The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-03-01

given him made the promise seem
no less real.
The small white baby was given
to her merciless custody and
she departed. satisfied that the
price for caring for the child
would buy great deal of gin;
and Pablito, little Pablo, the
small white baby, was to learn
nothing of love and quite every
thing of fear and physical hurt,
In time Belen and Conception
married and. with this done and
children of their own, their dream
tof reelaiming Pabilito faded.
Thus ended his Influence upon
them and their influence upon
him. though the abuse from An
gela sustained.
When Pablito reached the age
of seven he knew his world welt.
There was a filthy shack Of one
room which shook with the wind
and grew damp when rain fell.
In this was a bed, broken stove,
a make-shift table and broken
croekery. Also there were An
gela's sons; ali souvenirs of GER
tlemen who had come and gone.
By the sagging door was a pic
ture that was called (for some
reason) ole Santissima Madro
de Christie
Angela's brood were hard up,
on Pablito. She, too, was hard
upon Pablito and the scars her
beatings left on his body made
her the harder on him, for they
brought from her a vague shame
that she must sill be self-iusti-
fication.
81 give you a home and you
rob my own of their, bread! What
do get for this?" began many
OF her TRADES which ended in
yet another scar on PahIito's
nack. The monthly remittance
from Cuba would go in one day
for drink and after that was for
gotten. Its charity l give you E!
Charity~ Angela would scream.
As time passed her ways be-
came known. She was rarely
sober. the town whispered. The
Key West friend of Senior Villa
verde decided he must report An
gela's evil ways, her possible in
fluence upon the child that had
been given her. But he settled to
write this letter after a two
heavy dinner and after he had
penned a flOwery salutation his
lips turned blue and his head
dropped to the desk. There had
been too many heavy dinners for
him.
For this reason Pablito was to
suffer yet a little longer from
the wrath of Angela. And then
came the night of unbearable
agony and the strange man and
the new life that was to make
him all he became.
The small blond boy was a curl
Gus, unnaturally keen small ami
NAL. He knew the colors of the
sky and what they forecast: that
sea water stopped itching; that
you stole food to run with it
where no one could snatch it
from you; and he knew exactly
what mental reactions came from
Angela's various degrees of
drunkenness. =
On his eighth uncelebrated
birthday he had his first lesson
in love and it's Joss. He found a
bird with a broken wing; he held
it close to his heart and the feel
ing this set in him led him to
make small soft noises. Then
one of Angela's own came across
him and wreSted the bird from
Pablito to break its neck. After
he had gone. laughing, Pablito
held the bird close again and salt
water came from his eyes. Many
of the scars on his back would
never fade, but this bruiso on his
mind never in any sense healed.
1t was not long after this that
rage shook from Angela her eau
ton. Pablito. alone in the shack,
had eaten the bread, her eldest
son said. Would she doubt her
own? Never.
"You, thief The son of one
who went away in silks and dia-
monds but who came home with
another song! That Conception
Viliaverde y Blanche, your moth
erw
To himself Pabilto repeated
the name until it was hung on a
peg of his mind.
Angela took a step toward
Pabfito. She was between him
and the door. he saw, shaking.
"And you, the fruit of sin. rob
my children Of their bread" she
screamed. Pablito's mouth was
dry from hunger and fear. 1t
would be bad and he was malo
(sick.) The day and a half with
out food had left him dizzy, oh,
muy malo! Every ILL.,
AZ get their filthy money, a
few centavos and fewer pesetaS,
and you eat-you eat." She rails
ed her stick.
A little later Angela stood
erect, the stick still gripped in
her hand. "Neyer have given
FRECKLES AND