Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-02-04

+ 10QStaCn6 whenever ne opened MS lips
to speak and that showed so seldom at
any other time. Not until this moment
/ had she ever seen him smile.
The fringe of her Mexican rebosa had
| caught the button of his snugly fitting
sack coat, and it needed her deft, slim
| fingers to release it. Then in its frantic
| struggles the dolphin threatened to
4 spring back to its native element, and
! Loring had to head him off and thrust
| him to the middle of the deck again.
/ close to the skylight of the saloon, and
| there he babe her come and watch the
vivid, swiftly changing, iridescent hues
! of the beautiful creature, and she ODE
| diently drew near and stood bending
| over in mingled triumph and compass
sion.
"Ah, que es bonito!'' she sighed as
the frantic leapings seemed to cease
and the prize lay gasping at full length,
! exhausted by the violence of the long
battle.
Presently Loring called the steward
| to send up for the senorita's captive
! and to serve it at the senorita' S table
| for breakfast, and then perhaps he
| might have returned to his solitary
walk, but the study of Spanish is never
more fascinating than when rosy lips
and pearly teeth are framing the courtly
| phrases. Whatever the cause of her agl-
tation the night of the meeting, what
ever his precOnceived idea of her COM
plicity in the scheme that robbed him
of his guard at ella Bend and laid him
low in the dust of the desert, Loring
found as the result of five days observ-
ance and reflection that his original
views had given place to doubt, and
doubt at last to confidence in her utter
innocence
Knowing what ordeal was before him
at the end of the voyage he had studi-
ously avoided her, but now avoidance
was no longer possible. For a few mo-
ments they stood there, saying little, for
he was not practiced in the speech Of
Spanish, and at any time his words
were few, and then he asked her if she
would not like to walk. When Turn
bull clambered up the stairway just as
the breakfast gong was banging, he was
amazed to find the engineer and Pancha,
arm in ARM pacing swiftly up and down
the deck in perfect step and apparently
in as perfect accord, the girls delicate
face lighted up with a glow that was
not all Of exercise, her wonderful eyes
looking frankly into Loring's fine,
thoughtful face, her free hand gesticu-
lating eagerly as she chartered blithely,
almost ceaselessly, for Loring was a
fattering listener to men or women, old
or young.
1t was TRANSPORTED maiden that met
the sisters De la Cruz as they ventured
from their staterooms to the table. Even
Inez, their boosted beauty, looked sal
low and wan beside her radiant cousin,
and the fat duenna, their aunt, gazed in
mingled establishment and disapprOval
at the sight.
But Pancha was the heroine of the
day. Pancha's hand had caught the
dolphin, and the captain showered his
loud congratulations, the purser handed
her to her seat and would gladly have
sided into the chair Of Senior Sepulvida,
who had come aboard with them at
Guaymas and kept his berth until the
previous evening, yet now came forth
to face the gathering company at break
fast. The skipper had placed the stout
sonora at his own right, with Turnbull
just beyond her. To Senorita Inez he +
had given the left hand seat, with Lor-
men just beyond him. So there was the .
engineer fanked by damsels said to en-
joy no little wealth and social station,
yet his blue eyes never wandered over
across and farther down the table than ]
where sat Pancha with a stuffy old
cigar merchant between her and their !
party, and that scapegrace, Sepulvida, !
ogling on the other hand. Two at least !
of that reassembling company deserved
their appetites at breakfast. But Turn
bull had no zest for anything, and the /
women generally only feebly toyed with !
their forks. The colonel had found time
to seize Loring by the arm and whisper
on the stairs:
'By Jove, young man, you're play
ing deep game! D. you expect to find
out anything?"
II have-already, said Loring.
''The devil you have! WHAT"
''She's innocent-utterIyl
And that bright morning was follow
ed by cloudless afternoon and sweet,
still, starlit evening, and by this time
all men and all women were on deck,
and the Idaho was foaming swiftly on
through the summer seas, and people
went below reluctantly at night and
woke to new and brighter life on the
morrow, and Loring was up with the
sun and drinking deep drafts of old
oceans ozone as he paced the decks till
Pancha came.
And one day followed another, and
TurnbulI read and yawned and dozed
and tried to talk to the charming senior
itas, but couldn't muster enough Gas
lillian, and Traynor chalked the decks
for Fhorse billiards. and SWITCHBOARD,
and everybody took hand at times,