HEART
oftho
SUNSET
<g? REX BCACtt.
Author of “The Spoilers, ” “The Iron Trail"
“ The Silver Horde” Etc.
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1 ’ SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER I—Set afoot and alone by an
accident in the desert near the Rio Grande
Mrs. Alalre Austin, mistress of Las Pal
Bias and la Feria ranches, meets Dave
Law, Texas Ranger, at a water hole and
is compelled to spend the night there with
hint, as he is in ambush for a murderer
and cannot leave his post.
CHAPTER II—Next day at evening the
Dturderer appears with a companion.
CHAPTER III—Uw captures the mur
derer but is compelled to kill his compan
ion, Panfllo Sanchez, who happens to be
a cousin of Mrs. Austin’s horsebreaker,
Jose Sanchez.
CHAPTER IV—At I^as Palmas Alaire
tells her husband, Ed, that his carousals
and Inebriety must stop. Her cattle
at La Feria, the Mexican ranch, are con
fiscated by Longorio, Mexican federal
general, and she finds that it Is because
Ed has been helping the rebel Junta.
CHAPTER VI—Entertained at their
home by Blaze Jones and his daughter j
Paloma, Dave hears something about the !
Tad Lewis outfit, which is suspected of j
cattle stealing. With Ricardo Guzman and :
his boys Dave and Blaze go on a scout
after cattle thieves.
CHAPTER VII-Law catches two of the
I^wls outfit branding a stolen calf and in
a fight kills one and has his horse shot
Winder him. He trails the other thief to
Las Palmas, where he is insulted by Ed
Austin, whom he knows to be very friend
ly with the Lewis outfit.
CHAPTER VIII—Law follows up the
trail of Urbina, the escaped thief, to no
purpose except to confirm Austin's con
nection with the Lewis outfit.
CHAPTER IX—On her homeward Jour
ney Alaire again meets Longorio, who
openly makes love to her. She obtains
the release of Juan Garcia from prison.
CHAPTER X—Jose Sanchez swears to
find out the truth about the slaying of
Panfllo. Dave gets further information
about the Lewis outfit. Ricardo Guzman
goes to Mexico to sell horses to the fed
eral*.
CHAPTER XI—Dave and Alaire attend
the Las Palmas rodeo. She presents Dave
with a horse to replace the one killed by
the cattle thieves. They discuss the kill
ing of Panfllo.
CHAPTER XII—Guzman does not re
turn from Mexico and his reported killing
arouses Americans. Dave and Blaze ar
range to go to Romero across the river
and recover the body. Jose hears that
Dave killed Panfllo and goes to Join Lon
gorio. Paloma and Alaire arrange to go
to the river to await the return of Blaze
and Dave. Longorio appears at I-as Pal
mas with an escort and overhears Ed
telephoning news of the trip after Guz
man to Tad Lewis.
CHAPTER XIII—Longorio compels PM
to go to the river with him. The girls
follow and hide In the pumphouse. The
Lewis outfit appears. When Blaze and
Dave cross the river a general mix-up Is
prevented by Captain Evans and his rang
ers who appear on the scene and support
Dave. Dave arrests Urbina.
CHAPTER XIV—Blaze dodges dress
makers and fortune tellers.
CHAPTER XV-Strange. a fortune tell
er, warns Dave that Jose is cooking up
trouble for him and Alaire. Dave goes to
eee her and In a moment of emotional
stress they confess their love.
CHAPTER XVI—Ed. who had disap
peared after the Guzman incident, comes
back artd Alaire decides to divorce him.
She writes to her lawyer and to Dave.
JoBe carries Dave's letter to Longorio,
who orders him to kill Ed.
CHAPTER XVII—Alalre moves to <11
vorce Ed. War wlf'i Mexico seems immi
nent. Dave comes to the Jones home
•Ick. Strange warns him that Alalre Is
gone to La Ferla and Is In great danger.
CHAPTER XVIII—Dave goes to I-as
Palmas and arrives Just after the murder
of Ed Austin.
CHAPTER XIX—He rounds up Jose,
gives him the water cure and gets from
him confession that he killed Ed. then
starts for La. Ferla to protect Alalre.
whom he knows Ixmgorlo will capture. He
Instructs Blaze to give the whole matter
the widest publicity and to send Ellsworth
to Washington to sing battle hymns.
CHAPTER XX—At Ta Ferla Alalre
finds that she Is Longorlo’s prisoner.
CHAPTER XXI—Longorlo woos Alalre
and brings a priest to marry them that
night.
CHAPTER XXII—Dave wins through
to I-a Ferla and the priest marries Alalre
to him during Longorlo’s temporary ab
sence.
