Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-27
ROGERS LUCK.

1 isOOLlss0 AOSAs
Rogers luck was proverbial among his associ.
| ates. 1t was luck unmitigated and unvarying.
If fortitude and buoyancy of spirit were at all
instrumental In placating the fates, little Rng-
| ers patient endeavOr and sweetness Of temper
| might long since have disarmed the male
| VIOLENT arbiters of destiny. To every nout and
frown of fortune he turned his quaint, yhimsi-
| caly alert countenance, lighted with brave
and cheerful smile. From every tumble on the
| slippery ways OF enterprise he lifted himself
blithely, bearing aloft the orihamme OF his
orange-colored hair, stifny erect In accepted
| crest-fashion. II good blood does not whine
any more than lie, then little Rogers might
| have laid claim to whatever grace comes with
| that strain; for no plant or famentatiOn ever
jurgated the luck. He always found some prac-
| teal, perfectly matter-ofcOurse reason for the
failure OF his ventures, and he no sooner bowed
| to defeat in one instance than he rallied to re-
newed effort In some other direction.
| Swayed by his natural bias, Rogers had
journalism. But his critical turn was too i'm
| perative, his taste too exacting. "Rogers'
Iork Is to too his In ONCE de-
blance. "Too stllted-too carefully turned"
He went with the Independent American
| which, IL may be remembered, penetrated 10
the interior Of the provincial possessions OF q
MorS SdH
government. Next a consulship was gotten
pertinacity. But his QuixOtic course in regard
| tn family OF American adventurerS, stranded
at his port, very nearly involved US In war,
stage; but his determined prediction for trag-
| edy was at lOggerheads with his cOmical
one more avenue narrowed to the vanishing
point.
1t was when his resources were at their lowest
ebb that he conceived the idea Of going as rod
| man with surveying party under contract for
Mexico. No less exiSent situation would have
Caroline Howard. but the lowest depths Of his his
depleted scrip yearnedf for the reported abound
Ing shekels of the M6htezuman land: and so,
his heart, poor little Rogers tore himself away.
The young man was not devoid of q certain
self upon freedom from false pride and single
ness of purpose. as exemplified in his accept
ance Of his not exalted position.
his party, looking through the arch of the
Pierced Rock, As their steamer lay off Cape San
Lucas; =" IT. remember once, when Richardson
across two of our old schOOlmates, who were
.toting chains for the survey on Page and Mil
their years, too. Do you know l never ad-
mred those young fellows half much as
when they leaned there on our wheels, in over
alls and sunburned straw hats, snatching a
How goes it? while they waited the word from
their boss. And now you're n,y boss, old fellow
"Oh, that's all right" said Strain, little dis
dainfully; ga mans man for a that The
question is, how will Queen Caroline take its
1.-The fact is-no," said Rogers, ruefully; for
Strain was more or less distant relative of
Il told her should join your party hut without
specifying my office. Oh, CarOline's a girl of
gold, Shes superior to such Small prejudices'
"Humph" quoth Strain, her cousin.
OF all Rogers impractical projects, this last
one was the worst. While they were getting
IN. IL ia 3a1d
Rogers mishaps began. He was the willingest
soul that ever lifted hand but q frail physique
very tolerably under a northern sky becomes
quite preposterously out of the question in
too, by all the spny, briary appendages that
Mother Earth s face there is decorated withal.
Alas, the notifications of the spirit were Bit
ter To race giving servants to its servants,
the performance of offices like Rogers is ex-
plicable only by the assumption of inferior
easis; and So 93t , the unfailing
himself relegated too often to mental status.
1t was not strange that he began te fail in
The party worked their way across the Ha-
cienda del Carrizal and the valley OF Rio
R r., i,I and eamped in the sandy bed of
at Santa Catarina. And the very night they
came, Rogers lying down exhausted for nap
before supper, awOke raving with delirium,
Sdrdities.
Poor devilr' said one of the engineers. COM
ing from an inspection Of the patient, che must
have had pretty hard lines His very soul seems
to be ebbng out through a hole that some girl
you suppose that's a factc Was any girl ever 50
despicable? know the sex Is given to brutality
but that seems too hard thing to believe even
of a woman"
LET US charitably set 1t down to Rogers
fever, said Strain, dryly, remembering perfect
ly we'll the incident that wrought a sick man up
to frenzy. Now, what are we to do? We cant
take Rogers on with us: we can't stop here; he
Is not able to be sent back to the c ;ast. This
oil fI.ot hi,
ought to have been In bed a week ago.
Its rather pity he ever came, isn't it," said
Kelley; 1.-THE company could have got q peoa for
month for doing the work much worse"
~ guess the company can stand the expense"
trouble you to help me watch with Rogers I'll
ask Boyd to sit up with him. You'd better turn
in
gally-minded kelley-slept much full of
Rogers extremity. What with their haggard,
general Generalization. 1t was little marvel
that Celso Ruiz sunk his two-inch rowels into
his horse on catching sight Of the strangers as
Iestd of pretty PeOncita over at San Pasqual.
The harder hearode the more determined and
ferociOus in retrospect appeared these foreign
faces. Rogers himself was hardly more IN
sanely excited than was Celso when he dashed
into the ptdzta among group of his mates
nOrant than their beasts Of the field. Now
Don Eulalio Cordoba, the hacienddtio, off,
ciitteu Us MS own m:tJOr-OOmO ana he had been
absent over night on an GRAND to one Of his
outlying sheep-camps: Hence, in the same
spirit that had moved CelsO afield, gala-making,
DOnata and Rudecinda and Ventura, Kitchen
women, had stretched their young mistress
license to attend the wake OF DOnata's cousins
now two hours past the time at which that
young mistress usually took her morning chO-
colate, and her maid, dispatched to fetch IL
from the Kitchen. passed through the plazita,
carrying the lacQuered tray, at the precise mo-
ment when Ceiso called upon his cronies to as
patriots of the gallant ZaragOza and extermi-
nate these pestilent 0riRgOs who came bringing
the demonio railroad to Santa Catarina to tear
up the orchards and stampede all the stock
and perhaps Quien sabeF-burst outright and de-
strOy the houses every one. Whereupon arose
a chorus OF "lMueren los gringos. Ay brothers!
we will go and wipe them out! VdnsdnOs" and
Rita Ned, shrieking, inasmuch as the tray for
babe clapping hand to her ears.
Gertrudes Cordoba sat upright on q great
green wooden bedstead, massive as an Eastlake
table, and took her chocolate.
How now, Rita? Thou hast been crying
again, Paya! That thou shouldst pine Tor q
vaquerO like CelsO-a great animal who can
get drunk on even chichd! Pah! Thou, mn
maid. and drawing wages, jealous of peona-
and she pudgy, too. say'st thou not? Come,
Rita, have some spirit!'
But, senOritd mia, You mistake."-
Are not these tears for Celso?" demanded
the young girl. a peremptory frown on her
Dr row, but twinkle Of humor In her eye.
1T Is enough! Master jelso goes to the mines
AT Magistral tomorrow. warrant he rides not
hence To San Pasqual. Now, Rita, no more
tears-thou hast Reuenger'
but that's not ii at all!' cried Rita stung TO
OBVIOUSLY, As BELTS her race and sax at,eiso
has not been flirting again-or maybe he has-T