Evening star., 1912-06-30

night, and when we had big steak myself
would fix up the goulash from the remains
of the steak on the day after Anyhow, |
still had hold of Susie's hand, and was ram
bling on a good deal out Of breath and inn
agining that l saw wistful and falEngfor-it
light in Susie's eye-when Teofllo popped
out of the door leading to the balcony!
"Teofilo was some awful to get focus on
too not to say so terrifying in the extreme
that believe both Susie and | would have
to move from the spot to which we were
rooted l am not saying that we laughed
out loud; but we laughed. Teoflo had
mussed his Marcels all up, and his features
were working convulsively and overtime.
Teoflo looked more disheveled than if he
had been looking for shirtstud that had
dropped behind a bureau in dark corner
after he'd got his evening clothes on. Teo-
filo's midnight orbs stuck out like gleamy
nuts on a cylinder head, and the fingers of
both of Teoflo's hands flickered through the
air like a Hungarian dulcimer players at
forty-cent table d'h6te on Second-ave., New
York. Teoflo, you see, was het up. Teofilo
was peeved. 1t seemed that my having hold
of Susies hand had something, if not every
thing, to do with it. In fact, Teoflo, among
other things, said as much. Teoflo took
hold of the language of chivalry, the same
being Spanish, and tore it into confetti right
in the presence of the audience.
$50, dastard!" observed Teoflo to me.
SO, Gringo thief in the night! You would
dare, you would presume, pig of the swamp?
Then you would raise up your chimpanzee
eyes SO highs assassin! You would
pollute the air with your profane gutturals,
HoI
would aspire to touch so tender a hand, SO
flower white hand, wouldst thou, Jackal?
Away, peon! Away
ut was SO sudden that | forgot to turn
Susie's hand loose. So kept hold of it until
Susie gently withdrew it, saying to me in a
muffied tone, accompanying it with an imp
ish flicker out of her eyes, So you would,
wouldst thou, jackal peon? which came
near breaking up the sketch right then and
there; for | wanted to roll on the floor of
the balcony more than I'd ever wanted to do
anything whatever before.
Hooking back, figure it that my grins
must have fed the fame of Teoflo's peeve;
for he kept right on making those queer
noises out of his face and reducing the Ian
guage of Sancho Panza to matchwood. The
aggregate volume of sound emitted by Teo-
flo was something almost disconcerting, and
| was wondering if his pa would be perturbed
about it supposing l were to pick Teoflo up
by the slack of the sash and drop him over
the balcony into the patio-when the senor
himself appeared!
THE se1ior had been brought hither by the
unwonted sounds proceeding from Teo-
filo's facial orifce. The senior took in the
situation at little less than glance. He
was smiling and showing a very fine assort-
ment of teeth. hand it to the seilor some
grudgingly, but he did look fine. He was
tall, husky, and outstanding, with shoulders
as wide as bookcase, and he had square
jawed, non-Latin shaved-four-days- ys-under-
the-pelt, classy countenance that would
have made you glance around at him and
call him locker even if you'd met him in
Fifth-ave. He was logged in a suit of Scotch
tweeds that would have made John Drew
look interested, and there was groomy air
about him that instantly caught Susie's eye
Susie being some expert when it came to
appraising the proper grade of masculine
groominess, not having been in musical
comedy with her eyes entirely closed.
"For his part, the seilor studied the COM
placent and slightly smiling Susie with a
keenness of interest that his good-natured
smile over his first born's perturbation didn't
disguise from me. Until that moment, it ap-
peared, the senior never had had a good,
square look at Susie McDermott, having
been too busy with affairs But he made I'D