286 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



stance, I went to the house where the poor 

 fellow had been carried, accompanied by our 

 surgeon. The man had already been attended 

 by a Mexican doctor, and most kindly treated 

 by the humble owners of the house. Some 

 Mexican gentlemen acted with most praise- 

 worthy energy on this occasion. They rode 

 after and captured the ruffian within a few 

 hours of the assault. He was brought before 

 the authorities and committed to prison, "pending 

 his final examination. The Prefect assured me 

 he would be shot, and said he was only too 

 glad of the chance, as he had not shot any one 

 for a long time, and he begged me to wait a 

 few days to witness the execution. I could not 

 oblige him, however, as the rainy season had 

 set in, and I was anxious to get off the coast 

 without delay. 



A day or two after this I was returning from 

 a visit to Palmyllias, a very pretty spot some 

 leagues from Mazatlan, where I had been with 

 my friend O'Ryan, when we met Mr. Kelly and 

 two officers of the " Reindeer/' They had 



