THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, JANUARY 7, 1917.
sIllmdle1r,s3, Oirasiie Blossoms:
ir ii ii
r WAS a pleasant.
rainy day ja. the
ranch, and Red, who
was as methodical
as a bookkeeper in
sorp matters, sort
ed out Us old let
ters from his war
box. I always liked
to be on hand at this clean-up, for there
ware odd photographs, strange newspa
per dippings, and a fine salad of unex
pected newa Bed took a letter from an
envelope.
-Well," he said, "that's from little old
Santiago! Ton weren't bare when ha hit
the ranch. It was that time you pulled
for the hills, placer
mining. I come across
him at Tobe's place.
Ha was fiddlin' for a
little quiet dance in
the back room. Keno
Jim had made a klU
ln and was blowia
in the proceeds.
Twenty men was do
in' a war dance, ac
companied by on fid
dle and bottles goin'
pop-pop-pop to keep
time to the music.
This Santiago
pro-position kinder
took my eye. He took
my ear first, for above
all the racket of them
boots atompla on the
floor X got a touch of
real violin sound. X
sure do like to hear a
fiddle well played.
This made me look at
the music
"He was a small
sized, y aller chap,
with long hair like a
horse's mane. He had
very light, long fin
gers that -scampered
orer the fiddle like
trained mice, atoppin
to nibble when they
got hold of a good
note. But his eyes
had me interested..
They was big, black
eyes, wit) something
kinder fierce In 'em.
the man behind them eyes was out
of the ordinary.
The rest of his features showed
he had -Injun blood in him. Mostly
I don't like half-breeds. ,
'So X kinder held out against Santiago
at first; seein' the streak of Injun, but
whea the boys got tired of tearin the
place down X slid over toward the fiddle
and asked the lad if he wouldn't saw me
out a small piece of real music
"He threw bis Mack lamps on me and
smiled in a way that made me overlook
the Injun part of it.
"I'll play you aomeihiag very gladly,'
he said. 4 . .
"Aad my little friend could play that
fiddle! He forgot all about everything,
and he breathed hard while he was work
ing his medicine.
Qtd Ken Jim had lots to drink, but
it get even into his hide. His hand was.
on my shoulder when the piece finished.
f"Get hU&to do some mora, Bed he
said. 1 don't like It, but" I can't Quit lis
tening to it-
'"WeU that's how I come to .know
Santiago. He told , me he had hoofed it
most of the way from Chile Just walked
right along from one place to another
until he landed' with us. Sometimes, of
course, he had to take a boat, but mostly
" he' walked '', "Vi.i..; , ' ,' .1
" v.Tr sit av little stroll from Chile,
South America, to Dakota, North Amer
ica, ut he didn't seem to think much of
By Henry Wallace Phillips
Illustrated by R. Taadler
!6
D
THE saying, "There's more ways than one to skin a cat,"
is well illustrated by Red in the help he gave his friend.
got a little private history ef his own
that all to his credit Besides that,
can play the fiddle so as to make yw
love yourself te death. ' V
" "Oh! Can har says the girt Twlah
I oould hear him play. ." - "
WeU. ran shajl,' I aaya 'Just a
cuse m tor a minut.' -: v
"So then X went down to Johney-oa.
t He-Spot's' fluid grocery store aad I
asked Johnny Cor the loam of his fiddle.
Chantay Seeche,
7
at the oil
and about all we got
Sammy playia' the
mouth organ and Foster
SJcratchhV opera tunes on
his fiddle.
The ranch approved
r? w ' of Santiago. His name
0v g
c.T . a As .
That drug store gent had not tied X When I told Johnny I was goia to take
btt. There was pretty girls, and every
body was pleasant, and the grub was
line a fairy table. First off we bought a
lot of candy. What them pretty girls did
to as cowpancbers ought to be a feloay.
"But there was one pretty, slim little
thing, as white as moonlight on fresh
So he shook Santiago by the hand and
said: 'Pleased to meet yon.'
AS J
an A2Z7 . i ii in
. rf -rttTfT IIS 7 'JJ:
I '" W V Sf? 'HU
You could bet
wasn't Santiago, but I started to call him
Santiago, and as he always answered to
the name I couldn't find any sense in
chsngin' it.
"Santiago, be took to the ranch. 8
the boas gave him a string of ponies, and
him and us we was the same parties
from that on.
H had nice notions In his nut. He'd
get up and talk, with his long black hair
flyin' and his long, dark hands fiyin and
the ftre burnln in sis eyes all about the
Joys of liberty and the beantifumess of
women and the magic of music
9 .
A BOUT two weeks after ha Joined sm
J a hunch,' Including him, rode to town
rjfor a little outing. Santiago tooasa In
charge. . ..
