The Oregon daily journal., June 21, 1914, Page 66, Image 66

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THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE -21,7 1914.
The Valley of Sunshine: and
K&fefe "She beean to find his presence a
FAR up In tb northern end of Luzon the eloud
hungr cordlllera. divides to east and west before It
sinks abruptly In the sea, enclosing; the great val
ley of the Cagayan. A dim, far-off region It haa
always been, of which the good folk of Manila spoke
with vague words, as old men on the bills of Spain used
to talk of Ultramar, that unknown somewhere Into
which their tons were forever disappearing. And even
the people of the valley did not know it At Aparri on
the coast, where In the old days the bales' of tobacco
were plied like houses along the sandy streets in the
hipping season, the busy laborers would tell you that
It all came from "up there." with a wide sweep of the
hand toward the south. Tou took a canoe and went
southward for days, between gray foresta where the
parrots screamed and monkeys climbed lazily down the
creepers to scoop up water in their tiny hands, and
you found tuguegarao sleeping on the bluffs, perched
high and safe above the river, and men told you of the
wonders to be seen "up there." And then after lazy
days and days, poling upward past endless fields of corn
and tobacco, you came to Hagan. and the clerks In the
offices of the Companla General told you of the great
plantations "up there."' And then most men wearied
of the Journey, and gave up the quest of "up there,"
before they had gone halfway.
They should have kept on. for the real "up there." la
the wonderful place they had heard of, a land of mag
nificent space, great stretches of plain and rolling hills.
And In every little valley Is a forest, where deer and
wild boars and buffalo hide. And all the reaches of the
river and the clear mountain streams, the plnacanau
snes, are covered with clouds of ducks. And every
where Is tobacco In the fields, and in the houses, and
In the big flat-bottomed boats, the barangayanes, on
the river. There Is a stretch of country where it seems
the rich, deep, warm soil can never tire of making
things grow tobacco and corn and flowers and canes
and grasses and bamboo so men have called It "La,
Flor de la Isabel," the flower of the land of good Queen
Isabel. It Is a very quiet region, but there is a charm
n th Hmad fields, and the hot sunny air. and the wild
hunts over plain and hill, and the expeditions now and
then In search of gold In the distant purple mountains
where the wild men live. The valley grows upon one
till one forgets the hills of Spam and the people he
knew, and even the nearer delights or Manila, and
stays on "up there" till he passes from the world which
had already forgotten him.
Sometimes they emerged for a moment, and even came
to el Capital for the Christmas festivities, lean, bronzed
bearded men who wandered silent through the gay
crowds. How should they speak when they knew noth
ing of all the gossip of the town-the ball of his Excel
lency, and Don Fulano's promotion, and the match be
tween young Diego and the General's daughter? But let
two of them meet in a cafe, and they could talk readily
enough over the tiny glasses of cognac, though always
In that quiet, self-retained way which all men of the
open have. "B-r-rgh, it's chilly here; It would not be
like this in the valley." "No. they will be planting
now. And the fiver is rising; the young daredevils will
be having great sport shooting the rapids at Alcala. Re
member the whirlpool on the west side?" "Yes, and have
you heard that Don Enrique will hold a great fiesta on
Shrove Tuesday? "Well, he can afford It with this crop.
He has covered more thousands this year than you have
heirs on your chin hombre."
Always the valley and the river and tobacco and Don
Enrique. For Don Enrique was their lord. The great
company back in Barcelona and Madrid might control
everything the lean, silent white men, and the brown,
tolling thousands in the fields, and tho boats on the'
river, and the great white fortresses of warehouses but
in the valley Don Enrique was company and king. For
him they tolled and died forgotten, from him they
thankfully received their meager wage, and when an
order came signed In his heavy hand, "Valdez y de las
Vegas," all men;burrled to do his will. Any one would
be glad to serve such a man. For there was a Valdez
with every great captain that ever sailed, and a Vegas
keeps his hat on - with the proudest yet. And since this
Is a commercial ake, and mere family renown can count
for little beslda wealth, each year brought Don Enrique
one hundred thousand pesos, five hundred thousand
pesetas, eight hundred thousand reales! Mlra, amlgo,
you could buy your bread and sausage with that, and
have a bit left for a little present to the wife, eh?
