Part 25 (1/2)
”But then,” she murmured in liquid Spanish, ”I had not beheld thee, thou great, red mountain of a man! And thou art kind and good, as well as strong. Could one choose him, knowing thee? Let him die; for then I will not be filled with fear by day and night lest he hurt thee or me.”
”How can I know when he comes?” asked Sandridge.
”When he comes,” said Tonia, ”he remains two days, sometimes three.
Gregorio, the small son of old Luisa, the _lavendera_ [74], has a swift pony. I will write a letter to thee and send it by him, saying how it will be best to come upon him. By Gregorio will the letter come.
And bring many men with thee, and have much care, oh, dear red one, for the rattlesnake is not quicker to strike than is '_El Chivato_,'
[75] as they call him, to send a ball from his _pistola_.”
[FOOTNOTE 74: lavendera--(Spanish) laundress, washerwoman]
[FOOTNOTE 75: El Chivato--(Spanish) literally translated as The Sneak or The Informer but more likely meaning The Villain or The Evil One. This was one of the nicknames of Billy the Kid.]
”The Kid's handy with his gun, sure enough,” admitted Sandridge, ”but when I come for him I shall come alone. I'll get him by myself or not at all. The Cap wrote one or two things to me that make me want to do the trick without any help. You let me know when Mr. Kid arrives, and I'll do the rest.”
”I will send you the message by the boy Gregorio,” said the girl. ”I knew you were braver than that small slayer of men who never smiles.
How could I ever have thought I cared for him?”
It was time for the ranger to ride back to his camp on the water hole.
Before he mounted his horse he raised the slight form of Tonia with one arm high from the earth for a parting salute. The drowsy stillness of the torpid summer air still lay thick upon the dreaming afternoon.
The smoke from the fire in the _jacal_, where the _frijoles_ [76]
blubbered in the iron pot, rose straight as a plumb-line above the clay-daubed chimney. No sound or movement disturbed the serenity of the dense pear thicket ten yards away.
[FOOTNOTE 76: frijoles--(Spanish) beans, usually cooked a long time until very soft, with various seasonings added]
When the form of Sandridge had disappeared, loping his big dun down the steep banks of the Frio crossing, the Kid crept back to his own horse, mounted him, and rode back along the tortuous trail he had come.
But not far. He stopped and waited in the silent depths of the pear until half an hour had pa.s.sed. And then Tonia heard the high, untrue notes of his unmusical singing coming nearer and nearer; and she ran to the edge of the pear to meet him.
The Kid seldom smiled; but he smiled and waved his hat when he saw her. He dismounted, and his girl sprang into his arms. The Kid looked at her fondly. His thick, black hair clung to his head like a wrinkled mat. The meeting brought a slight ripple of some undercurrent of feeling to his smooth, dark face that was usually as motionless as a clay mask.
”How's my girl?” he asked, holding her close.
”Sick of waiting so long for you, dear one,” she answered. ”My eyes are dim with always gazing into that devil's pincus.h.i.+on through which you come. And I can see into it such a little way, too. But you are here, beloved one, and I will not scold. _Que mal muchacho_ [77]! not to come to see your _alma_ [78] more often. Go in and rest, and let me water your horse and stake him with the long rope. There is cool water in the jar for you.”
[FOOTNOTE 77: Que mal muchacho!--(Spanish) What a bad boy!]
[FOOTNOTE 78: alma--(Spanish) soul, spirit; in this sense a ”soul-mate”]
The Kid kissed her affectionately.
”Not if the court knows itself do I let a lady stake my horse for me,”
said he. ”But if you'll run in, _chica_ [79], and throw a pot of coffee together while I attend to the _caballo_ [80], I'll be a good deal obliged.”
[FOOTNOTE 79: chica--(Spanish) girl, little one]
[FOOTNOTE 80: caballo--(Spanish) horse]
Besides his marksmans.h.i.+p the Kid had another attribute for which he admired himself greatly. He was _muy caballero_ [81], as the Mexicans express it, where the ladies were concerned. For them he had always gentle words and consideration. He could not have spoken a harsh word to a woman. He might ruthlessly slay their husbands and brothers, but he could not have laid the weight of a finger in anger upon a woman.