Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-01-12
CHAPTER V.

-
7 pored over the charts until the
dinner-gong soun2ede then the photo
graph, which lay directly under one
| of the Incaudcscent globes. caught my
| eve. and | examined it again. In the
| solitude of our cabin | had q better
/ opportunity to study the :'euorita
/ Dorotea's face, and ii attracted me
strangely If she had any Of that
| charm of manner possessed by the
| Senorita Palacios, thought, my stay
upon the island OF Guajan might be
anything but unpleasant; so. between
| the anxiety TO be accomplishing some
| thing and my speeulations concerning
! the people at Agana, was rather pre-
! occupied at the diuner-;able.
+ Padre Sebastian began presently to
chaff me a little as being poor com
pany. noticed that he was watching
! Dick and the senorita very closely, as
! if irving to detect triangular under
standing between us three or at least
some Indication Of rivalry between the
captain and myself. The lGdre had
kept track of my movements during
the day. but l v@s positive he could
| not have overheard anything. so be-
| gan to ply him with ques:.C. concern
| ing social conditions in 1t Islands.
| He seemed to have acceF.eu my rea'
| sons for making the voyage. but my
! sharing the captains quarters also
! the fact of our being the Caly Aner-
! icanos on board, evidently led him to
| favor us with closer observation
| than if we had been his own country
men. Your Spanish priest is the most
| companionable and interesting man in
| the world when he wishes to be, and
| Padre Sebastiano was no exception to
| the rule. Having overcome my repug-
nance to him for obvious reasons, l
found myself rather liking the man.
| He spoke so frankly upon even church
| matters that I began to consider him
harmless, and fancied my first impress
! sion a mistake
Halstead was too reasonable man
| to claim more than fair share of the
senorita's society, much as he liked
| her; so, as Don Silvestre retired to the
! smoking-room after dinner for tobac-
| co and cards. | took her aft, where we
could watch the phosphOrescent foam
| from the screw and talk without being
overheard, for I saw she had some
| thing to say.
She had been listening attentively to
| my conversation with the padre, and
had been trying to recall sundry
scraps of talk which she had overheard
| between him and his Jesuit compan-
ion; but before mentioning them she
| questioned me in regard to my pro-
! posed movements after leaving the
| steamer.
81 heard you the padre tell, Senior
Enrique" she SAID, chat you were this
voyage merely taking as a siesta from
your affairs, and l too many OF los
Americanos have seen to believe they
do rest very long. They do work, work,
work like slaves, all of the time. And
when they get rich-oh, so very rich
| still they do work, and no siesta take.
Yet the Senior Enrique does one take
which will last a month, surely, with
his very good friend el captain; and
when he on land goes at el GuaJan, II
will three months be-such long, long
|
vapor in which he may return. Now,
un Americana, the senior will not
rest for all these long months; not so!
What, then, will he do in el Guajan,
where one never works? Make love
perhaps to la senorita whom he
never has seen? But even that work
is not. How"
Gone moment, senorita; why should
you think I have any intention OF
staying in Guajan?"
ooh, but it so simple IS! Amigo mio'
| (here she laid her pretty fingers on my
arm), "los Americanos generosos are;
II so kind was of you to think of la
pobrecita's dresses. I doubt not that
it your goodness of heart was, yet
even such un hombre could not resist
! at the least seeing la senorita when she
| does wear them. And she will not them
wear before the steamer shall &C
away, do You not see? FL Captain Dix
did for her feel, also, but it was not he
who to think tried how he la senorita
might help at once-ai, but he to see
her was not, long enough!
"Well, that's pretty clever line o.
reasoning, mia senorita. But don't
you think you are giving that photo
graph the cretltt of being pretty
strong attraction, to make me thinl
of leaving you to Capt. Dick, and bury
ing myself among those out-of-th'
way islands for a whole th:ee months
Just to get acquainted with the orig
inal?"
THAT not is so, Enrique mio" (blush
ing warmly at this audacious familiar
ity). II am alive, and-you shall tt
be with me have for two of the weeks
yet. think not you would me leave
for but a photograph if I said yor
should not; have I la gran conceitP z
(She looked so bewitching in th'
moonlight that to save my neck
couldn't avoid giving her waist gen
tie squeeze). NO! you some affair
in Ell Guajan have-though never coulC
guess what it may be. 1t something
which of more worth is to you thai
your affairs in Manila, or yon neglec
them would not for so long. 1t some
thing is which you do undertake 70
el Ricardito as well as yourself, and II
which he does YOU trust as few mel
do trust each other, or your friendship
I could make like n broken threaC
with jealousy of me. I'm gran presun
cion, is it not, amigo mio? But true
not the less. Else You embrace m
would not, and Q! captain would lool
at me not with the eyes that talk oh
so much-so much that the little shiv
ers he does make come to me some
times, and am afraid. Well, then, i
this something stronger is than Low,
> of woman, what it can bc but the low
of gold-such heaps of glittering, shin
ing gold. Yet gold there is not n e
Guajan, else el gobernador would i
Madrid be with much oft. What the
it can be-"
"Quien sabe? Perhaps the elixir o
life. But if I go ashore there as yo
. imagine, and i'll find anything beyon
health and rest. I'll come and see yo
some day-or, rather. I'll come an
see YOU and Dick. Then I'll tell yo
9TH all about IT."
"You will come to see me aud e
Ricardito? But I shall in Seville be"
Exactly; so will Dick as soon as h
: can get there"
q "Dios! qui temerario! But suppos
suppose | do permit him not
III 41,a I tIinly