"José Sanchez."
"You look like a brave fellow."
José swelled at this praise, and no doubt would have made suitable
answer, but his employer held out her hand, and General Longorio bent
over it, raising it to his lips.
"Señora, one favor you can grant me. No! It is a right I shall claim."
He called one of his subordinates closer and ordered that a lieutenant
and six soldiers be detached to act as an escort to Mrs. Austin's
party. "It is nothing," he assured her. "It is the least I can do. Have
no uneasiness, for these men are the bravest of my command, and they
shall answer with their lives for your safety. As for that
teniente--ah, he is favored above his general!" Longorio rolled his
eyes. "Think of it! I could be faithless to duty--a traitor to my
country--for the privilege he is to enjoy. It is the sacred truth!
Señora, the hours will drag until I may see you again and be of further
service. Meanwhile I shall be tortured with radiant dreams. Go with
God!" For a second time he bowed and kissed the hand he held, then,
taking José Sanchez intimately by the arm, he turned to the door.
Dolores collapsed into her seat with an exclamation. "Caramba! The man
is a demon! And such eyes. Uf! They say he was so furious at losing
those two sisters I told you about that he killed the soldier with the
very weapon--"
Dolores was interrupted by Longorio's voice beneath the open window.
The general stood, cap in hand, holding up to Alaire a solitary wild
flower which he had plucked beside the track.
"See!" he cried. "It is the color of your adorable eyes--blue like a
sapphire gem. I saw it peeping at me, and it was lonely. But now,
behold how it smiles--like a star that sees Paradise, eh? And I, too,
have seen Paradise." He placed the delicate bloom in Alaire's fingers
and was gone.
"Cuidado!" breathed Dolores. "There is blood on it; the blood of
innocents. He will burn for a million years in hell, that man."
Longorio made good his promise; soon a grizzled old teniente, with six
soldiers, was transferred as a bodyguard to the American lady, and
then, after some further delay, the military train departed. Upon the
rear platform stood a tall, slim, khaki-clad figure, and until the car
had dwindled away down the track, foreshortening to a mere rectangular
dot, Luis Longorio remained motionless, staring with eager eyes through
the capering dust and the billowing heat waves.
José Sanchez came plowing into Alaire's car, tremendously excited.
"Look, señora!" he cried. "Look what the general gave me," and he
proudly displayed Longorio's service revolver. Around José's waist was
the cartridge-belt and holster that went with the weapon. "With his own
hands he buckled it about me, and he said, 'José, something tells me
you are a devil for bravery. Guard your mistress with your life, for if
any mishap befalls her I shall cut out your heart with my own hands.'
Those were his very words, señora. Caramba! There is a man to die for."
Nor was this the last of Longorio's dramatic surprises. Shortly after
the train had got under way the lieutenant in command of Alaire's guard
brought her a small package, saying:
"The general commanded me to hand you this, with his deepest regard."
Alaire accepted the object curiously. It was small and heavy and
wrapped in several leaves torn from a notebook, and it proved to be
nothing less than the splendid diamond-and-ruby ring she had admired.
"God protect us, now!" murmured Dolores, crossing herself devoutly.