaquin's !" would throw down tools and sling one leg over a horse and 
 gallop off with Dick and Harry to try to catch the assassins. 
 
 So the " hard-fists" and the " silk-stockings," few, however, began to cover the 
 blank of a petition with signatures, for presentation to the Senate to obtain for 
 Captain H;irry Love authority to form a company of mounted riflemen, with 
 whom he could scour the country and clear it of all the wretches who imperiled 
 life and property of the law-abiding. A law was passed to this effect and signed 
 by the Governor, May the 17th, 1853. 
 
 The Clauda Duval of California had been running a three years' race. 
 
 On ths twenty-eighth of the same month, by which you will see the Captain 
 was active, Harry Love had his troop mustered in. The pay was each man a 
 hundred and fifty dollars a month, the company to have three months existence, 
 and no more than twenty to be its number. Though the salary was a mere 
 flea-bite, each troopar had to furnish his horse, equipments, keep, and everything 
 without any grounds for indemnity, a proof how truly they were volunteers. 
 Love had picked out his score from comrades of his in the Texan and Mexican 
 wars. 
 
 Their names were Colonel McLane, Major W. H. Harvey, Captain P. E. 
 Conner, Captain W. Burns, Lieutenant George A. Mittall, Doctor D. S. Hollis- 
 ter, John Nuttall, C. F. Bloodworth, G. W. Evans, W S. Henderson, C. W. 
 McGovvan, Robsrt Masters, Lafayette Black, the Hon. P. S. Herbert, E. B. Van 
 Dorn, Piggott, Norton and Charles Young. 
 
 These set out from San Francisco, pretty well determined that they would 
 not sat eyes on the glorious bay and its Golden Gates unless they had had a 
 tussle with the bandit and come off first best. As the intrepid little band rode 
 through the towns and villages, they were cheered as they deserved to be, and, 
 if th3y had desired drink, they might have floated in liquor, for Californums 
 used to consider libations the only proper offering to a friend or one to whom 
 Godspeed was wished. Some feared that the party was too small but they 
 were such as did not know Harry Love, a man who had won his spurs in 
 
Or, The Marauder of the Mines. 157 
 
 charges with heroes of the Jack Hayes sort, and who had a mind superior in all 
 points, from sagacity to fearlessness, to even the audacious robber against whom 
 he was pitted. 
 
 The first tiling Love set about doing, was to gain complete knowledge of the 
 enemy's movements, his last halting places, his freshest tracks, so that he might 
 fall upon him at the moment when a foe has least expected and in the place 
 which would be most favorable to him. 
 
 On the third of June, the Pedro Sanchez who had been at San Francisco three 
 months before, with Three-fingered Jack, was killed at Martinez near Columbia, 
 by a Spaniard named Albino Teba. They had been wrangling about some 
 money that they had stolen together, when Sanchez, enraged at his mate's ob 
 stinacy, had sprang upon him knife in hand. Senor Teba had jumped back, 
 whipped out his revolver and bestowed four of its charges on his accomplice. 
 Only one bullet hit, but that was enough to blot Pedro's name off the rolls of the 
 band. 
 
 By a strange coincidence, on the very same day, Borilda had met his death at 
 Stockton for assassination. He had been charged by his chief to kill a Mexican 
 who had offended the latter, and in trying to carry out his orders, he had mor 
 tally wounded one Janes, who had been in the same room with the Mexican 
 doomed by Joaquin. Borilda was proven guilty of the murder of three men and 
 confessed his share in other more or less important crimes. A day or two be 
 fore his execution, he had made himself master of a revolver on a table within 
 his reach, and had tried to kill himself, but it had missed fire. 
 
 Joaquin Blanco, the third companion of Three-fingered Jack at San Francisco, 
 was killed at Stockton in the ensuing year by a countryman of the name of Eu 
 genie Caesar. 
 
 In the evening of the ninth of June, four of the thieves, having forty horses 
 in their charge, stopped at Andreas Harra's rancho, about twenty miles from 
 San Luis Key and, without any provocation whatever, fired on the former's 
 family and wounded one of them. Then they pinioned three men in the house 
 carried off all the gold and valuables on which they could lay their hands. At 
 San Marco, they killed two young steers. 
 
