Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-03-17
A MANS LOVE.

Which thought, in all its force struck
Savitz in the commencement of his second
year in Pinal dc Amoles. The first year
he had not noticed 1t SO much. When a
man has d hitherto mismanaged mine and
concentrating plant to put on a paying
basis that will please gentlemen Of the ilk
Of those who owned the London Mining
and Concentrating company, limited, he
has not time to speculate over the loneli-
ness and general melancholy of his head
quarters. And Savitz was not d man who
particularly minded loneliness. He
thought he had a future ahead Of him.
There was a fortune to be made for some
body in this abominable, walled in Next
can camp, and he was the man to make it.
Besides all of which there was a girl off
there in London who was waiting and
praying for his success and the raising Of
his salary. He was very fond Of the girl.
There are some God forsaken spots in
Mexico. Pinal dc Amoles was of these the
most forsaken. And when Savitz, after
IA months desperate struggle, finally had
the mill and the mine running in tiptop
order and began to see rosy visions Of a
"rise" within the next II months-the
directors were not gentlemen to be hurried
the dreariness began each day to sink
deeper into his soul.
To get an occasional newspaper and the
weekly letter in u big square white enve-
lope Savitz had to ride 40 miles over a
rough trail road to the station to which
the burros packed. He could have sent q
mozo, but he preferred to go himself-it
broke the monotony. Not that there was
anything to see en- route, save cactus and
clumps of mesquite, and the bleaching
bones of cattle, and now and then a heap
of stones, ~surmounted by a rude cross,
marking the place where soine lonely traY-
eler had been robbed and murdered.
Half way between the ferrocarril and
Pinal there was u sort of Indian pueblo,
however, where lived old joaquin, the
owner of several burro trains. And com.
ing back from the station one glowing hot
day Sayitz stopped to speak to the old ras.
cal about the hiring Of some burros for the
freighting of mineral to the railway.
Joaquin unfortunately was exceedingly
drunk; SO was his wife, and Savitz was
perforoe obliged to speak to a very pretty
half Indian girl who vas taking care Of
the couple Of shameless ones"
Her na1ne was Dolores, she told Savitz
shyly, and she was the niece of old Joa-
quin. Her home was over near the coast
oh, many leguas away-four or five
days; she did not like her home. 1t vas
very triste. She liked the amusement and
the dancing. And joaquin, her tic, was
very ''amable'' but for the drinking.
Now, Dolores was more than pretty.
She was downright beautiful, with an APP
pealing mixture of Indian and Spanish
charm and eyes and. hair Of old CASTLE,
and she was spotlessly clad and sweet and
fresh-in fact, the first pretty wona that
Savitz had laid eyes upon for many q long
month. Wherefore he told her that per-
haps he had best do nothing about the
burros just then, until Don Joaquin was
recovered. And he would come back in a
few days, the day after tomorrow, perhaps
manana And then he said oAdios-hasta
Ia Vista, senorita," and rode away, u sweet
dark face, with Spanish eyes and crimson
lips, haunting his eyes and fancy.
OF course he went back and hired the
burros the very next day. The day after
that he found that he needed several more
animals. That necessitated another visit.
Something else came up, too, in a few
more days. Again was it necessary" that
he see Don joaquin, who by this time was
beginning to chuckle to himself, seeing
opportunity for a good bargain. He was a
poor man. Why therefore should he sup.
port q muchacha who could do better for
herself than could her poor tioi Besides
the which he (Joaquin) needed badly the
sum Of 500 pesetas to invest In new burros
for the trail. Surely the senior could afford
that. Az for the girl-carramba , he would
arrange that.
Now, Savitz was not q thorough scamp.
He had thought 1t all over to himself and
reasoned out matters and finally told his
conscience that the thing would hurt no.
body. Here was the girl, a born lady at
heart and pretty as they make them, in
the power Of this dirty old Indian thief
who would sell her to the diablo himself
for 100 pesos. Why not engage her as his
housekepeer to look after his clothes and
keep the place decentr There could be no
possible reason against 1t. He would see
that she was we'll paid and her life would
be pleasant. What wrong was therep As
we'll bis housekeeper ~ the abused and
beaten wife OF solne brute of q muleteer.
So Ito Joaquin received the sum Of 300
pesos, with Dolores in exchange under the
strict understanding that the senior wa In
another year to be married, when hin wife
perhaps might object to . housekeeper, 40
which time Dolores would be returned to
her unclo or her coast home with full and
sufficient pay for her services. To which
the worthy ito assented eagerly, with a.
surances that the above would be ex.
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