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 THE MYSTERY OF
 THE BARRANCA

 BY

 HERMAN WHITAKER

 AUTHOR OF
 "THE PLANTER" AND
 "THE SETTLER"

 NEW YORK AND LONDON
 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
 MCMXIII




 COPYRIGHT 1913 BY HARPER & BROTHERS

 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 1913




 [Illustration: [See page 248
 SEYD LIFTED FRANCESCA AND LEAPED]




"_To Vera, my daughter and gentle collaborator, whose nimble fingers
lightened the load of many labors, this book is lovingly dedicated._"




THE MYSTERY OF THE BARRANCA




CHAPTER I


"Oh Bob, just look at them!"

Leaning down from his perch on the sacked mining tools which formed the
apex of their baggage, Billy Thornton punched his companion in the back
to call his attention to a scene which had spread a blaze of humor over
his own rich crop of freckles.

As a matter of fact, the spectacle of two men fondly embracing can
always be depended on to stir the crude Anglo-Saxon sense of humor. In
this case it was rendered still more ridiculous by age and portliness,
but two years' wandering through interior Mexico had accustomed
Thornton's comrade, Robert Seyd, to the sight. After a careless glance
he resumed his contemplation of the crowd that thronged the little
station. Exhibiting every variety of Mexican costume, from the plain
white blanket of the peons to the leather suits of the rancheros and
the hacendados, or owners of estates, it was as picturesque and
brilliant in color and movement as anything in a musical extravaganza.
The European clothing of a young girl who presently stepped out of the
ticket office emphasized the theatrical flavor by its vivid contrast.
She might easily have been the captive heroine among bandits, and the
thought actually occurred to Billy. While she paused to call her dog, a
huge Siberian wolf hound, she was hidden from Seyd's view by the stout
embracers. Therefore it was to the dog that he applied Billy's remark at
first.

"Isn't she a peach?"

She seemed the finest of her race that he had ever seen, and Seyd was
just about to say that she carried herself like a "perfect