The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-02-11
Chapter 20
Rebellion


dressed in shabby clothes, stood
the personnel of Ell Cabrillo
Rancho.
$50 this is the welcome you
give me-" said Constance.
Juliano Strengthened. Isl, SEN
orita," he agreed, and the heads
behind him nodded emphatically.
"Juliano, what is wrong? Why
are you acting in this way? You
were so kind when I went away,
are you sorry I've returned?"
"You weesh to know" stated
Juliano. "Bueno. tell you.
"For more than one hundred
year, our people have herd the
cattle of the Cabrillos. For them
we have work weeth the heart
and the hand. Then Pedro he say
to us that you will sell to him
and they will turn thees place to
cows cows weeth milk" he
spat.
"Then you come and we think:
thees Senorita Conchita Cabrillo,
she is our saviour. She will save
us our place in the sun. She will
keep our horses that we may
herd the cattle on the golden hills
of Ell Cabrillo. and we are made
happy.
seWe would have worked weeth
the hand for Pedro, who is bot a
qrinqo, bot when we learn that
thees Senorita Conchita say we
are to be shovelers of debris;
meelkers of cows, we say no.
"She then is not one true Ca
brillo. We have no welcome for
one who is not a Cabrillo." And
Juliano folded his arms across
his chest and defied her with his
eyes.
Constance looked at him and
tried to stihe the hysterical
laughter bubbling up. She was
dreaming. She'd wandered into a
wild and woolly western film by
mistake.
'Let me get this straight" she
said. "You would work for the
Taylors because they are gringos
and don't know any better, but
you refuse to work for me be-
cause by turning this place into
o dairy ranch, am proving I'm
not a Cabrillo and so demean the
name, the place, and YOU"
"Sii" confirmed Juliano, and
~si," echoed the others.
II would make of suggestion"
continued Juliano smoothly,
"that the sehorita would return
to the sonora and let the Don Ca
brillo, who is the man of thees
family, make attend to thees
rancho"
Don Cabrillo. Constance felt a
red anger, half-Mahoney, half
Cabrillo, sweep over her. So Don,
who hadn't cared to visit the
ranch, who hadn't been there
since child, had more influence
over these people than did she
who was trying to save it for the
Cabrillos.
Worship OF The Past
A LII of the bitterness she had
"A tasted in that past two months
was on Constance's lips as she
dashed at the people before her
"You say | am not a Cabrilo
I'm not. I'm a Mahoney. I'm a
throwback from the old Irishman
who saved this land for your peo-
pie once. I'm trying to save it for
you again.
'Tm going to do, in my day,
what Michael Mahoney did in his,
restock the ranch in cattle best
fitted TO current conditions.
"You outriders know we
haven't enough grazing land for
the cattle we run. You, all of you,
should know that if we cut down
our run II will mean that some
of you will have to go outside TO
make a living. Can you? Do you
know what it means to have to
pay rent and buy food?
"You pretend a loyalty to the
Cabrillos. Do you want them to
suffer for your stubbornneSs? Are
you so crystallized in your fla
matte worship Of the past that you
would starve, see Ell Cabrillo de-
nuded of its last blade of grass,
watch the cattle die, merely TO
save your face?
swell. / WON'T
''I've had to barter my future
for this land, and I'm going to
fight through and save it.
''Now, you men who are men,
back to the herds you left un-
tended, and the rest of you. back
10 your posts.
"And those Of you who are not
men get off e. Cabrillo, for
good"
Some OF the old riders fingered
for TRANSACTIONS and were urged
out by those who understood
English. The children had scurred
at the first blast. Only Dolores,
as fearful rs her name. and
Maria, the militant, remained,
"Senorita Micheel." wheezed
Maria. waddling up, you have
make the speech well. I go now
30 knock the hell into Becg Juan.
Constance laughed Historically
Alta Maria" she commended
Eve women will run the ranch IL
che men fan down on US"
Constance started for her room
Dolores following.
''How many do you think will
leave, DolorcS7" she asked.
"But not one" moaned Dole
res The older ones will stay be-
cause theeS is their hcme and
you make the talk like the hot
blooded Cahrillo. The youne
ones they VIII stay because Pedrc
he say he viii make them crawl
Of on their nose II they Try thS
funny hstSsvsN<~ -