The Lake County star., 1877-05-24

ing to the broad verandah, upon which
recognized the charming owner Ol
the lace trifie which i held In my
hand.
The deceitful little hussy pretended
| to stiflea o slight scream OF surprise a.
bowed low before her, but the grOh
spile Of mischief ,On her full, poufine
| lips belied II. E
"Senorita. pardon the great Liberty
have taken In following you hith(r tO
your residences, but my object In 30 do
Ing was to /retura you this, which
fancy Ia too valuable an article to lose.
You dropped It on the floor OF the cafe,
where fortunately discovered It."
"Oh than ks-many thanks, senior,
for your kindness and great trouble.
1 should have been incOnsOlable had
/ lost thedear, precious relic 1t be-
l0nged 10 my dear mampis, now with
the saints In Heaven. But, senior,
you must he tired and thirsty after
your hot, dusty drive. Allow me To
offer you some refreshments-a glass
of wine and q cigar. My father, who
IL an officer In the regular army, Is un-
fortunately &Absent, but surely there
can be no1mpropriety in my enter
taining you. a
"Do not mention the word, senor-
ita,n and I raised her hand to my lips,
while she half hidrher- face behind Ler
fan. M
followed ker into an apartment,
nicely furnished, with just sufficient
light for US to study each others fea-
lures nicely. Sealing myself on the
sofa beside her, essayed TO make my
self agreeable, whileshe touched bell,
which was answered by o domestic of
the most repulsive appearance. -
-Hewas q dwarf but possessing limbs
denotiug prOdigiOus strength. HIS
head was covered by pr0fusiOn of
short, black hair, and the sallow,
cadayerous features of the, Spaniard
flor such he wss) were made all the
more prominent by pair Of sharp,
black eyes, which seemed to emit
sparks Of fire as he peered through the
gloom In the direction we were sitting.
An habitual scOwl added to the fellows
natural hideOusness, and could scarce
ly repress q shudder as Sanchez, as she
called him, left the room in obedience
to her orders for wine and cigars.
"You have an odd-looking servant,
senOrita-0 f ir..s.-rst
1 paused, while she, with smile,
informed me that her fathers name
was Almetz, and hers Maria. Henrico,
she asserted, was q pretty name, and
we were soon on the best of terms.
The wine was brought, the scowling
dwarf favored me with an insOlent
look, apparently taking In my dimen-
sions from head to foot. but before /
could say o word the fellow disappeared
with q rapidity truly marvellous.
"You speak Spanish remarkably
well, senor." )" she remarked.
"Yes,"I replied, "for an American. +"
"Are you indeed an American? How
glad papa would have been to have
seen you! But alas, he will not re-
turn for several days yet"
sand do you live here all alonew /
inquired, at the same time possessing
myself Of her hand, despite slight
struggle on her part.
"Oh, no, Senior Henrico! My cousin,
the young lady you saw with me I'm
town, Is here, but has been obliged to
retire with q severe headache"
"Then you are not lonesome; and
30 far away from the city 2"
"Oh, no, I have hosts of friends !;
and you, no doubt, have quantities In
the city ?"
"On the contrary, my dear Maria.
You are the only acquaintance l have
In Havana"
"Bnt you Americans are all wealthy,
and do not require friends.o
'"True, my gold is my best friend"
and in Q foolish spirit Of bravado i
displayed my well-filled pocket book
with the drafts on Ruaz, already signed
to be cashed.
One by one the senorita ran the crisp
notes and bills through her fingers,
and / fancied she sighed, as her bosom
rose and fell as If agitated by some
strong inward emotion.
The candle burned low; q sudden
gust of wind threw q shutter violently
back at the same time slight scream
burst from my companions lips. She
was looking toward the half-open win
dow. s. sq.ei sas t..-..l,s-
"What do you see? What is the
matter, senorita?' I exclaimed, in
some excitement, as L sprang to my
feet. ,...s..
imagined, saw mans head
peering in through the window. and
there are 30 many deperate characters
prowling about the country, 1 am
heightened to death. Are you armed,
senor?" and the fair creole allowed
h1fprattylittle head to rest cOnfiding-
ly on my shoulder, while her black
eyes were upturned to mine.
NO." / answered, with unblushing
eff0ntery, 81 never carry arms butno
harm shall come to you while / have
life to protect you. Ha! what was
that?" and low, distant rumble fell
upon my ear. With q wild moan a
gust Of wind surged through the
grove of orange trees, tossing the
bOughs to and fro, ut the same instant
q vivid flash Of 1ighening lit up the
surrounding gleOm with an intense
The, rattling peal of thunder had
scarcely died away. when the pattering
drops Of rain were heard falling In
quick succession, / peeped through
be half-closed lattice work, it was
black as midnight without. There
was no Disgusting the fact. A violent
squall was upon me, such as are only
met with in the tropics, and there i
was, four or five miles from the city,
with the hour verging close upon mid
night. The situation was rather em-
to me, to say the least, but
Maria quickly solved the difficulty,
when Irose to depart.
Holy virgin, Senior HenricO, leave
my fathers house on such a night as
this. Merciful heavens, listen to that"
and fearful burst of thunder shook
the house to its very foundation, at the
same time the senOrita crowded CLOSE
TO my side, trembling with fright. /
wound my arm around her waist,
pressed my lips to hers, and finally nc.
cepted her invitation to remain for the
night. In fact, Fred, 1 could scarcely
do less under the circumstances, eh
3 Well, she rang the bell. i assumed
more formal attitude, the dwarf en-.
tered, and I'm obedience to his mistress
lighted me to my sleeping
babe me q surly good night,
md was left to commune with my
own thoughts.
Itwas nonsense for me to attempt
sleeping. My blood was too much ex-