The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1921-10-21
CHAPTER ".

Day was dawning in Buenaventura,
republic of SObrante. as invariably It
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 athwart the east.
In the patio Of Mother jerks estab-
lshment in the Gale de COncOrdia.
No. 10. the first shafts Of morning
light were fitering Obliquely through
the orange trees and creeping in un-
der the deep. Gothic-arched veranda
thanking the western side Of the pa
ito. 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 Ell 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 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?"
"Ye might dispinse wit that para
queet conversation whin addhressin'
] the likes av me-" a voice replied. "Tis
me-Cafferty. have a cablegram
Leber give me to deliver"
"Gawds truth! Would yer wake
the ole 'ouse with yer 'ammering?"
"Ai right. I'll not say another
word"
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 a 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
|
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 q
Chicago man, who had come to So
brante to install an inter-communcat-
| fol in hn
ment buildings, suggested to the su-
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 price
of S. 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-
tie must have appealed to a 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
y
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 position which
| 10
-to-wit: sailing and packing green
hides at a 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 hairsD under the tails of his
camisa. with such vigor as to sever
to existing between the families. Mrs
Cafferty (again we transgress, but
what of itO subsequently passed away
in child birth, apd no sooner had she
been decently buried than Don Juan
took a 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 Estebar
with .44-caliber revolver and upon
emerging from the railroad hospital q
month later had been tried by So
brantean magistrate and fined the sun
of $4,000. legal tender of the republic
OF Sobrante. OF. course. he had paid
II or within six months from his
wages as section boss, but the mem
oly Of the Injustice always ranked