Tombstone epitaph., 1915-08-29

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 Cleopatra" cried Poe apprecia- lively.
 The girl turned. and tossed him a kiss. Those who were watching laughed. She caught her partner. an other attractive girl. dressed in short circus-girl skirts and wearing only an eyemask. more firmly about the waist, and began . new series of sinu- ous swayings to the delight of the gleeful onlookers.
 Just then the dance-master's stan came down in three rapid thumps. and the whole hall-full dashed at a large. lurid-hued papier-mache pear. hanging from the center of the ceiling by many-colored ribbons.
 They leaped and struck at it, trying to break it open that its store of can dies. fruits, and favors might be corn ucopiaed out and caught in the strain ing hands.
 The two girls. being near the center Of the hall, leaped to a position direct tive one. in the peasant-girls costume. caught her companion by the leg. and helped her to an instant's unsteady perch on her shoulder
 The girl in circus skirts made a frantic grasp. and struck the pear. breaking it open so that the goodies dropped out among the scrambling dancers. For a moment she remained poised. crying in the pure. ringing Castilian tongue:
 Now I shall have the chslchihuitl,
 Poe. who had rushed in to fight for the favors. helped her as she jumped down beside the water-carrier girl and was quick to hear a whispered, "Yes. you win it," from the one in peasants garb.
 The scramble for favors having finished. another series of thumps with the butt of the big stick in the dance masters hands called them all to . hilarious reel. It became more Of a reel each minute. for all had drunk their fill of beer and pulque, and the last exhilarating hour was at hand.
 Christopher Poe leaped in, and snatched the girl with the circus skirts away from her partner in spite of the objection of both. By clever twisting and weaving in and out among the dancers, he managed to evade the peasantgirl. who pursued frantically, He danced his partner about until she was dizzy and plead with him to stop. Then he dropped her in a corner seat, and pressed a glass of pulque on her, asking at the same moment:
 Did you get the chalchihuitl?"
 NO. Not yet" cried the girl. pant. ing. Find my partner. We mustn't get lost. We must so home together"
 Your partners safe" answered Poe, boobing up to stand in front of the circus-riding masquerader. as he saw the fascinating girl with the Wa ter-jug pushing through the dazed dancers toward them. Grasping a fel- low in a bulky Chanticleer suit, Poe swung him around. pointed to the spent girl in the corner, cried, Here's pheasant hen for you," and whirled away in time to catch the approaching peasant-girl about the waist and join in the mad reyelry.
 The girl repulsed him violently. with almost masculine strength, but Poe, with an outward show Of affec- tion, crushed her tight to his bosom. using all his strength. and holding her so close she could scarcely breathe.
 A sudden series of thumps from the masters stan announced abruptly that this would be the last dance. It was the signal for a depraved, utterly demorAlized tumble of e1travagant motions. lewd cries. ear-splitting curses. staggering blows. and a>few pistolshots. It was the moment of utter demoralization: the dance had gone to pieces. 1t was a mad bottle smashing. hellish riot
 Poe took advantage of the confusion to strengthen his hold on the strug- gling girl by slipping his sinewy arm around her neck with all appearance of sentiment. but effectively choking her; with his other hand he caught the water-bottle from her frantic grasp, tucked 1t under his arm, and was about to tighten his hold on the kirls neck when she suddenly man aged to twist out of his desperate clutch. stagger back. scream, "Cabron, Cabron." in a very mannish voice. and let drive a smashing blow straight into Poe's face.
 Poe raised the heavy red water bot tie, and smashed it full into the mask ed face. The blow carried the girls mask with it, and revealed the cut and bleeding face of a man. wearing a woman's wig. Following up his stroke, Poe hit the fellow fairly in the face. and as he keeled over caught him on one arm and with the other picked up a hideous skull, which the water-bottle had contained.
 Holding the unconscious form of the man who had so effectively masked as a woman. Poe held high the grinning skull. and cried:
 "Cortes, Cortes, The skull of the Great Conqueror, Found at last!"
 Those who heard sent up a wild drunken laugh.
 "See." cried Poe. deIterously re- moving a striking greenish gem from purse he found concealed about the neck of the man he had struck down. He placed the stone between the