Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-01-25

which whirled and swiried about and
above her head.
death on you, Jose! Why did you
follow me-" she cried out in savage
piteousness. "See tho charm Is done.
They are gonep
Her hand described swift, fiuttering
circle about her head, most patheticslly
suggestive OF the quick, wild flight Of
the birds; and ms her face was lowered
for another vengeful scourging Of Jose,
her eyes met those of the professor.
Sombrero in hand-gallant caballero
that he was The stood ut the edge of
the opening as if in an ecstatic trance of
rapturous wonder and admiration.
by all the saints, Donna Juanita,"
burst forth the professor when his
tongue had loosened, and rapidly adj
vancing toward the girl with out
stretched hands, you are wizard
But make me know these wondrous
secrets, and | am your slave foreverm
Something must be allowed for the
old don's boundless enthusiasts; some
thing for the flowery exuberance of
Spanish adulation; something for
scene which truly thrilled the old
naturalist with visions Of professional
acquisition and triumph; and some.
thing still for the perfect savage inn0-
cence of tho girl who formed the central
| figure, and the equally childish limo.
| cence of the little old man who had
never until this moment given any
human being deeper thought or better
place than musty Latin classification
| and label
But there and then In the wildes.
wilds Of Cuba this shriveled old classic,
despite the scowls OF Jose, strobe
straight to the girl, grasped her hands
joyously, saluted her with stately kiss
upon her barred head; and then, as if in
stantly oblivious of girl,of Indian and of
all the wide universe about him, fluttered
around those cages as tenderly and
TREMENDOUSLY as the bride of an hour will
fondle and crocodile her priceless we'd
ding ring.
Thus, pirouetting and fluttering, halt
ing and starting, wheeling and circling,
this white old owl of the city schools,
this bird OF bright plumsge Of the car
boneros' huts, and this Indian hawk Of
the jungles and the forests, made their
way to camp.
And Juanita had never been called
Donna" before. Perhaps it was this
one magical word that proved the pro-
fessor's open sesame to deeper secrets
than even Juanita's most wondrous
woodcraft wilesl
From this moment there was no re.
serve between the naturalist of the
schools and the naturalist of the woods.
The professor was Matagas' guest, and
none could question his coming and
going. Juanita was Matagas' daughter
She went and came at will, more feared
thar loved even by Matagas himself for
her strange. nature-craft and secret
power over reptile, bird and beast.
1.-TWO crazy children togotherp Mata-
gas would say with grave smile to old
Tomasa, as the professor and Juanita
set out each morning to the llanos, the
jungles and the forests; but Tomasa, like
SO many other women past the glorious
heyday morn of life, and now trans
formed to a bird of i'll omen, would
merely sniffle and groan, and ruefully
shake her prophetic head.
The professor, as pack-mule pannier
laden for carrying their spoils, and
Juanita, armed with short machete and
Acknowledgements guiebrahaca club,
slender as an arrow and with knobbed
head, the whole as heavy and strong as
iron, were continually in Transports
scholasticism for the once standing Joy
fully agape before simple nature witt
while Juanita, child Of nature that she
was, had never until now quaffed that
sweetest of intoxicants, the ecstacy of
revelation to one who hungers and who
knows.
In the mighty she disclosed to her
companion the marvels of the virgin
woods, and taught him volumes never
found in books: OF tho guiebrahaca,
toughest of all woods, hard as horn,
lasting as iron, deadly as flint in bandit
battle; of the lordly almiqui, statelier
and more crimson in fibre than the
noble redwood of the west of cedars
tremendous in size and height, past all
record of the books; of the caobas,
almost touching the clouds and 12 times
her reach from finger-tips to finger-tips
in circumference; of the mantequeros
with its March drifts of blossoms, like
millions of snowy camelias, whose
browsing odor left the woodchopper's
arm listless at his side; of the silvery
gueso, the "bone-wood" of the Cuban
oxen Jokes; of the sabina or sandal
wood whose fragrance fills countless
lingerie closets in all the zone of homes;
of the palma de manaca whose broad
leaves form the roofs Of the 1carboneros'
huts for seven years without renewal;
of the majestic laurel and royal palm;
and of the cocoa, mystic and lone, with
the tropic breezes ever chanting and
soughing among its sky-piercing, pin
nate leaves.
Continuing in her endless surprises
she would fling her nachete in the
trunk of q beautiful tree, the carne de
doncella. Dextrously Withdrawing the
blade, its edges and point would drip as
with blood; when she would gleefully
shout,
mira LA sangre de Ia Doncella y
(See the blood of the Virgin y while
the professor, long since at the end Of
verbal adulation, could only gasp and
gesticulate his praises and delight.
If in their far pilgrimings they lacked
for food, it always came at Juanita's
bidding.
Motioning the don aside, she would
glide noiselessly into the forest depths
Shortly her companion would hear 3
/ soft "Che-ip-a-dcel Che-ip- dee i
f Che-ip che-ip che-ipw
D Rustling and chattering would always
follow. In an instant more the glowing
t faced girl would bound back to the dor
| with fat, squirrel-like huita dangling
0 from her appraised hand.
! 50, too, her seductive Turing of thu
r wild pigeons was astounding to Dor
I Eduardo. With her two hands she frs
q made loud, sharp clappings, gradually
Q softcning these to perfect imitation q
the wing Tapping of homing wild fowl
il. This would lie followed by her voca
: call so like that of a wild pigeon, tina