Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-05-31
CHAPTER II.-CoNrrNuEp.

~ ~ DAS ~
and by two or three men-rough, un-
couth fellows-dropped in to reinforce
the landlord and they, too, seemed
to have no other business than to sit
in silence looking at me, or now and
again to exchange a word in a patois
of their own. By the time my supper
was ready the knaves numbered six
in all; and, as they were armed to a
man with huge Spanish knives and
evidently resented my presence in their
dull rustic fashion-every rustic is sus-
picious-I began to think that, unwit-
tingly, | had put my head into a wasp's
nest.
Nevertheless, l ate and drank with
apparent appetite; but little that
passed within the circle of light cast
by the smoky lamp escaped me. I
watched the mems looks and gestures
at least as sharply as they watched
mine; and all the time | was racking
my wits for some mode. of disarming
their s~uspicions-or failing that, of
learning something more Of the posi-
ton, which, it was clear, far exceeded
in difficulty and danger anything l had
expected. The whole valley, it would
seem, was on the lookout to protect
my man!
| had %purposely brought with me
from Auch a couple of bottles Of choice
Armagnac; and these had been carried
into the house with my saddle bags. 1
took n out now and opened it, and
carelessly offered a dram Of the spirit
to the landlord. He took it. AS he
drank it, l saw his face flush; he
handed back the cup reluctantly and on
that hint l offered him another. The
strong spirit was already beginning to
work. He accepted and in a few min
utes began to talk more freely and with
less of the eonstraint which had
marked us. Still, his tongue ran chief
1y on questionable would know this,
he would learn that; but even this
was a welcome change. l told him
openly whence I had come, by what
road, how long I had stayed in Auch
and where; and so far l satisfied his
curiosity. Only when I came to the
subject of my visit to Cocheforet I
kept a mysterious silence limiting
darkly at business in Spain and friends
across the border, and this and that
and giving the peasants to understand
If they pleased, that l was in the same
interest as their exiled master,
They took the bait, winked at one
another, and began to look at me in a
more friendly way-the landlord fore
most. But when.I had led them so
far, dared go no farther, lest l should
commit myself and be found out. 1
stopped, therefore, and barking back
TO general subjects, CHANGED to compare
my province with theirs. The land
lord, now become almost talkative, was
not slow to take up this challenge; and
1t presently led to my acquiring a curl
GUS piece of knowledge. He was boast
ing OF his great snow mountains, the
forests that propped them, the bears
that roamed in them, the lizards that
loved the ice, and the boars that fed
on the oak mast.
WELL" I said. quite by chance, 1--WE
have not these things, it is true. But
we have things in the north you have
not. We have tens of thousands Of
good horses-not such ponies as you
breed here. At the horse fair at Fe-
camp my sorrel would be lost in the
crowd. Here in the south you will
not meet his match in q long days
journey"
DO not make too sure of that" the
man replied. his eyes bright with tri-
umph and the dram. 'What would
you say if l showed you a better-in
my WI stahle?"
saw that his words sent a kind of
thrill through his other hearers and
that such of them as understood-for
two or three Of them talked their patois
only-looked at him angrily; and in a
twinkling l began to comprehend. But
affected dullness and laughed scorn-
fully.
Seeing is believing" I said. ~
doubt if you know a good horse here
when you see one, my friend"
ooh, don't II" he said, winking.
Indeed"
Il doubt it," I answered stubbornly.
Then come with me, and | will show
you one" he ~retorted, discretion Civ
Ing way to vain-glory. His wife and
the others, I saw, looked at him dunn
founded; but, without paying any heed
to them, he took up a lanthorn, and,
assuming an air Of peculiar wisdom,
opened the door. "Come with me-"
he continued. Il don't know a good
horse when ! see one, don't I? know
a better than yours, at any rate!"
should not have been surprised If
the other men had interfered; butt
suppose he was a leader among them,
and they did not, and in a moment we
We're outside. Three PAGES through the
darkness took Us up to the stable, an
offset at the back Of the inn. My man
twirled the pin, and, leading the way
In, raised his lanthorn. A horse
whinnied softly, and turned its bright,
soft eyes on us-a baldfaced chestnut,
with white hairs in it's tail and one
white stocking.
"There!" my guide exclaimed, way
ing the lanthorn to and fro boastfully.
that I might see its points. what do
you say to that? Is that an under
sized pony?"
no" I answered, purposely stinting
my praise. ut is pretty fair-for this
country"
"Or any country" he answered
w%rathfully. "Any country. I say--I
don't care uh Gro Il Eel And I haua