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Show THE SPANISH WAY. By DON CLARK WTLSON. COPYBIGHT, 1903, BY DAILY STOBY PUBLISHING Co.) "An3 if I don't apologize, what then?" "One trr udder mus' die!" returned Cervillo, in a low, tense tone. "You or me! I care not vich!" Fogarty looked at the senorita. A strange light shone in her eyes. He interpreted it as a challenge. "I refuse, senor,' he said; and in a thrice a glove was thrown in his face, he felt a stinging slap on his cheek, and a voice hissed in his ear: "Den, you know what dis means, asso!" He did. But he chose his own way of answering the challenge. His impatience im-patience could brook no delay in seeking seek-ing satisfaction. He knocked the Spaniard to the floor with one quick, straight blow, then sprang back, breathing heavily. That was the American way. In the confusion that followed Fogarty Fo-garty quickly took the senorita's arm, and urged her into a quilez. The cochero drove across the Punta Efpana, down a devious road to the aged portcullis under the wall, and then plunged into the narrow, ill-paved, ill-paved, foul-smelling streets of darker dark-er Manila. After an interminable ride through this bewildering tangle ne finally pulled up before the door of a somber building in the very heart of ti'e old city, and in response to his "Aci, senor," the senorita, with a gay burst of laughter, leaped out. "Buenos noches, teniente!" she said to the officer within. "Buenos noches!" no-ches!" and disappeared into the house. A ripple of laughter that did not sound exactly mirthful to the co-ehero co-ehero floated back on the dense, close air as she swung the ponderous old door behind her. The driver waited patiently for several sev-eral moments. The officer in the cab said nothing, gave no directions, or in fact manifested any interest whatsoever what-soever in the proceedings. The cochero co-chero confidently awaited the choice cussword and the impatient "Pronto!" "Pron-to!" he was so accustomed to hear from his American fares. But it came not, and the cochero sagely concluded conclud-ed his fare was drunk. "Americano inucho loco," he mused. "Senor teniente!" ten-iente!" he said softly, as he dismounted dis-mounted and looked into the caromet-I caromet-I j . , i i , , It was remarked at the officers' mess la the Exposition barracks that 10ULX Lieut. Fogarty was caught in he meshes of the senorita's .".scina-tions, .".scina-tions, and that if he was not watchful watch-ful of his sentiment he would some day turn traitor to his country for her sake, like the notorious Howard, and fight against Uncle Sam in the in-eurrecto in-eurrecto army. But Fogarty, who once or twice overheard talk of tnis kind, smiled loftily and treated his little urtation with the senorita as a trivial affair, a matter of jest, the diversion of a gentleman and continued the flirtation. On the Luneta, one night, when the Sixth artillery band was giving an open air concert, his eye was caught by a dark-eyed, voluptuous Spanish beauty in an open Stanhope, and he never rested until he had formed her acquaintance. Now, this was a most difficult matter to accomplish, for Spanish old world ideas of propriety and all that had to bo circumvented, the haughty old padre and madre of the girl had to be reconciled to his advances, and the girl's inborn prejudice preju-dice against anything and everything American had to be overcome. Then t-iere was also an absurd fellow named Loretto Cervillo, an ex-officer of the defeated Spanish army, who claimed the senorita as his affianced. Senorita Lola did not evince any erpecial affection for him; she did not give way to those bursts of Spanish passion he had read of so often in fiction; and it struck coldly on his ardor ar-dor at times to tnink that possibly she was trifling' with him, and that her acceptance of his attentions was prompted merely and solely from a love of diversion and excitement. One night the lieutenant left the Reserve hospital on Calle Las Vegas, and jumping into a passing caromet-ta, caromet-ta, drove to the Teatro Libertad, where he had an appointment with her. At the entrance he paused and cast fire of vivacious talk, and seemed entranced en-tranced the more as his ill-humor in-creaci, in-creaci, ana as fugany, nimself scowling blackly, quickly approached and sat opposite her, she greeted him with a delicious little bubble of laughter laugh-ter and said: "Noches, senor teniente! I was expecting ex-pecting