A Daughter of the Dons A Story of New Mexico Today   By: William MacLeod Raine (1871-1954)

A DAUGHTER OF THE DONS

A Story of New Mexico Today

BY

WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE

AUTHOR OF

WYOMING, BUCKY O'CONNOR, MAVERICKS, A TEXAS RANGER, BRAND BLOTTERS, RIDGWAY OF MONTANA, ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY

D.C. HUTCHISON

[Illustration: Colophon.]

NEW YORK

GROSSET & DUNLAP

PUBLISHERS

COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY

G.W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY

A Daughter of the Dons.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. DON MANUEL INTRODUCES HIMSELF 5

II. THE TWO GRANTS 15

III. FISHERMAN'S LUCK 27

IV. AT THE YUSTE HACIENDA 42

V. "AN OPTIMISTIC GUY" 61

VI. JUANITA 76

VII. TWO MESSAGES 88

VIII. TAMING AN OUTLAW 101

IX. OF DON MANUEL AND MOONLIGHT 111

X. MR. AINSA DELIVERS A MESSAGE 123

XI. THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY AND THE TWENTIETH 137

XII. "I BELIEVE YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH HER TOO" 149

XIII. AMBUSHED 159

XIV. MANUEL TO THE RESCUE 173

XV. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS REWARD 193

XVI. VALENCIA MAKES A PROMISE 201

XVII. AN OBSTINATE MAN 213

XVIII. MANUEL INTERFERES 230

XIX. VALENCIA ACCEPTS A RING 240

XX. DICK LIGHTS A CIGARETTE 246

XXI. WHEN THE WIRES WERE CUT 259

XXII. THE ATTACK 269

XXIII. THE TIN BOX 287

XXIV. DICK GORDON APOLOGIZES 298

XXV. THE PRINCE CONSORT 307

A DAUGHTER OF THE DONS

CHAPTER I

DON MANUEL INTRODUCES HIMSELF

For hours Manuel Pesquiera had been rolling up the roof of the continent in an observation car of the "Short Line."

His train had wound in and out through a maze of bewildering scenery, and was at last dipping down into the basin of the famous gold camp.

The alert black eyes of the young New Mexican wandered discontentedly over the raw ugliness of the camp. Towns straggled here and there untidily at haphazard, mushroom growths of a day born of a lucky "strike." Into the valleys and up and down the hillsides ran a network of rails for trolley and steam cars. Everywhere were the open tunnel mouths or the frame shaft houses perched above the gray Titan dump beards.

The magic that had wonderfully brought all these manifold activities into being had its talisman in the word "Gold"; but, since Pesquiera had come neither as a prospector nor investor, he heard with only half concealed impatience the easy gossip of his fellow travelers about the famous ore producers of the district.

It was not until his inattentive ears caught the name of Dick Gordon that he found interest in the conversation.

"Pardon, sir! Are you acquaint' with Mr. Richard Gordon?" he asked, a touch of the gentle Spanish accent in his voice.

The man to whom he had spoken, a grizzled, weather beaten little fellow in a corduroy suit and white, broad brimmed felt hat, turned his steady blue eyes on his questioner a moment before he answered: