Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-11-23
A GREASER BALKED.

knowledge Of the 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 if he is nasty, and he makes farming
possible by his exceedingly low self valua-
ton.
Sometimes he shuffles off his servility
and becomes a Spaniard Then it requires
nerve to deal with him, and also quick
hand on the trigger. 1 became aware Of
that fact few months ago, when l was
staying with Jack Henderson.
Jack went out to New Mexico five years
ago with bride and dream and So, 0OO
When l saw him, the bride had become q
mother to the extent of Jack, Jr., aged 8,
the dream was on the verge of evanescence,
and the SO, 900 had gone.
Jack had settled on what purported
eventually to become a fruit farm, when a
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 white
tops that purpled at shutdown. All round
him were the dreary prairie, monotonous
as the sea, mile beyond mile of brown
parched grass with here and there a 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 greasers'
"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
long, low farmhouse of planks, sitting in
the midst of vegetable patch that had
literally fallen into the scre and yellow
leaf. That was jacks home, and present.
~ came Mrs. Jack, with Jack, Jr., cling.
Ing shyly to her skirts, to give me vel.
come
1t was broiling next day, hot after
fashion that we in a kindlier cline com.
prehend not whit. No white man could
lift his hand to his head without weari.
ness resulting therefrom. Only the olive
hued greaser was available, and. indeed
Jose seemed from the short period of my
observation to be more on the quf vivd
than any other living thing.
Jose was Jacks cook, moist, uncom-
Portable looking greaser, with quiverina
paunch and long limbs that seemed in
adequate to support the superstructure. ]
sessing countenanoe, but Jack became elo-
quent upon his culinary virtues. Even
Mrs. Jack had something to say on the
subject, and l felt at once that was inter-
fering with a 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,
1t was a matter of no small establishment
70 I folt tboE L. ALT
cate subject and to this day l have no
idea what was Jose's cause of offense. I
conjecture that Mrs. Jack was concerned,
and that the insult was deep, for Jose's &C.
complishments were unparalleled, and no
slight matter could have caused his depo.
sition.
In the evening the temperature grew
endurable, not that it was cool or pleas.
ant or anything like an English version Of
a summer evening, but there was an in
effectual 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
know not what that we barely noticed
Jose as he mounted his pony at tho back
door of the house.
When we were 20 feet farther on, there
thud. Jack was delivered of a sound that
appeared to have begun life as an oath
and turned aside to be gurglo; also his
horse jerked itself on its launches and
seemed to stagger helplessly.
By the time | could turn my head Jack
was half way out of his saddle. \ leath.
er thong was grit around his elbows,
pinioning his arms to his sides. Its other
f.. IN 10 no IL of "a
saddle, and Jose was bending over his
horse neck with 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 as though
the lariat was bound about me.
Then there was crack that startled me,
and the whole fascination dissolved. Jacks
arms were free, and Jose was tangled up
in 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 the lips set and sort Of
horror in the eyes that was revelation
to me in my study Of expressions. In her
hand was a revolver, with thread Of
smoke trickling from the barrel as it hung
from her limp grasp. She swooned after
ward, and lifted her from the ground.
Before that time, however, Jack had re-
leased himself, and when looked round
he was standing over the PROSTATE 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, "in
just three minutes l am going to kill you.
l shall tell you as the minutes pass"
1t was an unpleasant scene to look at.
The fellow howled like a hurt beast He
chung to Jacks knees and prayed for
mercy in the name of all his saints.
Its no use, Jose. I'm going to-two
minutes-kill you. have no use for such
as you, and 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.
sonable condition of nerves.
1 did not understand until day or two
afterward, when Jack was willing to talk
about it, the full extent of Mrs. Jacks
heroism. In the instant granted her to
appreciate the situation she had seen that
IN kill lose Uonld he ISeless for the nOnv