Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-05-12

How farclcall No wonder Ricardo,
with his northern viewpoint, approach
ed his patriotic task with gayety, al
most with contempt. And when Web
ster recalled that the about to-be-bOrn
provisional government had casually
borrowed from him the sum of forty
thousand dollars in order TO turn the
trick-bOrrowing it, fOrsOOth, in much
the same spirit as a cOmmuter board
ing his train without the necessary
fare halls a neighbor and borrows ten
cents-his natural optimism asserted
itself and he chuckled as in fancy he
heard himself telling the story to Ned
dy Jerome and being branded a liar
for his pains.
''Well, I've had one comfort ever
since first saw that girl" he re-
Elected philosOphicalIy. "While I've
never been so unhappy in all my life
before, or had to tear my soul out by
the roots so often, things have been
coming my way so fast from other d.
rectiOns that haven't had much OPP
portunity to dwell on the matter. And
for these compensating offsets, good
Lord, thank Thee"
He was John Stuart Webster again
when Dolores saw him next; during
the succeeding days his mood of
cheerfulness and devil-may-care indif-
ference never left him. And through
out that period of marking time Do
lOres was much in his society, a con-
dition which he told himself was not
to his liking but which, nevertheless,
he could not Obviate without seeming
Indifferent to her happiness. And to
permit his friends fiancee to languish
in loneliness and heart-break did not
appear to John Stuart Webster as the
part of a true friend or a cOurtly gen
tleman-and he remembered that she
had once called him that.
They rode together in the cool of the
morning; they drove together on the
Malecon In the cool of the evening;
chaperoned by Don Juan Cafetero and
a grinning Sobrantean, they went shark
fishing in Leber's launch; they played
dominOes together; they discussed,
throughout the long, lazy, quiet after
moons, when the remainder of their
world retired for the siesta, books, art,
men, women, and things.
And not once, throughout two weeks
of camaraderie, did the heart-racked
Webster forget for a single instant
that he was the new friend, destined
to become the old friend; never, to
the girls watchful eyes, did he be-
tray the slightest disposition to estab-
fish their friendly relations on a closer
basis.
Thus did the arrival of The Day
find them. Toward sunset they rode
out together along the bay shore and
noted far out to sea the smear of
smoke that marked the approach of
La Estrellita-on schedule time.
"YOu will go aboard her tonight"
Webster said very quietly to Dolores.
"And your"
II shall go aboard with you. 1 have
arranged with Don Juan for him to
stay ashore and to come out in Lee
| ber's launch with the first reliable
news of the conflict. If Ricardo wins
the CITY, he wins the revolution, and
you and will then go ashore-to dine
with him in the palace. If he loses
! the city, he loses the revolution, and
we will both do well to remain aboard
La Estrellita."
"And in that event. what will be-
come of my brOtherY
II do not know; l forgot to ask
him, but if he survives, l imagine
| he'll have sense enough to know he's
whipped and will retreat on San Bru-
no, fighting rear guard action, en-
bark aboard the steamer that brought
his men there, and escape"
"Tm worried about Mother jerks"
81 have asked Mother jerks to dine
with us at Z 80 this evening, and have
ordered a carriage to call for her
When she comes I'll tell her every
thing: then, if she wishes to stay
ashore, let her. She's been through
more than one such fracas and doesn't
mind them at all, dare say"
And in this Webster was right.
Mother jerks listened in profound 81
lence, nodding her approval, as Web
ster related to her the story of the
advent in the country of Ricardo Ruey
and his plans, but without revealing
the identity of Andrew Bowers.
At the conclusion of his recital the
old publican merely said: "Gor' biz
mel"
After a silence she added: my
sainted Emery used to sly the proper
holds for a white man in a bally row
o. this nature was 40 to 1. Cor, but
how my sainted Emery would henjOy
bein' ere this night to 'elp with the
guns" She sighed.
"HOw about a little bottle Of wine
to drink peace to your sainted Henry
and luck to The Cause?" Webster sug-
gested.