Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-23
CHAPTER II.

without question. perhaps ne 1ancled
he had invited me; of my manner of COM
ing he was ignorant, of course. OBrien,
who had gone on to Havana in the ship
which had landed the Riegos in Rio Medic
gave no sign of life. And yet, on the arri-
val of the Breeze, he must have found out
1 was no longer on board. I forgot the
danger suspended over my head. For
fortnight 1 lived as if in a dream
What is the action you want me to take,
Carlos?" / asked one day.
Propped up with pillows, he looked at me
with the big eyes of his emaciation.
Il would like best to see you marry my
had married an Englishman. She had been
happy. English things last forever-Eng-
lish peace, English power, English fidelity
1t is a country Of much serenity OF oroer'
of stable affection"
His voice was very weak and full or
faith 1 remained silent, overwhelmed at
this secret of my innermost heart, voiced
by his bloodless Ips-as II a dream had
come to pass, as if miracle had taken
place He added. with an indefnable smile
Of an almost unearthIy wistfulness:
IT would have married your sister, my
Juan" .Y
English-of English power emerging from
the dust Of wars and revolution; or Eng
land stable and undismayed, like strong
man who had kept his feet in the tottering
of secular ediflces shaken to their founda-
lions by an earthquake. 1t was as II for
him that were something hne, something
romantic just as for me romance had al
WAYS seemed to be embodied In his fea-
lures, in his glance, and to live In the air
he breathed. o,,.
He was the only subject of all our CONVEX
sations; and when Carlos inveighed against
tho intendente the old don nodded sadly IN
his chair He was dishonoring the name
of the Riegos, Carlos would exclalm zee
bly,, turning his head toward ms uncle re-
a
own town, stood for a refuge or the scum
of the Antilles 1t was shameful sane
tuary. Every. ruffian, rascal, murderer ana
thief of the West Indies had come 10 thlnk
of this ancient and honorable town as a
It was my extraordinary fate to pene-
trate into this holy city of the last organ
ized niracv the world would ever know. L
bobaId II with my eyes; 1 had stood on the
point behind the very battery OF guns
which had swept Rowley's boats out OF ex-
istence. .s aaros. the
wafer the great portal of the cathedral.
Rio Medic had been place or some spien-
dor In its time. The ruinous heavy pullu
ings chung to the hiilsldes, ana my EYES
plunged into broad vista OF an empty anu
ma enifcent street. Behind many or the
imposing and escutcheoned frontages there
was nothing but heaps of rubble; the loot
steps of rare passersby woke lonely ecnoes'
and strips of grass outlined in parollelo-
grams the fagstones of the roadway. The
Casa Riego raised its buttressed and loop
holed bulk near the shore, resembling de-
fensive outwork; on my other hand tne
shallow bay, vast, placid and shining ex-
tended itself behind the strip of coast like
an enormous lagoon The fronds of palm
clusters dotted the beach over the CLASSY
simmer of the far distance The dark and
wooded slopes of the nils closed the view
inland on every side.
Under the palms the green masses OF
vegetation concealed the novels Of the rab-
BILE. There were three so-calied villages at
the bottom of the bay; and that terrible
man, Senior Juez O'Brien, could with
simple nod send every man in them to the
gallows.
The respectable population Of Rio Medic,
leading a clustered existence in the ruins
of old splendor, used to call the thievish
rabble Lugarenos-villagers. They were
sea thieves but they were dangerous.
Carlos thought that while Don Balthasar
lived O'Brien would do nothing to COM
promise his influence over him. Neither
could l take any action; must wait ana
watch. O'Brien would, no doubt, try to re-
move me; but as long 1 kept within the
Casa he thought should be safe. He rec
commended me to try to please his cousin,
and even found strength to smile at my
transports Don Balthasar liked me for
the sake of his sister, who had been so
happy in England. I was his kinsman and
his guest. From first to last, England the
idea of my country, of my home, played
great part in my life then: 1t seemed to rest
upon all our thoughts. For Carlos it was
the concrete image of stability, with the
romantic feeling of its peace and of We
ronica's beauty; the Interchangeable land
where he had loved. With Seraphina /
talked of 1t and its denizens as of fabu-
lous country. IswoI der what idea she had
formed Of my father OF my mother. my
sister-"Senora Dona Veronica Rooksby,''
she called her-of the landscape of the life.
OF the sky. Her eyes turned to me serious
ly Once. STOPPING. she plucked an orange
marigold for her hair; and at last we came
to talk of our farm as of the only perfect
refuge for her, ssis-
Go be centinued.)