you. See Cervillo dear old Cervillo!" impulsively kissing him, to Fogarty's unutterable displeasure "is so delightfully angry! Carrejo, it is exciting! two angry soldiers!" Cervillo scowled back hatred at Fogarty. Fo-garty. Fogarty sniffed sarcastically at Cervillo; and Lola laughed in a burst of enchantment. "Senors," she said, "it is beautiful! Teniente," to Fogarty, "will you drink?" She poured ou'. a glass of absinthe, then tossed the lieutenant a pack of native cigarillos, and herself lighted one, which she smoked with exquisite grace and abandon. Cervillo turned slightly away, puffing puff-ing sulkily at a cigarette, and glared savagely at the dancei- on the stage, as though the sight of Fogarty was intolerable. "D n Cervillo!" growled Fogarty, Fogar-ty, heartily. "Lola, let us fide." "Ride, teniente?" she echoed; "ride? No, no! It is oo delightful here! The lights, the dancers, the music Paloma, it is divine! See! it is Esmeralda who dances now! Esmeralda, Es-meralda, who might be the Egyptian of Notre Dame. See how she sways! See how lightly she floats on those tiny toes! Ride senor? No, no!" "Let us walk along the shore, then," persisted Fogarty, coaxingly. "Anything, "Any-thing, senorita, to escape this close den!" She pouted dissentingly. "Senor, do not spoil it. You Americans Ameri-cans are so prosaic! Look, Cervillo enjoys it. He is happy. Why not you?" Fogarty sulkily puffed at the cigar-illo, cigar-illo, and stared into the gossiping crowd. After a silence Fogarty tossed his cigarillo away impatiently, took tie senorita's hand in his, and said: "It is unjust of you, senorita. It is cruel. Why do you persistently torment tor-ment me? Why " "Torment you?" The little vixen's mouth dropped in surprise, but there was a twinkle in her eye that did not escape the lieutenant. "I would not knowingly cosa! Esmeralda is gone, and now watch, teniente. It is the juggler Mezziola who comes next. He is a marvelous man, so adroit!" But what die! Fogarty care for the stage when this enchanting miss sat before him? There was nothing offered the public from the proscenium prosceni-um to compare with what Fogarty now watched in silence, his heart burning with love. For a moment he forgot the place, the crowd, the juggler, jug-gler, the music and Cervillo. His head swam, his senses whirled hazily as one bereft of reason. In an ecstacy ho squeezed her hand, he bent forward, for-ward, breathing heavily, and before he was fully aware of what he was doing, and before the senorita could avoid his passionate attack, he kissed her, then sprang instinctively to his feet. Cervillo faced him, bis black face growing blacker, his fierce mustache bristling savagely. "Senor," he said, in imperfect English, Eng-lish, "it es the insult! It es the outrage!" out-rage!" Fogarty was conscious that many eyes were riveted on him, that the juggler on the stage was staring at him in amazement, that his own superior su-perior officers were levelling their glasses at him from the boxes and the foyer. "Well?" he said, coolly, as he faced the angry Spaniard. "What are you going to do about it?" "Senor will apologize," declared the other, hotly. "In one meenut: only one meenut I will gif you! Sabe? One meenut!" tell . Cervillo faced him, his fierce mustache mus-tache bristling savagely, ta at the officer. "Donde bamos?" There was no reply. The officer didn't stir. The cochero repeated his inquiry, then looked closer, squinted knowingly, know-ingly, like a sage old fellow, and smiled a sly, slick little smile. The officer was pinned in his place, a dainty poniard through his chest. That was the Spanish way. His eye was caught by a dark-eyed Spanish beauty. his eyes over the audience. It was a gay scene, gorgeously colored, with laughing groups at the tables and in the boxes; a gathering of Spaniards, civilians and ex-soldiers, of American officers and dark-eyed damsels here and there, of elite Filipino mestezzos and their escorts, of American soldiers sol-diers in spotted khaki and limp gray hats. Lieut. Fogarty paid scant attention to all this, however; his eye anxiously sought for the pretty face of Lola, and at last he found her. Found her seated at a table in a remote re-mote corner near some curtains, chat-ing chat-ing gaily with a dark-browed lout in sweeping panama and white duck, who sipped idly at a slendor glass of emerald liquor, and seemed wholly sour and unapproachable and disagreeable. dis-agreeable. Lola kept up a running |
