OCR Text |
Show THE WOODEN LADY'S LOVERS By W. O McGlehnn. The Fifteenth Cazndores turned In their nrms nnd quurtered themselves In the Church of tiin Fernando In tho walled city The) accepted the cni Hue of Mnnlli phllonphlcally. (if course, the stone floor of the church n.i. less comrortnlib thnn the tnne beds In their cool bnimiks then occupied occu-pied Ii) a iiols) regiment of American volunteer, but II wns et-rtnlnly mom roniforlnble thin tho niuddv trench tiear M elite Moreover the) were be Ing fed nt the ixpmse of the Hulled Slates Gove mini nt on savory .lews made of inrned beef nml hnd tuck a bettei ration thin they had received for some time The Phlllrplne. nre tlenllfully sup piled with ihurclu. a,,.! H, tlmn of wir the.. hoiiHe. eif vvmshlp are ap. pioprlatetl foi various unseemly pin. Iioses The Host Is removed and lh. little icd light tht.t Indicates Its pros, ence is extinguished Then the chur. h lieenmea i birr.irks a prison, or u nrtrtss as the occasion requires. snrgenta Petlio Flore of the Flist Spanish b iltnllnn .elected a little Hide nliar for Ids private apartment He. muse of hi. rink and a n pulntlon for reran, kn hie defines, with the knife, his ii le to the place wu not disputed Above the altar stood a life-sized wood earvlng of a female silnt, ,nn0 hun-cliicis hun-cliicis of ortr pinvloiisl) hy sme Fill- .iV,. 7' . tn !"" "I nnc Period, no doubt glaring but subdued by n,n(. nlo a lonmimmalel) natural pale Ivor) The hair nn II. head w as h, . in in hair and fell . mUt the s o'llclcr, In soft .lark masse. The fir, r,,r".y VT ""n "Hutir.ti i , , eV "if."i";o; 'i'"" ,m,"" nf ti-lurnl. lies, i ...irn hid n.vcr Haul or (lab., tea hut looking at lhat fi i ro I , ih. dim light that struggled Hir mini. IK! dirt) colored Indow . e f" m-a a" mini expected to see the ,f ,m "lye. open in -co the c.r .,,,, ',", " J ' " two ccnturli. from the failed pu "loth "row with he, llitlo linu.1.1 ,i ,.. ?uTl Ei,?h""1IM,!er,!"n' "M'lin lul Hut the wooden My icniiilneil motion. s, smiling pensively , ., gl'v'e'n n'eV "", f0r,,L l"'"' ht (Iobo to the oltar ra vv.i ,. mtln wins apd fimalltr pllvcrr when l'cdTp 1rst settled In th, . tov ered that he' ,,e 8lr k, um In this box of" tu?, thit It was a crlm? ,,0ur, re. the church but r.d,J",kN ui' tlmo. nnd hs ,, J '4 net .h, ented with th. Amerl."r bird tnck doled out , l0'' moment of temptiti J1 r E hand nnd extra ,eu;,on fe Jniit h' Its contents He l4ia Portl gult) 'ounteninceatthL"9 ' half nfrnld that there w J,o?M' h of angry dlsanpro" eonh ,, .eerde,ad)c,n,,n0uhV0. ' Frarlns doni" hs vi stnrlcd for a wine "ho? 8t""d' Hvery dny numbers of mestizos nnd Fllininn, ?0n shrine of the wood' 'aYv'"t fcrlngs, and Pedro comi 'll tr bute so ostemmcaTy1 K. who coterie I ,he money b Ing noticed no de ms, i. .w " Her Spanl-h admirer no j! '"" ' Ornclis dona, but ' 'or.i. w vv hlch means T? nk, '3 ' i'-la i'-la rlecldeil) familiar not to I'" legions, In Meiv of the f,..M"' wooden lad) wns a a nt n" "l pnrtly the fault Vh, wL,h"' who had made n figure,!? '" Now and then iZS soldier, visiting the hir h Am,'n moich and pass a friendly tuM his hioken Spanish rearo8!"1 ID courteouslv nn.l proffj? r?.u, although he secretl) VesL S?1 tru.lon. esprrlill, wh.,"dn1 ft visitors removed hi hat to th. L,h HI) with mock pohtene, l" addressed her Joe ul rly hi,'" tongue H wis not seemli h, I that these heretics n, ,"' should bask In the ig, of iS'J1 lad)', smile More, , th Americanos had be n diwl enough to drive the FlftS.' dorea from a line of e.nhlTe?, hnd been construct d with ibm, labor, and which had been he mi1 nable No doubt one nf "hi, ,S discovering the seer tot R misappropriate It. ontents if,.; universal custom of soldi,,. ' Private Clifford, r s V ,tmi,, the ban Fernindo churrh one to, the serenely Independent air thi, tra). the Western man whe (, goes. He looked with covetou, , fit the nnc ent banners of Spain K, Ing from the rafters nf the 'hmiL he had a taste for ontlqultle-i,!f ed with n piing that Ihere was no of appropriating; Ihem unslwn When hi. e)es rested on lh, Z lady, his admiration found vent In audible murmur, which roused h from his siesta The murtmir" .ucceeded by a heavy sigh of ,,, The vinr with Srnln was oiei , even had their been Hint ehante figure vin. too bulky a bit of loot a private to handle Notlelnt r who wns wntchlng blm with awn r.nf ' Jf"?' "!"" ''"" " " It? who Is she, nnjiuj1. "I don't know," Pedro replied m .."W.?".'