See now, Colorado' that's Spanish
tor lied) .this night you come with me.'
says ha 1et the rest go to drink and to
gamble and well hunt for ether amuse
ment.' -
T "All right I said." Xet her flicker
"So we asked them in the drug store
what was do in' in the way of ttnalcohoUo
amnaenMnta, - j
The, drug store jnan looked' kinder
snow, that stood baca from it all. She
smiled at us real pleasant, but she didn't
have the hearty spirit nor the fun devil
of the ether gtrla She wasn't the disap
proving Mad she was yast dinVrewt.
And old Santiago that had walked from
Chile to Dakota, he fell in love with her
at first blink tn the same fashion. Ton
take a man that will walk CM eaOes
and can play the -fiddle, and when he
does faU in love he doe It perfectly ct
rageoua "Os the other hand. , that girt took
some nhine to Santiago. She was very
modest about it. bat I ketefaed her atp
pln an eye his way menTa oftce, em4
one than when he spoke to her she eatxed
up the package aha was sxtn.
-By thU tinte the minister, be had
shook hands with me.
""Now Jast make yourself at hoaaa,
Mr. Sawadera, ha aaya 'And anything
we caa do for ywa wa wHL.
. "So. fiadln' Santtaga aim busy talk
Ing to the snow girl, I packs me out as
Juicy aad snappy a little peach of a bru
nette as the plaon afforded and she and
ma had supper together. : -
, "That girl had lota of fun airtin wKk'
surprised at me asking that question, ma It's proper to ancouraga taa
but lie says: "The Presbyterian Church
Is having a bazaar down thaatreet; lota ;
that. . of pretty girls aad a nice quiet time, with,
. . Well, J had to have him come down a good feed. , , , -i
to the ranch to play for the boys. We "So away we went. , .
so X encouraged bar la It.
"Finally aha remarked what
lookin' feUer Santiago was, bat haw la-
tereatlng! i t .y . :'i;
"rea," Iays. that yeaag feUer. has
It to a Presbyterian festivity he used an
kind words some of 'em scarcely fit te - j.
print. :
"Johnny, he didnt like no kind ef a'
church, and first off he wasn't goia to "
let me have the fiddle. I had to argue -''.,- i
Wtk VitfM m.i. 4kMV X . I- . .
nAVIl Mini n l ill VIIO UWUH HI IHC MIX
his neck, and I left him rubbing the apet :
and wishing me things that. If they hap-,
pened to mi, would be bard lack.
"So theal sashays hack to the'baxaar
with the TOSoTe' under my arm, and I tola
the minister that if be dida't object any - J
young friend would give us mm music
Then t told Santiago to cache the 'Ghost
Dance' music and give as seeaethmg hu
man that the girls could understand.'
They had a piano in taa place, rbr a -tall
lady with carpea tor -shaving
curls and a face too old for bor
age was goin te aing 'Where Is
the Little Giasya J '
Hesaer aad other
sprightly caqraettish
pieces when supper
was finished. ' ;
"Erarybody clapped . "
wbaa the
made bis
meat that the
friend
would kindly gratify
the audience by play- ;
ing on tha vloUa.
Then there was aomo .
'difficulty about mu- '
aic, but my little bm-' '
she says to me: "Oeat
' and we acampered off to r
fcer bouse aad come back with '
aa armful of the stafC Then "wV
there was soma talk about srbo "
wan to play the piano. Every- V
body seemed to tMak that Ora ;r
taa proper person. It turned
out that Ora waa the snow girt.
She walked right up without
any excuse about her fingers be-
bourse or havin' cramps in ber feet v
or anything like that, and simply asked
Santiago if he could fiddle from plana
rausic He led ber to believe he would f
make the effort, aayhow. So Ora treated
the ivories nice for a little running start. '"1
aad then old Santiago up with bis bow
aad pUyed for hia tife.
9 9 ' : ;
THAT waa one aoble piece of music. I
don't recall the name ef It now, but '
it sure was loaded with beef.. -
"Then Santiago, who always had good
sense, ametled Che fact that some of tha - v
young parties would fike to dance, and
slid out of playin any more real auce ' .
and graceful. Spaniab fashion. . .
Ofa goten from tha piano, and my
Uttle bruaetU grabbed a bolt of ma for -.
the first waits, which the minister waa
yankln out tn good shapa . ; ; i
n kinder aoticcd that Santiago and
'tha anew girl was together most of tha
tlraa . ; t v"-.
"When the .aaaaie aaded .SanUago - -raised
bar band. Spaaiah faahion, aad ;
. kiased it- It waa pretty, after the ale ' V'
dancing, and an hands applauded. . . , .
-All tha; way homo I bad to listen to
Santiago rava. Taere aever was such a
girl an this whole dura world.' aad bo v
was wlUiag to prove it by flrearma, by
worda, or by fiddla praetieal ;
A fitite sleep wUl cool your fevered ;
brow X said, aad
plumb disgusted with .
: i';,.-, iCaaffaaai an PtpetJ Qj-
Saatiage .waa