' And then he was no make-believe ruler, this Don
Enrique. He knew the valley, every day's Journey of
it, from lonely Cordon, lying in the threatening shadow
of the pas8, tq the latest change In the bar outside
Aparri; knew the capacity of each warehouse to the last
bile; knew the shifting channel of the river, and could
foretell the treacherous floods. And he knew what each
subordinate was doing. No one knew when to expect
a visit, and there were few who did not' dread being
called to ride with him. Yet he would dismount at the
end of a long day in the saddle with as much calm grace
as though he were returning from a canter round the
town.
, For he was always calm and dignified and silent,, as
only a gentleman of Castile can be. Not insolent or
taciturn or overbearing, but simply closed in himself.
He, treated all men all white men at least, for natives
do not count with, quiet courtesy, "and had neither ene
mies nor. friends. Even the guests who shared the
almost princely hospitality of the great house at Echague
knew very little of their host -
. It was bouse, that place at Echague, built four
square and heavy as a fort, of great blocks of sand
stone, and tack of it was a huge walled garden. Of
'course, Don Enrique had other houses, three of them,
in Ilagan and Aparri and Manila. But. he was as much
a man of the open as any of his world-searching for
bears, and loved far-off Echague better than all the
rest Here, when the shipping was over, and the last
barangayan lay loaded to the water's edge above the
rapids at Alcala, waiting for the -first gentle lift -of the
5 rains, to carry, her safe, down to Aparri, Don Enrique
'.would retire with a band of chosen companions, to hunt
and game bard and long. Few men were Invited a
",-' second time, or wished to. be, for with; all Ms courtesy
"Don Enrique was an exacting host In the hunting sea
son. ' .Long before dawn the hounds would be , belling
la the patio, the great tiled .courtyard, and the sleepy
Smst turning on his pillow for another nap. would
welcome relief
the day
hear a mighty splashing from the room of his host, and
the' vicious squeals of the fiery little, stallions In tie
stables, and the clink of stirrups and bits and spears.
And before the unhappy sportsman could quite fall
asleep, there would come a peal, of trumpets In the
haunting ' reveille, and boys pounding at each door:
"Beady, senores, ready. Tour coffee is ready." And
so they were up and away in a mad rush over hCH and
valley through the gloom, anything but attractive to a
man who had a decent regard for his neck.
And when they returned Don Enrique would come
riding at the head of the long line,' grave and composed
as ever, while the huntsmen were loaded down with a
beautiful great buck or a boar killed by a single thrust
of which the greatest matador in Madrid would not
have been ashamed. Then after the huge hunt break
fast would come the welcome rest of the siesta, and in
the evening a mighty game, mallilla or monte or bil
liards, for Don Enrique played as be worked or rode,
with a carelessness of consequences not at all pleasant
to a man with a decent regard for his purse.
So on by one the guests sailed away down the mys
terious river, and left Don Enrique alone in the great
house at Echague, to be master of all he surveyed.
And there he moved about his lost world, and was
capped) and bowed down to, and had his courteous, im
perious way. until I think he really began to feel that
he was a very great man indeed. And perhaps he was
as great as any other.
But solitary grandeur has its drawbacks, even to as .
grave and great a man as Don Enrique; and as the
summers came treading on each others' heels with
their burden of endless days. Don Enrique, sipping his
Rioja in solitary state in the great dining-room, where
the sweetness of orange blossoms stole in through the
wide windows, began to dream dreams of a companion
who should sit always with him of an evening across
the big gleaming table, or come close beside him and
share .his thoughts. No, Don Enrique was not think
ing ot a wife; Don Enrique had had a wife, and "lost"
her, as he told the world. But there was his "little
girl." Mercedes, back in a great gray convent In Mad
rid. His little girl he called her In the letters he sent
back each month, for she always lived in his memory
as the shy little maid he had given to a sweet-voiced
Mother Superior so many years before. It was for her
that he had been working all these years, and piling up
these princely possessions, and over his grave, proud
face would come a look of almost womanish tenderness
when he thought of her.. This thougnt of her had sus
tained him in all the loneliness, and he had always
dreamed of her coming as the final crowning touch to
his life. "Some time," said Don Enrique often to the
lizards darting about the table of an evening, as lizards
will, "some time she shall come to us." And somehow
some time always lingered in the future.
