Shiner Gazette (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 1917 Page: 3 of 8
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SHINER GAZETTE, SHINER. TEXAS
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T OF THE SUNSET
By Rex Beaeli
Copyright by Harper & Brothers
CHAPTER XX—Continued.
—20—
“No, no!” He made a gesture of de-
oial. “How ridiculous! I merely keep
you from certain destruction. You can-
not go by train, because the railroad
has suspended public service, nor can
you ride or drive. I tell you, senora,
the people are aroused. For the mo-
ment you must accept my protection,
whether you wish to or not. Tomor-
row”—Longorio smiled warmly, mean-
ingly—“perhaps you will not be in such
haste to refuse it, or to leave La Feria.
Wait until you understand me better.
Then— But enough of this. You are
unstrung, you wish to be alone with
your thoughts, and what I have to say
can wait for a few hours. In the mean-
time, may I beg the hospitality of your
ranch for myself and my men?”
Alaire acquiesced mechanically. Lon-
gorio saluted her fingers in his cus-
tomary manner, and then, with a look
eloquent of things unsaid, he went out
to see to the comfort of his command.
Alaire sank into the nearest chair,
$ier nerves quivering, her mind in a tur-
moil. This Mexican was detestable,
and he was far from being the mere
maker of audaciously gallant speeches,
the poetically fervent wooer 'of every
pretty woman, she had blindly sup-
posed him. His was no sham ardor;
the man was hotly, horribly in earnest.
There had been a glint of madness in
his eyes. And he actually seemed to
think that she shared his infatuation.
It was intolerable. Yet Longorio, she
was sure, had an abundance of discre
tion; he would not dare to offer her
violence. He had pride, too; and in
.his way he was something of a gen-
tleman. So far, she had avoided giv-
ing him offense. But if once she made
plain to him how utterly loathsome to
her was his pursuit, she was sure that
he would cease to annoy her. Alaire
was self-confident, strong-willed; she
took courage.
Her thoughts turned from her fears
to the amazing reality of her widow-
hood. Even yet she could not wholly
credit the fact that Ed’s wasted life
had come to an end and that she was
free to make the most of her own.
Alaire remembered her husband now
with more tenderness, more charity,
than/She would have believed possible,
and'lt seemed to her pitiful that one so
blessed with opportunity should have
worked such havoc with himself and
with those near to him.
Doubtless it was all a part of some
providential scheme, too blind for her
fo solve. Perhaps, indeed, his own
trials had been designed to the end
that her greater, truer love, when it
did come, would find her ripe, respon-
sive, ready. As for this Mexican gen-
eral, she would put him in his place.
Alaire was still walking the floor
-of her chamber when Dolores entered,
at dusk, to say that supper was ready
and that General Longorio was wait-
ing.
“Ask him to excuse me,” she told
her servant.
But Longorio himself spoke from the
next room, saying: “Senora, I beg of
.you to honor me. I have much of im-
portance to say, and time presses. Con-
trol your grief and give me the pleas-
ure of your company.”
After an instant’s consideration,
Alaire yielded. It was best to have
the matter over with, once for all.
Caesar, Napoleon, Porfirio Diaz—they
were strong, purposeful men; they
lived as I live. Senora, you dally with
love.”
Alaire’s face was white with anger
as she x-eplied: “You cause me to for-
get that you are my guest. Are you
the man I considered you or the man
you are reported to be?”
“Eh?”
“Are you the gentleman, the friend,
you pretended to be, or—the vandal
whom no woman can trust? You treat
me as if you were my jailer. What do
you mean? What kind of man are you
to take advantage of my bereave-
ment?”
After a .moment’s consideration, Lon-
gorio began haltingly: “I don’t know
what kind of a man I am, for you have
changed me so. There was a time
I—I have done things— I have scorned
all restraint, all laws except those of
my desires, and so, perhaps, I am a
vandal. Make sure of this, however—
I shall not injure you. Mexico is no
more sacred to me than you, my heart’s
treasure. You accuse me of indelicacy
because I lack the strength to smother
my admiration. I adore you; my be-
ing dissolves, iny veins are afire with
longing for you; I am mad with the
knowledge that you are mine. Mad?
Caramba ! I am insane; my mind tot-
ters; I grope my way like a man
blinded by a dazzling light; I suffer
agonies. But see! I refuse to touch
you. I am a giant in my restraint.
