Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-09-14
A Western Enolh Arden.

the sonora herself, baking tortillas for
Jose's supper. was gay as tropic bird
in the gorgcousness of her attire As
for jose, he sat on the doorstep, in the
moonlight. hulnming love songs and en-
joyirg the odor of chile con carue which
iloated cut from the kitchen.
The woman ut her work chartered
gayly with the man on the doorstep
her strong white teeth cleaning with
frequent laughter. A handsome woman,
| Of buxom figure and full, sensual Inns.
with a child's boundless capacity for
happiness and child's unthinking en-
| jOyment, her emotions lay upon the
surface, sounding no depths Of love or
hate. She was very happy tonight, for
jose was i'll good humor, which was not
an occurrence so frequent as TO escape
notice. Jose had an. overweening fond.
ness for mescal and ayuardientc, and
! the depth Of his potations gagged the
level Of Maria's happiness. Jose was a
1.-the, why fellow, with a doubtfully
handsome face--keen. black eyes too
near together and thin, eager lips, with
| "a canine curl at the corners Maria had
| learned TO look for "a certain cruel CLINT
IN the eyes and restless twitching of
the lips That was the danger mark.
Beyond it lay the malice of "a fieud. in.
| scrutable, Irresponsible, likely to find
vent i'll anything from wasp stings of
bitter words to the angry thrust of q
knife.
But tonight he was gay, and Maria
was glad. When the tortillas were ready
she called him chcerily to come and eat.
dose sprang tn his feet, and, siapping
his fingers like castanets. tripped light
| ly across the floor in graceful exagyera.
| ton of the bolero. while Maria. stand
ing beneath u string Of bright. red chiles
hung from the rafters to dry, laughed
| until her shadow on the whitewashed
| wall assumed fantastic shapes. They
were very merry over their frugal meal,
| which they ate with the grccdiness of
those to whom life Is not prodigal Of
pleasures. Josc's hand Went often be-
meath the table and drew out the wine
| jug. which grew much lighter as the
meal progressed. Jose felt that the
| saints smiled upon him, and he laughed
tn himself as one who hugs a pleasant
secret To his breast. But the laugh had
sinister ring, us Maria noted Dubious.
ly.
And, rs they ate and made merry,
fate, wearing the ruise of feeble, half
naked man, with long, untidy hair and
beard, gaunt frame and trembling
| limbs, was stumbling toward them
| through the grcascwood and cactus,
with staring. hollow eyes. His hot
brain secthed with bitter thoughts of
| them, and his cold heart knew 10 re-
| lenting. For over year he had been
lying Ill Jail at Ensenada, this mainly
| ing there without trial, in a damp,
noisomc cell, Sighting the fever and the
| rats, and lie an American. The blight
CT the Jail was still upon him, and he
| shlvcrcd, although the night was soft
He was footsore and weary with his 80
mile tramp across the country. The
cholla had torn his limbs and the
Turks hcad'' pierced his feet But he
held straight on with steady purpose
and stumbling haste. His mind, eddy
| ing wildly about one central thought,
| faced now the future, now the past.
God, what had he not suffered-he.
| Daniel jackson, from the state of Maine,
an American of the Americans! He
chung tcnaciously to these facts. He felt
his identity slipping from him and'him-
self hurled, an aycDging fate, upon the
| objects of his hatred. He thought he
must be going mad and strovc to hold
himself together By mentally rehearsing
the past.
Ten years before he had left his home
Oil Passamaquoddy bay and sought
| wealth in the placer mines of Mexico.
He had been more successful than many
Of his fellows, had stuck it rich," in
fact. and at last, drifting into Tia Juana
III the course of his idle wanderings, he
fcll in love with the place and with
Maria. the only daughter of old Ramon
Garcia. He could have had the girl for
the asking and without the formality Of
wcdlock. for old Ramon's eyes glittered
at the Americano's obvious wealth, and
the girl loved iincry better than any
thing except fiattery. But there fingered
some trace Of the old Puritan stock i'll
Daniel JackSon's veins, and he married
the girl before a justice, which was no
marriage at all from her Catholic-point
Of view. but hard and fast enough from
his.
They had been happy, too. for jack
son left no wish Of Maria's ungratitied.
and she sang like "a lark from morn till
hlght. AS for jackson, he cared for the
lgirl only and made few friends among
the Mexicans. To one man. however,
dose Ruiz-hc took a superficial liking
Tor Maria's sake. Jose and Maria had
grown up together. and Jose had been
rs much part Of old Garcia's house
hold as Of his fathers, Just across the
arroyo. He seemed to jackson an easy
going, good naturcd fellow, without a
thought beyond absorbing as much sun.
SHINE and mescal Us daylight and his
rur,e-or Jackson's-would admit.
Then came, close upon the honey.
moon, Jackson's trip TO Ensenada to
look after certain mining interests there.
his quarrel with an officer with "a pull
and-the Jail He had laughed, = little
bitterly. TO te sllrp when no -r-- LODI,