But at last one evening, when the odor of the blossoms
hung very heavy in the damp, still air. and the -thunder "
was muttering in the pass far back of Santa Lucia, Don
Enrique stopped his Bipping and looked very bard at
the great-grandfather of all the lizards, a tremendous
old fellow, almost five Inches long. And the lizard re
turned the stare with his bright, beady eyes.
"Por Dlos, my big friend,- said Don. Enrique to the
lizard at last, "she shall come to us at once." And if
you realize what a very great man Don Enrique was,
you will understand that when he began to make com
.a panlons of the lizards, even the biggest and most re
spectable of them, it was quite time , that he sent for
Dona Mercedes.
So letters came and went, and at last one Christmas
season Don Enrique found himself in Manila, waiting
for the good old Isla de Panay to bring his little girl
to him. Many longing hearts have followed those old
ships of the Spanish Mall In the days that are gone.
For all this was long ago. Only eight or ten years as .
you count, perhaps, but I have seen Dona Mercedes
eyes, and they told me that It all happened long, long
ago, when the world was very young indeed.
But the old ship did not bring Don Enrique his little
girl after alL I wish you could have seen the Dona
Mercedes who did come. Tour heart would have beaten
as fast, I hope, as that of the spruce young lieutenant
who almost let her fall as he was helping her into the
launch, and retired quite as full of blushes and confu
sion and speechlessness as if he had never worn shoulder-straps
and a smart little sword, and been aide-decamp
to his Excellency the Gobernador-General. For
Dona Mercedes was tall and slight with all the staten
ness of her house, and her head was poised like a
. queen's on her slender neck, and her little high-arched
feet seemed scarce to touch the deck. Tet It was not
the proud lady who made the young lieutenant's hand
unsteady he lived and moved among proud ladies
it was the eyes of the young girU For Dona Mercedes
still looked out on the world from the" shelter of the
convent window with such a gentle, timid, inquiring
- smile In the depths of her great dark eyes that she was
far more dangerous to the peace and happiness of his
Majesty's forces than all the natives of the Philippines,
with Cuba thrown in besides.
When Don Enrique saw the eyes of the stately lady
who had come to him in place of his little girl he was
comforted, for so the little maid whom he gave to the
Mother Superior had looked at ; him. And TIa Maria
had good report to make. "She . is the best, dearest,
kindest child in the world," said Tla Maria. "She is as
good as the Virgin herself, and never has a fault j Only
she will not keep her feet dry; and oh! Don Enrique,
If you could see how X have to work to make her care
for her complexion, and " I suppose old servants are
the same all the world over. So Don Enrique received
his little girl, the very finest little girl in all the world,
which is not surprising when you consider what a very
great man. her father was.
While they were getting acquainted, as he put' it.
Don Enrique condescended to share Dona Mercedes with
the little world ot Manila. He gave a great ball, and
his Excellency danced the bid minuet with her, whereat
the beholders cried that the days of chivalry were come
again. Dona ; Mercedes smiled a little and blushed a
little, and the stout red-Xaced old general led her to his
stout, Jolly old wife with the remark: "My dear, when
you are good enough to die, here. Is your successor, if
an old soldier " and he dropped forty years and a dozen
campaigns to make her a wonderful bow. - "Tush, old
" wives asf "-T" ". w- n." said her Excel-
Iency. "Sit down here beslda toe, my dear, ana xeu m
how you like Manila.
"It is very good to be wtth, my father again." said
Dona Mercedes simply.' "and you are all so kind to me."
