Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-01-05
A CHANGED DEVIL.

A CHANGED DEVIL.
Babe Espinosa was the only daughter
Of Gavina Espinosa, whose wife the
saints had called early, and her place
had been supplied by a woman whom
Babe had been taught to call Aunt Tin
to. The Espinosas kept a small Mex
lean restaurant on Santa Lucia street,
where tortillas, enchiladas, tamales,
red wine and other hot stuffs were at
fractions. Babe had been brought up in
the restaurant and in the street-in the
gutter, if that was out of Aunt Iinto's
way-though she had a faint remem-
brance Of a yard around an old adobe,
where there were myrtle with big blue
blossoms and broken borders Of gaudy
flowers, and thinking Of the adobe she
thought of the myrtle, and thinking Of
the myrtle she saw it on a grave in a
place where there were many thin,
wooden crosses, some of them always
leaning over with a promise to join
those that had lain down like the sleep
ers. She had been christened Maria, but
after some years and some slips she had
repudiated the name as too common
place for her and had assumed the name
Of her innocence because Of the ~travesty
it al "Marias are thicker than vir-
gins, said Babe, whereat her followers
laughed. These were all young men.
Women did not like Babe and she did
not like women.
Babe was why, square shouldered and
slim wasted. She attracted attention
wherever she wenC. Everything she did
was done with this in the vista, and she
would have succeeded had she only
posed as propriety. The conformation
Of her supraorbital region caused the
other Marias to accuse her of the evil
eye. Her hair, o old style, parted
in the middle and carried down over
her ears, was black and only less
coarse than the name Of a mustang, and
her hair and eyes would have been OBJ
served in any aggregation.
Babe had q familiar, one Vico Rot
tamil, the hunchback of the Pocket. The
Pocket was a haunt Of ill repute, a clus-
ter Of old, low tenements in the center Of
a block where there were houses facing
the sidewalk in the regulation civic
way. Vico was tall for a hunchback,
owing to his very long legs. Babe was
so strong that she could put a hand I'M
der either hump and lift Vico about,
while his long legs dangled like a rag
dolls.
Through all the streets and alleys of
the town the odd looking pair went at
will and at all hours. 1.-THE devil and
the devils own," Babe said of them,
and the Marias said, spite Of her sex,
the devil was Babe.
Often they passed old Mateo Tiveros
and his tamale stand. Sometimes they
fouted the old man. Sometimes they
wheedled him out Of a tamale by prom
ises Of sweet yerba santa, sometimes Sc
cured it by mere bold banter, but one
night late, when there was no moon and
old Mateo's red lantern, low and smoky, |
cast a light that would hardly have done
for q photographers darkroom and Babe
and Vico were bold with bad wine, a
within struck Babe to upset old Mateo
and his outfit.
A whisper to Vico won him to the
scheme, and in a few twinklings the
lantern oil had spread itself a la mayon-
naise upon the outer husks Of the few
tamales remaining in the steamer. To
Babes surprise Vico lay in the mayon-
naise, and she found the night air cool
upon her spine, for old Mateo had dis
posed Of Woo with a single left handler
and with q stroke Of q sharp knife had
ripped Babes clothing from neck to
waist. Babe wet her dress skirt at the
fountain, tore off Vico's collar, opened
his shirt and mopped his face, neck and
breast till consciousness returned. Then
she took off his coat, threw it around
her shoulders, buttoned one button, got
Vico on his feet and half led, half car
ried him home and put him to bed.
She thought Of smelling salts for Vico
and began to rummage for a green bot.
tie with an oroide top that had once
held some. Not finding it in one place,
she looked in another, when, feeling
something unusual in the old zinc
trunk, she drew it forth and shuddered
till the split clothing slipped down on
her tawny shoulders as she saw q wood
an crnsa with an ivorS AOrro IN <3vod