On the Mexican Border [pp. 460-469]

ONr THE MEXICAN BORDER.
not mean to let him see me; but it happened that I came up with him at a place
where there was no chance of avoiding
him. When he saw who it was, we both
gave a yell; and from that to E1 Paso it
was a race for life.
"When night came on I stopped only
long enough to refresh my horse, and
started on again, getting into E1 Paso the
next morning. Riding straight to the
Bishop's house, in a few words I explained to him my errand, and demanded that he should instantly remove the
book of registry of births from the church
to his house. At the idea of any one
robbing the church register, the goodnatured Bishop was sufficiently horrified, and lost no time in securing and
locking up the precious book. Before
putting it under lock and key, I secured
a copy of the entry of Mrs. Lyle's birth,
with the Bishop's certificate.
"The next thing to be done was to
secure an attorney. Flotte had instructed me to employ a celebrated Mexican
lawyer of E1 Paso, but he was not then
at home. Upon inquiry, I learned that
there was a stranger in E1 Paso, lately
come there from San Antonio, Texas,
who was a lawyer, and understood to
be one of fine talents. Not feeling certain about the propriety of engaging a
man entirely unknown to Don Louis,
after having a brief interview with him
I concluded to send to my employer
a full account of the situation, and get
instructions. Accordingly I dispatched a fieon-express to Don Louis, and
waited.
"In the meantime I became better acquainted with the strange lawyer. He
was a large, fine-looking man, of clear,
smooth complexion, and dark eyes; a
German by birth, but well versed in
other languages; a smooth talker, and
fastidious about his dress. One peculiarity and defect of his personal appearance alone made him remarkable. This
was a stumping walk, occasioned by the
loss of one of his great toes, by which
that foot was deprived of all spring, and
became much like a wooden one. After
some talk with this man, whose name
was Fischer, I determined to retain him,
which I did by giving him $500 for that
purpose. In less than six days my peon
returned, with instructions to employ
Fischer.
"The rapidity and fidelity with whichl
this _eon, who had been a long time in
Flotte's service, executed his trust, were
somewhat remarkable. He had ridden
alone a distance of 255 miles and back,
delivering and receiving his message in
less than six days. On his return, as he
was alone, he went a little off the traveled road, hoping thus to avoid the Apaches, who usually hovered near the route
pursued by travelers. But he missed
his calculation. On ascending a rise of
ground, there was the whole Apache
camp before him. He knew that to fly
would be certain death, as the Indians
must have seen him. There was but
one chance for him, and he took that.
Without a moment's hesitation, he put
spurs to his horse, gave the yell of
defiance, and dashed into the Apache
camp. Believing that this must be an
attack of their Mexican enemies, the Indians made a rush for their horses and
arms, while the daring Jeonz, never checking his speed, pursued his way to E1
Paso. He not only escaped, but liberated two prisoners of the Apaches, who
took advantage of the panic to mount
and fly.
"As soon as I received my orders, I
started for Barranca Colorado. My attorney proved to be rather a troublesome traveling companion, as he was
epicurean about his eating, and a miserable rider. The old _Aeon, who had performed a ride compared to which Sheridan's was but a piece of sport, made
many grimaces at the cramped-up knees
and awkward timidity of the lawyer. As
we approached the most dangerous por
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[MAY,