The Lamar register., 1917-08-29

L
be glad to see me would he nnt?"
"Why-of course. But surely you
wouldn't dare"
And why not7 l have made lnqui-
ries, and they tell me Las Palmas Is
beautiful, heavenly. and that you are
/ The one who transformed i l believe
] them. You have the power to trans
/ form all things, even mans heart
and soul. No wonder you are called
The Lone STAR But wait. You will
see how constantly | think of you"
Longorio drew from his pocket several
photographs Of the Austin ranchhouse.
"Where did va get thosc?" Alalre
| asked In astonishment.
"Ahl My secret. Seel They are
badly worn already, for I keep them
next to my bosom"
1--WE entertain very few guests at
Las Palmas," she murmured. uncom-
fortably.
81 know. 1 know a great deal"
1T would scarcely be safe for you
to call; the country is full Of Cande-
lerlstus-"
"CaitIei' said the officer, with
careless shrug. "Dld not that great
poet Byron swim across an ocean to
see a lovely lady? Well. |. too. am
poet ] have beautiful fnncies-songs
Of love run through my mind. Those
Englishmen know nothing of passion.
Your American men are cold. Only
Mexican can love. We have fire in
our veins, sonora"
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 a rab-
bit charmed by a serpent. But to Lon
gorIo she did not exist she was chsi.
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, Alnire undertook to re-
turn the generals rinE with the pre-
tense that she considered 1t no more
ulan a tulismnn loaned her for the time
being. But it was q tuSS to make Lon
gorio accept g.. He was shocked, Of
Tended. hurt; he declared the ring TO
be OF no value; II was no more than
p trihing evidence Of his esteem. But
Alaire was firm.
II was an odd, unreal ride, through
the blazing heat Of the long afternoon.
Longorio east or an 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 Mt
Its destination, his victim was we'll
n exhausted from the struggle.
After a good nights rest. however she
was able TO smile at yesterdays advcn-
ture. Longorio did not bulk so large
now; even these few hours had greatly
diminished his Importance so that he
appeared merely as an impulsive for
cigner who had allowed woman to
turn his head.
Once back across the river she dis
covered that there were obstacles to
a prompt adjustment Of her claim. The
red tape Of her own government was
as nothing to that Of Mexico. There
We're thousand formalities, myriad
Of maddening details TO be observed.
and they called for the services Of an
advocate, a notary, jefe polltico.
jefe de armas-oficials without end.
All Of these worthless were patient and
polite, but they displayed a malarial
indifference to delay, and responsi-
bllity seemed TO rest nowhere. During
the day Alaire became bewildered, al
most lost in the mnzes Of official pro-
cedure, and was half minded to tele-
graph to Judge Ellsworth.
LonEorio by no means shared her
disappointment. On the contrary. he
assured her they were making SPLEEN
did progress, and he was delighted
with her grasp of detail and her lknowl-
edge of business essentials. AT his
word all Nuevo Pueblo bowed GL5
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 Alalre fingered over
their meal. "They will afford me some
thing TO think about all my life. 1t is
a 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. l have Il great
deal for which to thank you"
General Longorio fingered his wine