The Hope pioneer., 1917-05-17

Las Palmas," she murmured, uncom-
fortably.
Il know. know great DEAL"
1T would scarcely be safe for you
to call: the country is full of Candle
leristas-"
"Cattle!" said the officer, with q
careless shrug. ibid not that great |
poet Byron swim across an ocean to |
see lovely lady? Well, I, too, am a
poet. / have beautiful fancies-songs
of love run through my mind. Those
Englishmen know nothing of passion.
Your American men are cold. Only a
our veins. senora."
To these perfervid protestations Do
lores listened with growing fright; her
eyes were wide, and they were fixed
hypnotically upon the speaker; she pre-
sented much the appearance of rab-
bit charmed by serpent. But to Lon
gorio she did not exist; she was chat
tel. servant, and therefore devoid Of
soul or intelligence. or use beyond that
of serving her mistress.
! Thinking to put an end to these
Establishments, Alaire undertook to re-
turn the generals ring, with the pre-
tense that she considered it no more
than a talisman loaned her for the time
being. But it was task to make Lon
gorio accept it. He was shocked, Of
Tended, hurt; he declared the ring to
be of no value; it was no more than
a trifling evidence Of his esteem. But
Alaire was firm.
It was an odd. unreal ride, through
the blazing heat of the long afternoon.
Longorio cast off all pretense and OPEN
ly laid siege to the red-haired woman's
heart-all without offering her the
smallest chance to rebuff him, the
slightest ground for open resentment,
so respectful and guarded were his
advances. When the train arrived at
its destination. his victim was we'll
nigh exhausted from the struggle.
After good nights rest, however, she
was able to smile ut yesterdays adven-
ture. Longorio did not bulk so large
now; even these few hours had greatly
diminished his Importance, so that he
appeared merely ns an impulsive for
eigner who had allowed a woman to
turn his head.
Once back across the river she dis
covered that there were obstacles to
n prompt adjustment Of her claim. The
red tape of her own government was
as nothing to that Of Mexico. There
were q thousand formalities, myriad
Of maddening details to be observed,
and they called for the services of an
advocate, notary, a jefe politico, a
jefe de armas-ofticials without end.
All of these worthless were patient and
polite, but they displayed a malarial
Indifference to delay, and RESPONSE
, bility seemed to rest nowhere. During
the day Alaire became bewildered, al
most lost in the mazes of official pro-
cedure, and was half minded to tele-
graph to Judge Ellsworth.
| Longorio by no means shared her
disappointment. On the contrary, he
assured her they were making splcn-
did progress, and he was delighted
with her grasp of detail and her knowl-
edge Of business essentials. At his
. word oil Nuevo Pueblo bowed and
scraped to her; he arranged for her
an elaborate luncheon in his quarters
"You can never know what these two
days have been for me-" the general
said as he and Alaire fingered over
their meal. 'They will afford me some
thing to think about all my life. 1t is
delicious comfort to know that you
trust me, that you do not dislike me.
And you do not dislike me, eh?"
"Why. Of course not. have great
deal for which to thank you"
General Longorio fingered his wine
glass and stared into it. II am not
like other men. am a man Of iron
yes, an invincible soldier-yet I have
heart, and woman could rule me. J"
"You say you have heart" Alaire
studied her vis-a-vis curiously as he
met her eyes with his mournful gaze.
GLOW is 1t that hear such strange
stories about you, general?'
'Lies, all of them!' Longorio as
serted.
"For instance, they tell me that you
shoot your prisoners?"
"Of course" Then, at her shocked
exclamation, he explained: 1T is a
necessity Of war. Listen, sonora! We
have twelve million Indians in Mexico,
and few selfish men who incite them
to revolt. To permit the lower classes
| to rise would result in chaos, black an
archy, indescribable outrages against
life and property. There is but one
} way to pacify such people-externi-
; nate them! Mexico is civilized ma
ton; there is no greater in the world; ;
but she must be ruled with an iron
hand. We shall drive all the traitors
into the sea, and Mexico shall have
peace. But am not bloodthirsty
man. No, I am poet and lover at
heart. AS great a patriot as l am,
could be faithless to my country for
one smile from the woman ADORE"