The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-11-02
: Uncle BuSCabeataS
And His Pumpkins
He Carried With Him the Proof That
the Pumpkins Were His.
nY nRnnn lNmnNIa M ALI inGaN
BY PEDRO ANTONIO DE ALARCON.

1
Rota is the least important of the beauti-
full and enchanting villages that form an
ample semicircle about Cadiz bay; yet,
though it be the least important, it has
not wanted eyes to take notice of it. The
! Duke of Osuna, under his title of Duke
of Arcos, has long held it up to view as
one of the pearls of his coronet, possess.
ing there seisneurial castle Of the same
name, whose stones could describe one
by one
But here it is not question of castles
or dukes, but Of the celebrated country
surrounding Rota and of very humble
gardener, whom we shall call Uncle Bus
cabeatas, although such was not, It
seems, his real name.
Uncle Buscabeatas had already begun
to stoop at the date Of the episode that
am about to relate. He was even then
GO years Of age and had spent 40 of them
In tilling a vegetable garden bordering
upon the beach of Costilla.
That year he had grown some stupen.
dous pumpkins, which were as big as the
ornamental balls Oh a massive rampant
and were now turning both inside and
outside of an orange color, which indicat-
ed that it was past the middle Of June.
Uncle Buscabeatas knew the shape, de-
gree of ripeness and even the number Of
thcm-above all, the 40 pumpest and
shinicst specimens, which seemed to be
saying, Cook mel" and he passed his
time gazing tenderly at them and ex-
claiming in melancholy tone, Soon we
shall have to part"
At last one afternoon he resolved to
make the sacrifice, and, picking out the
best fruit of his dearly beloved "cucur-
btaceae," whose growing had cost him so
great labor, he uttered the terrible SEN
tence:
Tomorrow" quoth he, 81 shall cut
these 40 and carry them to Cadiz market.
Happy they who eat them!"
Therenpon he slowly walked into the
house and passed the night in the distress
of father who, the next day, Is to give
his daughter in marriage.
"Alas, my pumpkinsw sighed he again
and again, unable to WOO sleep, but pres
emily he began to reflect and concluded
by saying: "Yet, what else can l do but
dispose of them? Why, that is just what
l raised them for. They'll bring me in
at least Is sduros.'"
Endeavor IL you can to measure the ex.
tent Of his CONSERVATION. fury and de-
spair when on entering his garden the
next morning he discovered that during
the night somebody had stolen the 40
pumpkins. To make the story brief,
Shakespeare's Shylock, in his paroxysm
of rage over the flight of Jessica with his
jewels, could not have been more frenzed
than Uncle Buscabeatas.
"Ob, il l find thee--if find thee!" he
calculated.
Then, luieting down, however, he cold
ly began to consider and comprehend that
his beloved specimens could not be in
Rota. where it would have been impossi-
Bile to expose them for sale without his
recognizing them and where, moreover,
pumpkins were sold very cheap.
at is plain to be seen that they are in
Cadiz," he argued. "Thc Infamous ras-
cally thief must have stolen them be.
tween 9 and 10 o'clock last night and car
ried them off on the II o'clock freight
boat l will go to Cadiz today on the
early passenger boat, and it will be a
caution if don't catch the sneak and re-
cover the daughters of my toll"
So saying, he remained about 90 min
utes longer on the site of the catastrophe,
fondling the mutilated stumps and stems
of the pumpkins, counting over again the
missing ones or formulating the sort OF
accusation that he should make in COM
mcnciny n suit, until 8 o'clock struck, !
and he started for the pier.
The passenger boat. or hour boat, was |
getting ready to sail. 1t is an humble
barge that every morning precisely at .
o'clock starts for Cadiz, conveying pas
scngers. just as the freight boat starts
every night at IL o'clock, conveying fruit |
md garden stuff. The former Is called
tho hour boat because in that space of
time, or even in 40 minutes on some days,
If the wind be astern, it travcrses the
three leagues that lie betwixt the ancient
village of the Duke of ARGOS and the an
rient city of Hercules
So it WAS about half after 10 o'clock on
the morning of that day when Uncle
planted himself in front of
l vegetable stall in the Cadz market and
said TO the puzzled policeman accompany
ng him:
"These are my pumpkins! Lay hold Of
hat fellow, sir" and he pointed to the
,tallkecpcr.
i. Lay hold of mc?" repeated the huck.
tier, full of surprise and wrath. "Thcse
pumpkins are mine bought them
"iou may tell that to the justice of the
'eace, sir" replied Uncle Buscabcatas.
~ will not"
you shall"
"You Uncle Thief, you"
"You Uncle Bum"
"Spcak with more civilty, gentlemen.
You are indecent Men ought not so to
orgct Themselves remarked the police
fticcr very quietly, giving each Of the in
crlocutOrs n tap on the breast
BY this time quite Il crowd had gather
d round while the magistrate in charge
4 the public markets, whose rcHl 'i''" ia
udge of supplies, was not long In making
his appearance.
The police officer handed the matter
,vcr to his excel"ncy, and the worthy
magistrate, learning how the case stood,
inquired in ma jcstic tone of the huck-
ter:
"From whom did you purchase yonder
"From Uncle So-and.so of Rota,' an
wcrcd the man.
"That is as it should be-" cried out
lnclc Buscabcntns. "Hc is just fit for
uch business! When his own vegetable
'atch which is a very poor one, fctchcs
i'm in but litttlc he sets to work to rob
lis noighhors'
'Bnt." continued the magistrate, turn.
ng to the I'D gardener. "admitting the
ypnthcsij that 40 pumpkins were stolen
rom You last night, how can you be Ger
ain that these, and no others, arc
oursT
"Wcll, well" replied Uncle Buscahca.
Us. "Why. because know them rs well
S your eXcellcncy knows your own
aughter. II you have any. This one
,ok your cxcellcncy-is named 'Rebo-
,pda round uni Duayi: this Que, Cacbl. l