And then the young officers who had been tugging at
their fleroe mustaches, and settling their chine In their
stocks, came tramping stiffly up and begging for the
honor. So It went on for several weeks, until one day
her Excellency called. "Valdez," said she, ; In her
straightforward way, "are you going to marry your
daughter or notT' "That,
madame." he replied. ""uepenas
on ""Whether you find any one
good enough for her, eh?"ssid her
Excellency. "And there is none
good enough, is there. Valdez?"
"Not one In the world, madame,"
he replied gravely, but with the
gleam of' a smile. Somehow most
people smiled when this simple
old lady was near. "Not one In
the world, madame," said Don
Enrique. "But marriage Is not a
necessity of life; my IttHa girt and
I will be happy together for a
h, I hone." "Love of the
to the length of
saints!" cried her ExoeUencyj fhe
la as young as his daughter. He thinks to keep the bees
always away from his honey. Look at their eyes; they
are boy and girl together. God grant you may be suc
cessful. Valdez. She is a dear, sweet child. But take
her away to your kingdom." she added. "They are
busy bees, and gay uniforms are bad for little girls who
are to love only their fathers and besides, I can't find
an aide to do an errand for me while she Is In town."
So Dona Mercedes, having had only a tasrte of the life
most people lead, passed from the lost world of the con
vent to the lost world of the valley with her proud,
dainty ways, and a friendly inquiring smile in her eyes
for every one she met I suppose you can't understand
how Dona Mercedes felt; one must step directly from
the convent to the world to do that But, of ; course,
her smile was friendly, for she had never known any
one who was not a friend: and It was Inquiring, for the
world was all one great puzzle to her, and she was in
terested in all the multitude of people she saw, who
were doing so many hard and disagreeable and useless
thing Of bad things, of course, she knew nothing,
'Don Enrique was their lord
except for some words in her prayers. So Dona Mer
cedes, young woman and little girl, looked Into the
world with frank, interested - eyes..
And she found It a delightful place. There was
the great house, with its thick walls and heavily barred
windows, and big. dark, cool rooms. And the garden,
with the old familiar orange and lemon trees and
tinkling fountains. There were strange, sweet, new
trees as well, ylang-'ylang and clove and cinnamon, and
a hundred other cool, fragrant snowy-blossomed things,
and poinclanas and orchids and palms and great ferns.
Best of all, trained up and about her windows were real
Spanish roses, big white and red and pink and yellow
fellows. And at the far end or the garden was a wide
spreading old veteran of a niango, big as a Bmall moun
tain, and in Its shade a little summer-house for her, 'al
most hidden in a tangle of roses. Here" shs used to sit
through--the day, embroidering or reading or dozing.
It might have seemed like a dull life to you. but then
you never knew the quiet of the convent and the peace
of it. - ; .. -':' , . .:", . j
Besides, always she looked forward to the evening.
Tou never knew that either, perhaps-the coolness and
- delight of the tropical evening, coming after .the long
glare of the day, when through the windows steals the
fresh, damp air, heavy with the scent of flowers and
moist earth, and one . hears the strange cries of birds
and insects, and sees the big, silent, fluttering bats ana
the fireflies that made a living fountain of every tree,
and all these but passing shadows on the background
ot a dim, happy, sleepy world of darkness. j
Most . of all. Dona Mercedes was' Interested '. In 'the
creatures that worked , and played In this huge new
world. . First there -was her father. The long evenings
. were never too long . with . him, for Don Enrique cast
aside all the gravity and dignity . and silence, and
: laughed and jested and talked and. dreamed with his
Uttle girl, till the grandfather of all the lizards became
' '
Shadow
disgusted at the unseemly disturbance of the established
order, and retired with an Indignant flip of the tall which
nearly lost him that brittle member. Then there was
good, grumbling TIa Maria, who found It hard to adjust
herself to new conditions. -
"How can one live In a country where there are no ..
sidewalks?" mourned Tla Maria, "and where there are
monkeys and bats u'-r-g-hh and scorpions and spider?
