Part 14 (1/2)
”We've been wondering about getting another boat and a ne,”
Knowlton said, frankly ”The canoe we have is too big for three men to handle, and I'll admit we're tired Jose, too, is in no shape to travel yet--”
”Jose, of course, is entleman interrupted ”The question of new , and now is the tiar se vae ao longe_'--he goes far who goes slowly”
McKay arose, glass in hand
”To our host,” he bowed The toast was drunk standing Whereafter the host tapped the bell twice and 'Tonio reappeared with a tray of fresh glasses A toast to the United States by the coronel followed, and as soon as the black man arrived with a third round the Republic of Brazil was pledged Then the coronel directed the servant:
”'Tonio, if Pedro and Lourenco are outside, ask theentleuests”
'Tonio disappeared down the ladder The coronel raised the violin, tendered it to the others, accepted their pleas to play it himself, and for the next half hour acquitted hiotten operas and is in sone years aered and to which he would return Pedro and Lourenco, transporting the equipment, passed in and out soft-footed and alth the player, with a deprecatory suests,” extended the instruain toward the visitors And McKay, silent McKay, took it
Sweet and low, out welled the haunting melody of ”Annie Laurie” Tim, who had listened with casual interest to the coronel'sbecame ”Kathleen Mavourneen” he closed his eyes and lay back in pure enjoyment ”The River Shannon” flowed into ”The Suwanee River,” and this in turn blended into other heart-tugging airs of Dixieland When the last strain died and the captain reached for his half-sar the room was silent for minutes
Then, to the astonishment of all, Jose spoke:
”Senores, there was a time when I, too, could draw ly on the instrument
”_Certamente_, if you can use the arm,” the coronel acquiesced With a little difficulty Jose drew his ar, balanced his left elbow on the chair arm, and poised the violin A half suests He, and they as well, expected a discordant, uncouth attempt to scrape out some obscene ditty of the frontier
But as Jose, after jockeying a bit, began drifting the bow across the strings, the suppressed smiles faded and eyes opened Here was a man who, as he said, once could play And he wasted no time on airs composed by others and known to half the world Under his touch the rew pictures
City streets, blank-walled houses, patios, the rattle of the hoofs of burros over cobbles, the shuffle of human feet, the toll of bells frohter, flashi+ng eyes, a voluptuous love song repeated over and over A sudden wild outbreak, fightingbell and a requieht Mountain winds crooningto the scream of tempest and the crash of thunder Dreary uplands, the hiss of rain, the sough of drifting snow, the patient plod of a le: its discordant uproar, its has, its hoots and howls, the dismal swash of flood waters A monotonous ebb and flow of life, punctuated by sudden flares of fight Then a long, s, Jose sat for a ht ahead, his pale face drawn, his red kerchief glowing dully in the semishadow like a cap of blood For once his face was eed by a pathetic wistfulness that ic
Then, wordless, he lowered the violin, held it out to the coronel, fu, and slowly incased his wounded ar expression had come back and he once more looked the reckless buccaneer
For a ti of this man's past; felt, too, that he who noas a bloody-handed borderer had once been a _caballero_, her circle Certainly he could not play like this unless he had been of the upper class in his youth The coronel's face was thoughtful as he took back the violin
When at length he began to talk, however, it was on a topic as remote as possible from music and present personalities--the reconstruction of Europe as the result of the World War
With this and kindred subjects, aided by the attentive ministrations of 'Tonio, the afternoon passed swiftly Dinner proved a feast, the _piece de resistance_ being tender, well-cooked meat which the Americans took for roast beef, but which really was roast tapir More cigars, coupled with the fatigue of the past two days of paddling, eventually caused the visitors to seek their rooms, where McKay and Knowlton paired off and Tim took Jose as his ”bunkie”
When Ti he found hiold-chest the hundred dollars allotted to Jose and handed it to hi his wound, the _puntero_ quietly revealed his intention to go before sunrise
”Say nothing, senor,” he requested ”You need know nothing of it, if you like I aone to-morrow--that is all I am of no further use to you, I ao Oh, have no fear for ht arm, and I can take care of myself very well No doubt the coronel will be astonished to find that on leaving to-night I have neither cut anyone's throat nor stolen anything--ha! I have a black name on this river, and it is well earned, perhaps Yet few men are as bad as those who dislike them think they are I may borrow a small canoe, but any Indian would do the same An unoccupied canoe is any man's property
”Before our ways part, senor, let ets his eneets friends Where sohteen dollars, you and Senor McKay give me a hundred And far more than that, you saved my life at a time when many men would have said, 'Bah! let the bloody one die!
He is nothing but scu crew'
You had only to let er and you would be rid of et