 Next day, a troop left San Diego to pursue them, but the impossibility of 
 tracking them after dark, forced them to throw up the chase then. Messages 
 were sent to the different Indian tribes for them to head the robbers off, but the 
 latter had had time to reach the mountains. A few days afterwards, eight 
 horses were said to have been taken at Santa Margarita. 
 
 Pursued on all sides by relentless men at whose hands he, the offender, 
 could expect no mercy, fearing a defeat which would have compromised all his 
 hopes and designs so long hugged to his breast. Joaquin made up his mind 
 to withdraw into concealment until he should have the reinforcements from 
 Sonora. 
 
 In the commencement of July, Murieta took fifty head of horses from the 
 rancho of Don Andreas Eico, at San Fernando, Los Angelos County. He 
 pushed on to the San Francisco Rancho in the same county, where a ranchero 
 told him bluntly that the cattle belonged to Pico and that he had better make 
 restitution or he would get into trouble. Murietta actually restored all but 
 seven of the stolen animals to the ranchero, charging him to take them back to 
 the owner. Then he crossed in Santa Barbara County and crossed the highest 
 sea-coast ground to Santa Inez, whence he could easily go down into the Sular 
 Valley. 
 
 Acting upon secret intelligence giving him as certain the presence of the 
 arch-robbers in this district, Captain Love moved hitherward with a dozen men, 
 while the rest brightened their horses' shoes in other places. On crossing 
 the Sular plains, he perceived at daybreak a patch of smoke over on the left. 
 This common and unimportant sight to anybody else was of more weight to the 
 
158 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California}; 
 
 veteran ranger. He turned that way and cautiously proceeded towards the 
 smoke. First, he only saw a few horses hidden five hundred yards or so from 
 the fire, but, on drawing nearer yet and ascending a low butte, he discovered 
 on another mound the Mexican chief of marauders in person and only six of 
 his men. 
 
 One of the latter, in cooking, discovered the enemy ; he gave the alarm, but 
 only when the Americans were within a hundred yards of the encampment. 
 
 The ravagers rushed to horse, while on spurred the rangers, who made pris. 
 oners of two of the former in the onset. 
 
 Joaquin had scrambled on his steed and was fleeing with such rapidity, that 
 he had a likelihood of escape, but Love, finding him nearly out of range, hastily 
 put a bullet in his horse's side. The noble animal shuddered for a moment 
 but, recovering the ardor in spite of its wound, bounded on again more im 
 petuously than ever for at least fifty yards. But Harry Love knew where a 
 bullet fired by him ought to strike, and he galloped on no wise despairing. 
 Suddenly, sure enough, the fugitive chief saw blood spout out of his horse's 
 nostrils and drip from its mouth, and down dropped the poor beast never to 
 carry its own weight ever more. 
 
 The rider shook off the stirrups and ran on a-foot, but seeing the captain 
 and one of his men thundering down on him, he turned and discharged the last 
 two loads in his six shooter. At the same time a shower of missiles flew 
 around him and he fell. He begged his captors tu fire no more. 
 
 You've beat me but only by surprise, he gasped, 110 matter ! I'm satisfied 
 I've had enough revenge " 
 
 Pale from loss of blook by several bullet holes, he pressed his left hand to 
 his breast, leaned on his other arm for a short space and at last gave up the 
 ghost. 
 
 Meanwhile Three-fingered Jack had been galloping away, pursued by two or 
 three of the rangers. Though eleven bullets had found lodgement in his body, 
 he rode for a mile and a half. But though the chasers did not have horses as 
 fine as his, they were such skilled riders that they kept well up to him. At 
 length finding he could not shake them off, he wheeled to fire, but only one shot 
 out of his six went off. Five miss-fires told him all was against him. He 
 would not surrender himself, nevertheless, and as he swore he would resist to 
 the last, Captain Conner dashed up to him with a " spurt" of his horse, warded 
 off a blow of the butt from the Mexican and gave him a shot in return which 
 Jdlled him instantly. 
 