The strength of heroes is mine, and
I strangle my impulses as they are
born, although the effort kills me. Se-
nora, I await the moment of your vol-
untary surrender. . I wait for you.” He
extended his arms, and Alaire saw
that his olive features were distorted
with emotion; that his hands, his
whole thin, high-strung body were
shaking uncontrollably.
She could summon no coherent
words.
“You believed I was a hawk and
would seize you, eh?” he queried. “Is
that why you continue to shrink? Well,
let me tell you something, if my tongue
will frame the thoughts in my mind.
My passion is so deep and so sacred
that I would not be content with less
than all of you. I must have you all,
and so I wait, trembling, I say this
so badly that I doubt if you under-
stand. Listen, then: to possess you
by force would be—well, as if I sacked
a cathedral of its'golden images and
expected to gain heaven by clutching
the cross in my arms. Senora, in
you I see the priceless jewel of my
love, which I shall wear to dazzle the
world, and without which I shall de-
stroy myself. Now let me tell you
what I can offer you, what setting I
can build for this treasure. Marriage
with Luis Longorio—”
Alaire could not control a start.
As if quickened by his intensity, the
man read her thought. “You did not
imagine that I offered you anything
less?”
“What was I to think? Your repu-
tation—"
“Blood of my heart!” breathed the
general. “So ! That is what you meant
a moment ago. That is why you re-
fuse my embraces. No, no! Other
women have feared me, and I have
stumbles toward oblivion. Who will
succeed him? Who will issue from
the coming struggle as the dominant
figure of Mexico? Who but that mili-
tary genius who checks the Yankee
hordes and saves the fathei’land? I
am he. Fate points the path of glory
and I am her man of destiny. You
see, then, what I bring you—power,
position, riches. Riches? Caramba!
Wait until my hands are in the treas-
ury. I will load you with gold and
jewels, and I will make you the rich-
est woman in the world. Senora, I
offer you dominion. I offer you the
president’s palace and Chapultepec.
And with all that, I offer you such
passionate love as no woman of history
ever possessed.”
He paused, spent by the force of his
own intensity; it was plain that he ex-
pected an immediate surrender.
Alaire’s lips parted in the faintest
of mocking smiles. “You have great
confidence in yourself,” she said.
“Yes. I know myself as no one
knows me.”
“Why do you think I care for you?”
Longorio’s eyes opened. His ex-
pression plainly showed that he could
not imagine any woman in her senses
failing to adore'him.
“Don’t you take much for granted?”
Alaire insisted.
The Mexican shook his head. Then
his face lightened. “Ah! Now I see.
Your modesty forbids you to acknowl-
edge your love—is that it? Well, I know
that you admire me, for I can see it.
All women admire me, and they all
end by loving me.” His chest arched
imperceptibly; with a slender finger
he delicately smoothed his black eye-
brows. Alaire felt a wild impulse to
laugh, but was glad -she had subdued
it when he continued. “I am impetuous,
but impetuosity has made me what I
am. I act, and then mold fate to suit
my own ends. Opportunity has de-
livered to me my heart’s desire, and I
will not be cheated out of it. Among
the men I brought with me to La
Feria is a priest. He is \Lirty, for I
caught liim as he was fleeing toward
the border; but he is a priest, and he
will marry us .tonight.” / j
Alaire managed to gasp, “Surely ypu|
are not in earnest.”
“Indeed I am! That is why I insist,1
My strength Is gone.” Impulsively he
half encircled her with his thin arms,
but she seemed armored with ice, and
he dropped them. She could hear hitn
grind his teeth. “I dare not lay hands
upon you,” he ‘Chattered. “Angel of
my dreams, I am faint with longing.
To love you and yet to be denied; to
feel myself aflame and yet. to see you
cold; to be halted at the very doors
of Paradise! What torture!”
The fellow’s self-control in the
midst of his frenzy frightened Alaire
more than, did his wildest avowals; it
was in something of a panic that she
said:
“One moment you tell me I am safe,
the next you threaten me. You say I
am free, and yet you coerce me. Prove
your love. Let me go—”
“No! No! I shall call the priest.”
Longorio turned toward the door,
but half-way across the floor he was
halted by a woman’s shriek which is-
sued fi’om somewhere inside the house.
