The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-07-20


captors, who were getting tired of it, to
drag him to the guard-house. lie i'm
plored me, as he went, to pay him WIS.,
it there, and hear his story.
Don Fernando explained the matter
in a few simple words. "He is dam
Irish, mister. You English gentlemen
know them. No? They have no relig-
ion, you see. All we'll, he come here /;
want drink, which not give him. He
say cheat him about diamond. have
not seen him never before. He make
noise; go for to shoot when soldier
come and take him away. Bah it is
not noting. Have glass brandy, No?
What! you going away"
| Now, if l ever saw man in earnest,
the Irishman was that man. If his rage
had been feigned, could never be GER
tain that any one but myself was genu-
inely angry in future. noticed, also,
that the Jew, although he made light of
the matter, was extremely nervous as
the tremor OF the claw-like hand, with
which he kept stroking his beard, testi-
fed. Looking into his treacherous eyes,
of indescribable brown and green tints,
and perceiving an anxiety on his part
to prevent my inquiring further into
the affair, L came to the conclusion that
l ought, at least, to hear the Irishman's
explanation of the cause of his unmusic-
al lament and to protect him, If possible,
from suffering wrong at the hands of the
storekeeper, or of his tool and debtor,
the magistrate.
Accordingly took glass of brandy,
and, saying "Good-night," went straight
to the guard-house, where ludicrous
bribe to the sentry got me an immediate
interview with the prisoner. He was
lying on the earth in a wretched mud
room, his arms still tied but he was
calm enough by this time to tell me his
tale, every word of which became firm
| ly persuaded was true.
He said that he had left San Isidro
| some months previously, with q party of
explor ers, who were in search of q suita-
BILE place for the settlement of several
families arriving from Ireland. Whilst
long distance up the country he had
the misfortune to fell i'll of a fever,
which made him unable to travel. His
companions waited two days for him,
but finding that he grew worse instead
of better, they proposed, and he agreed
to it, to leave him with party of Indi-
ans, who happened to be camped in the
neighborhood, and with whom they had
become very friendly. He remained
with the Indians some weeks, regained
his strength, and struck up all intimacy
with the chief, whom he managed to
teach little English, receiving in re-
turn few lessons in the patois Of the
| tribe.
One day the chie"s son, u lad Of seven,
playing about in a canoe, accidentally,
or otherwise, let slip the moorings. The
stream was carrying the child away,
and, getting frightened, he made a
clutch at the bank as he glided past,
missed his aim, fell into the water, and
was being swept out into mid-stream.
| The Irishman, who was not far off, swan
out to and saved the boy, thereby earn
ing the fathers eternal gratitude. When
he left the Indians, the chief was greatly
distressed, and pulling out beautiful
shining stone, about the size of'a filbert
$50 Pat described it), told him that it
would be worth a great deal in the
white mans country, and begged him
to accept it, which he-more to please
his host, who had a strong belief in the
stones mysterious power to avert evil
from its possessor, than because he
thought it of any value-did.
Pat found his way again, after many
vicissitudes, to San Isidro and craving,
as he said. most of all for "drop to
dhrink," it occurred to him that the
chiefs gift might be the means of OBJ
tanning that drop. The Jews store was
the likeliest place for barter, and there
he went, and found Don Fernando
alone. The latter took the stone, exam
ined it, and pronounced it of no value
whatever except to amuse children with.
The Irishman was going disconsolately
out, when the Jew again took it from
him, and carelessly tossing it into a
drawer, and pouring him out glass of
liquor, told him to drink that and be
off.
He complied with both these direc-
tions. Whilst wandering aimlessly about
the village, he encountered, to his great
| delight, "a countryman, one of the same
| party in whose company he had quilted
San Isidro before. His acquaintance
was in high feather, for he had managed
to pick up or steal small diamond, and
was on his way to coast town, for the
treble purpose of waiting for his emil
grant friends, selling his luck, and
drinking off the proceeds with all posi-
BILE speed. Pat never having seen a
"rale dimon," as he said before, begged
for a look. On his friends producing it,
however, he discovered that he had not
only seen, but actually possessed, one of
great value-and that but few hours
previously; for he instantly perceived
that his shining stone" was of the very
same kind as the diamond he now saw,
with the advantage of being infinitely
larger, and therefore worth incalculably
more.
With profound Milesan cunning, Pat
resolved to keep his discovery from the
other, who, impatient for his drinking
bout, passed on from San Isidro that
same day. ..
OF course, on presenting himself again
to Don Fernando, that astute individual
bade him begone for drunken villain.
Equally, of course, he lost his temper,
and thus playing into the storekeeper's =
hands, was lodged by the soldiers, who
could not understand one word he said,
in his present position. More than all,
of course, the diamond, if diamond it
was, was finally lost to him.
"What was the Indian chief like,
Pat" 1 asked.
"Why, yer honor, he was as loike a
Tipperary boy, barrin' the color, as one
pigs loike another. Shure he was as da-
cent man as ever l met at ALL"
The mystery of "Pad," the hitherto