The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-05-16
ANT0NIO'S MARY.

Dora England was standing in tho
garden, bareheaded, holding her baby
IN her arms She leaned against the
balustrade and her little son kicked his
feet against the pink blossoms of tho
passion vine running a race up the side
OF the house with climbing rose that
was wonder even among the roses Of
Santa Barbara Dora looked at the little
feet and at the rosy flowers and then
laughed, and pulling off the shoes and
socks held the bare feet up by the flow
ers and matched pinkness. Then. being
q mother, she began TO fondle the little
things III a most unreasonable way, and
1t was then that she saw Mary for the
first time-saw her come through the
gate and into the garden, not walking,
but running-running as though that,
and not walking were the natural hu-
man gait, girl of II, Mexican, dark
and tall and with tuneful voice when
she began 10 speak
II am Mary, Antonio's Mary" she
said, mot Maria, but Mary just like
American girls are named. l looked
from the house there over to the house
here, and l knew that you were the one
/ had come to seek. / am happy, ah,
happy, if this is the little angel am to
take care of. / have SO many, many lit
tie brothers and sisters, and / beg my
mother to let me stay and take care Of
them, But my mother says, Mary, you
are woman now and must make mon
ey. And so, as for me, until now it is
i'll laundry that i have worked. But
how can one love laundry? When Jose,
the waiter in the big hotel. came to get
me, knew that you would let me come
to you, for l love the baby, and when
one loves one does well, is it not so?"
And then, without waiting: 1T is
good thing, dear lady, that you are not
i'll the big hotel now. My mother is
careful woman-you do not know what
a careful woman-and the big hotel is
a bad place for a girl like me. "
"A prudent mother, was what Dora
thought
Mary had taken the baby and was
looking hard at the mother with big,
affectionate eyes. Dora's imagination
was making picture, ''She shall wear
a dark gown, large white apron and
an enormous black hat, and there must
be some red about her, and then on the
beach with the baby, with his yellow
hair, in her arms, she will be lovely"
And Sc" Robert England said to
the Sedgeleys next day, ''the little
Mexican is to become the caretaker Of
my son, because she has a skin like
satin, Il low brow and Il mouthful of
glistening teeth But he did not say
this to his wife. He could not have said
that he understood women, but he
might have said that he understood one
woman. He was never a better lawyer
than when he was in his own house,
and that high strung little wife of his
was as complex a body as 12 men ever
were
SO Mary came, and Dora and her hus
band and the Sedgeleys watched her
every morning when she sat in the sun
on the sand with the baby on her lap.
She would take handful of sand, and
holding it as high as she could reach
she would let it slip through her fin
gers, and when the child laughed she
would laugh, too, and clap her hands.
She became feature Of the beach life
Of Santa Barbara Every one watched
for the coming of the tall young savage
and the fair haired child. The young
men from New York who are the stars
in the play life that goes on in the place
every winter-an existence that is no
more like real life than the Santa Bar
bara winter is like real winter-and
who are very pretty editions de luxe OF
the Mexican vaquero, with their broad
sombreros, their silver trimmed saddles,
their rawhide brides and diabolical
Mexican bits, and their spurs weighed
down with silver chains-even they
looked at her as they rode up and down
on the beach.
"Niva and / have been looking ut the
most beautiful creature in Santa Bar
bara, " said Dora as her husband and
Niva's came up to her high cart.
"Now know you are talking about
Dora's fad" Robert said. A month
ago. the most beautiful thing would
have signified the most wonderful baby
in the world, but now-the truth is,
Dora enjoys being on pedestal. Per-
hans she has never been on one before,
except for the short time that she occu.
pied one of my making great many
years ago before we were married, But
now she has become u sort OF supernat-
ural being in Mary's eyes. l assure you.
she is father, mother and father confess
or all in one. There are no bounds to
ber devotion. am sure she would slay
one of her small brothers without pang
if Dora ordered the sacrifice y
"An uncomfortable sort of response
bility," muttered Niva
"Yes. f" Dora said, land hate that.
thate responsibility, and | abhor posing,
and my part in this is deadly pose.
''She is undeniably pretty, 4" said
Niva's quiet husband, "and that New
York fellow, your friend Dulaney over
there. seems 20 think so too. p"
"She is beautiful, insisted Dora.
"She is. " mutterod Niva again, dam
gerously beautiful.
What Robert England said was all
true. Mary gave Dora her worship, and
there was jealousy in the adobe home of
Mary s mother and hot battles for Mary
cit is for the American woman ana her
one child that you desert your mother,
stormed Carmen 1--WE are no'hing ,o