The Washington herald., 1920-11-27
An O.HenryyStory
The Caballero's Way
tContinued From Yesterday,

Tonia dropped the lariat. twisted
herself around. and curved lemon
tinted arm over the rangers shoul-
der.
But then" she murmured In
liquid Spanish, "I had not beheld
| thee, thou great, red mountain of
man! And thou art kind and good,
as well as strong. Could one choose
him, knowing thee? Let him die;
for then l will not be filled with
fear by day and night lest he hurt
| thee Or me-"
How can know when he
comes?" asked Sandridge.
When he comes" said Tonia, he
remains two days, sometimes three.
Gregoria, the small son of old Luisa,
the lavandera, has a swift pony. /
will write a letter to thee and send
1t by him, saying how 1t will be best
to come upon him. By Gregoria
will the letter come. And bring
many men with thee, and have much
care. oh, dear red one. for the rat
tlesnake is not quicker to strike
than Is 'El Chivato,' as they call
him. 10 send a ball from his pistola."
The Kids handy with his gun,
sure enough" admitted Sandridge,
but when / come for him / shall
come alone. I'll get him by myself
or not at all. The Cap wrote one or
two things to me that make me
want to do the trick without any
/ help. You let me know when Mr.
Kid arrives, and I'll do the rest"
- will send you the message by
the boy Gregoria," said the girl. Il
knew you were braver than that
| small slayer of men who never
smiles. How could 1 ever have
| thought l cared for him?"
1t was time for the ranger to ride
back to his camp on the water hole.
Before he mounted his horse he
raised the slight form of Tonia with
one arm high from the earth for a
parting salute. The drowsy still
ness of the torpid summer air still
lay thick upon the dreaming after
noon. The smoke from the fire in
the jacal. where the frijoles blub-
bered in the iron pot. rose straight
as a plumbline above the clay
daubed chimney. No sound or move
ment disturbed the serenity of the
dense pear thicket ten yards away.
When the form of SAndridge had
disappeared, Looping his big dun
down the steep banks of the Frio
crossing. the Kid crept back to his
own horse, mounted him and rode
back along the torturous trail he
had come.
But not far. He stopped and wait
ed in the silent depths of the pear
until half an hour had passed. And
then Tonia heard the high, untrue
notes of his unmusical singing COM
ing nearer and nearer; and she ran
to the edge of the pear to meet him.
The Kid seldom smiled: but he
smiled and waved his hat when he
saw her. He dismounted. and hts
girl sprang into his arms. The Kid
looked at her fondly. His thick
black hair clung to his head like n
wrinkled mat. The meeting brought
a slight ripple of some undercurrent
of feeling to his smooth. dark face
clay mask.
"How's my girl?" he asked, hold
ing her close.
sick of waiting so long for you,
dear one" she answered. my eyes
are dim with always gazing into
that DEVILS pincushion through
which you come. And 1 can see into
II such a little way, too. But you
are here, beloved one. and will not
scold. Que NAL Muchacho, not 10
come to see your alma more often.
Go in and rest, and let me water
your horse and stake him with the
long rope. There is cool water in
the jar for you"
The Kid kissed her affectionately.
Not If the court knows itself
do I let a lady stake my horse
for me-" said he. But IL you'll
run in, chica. and throw a pot of
coffee together while I attend to
the caballo, I'll be a good deal
obliged"
Besides his Workmanship the Kid
had another attribute for which he
admired himself greatly. He was
muy caballero, as the Mexicans ex-
press it, where the ladies were con-
cerned. For them he had always
gentle words and consideration. He
could not have spoken a harsh word
to a woman. He might ruthlessly
slay their husbands and brothers.
but he could not have laid the
weight of finger in anger upon
a woman. Wherefore many of that
interesting division Of humanity who
had come under the spell of his
politeness declared their disbelief
in the stories circulated about Mr..
Kid. One shouldn't believe every
thing one heard. they said. When
confronted bv their indignant men
folk with proof of the cabalero's
deed of infamy. they said maybe
he had been driven to it, and that
he knew how to treat a lady, any
how.
Considering this extremely cour-
teous idiosyncrasy of the Kid and
the pride that he took in it. one
can perceive that the solution of
the problem that was presented to-
him by what he saw and heard
from his hiding place in the pear
that afternoon Cat least as to one
of the actors) must have been OBJ
scured by difficulties. And yet one
could not think of the Kid over
looking little matters of that kind
At the end of the short twilight
they gathered around a supper Of
frijoles, goat steaks. canned
peaches and coffee. by the light OF
lantern in the jacal. Afterward,
the ancestor. his flock corralled.
smoked a cigarette and became a
mummy in a gray blanket. Tonia
washed the few dishes while the
Kid dried them with the -four sack
ing towel. Her eyes shone; she
chatted volubly of the inconseQuent
happenings of her small world
since the Kids last visit: 1t was as
all his other home-comings had
been.
Then outside Tonia swung in
grass hammock with her guitar ana
sang sad canciones de amor.
fDo you love me Just the same,