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February 4, 1882.
DD?
(.1. .;.f,
..
They were both fast horses, but it was
evident that Nero had more bottom than
the other. lie showed no signs of flag-
ging, and presently began to get ahead,
and Die grew correspondingly ex-
ultant.
oray .
the boss!” he shouted. “The Ranger
may be faster for a short distance, but i .
Nero is going to beat him in the long.
run !"
“We‘ll see about that!" cried An-
tonio, as he urged the bay horse on-
ward, and brought him up even with
Nero again
The
kec this position.
his best, he fell so far behind that Anto-
nio drew him up at length, and called
O I
“All right, Dick! The Ranger is heat-
en ; but he’s a good horse, all the same.”
approv- 3
up to l
He patted the Ranger’s neck
ingly, and Dick, who had pillled
let his companion overtake him, return-
ed, in a hearty voice:
Antonio, my old fellow is ‘
. I
llutonly for a few moments could he l the light of a kerosene lamp, while a
' black went 1 third, ti i ed Li
steadily ahead, and though the Ran er 3 chair, was
, still kept a good pace, and gallantly ( id
e-KGOLDEN, DAYS:-ei‘<lE:
. l
Aiitoiiio, “ ho scciiiell to know the ' l r
the house aiill tiinihlod down in a l-or
nor.
ii. p s of the L‘>'[:ll)ll.‘illlll(?lll, took oil‘ his
l overcoat and threw it on top ol‘ them,
l and Dick (lid the saint-,.
Ie was then iiitrodliccd to Mrs. Grav-
son, a stout, rohlist nizltron, who i
( oking slipper over a dingy stove, as-
uted by an old Blexieaii wonian.
She wclcoined him very civilly, blit
kept on with her l-ookiiig, and left him
to entertain hinisoll’ or be entertained by
the men, of whom there were three or
four besides the master of tho liolisc.
"wo of them were playing cards by
ack in a brokcii-legged
reading the San Antonio l
l Herald, and iiiipariing occasional bits ofl
news to the card-players.
A dog was siioiiziiig under the table,
,and two young children were riotingl
around the rooni, ostciisinly in charge of‘
a negro boy, who nialle inure noise and l
cut up inorc capers than either of thcni.
l‘reseiitly the older boys caine in,
; after putting up the liorses, and lirouglit
‘ few more dogs and a gi'ln'it deal lllttfl‘
a .
“ That he is! They are both good, If ‘ noise; but this 4I171lU2ll‘iHl-fl) he quite the
Inyuiielc lets me have Nero‘ for my own, usual condition
I
I shall he as proud as a paclia!
say, Antonio, what‘s this place we are
coming to 1”’
“That," said Antonio, “ is (lraysoii's
Ranch, where we are going to spend the and,
night.”
Dick thought, as they drew near to l oiilv two things ncccs
Graysonls Ranch, that he eolild iiiiagiiic
a pleasanter prospect than that of spend-
ing a night beneath its roof. The house
. a dismal-looking structure, built
partly of adobe and partly of weather-
heaten wood, and all of it wanting re-
-urs.
The
r. r
o ‘S. and old hats, the door was )rop-
pcd up with a stick, and the genera slir-
soliudings had a woe-hegone look, as of l
abject poverty.
)iek remarked :
“ I should think the people who live
there must be too poor to keep travelers,
by the looks of tliiugs.”
"Ibor? Why, Jim Grayson is worth
a hundred tliolisaiid dollars, I suppose,“
rejoined Antonio.
“ What A hundred thousand dol-
lars!" exclaimed Dick, amazed. "Tlil-,n
why under the slin donlt he fix up this
house ?"
“ I don‘t know.
to-or going to build a new one.
perhaps he likes it well enough as it is,"
' Antonio, indefinitely. “There are
plenty of men as well off as he is that
live in poorer lioiiscs.“
He said this in such a matter-of-fact
. t.
way that I)ick began to wonder if Gray- dc s. t
soii’s Ranch colild be a specimen of the genuine result of the
usual style of residence in the giaziiig and he coiitiiilied, with
country.
With some hesitation, he inquired:
“ Does my uncle live in a house like
tliis?"
“Oh, no!" Antonio returned. “ livery-
thing is kept in > in good shape at l. s
HOV s. The colonel likes to see things
loo ting nice."
Dick was glad of that, and said so,with
an 6lnpllnSlS that iua c Antonio smile.
He had put up his hand to his mouth,
broken windows were stuffed full ,
Perhaps he’s going at me!
' ()r l
of ll'ali's, for llllhllllyi
in('d to mind the racket aiill l-onfli-‘
. on.