Spiders big as that, as That child!" 'cried Tla Maria,
pushing out a sturdy foot from under her limp black
skirt
Then there were the servants, with their eternal
cheery smiles and careless ways, who first revealed to
Dona Mercedes that she had the family temper. And
the women and. the little brown babies In the town and
the dull men in the fields Mercedes wondered If It was
not very hot and unpleasant to work in the fields, and
so smiled most kindly at them, till they forgot their
sullenness and smiled back. Then there were the
treacherous river, and the great clumsy boats, and the
fierce-looking rlvermen with their knives, and bright
handkerchiefs about their heads. And eooe she met
some wild men In the street sturdy fellows with, great
muscles and long black hair, stiff and rough mm dm
mane of a horse, dressed mostly, to her frlghtenedi
gaze. In shields and spears and head-axes and knives.
But when she smiled timidly they responded with wide
grins, and tried to sell her little silver pipes and copper
betel-nut boxes.
So Dona Mercedes moved about, learning many things
concerning life even In that far-off valley. She was
destined to learn the greatest thing of all there, but
that came later. I've often wished I could have seen
the stately, slender child-woman In those days, with
her big. Inquisitive eyes seen her just as the Cap
tain did, when he came tearing Into town to see her
and nearly ran over her. It was characterlstlo of Cap
tain Manuel to come that way, forty miles in four hours,
when after two slow months the news of her arrival
penetrated far into the mountains, where he was hap
pily busy bunting ladrones. It was characteristio of
hkn to gallop full tilt down on the lady he had come to
see before he knew she was there. And It was char
acteristio of him also to rein his horse back on Its
haunches with one tug, and sweep off his hat with a
gesture that would have outdone Don Quixote himself,
and Insist on escorting the lady to her home, despite
the startled grumbling of Tla Maria and a sudden ao-
cess of stateliness on Dona Mercedes part
Everything! Captain Manuel did was characteristio.
for he ,was a Catalan. And while no one can foretell
what a Catalan may do, it is always safe to say that he
will do what he pleases and do it with all his might
And this gray-eyed, fair-haired boy, with the frank
smiling face, had chosen to play at living thus far.
He was the commander of the Guardla Civil In all the
southern valley, put in that unenviable post that puz
zled bureaucrats might be safe from his unbounded
energy. And he played with the bandits and outlaws
and savages, purposely left them undisturbed that they
might grow bold, and then went out with a laugh
and destroyed, them as you would a cage of rats.
And when the fighting was over he would come back
unwearied and amuse himself with wondrous specula
tions in tobacco, or stake hU last dollar on a stroke
at billiards with Don Enrique. And the most fascinating
of all the playthings he had discovered In his brief life
was something he was .pleased to call love. He played
at that with his usual wholeheartedness, till a score of
girls up and down the valley were ever watching for
the lithe figure on the wild black horse, and more than
a score of men were breathing threats of vengeance,
whereat the' captain laughed boyishly, and invited the
discontented to step out and settle It once for all with
pistol or. rifle or knife or spear or bolo or bare hand a
I'm sorry you couldn't have known Captain Manuel.
Instead of merely hearing about him from me, for you
will get the Idea that he was a good-for-nothing young
reprobate, whereas he was only a gay, good-hearted
boy, dissipating his splendid strength in a hundred use
less ways, just because no one had ever shown him a
useful way. But he was a dangerous person, with his
ready tongue and, tossing hair, to come dancing before
the wondering eyes of that bewildered woman-child.
Dona Mercedes. Dangerous 'to Don Enrique's dreamt
of the future, I mean. For. of course, he fell In love
with Dona Mercedes at once. He was quite sure of that
before he had walked a dozen steps with the lady that
first evening.
