The Afro-American advance. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1899-19??, 1900-01-13

on with me rnt-shootin', kapein' wan
eye on Bill. His ilbow whit slip-slip-
PIN out on tn red wet grass under him,
till his head nodded down In tn crook
av his arrnm loike he were drowsy an
droppin' off TO Shape. Tn bloody hand
on his chist fell lump-loike beside him.
Thin he opened his eyes sleepy-loike
wanst, an mutfered loike he were half
dreamin': IT'S a woman singin'i'
"Thin he shut his eyes and dropped
off aisy..An' ! wint on with me rat-kill-
fn'..1hin | heard tn mountain guns
barkint behind me an th' fire from tn
front sIackened.. could hear yoti min
thramplln' through tn dry grass. An
here / am. But Bill-he were a man
Margarita or no Margarita.
1T was the evening Of the day after.
The men of Y were leaning iistlessiy
out on The easements OF the big casa
where the company was quartered TO
catch breath OF cool air. Across the
street there was native matched
shack Under its PROJECTING roof the
forms OF man and woman were dirH-
~ visible The woman gently touched
the strings Of a guitar and just the sng-
Restiou of a plaintive melody hoated
across the way..The men leaned fur
Their out of the easements and listened.
''shure,' said seyenspot, "thot little
brown divii. Marqarita. tuck it har-rd
whin we putt away poor Bill III morn
in. Whin tn bugle sounded taps,
shure thought she'd wape herself into
nothing but pint ay wather. IT'S a
finder heart she has under q brown
skin. ! misdoubt me / may have mis-
judged tn brown wimmen."
The banjo across the way gave forth
a louder thrum-thrum, and then 10 q
moaning, wailing. heart.breaking mel
ody, deep-chested alto ehanted sadly,
monotonously in the native tongue.
The soldiers looked and listened SILENT
ly. The woman's voice rose and fell vi
brantly in a wierd chant full Of tears
and means and broken hearts, and then
died away In hopeless sob. Sevenspot
drew long, khuddery breath.
Ills the first native | liver heard
sing" he whispered. who is she?"
ELLIS Margarita," said Smithie, COM
pagy Us authority en- Kakiaek lingo
and customs.
"Iill's Margarita!" exclaimed Seven
spot. "Sbure thot explains IL! Twas
thot voice, not tn brown woman thot
Big Bill married. Twas an echo an a
mimory thot he welded, poor iad!"
smithie nodded and pulled his cigar.
"Poor little brown Margarita." con-
tinued Sevenspot. ''Av ] could sling tn
lingo It's mesllf would go an thry an
say kind worrud to her. IT'S tn death
song nv her love she were singing an
tits not unlike an honest Irish keen.
'Tis sad me ouId heart is for III poor lit
tie brown diyil. left all alone-alone.
Smithie threw back his head and
laughed aloud.
"Pwhatl" exclaimed Seyenspot. turn
ing fercely. 'pwhat do yen foind SO
funny In a brave soldiers widow, he
she brown or black g''
'seyeuspot!" said Smlthie. putting a
restraining hand ON his friends threat
ening arm. Don't get sentimental in
this climate. Az ledst, don't get that
way ill you know the ways and lingo
of the Tags. That was no death song.
TWINS no keen. Twas love song. And
twas the poor little brown disil, Bits
Margarita, singing to her new husband.
She married him this afternoon. IriA
name is Yen Shee. Appropriate name.
too. In Chenoo il means Number Two.
He Is the wealthy Chenoo banker at
Iloilo. savoy? II Bill's white Marga-
rita In the Sammies was a ditto girl,
too, he surely lost out against the love
game"
just then the guitar across the way
thrummed again. and again deep
chcstcd alto began 20 chant mournful
song full OF tears and means and broken
hearts. Seyenspot leaned far out of the
easement aud drew a deep breath. His
big chest rose and swelled until the
arch Of II touched his chin. Then he
roarcd aud the candle lights OF all Jaro
went out as u 10y the wind Of his bell
lows
"Shut up! Shut upl earambal Shut
up, before come and pull that epi-shack
about your earsl Ne female tarantula!"
The alto voice quivered and stopped.
The dmly outlined figures of man and
woman disappeared steathily and cat
like within the door of the matched
shack Across the plaza the bugle
sounded taps ptaintively. The town
was silent aud far-wiuged dreams of
home and n white Margariia lowered
over the casas of the soldiers, TO be dis
turbed now and again by the crack of a
kaklaek's remington or the bark of an
Americans krag. as the outposts took
sly pecks at each other through the
uight.--N Y. sun.
EL0PES WITH MoTHER-IN-LAw