Ir. (iraysoii talked iiith Dick, while ,
slipper was in coiirsc of preparation, i
as Dick afterward infornied An-J
l li
‘ the
. tonio, made him feel as if tlicrcworl-,
D 'iry to succc ‘
' life-to be (‘olonel Vane s nephe
to come to Texas.
“Tlicre ain't no place like it fora
yoling man that‘s got pluck aiill back-
bone," said Mizllraysoii; “ and I reckon
you're apt to have them, if you belong
to the same stock as Nelson Vance. He's
a clearer, now, I tell ye, the colonel is!
Ain‘t no man round tliese parts that can
count on more friends than your liiiele,
nor a man that '11 stand by his friends
any better ‘n he will. lie told me, last
time I was down to his ranl-li, that he
had :i nephew coniin' on from the North,
- and I says to him, says" I, "l'liaL‘s right,
‘colonel; bring along all the nephews
you‘ve got,’ says I. ‘We want all we i
, kin git of your kind o‘ stock !‘ Tell ye '
‘ w i , yoliiigstvr, you ‘ll like Texas,
Sonic say the climate aiiitiest right, blit
that's downright foolisliiiess. 1 al 0 v
you can‘t Iiiid no country like this for
l laealtliy-and I‘d orter know. Jest look
I've een here niore‘n twenty-
livo years. Come down from Old l(en- ,
, tuck, when I wa'n‘t niul-Ii older‘n you .
he-and look at me!" l
Mr (irayson straiglitencd up to his
full six feet and odd iiiolies of muscular
s u re, and threw back his broad shoul-
' himself as 2i
lexan climate;
a wave of his ;
hand toward his hustling wife and up-i
roarious children:
“ ook at my kids, all smart and rug- ,
ged; and look at my wife, bloomin‘ like l
a rosc !" ,
Mrs. Hraysoii, hearing this coinpli- i
lil(‘lll:ll allusion to herself, looked up, ‘
an i rcn - ‘ked, in a good-natiircd tone of
voice, that she allowed she looked like a
mibb-age-rose, if aiivl
But shc quite agreed that the climate
=-L
and uttered a loud lialloo, as they rode of Texas was the lit-altliicstin the world,
up to the house; whereupon the rieket
door was pulled open, and half a do7.(
dogs, two boys and one tall, muscular-
looking man, in a slouch hat aiiil flannel
shirt, came out to meet them. The lat-
ter personage proved to be the proprie-
for 0! Grayson's Ranch.
(TIIA PTl<Ilt VIII.
AN l'.‘Il'lXl'l-il."l‘lCl! I’l-2RIL.
“ licllo, Antonio! liot hack, have yo?
Brought a nortlier with ye, sanie‘s voil quite so common.
always do!" called out Mr. tlraysoii,
facetiously. “(loin‘ to he a stiff one,
too, I reckon. S'pose this young ch:ip‘s
the colonel's nephew?" he continued,
with ii. friendly nod in Dick's direction.
V and that Dick was very sure to like the 1
con t . .
And ltiek foiinll this to be the univer-
sril opinion of the Texan people; he ‘
never met one whowould admit that
aiiv colintr 'on the habitable globe could
cqhal 'l‘cxas, either l'or inatcrial advan-
tages, or “ for licaltliy." ,
Dick had noticed that his host appa-
rcntly was not a colonel, nor a major, l
nor even a captain; but it presently ap- ,
pcared that he possiissetl a dignity not
The man who was re ling the paper
looklid up, in some c enciiiciit, and ex-
vlainilidz l U
“ Sav, sqiiiiro, them liorso-tliieves have
turned Illing in! It. s here that one i
Then, as the bov (lisiiiounted, he canie I of ‘cm was sevn insan Antone the other
forward and cordially shook hands with
him, saying:
“ ‘Valk right in, young man. Glad to
see your uncle's nephew. You're
right sort for Texas, I reckon. Got soiiic
o‘ olir uncle's look about ye. llerc,
Bil , you and Ed put up these liossos.
Give em 8 uare feed mid a good ruli-
bin‘ dmvn. on’t turn ‘om olit to-night.
Thlsnorther‘s goln’ to blow all night, I
he
the -brought his Iippcd-hack
lupon its tour s '
dav."
ie “sqlilirt-“-lie was ll deputv-.slic-
rill for tho eonntv, as I iarrivd 1:110!‘
chair down
with perilous ,
V legs.
eiiipliasis ‘IN ho lia ilatcd. ‘ ;
AA If mu 5; mp (i,a,q(i,‘ its got to he tcnd- 3
ml to! Wliivli one was it, and who see
'iin‘?"
“"I‘was Grinning Jack; lint it doii‘t
u
reckon, and all day to-morrcr, like say who seen him.
enough.” . .