It was repeated. There was an out-
burst in a masculine voice, then the
patter of footsteps approaching down
the tiled hallway. Dolores burst into
her mistress’ presence, her face
blanched, her hair disordered. She
flung herself into Alaire’s arms, cry-
ing:
“Senora! Save me! God’s curse
on the ruffian. Oh—”
“Dolores!” Alaire exclaimed. “What
has happened?”
Longorio demanded, irritably: “Yes.
Why are you yelling like this?”
“A man— See! One of those dirty
peladors. Look where he tore my
va L (AlT/WQ'.
“Well, What Have You to Say for
Yourself?”
dress!
a tiger.
I warned him, but he was like
Benito will kill him when he
ed that you dine with me this evenirv^H^-arns ”
I cannot waste more time here, for.1!' ‘“Calm yourself. Speak sensibly,
necessity calls me away. You shall go : Tell me what happened.”
CHAPTER XXI.
The Doors of Paradise.
Alaire began the mockery of playing
hostess with extreme distaste, and as
the meal progressed she experienced
u growing uneasiness. Longorio’s bear-
ing had changed since his arrival. He
was still extravagantly courteous,
beautifully attentive; he maintained
a flow of conversation that relieved her
of any effort, and yet he displayed a
repressed excitement that was disturb-
ing. In his eyes there was a gloating
look of possession hard to endure. De-
spite her icy formality, he appeared
to be holding himself within the
bounds of propriety only by ah effort
of the will, and she was not surprised
when, at the conclusion of the meal,
he cast restraint aside.
She did not let him go far with his
wooing before warning him: “I won’t
listen to you. You are a man of taste;
you must realize how offensive this is.”
“Let us not deceive each other,” he
Insisted. “We are alone. Let us be
honest. Do not ask me to put faith in
your grief. I find my excuse in the
extraordinary nature of this situation.”
“Nothing can excuse indelicacy,” she
answered, evenly. “You transgress the
commonest rules of decency.”
But he was impatient. “What sen-
timent! You did not love your hus-
band. You were for years his pris-
oner. Through the bars of your prison
I saw and loved you. Dios! The first
sight of your face altered the current
of my life. I saw heaven in your eyes,
and I have dreamed of nothing else
ever since. Well, Providence opened
the doors and set you free; God gave
heed to ray prayers and delivered you
to me. Now you pi*etend to grieve at
your deliverance; you ask me to re-
spect the memory of your jailer! De-
cency? Delicacy? What are they ex-1 Potosi? He is president today, but
>cept artificialities, which vanish in ] what of tomorrow? Those who sur-
times of stress? Alexander the Great, .round him are weaklings, and he
TfAiTOV
YA UcNVW
“What Kind of Man Are You to Take
Advantage of My Bereavement?"
laughed in their hair as .they tore at
my arms, but you—you will be my
wife, and all Mexico shall bow at your
feet.” He checked her denial with a
gesture. “Wait until I tell you the
vision I have seen during these days
of despair. I see Mexico made whole
by my hands; a land of peace and
plenty; a people with one name upon
their lips—the name of Longorio the
Deliverer; and you as the first lady
of them all. You know me for a man
of tremendous ability in every line.
Well, I know myself, too. I have meas-
ured myself carefully, and I have no
weakness. There is no other like me.
Pancho Gomez? Bah! He is a red-
handed bandit of no culture. Can-
deleria, his chief? The idol of the ig-
norant and a dreamer of no force.
as my wife.”
“Do you think I would remarry on
the very day I find myself a widow?”
“The world will never know.” 1
“You dare to say that!” Her tone
was one of disgust, of finality. “I won-
der how I have listened to so much. It
is horrible.”
“You are still a little hysterical, and
you exaggerate. If I had more time,
I could afford to wait.” He ogled her
with his luminous gaze. “I would let
you play with me to your heart’s con-
tent and exercise your power until you
tired and were ready to surrender.”
Alaire raised her head proudly, her
nostrils dilated, her eyes ablaze with
hostility. “This is very humiliating,
but you force me to tell you that I hate
you.”
Longorio was incredulous rather
than offended. He drew himself up to
his full height and smiled, saying:
“That is impossible.” Then, ignoring
her impatience: “Come! You cannot
deceive me. The priest is .waiting.”
When Alaire spoke next, it was with
an expression and with a tone of such
loathing that his yellow face paled.
“Your conceit is insufferable,” she
breathed.