 Fighting had been going on in the meantime at other points. "When the 
 rangers came to rally around Captain Love, they brought with them two prison 
 ers. One of the bandits had been killed, name unknown. Two others had got 
 off, but only one safe and sound, for his partner had died on the road of 
 wounds. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE PRISONERS' FATE. JOAQUIN'S HEAD AND GARCTA'S HAND. THE END. 
 
 After this bloody skirmish, Captain Love collected the spoils ; the valuable 
 horses which were restored to their real owners, six Mexican saddles more or 
 less heavily silvered, as many revolvers, silver spurs, fine cloaks and a pair of 
 holster pistols. As the successful rangers were returning to San Francisco, 
 one of the captives broke his bonds somehow and flung himself into a pool of 
 water, where he drowned himself. His companion was placed in the Mariposa 
 County Jail, where he remained until the capturing party was dissolved, when 
 he was taken to Martinez. There, he made a confession which proved the par 
 ticipation of a great number of his countrymen in the crimes he had committed ; 
 he was going to make revelations of more importance still in order to be state's 
 
Or, TJie Marauder of the Mines. 159 
 
 evidence, when he was prevented this. At midnight the prison doors were 
 burst in by a mob of Mexicans, who took him out and hanged him. As Mexi 
 cans had rarely been so eager to anticipate justice by lynching, the belief is that 
 these were active members of Joaquin' s association and rancheroes, who were 
 desirous to cut short their repentant partner's avowals. 
 
 Love's men had only one object in view now : the obtaining of the reward* 
 offered throughout the country to the captors as slayers of the notorious mur 
 derer and marauder. Most assuredly, they had earned the offers by the courage 
 they had displayed, the dangers which they had braved, and the steadfastness 
 with which they had pursued Murieta into the very midst of his band, and, to 
 make evident reasons short, by their whole conduct. 
 
 The public of course had to be furnished with proofs of the facts. 
 
 Otherwise it would never have been believed that the famous Joaquin had 
 been killed, despite all his worth. Captain Love would have had shameful 
 suspicions attached to his reputation. So he had to do what in other cases, he 
 was too brave to have dreampt of, that is give the order for Murieta's head to 
 be cut Off and carried to the nearest town, a hundred and fifty miles off, to be 
 preserved in spirits. 
 
 On the fourteenth of August, Black and Nuttal reached San Francisco from 
 Stockton, bearing the head of the famous highwayman, whose countless crimes 
 had given him an unparalleled name in the annals of wrong-doing. 
 
 The astonishing rapidity of his actions, the number of his accomplices, the 
 extent of his operations over a region excessively vast, had united to set his 
 name up simultaneously in opposite quarters so often that some people actually 
 deemed him a myth, to whom was erroneously attributed all the guilt of all the 
 malefactors in the land. Even after his death, rumor would have it that he w r as ' 
 still in the southern counties, continuing his system of daily murders and pil 
 laging as in the past the rancheroes and mining camps. 
 
 But Black and Nuttall, besides the caput mortuum, brought with them 
 numerous certificates from persons who had been acquainted with Joaquin ; it 
 was therefore impossible to doubt the identity and not credit the assertions of 
 Captain Love and his gallant comrades. 
 
 The head was on exhibition in order to let the people see and judge for them 
 selves. Thus ran the placard : 
 
 JOAQUIN'S HEAD can be seen at " Kinfs." 
 
 corner of Halleck and Sansome Streets, opposite the American Theatre. 
 ADMISSION ONE DOLLAR. 
 
 Among the numerous guarantees and certificates were the following : 
 
 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, (United States), County of San Francisco. Ignatio 
 Lisarrago, of Sonora, after being duly sworn, declares that he has seen the so- 
 called head of Joaquin, now in the hands of Messers Nuttall and Black, lieu 
 tenants of Captain Love's independent company, which head is exhibited on the 
 premises of John King, Sansome Street, and that the deponent knew well Jo 
 aquin Murieta, and swears that the aforesaid head is really and truly that of 
 the Murieta afore -mentioned. 
 
 Signed: IGNATIO LISARRAGO. 
 "Sworn before me, this 17th August, A. D., 1853. 
 
 "CHARLES D. CARTER, Notary Public. 
 
 STATE OF CALIFORNIA (U. S.), San Joaquin County. 
 
