The Black Pearl

er quickness and subtlety against that of her father and Hughie; but even while she and her father met each other with move and counter-move, check and c

etween them, with laughter and caresses. As for Mrs. Gallito, she alone was unchanged, apparently quite oblivious to storm conditions in the

the light of her eye, the glow on her cheek, the buoyancy of her step were not all due to th

a hurdle. The lift of her eyelash, an imperceptibly significant gesture, a casual word spoken in conversation, these Hanson met with an incredible quickness of understanding.

ole, wide desert rang with their glorious laughter. And through it all Francisco Gallito sat and smoked and sipped his cognac imperturba

persistent efforts to do so. These circumstances, and results which would probably ensue when a definite course of action had been decided upon, occupied the Pearl's thoughts as she stood at the gate gazing out on the gray wastes spread befor

ll upon the gaudy tail, the only part of Lolita now visible, although, even then, the horse-shoe frown, which showed

r a disagreeable surprise; low, harsh, unpleasantly vibrant, and in strange dissonance to her soft,

pidity. "Bob, Bob," she croaked. "Mi jasmin, Pearl, mi corazo

dolf, this is where you get knifed! They've been laying for you right from the first. When Bob's got to do a thin

oulder and tweaked her ear. "Hell and d

me t

me an

her as pure light and then, as if fused in some magic alembic, became color. There, the ineffable command: "Let there be light!" included all. It is only in the silence and light

he enigma of self. Like life, like truth, like love, like all realities viewed from the angle of human vision, the deser

arl had predicted, Bob Flick appeared, a fact not unheralded by Lolita's cries; but Pearl did not alter her languid pose, no

hem to begin, ain't it, B

from the corners of her eyes she could see that his expressionless face looked worn, the li

hed upon his shoulder, and

f silence, "I wish you'd take a walk with me. I-I g

f a smile about her lips quickly suppressed. "I'l

pearing sometimes to float, as unsubstantial clouds, in an atmosphere of all commingling and contrasting blues and purples. Presently they turned into a lane of mesquite trees. The growth of these trees was th

lls, serrated with black shadows. Behind them the sun-flooded white glare of the great, waste place and behold! all these vanished as the

ilence through those fairy aisles where the light fell golden-green and the sun only filter

st thing I ever tried to do, because I know," his mouth twisted

ked, and there was more than a half impat

sense in it, but, whether you like it or not, I al

and she knew it. Therefore, she shrugged her shoulders resignedly, the faint horse-shoe frown again ap

enderness his glance expressed she did not lift her eyes to see and

leasant, laugh of hers. "It's no secret to me

y something in her words, he looked at her quickly. "Has your Po

n, "but there are some things that don't have to be told. Do you

urprise. "We all been

them. Oh, you might just as well ou

rt silence was like a benediction of peace, broken now and then by the faint

t; but this time it wasn't all that. I got to size up men quick; that was my business for a good m

op to watch him?" she br

of woke up and got to studying him, and then he saw what-what neither of you tried to hide," there

Her verbal strokes were swift and hard as a flail. And again Fli

as he been having me tra

on on his part, "he hasn't. You slipped away so quiet and easy that you did

ing most, and Flick winced at this imputation which struck so nea

ence, three pairs of brilliant eyes gazing through the screening mesquite branches vanished

tipped him off, you know. Now I guess if he'd been wanted bad for anything that would-well, put him behind the bars, say, he'd have gotten out pretty quick. And, anyway, if he'd been wanted like that he wouldn't have stayed here so long, for they wouldn't have had any trouble in nailing a man as well known as him before, so, you see, I knew it wasn't any of the usual things. But," and h

woman, all r

ice cut the air like the swi

een living up near Colina. She owns a part

d they had walked a dozen yard

at last, carelessly, almost

layed fast and loose with her, and finally eloped with one of his burlesque head-liners. She took it. What else was there for her to do? But she spends about all of her time watching her fences to see that there's no divorce in question. He's done everything, tried to buy her off more than once, but it's no good. Ev

cularly unpleasant and disfiguring fashion. Again they walked in one of those silences in which she was wont to entrench herself, and then she looked up at

said simply. "I knew what I'd get. But whether you like it or not," and here he caught her shoulder, his eyes

ccepted this as she did all else that

teps, but they had traversed almost half of the distance they had come before Pear

ess nothing," he said at last. "I guess we'll

er figure. "If you and Pop want to know what I'm going to do," she said, "I'll tell you. I'm going to accep

he expression of his face. "Would you go with him," h

, "and you won't make up the balance of what Sweeney lacks, either, do you hear?

speech on the matter. Presently Bob's keen eyes descried some one walkin

ess, waiting until they drew nearer, and then he lifted his head, which

n the path and laid one hand detainingly upon his arm. "Bob," she said, in her softest

n in the face of her anger, but to withstand her when she chose to coax! That was another and more diff

earl," he paused for the fraction of

ately controlled herself, as she could always do when she chose and

n purple and ermine; her head was bent, her body drooped like a lily in the noonday heat, her whole attitude was soft, and forlorn and appealing,

give her everything she impossibly craved. And now it was he who

tening of the shoulders that the struggle was on, so she lifted her eyes half wistfully, half dou

us to begin to quarrel now, isn't that so,

know we'll never quarrel, Pearl. I guess you know that, no mat

ifted his hand, and with one of her rare, caressing gestures laid it against her chee

than ever. "Oh, Pearl," he cried, "what do you want to make things so hard for? Let that dog-" he checked himself hastily, seeing her e

head affirmatively, ans

ll you that you couldn't be happy wit

ile on her lips. "We're always so dead sure what's going to make other people happy, ain't we,

I hate to talk that-a-way to a lady, especially to you, Pearl; but I know you; and you can't be happy, you just naturally can't, with a man that's married for keeps

! Me! the Black Pearl!" she cried hoarsely, and broke into a torrent of Spanish oaths. "Dios!"

which he always took her unspared blame, "but I had to do it. You got to know t

e gotten very fa

got to scrapping and screaming

concerned," she flashed at him fiercel

to them from a side avenue or narr

ck answered. "We'll wa

. "Tell me something quick, before he reaches us. Te

l tell you an

woman in Colina-prett

ne's as pretty as you, Pe

s she look like

know, just looks like most

he kind of saucy and quick, or is she quiet

and across his brow, "she'

aughed, then she took a few dan

yonder," with a wave of his hand toward the direction in which he had come, "and I wanted to hear it closer, so I didn'

s Flick who spoke. "What are you doing

," he said. "That Hanson has been there all morning, and mother

ther's. "Poor Rudolf!" she muttered, "th

hear her, although Bob Flick

e doves; and a while ago there was a humming-bird; and did you ever smell the desert as sweet as it is this morning?" He lifted his head and sniffed ecstatically. "I've been turning the whole morning into music. It's all gold and green and gay with little silver trumpets through

they were accorded in the Gallito household might be said to have caused the disturbing investigations into Hanson's past. That Pearl herself disregarded these intuitions in this case was to those about her the strongest proof of her infatuation; but she never dreamed of blaming the boy or harboring ran

ome great effects. Something really artistic for the big cities, not the old waltz things we have to do for the desert and mountain villages. We might try that '

dea!" His face was flushed; and then suddenly it fell. "Oh!" he cried despairingly to Flick, "sh

st confidence. Occasionally he would stop, rap his leg sharply with one hand, listen a moment, and then, apparently satisfied, walk on. Those who pressed him for an explanation

until they reached home. Pearl's eyes scanned the house, but it was evident that Hanson had g

o your signing up with Hanson?" asked

ake the house rock," she answered ind