After a brief struggle with himself,
the Mexican cried, hoarsely: “I will
not be refused. You wish me to tame
you, eh? Good ! You have found your
master. Make your choice, then.
Which shall it be, surrender or—com-
pulsion?”
“So! You have been lying, as I
thought. Compulsion! Now the real
Longorio speaks.”
He flung up his hands as if to ward
off her fury. “No! Have I not made
myself clear? I shall embrace you
only, with the arms of a husband, for
this is not the passion of a mofnent,
but of a lifetime, and I have myself to
consider. The wife of Mexico’s next
president must be above reproach;
there must be no scandal, no secrets
hidden away for enemies to unearth.
She must stand before the people as
a perfect woman; she must lend pres-
tige to his name. When I speak of
compulsion, then, I mean the right of
a husband—”
Alaire uttered an exclamation of dis-
gust and turned away, but he inter-
cepted her, saying: “You cannot hold
me at bay. It is destiny. You shall be
mine tonight. Think a moment! We
are alone in the heart of a country
lacking in every law but mine. Your
friends do not know where you are,
and, even if they knew, they could not1
help you. Your nation’s protest would
avail nothing. Outside of these walls
are enemies who will not let you leave
this house except under the protec-
tion of my name.”
“Then I shall never leave it,” she
told him.
For the first time Longorio spoke
roughly: “I lose patience. In God’s
name have I not waited long enough
‘One of those miserable soldiers |
who came today—pig!” Dolores was
shaking, her voice was shrill. “He fol- j
lowed me about like a cat, purring and |
grinning and saying the most horrible
things. Just now, when I went to your
room, he was waiting in the darkness,
and he seized me. My money!”
“A soldier? One of my men?” Lon-
gorio was incredulous.
Alaire turned upon him with a blaz-
ing anger in her face. “Is this more
of your protection?” she stormed. “I
give you and your men the freedom of
my ranch, and you insult me while
they rob my women.”
He ignored her accusation, inquiring
of the elder woman, “Who was the fel-
low?” : .
“How do I know,” Dolores sobbed.
“He is-a—a thick, black fellow with a
scar on his lip, like a snarl.”
“Felipe!” .
■“Yes; Felipe! I believe they called
him that.”
Longorio strode to the end of the
living room, flung open the wooden
shutters of a window, and, leaning far
out, whistled sharply on his fingers.
“Oiga! Teniente! Ho, you fel-
lows !” he shouted.
From the darkness a voice an-
swered ; a man, evidently on guard,
came running.
“Call old Pancho,” the general di-
rected. “Tell him to bring me black
Felipe, the fellow with the torn lip.
Quick!”
“Yes, general,” came the voice; then
the metallic rattle of spurs and ac-
coutrements as the sentry trotted
away.
Dolores had completely broken down
now, and Alaire was trying to comfort
her. Their guest remained by the win-
dow, frowning. After a time there
sounded a murmur of voices, then a
shuffling of feet in the hall; Alaire’s
friend, the old lieutenant, appeared in
the doorway, saluting. Behind him
were several others.
“Here is Felipe,” he announced.
“Bring him in.”
A sullen, frowning man in soiled uni-
form was pushed forward, and Dolores
hid her face against her mistress’
shoulder.
“Is this the fellow?” Longorio in-
quired.
Dolores nodded.
“Well, what have you to say for
yourself?” The general transfixed his
trooper with a stare; then, as the lat-
ter seemed bereft of his voice, “Why
did you enter this house?”
. Felipe moistened his scarred lips.
“That woman has rings of gold, Sh4’s
not so old, either, when you come to
look at her.” He grinned at his com-
rades, who had crowded in behind old
Pancho.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
The only time two women are in
pr. °ect accord is when they hate the
same people.
■%K\
Shiner Oil Mill and
Manufacturing Company
Is now ready for business, and will buy your
seed and pay the highest market price.
HULLS AND MEAL ALWAYS ON HAND
Send your seed to the Home Mill
and patronize a Home Industry
D. C. DANIEL, Manager.
Dr. M. P. Wilson
DENTIST
Office Over Kuhn's Drug
Store
SHINER, TEXAS
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m
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PHYSICIAN AND S0R8E0N
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Theie are the kind of fact* this paper
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The way is publicity for your business
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Habermacher, J. C. & Lane, Ella E. Shiner Gazette (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 1917, newspaper, September 13, 1917; Shiner, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1142284/m1/3/: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Shiner Public Library.