The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1892-02-18
TIE FATE OF RAMON.

And now Ramon Medrano was a
! ruined man. The cloud of misfortune
| had burst upon him at time when he
! thought it was about to pass away. 1t
! WAS the fault of those rascallv, long
| tongued Americans. with their peep
! ing ways and their vile inquisitivencss.
! For half a score of wears he had lived
! in the old Spanish town of Logrono
and had been the landlord Of the
| Posada HucSpedes Oriental. Now he
/ looked back and saw all of his work
| swept away. Every durO that he had
( would 20, too. for who was there who
would come 10 eat and drink with him
| when they heard this story? Who
/ would want 10 sleep in the rooms
which were likely to be haunted. or
| who woul'I even want To stand In front
| of a house honeycombed with unknown
holes like Iahbit's burrow, and
where had been found a pair Of grin
ming skeletons?
Caramba. Why couldn't these for
| eigners have gone 10 some other place.
] or in coming to him at least have
tended to their own business?
| But the damage was done. There
would be no more business for the
| pu.ada. Might as we'll close the door
now. 20 away and let the guardia
civile have the whole place TO them
| selves. TO root and DIG about in like
| hogs in new pen. And such fine
| place to leave, with tie walls white
washed only month ago and every
| thing fixed up So ii was fit for don
and his suite. Why hadn't the Amer
| icanoS stayed away or gone off aud
| lost themselves in the desert?
Ramon couldn't forget it. 1t was
! fine night and the moon came up
! early. The two Americans had sat on
the balcony until it was quite late.
| There hadn't been much drinking in
! the front room where he kept the two
rows Of shiny black bottles. so he had
| gone 10 the back room with Dolores,
! hi, wife, and Pepc, the boy. Pepe was
at lis guitar, PLAYING softly, rs if he
were Thinking of the girl down the
street to whom his father had prom
| ised him in marriage. Oncg in a
| great while passing wagon wheels
! creaked outside and broke III upon the
low, soft music OF the guitar Ramon
| was smoking cigarette, freshly
| rolled. and was looking at the picture
of the pink faced Madonna which hung
| on the wall. while his left foot tapped
| the tiled floor rs he unconsciouSlv
! kept time To the fandango. He re-
membered all of these things so plainly
| now.
Have the Americans gone to bed
/ vet, think you?' said Dolores, n she
! poured out tumberful of fragrant
wine for aim.
How should | know? | am not
| yet valet to my guests" he had an
! swered somewhat testify. lie was
| sorry for speaking that way now, and
| be began To wish he had ans Hcred diff
| ieyentIv. But let that pass with tbs
rest He drank bis wine in silence so
deep that the gulpS he took sounded
like the cracking of a mans neck.
Las onze-
That was the night watch going by
crying out II o'clock. Who cared
| whethcr'it was IL O'clock or not? He
was in a bad mood and there was no
| cause for it. He looked ut the deep
blue gown of the Madonna with the
pink face anl blew his cigarette smoke
! spitefully up toward the whitewashed
timbcrs of the ceiling. He heard the
| bush swinging over the front door
the sign Of wine shop-rustlo un-
easily against the outside wall and he
knew tic wind had sprung up. 1t
\ scratched against the boards and made
I him feel shjvcry. although it was a
/ warm night.
The next room was the kitchen with
its biz fireplace and he could hear the
| murmur of the breeze aS it came down
! between the bricks and stirred about
/ among the cold ashes of the hearth.
Its night for ghosts" said the
woman, as the wind blew in stronger
gusts.
Mind Your business. " Ramon had
| said. rs he poured out more wine for
! himself. lie did not like the thought
of ghosts, for on such nights as this.
| when the wind blew, a secret dread
came over him. The strings Of PepeS
| guitar were silent now. and the boy
| caresSed the instrument rs it lay in his
lap. His big black eyes had taken on
a dreamy look.
Come. nj querilo. 20 to bed" said
! Dolores. and obediently he had hung
the guitar on the nail under the pict-
ure. He went into the little room on
! the left.
| 1t seemed TO the woman as if it was
! almost time for the nj ght watch 10
1 come again, ont she would not wait to
/ hear the midnight hour shouted out.
I So ANY, she went to her room. while
/ Ramon. usually Ramon the cheerful
/ but tonight Ramon the gloomy. sat
! bolt upright in his chair, looking stead
/ iIy ut the wall and thinking. He
/ rolled a fresh cigarette and retiIled his
/ glass. He was alone now and it
seemed rs if the scratching of the bush
/ outside was louder aud more clamor-
Gus. The ilckering light of the candle
made long shadows. From a murmur
like the breathing OF sleeping child
in health tie breeze had turned TO a
growl. 1t seemed even to menace
him. The pink face of the Madon ma
was merged into the blue of her gown
The colors shifted and she had blue
face and n pink gown. while il seemed
TO him as ii the child had slipped from
| her arms 10 the ground.
'Ha! but that is queer" he thought.
The cigarette burned his fingers. rous-
ing him. and he knew he had been
asleep. There wars no reason why he
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