Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-06-10
ana c.,tinr = bewitching glance a. tho

~
sBuenos dias. sonora. Habeis voso'
tros --er- that is---como esta vey
The lady made no answer; in fact,
seemed not 10 hear, but the Judge was IL
no wise Disconnected.
Reckon sho was thinkin' OF the late
lamented, and DIDN'T wholly catch on e
my Idee," he remarked pleasantly. "ll
open another lead, and again be smiled
as he murmurcd
"These gentlemen Indicating us
with q graceful and comprehensive
sweep" being gen lcmen. and well ac-
auainted with good sassiety, hev asked
me 10 pass their compliments to you,
ma'am, which J. now DO. Er-ol tempo
es bien inconstfntly, sonora, and esta--
er-"the Judge concluded the sentence
with gesture. ats little remark in
the vernacular of the French" he ex-
planned, can reckon it'll fetch her."
II certainly did seem to have some
effect, for the lady uttered sound
strangely like a chuckle. but said no.
thing.
Judge" said the Colonel, after wait
ing reasonable time for an answer,
"Im afraid your langwidges have been
so to speak tampered with. I've al
ways allowed there was some difference
between French and Spanish myself"
The Judge waxed indignant "a
jokes a joke an all right" he said,
"but didn't s'pose there was a man
here but knowed the roots Of the two
langwidge was the same, an if you can
only confne your talkin' to roots-an'
you centrally can in genteel sassiety-it
makes no odds whether it is French or
Spanish.
"All right, Judge, all right, said the
Colonel, sootbingly; "of course we
know'd that we'll an good, but a man
must have his little joke now an then.
But ask her-in your roots-if she's any
objection to smoke.
/ The Judge, partly Modified, did not
essay this in speech, but beginning even
further back than "roots," managed to
ask the question by signs. The lady
nodded her assent with vivacity, and
drawing a silver case from her pocket,
took therefrom a cigarette, which, after
raising her veil little, she placed be-
tween her lips. At first we were amazed,
but the Colonel, with that sdUotr UiUre
which had always distinguished him and
made him so popular with the sex, quickly
recovered himself, and CALAMITY offered
the lady light, which she graciously
accepted. Then murmurs of admiration
were heard. The Major audibly com
pared her TO ga butterfly and a whip
poor-will, by CAD !" The Colonel swore
that "she took him, blamed if she
didn't" while the the Judge repeated his
former opinion and declared that '.She
was regular Cle-op-e-try from the word
CO." the Professor was silent, but / have
reason to believe he endorsed all the
others.
"What l admire in lovely wimmin, l"
said the Colonel, as we sat there quietly
smoking, sis the-er-the ability she
possesses to adapt herself to circum-
stances, as illustrated in the above. We
are all friends herein course-so we
can be comfortable, but I'm safe IN
sayin' shall be glad to git to Leadville.
That little matter of $1,000 got sewed
into my-Judge. sure the lady cant un
derstand English-my-in fact, gentle
men, my shirt. said the Colonel frank
ly, again indicating the exact location of
the treasure. sis a tax on my mind, an
l wantto git 1t of. "
Outside the snow had ceased falling,
and the dusk of winters evening was
slowly deepening into darkness. High
up on the slope that rose on our right
stood a solitary pine tree, that had
pushed its way through the rocks, and
now stood. lonesome and sad, by night
and day, keeping melancholy watch on
the valley. The sun, long since hidden
to us below, shot ray as a goodnight
message, and for an instant the tree WAS
ablaze then the light died quickly out
and we were in semi-darkness again. The
road wound its way around the face Of
high cliff; on one side lowered a wall of
rocks sheer 800 feet; on the other sunk
an unsoundable chasm. Tommy sat on the
box, his two lamps lit, and bis tongue
playing q rapid accompaniment to his
whip. Inside the small reflector at the
end Of the coach only served 10 make
the night without seem darker than it
was. Silently we sat there smoking, the
ends of our cigars alternately glowing
and dimming in the dingy air. An I'M
usual volley of oaths from the box,
cracking of whips, shouting, and then
the stopping of the coach with a lurch
startled us out of our quiet. Then
shout from Tom as he spoke to his
cattle, and a voice ringing like bugle
was heard from the rocks above:
"Come, none O. that Make a straight
haul for it. d-n you Throw off that
box Lively now Put up your hands
an git down. Every one Of you git
down
Sorrowfully we obeyed. The descrip-
ton the Professor had given few hours
before of our probable sensations was
exactly true. A pair of six-shooters, held
in the hands of stalwart man, whose
face was partly concealed by black
mask, fastened our descent, and in q
moment we found ourselves ranged in
line with our hands above our heads,
meek, unhappy, cowed group. AT one
end OF the line stood Tommy swear
ing savagely at his luck; at
the other stood the Colonel, cool,
1upASblNes ulSulutti, cOlllluSut III tllo
security of his treasure. The last to
descend was the widow, but widow no
longer, for out of the coach there sprang
an active young fellow, of slender but
sinewy build, smooth-shaven, dressed in
the conventional garb of western rider,
and carrying in his hand kel-plated
six.shooter. And this was Mrs Smith,
who did not speak English. Any one
standing near the Judge at that time
might have heard an exclamation both
forcible and profane. The widow
heard it, for, with little laugh, he Cor
she) touched his finger to his lips and
said :
"Hush, Judge that's cussin', an you
draw the line there, you know.
And then he proceeded to search the
pockets of his fellow-travellers, as if it
were very commonplace affair, which
it certainly was not, and relieve them Of
their valuables, his associate keeping
guard mean time. Down the line he
went, doing his work quickly but care
fully, but before he was done the other
began to grow impatient.
"Hurry up, jim :" he said; "ain't
You most through ? We're late"
"All done but this one, said jim, the
l. L. L Il Al L. u.