The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1899-08-03
JUAN| TO-.
By Edith Wagner.

o e
SssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssassssssAsassss
The sun would soon set. Already
there was cool feeling in the air. 1t
had been market day in Puebla and
now the little family was going home
10 one of the Indian villages near Cho-
lula. Hundreds of such groups were
scattered along the road. Maria was
running in little dog trot, carrying
in her rebozo, on her back, Jesus. Jose,
the father, was solemnly seated on a
pile of garden stuff on the back of the
little burro. Tagging little behind
the mother came Juanito.
They all had heavy burdens On the
mothers back, beside the baby, was
load of corn, and her arms were full Of
oddly shaped and painted earthen jars
and baskets. There was no outward and
visible evidence of the fathers load,
but to do him justice it was so great he
was unable to walk with it. Maria
wore for skirt length Of dark blue
cloth that came to her ankles, wrapped
tightly about her back and hips, with
few folds in front. Twisted around
Partly covering the upper half Of her
body was a white chemise, the yoke
and short sleeves ornamented with
beads of red and black. On her head she
had the tall straw hat that the Indian
women wear; about her throat was a
coral necklace. All the Indian women
are clothed the same, the difference be-
ing in quality of material and degree
of cleanliness.
The country people in Mexico have
no children's modes. The little people
look like grown up people seen through
the wrong end of an opera glass. Juan
ito, with round, fat, brown face white
teeth, big mouth and eyes which shone
starlike from out mop of black hair,
was dressed exactly like his father in
shirt and long trousers of unbleached
cotton, with red sash to hold his
clothes up. A leather band went round
his forehead and supported the pack he
car1ied-a large enough burden for SO
wee boy In one little hand he car
ried his conical hat of coarse straw
with the other, as he trotted along, he
tried to shift his load bit and so re-
lieve himself. He did it slyly, for he
did not ant his fail er to think he was
not big man. Indeed he was-he
would be 5 in few days-and he was
going to have present on his saints
day, which was also his birthday. He
could do as he wished with it. A CEN
tavo-a whole cent to spent on himself |
What would he buy with his cent ?
He had turned it over and over many
times in his rudimentary brain. He
hesitated between an earthen goose with
a whistle in the neck and dulce-like
our rock candy. The goose would be an
ephemeral thing at best, although the
whistle-aye, Dios, but that whistle
could be heard a kilometerl A turn of
the hand, however, and it was gone.
There are kites which sing when they
get up in the air, but, Dios de mi alma,
what riches are necessarily Four CEN
tavos for the kite and one for the string
He had thought carefully. He could
buy the string at once and get the kite
in four more saints days, for surely he
would go on having them, and it was
likely Dona Ynes would always remem-
ber them. Mol Mol After all, the dulce
was best.
His face grew breeding as he built
his castle-founded on a cent. His
mother should have a suck-two sucks,
in fact. The baby could lick it, and
Nito, the burro; but his father, mol
For only yesterday had he beaten him
for getting too much water on the clay
to make the ollas He closed his eyes in
ecstasy; properly managed, the candy,
which was of the durability Of old red
sandstone or the quartz it greatly re-
sembled, should last, by licking deli
cately and sucking with moderation,
until another birthday.
The sun was throwing long golden
lances across the plain of Cholula, with
its scores of church towers. The family
had finished the supper Of frijoles and
tortillas, risen from the spring by the
wayside and resumed its journey. As
before, the father led, jogging along on
the burro, the mother running beside,
bending forward from her load. Juani-
to, as his short legs grew more weary,
fell farther behind The mother looked
over her shoulder several times, but she
felt no uneasiness. for it had happened
before that, being too tired to go on.
Tio Pedrito had taken him to his jacal
; on his burro and brought him home in
; the morning
The road made sudden dip. On one
hand was deep barranca (steep ravine),
the sides covered with shrubs and close
, growths. Juanito, boylike, was seeing
how near he could trot along the verge
without losing his balance. He was al
sure footed as a mule, but long SER
, pentine root, the same ash color as the
soil, caught his foot in loop, and in 9
moment he was twisted off his feet an6
rolling down the barranca. 1t SO hap
, pened no one saw him, and, little IndiaI
stole that he was, he made no sound.
When he reached the bottom, bruised
and ont Of breath, a savage hand caught