The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-02-01
MARCELENA'S LOVER,

MARCELENA'S LOVER.
1t was ut that time of the year when
the sky of New Mexico is as blue as the
eyes of the girl YOU love. and the scant
heritage reminds one of the Scotch heath
err, dry and vari-colored, but making an
exquisite harmony among the huge blood
red sandstone buttes, and plains DIVERSE
fed by caves and canyons. And spread
everywhere, the wonderful cacti, with
their marvellous flowers, like the scarlet
blossoms of sin.
There in peace and plenty live Il people
who will always be picturesque the
unique and interesting Puehlos. who have
lost more arts than we ever possessed;
whose men are brave, peaceful and to-
mestirated; who live in ,terraced houses
and build difficult churches, and wash
themselves without government interfcr-
cnce: and who do not choose for them
selves Yankee sons-in-law, hut are often
compelled to accept them us Il penalty
for having handsome daughters.
The Pueblo girls. like girls the world
over, will marry only where they love.
and no man dare tritic with the affections
of Il Pueblo maiden.
IL ,
of Mar.elena Zend;l, the prettirst girl in
New Mexico, who lived in one of these ter
raced houses, and had Spanish blood in
her veins, and was so beautiful that her
name WAS il charm in her tribe. Mar
celena had refused Il dozen Mexican
senors. the colonel of regiment sta
toned at Fort Bowie, and Il half dozen
dark. melancholy man from New Eng
land who had come there with the prin-
cipal product of that country, consump-
ton, and expected to die.
He had no right to fall i'll love. but he
did. and what was more remarkable.
his love was returned. Marcelena had
lands and burros. and Il tenement that
was a wonder of architecture, in her own
right, and could have married her lover
off-hand. her people all being subscrvient
to her slightest wish. but the New Eng
land man had IL conscience. After Win
ming the girls love he decided that it
would be wicked for him to marry her,
only to make her Il widow.
But You will die not, Jamez,' his
name was ,Iames-said Marcelena: Il
make myself prayer to God in the thorn.
that you live-I suffer; then he make you
to be v-ell.'
NO. dear one, you mistake: God does
not ask that you lacerate your fair body
with thOrns that | may recover. If
anyone did that it should be me. Prom
Use me that you will never again 80 with
the Penitentes-promisc me, Marcclen;,.
although l may not live to know that YOU
keep your promise.
So Marceena promised. and then
brought her guitar and played swectly
to her lover, who watched her with in
tent gaze. longing for i; now lease of
life that he might call her his own.
Through the influence of friends he
became an inmate of the government
hospital ut the fort, and improved so
rapidly that he sent for Marcelena to
come to him and be married by the post
chaplain.
of her people. that would be the hay
stack going after the COW. l marry ut
h1ne or Ms at all.
Pretty Marcelcna controlled herself as
best she could, and in a moment of lone
illness consented to attend Il ball with !,
former lover, Senior Filipc. who had
sworn to himself that she should never
marry another man. But Of this the New
Mexican girl was quite unconscious. She
arrayed herself for the ball in an elabo-
embroidered in many colored beads and
silver sequin in strings down the
brcadthS. Her dainty feet were encased
in soft kid moccasins, for this was an
occasion when she wore her tribal dress.
and Sh" carried the cast"nets bequeathcd
to her by her Spanish mother. SO ac-
conferred she accompanied Senior Filipe.
That night A1arcelena WAS as usual the
belle of the ball. It was not at all sur
ag" showercd upon her. hut her heart was
not in it, and at midnight she stepped to
the open door Of the dancing hall, and
thought of her lover lying in the ward of
the hospital, perhaps dying under that
same glorious moonlight. Blanca, her
friend, had taken the last dance for her.
and she stepped out to breathe the well
come tonic of the night air
Someone was singing 'El Borrachito,'
giving the refrain in English, badly
broken
Tho Borrachito- 1.-THE man who is a lit
tie drunk"-was the cavalier Filipc who
had brought Marcclena to the ball, and
who was now ready to take her home,
swung to the same saddle, a mode of con-
v"yancc not only proper but popular
among the Pueblos. II" had lighted his
cigarette and was looking into her eyes
with that dash ing. daring audacity which
was her need of homage. She curlci
her red lips just a little at his too ardent
gaze. but he was accustomed to that
only there was that i'll his mind tonight
VI Nnl'n SIC knew nOtnlnS.
The rest Of TIL" company were out
watching the pair on the fleet Mexican
horse"
Some day. says one Of the rejected,
III" will run away with herr
''That fiery Filipe-llo. She is too tame
He knows she will marry the Yankee
schoofmastcr-poor little one
The flash of silver on the girls dress
dazzled their eyes in the moonlight. She
wore enough silver crosses and strands
OF beads to buy a dozen I,arslOns.
Her handsome arms clasped tho clva-
!icr Filipc, but not too closely; she was
IN hurry to get home to pray for her
''Jamez.''
They dashed into the moonlight and
across the plaza, through the plain be-
yond, over fields of cactus, startling the
jack rabbits and tho piping quail. and
away like the wind but i'm an opposite
direction to the home of Marcc]cna. At
first the girl did not notice it, but Filipr,
flush and fearless. called out:
To Aroma, GazclIc. to the country of
t1''N: and you will never see your pnny
American again"
There was II wild cry of despair as the
girl tried to throw herself from the fly
ing horse, but could not free herself for
q, moment from the passionate grasp of
''I'll kill you,' she said, between her
teeth.
Kill away. my pretty angel d. amor,
but you shall be my wife first"
On and on, with the speed of the wind
went the fleet horse. and they were near
ing the little cemetery in the valley when
Marcelenas arms relaxed and her head
dropped on the shoulder of I'iipe. He
believed she had tainted. and attempted
to change his position, when like a flash
of lightning, the steel poinard in his belt
cleft tho air and observation-disclosures in bis
treachcrous heart but in the soft breast
Of the beautiful and desperate Marcclc-
ma.
AT that moment company of United
MATES soldiers came pouring out Of an
ambulance which was slowly passing on
it's way to Fort Bowie.
They captured the cavalier Filipe. and
took the apparently lifeless girl to the
hospital. a temporary building then in use.
Marcclena was not dead, nor even IA
tally wounded. But she was long time
in the ward of the government hospital
before she could be removed to her home,
aDd there was q, pretty ceremony per.
formed there when she was able to sit up