With him. to decide that be was in love was to be
there; so behold the captain of a morning after drill
come clanking to the little summer house, all brave in
word and sputs, to sit and regale Dona Mercedes with
weird tales of the little fights, till terrified TIa Maria
crossed herself again and peered anxiously up into the
branches of the old mango, more than half expecting to
see a naked head hunter there, ready to leap upon her
venerable wig. And Dona Mercedes, poor little stately
Mercedes, watched this strange newcomer as she had
watched all others, but with a shade more Interest, for
she felt that she understood him. The frank, friendly
smile in his eyes seemed so exactly as she felt to all the
world.
Soon she began to find his presence a welcome relief
to the length of the days, and missed him when he did
not coma Don Enrique should have taken care then.
'But Don Enrique was careless. In the first place. It
was rather a strenuous undertaking to keep Captain
Manuel away from where he chose to be. And in the
next, any fear that he could move theheart of Dona
Mercedes was absurd. Why, he was only a penniless
youngster, without a "de" or a "y" or a "Don" to his
name, and she .was Dona Mercedes, a Valdez, and a
Vegas; and, furthermore, she had him, Don , Enrique,
to fill her every want So Don Enrique smiled and
Jested and talked and dreamed of sn evening in the
great dining room with his little girl, and was very
. happy. . And Captain Manuel laughed and Joked and
sang in the little summer house of a morning,; snd was
In heaven, or thought he was, which, after all, amounts
to just as much for the moment And Dona Mercedes
looked on them all with friendly inquiring eyes.
At last one morning he was holding a skein of silk
for her, and Tla Maria had fallen into an uneasy doze
through very excess of terror at the latest tale. Sev
eral times their eyes met when the skein was tangled
euch a tiny skein of golden-yellow silk to j mean so
much. And each time Dona Mercedes became more
stately and more timid, while the captain blushed like
By Rowland Thomas
(Copyright by The North , American Company.)
ubu mi;, udu ujw m.j io urojEcn sentences
and then the hush of noontide lay over the great coo!, :'
fragrant garden, and only the heavy droning of the -bees
among the roses broke the stillness, and Dona
Mercedes) put out a fluttering hand" to clear another -snarC
and Tla Maria popped bolt upright in her chair. "-
"BlooQ of all theyiessed saints!" she' cried, "what was
that I heard?" And she peered up Into the gently stir
ring leaves of the $at tree, and made ready to flee.
"It was a wild man. perhaps." said the Captain with
a tremulous laugh; and Dona Mercedes took up the
wureiiuion ciiuta f tmnAuri tv mm tr mtm iiv .
the world all her Ufa But when the Captain was laav
w wi aas-vsj s vu avu i"" iiyfi
Of course, he told Don Enrique at once, and. ot
course, Don Enrique was quite astonished at what had
ben going on right under his patrician nose and quite
v"ut ma very positive, in ni grave courteous
way, that such thoughts must be dropped once for all
positive as only a great man who ruled a valley could
be. And Captain Manuel was quite sure that n loved
IK. 1 . A 1A ... . ' .
. j wu4t uv wiuuui iiMr wmim mwmi. wtmm
the end sura as only a big. Impetuous heart like his
could make a man. So Dona Enrique politely regretted
that neither Dona Mercedes nor hknsalf could have the
honor of receiving the Captain again, and the Captain
bowd very low and clanked out under the big gloomy
arch of the gateway for almost the last time.
Now I doubt if either Dona Mercedes or the Captain '
had really been In love. But they were ready to grow
Into it. and forced separation has been a fertile soli for
the growth of love ever since the world began. The
Uttle girl was very dutiful and sat with her father every,
evening, merry and smiling and tender as ever; but
across the big gleaming table she would sometimes see
a vision of a merry boyish face. on Enrique had seen
visions across that earns tableyou remember. Per
haps in time Dona Mercedes might have watched the
vision till it came to be more to her than the great
house, and the family name, and theSove of her father
himself, i
And t!he Captain fell Into a very fever of devotion
and for more an a month he stayed In his quarters,
writing Catalan love songs on the edges of commissary
returns, and gazing gloomily at his sword and spurs,
Billiards and cards knew him no more, the black horse
fretted in ths paddock and looked unsayable things at
the frightened groom, and the brown-skinned girls of
the countryside lived In peace and amity with their
lovers. Vvharm hi. &, 1 j.- ,
. w.vvavu uMBub uvv cnuum, inti
all that splendid energy of his might have been turned
to good and useful things at last
Those things the lttUe gods chose to keep a secret.
