Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-27
THE BIG SANCHEZ.
[CopyriGht, 1895. ]

lazuy. One Of the men sang, in a low voice, ore Uf those interminable ballads set to I"I 1.onous airs, more like chants than Iur!@IieS, affected by Venezuelan mariners. The other, striking the back of his knife blade upon a slender steel rod, producing tones like those of little silver bell, marked time as an accompaniment to the song. Now and then the trio glanced toward Jose, but they did not speak of him.
 They knew his trouble and sympathizcd with him, for he was q well liked com rade, but the affair was his-they could not help him by words-not even by curses upon the mischief maker who told him at La Guayra that when he was away from Rio Chico, his wife, Manuela, played him false with the ''big Sanchez, that satur. nine lout who was content to be a laborel and would never go to sea, like man.
 Jose was poor, ignorant, kind hearted fellow of the peon class, who loved his wife more than anything else he knew of in the world, more, even, than the Blessed Virgin, which was doubtless a great sin for which he would be punished. He was never really happy when away from Man uela and saw nothing attractive in any woman but her Such devotion should not expect to escape chastisemcnt. Fate does not allow any one to live in "fool's paradise" all his life.
 Early in the morning tho golcta reached her anchorage in front of the great sand beach beside the deep black lagoon into which the Rio Chico pours as a flood dur ing the rainy season and sluggishly drib, bles at all other times. As soon as Jose reached the shore he ran to his humble cabin in the edge of the town, where Man uela received him with such glad and ten der wifely affection that all the black shad-
 
 and he blushed to think of how he had wrongcd her.
 During three days and nights he had not slept. Now, with a contcntcd mind, he began to feel drowsy. As he lay down upon the low bed he let his hand drop to the floor. where it chanced to come in con tact with something which ho picked up, ckCtknifG-cGrtainly not his-a hand some American knife with four blades and tiny corksCrew hinged on its back. He hid it away in his pocket and felt no more inclination to sleep. but said nothing about it to Manuela
 That afternoon they commenced loading the vessel with cacao. Many bags of it were already hcapcd up before the little shed at tho edge of the beach, where a clerk sat keeping tally of them as they were taken off, and ScnOr Olivera's carts were bringing more from his big wHrc- houscs not rapidly, but steadily. Each bag had to hn carried down, across the hot sand, on a mans shoulders and out to q lighter, for transfer to tho vessel. It was hard work, Rnd the crew of the Golcta were aided in 1t by several laborcrs, among whom was biz Sanchez. There is much negro blood in the poon class of Venezuela, and ho had at least his full share of it, as was evidenced by his features and com plcXion, but he seemed to have mono of the chCcrfuln0SS and good humor of tho black race. His disposition was sullcn, and all he had to recommend him was his animal quality of Sizo and strength.
 During the afternoon one of the laborers picked up from the grass at the end of the shed a handsome American knife that had four blades and a corkscrcw hinged to it's back. Tho big Sanchez claimed it as his, saying he had lost it somewhere n day or twp before. Lose was near, and his brown | skin turned clay colorcd when the fellow 1 identified his property.
 | By the evening of the second day the | lading was almost finished. Only three or | four cartloads of bags were to be brought | the next morning to complete it.
 The carts wcro slow to arrive on the morning of the third day. The crew and laborcrs, the big Sanchez among the rest, | wore on the ground long before them. l E0lIClltA SEONlCN (IlitU IO hctlI IllIIlSGlI awake he going to take u fresh water | bath. which Jose said Was D good idea | and he would do likewise NOnC of the | others cared tO bathC, or clSe some tacitly 1 understood reason caused them to refrain | from accompanying the two men, or CVon | looking after them. The big fcllow seemed | to hesitate for a moment, when he found that only Jose would go with him; but, | lacking excuse for change in his intcn- | tiOuS he went on.
 Black as the lagoon looks, its water is ] really very clear the color coming from 1 the nigrcscrnt mass of vegetable matter tlccaying at it's bottom. Lurking in its l depths arc many huge and fcrocious cay mans that locking up through the pcllucid | water see | ..rrtly all above thcm or upon | the bank, but are themselves unseen. Nc one dreams of going into the lagoon tC | hatho or even of VCnt uring in Il boat upOr | it's surface. The cuStun is to stand upoT | the bank, dip up great calahash basins full | of the fresh cool water and pour them | slowly upun the head. The cataractlikC | flow of the water over the skin is very re froshing, but the bath must keep q sharI lookout that a caynan does not suddenly dart lip and sriHo his legs in its trrmcn dous jaws. That has happened more thar | once.
 The two mon had littlo to cast off ant in a few minutes stood nudO on the bank of the inky pool, which is covered hy luSl grass, down to the waters edge Simul tancously they stopped, lifted their basins
 full of water and slowly poured them upoI their heads. Jose gave q quick glance ovel his shoulder toward the beach. Seven me1 were there, all with their backs toward
 him. Sanchez was first to stoop the sCconC
 time. As he did so, he suddenly founC
 himself violently propelled hMdlong ill th
 lagoon by the vigorous application O | Jose's foot to the small of his back. H.
 fell with his feet almost touching tn,
 shore, so quickly that he had not time t
 cry out, and ill a second tho spot where h.
 sank was churned into red foam by tn
 caymans rcnding him to pieces and fight
 ing to seize fragments of him. Jose ut
 tered a cry, and his comrades ran Quickl,
 to him. Of Sanchez nothing was to b
 seen but the spreading color of his blood
 through which, here and there, protrude' ! the hideous shouts of the excited saurians l For some moments tho mon viewed tn
 scene with fascinated horror in silence
 Then tho master of tho golota said: II
 was an accident. Come, boys, hear tn
 carts. Let us get to work"
 ALBERT SWAYNE