Evening star., 1924-10-05
The Strong Man of the Rio Verde Meets His
Conqueror---A Story of PICTURESQUE Contrasts

| in his mad search that first day. To
the police he said We shall reward
him. But first / wish to reward the
vigilance of the police"
He counted shining goldpieces into
| each palm. A sergeant spoke uncer-
tainly
Your grace means it will not be
necessary to take him."
Precisely, sergeant. There is no
| charge against him. l will not ap-
pear against him. and those shame
less ones dare not
A man who has both hands full Of
gold is one whose words have weight.
The sergeant bowed. Still" he
hinted delicately, there is the mat
ter of the broken door at the Jail"
oh" said the American. II did not
know. But the fault is mine; / did
not understand or ] would never have
let him go to jail. / will see the
judge tomorrow. Meantime, will this
pay for the door,"
But surely. senor" Very deeply
the sergeant bowed. His eye fell on
the twisted grating of the window.
THE miscreant has wickedly ruined
your reja, senior. Shall We not take
him for that?"
oh that" said the American. Il
did that myself II leaned against
Doubtless the apprehensive neigh
bors wondered why a raid in force
should end in laughter.
FL Caiman shufficd his free foot.
one ankle being embraced by the
man-child sitting on the floor, and
gazed dumbly at this foreigner who
could know things he had never been
told. 'Senor," he begged, who has
told you those things OF me?"
NV wifc' ga id tho American
curiously humble.
MY son." said the woman: and it
seemed to Ell Caiman that they had
some smiling secret between them.
But the bebe. he cannot talk, Sc
nora! He is so very little. But he is
very intelligent" he boasted, "and
strong. He is the strongest little
man in the world. Look
He bent and offered a thick fore
finger The child grasped it with
both hands; but when FL Caiman
would have lifted him the grip failed.
FL Caiman grunted an earnest curse,
flung out a vehement. pleading hand.
"Senor," he cried, "senor, 1t is a
wickedness. See his little bones, A
bebe requires to eat. to grow big and
strong. When he was mime
He stopped, abashed, for the wom-
an laid her frail hand on his mighty
arm.
"Caiman," she said. your name is
Caiman, is il not true?'
Il am Andres Tobar, your servant,
senora," said FL Caiman, embarrassed.
That is a foolish name the country
men give me because ] am very
strong"
The bebe is yours, Andres" said
the woman, smiling. See how he
loves you. For US he does not wish
to eat. If I bring him milk now
And then" cried FL Caiman, then
| I shall take him away
You shall stay here and make him
| eat and play and laugh and grow big
and fat and strong"
X 4
III CANAAN gazed with awe on
- furniture that CLEANED where the
light struck it; on pictures that were
| not of saints nor yet of crucifixion,
| but of white. woolly lambs and chill
dren strangely attired; on rugs that
| felt like softest grass, litter of
| curious wooden blocks, a small. gay
| contrivance that was not quite a
| horse and not quite a chair. "I?' he
stammered, here, sonora? In this
house,"
In this house"
He moved gingerly thereafter and
his voice was hushed TO a timid rum
BILE in his throat. But half an hour
with comfortably somnolent man
| child in his arms, there was violence
and uproar. The porter bounded
| terror stricken into the masters
room, shouting. The gun, jsenor! The
| gum He comes"
| He called me a mana. a nurse
| maid, Throw him to me, senor'
| But the master of the house only
/, laughed and brought gold and sent
the porter away. El Gilman himself
should be the porter and guard the
| door, so that no harm should come to
! the little one; and none should call
him nurse 1t was in the gray. warm
| peace of, dawn that the woman, slip
! ping from her bed, beheld Ell Caiman.
| squatting on his heels. one thick ell
bow pillowed in a small contriyance
that was not quite horse and not
quite chair, gently snoring. Even
| the strongest man of the Rio Verde
| could not break the grip of those
| small possessive fingers that clutched
| him by the hair.
| Copyright. 19o4D