The Washington herald., 1920-12-02

ANO. HENRY STORY
The Enchanted Kiss

ploration seized him; he rose and
turned into the black cash Of street
to his right. For time the high
wall formed one OF its boundaries;
but further on. two rows Of black
windowed houses closed 1t In.
Here was the city.s quarter once
given over to the Spaniard. Hero
were still his forbidding abodes Of
concrete and adobe, standing cold
and indomitable against the CEN
tury. From the murky flssure, the
eye saw. nung against the sky. the
tangled nligree of his Moorish bal
comics. Through stone archways
breathes of dead, vault-chilied air
coughed upon him; his feet struck
hngling iron rings in staples stone
buried for half a cycle. Along these
paitry avenues had swaggered the
arrogant Don, had caracoled and
serenaded and clustered while the
tomahawk and the pioneers rife
were already uplifted to expel him
from continent. And, Tansey,
stumbling through this old-worid
dust, looked up, dark as It was, and
saw Andalusian beauties glimmer-
Ing on the balconies. Some of them
were laughing and listening to the
goblin music that still followed; I;
others harked fearfully through the
night. trying to catch the hoof beats
or caballeros whose last echoes
from those stones had died away
century ago. Those women were
silent. but ransey heard the tangle
or horseless bride e-bits, the whirr
or riderless rowels, and, now then,
a muttered malediction in a foreign
tongue. But he was not frightened.
Shadows, nor shadows of sounds
could daunt him. Afraid? No.
Afraid of Mother Peek? Afraid to
face the girl of his heart? Afraid
OF tipsy Captain Peek? Nay! nor
Of these apparitions, nor of that
spectral singing that always pur-
sued him. Singing, He would show
them! He lifted up a strong and
untunefuI voice:
When you hear them bells 20
tingalingling,"
serving notice upon those mysteri-
Gus agencies that IL 1t should come
t" face-to-face encounter
There'll be a hot time
In the old town
Tonight
How long Tansey consumed in
treading this haunted byway was
not clear to him, but in time he
emerged into a more commodious
avenue. When within a few Yards
of the corner he perceived, through
window. that a small confection-
cry OF mean appearance was set in
the angle. His same glance that
estimated its meager equipment, its
cheap soda-water fountain and
stock Of tobacco and sweets, took
cognizance Of Capt. Peek within
lighting a cigar at a swinging gas
light.
AS Tansey rounded the corner
Capt. Peek came out. and they met
vis-a-vis. An exutant Joy filled
Tansey when he found himself sus-
tanning the encounter with implicit
courage. Peek indeed! He raised
his hand, and snapped his fingers
loudly.
It was Peek himself who quaiied
guiltily before the valiant mien of
the Drug clerk. Sharp surprise and
n popobic lcar UouEBeOneQ upon the
captains face. And. verify, that
face was one to rather call up such
expressions upon the faces of 9TH
ers- The face Of a libidinous hea-
then idol-small eyed, with carven
folds in the heavy jowls, and a con- j
suming. pagan license in it's ex-
preston. In the gutter just beyond
te store Tansey say a closed car
riage stan9ng with its back toward
him and q motioness driver perched
in, his place.
why it's Tanseyw exclaimed
Capt. Peek. How are you. Tansey?
H-have a cigar. Tansey?"
why, it's Peek" cried Tansey,
jubilant at his own temerity. What
deviltry are you up to now, Peek?
Back streets and a closed carriage.
Fie, Peekw
There's no one in the carriage"
said the captain. smoothly.
Everybody out of 1t is in luck"
continued Tansey. aggressively. I'D
love for you to know. Peek, that
I'm not stuck on you. You're a
bottle-nosed scoundrel"
why. the little rats drunk"
cried the captain joyfully; "only
drunk. and I thought he was on.
Go home. Tansey. and quit bother