Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1938-06-15
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BY OREN ARNOLD
RELEASED ASSOCIATION
CHAPTER 81

l.
THE FURNITURE trucks were
unloaded and the various things
placed during the following two
DAYS. Decorators were on the
scene, too Color schemes had to
be changed in few instances.
Lighting had to be made and made
over to meet Bills meticulous crit
icisms, backed always by Ellen
Dale.
"Say, you aren't making a
peep" he jabbed at her once. "This
is your house, missy. I only work
here. Why in thunder don't you
do some of the bossing yourself?"
II hired you to boss" she replied,
simply. II don't know how"
Off to one side, Buckshot Brown
muttered to his crony, Juan Sala-
Ear, 'It takes more brains to hire
brains than to use yore own
brains"
"No sabe nada," said old Juan,
shaking his head. Gringos were
strange people, he had long since
learned.
They were done with the work
eventually, and it was a perfect
Job, so thoroughly beautiful was
it. Bill had planned well, fur
nished tastefully. After the clean
Ing was all done, he led Ellen out
side and they came through the
front door and re-inspected the
whole thing.
"O-oo-o-o-oh, love-leew was all
Ellen could say.
'This is la sala de vivir," Bill
explained. "That means the room
for living. Parlor. Drawing
room. Living room. Whatever.
Anyhow the main room"
It was very large. In one corner
was Ellen's Indian fireplace, circu-
lar and arched. In a diagonally
opposite corner was another fire.
place, without the rocks. The
door was dark green cement. The
ceiling was beamed with great
rough timbers which Bill had
caused to be removed from an old
abandoned mine in the Milestone
mountains. Smoked, then stained
with mahogany, they literally
reeked with age and interest and
rugged beauty.
Finger and hand prints of
plasterers could be seen on the
wall, a bizarre pattern
A four-foot charm string was
made of gourds, peppers, fruits,
IburrS, seeds, vari-colored and hung
lon a plated rawhide thong. A
string Of ears of corn was more
than six feet long, and the grain
was naturally colored red, yellow,
white. purple, and blue. Bill had
pulled the shucks back from the
big ears but had left them at
tached for added beauty. my
pappy raised that Rtuff in Texas"
Buckshot Brown remarked, land
we never thought nothin' about it
lbein' pretty. But it shore is. in
here"
On a peg in the wall hung a
horse bride, it's bit Enthusiastically
curved in the style of early Span
Iish caballeros, it's sides ornamented
with silver medallions or conchos,
one of which bore the great seal of
Mexico. Bill had picked it up in
secondhand store in Nogales,
Sonora, for a few pesos, the pro-
prietor not realizing it's value. Be-
side the bride hung a Mexican
guitar, strung and ready for
'whomsoever could play it. (Later
1T developed that Pablo Rivera
could.)
Head-high lamps made of cactus
wood stood in the room, one near
a coffee table that was a small
scale replica Of the two-wheeled
Mexican cart or carreta outside.
One chair was of wrought iron;
another was a barrel from which
quarter segment had been re-
moved and which had been carved
by hand; two others were woven
OF willow boughs and one rocker
had great ram skin covering it
10 make it snuggly and warm.
One big wall space bore a six
loot carnival poster, Autographed,
by Parrilla of Seville. It depicted
senorita whose brilliantly GRIM
son lips so caught the light as to
seem alive in the dark blues and
grays of her body and background.
A similar poster, by the same dis
tinguished Spanish artist, showed
couple dancing and was done
also in striking color arrangement.
Bill had found the Autographs in a
curlo shop in Los Angeles Mexi-