.,,nc.1.'1 ,he Prettiest omi. Manila," paid the American xf ml!e, "nnd I w III come to see href If It Is permitted" Pedro shrugged his thotild. 'There nre man) pretty women Manila not of wood Wbydoeii the Senor Soldndo .eek the statu. ancr of BOine of them'" -..',0h'.a wo,ln 'ad) Is sifer." rtt. Clifford, with a laugh She lt lead one Into trouble" Qulen saber1 said Pedro, ralilri c)ebrowp. After that Clifford often vWted church nnd .pent hours wttchlrr i figure and talking to Pedro nhwji tred for him grew dally more Inttt He wa. surprised that Clifford did , seem to cure for money for manr, 1 shlpers deposited their offertnzi li presence and asked himself 1 did he vvanf" Then, when the Jim I lean was gone, lie would ublr fiercely: "You nre minemine er Querido mat. do not smile at c cursed Americano ' But the wooden lady continue! Bmlle pensively nnd I emalned uorat Once Clifford Invited Pedro to company him to the American t I racks Pedro demurred but theAi lean Insisted, pl.i) fully threat.nlii i carry Mm by force. Tho bpanlartec smiled bltterl) when he dlscoverel S Clifford', brethren w ere ocejplnf , barracks of the Fifteenth liuttor III. corning cauwd no surprise imo the occupant. Many of the sola had made frjends among the Epinlv nnd Filipinos, borne tried their it Hock of Spanish on him, snd toe re I of Cllffoid . tompiny dished him on i geneieius ration After dinner, Clifford took the in-clou. in-clou. Pedro to the Alhambra the k- est cafe In Manila, then patronize! i most exclusively by exceedingly thin American soldiers, Pedro sampltj: first .American beer and liked II ' I wish that I could take our ' Hdy friend to America.' said CMi when the) wete on the second bottle Pedro laid his glass down qvilck.7 1 made no reply. "Hut I could not carry the whole f tire with me, that Is evident," Ci continued 'Can )ou let mehaup of her I will pay )ou" "I will do nothing for pay," repl Pedro, piouilly "Hut for s friemt nothing too much " "Don t think me disrespectful" lured Clifford, hesitatingly, but tiurn his vol.e Ills fingers werilli Ing tn clutch the sharp knife cotirei beneath his coat but he resllzed li thin wa. hot the place to use It, 1 would wait for an opportunlir ' then this Americano lndrone would effectively blocked In his attempt t capitate the virgin and cut him ' from hi. dally revenue ' I would try to get t myself. Ml Clifford ' but I can't enter thecnui offer dark You could do It, Pedro, I not lie noticed " . . 'I will try." replied the !p when heli nd aufTlclently recovertl tiol of hi. voice . "A Ihousnnl thanks" ssldtneW Amerlrnn. and slapilng hlrn plMl" on Hie bark, he asked 'Wont I have another bottle ' , But Piilro Inllmnted that It sl" lo return lo the clinch ' w. Win n they started across lh i B nf Spain It wns quite late "" noled currfully that with lf'"p, nf the American .entries i at euwre the plnce wa. deserted TM " . river gurgled noisily nnderneal the tide wa. running out .. "Vct brtd place .this," rernsr.M' rtio, when they reached ine m I Ide here I. .trong enoutn to " boat underneath" . i Clifford bent to look ", rmrliiilt. of little whirlpools dn Ing In the moonlight redro ! fliince, bent suddenly, ' ' t him by nn MlikH hurled W t treacherous via '"n,iui,r vnrd Jerk. The, J fl 'irS faint to be heard by He fD,'.'li Pedio. leaning over. ,f H hand thrust nut. only fl''1".,, p' appear. Then the "iVo,",. '.a1 ette. unci, crossing to the otMi A , the bridge, paused the "'"''J.,,, extremely polite "Hue nai noc iw Hack to the little side l',J,BlW quite easy In mind " "., niiw euerldn mla-and the mon' f ho whispered, exulunt ly hi. hand lnl the clnkingdp(, lint the wooden ')' V .Ively in the moonlight -bn Argonaut. - |