Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-08-23
SEMI-WEEKLY BANNER, FRIDAY, AUG. %, 1895.

have sent him bouquet All this 1 tried
to confde to Lucia. 1t touched her: it
sounded, she said, like stories she had read
in the convent.
Her name was poem in itsclf-Lucia
Eulalia GraGiu Y Valdez. And mineY After
that poem it seemed common to say that l
was plain Jack Biggs. But she anticipat-
ed me. She pointed to ono Of my business
J cards that had escaped my vest pocket
when l threw it on the sand. "Meester
Beegs, que nor she lispcd, and it did not
sound at all badly from her lips.
1t was pleasant to know she did not dis
| like my name. This was one way Of say
ing, as everybody knows that it's owner
was not disagrceable to her.
AS We tall ed we washed and long be-
fore noon the gentlcman's shirts were all
floating in the breeze from the low chapar.
raj along the river bank.
Lucia Eula!ia glanced gratefully and al
ternately at the snowy linen and at me. Nv
natural thoughtfulness led me to suggest
that we might as well do the family wash
ing while we were about it, Her brother
Antonio, the sheep hertlCr, whom she had
mentioned with sistcrly affection-Gid not
his things have need of water? "Thcre
is no time like the present." l said; at
may set in tomorrow and rain for months.
Who knows?"
Lucia Eulalia looked at the contradict.
ing blue of tho skies and laughed at nv
weather prophcsics but she ran to her
adobe dwelling few rods away and
brought from iJ bundle of Antonio's
things" They had apparently been
waiting for me for years. His wardrobe
ranged from dingy bandannas to dingier
overalls. AS warmed up to the ambi-
tious task of cleansing them, under Lucia
Eulalia's approving smiles, all nature
seemed to smile. The sun shone warm and
warmer, the river ran blue and bluer for
Lucia had "bluCd" it, She had also "al-
lowed" tho root of n whole soap tree to
AntOniOs garments. She was right in do
ing this, but somehow in my struggle
with the sheep hcrding stains of six months
l had distributed n good deal of lather
over my person. When this unaccustomed
fatigue began to show on me, Lucia Eu-
lalia asked softly if l had tire"
ooh, no, was declaring, Il have no
tire" when some approaching American
voices were heard. Lucia clapped her
hands tragically, and running to the chap
arral began hastily to gather the linen
thercfrom. l caught from her manner
that the owner of the shirts had tired of
waiting and was coming for them. had
OWNED Alright, but l had not OWNED far
enough. AS they emerged from the ala
media to the west of the river l could see
they were II lady and gentleman. l had
almost managed look of industry and in
,,1,y,,1
my eyes to impress them with it, when
gracious saints! Guadalupe and great
Jehosaphat! Was that Maxwell the man
l had robbed of the valedictory in 1887 at
Ann Arbor? True, | had no grudge
against him on that account but my
dream of meeting him again and making
it right" had not been like this! Maxwell
it was, with his stylish bride. He threw
me careless glance at first then l began
to dawn on him, slowly but surely. He
quizzcd Lucia in miserable Spanish, in a
cowardly way, l thought.
"Quicn cs?" he said indicating me.
Smilingly, as if pleased 50 to honor Inc,
Lucia presented INC to Maxwell and his
wife rs Mi amigo, Senior Bcegs." could
feel that the bluing and the soap root
and the river water were all mingling in
one grand river of pcrspiration toward the
collar of my ncgligee shirt 1 could feel
that all the consultations in the heavens
and all the mundane landscape around me
were waltzing giddily tgScth3r. An in
tense longing for home and mother came
over mo that mere words cannot depict.
For one wild moment l thought l would
rush into my old chum's arms and tell
him "all, " like the wrongcd hero in the
last net. would say vebomontly: This
is not me regular business Pm civil en-
ginecr at two fifty month. I'm only do
ing this for fun, )" etc.
But while l was thinking this-how of
ten are our best intentions thwarted thus
Maxwell coughcd. 1t was not a con-
sumptive cough. 1t WAS just a little graf
ing sound that contained more painful
surprise and pity and regret than u volume
of Browning could. That froze me as
stood-or sat Fixedly l gazcd at tho
Sierra Madres over his head, as if trying to
fathom the "loGt' mines hidden there.
Maxwclls watch licked in the painful
silence.
"Alicc," he said sternly, 1--WE must not
miss that train.
Out Of my life they went, with the
clothes l hOd washed for them, as sudden
ly as they came in. l strained my ears to
hear him say Poor fellow To come to
that-rather bright at college, but this
country seems to rob fellow of ambi-
tom Maxwell, knew, was never a Sc
cretive man; they were going east, and,
we'll
Lucia Eulalia gathered up the extra coins
he had thrown her for me, and said softly,
a. IInVp Won sad CpDDrp''
yes" l said, II have sadness, also
sickness. would go back to camp at
once"
AS drew on my spattered coat and vest
over tired arms, said, most earnestly,
"Lucia Eulalia Garcia y Valdez, shall
never forget this day of the fiesta of San
Guadalupe"
Nor have is. B. Metcalfe in Argo.
naut.