The suburban citizen., 1901-01-05

"Nelnte pesosw echoed the daughter
again, without taking her scornful
glance from the strangers face.
Eyes, yes; twenty dollarsw repeated
Randolph, not the least disconcertod.
'would you take twenty dollars for
this chest? 1t io very much out of
style, YOU know, but might find use
for It,"
The woman stood back a pace ana
surveyed him with an expression that
made even Randolph begin to feel a
triae i'll at ease. The daughter lined
herself up beside her mother and tried
to echo the look, but her glance was
tempered with an admiration she could
not conceal
As neither women seemed disposed
to break the silence, Randolph con-
tinued: "Well, say twenty-five dollars;
that's a big price for such an old
fashioned thing, but 1 might give It."
The old woman broke into TRADE
of broken Spanish.
"Veinte Y cinco pesos for the chest
Of her soul; Nuncaw The glory was
gone from her house and she was poor
yes, and she needed the money, but
this chest had belonged to her family
when they had held their heads high
in Spain. Her father had brought it
over here with him and paid almost
half his shriveled fortune to get it here
he would not have come without it,
When she had married it had been
given to her, and when Rosa was mar
ried it would go to her for n dowry,
and so on down the line of Espendolas
as it had come. And every good Es-
pendola would guard it with his life
if need be- "Yeinte y cleo pesos! Be.
| gone Insolentew
At last, exhausted by her outbreak
OF anger and calling her daughter to
follow her, she ordered him again TO
leave the house, still mutterlng to her.
self; "Yeinte y cleo pesos, Dlantrew
Rosa followed reluctantly, but not
until she had hidden the handsome
stranger n gracious good-by and
watched him through a chunk in the
/ boarded window until the old state
house hid him from sight. The moth
er's rage did not cool with the disap-
! pearance OF the intruder and II her
ire had not been so all-absorbing she
would have noted that her daughter
did not echo her mood as usual
After supper the girl moved the ver-
zebra tenderly, and begin to furbish
the chest with a newborn love and re.
spect. She polished the curved wood
surface until she saw her own reflec-
tlon in It; she busted and rubbed away
at the carvings till the crown and
shield stood out boldly, and lastly with
patent polish" she FURNISHED the
heavy trapplngs, which if she had only
known 1t was desecration.
Another day Randolph made his way
to the abode house of the Espendolas,
telling himself too much was at stake
to be deferred by an old woman and
silly girl. This time he was more for
tunate; the madre was away from
home, and the soft-eyed Rosa had lost
her first indignation at his offer Of
twenty dollars. She explained that
Lcr mother had often been besought
by visitors to sell the chest; there had
been some artist people and some writ
er people who had come to Monterey
and Lad given her no peace about it;
but no one, she assured him, could get
it,. 1t was to be hers. lie was wei
come to come again to see 1t II it gave
him so much pleasure, especially on
Wednesdays when she would be alone;
but he must not anger her mother
again by asking her to sell it.
The transformation wrought 10y
Rosa's cleaning was such a revelation
that Randolph was even more enam-
ored by the second sight of It. He
would have embraced it, grappled il
to his soul, could he have done so. He
saw it in fancy in his own apartments
in a tapestried corner where the duslSy
tones Of the mahogany and brass cary
lngs would suggest a nook in the Al
hambra.
That evening Randolph related his
adventure to Miss Smythe Browne as
they strolled down by the tennis
courts. Miss Smythe-Browne was very
sympathetic with his mood for she ap-
preclated his fondness for collecting
In the moonlight she was very beautl-
ful and Randolph was beginning ia
wonder If, after ALL she was not about
as near what Mrs. H. Courtney Ran.
dolph should be as any one he could
find. With what n queenly grace she
would preside over his cushioned
home. But the idea Of his apartments
without this chest was now impossl
bic.
Again and again he went to look al
It. The little girl was always there
and now there were two vertebrae be-
sore the chest, so she could sit beside
him and chat, while he looked and
coveted her one possession. They
might have gotten almost any sum
from him now. However, all his an
tagonism was aroused by the obstin-
ate Indifference Of these two simple