In obedience to this command, the
charge of the IIOFSOS, remov-
boys took . ’
lng their saddles, which were taken into niorn llosslis,
“ “ 011, if lir‘.i got 'lr0llll(l, soiiiehody ,
has got to go lor
‘llltl right siiiart,
too-‘fore he gits a cluiiicc to rliii otl any
I'll start for San Aiitniin l
‘ that has not heard of
s iout it,” said the “sun
e turned to Dick and explained that
this “(iriniiing Jack ” an his “pard-
ner," one (iatty, were two of the worst
liorse-tliicvcs and Llespcradoes who had
ever infested that part of the country.
A warrant had been out against them
for some time, hut hitherto they had
nianaged to escape arrest.
“Colonel Hendricks-liels the slit-rill‘
at San Antone-got after ‘em with a
posse, and they cleared out," said Mr.
tirayson. “ “'0 was in opcs they'll
gone for good; but that Grinning .Iaek’s
the boldest Scamp unhling. Hell bet-
ter keep away, though; he ’ll risk his
neck once too often.”
H Why do they (all him (lriniiing
to-niorrer, myself, and see Y‘olon<>l lll-n-
' ai'v."
an asked Dick
“Because he's got a clit arrest his
check, some time or other, and it‘s left zi
so.-ir that runs into the corner of his
inakcs him look like a
the rin," id Mr.
'lxl4',SE lil
Texas; woiildn‘t ll0SlllIl(‘ half a minute
to shoot a lllilll for his heasl, if he got a
mod eliaiice."
llero Mis. firaysoii, who had liI'l‘ll sul-
ting out the tahlo, nnidc knmin lo ilw
men that slipper was ready, and llIl')' all
sat down together, willi a inarklid ali-,
sence ofeerciiioiiy, Dick only, as it gin-st
and a person of some lxiiisnqiiz-iivli, hoing
invited to a particular sl-at. while the
others bestowed then .(-lvos at randoin
wlicrover they could hinl a pl:
As there “ s a sl-arcity of ch s, o
of the boys sat on a hox, and inollier
one stood up, with an air of llll(:l)ll('i'l‘ll,
as if he were used to taking his ineals in
that way.
Dick wondered how a man of Mr.
(,u‘vrayi>ioii's property and standing could
be oontcnt to live in such a sliisliod
fashion, but the “square " and a l his
holischold sceincd to he perfectly satis-
tied
Dick ate his slipper with a very good
relish, for the food was well-cooked at
least, and there was a rlidc ahlindancv in
the meal, and ai .irnith of Iiospitali '
about the nianncr in which it was dis-
pensed,‘ which made it very pll-nsaiit,
F11 .
Dick and Antonio slept together that
night, in the same room with two of tlic
incn, and the next morning, after ii
early breakfast, they resumed thclrjolir-
ncy. The nortlier was still hlowing,
and Mr. Grayson reinarkeri, as they
were starting:
“You'll have a will ride, boys but
yoil‘vo got the wind behind ye, am
you'll git to the Casa do Caballeros he-
lore dark. You tell the major about
them lioss-thieves, Antonio. Tell him
to look olit for his critters."
“I will warn him, senor," said An-
tonio.
“ I'm 011' for San Antone invsclf," con-
tiiilicd ‘tho deplity-slicriff, - tic boys
took leave of him.
thievin‘ rascals to git down this way,
and if there's iiiiy such thing as kl-I<‘hin'
‘cm, I want to have tl hand in it."
In fact he was “nll"' alniost as soon as
the boys, for they had gone hlit a short
distant, , when tiey looked back and
iii the opposite
inio.
w
’-'3
saw him galloping away
direction, toward ban Antl
“ The horse-thieves had hotter look
nlit ,now !“ said Dick, with a careless
laugh.
But Antonio responded, seriously:
“TIIOV will, if they know .liiii Gray-
son is after them.“
13 went on to say that (‘Jr "in was
well known to be a man of li]ll0lIlll;Il>l(!
courage and dcterniination ; that he had
niade hiniself a terror to the lawless
class of ruilians who roamed over West-
o -is, stealin
over the State, for the ll
with which he
-i ciiergy
pursued and arrested
tlil-sc desperate eriniinals.
“ There is not a liorso-tliil-l' in the State
him, and they are
pretty apt to leave when they Iind out
‘ that he is going for tlicin," replied An-
lonio.
The hoys pursued their way down the
trail, kccpin v their hors s at ll good pace,
and wrappcl in their iiriiiy-coats. caring
very little how hard the wild nortlicr
mi ht b on.
lgeforo iuid-day, it bcgaii raining a lit-
tlo, hilt the boys were too “'1'” pronil-tcd
to get wet, and the horses were used to
it. ' , it was iiiiplczwiiit weatlii-r to
he out in, :iiid Antonio said lie sliolild be
Iin‘
l‘he
“I don't want thcin i
D1. ,
i glad when theygot. to the (‘asa dc (‘abal-
le os.
