Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1896-05-13
A FIGHT FOR A GIRL.

A FIGHT FOR A GIRL.
A faint yellow light still fingered in
the west, although the moon was shin
ing. 1t was hot night not breath of
air stirred the stiff limbs OF the yucca
trees or the fiery cactus blooms. The
sitting heat still seemed to radiate from
the baked sides of the small adobe
houses, and the sandy soil was uncom-
Portable to walk upon, although the sun
had been down all hour
The town was just beginning to show
signs of life. Any one arriving there be-
tween the hours Of 10 in the morning
and 6 at night would feel assured that
the place was deserted. Doors and shut
ters were closed, and the fierce rays of
the sun beat down from the FURNISHED
blue Arizona skies with malignant glee,
holding undisputed sway. At sundown,
however, humanity began to assert it.
Il.
the terrible, binding glare was gone.
Men appeared on the one long, strag-
CLING street, clad in cotton shirts and
trousers, the former turned back from
the throat as far as possible. Ponies
came loping across the trails from the
nearest camps with their swarthy riders,
and lights began to fare in the saloons
and gambling tents. Sounds of voices
were heard, too--true. mostly in oaths
and coarse jokes, but they were human
--and Oh this particular night came the
wheezy wall of fiddle and the livelier
rattle Of banjo from the upper floor of
the single two story building in the
place, a rough structure of unpainted
pine boards, with the words Hanks
Hotel" in large black letters over the
door.
A dance was evidently in progress,
for several ponies were tethered to the
yucca trees in front, and out on the still
night air came the sound Of mans
voice shouting orders.
Inside the room it was hot and un-
Of half a dozen lamps. There were per-
haps 80 men and third as many
women, the former cowboys i'll high
boots and tucked in trousers, or red
shirted miners from the camps 20 miles
away in the mountains, and all had
pistols or knives cleaning in their
belts. The women were brazen, painted
things, who had drifted here when they
were "down on their luck, and staidl
because their sex was such a rarity that
they were tolerated.
IA hard crowd" thought Jack De-
wore as he leaned against the door idly
watching the dancers "All Of them
toughened with crime. and all Of them
show it, unless it's that one over there"
and his eyes rested on a young girl who
had just finished dancing, and stood
leaning against the wall painting and
exhausted.
Jack Devore, in spite of his travels
and dangerous life, did not show his;
AZ years. Looking at hia, one would
take him for gentleman, Of quiet and
retiring tastes. He was remarkably
handsome, Of the blond type, and
dressed in excellent taste. He spoke
good Spanish and purest English, had a
knowledge Of Shakespeare that mary a
scholar might we'll envy, possessed a
tenor voice that would have made his
fortune on the operatic stage, and pair
OF eyes that would win ones heart, they
were go innocent and honest. Yet Jack
Devore had been put down by more
than one as an unmitigated villain. He
was professional gambler, and had
broken more hearts and ruined more
lives than any other man in California
and Arizona. He was said to be utterly
without pity, although some swore to
the contrary. At any rate he was relent-
less in his pursuit Of an object, and
dead shot, two things which made him
man whom it would be unwise to
offend.
He was we'll aware Of the furtive
glances which were cast in his direction
as he lounged against the door. It
pleased him to hear the respectful in
vitations to dance which he received,
but he felt no desire to join them--Jack
Devore was rather fastidious in his
tastes. and touching one Of the painted
women was out Of the question, but the
girl at whose face his eyes had stopped
was different.
"You might look from the City Of
Mexico to San Francisco" +" he mused.
''and not find another face like hers"
and Jack was an excellent Judge Of
beauty.
She stood leaning against the wall in
posture which brought out every line
Of her rounded figure, from the small
foot tapping the floor in time to the
groaning fiddle to the top Of her saucy
head. She wore short cotton skirt of
some coarse dark material, while a large
white kerchief, draped Mexican fashion,
leaving her throat and arms bare, served
Tor bodice. Her hair. which fell in
long black ourls below her waist, was
caught up at the left side Of her head
with few brilliant cactus flowers hor
teeth shone white through her parted
lips, and her eyebrows met in straight
level line over pair Of glorious dark
eyes. As II aware that some one was
watching her, she stirred uncomfortably,
aud then, looking up, met Jack Devore's
gaze; for moment she stared at him;
then her eyes fell nervously. Thinking
that this was decided point in her favor,