An Afternoon Miracle Page: 83
[18], 104, [46] p., 4 leaves of plates : ill., some col. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this prose (fiction).
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AN AF''EIN<))\ N 'liiLCLE
rooter" who shot him. At the entrance
lf the ranger, Iudtl turned appllea]igly tn
him for conirmation of the lt''destation he
might have dealt.
" You know, ;uck, I'd 'a' plum got him,
first rattle, if I'd thought a minute. ('om-i
in' a-masquerotin', playing' female till he
got the drop), and turned loose. I never
reached for a gun, thilnkii it was sin'
'hilualhua BIetty, or \lrs. Atwater, or any-
how one of the Mayfield girls comin' a-gun-
in', which they might, liable as not. I never
lihought of that blamed arecia until- "
(;arcia! " snapped Ihckle, . I low
did he get over here ?"
laud's bartender took the ranger hb the
arin and led himn to the side door. i'here
stood a patient gray butrr ' cropping the
grass along the gutter, with a load of kin-
lling wood tied across its 1latk. ()n the
ground lay a black shawl and a vlunminous
hrown dress.
" alasquerootin' in them things," called
tld, still resisting attempted ministrations
to his wound. " Thought he "as a lady till
he give a yell and winged me.i
" lHe went down this side street," said
the ha'rtender. " He was aln, alnd he'll
hide out till night when hIis i"gang' comes
over. You ought to find him in that Alhxi-
can lay-out below the depot. Ie's got a
girl down there IPanchla gales.
" HAw was lie armed ? " aslted Iucklc.
" Two pearl-handled sixes, and a knif.'"
" leep this for ne, IHilly," said the
ranger, handing over his \Vim hester. Quix-
otIt. perhaps, but it was IRoh I Huckley's way.
A\notheltr manl alnd a braver one might
have raised a posse tot Ieolmlpany himll. It
Was 11uckley's rule to discard all prelim-
iart advantage.
The Mpexican had left behind him a wake
of closed doors and an empty street, but
nlow people were beginning' to emrge from
their places of refuge with assunmedl uncon-
sciousness of anything having happened.
Many citizens who knew' the ranger, pointed
out to him with alacrity the course of Gar-
cia's retreat.
As IDuckley swung along upon the trail
he felt the beginning of the suffocating
constriction about his throat, the cold sweat
under the brim of his hat, the old, shane-
ful, dreaded sinking of his heart as it went
down, down, down in his hosom.l.
The morning train of the Mexican Cen-tral hadl that day heen three hours late .
thus failing to connect with the I. andI
,i. NN.on the other sidetl of the river . as-
sengers for Los Estados I nidos gruniblingly
sought entertainmlenti inll the little stVagger-
iu" 1in rel''h t lown of two nations, fl'o' , ntll-
til the Imrrow, no other train twotuld coln
to rescue themll. Irulblingly, because t\wo
days later w1uh1 egin the great fair and
races in tan .ntone. l'onsider that at that
time Siani ntone was iite hluh of the ths el
of Fortune, and the names of its spokes
were battlee , Wool, iaro Itunnin il t llors(s,
and i zone. In those timestl cattlenn plyed
tion of the fortuitous card with stacks lim-
ited in height only byl the interference of
g laVity. lherefore thither journeyed the
sowers aind thi e reaper' s l they who st;I-il ll
peded the dollars, and they who rounded
them ip. Especially did the caterers to
thie aIuselent of the people haste to Sll
Antone. 'lTwo greatest shows on earth
were alrady there, and dozens of smallest
onets wvt onl the way.
()na aside track near the meani little 'dob e
depot stood a private car, left there h the
Ml[exican train that lorning and anl ed hy
an inelff tual schedule tot ignobly await,
amid squalid surroundings., connection with
the next day's regular.
The Ca' had bee),l olnce a cO on day-
coach, but those who had sat in it and cringed
to the conductor's hat-band slips woul
never have recognized it in its trans'form-
Lion. laint and giling and certain dons-
tic touches had liberated it from any sus-
picion of public servitu,]e. The whitest of
lace curtains judiciously screened its win-
dows. From its fore end drooped in the
torrid air the flag of Mexico. From its
rear Irojected the Stars and Stripes and a
husy stove-pipe ; the latter reinforcing in
its suggestion of culinary comforts the gen-
eral suggestion of privacy and ease. The
beholder's (T1, regarding its gorgeous sids,
found interest to culninate in a single name
in ga ld and blue letters extending almost its
entire length a single name, the audacious
privilege of royalty and genius. ])oubly,
then, was this arrogant nomenclature here
justified; for the name was that of " Al-
varita, Q)ueen of the Serpent Tribe." This,
her car, wyas back from a triumplhant tour of
the principal Mexican cities, and now headed
for an Aintone, where, according to prom-- -p r 1 9
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Henry, O., 1862-1910. An Afternoon Miracle, prose (fiction), July 1902; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139426/m1/4/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.