 This day, the eleventh of the month of August of the present year 1853, 
 appeared before me, A. C. Baine, criminal judge of the said county, in person 
 the Reverend Dominic Blaive, who declared under oath, conformably to law, 
 that he had known for two years, Joaquin Murieta the famous bandit; and fur 
 ther that he (the deponent aforesaid) has seen the head which is at present in 
 the possession of Captain Conner, one of Captain Harry Love's lieutenants of 
 
160 Joaquin, (the Claude Duval of California); 
 
 his independent force, and that he believes that the said head is that of Joaquin 
 himself, known to him as declared above. 
 
 " Signed : DOMINIC BLAIVE. 
 
 " Certified and signed by me, on date of these presents : 
 "A. C. BAINE, Judge." 
 
 This happened (let us say to give another meed to the man of all deserving 
 it, though we go off our road), under the French Consulates, as the antique 
 Romans say of Monsieur Dillon, one of the most estimable of gentlemen, 
 whose appointment to his troublous position was an honor to his country, as 
 to that of his residence, and almost a blessing to the Queen City of the Pacific.' 
 Nor should we omit on this occasion to speak in commendation of M. Moren- 
 heit, sometime French Consul at Monterey, who was ever vigilant in aiding 
 the authorities. Mons. M. was a true type of the French gentleman. 
 
 As we were saying, everybody and his wife and child, flocked to stare at the 
 head of the highwayman, not an unhandsome one, by any means. We wonder, 
 though, that the lip did not curl with scorn and the eyes flash fire at the remarks 
 which some Yankee phrenologists passed on it, in our hearing. It was carried 
 around into different parts of the state, along with the three-fingered hand of 
 Garcia, which terrified certain superstitious people by its nails having grown at 
 least an inch since it had been severed from the wrist. 
 
 After a formal verification, Colonel John Bigler, governor of the state, had 
 paid over to Captain Harry Love the sum of a thousand dollars which he had 
 personally promised to the captor of the bandit dead or alive. A little later 
 May the 15th, 1854, the Senate, considering firstly that the ridding the land of 
 such a scourge had not been sufficiently rewarded, decreed that an additional 
 sum of five thousand dollars should be allowed. 
 
 Although the death of their leader was an irreparable loss to his followers and 
 even compelled them to disband, they broke up into little parties and continued 
 a desultory skirmishing which sometimes made people fancy that the highway 
 man's spirit was up in arms again. 
 
 ********* 
 
 Towards the end of '54, the head of Murieta was sold by Deputy Sheriff 
 Harrison, in virtue of a seizure for debt against the owner of the relic. While 
 the bidding was at its height, a voice, either Irish or a good imitation, and earnest 
 or well-feigned, cried out apparently indignantly : 
 
 " An' is it sillin' the head of your fellovv-crature, ye are ! The saints betime 
 us, ye'll niver have anythin' but bad cess all your life !" 
 
 The bidding had run up to three-and-sixty dollars. Down fell the hammer, 
 and that's the price the head went for. Here comes the singular part. Not 
 long afterwards, Harris(5n committed suicide. The buyer, a gunsmith, known 
 
 as " Natchez," was accidentally killed in showing a loaded pistol to a customer. 
 * * * * * * t * * * 
 
 Such is the story of the most famous bandit that the world ancient or modern 
 ever had its records stained with. In tracing it through authentic sources, docu 
 ments and the newspapers which pioneered the literary prides of the present 
 days of Altas, Golden Ages, Mercuries, etc., etc., perhaps we have colored the 
 facts a little vividly, but we have not inserted an account of one homicide which 
 was not true. And in rounding off our pages relative to the dark days of the 
 " Golden Land," let us express our wish that she may increase in all freshness 
 and beauty, and riches, and that she will continue evermore on her peaceful 
 path, the frown replaced by a smile of happiness, her robes no more trailed in 
 
 pld and purest silver, brighter than the 
 
 "iters' hearts ! 
 
 blood and earth, but radiant with purest go 
 intelligence of her sons, pure as her daught 
 
 THE END 
 
G. W. M. REYNOLDS' NOVEL! 
 
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 No. 15. THE FIRST FALSE STEP- or, The Path of Crime. 8vo, paper. 50Ce 
 
 If the silent watcher wfto throws the beacon-liprht icross the waste of waters to warn the incautious mar 
 deserves praise, how much more the great writer who points the unwary to the fatal path that lead 
 destruction. 
 
