Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-21

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and signed to his off GERS to leave him alone
with the man.
"Weill what is it?'' said he, when they
were alone, as Juan had requested.
AraQuil waited a moment before speak
ing, as if his tongue were dry, then, sud-
denly:
"You said, General that Zucarraga's life
was worth fortunes-"
And as Garrido did not answer:
81 have come to claim this fortune; have
earned itn'
The General looked at him, frowning,
asking himself if he had heard Alright, and
Araquil remained there, standing before
him, very pale.
"How earned?" asked Garrido after a
moment. II do not understand.
"Yet it is simple" answered Juan,
"Zucarraga will never again give the order
to fire on your soldiers"
"Heis dead?''
"He ought to be. If it is not all over this
evening it will be tomorrow"
Old Garrido was much agitated, his face
was rs white as his mustache. He wished
to know everything, not understanding Ara
quils sit will be tomorrow" and the young
man told him how he had watched the Car
list chief, how he had wanted to bury his
knife in his heart, and how, finally, he had
poured on the wounded man leg the poison
in the ring in which he kept for himself.
1t seemed to the General that he was suffo-
eating, haunted by nightmare. His black
eyes burned like fire in his white face. He
contented himself with repeating: "You
did that? You did that? A wounded man?"
Then Juan, speaking like a madman, be-
gan to say that he would have done much
more in order to win Pepa, and as old
Chegaray demanded 1000 douros as his por-
tion, he had taken those 1000 douros where
he could find them. Beside, the General
had said that Zucarraga had caused the
death of hundreds and hundreds of men,
and brave men, too.
'In battle, yesl" said Garrido, roughly,
Sin battle
But that was no reason for Araquil-the
only reason for what he had done was his
passion for Pepa. He wanted Pepa. Zu-
carraga's life would give her to him. 1t was
we'll. That was all. Garrido had promised;
Araquil was there to claim the debt.
The General said:
SIT is true"
He asked where Pepa lived, called an
aide-de-camp, dictated the address to him,
and pointing to Araquil:
''You will lodge this man in the Fonda
del Sol. Tomorrow you will inform the
chaplain. Yes, for a marriagel Go!''
The time seemed long toJuan, who passed
the night in the Fonda, which had been
turned into guardhouse. A night, a long
night, with the barking of dogs in the dis
tance-howls which suggest death-and the
sound of firearms, far away, near the Carlist
outposts.
At dawn he fell into light sleep, dream
ing of Pepa, and in his dream placing pieces
of gold into old Chegaray's thin hand a liv-
ing girls dowry, the price of corpse.
To h4 i
of soldiers commanded by a sergeant came
to fetch Juan. The General wanted him. Be-
yond that the sergeant did not answer Ara
quil's questions. They went up the largest
street of Herman, the lane, with crowded
houses, with ancient battlements sculptured
in the sandstone OF the walls, and arabesques,
blue and yellow, which you thought so pretty
just now; there they stopped in the square.
Superb weather, with glorious sunshine,
smiling on the red walls Of the church, and
the broken sides, black from fire. of the town
hall. The square was full of people; SOL
diers were drawn up there, and near the
steps OF the church stood Garrido, in full
uni .orm his officers round him. A little
further off, beautiful as saint in the black
wells of her holiday costume, was Pepa, with
old Chegaray beside her.
Araquil saw it all at a glance; the assem-
bled troops, with their bayonets cleaning
in the sun the General, the beautiful girl
and through the wide doors of the church, a
glowing chapel, the great chapel, dazzling
with light and gold.
He was led before Garrido.
Araquil threw anxious looks at Pepa. and
she contemplated him with a strange ex-
preston in her dark eyes, beneath the
shadow of her lashes. 1t seemed to Juan
that the gilt-edged prayer book which she
held between her fingers. the book on which
she had sworn to be his vile, trembled in
her black-gloved hands.
The General said:
"Let the priest come"
The priest appeared on the stone stems. as
if he had been awaiting the Generals order.
A priest, in white cope. who paused on
the threshold, motionless as a statue-while
the heavy campanile bells with their cannon
shaped mouths, gaily struck up the holiday
music, the gay song of weddings and of JOY!
"Tiburcia Chegaray," said the General.
Araquil, who. as marriage portion, brings
the 1000 douros demanded by you in re-
turn for your daughter. What is promised |
is due Do you consent to the marriage of
j uan Araqull with your child?"
Old Chegaray answered in hoarse voice: |
Yes"
Juan Araquil," said Garrido, "do YOU
consent to take Pepa Chegaray for your
wife?'
"Yes," said Juan in an ardent voice.
He had thrown all his life into that YES"
The priest waited, ready to bless them.
"Pepa Chegaray," asked Garrido, turn
ing to the young woman, edo you consent |
to take Juan Araquil, here present, for your
husband.
Pepa took two steps toward Juan, raised |
her beautiful black eyes to his face and an
swered:
"No?'
Among the crowd, there arose terrible |
clamor. The soldiers, motionless, looked on. |
MOP repeated the young girl, raising |
her voice. II swore to belong to no one but |
you, and, having sworn it, 1 will belong
to no one. But I will not belong to
cowardP'
Juan Araquil had the expression of a |
mailman as he looked at her, haggard, white |
as the priests cope. Far away, very far |
away, from the bottom of the valley, the |
gloomy tolling of bell, the sound of the |
passing bell, moaning for the dead. could
be heard rising now, rising sadly, on the |
other side OF the hills -. They were |
ringing the knell for the dying. were the
Carlsts, and the poison was doing its work. |
And little by little, as if they, in their
turn, had saluted the dying mau, the bells
of Hermann became silent, nothing being
heard but the sound of the distant passing
bell -.
Then all Of sudden that stopped, too,
and in the square full ofpeople all was still,
as if a wind had blown over their heads the
news that everything was finished, over
there.
"Zucarraga is deadp' said old Garrido.
Araquil looked ardently at Pepa, entreat-
ing her to read his thoughts.