CHAPTER XXlfl—The priest plays on
Longorto’s Inordinate vanity until he con
Bents to send Alalre and Dave away to tut
border.
Ten minutes passed; fifteen. Alnlrt
leaned, motionless, against the tuble
Dave paced about, followed by the eyes
of the soldiers. One of the lattei
struck a match, and in the silence II
sounded like a gunshot. Dave started
ut which the soldiers laughed. Thej
began to talk In murmurs. The odot
of cigarette smoke drifted In to tlu
man and the woman.
Finally the door through which Fa
ther O'Malley and Longorlo had passed
opened, and the priest emerged. He
was alone. Ills face was flushed and
damp; his eyes were glowing. lie
forced the Mexicans out of his way
and, entering the living room, closed
the door behind him.
“Well?" his two friends questioned,
anxiously.
“I’ve done all I can. The rest is out
of our hands.” The little man sat
down heavily and mopped his forehead.
“What does he say?”
“He told me to come here and wait.
I never saw a man so torn, so dis
tracted.”
“Then he is wavering. Oh-h!” Alalre
clasped her hands In thanksgiving, hut
the father cautioned her:
“Don’t be too sanguine. He Is not
afraid of consequences. He appears to
have no conscience. He Is without
mercy and seems lost to shame. I have
never met a niau quite like him. .Do
| you Enow wtiaT lie terns At 1 UTs mb
ment? Chagrin. Yes, mortification
raised to the highest pitch, and a sort
of stupefaction that you should prefer
another man to him. He can’t under
stand your lack of taste.” Father
O’Malley smiled faintly.
“Conceited idiot,” Dave growled.
“His humiliation kills him. When J
saw that it was useless to appeal to
him oa moral grounds, and that threats
were unavailing, I took another course.
Something gave me insight into his
mind, and the power to talk as I have
never talked before. All in a flash 1
saw the man’s soul laid bare before me.
and—I think I played upon it with
some cunning. I don’t remember all 1
said, for I was Inspired, hut 1 appealed
to his vanity and to his conceit, and ns
T went along I impressed upon him
over and over, the fact that the world
knows we are here and that it trusts
him. He aspires to the presidency; lie
believes he is destined to he Mexico’s
dictator; so I painted a picture that
surpassed his own imaginings. He
would have been suspicious of mere
flattery, so I went far beyond that and
inflamed him with such extravagant
visions as only a child or an unblushing
egotist like him could accept. 1
swelled his vanity; I inflated his con
ceit. For a moment, at least, I lifted
him out of himself and raised him to
the heights.”
From beyond the closed door came
Longorio’s voice, issuing some com
mand to his men. A moment passed;
then he appeared before the three
Americans. He seemed taller, thinner,
more erect and hawklike than ever,
His head was held more proudly and
his chest was fuller. A set, disdainful
smile was graven upon his face.
lie began by addressing his words
directly to Alaire. “Senora,” he said,
“I am a man of deep feeling and I
scorn deceit. Therefore I offer no
apology for my recent display of emo
tion. If I have seemed to press my ad
vances with undue fervor, it is because,
at heart, I atn as great a lover as I am
a statesman or a soldier. But there
are other tilings than love. Nature
constituted me a leader, and he who
climbs high must climb alone. I offered
Clinpultepec as a shrine for your
beauty. I offered to share Mexico with
you, and I told you that 1 would not
he content with less than all of you.
Well, I meant it. Otherwise—I would
take you now.” His voice throbbed
with a sudden fierce desire, and his
long, lean hands closed convulsively.
"You must realize that I have the cour
age and the power to defy the world,
eli?” He seemed to challenge denial
of tills statement, hut, receiving none,
he went on, fixing his brilliant, fever
isii eyes once more upon Alaire. “As a
man of sentiment I am unique; 1 am
different from any you have ever
known. I would not possess a flower
without its frngrance. You did not be
lieve me when I told you that, hut i
am going to prove it. All your life you
are going to think of me as heroic.
Perhaps no patriot in history ever
made a more splendid sacrifice f ir his
country than I make nmv. Some day
the world will wonder how I had the
strength to put aside love and follow
the path of duty.”
Alaire trusted herself to ask. “Then
we are free to go?”
The general’s face was swept by. a
grimace intended for a smile. “I have
ordered your horses to be saddled.”
