Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-12-06
A GREASER BALKED.

knowledge Of tho vices Of two continents
and an utter willingness to be ignorant OF
all other things. Americans in New Mex
leo tolerate him as a necessary evil, just as
they tolerate Cinnamon in California or
negroes in the southern states. He is cheap,
even il he is nasty, and he makes farming
possible by his exceedingly low self valua-
tion.
Sometimes he shuffles off his seryility
and becomes a Spaniard. Then it requires
nerve to deal with him, and also quick
hand on the trigger I became aware OF
that fact few months ago, when was
staying with Jack Henderson.
Jack went out to New Mexico five years
ago with bride and dream and So, 00O
When saw him, the bride had become
mother to the extent Of Jack, Jr., aged 3,
the dream was ON the verge Of eyaneScence,
and The So, 900 had gone.
Jack had settled on what rGrported
eventually to become frld5 farm, when
company had worried out an impossible
irrigation scheme, 80 miles from santa fe
and seven miles from white man. There
were far mountains to the east, WITH W hite
tops that purpled at sundown All round
him were the dreary. prairie, monotonous
as the sea, mile beyond mile Of brown
parched grass, with here and there bunch
OF crawling bushes.
Roads, in the English sense Of the term,
there were none. We rode to the place
over the baked mud tracks, seemingly
without end or object, past the gIeasers'
''dobies," as they call their little homely
mud huts, past myriads Of prairie dogs,
scampering into their holes as we ap
preached. And then at last we reached o
long, low farmhouse OF planks, sitting IN
the midst of vegetable patch that had
literally fallen into the sere and yellow
leaf. That was Jacks home, and present
Iy came Mrs. Jack, with Jack, Jr, cling
ing shyly to her skirts, to give me a vel
come.
1t was broiling next day, hot after q
fashion that we in kindlier cline com
prehend not whit No white man could
lift his hand to his head without weari
ness resulting thcrefrom. Only the olive
hucd greaser was available, and indeed
Jose seemed from the short period of my
observation to be more on the qul vlve
than any other living thing.
Jose was Jacks cook, a moist, uncom-
Portable looking greaser, with qulverlng
paunch and long limbs that seemed in
adequate to support tho superstructure
ventured remark upon his unprepos-
sessing countenance, but Jack became clo-
quent upon his culinary virtues Even
Mrs. Jack had something to say on tho
subject, and felt Mt once that was inter
fering with family idol.
When, therefore, Jack told me later In
the day that he had been obliged to dis
charge Jose with instant orders to depart,
it was q matter of no small astonishment
to me. l felt, however, that it was deli
cate subject, and to this day / have no
idea what was Jose's cause of offense. !
conjecture that Mrs. Jack was concerned,
and that the insult was deep, for Jose's ac-
complishmcnts were unparalleled, and nc
slight matter could have caused his depo-
sition.
In tho evening the temperature grew
cndurable, not that it was cool or pleas
ant or anything like an English version OF
q summer evening, but there was an in
etroetual breeze, and the dobies cast long
shadows as the sun died.
Jack and decided upon ride. We set
out upon our way, talking so earnestly OF
l know not what that we barely noticed
Jose as he mounted his pony at tho back
door of the house
When we were go feet farther on, there
were whirring noise and sort Of muffled
thud. Jack was delivered Of a sound that
appeared to have begun life as an oath
and turned aside to be gurgle; also his
horse jerked itself on its launches and
seemed to staggcr helplessly.
BY tho time l could turn my head Jack
was half way out of his saddle. A leath-
er thong was girt around his elbows,
pinioning his arms to his Sides Its other
end was fastened to the pommel of Jose's
saddle and Jose was bending over his
horses neck with a devilish sheen beneath
his heavy eyebrows.
Jack had his fingers on his revolver in
an instant, but crippled as he was by the
thong that cut deep into his flesh he was
as helpless as though his arms had been
broken.
looked at him, frozen to my saddle, as
useless TO move to his rescue rs though
Tho lariat was bouud about me
Then there was u crack that startled me,
and the whole fascination dissolved. Jacks
arms were free, and Jose was tangled up
in q confused mass of pony, harness and
man.
As the pony fell there appeared behind
its body the figure of Mrs, Jack, pale and
quivering, with tho lips set and soro OF
horror in the eyes that was a revelation
to mo in my study of expressions. In her
hand was a revolver with a thread OF
smoke trickling from the barrel rs it hung
from her limp grasp. She swooncd after
ward and l lifted her from the ground
Before that time, however, Jack had re-
leased himself, and when / looked round
he was standing over the prostrate greaser,
with his watch in one hand and his re-
volver in the other.
jose" he remarked as placidly as
though he had been ordering dinner, "ir
Just threo minutes am going to kill you.
/ shall tell you rs the minutes pass"
1t was an unpleasant scene to look at.
The fellow howled like a hurt beast. He
clung to Jacks knees and prayed foy
mercy in the name of all his saints.
Its no use, Jose. I'm going to-two
minutes-kill you. I have no use for such
as you, and l don't see how anybody else
can have"
We buried him little later, and then
Jack collapsed also / had my hands full
for awhile, bringing the couple to rea-
sonablc condition of nerves.
did not understand until day or two
when Jack was willing to talk
about it, the full extent of Mrs. Jacks
horoism. In the instant granted her to
appreciate the situation she had seen that
to kill Jose would be useless, for the pony