Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-08-15
The Horror of
Three Sandals.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
By Charles Fleming Embree.

''HE old monster of revOiu-
i ton, long since drugged to sleep,
some think to death, yet sometimes
stirs. Its movements are dream-move-
ments, it's snake-like convolutions are
harmless. 1t is merely the habit of
b dead past, when Dilz was not yet
Power, which causes the beast to
heave its ~lethargic signs and open up,
from time to time, a red orb devoid
of meaning.
Up over the Cuernavaca railroad
comes now the military detachment
lately sent into Guerro- The little
company eats dinner by the Cuerna-
vaca station. Five lank soldiers in
sandals sit at a distance on the
are gay, these five sit depressed with
gloom, recalling a strange thing.
The heart of Guerrero, state of
golden miracles, is not yet opened to
the world. Mountains and mysteries
shut it away from modern life. Away
down south, two hundred miles from
the railroad, is the town of Three
Sandals. Into it came, five years ago,
an American named Stirge. He bought
a mine and worked it all alone, and
they said he stacked up gold in an
adobe house as high as the roof. He
was tall, with silken beard, feline
grace, mild, deep, unreal eyes Gold
turned his head; gold made his house
an empire, Three Sandals the center
OF the universe. He dreamed of sever
ing this southern land from Mexico,
and insane ideas of a monarchy came
to him
The chief of police was fat and
fabby, and often full of pulque. He
lived in a large house on the plaza by
the palms. His sister was a beauty,
aged nineteen, named Otilia.
..Otilia, I call you a failure" COM
planned the chief, drinking three
quarts of pulque in the patio, while
she lounged lanquid under those enor-
nous yellow flowers called "cups-of-
gold" "Maniarrez killed himself for
YOU. Elias slew Negrete for you:
Oliyares robbed the hacienda to buy
YOU a ruby, and "a shot. The gov
ernor at ~Chilpancingo made a fool of
himself for you. Bah! what good is
all this If you can not find out the
revolutionary schemes of that cursed
American, and a V my reputation. L
want to kill him, and, alas!" with a
comic shrug, splitting pulque-"there
is no way"
eHang him by his sweet, soft beard,
Pepe, my love-" said she, with a smile.
"Buti-the shadow of an excuse! 1
know he plots, but never a finger can
I lay on him. Make him fall in love
with you, witch; worm it out of him.
Our reputation is at stake"
She dreamed, lying there graceful,
beautiful, mischief in her languid eye.
Il WILL" she said, and plucked a cup
of-gold, and buried her flushed face
therein.
Every evening at six she wrapped
herself in a black rebozo so that eyes
glowing and portions of a face arti-
fcially pale were seen beneath lus-
IRONS hair. Then, solemn, sad, a NOV
mo statue, she walked to and fro, to
ord fro. before the Americans house.
when he stood in the door stroking his
silsen beard and gazed on her, she
nodded slowly, as though unseeing,
ard sighed a heavy sigh. AT dusk,
aav;nU walked to and fro for an hour.
sbe sighed more heavily still and went
away.
After one week of this mystery, the
form of Otilia began to haunt him.
She was very beautiful, said he. There
we're lurking in her eyes vast dreams.
restlessness, towering ambitions-ah!
1;Isa his own, like his own. He tossed
- the night. somehow drawn to her.
tfter all, was it good to be lonely?
with such a mate to what grand
heights might any man not soar! So
rom seeing her by chance, be came
a. watch for her, and when h passed
81 hand was frozen on his beard, or
hsrned with fire that ran in all of
&c blood. Meanwhile a plan to over
throw the towns authorities, to
aa+ber men, to march on C~hilpancin-
- took form. Two officers nearest
81 person of the chief were Stirge's
fellow-plotters.
IN the eighth evening OF this NOV
~ and fro, wrapped in mystery,
nhs LET her rebozo wave a little wider
es.n He was devouring her with his
eyes eyes He was like q sod' strong and