The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-08-14


stained hands across his forehead, and
talk about his boyhood and his mother and
his two little sisters and about the old
New Hampshire hillside with its white
daisies, and its yellow butter-cups and its
stragling rows of gnarled apple-trees,
and the sluggish cows grazing there in
the summertime; and the old, dingy,
red-paintcd schou-house, where the three
roads met, and where he had learned out
of the scrawled and tattered old books his
FIRST vague lessons Of the great world be-
yond the little valley Of his home; that
world that had 50 wronged and wrecked
his later life, and made such mockery of
his manhood Then he would tell his
"reminiscences Of the war how he lay III
the deadly bitches Of Port Hudson, whence
he could see the New Hampshire battle
flags that waved over his kith and kin, in
the bcScigmg trenches over across the
narrow plateau that no messenger except
those of lead and IRON might traverse;
how then he wore the captive months
away at .Iohnson'S Island, preterring for
his Mississippi love to torsWear his kindred;
how at last he got away, and then within
a week after he had reioined his regiment
he lay breathing up great spoutS Of blood
from his torn lung in the ravine ut Chick
amau@a. and then
1T was for her" he would growl be
tween his locked Jaws, land she Scorned
me in the end"
And then he was the same desperate
devil again. and away he would 90 to
drink and gamble and carou>e and XIII, to
escape the memories that Knocked and
crazcd him.
One day u schooner anchored in the
stream opposite the Fort. and her captain
came up to the town in his gig. He
brought big bag Of doubloons along to
fight on feed Sallc'S tiger with, according
is his luck went This captain was Don
Jose Joaquin llerren, the dashinges bravo
ON the Gulf coast, Il Iampico contrabandlst
and these doubloonS We're the profits of
his latest voyage The national game in
Mexico is monte But whether it may be
taken a> illustrative of the traditional
Amglo-SaNon superiority or not. it is Il
fact that the Spaniard deserts his native
monte in utter contempt when he can get
at an American faro game. However, as
there >ccrmS to be something dominant
and compulsory about everything that is
lnglo-SaNon forcing the inferior races to
bend to il everywhere, it is presumed that
the rude holds good when applied to its
Vice, ~ wrll as its virtues. At all events,
The ta,hinw CuStiian was ready to lavish
his douhluonS upon the An@lo-SaXon game,
and Sale was as ready to entertain him
With the trulicS Of her pettiger. 50 when
She heard that Captain Ilerren would be
the guest of the establishment that even
inc. She put on all her diamonds, and
tleckpd her inlv flood OF hair with all her
Span9lcS and her ribbons. and put on her
lowcst-neched black silk gown and her
bcWitchingrst little lace cape and sleeves,
and completing her toilet with 4 palr of
pearl drrringer-buttS and Il silver stilctto-
hilt peeping daintily out Of her bosom, She
vowed She would deal the game for the
gallant Captain her own inmitahe self.
This was great mark of favor, for she
had never presided at the table but once
before. ;tnd that was when she entertained
Il French Brigadier and two Federal Major
Generals Gu ordinary occasions She en-
ployed obscure manipulatorS Of the paste
boards. at q meager salary, to levy contri-
buttons upon the everyday everN-night
- herd of plebcans. while She amused
herself in her 1j:.orr little pal'lor across
the waV With the devoted officers of the
garri~on whom She endured because She
was in their power, on with Noltalrc,
whom she atlorcd for his soothing, on with
her bandoIa and her songs. because they
made her torgctlu and happy, or with
her lover, whom She prtticd tor his super
lativc WichedncSs and for the melancholy
beauty of his face.
This va, the second visit of the SWarthy
Captain to Brownsville. On his former
visit he had fed >alle's tiger to the tune OF
about three hundred doubloons: but if
had lost lis doubloons he had Won Il good
share of Sales affections, for she thought
him fully as wicked and u tritle hlndsomer
than Budd The latter knew all about
this state Of things, and his affection for
Don Joaquin was by no means gushing.
Consequently he was moody all the after
noon after he saw the Smug@lcl's gig pull
up at the dilapdated old wharf, and it
was easy to imagine that there might be
an episode n the evening.
The -mug@lcr was no exception to the
rule Of his race in the matter Of supersti-
ton Like all MeNicans, he was an ex-
plict believer in Luck The Mexican idea
Of this j. curious psychological study
Sometimes yol would see three or four
'
waytarer down ON the Monterey road or
III the drliles Of the Salinas, come over to
Brownsville with no insignificant pile Of
douhloons OF course they would come
10 gamble. and the first thing to be asecr-
tanned WAS upon whose head the benson
of Luck might have dies, ended, SO they
would oct together in Il dark ROOM, station
themselves one in each corner. toss It doub-
loon up against the ceiling, ana then glope
around the foor for it ON al-fours. The
one who happened to nd it was I'm luck
beyond all dispute, ard him they would
''Stakc To their last milled dollar, their
last ra@ of clothcS--to the extent indeed of
utter bankruptcy save their saddles and
spurs; these the Mexican never snrrenders
Well. something like this was the Smug
gier'> conceptin of Luck.
About nine O'Clock Sale took her seat
behind the layout and began TO deal
the cards for Don Joaquin. 1t was what
You call a ''nerey" game. There was no
limit really and the betting ranged mostly
between ten and twenty Aoubloons on the
tuln The layout was kept pretty well
''vtllowed,n and if any turn was neglected
it was a pure oversight. At first the
smurgler seemed to be in partnership
with Luck itself, and Sale had twice sent
for another keg of doubloons to meet the
pasteboard sight drafts that were ever
and anon presented to her bank Don
Joaquin sat admiring the dealer over Il
stack of about five hundred doubloons
And as SALES losses grew heavier her
smile Grew swcctcr, and the dancing steel
blue glitter of her eve intenser The
handsome outlaw was winning her heart
faster than her doubloons. About eleven
on halt-past, Budd who had been up at
the officers quarters specializing in draw
poker for an hour or two sauntercd into
the bank, loungcd up to the table languid-
y, and surveyed the situation. Don
joaquin had five bets down, on five case
cards, and Salle had her thumb on the
card for the turn.
"Wait 4 bit, my dear said Budd, It'll
light this cigarette. and then IU amuse
You.
Then he deliberately put down bets, on
the five caSe-cards, and every one that
Don Joaquin played he coppered, and
those the Don coppered he played. On
the first action the Spaniard won and