The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-01-27
.1-!, I G.r
CHAPTER Nv.

Day was dawning in Buenaventura,
republic of Sobrantes as invariably it
dawns fn3the tropics-without 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 .
faint crimson that was spreading and
deepening upward sathwart the east. !
In the patio Of Mother jerks estab-
lishment in, the Gale de Concordia,
|. No., 10, the first shafts of morning
light were filtering obliquely through
the orange trees and creeping in Uni.
der the deep, Gothic-arched veranda
f1anking the western side SOfI the pa
ito. Presently through the Silent
reaches OF the Gale de- Concordia, the
sound Of. d prodigious knocking and
humping echoed, as, of some fretful
Individual seeking admission at the
street door Of, Ell Buen Amigo, by
which euphonious' designation Mother
Jenks'> carayansary was known to the
public Of Buenayentura. In the Sec
ond story, front, window slid back
and woman's voice, husky with that
huskiness that speaks so accusingly
of cigarettes and alcohol, demanded:
"Quien es? Who is It? Que quiere
listed? Wot do yer want?"
Eye might dispinse wit that para
queet conversation whin addhressin'
the likes av me-" voice replied. "Tis
me-Cafferty. L. have cablegram
Leber give me to deliver"
:. "Gawd's TRUTH, Would yer wake
the 'ole 'ouse with yer >'ammering?"
s. s: GAIL right. I'll not say. another
.Iworrd!" ~: -
a Without the portal stood Don Juan
'Cafeteros of whom word Or two be:
fore proceeding. :,
ITO begin, Don Juan Cafetero was
not his real name, but rather a free
Spanish translation of the Gaelic,
John sCafferty. Mr.. Canfertys was an
exile Of Erin with a horrible thirst.
Me 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 aPadua, 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 a
Chicago man, who had come to So
brante to install IN inter-communicat-
ing telephone system in the govern.
nent buildings, suggested to the SUI
perintendent Of the road, who was a
German, that the men made for bosses
come from Erin's isle; wherefore Mr..
Cafferty had been imported at a price
of S. day gold. Result-a marked
improvement in the road bed and con-
sequently the ira in schedules, and the
ultimate loss of the Cafferty 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-
lctariat of Sobrante, the daughter of
one Esteban Manuel Enrique Jose Ma
ria PasQualj y luramontes, an estima-
BILE peon who was Asingularly 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 local abatt0ir. This fool
hardy economic move had so incense1
Don Juan that in a fit Of pique he
spurned his father-in-law 1--WE must
call Esteban. something and 50 why
split hairs?) 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 it?) 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 ene0un-
tered Esteban Manuel Enrique Jose
Maria Pasqual " 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 a .44-caliber revolver and upon
emerging from the railroad hospitals
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
it off within six months from his
wages as section boss, but the men,
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
cOmber. in, which latter state he had
now existed for several months.
To return to Mother jerks
Before Don Juan could even utter Q
matutinal greeting, Mother jerks laid