 No. 16. ROSE SOMERVILL.E ; or, A Husband's Mystery. 8vo, paper. 50 Ce 
 
 The mantle of mystery that enshrouds the principal character in this book baffles conjecture and excites c 
 osity. It is truly a wonderful story none but itself can be its parallel. 
 
 No. 17. THE MISER'S WILL ; or, The Doom of the Poisoner. 8vo, paj 
 
 50 Cents. 
 
 We may ransack libraries for years without meeting with a volume that so completely takes our reason ] 
 oner and hurries us along with such bated breath from first to last. 
 
 No. 18. THE PALACE OF INFAMY ; or, The Slave Woman of Eng an 
 
 8vo, paper. 50 Cents. 
 
 When we read this dreadful recital of the snares and pitfalls set for the innocent daughters of povert 
 England, we cannot help wishing for some thunderbolt" red with uncommon wrath," to dash the betrj 
 to the earth they disgrace. 
 
 All of the above books are handsomely printed, with illustrated uniform paper covers, and make very attrao 
 volumes. 
 
 * # * Single copies ent to any address in the United States or Canadas, postage free, on receipt of the retail price 
 jtbovc) Audrcfw 
 
 ROBERT M. DE WITT, Publisher, 33 Rose Street, N. Y 
 
fii presenting this Series of intensely interesting SEA ROMANCES to the Reading Com- 
 ity, the Publisher has the satisfaction of knowing that they are 
 
 fhe very best Books of their kind ever issued. 
 
 LIST OF BOOKS COMPRISING THE 
 
 'RED WOLF" SERIES. 
 
 D. 1. Red Wolf, the Pirate. 
 
 This volume opens wish incidents occur ring: at a. vi;isqiierade. The masked Strange* 
 appear!* The Yankee Privateer and King of the Waves The Beautiful Sister 
 described Throughout the book the Wolf shows his fang*. 
 
 D. 2. The Black Brothers, 
 
 A Sail in Sight The Crimson DraugEtt ! Hough Weather The Young Pilot Appears 
 The Queen of the Mist Death on the Altar Step* Waiting for Death on the 
 Raft. 
 
 :>, 3. The Pirate's Bride. 
 
 Hurry's Stratagem Red Wolf's Resolve Startling Discoveries The Pirate Ship 
 Blown Up Red Wolf Condemned Horrible Cruelties of the Indians The Ship 
 on Fire. 
 
 X 4. The Mysterious Cavern. 
 
 Escape from the Pirates A Night in the Convent The Terrible Confession The 
 Mysterious Executioner. 
 
 a. 5. Jamba, the Black 
 
 I lie Plot The Deed of Blood The Pirate fitinu 11 > ike.- Privateer to Death 
 
 The Brave Lieutenant fleeting tt Hi -^ i-<r and the Albatros. 
 
 6. The Black Eagl< 
 
 V:glU on the Waters A Treacherous Trick 'I he I atttiit a% hi* Charge The Lone 
 House mysterious Affair The Accident in the Vaults. 
 
 *. 7. Diana, the Sorceress. 
 
 rhe Strange missive- The Duel by TOooiiligltt -.'Pfa.- Mavvon Girl -An Old Salt The 
 Terrible'* Cabin Strange Scenes at the Wedding e< Ltelle The Captain of the 
 Schooner proves himself to be a Villaie 
 
 3. 8. The Ocean Monarch. 
 
 Dlever Trick-Fearful Trap Charley Precipitated into the V awning Gulf ! Ashley 
 in his Cell-A Strange Scene Death of the BtacR Pirate -Conclusion. 
 
 Each of the above books is handsomely printed, on nice white paper from clear 
 and has a very brilliantly colored cover. 
 
 PRICE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS EACH. 
 
 'inglf eopin tent to any address, in the United States, c e, rtc#pt *f T*Uil prt*. 
 
 \ty-five ctnts.) Address 
 
 R. M. DeWIl I, Publisher, 
 
 83 Rove St., between Duane v '.>' Fraukfort Sts., Nevr rk.