Dave, who had with difficulty re
strained his anger at tile fellow's bom
bast, was upon the point of speaking
when Father O’Malley took the words
out of his mouth :
“Would you send this woman out of
her own house into a country like—
like this? Rejnember the fortune in
cattle you have ulready taken—’
Longorio broke in with a snarl: “Is
it my fault that the country is in
arms? Military necessity compels me
Go Before l Chanjjj My Min<J."
to remain here. I consider myself
magnanimous. 1—” His voice cracked,
and lie made a dispairing, violent ges
ture. “Go, befpre 1 change my mind.”
Dave signaled to the others, and
Alaire slipped away to t: ke herself
ready. During the uncomfortable si
lence Which succeeded her departure,
Longorio paced the room, keeping his
eyes resolutely turned away from Law.
“Do you mean that 1, too, may go?”
O’Malley inquired.
“What good are you to me?” snapped
the general. _
“You will give us safe conduct?”
“Re still, priest!” Longorio glared
at the speaker, clasping and unclasping
his fists behind his back.
With the sound of hoofs outside,
Alaire and Dolores appeared, and the
Mexican straightened himself with an
effort.
“Adios. senora !” he said, with a stiff
how. “We have had a pleasant friend
ship and a thrilling flirtation, eh? I
shall never cease to regret that fate
interrupted at such an interesting mo
ment. Adios! Adios!” He bowed
formally, in turn to Dave and to the
priest, then resumed his pacing, with
his hands at his back and his brow
furrowed ns if in a struggle with af- |
fairs of greater moment than this.
Rut when he heard the outside door
creak shut behind them his indifference
vanished and he halted with head
turned in an effort to catch the last
sounds of their departure. His face
was like tallow' now, his lips were
drawn tmeh from Ills teeth ns'T in su:
preme agony. A moment anil the hoof
bents had died away. Then Longorio
slipped his leash.
He uttered a cry—a hoarse, half*
He Hurled Himself Into a Chair,
Writhing in Agony.
strangled shriek HiTTl tore Ids tlimit.
He plucked the collar from his neck hs
If it choked him ; he beat his breast.
Seizing whatever article his eye fell
upon, he tore and crushed it; lie swept
the tnble clean of its queer Spanish
frric-a-hrac. and trampled the litter un
drr Ills heels. Spying a painting of a
saint upon the wall, he ran to it, ripped
it from its nail, und, raising it over his
head, smashed frame and glass, cursing
all saints, all priests, and churehly peo
ple. Iiavoc followed him as lie raged
about the place wreaking his fury upon
inanimate objects. When lie laid well
nigh wrecked the contents of the room,
and when his first paroxysm had spent
its violence, he hurled himself into a
chair, writhing in agony, lie bit his
wrists, he pounded his lists, lie kicked;
finally lie sprawled full length upon the
floor, clawing at the cool, smooth tiles
until liis nails bled.
“Christ! O Christ!" he screamed.
The sound of his blasphemies
reached tin- little group of soldiers who
had lingered curiously outside, and
they listened open-mouthed. One by
one they crossed themselves and stole
away into the darkness, muttering.
CHAPTER XXIV.
A Grateful Peon.
With a singing heart Alaire rode
through the night at her husband’s
side. The strain of tin- last few hours
had been so intense, the relief at her
deliverance so keen, that now she felt
curiously weak, and she kept close to
Dave, comforted by his nearness and
secure in tile knowledge of his strength.
Although he was unusually taciturn
and rode with his chin upon Ids breast,
she attributed his silepcC to fatigue.
Now arid then, therefore, she spurred
to his side and spoke softly, caressing
ly. At such times he reached for her
hand and clung to it.
Dave was indeed weary; he was, in
fact, in a sort of stupor, and not infre
quently he dozed for a moment or two
in his saddle. Some two hours out
from Ln Feria the riders halted at a
point where the road dipped into a
rocky stream-bed; then, as the horses
drank. Dolores voiced a thought that
had troubled all of them.
“If that bandit really means to spnre
us, why did he send us away in tho
night, like this?” she asked. “I shall
be surprised if we are not assassinated
before morning.”
“He must have meant it.” Alaire
spoke with a conviction she did not
entirely feel. “Father O’Malley aroused
the finer side of his nature.”
“Perhaps," agreed the priest. “Some
where in him there is a fear at God.”
But Dave was skeptical. “More like-’
!y a fear of t..e gringo government,”
said he. “I.ongorio is n fourflusher.
When he realized he was licked he
tried to save his face by a grandstand
play. He didn't want to let us go.”
“Then what is to prevent him from
—well, from having us followed?”
Alaire. inquired.
“Nothing,” Dave told her.
(Continued Next Week.)
Daily Thought.
Faithfulness is thine and reverence
is thine: who then can rob thee of
these things? Who can hinder thee
to use them, if not thyself?—Epictetus.
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