Cheyenne record., 1921-03-03
CHAPTER ".

Day was dawning In Buenaventura,
republic of SObrante. as invariably 1t
dawns in the tropics-without extend
ed preliminary symptoms. The soft.
silvery light of 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 nthwart the east.
In the patio of Mother jerks estab-
lishment in the Gale de Concordia,
No. 10, the first shafts of morning
light were tiltering Obliquely through
the orange trees and creeping in un-
der the deep. GOthic-arched veranda
tianking the western side of the pa
tio Presently. through the silent
reaches of the Gale de COncordia. the
sound of prOdigiOus knocking and
humping echoed, as of some fretful
individual seeking admission at the
street door of FL Buen Amigo, by
which euphOniOus designation Mother
| jerks caravansary was known to the
| public of Buenaventura. In the sec
| Ond story, front, window slid back
and a woman's voice. husky with that
| huskiness that speaks so accuSingly
/ of cigarettes and alcohol, demanded:
"Quien es? Who is it? Que quiere
usted? Wot do yer want?"
aye might dispinse wit that para
queet conversation whin addhressin'
the likes av me-" a voice replied '"Tis
me-Cafferty. l have cablegram
Leber give me to deliver"
"Gawds truth! Would yer wake
the ole 'ouse with yer 'ammering?"
"All right. I'll not say another
worrd!'
Without the portal stood Don Juan
Cafetero, of whom 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 a 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 the su-
perintendent of the road. who was
German. that the men made for bosses
come from Erin's isle; wherefore Mr..
Cafrerty had been imported at price
of So a day gold. Result-a marked
improvement in the road bed and con-
sequently the train 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-
letariat of Sobrante, the daughter of
one Esteban Manuel Enrique Jose Ma
ria Pasqual Y MiramOntes, an estima-
Bile peOn who was singularly glad to
have his daughter off his hands and no
questions asked. Following the fash
loIi VI tlie SouhtIS, ho"e\eI, LSteDdH
had forthwith moved the remainder of
his numerous progeny under the man.
tie of Don Juan Cafetero's philan-
thropy and resigned position which
for many years he had not enjoyed
-to-wit: sailing and packing green
hides at local abattoir. This fool
hardy economic move had so incensed
Don Juan that in n fit of pique he
spurned his father-in-law 1--WE must
call Esteban something and so why
split hairsD 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 encoun-
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 hospital
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 of within six months from his
wages as section boss, but the men,
ory Of the injustice always rankled
him, and gradually he moved down the
scale Of society from section boss to
day laborsr. day laborer to tropical
tramp. end tFspisal tramp to SsacA-