El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-05-28
OBREGON Tells
STORY Of LIFE

UIUHI vi LII L
CContinued from paFe -
attention to gossip. An lies, am
But Obregon ignored what I was
saying and continued:
'aThe point Is. however. I have only
one hand. while the others have two
That's why people prefer me- 1 can't
steal so much or 80 fast"
A burst Of laughter. Obregon Ea-
luted his own witticism with the re-
served hilarity OF a cynical boy, while
his two friends who were with US
paid tribute to the hero's Jest with
endless boisterousness.
This oratorical success made the
general still more talkative. He in
sisted on treating me to more stories.
perhaps 10 show me that he held the
gossip about him in contempt, per-
haps to enjoy the pleasure Of sur
prising and embarrassing me by the
spectacle Of a man depreciating him
self.
Tells Of His Lost Arm.
you probably don't Know how they
found the hand I lost"
In reality / did know, just as, for
that matter, I had already heard the
joke about his being more honest
than the others because he had only
one hand But in order not TO spoil
the generals delight in his own bril-
liancy, I assured him I did not know
the story
You know, lost my arm N battle.
u was carried off by shell which
exploded near me while I was talk
ing with my staff. After giving me
the first treatments my men set out
to find my arm on the ground They
looked about in all directions. but
could not find 1t anywhere. Where
could the hand and its fragment Of
arm have gone to? IN find It for
you said one, an old friend OF mine.
It viii come back BY itself Watch
me-.
he took out Of his purse a SO
gold piece, an Aztec. we call IL, and
raised It above his head At once a
sort OF bird. with five wings, rose
from the ground 1t was my missing
hand, which had not been able to re-
sist the temptation to fly from its
hiding place and seize a gold coin"
Lets Oregon Rave On.
A second ovation from the guests.
And the man with the one arm eX-
ploded with laughter at the naughty
prank OF his missing hand. and, not
10 be discourteous to It's former own
er, I laughed as we'll
And you never heard how the
Spanish ambassador lost his watch %
I could see what Obregon was driv-
Ing at This story was TO be not at
his own expense, but against that
other fellow" his enemy and perse-
cutor- However, 7 pretended TO be
quite innocent. so that the general
could have the pleasure OF telling the
story
"A new minister from Spain had
just presented his credentials. and
president Carranza was anxious to
welcome him with a great official
banquet. The thing had 70 be done
we'll Spain had been the first Euro
pean nation 10 recognize Don Venu-
stiano's government after the revo-
luton"
As listened to the hero thought
OF the grand dining hall Of the palace
at Chapultepec, which recalls the
tragic days OF Macmillan the Aus
TRAN emperor Of Mexico
I could see Don Tenustiano in eve
ming dress with his white beard and
red, white, and green hose seated op-
posite the Spanish ambassador. and
beside the latter Obregon. minister OF
war: Candida Aguilar. minister OF
foreign relations. the elegant Barra-
gan, in a new Uniform bought for the
occasion. and all the other dlgnitaries
created by the first chief
Suddenly. continued Oregon
''the Spanish diplomat raised his hand
TO his vest and grew pale. 'Caram-
1a' he exclaimed. my watch IS gone
II was an antique timepiece, gold
and inset with diamonds, an heirloom
in the ambassador family.
Who Stole the Wutchf
Complete silencei First he looks at
me, for I an sitting next to him
But have an arm missing and. as IL
happens, on the side nearest the am
bassador, I cannot have taken his
watch. Then he looks at Candida
Aguilar. Don Nenusitano's soninlaw.
who Is sitting on the other side AEui-
lar still has both his arms, but one
Of his hands, and by chance the one
next TO the ambassador, IS almost par
alyzed. Neither can he be the pick
pocket Convinced that he must say
goodby forever to his lost jewelry. the
Spanish minister sat out the rest OF
the meal cursing desperately under
his breath
They have stolen my watch This
Is not government This den OF
thieves-'
when they got up from the table.
Den NenustianO, with his usual diEni-
fled and venerable bearing, stepped
mp to the ambassador and whispered,
here you are but say nothing more
about it,
The diplomat could not contain his
and admiration It was
not the man on my right II was not
the man on my left 1t was the man
across the table in front OF me- o. my
dear Mr. President. quite rightly do
they call you the First Chief"
II the laughter at a joke on Obre-
gon had been noisy. that for joke on
Carranza resembled a cannonade.-
Copyright. 1890. by Y. Blasco Ibanez,
and the Chicago Tribune.
Tomorrow ST. Ibanez speaks Of
Oregon as orator and author, as