Rouge et Noire Page: 448
[18], 387-480, [48] p. : ill. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this prose (fiction).
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Aiiislee' Magazine
nicotinized silence with her guitar, and won-
dered if the romances she had read about
gallant and lmore' --morle contiguous caval-
iers we're all lies. At soiewhlat ireular iin-
tervals la nadiama would glide in fro mt the
dispensary with a sort of d'raught-suggest
ing look in her eye, and there would follow
a grea trustling of stiff white duck trousers
as one otf the c;alleros would suggest a
visit to the bar.
']hat D)icky Maloney would, sooner or
later, explore this field was a thing to he
foretseel. Tltrc were few doors in I'uerto
IMoy his red head had ]not been poked into,
Ie saw l'asa (ne afternoon sitting by the
door with an unusually saintly look upon her
ace. )iclky rushed of to find one of the
wlhito duck wal-l \\t rs to present hint. In
an incredibly short tiue he was seated close
beside tlhe uone rocking-chair. There were
no black-againfst-the-wall poses with Dicky.
\t close, ]rulg, wIas his theory of sulijec-
tioin. To carry the frtr'ss with one concen-
trated, ardent, eloquent, irresistible escalde
that was DiJ)ky's way.
P'asa was descended from the proudest
Spanish failiits in the country. Moreover,
she had Ihd u111:11ual ;advatlltages. Two years
in a New (Orleans school had elevated her
ambitions and fitted her for a fate athove the
ordinary maidlcns of her native land. And
yet ]Ire she succtumd to to the first red-
haiired scaip witli a glib ton lue and a
charming smile that came along aund courted
her properly. For, very soon Dicky took
her quietly to the little church next to the
''eatro NacioMnal and then to his little shop
in the grass-grown street where customers
schlom troubled him. And it was her fate
to sit, witl her patient, saintly eyes and
figure like a bisque Psyche, behind its se-
lqustered colnter, while Iicky drank and
philantered with his :frivolous acquaintances.
The women, with their naturally fine in-
stinct, saw a chance for vivisection, and
delicately taunted her with his labits. She
turned upon them in a beautiful, steady
bIlaze of surirowful contempt.
"Youll meat-cows," she said, in her level.
crystal-clear tones; "you know nothing of
a man. 'tour' en are ioil'olllos. They
are fit only to roll cigarettes in the shade
until the sun strikes and shrivels them up.
They drone in your hammuocks and you comb
their hair and feel them with fresh fruit.
My man is of no such blood. Let him drink
of the wine. When lie has taken suficient
ft' it to drown one of your fl(ccitfos lie will
come hoine to 1e mots hombre tant onethousand of your pubrecitos. ilMy hair he
smoothes and Ibraids; lie sings to me; he
himself removes nly ztapatos, and there,
there, upon each instep leaves a kiss. liHe
hiols- - Oh, vou will never understand!
Blind ones who have never known a AuitN."
Sonletinmes mysterious things happened at
night about Dicky's shop, \While the front
of it was dark, in the little room back of it
)icky and a few of his friends would sit
about a table carrying on some kind of very
quiet mtyocios until quite late. Finally he
would let them out the front door very care-
fully, and go upstairs to Ihis little saint.
These visitors were generally conspirator-
like men with dark clothes and hats. Of
course, these dark doings were noticed after
a while, and talked about. At the IIotel In-
ternacional, where the Eglish-slpeaking col-
ony mostly congregated, it was openly
stated that this fellow Mlaloney was a card
sharp that male his money by skinning the
native talent. This charge, however, was
considered quite a tepid one, coming from
this source, for most of the foreign poltla-
tion of Iuerto Rey were fugitives from some
sort of justice--uneasy exiles who watched
every incoming steamer with poorly-con-
cealed anxiety.
Quite a number of letters arrived, ad-
dressed to "Mr. Dicky Maloney," or "Seilor
ticke Maloney,,"' to the considerable pride
of 'ast. That so many people should desire
to write to him only confirmed her own sus-
picion that the light from his red head shone
around the worll. As to their contents she
never felt curiosity. There was a \ife for
you!
The one mistake Dicky nmadte in Puerto
RIey was to run out of money at the wrong
time. Where his money came from was a
puzzle, for the sales of his shop were next
to nothing, Ibut that source failed, andl at a
peculiarly unfortunate time. It was when
the comandante, D)on Sefior el Coroel ELn-
carnacion Casablanca looked upon the little
saint seated in the shop and felt ]his heart
go pitapat.
The comandante, who was versed inl all
the intricate arts of gallantry, first deli-
cately hinted at his sentiments by donning
his dress uniorm and strutting up ail down
fiercely before her window. Pasa, glancing
demurely with her saintly eyes, instantly
perceived his resemblhmce to her i irrot,
Chichi, and was diverted to the extent of a
smile. The comandante saw the smile,
which was not intended for him. Convinced
of an impression made, he entered the ishop,ICC --ldl I I
-- I I I I ' ' r I IfL
448
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Henry, O., 1862-1910. Rouge et Noire, prose (fiction), December 1901; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139393/m1/4/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.