The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-20
DOLORES.
nY noRoTHY nIA.

BY DOROTHY DIA.
 Copyright. 1soa by Daily Story Pub. Col \ have always contended that o'clock tea is no place for man. and even ye' I marvel that I should have been invci- gled into responding to Mrs. Allerton bit of pasteboard in person.
 You always know quite we'll what to ex- pect-a room so dark you stumble over things, and confused and irritating caclxle of many woman talking at once, and the necessity of swallowing a lot of stun that is . reproach to your lunch and an insult to your forthcoming dinner.
 I must say Mrs. Alierton does things better than most, and it is really pre- cious privilege, to inspect her cups. but as opened the door a confused murmur of voices met me- and in a moment more I, found imysslf in the thick of the hub sbub. making my bow over Mrs. Gray's fat hand 7 "oh, doctor, ?. she said, moving aside her ,drapsrfes, and waving me into "a seat be- side her. .stdon't you know, you are just the one person in the world I am dying to sec" professionally, madam?" I asked. as she tapped me on the hand with ponder. ous piayfulness.
 ''No. no, you naughty thing: was just SOiAkl8 sbAkroC Af1dlco 8Uput k4ttp tAiCc5 marrying cowboy, or something of that kind out in Texas"
 But that you said it." murmured, faintly, T wouldn't have believed it pos sible. Of course we all know that the Texas law Is effete and weak-kneed ex- cept in the matter of horse dealing. stili-' @ AF
 .'oh. you horrid creature Mrs. Gray cried again, tapping me with her fan. Now do be good boy and tell us just how 1t happened, for do know you were there and assisted at the orgy. or rite, or whatever they call such functions on the border. Is she pretty, for I suppose that. after all, in this case the cowboy is a she?' t.
 looked helplessly around and saw no means of escape. and then I thought of my friend and his young wife, and re- membered that these women held her so- cial destiny in their hands. Mrs. Gray herself was not unkindly, and in the faces turned toward me was one in whose deep dark eyes read understanding an sym pathy,
 Dear smadasn.'' Issid. .syour requests are commands. To begin with, Dolores it Is sad little name, isn't it-is some thing more than pretty. Her mother was a Mexican. You needn't shrug your shoulders. She comes of one of the old Aztec families, and I assure you they scorn our best blood as something en. Ntirely too much of yesterday to be seri.
 ously considered. and her people raised a
 pretty row when Dolores's mother fell ir
 love with an American and persisted if
 marrying him. Poor thing, she didn't live
 long enough to fulfill their prophecies anC regret 1t, but she bequeathed Dolores tht
 finest eyes you ever saw-deep, dark, lust.
 rous, with tawny flash in them tha'
 makes you remember them when yot
 have fofgotten how perfect is the oval oi
 her face and how blood red the scarle
 line of her mouth.S She was a sensation in Paris"
 What Paris?' in incredulous chorui from my audience.
 Yes" I answered, quietly. "She wal educated in Paris. You see her fathe owns the cattle on a thousand hills. o whatever Is the modern equivalent t. that. and he worships Dolores. She neve had what you would call raising. Sh, lived alone with her father at their ha
 cienda until one time she chanced to g, with him to the city to sell the cattle Some woman on the street looked curi
 ously at her and made sighting remarl | on her clothes. or appearance, that strucl l fire to the proud little heart.
 I am an Aztec!' she said. fiercely, t | her father that night. I will not b shanned by los Americanos. Give me tn | education and clothes that befit my birth Paris Is the heart of the world. will R | there And her father, who had neve thwarted her in her life, made the jour | ney with her, and left her in famou pennsionne with a letter of credit tha | must have staggered the proprietress. Tt was while Dolores was in Paris tha
 I came to know her father. I got inter ested fin ranch down there on the Ri Grande. and fell in love with the life, an,
 spent two or three years mostly at thei hacienda It was the merest coincidenc that Philip Hartness went down with m the very summer that Dolores returned She was already there when we arrived 1 and pleasant as life had always been
 took on a new charm from her presence
 She would ride with us, all the stronI
 quick, joyous young life flaming in he
 cheeks, or at night she would sing. he | grand, pure. rich voice ringing out on tn clear air. and we would sit in the darl | fancying how such dramatic fire and pas 1 sion could sway and hold a multitude, an,
 saying Marchese was right to predict fo f her a brilliant career-if only she woul stetch~ forth her hands and pluck tn | laurel.
 "Am I enthusiastic? We'll, the fault i
 rare enough in these days to be easil
 pardoned. and you, will better understan how it was Philip fell in love. saw 1 1