The suburban citizen., 1901-01-05


"Velnte pesosw echoed the daughter
again, without taking her scornful
glance from the strangers face.
"Yes, yes; twenty dollarsw repeated
Randolph, not the least Disconnected;
"would you take twenty dollars for
this chest? 1t iG very much out Of
style, you know, but might find a use
for It,"
The woman stood back n pace and
surveyed him with an expression that
made even Randolph begin to feel a
trihe i'll at ease. The daughter lined
herself mp beside her mother and tried
to echo the look, but her glance was
tempered with ar 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 l might give it,
The old woman broke into a TRADE
Of broken Spanish.
"Veinte Y cinco pesos for the chest
Of her soul; Nunca" 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 fatLer 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. "Veinte y cleo pesos! Be-
gone Insolente"
At last, exhausted by her outbreak
OF anger and calling her daughter to
follow her, she ordered him again TO
leave the house, still muttering to her.
self "Yeinte Y cleo pesos, Diantre"
Rosa followed reluctantly, but not
until she had hidden the handsome
stranger a gracious good-by and
watched him through n 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 If 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 yer
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 rehec'
ton in IT, she busted and rubbed away
at the carvings till the crown and
shield stood out boldly, and lastly witt
patent polish" she FURNISHED the
heavy trapplngs which If she had only
known It was a 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 anC
silly girl. This time he was more for
tunate; the madre was away from
home, and the soft-eyed Rosa had los
her first indignation at his offer o
twenty dollars. She explained tha
Ler mother had often been besough
by visitors to sell the chest; there ha;
been some artist people and some writ
er people who had come to Montere,
and lad given her no peace about It
but no one, she assured him, could sc
it. 1t was to be hers. lie was wei
come to come again to see 1t II it CAV
,, him SO much pleasure, especially Of
Wednesdays when she would be alone
but he must not anger her mothe
again by asking her to sell it.
y The transformation wrought b
, Rosas cleaning was such a reyelatiO
that Randolph was even more enau
, ored by the second sight of it. II
= would have embraced it, grappled
to his soul, could he have done so. II
saw it in fancy in his own apartment
in a tapestried corner where the dusl,
: tones Of the mahogany and brass car'
i ings would suggest a nook in the 4
- hambra.
a That evening Randolph related Ii
j. adventure to Miss Smythe- Browne Q
!, they strolled down by the tennt
o courts. Miss Smythe-Bro was yer
:, sympathetic with his mood for she al
preclated his fondness for collectin
:, In the moonlight she was very beaui
r ful and Randolph was beginning
=, wonder If, after all, she was not abol
as near what Mrs. y. Courtney Ra
g dolph should be as any one he cou
- find. with what a queenly grace 81
would preside over his cushion'
o home But the idea Of his apaTtmen
10 without this chest was now impos'
n BILE.
IS Again and again he went to look
1t It. The little girl was always thel
Il and now there were two yertebrae !
% Gore the chest so she could sit besit
1t him and chat while he looked al
1t coveted her one possession. TIL
N might have gotten almost any su
c. from him now. However, all his a
le tagonism was aroused by the obsti