. 4-What is the ('
l Dick iuqliirod.
l “ It ‘s W'jor “'ille1'splacc.
‘ .1 trayl-l s
dc (‘ahalll-ros ?"
H c keeps
l a prairie
l “ lint what does it mean 7“ asked Dil-ll‘.
l ““'lint's the linglisli of it?"
I “(':Ih‘:l dc (‘ab-alleros‘? “'liy," said
lAnlonio, he. taliiig for a lll0III(‘lli,‘ I
should call it-the ‘Horsciiiaii's lloine,‘
I tliink."
l Dick was about to say sonictliiiig in
reply, but whatever the remark would
have been. he never made it, for at that
inonient both he and Antonio ])L‘l"(‘l‘lV(‘(l
‘ two horsenien coming up the trail to-
ward them.
Tlioytlirned to the right as the lll(‘ll
drew near, and Antonio bowed and
spoke word of Salutation, but Dick said
nothing. , was looking at one of lhe
lIl(‘l) and wondering if Antonio ll()ll(‘(’ll
lllSH]l1i0:lr:llIl'(’.
,, , , . . ,.
lhlgi “ere hoth siiiistor-lookiiig pur-
sons, not pleusaiit for two boy
on a loin-ly prairie-trail.
built,
‘thcr young man, with sharp
, , iid a peculiar scar, evidently
:ni old knife-eiit, slashing across his lvft
cheek and tlirongli his upper lip, which
was eoiitraclvd and ra el at the corner.
givin ' nouih the fixed expression of
a dvinoiii:n- smile more rt-piilsive
no look l-olild liiirdly be imagined upon a
,‘ human fa:-,1-.
lloth llll'lI looked hard at Dick and his
cxiiiipanion, but they only nodded in
l liiislwr to Aiitoiiio‘s greeting, and rode
by in silmicc.
I Wllioii they had passed, Dick said, ex-
itel V:
, “ .‘XlllUI;l$J, did you see that nian-tlio
l
and I know who he is, though
iv liini cfore,“ returne An-
“ It is Grinning Jack."
“’l‘licy'll miss their reckoning if they
expect to arrest lilni in San Antonio,
won‘t they ?"
lick turned his ll('ll(l as he said this,
to look after the straiigt-rs, and with in
startled accent he added:
“They are coming hack !"
ri
slim on
“ Yo.
In fa t, ail:-r riding a few rods, tliev
3 had wheeled around and were rapidly
returnin .
‘ "’l‘hat means trouble for us !" Antonio
exclainiod. “THO want our horse :
hlit they shall not have them if we can
it."
l Antonio s poke in a cool tone of voice,
with very ittle appearance of excite-
‘ nil-nt, but his black eyes, usually so son
and gentle, now had a Elitter that niade
him look, to Dick, li'o quite another
boy. lie did not look in the least like a
girl at that moment.
“ Nero and the Ranger can beat those
elieve," said he.
ive them ii chalice to
try. (‘onic on, Di(.k,do your best now!"
llc lightened his rein and touched his
horse with the spur; and, Dick did the
sainc, puttin Nero to his best speed.
“‘ith the wild norther howling at their
backs, and the two horse-thieves in full
l pursuit, they galloped down the trail.
l [TO BE cos1'iivL‘Eii.]
. D?‘ ,
D THE GAME OF TWENTY QUESTIONS.
1 A nice game to be played on whiter
i evenings is that known as “Tweiity
Q,lil-stions.“ It is common in many see-
, tions of the United States. One player
goes out of the room and the others of
l the cmiipany select some subject. “'hen
the player re-enters the room, he has the
right to demand trlitlifnl aiiswci-s to
twciitv questions. Meanwhile, he is ex-
pectod by the time he runs out of qlil-s-
tioiis to discover the subject.
1 .
.‘.. ,, W.
“GOLDEN DAYS," VOLUME SECOND.
“'6 are now prepared to flirnish beiind
copies of Voluine Second of GOLDEN
Davs. It iiicllidc.-I titty-two numbers,
and the binding is slibstaiitlal and at-
itractivc, stanipcd with gilt and black
‘ lines, and iiiclinlosa handscnie title page
and coinpletn index. It will he sent, ex-
l penises prepaid, to any address, on re-
ccipt of four dollars.
as -v -
-lidu<-.-itiou begins the gentleman, but
reading. good mnipnny and retlentlon
l niust tinish him.
dark-broivl-d and villainous of