Just as they had put it into the head' of a peasant
named Agulnaldo to be priest-ridden no longer; Just
as they had moved the friars to put to death a young
man named Jose KizaL Outside there had long been
rumors of ugly things; sudden secret death, snd smol
dering Insurrection, and killing of priests and burning
of towns and terror-stricktn people everywhere. And
now at last they penetrated to ths far-off valley stories
of raids on distant haciendas, and assassinations on
lonely trails, and a little army massed in the foothills.
It was as If a chill wind swept over the sunny plain,
and rolling hills, and busy, treacherous river; and none
of the lean, bearded, bronzed men could tell whence it
came. Don Enrique, that great man. heeded It not
and when news came of a wondrous big buck seen near
Ascaris he Insisted on setting out to capture It. "A bit
of venison is what you need to put the roses back." he
said to Dona Mercedes, standing tall and strong In his
boots, and tapping her cheek with his gauntlet "In
surrection! Nonsense, chiquita, It is but the talk of
these poor, foolish Indiana I wave my riding whip at
them, and phooh!" he blew a quick breath, kissed her,
and rode off in the gray ohlll of ths morning.
But toward evening a man dragged himself in old
Canuto. the huntsman, cut and bleeding and told Dona
Mercedes how the party had been ambuscaded and ha.
fought their way to a thicket of bamboo, and how they
must have help or perish. "While she still stood half
stunned and helpless came Captain Manuel, uncalled,
and said simply, "I am going to him. Dona mla." He
did not tell her that ell the country was up In arms,
that he was going to his death. I doubt if lis even
thought of It as he stood before her and saw her big, be
seeching eyes. All the carelessness and lightness of his
nature wers washed out as he stood before the lady for
whom he was to die. And yet, as he turned to go, a bit
of the spirit of old Spain stirred In him. and he bent
toward her. "I kiss your hand, my lady," he said. And
then Dona Mercedes understood that he was saying
farewell, and with a little cry" flung herself Into his
arms. One Uttle moment she knew that all the secret
of life was hers and then she took a white rose from
her hair and gavs it to him. "My colors for my
knight!" shs said; and nons of her house had ever
stood more proud and stately to watch their knights go
out to battle. 4nd none ever went more steadfast and
strong and lovable than that simple boy oCthe common
folk.
There's not much mors to tell, of course. The Csp
tain found Don Enrique, and at dawn they went out
together, with their men. In one' of , those deeds of
splendid courage that once made their country mlstresr
With a good Mauser, and a firm
meters, and ths wrongs of three centuries to right
stopped their poor, proud Spanish hearts.
The few men who were left brought them back to
Dona Mercedes, standing pale and stately in ths great
courtyard, and on Don Enrique's breast was a miniature
, that might have been his little girl, but was not. and on
the Captain's was a white rose dabbled with red.
As I said, all this happened long ago, when the
world was young. I know, for I rode through Echague
the other day, and I saw Dona Mercedes' eyea They
sxe friendly and Inquiring still, but the smile comes from
an old. old heart And yet, after all, why should w
blame the little gods? Don Enrique and the Captain
are very quiet indeed In the great garden, and perhaps
the valley la none the less happy that their imperious
wills are quiet, too. The river still runs aad the boat
men sing on Its long reaches, and the hot. .sunny air
floats over field and hill and forest with vlvlfylnr
strength, and you would hardly know that thev were
gone. Perhaps Don Enrique could never have bees?
reconciled, perhaps the Captain might have changed?
There are a dozen DerhatMuo a.ta , Ttr
has the great house after all. it Is not unlike a convent
in its quiet ana - its peace and the memory of
tw
strong men who loved her unto death.
The poor, foolish Indian stopped their proud
sspanisn nearts