Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1920-10-22
CHAPTER ".

CHAPTER ".
Day was dawning in Buenaventura,
republic of Sobrante. as invariably II
dawns in the tropics--wlth0ut extend
ed preliminary symptoms. The soft,
silvery light of a full moon that had
stayed out scandalously late had
merged imperceptibly into gray; the
gray was swiftly yielding place to a
faint crimson that was spreading and
deepening upward athwart the east.
In the patio of Mother jerks estab.
lishment I'm the Gale de ConcOrdla.
No. 10, the first shafts of morning
light were filtering Obiquely through
the orange trees and creeping In I'M
der the deep, Gothic-arched veranda
thanking the western side of the pa
ito. Presently. through the silent
reaches of the Gale de COncOrda, the
sound of prOdiglous knocking and
humping echoed, as Of some fretful
individual seeking admission at the
street door of El Buen Amigo, by
which euphOnious designation Mother
Jenks' caravansary was known to the
public of Buenaventura. In the sec
ond story, front. window slid back
and woman's voice, husky with that
huskiness that speaks so accusngly
Of cigarettes and alcohol, demanded:
"Qulen es? Who Is it? Que qulere
listed? Wot do yer want?'
aye might displnse wit that para
queet conversation whin addhressin'
the likes nv me-" u voice replied. otis
me-Cafferty. have cablegram
Leber give me to deliver"
"Gawd's truth Would yer wake
the ole 'ouse with yer ammering?'
"All right. I'll not say another
worrdl"
Without the portal stood Don Juan
Cafetero, of whom a word or two be-
fore proceeding.
To begin, Don Juan Cafetero was
not his real name, but rather free
Spanish translation of the Gaelic
John Cafferty. Mr.. Cafferty was an
exile of Erin with horrible thirst.
He had first arrived In Sobrante some
five years before, as section boss in
the employ Of the little foreign-owned
narrOw-gauge railway which ran from
Buenaventura on the Caribbean coast
to San Miguel de Padua, up-country
where the nitrate beds were located.
Prior to his advent the railroad peO-
pie had tried many breeds Of section
boss without visible results, until
Chicago man, who had come to So
brante to install an inter-communicat-
ing telephone system in the govern
lnent buildings, suggested to tie SUI
perintendent of the road, who was
German, that the men made for bosses
come from Erins isle; wherefore Mr..
Cafferty had been imported at a price
of s. a day gold. Result-a marked
Improvement in the road bed and con-
sequently the train schedules, and the
ultimate loss Of the CafPerty soul.
Something in the climate OF Sobran-
te must have appealed to touch Of
laissez faire in Don Juan's amiable
nature, for in the course Of time he
had taken unto himself, without bell
or book, after the fashion Of the pro-
letarlat of Sobrante. the daughter Of
one Esteban Manuel Enrique Jose Ma
ria Pasqual y Mlramontes, an estima-
BILE peon who was singularly glad to
have his daughter off his hands and no
questions asked. Following the fash
ion of the country, however, Esteban
had forthwith moved the remainder of
his numerous progeny under the man.
tie Of Don Juan Cafetero's philan-
thropy, and resigned a position which
for many years he had not enjoyed
-to-wit: sailing and packing green
hides at Il local abattoir. This fool
hardy economic move had so incensed
Don Juan that In fit of pique he
Spurned his father-in-law 1--WE must
call Esteban something and so why
split hairsN under the tails of his
camisa, with such vigor as to sever
forever the friendly relations hither-
to existing between the families Mrs.
Cafferty (again we transgress, but
what Of itO subsequently passed away \
In child birth, and no sooner had she
been decently buried than Don Juan
took week off to drown his sorrows.
In this condition he had encoun-
tered Esteban Manuel Enrique Jose
Maria Pasqual y Miramontes and
called him out of his name. In the
alteration that ensued Esteban, fully
convinced that he had received the
nub end of the transaction from start
to finish, cut Don Juan severely; Don
Juan had thereupon slain Esteban
with .44-caliber revolver and upon
emerging from the railroad hospital a
month later had been tried by So
brantean magistrate and fined the sum
of $4,000, legal tender Of the republic
of Sobrante OF course, he had paid
1t off within six months from his
wages as section boss, hut the mem
DRY of the injustice always ranked
him, and gradually he moved down the
scale OF society from section boss to
day laborer. day laborer to tropical
tramp, and tropical tramp to beach