Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-09-19


God be praised A miracle!" she
exclaimed Juan. don't you see? 1t is
the beautiful senOra whom we pray
every night of our lives. On your knees.
shameless one 1t Is she who delivered
you from the prison."
Juan stared unbelievingly, then his
face changed his teeth flashed In a
smile, and, sweeping his hat from his
head, he. too, approached Alaire.
"It is! Sonora, am Juan Garcia.
whom you saved. and this Is Inez," he
declared Heaven bless you and for
give me-"
"Now know you" Alaire laughed.
and slipped down from her saddle.
"This is happy meeting. Sol You
live here, and that was little Juan who
ran away as if we were going to eat
him. Well, we are hungry. but not
hungry enough to devour Juanito."
Turning to her companions, she ex-
planned the circumstances of her first
meeting with these good people. and as
she talked the Garcias broke In JOY
fully. adding their own account Of her
goodness,
"We've fallen among friends" Afaire
told Dave and Father O'Mailey. "They
will let us rest here, am sure"
Husband and wife agreed In one
voice. In fact, they were overjoyed at
an opportunity Of serving her; and lit
tie Juan, his suspicious partially al
layed, issued from hiding and waddled
forward to take part IN the welcome.
Shamefacedly the elder Garcia ex-
planned his inhospitable reception of
the travellers. eve hear the gringos
are coming to kill us and take our
farms. Everybody Is badly frightened.
We are driving our herds away and
hiding what we can. Yesterday at the
big Obispo ranch our people shot two
Americans and burned some Of their
houses. They intend to kill all the
Americans they find, so you'd better be
careful .EEt now a fellow rode up
shoutinntinuayou were coming, but OF
course drunt know"
Eyes, Of course. We're trying to
reach the border" Father O'Malley told
him. "Will you hide us here until we
can go on?"
Juan curtsied respectfully to the
priest. my house is yours, father"
"Can you take care of our horses,
too, and--give us place to sleep"
Dave asked. His eyes were heavy; he
had been almost constantly in the sad
die since leaving Jonssville, and now
| l. 10
Trust me-" the Mexican assured
them, confidently IF somebody comes
Til send them away. Oh, l can lie with
the best of them"
The Garcias were not ordinary peo-
pie, and they lived in rather good cir
cumstances for country folk. There
were three rooms to their little house,
all of which were reasonably clean.
The food that Inez set before her
guests, too, was excellent IL scanty.
Juanito, taking cue from his parents.
flung himself whole-heartedly into the
task Of entertainment, and since Alaire
met his advances halfway he began,
before long. to look upon her with par
ticular favor. Once they had thorough
ly made friends, he showered her with
the most flattering attentions. His
shyness, it seemed, was but pretense
lat heart he was bold and enterpris-
ing fellow--and so, as mark of his
admiration he presented her with all
his personal treasures. First he
fetched and laid in her lap cigar-box
wagon with wooden wheels-evidently
the handiwork of his father. Then he
gave her, one by one, a highly priced
blue bottle, a rusty Mexican spur and
the ruins Of what had been a splendid
clasp-knife. There were no blades in
the knife, but-As showed her how to
peep through a tiny hole in the handle,
where was concealed the picture of
dashing Spanish bull-fghter. The ap-
probation which these gifts evoked in
toxicated the little man and reused him
to a very madness of generosity. He
battered away and returned shortly,
staggering and grunting under the
weight Of another and a still greater
Offering. 1t was a dog-a patient,
hungry dog with very little hair. The
animal was alive with feast
scratched absent-mindedly with one
hind paw, even while Juanito strangled
it against his naked breast-but 1t was
the apple of its owners eye, and when
Inez unfeelingly banished it from the
house Juanito began to squall Justify.
Nor could he be conciliated until Alaire
took him upon her knee and told him
about another boy, of precisely his own
age and size, who planted magic bean
in his mothers dooryard. which grew
up and up until it reached clear to the
sky, where n giant lived. JuanitO Gar
cha had never heard the like. He was