登陆注册
5245800000023

第23章 II(2)

"Well, you're going it blind as far as I'M concerned certainly,"said the young man, with a slight smile, "for you don't know ME.""Pardon, my friend," said Don Jose gently, "in this book, this great Testament of your glorious nation, I have read that you are all equal, one not above, one not below the other. I salute in you the Nation! It is enough!""Thank you," returned the stranger, with a face that, saving the faintest twinkle in the corner of his dark eyes, was as immovable as his host's, "but for the purposes of my business I had better say I am Jack Hamlin, a gambler, and am just now dealing faro in the Florida saloon round the corner."He paused carelessly, as if to allow Don Jose the protest he did not make, and then continued,--"The matter is this. One of your vaqueros, who is, however, an American, was round there an hour ago bucking against faro, and put up and LOST, not only the mare he was riding, but a horse which Ihave just learned is yours. Now we reckon, over there, that we can make enough money playing a square game, without being obliged to take property from a howling drunkard, to say nothing of it not belonging to him, and I've come here, Don Jose, to say that if you'll send over and bring away your man and your horse, you can have 'em both.""If I have comprehended, honest Hamlin," said Don Jose slowly, "this Roberto, who was my vaquero and is my brother, has approached this faro game by himself unsolicited?""He certainly didn't seem shy of it," said Mr. Hamlin with equal gravity. "To the best of my knowledge he looked as if he'd been there before.""And if he had won, excellent Hamlin, you would have given him the equal of his mare and horse?""A hundred dollars for each, yes, certainly.""Then I see not why I should send for the property which is truly no longer mine, nor for my brother who will amuse himself after the fashion of his country in the company of so honorable a caballero as yourself? Stay! oh imbecile that I am. I have not remembered.

You would possibly say that he has no longer of horses! Play him;play him, admirable yet prudent Hamlin. I have two thousand horses! Of a surety he cannot exhaust them in four hours.

Therefore play him, trust to me for recompensa, and have no fear."A quick flush covered the stranger's cheek, and his eyebrows momentarily contracted. He walked carelessly to the window, however, glanced out, and then turned to Don Jose.

"May I ask, then," he said with almost sepulchral gravity, "is anybody taking care of you?""Truly," returned Don Jose cautiously, "there is my brother and friend Roberto.""Ah! Roberto, certainly," said Mr. Hamlin profoundly.

"Why do you ask, considerate friend?"

"Oh! I only thought, with your kind of opinions, you must often feel lonely in California. Good-bye." He shook Don Jose's hand heartily, took up his hat, inclined his head with graceful seriousness, and passed out of the room. In the hall he met the landlord.

"Well," said Jenkinson, with a smile half anxious, half insinuating, "you saw him? What do you think of him?"Mr. Hamlin paused and regarded Jenkinson with a calmly contemplative air, as if he were trying to remember first who he was, and secondly why he should speak to him at all. "Think of whom?" he repeated carelessly.

"Why him--you know--Don Jose."

"I did not see anything the matter with him," returned Hamlin with frigid simplicity.

"What? nothing queer?"

"Well, no--except that he's a guest in YOUR house," said Hamlin with great cheerfulness. "But then, as you keep a hotel, you can't help occasionally admitting a--gentleman."Mr. Jenkinson smiled the uneasy smile of a man who knew that his interlocutor's playfulness occasionally extended to the use of a derringer, in which he was singularly prompt and proficient, and Mr. Hamlin, equally conscious of that knowledge on the part of his companion, descended the staircase composedly.

But the day had darkened gradually into night, and Don Jose was at last compelled to put aside his volume. The sound of a large bell rung violently along the hall and passages admonished him that the American dinner was ready, and although the viands and the mode of cooking were not entirely to his fancy, he had, in his grave enthusiasm for the national habits, attended the table d'hote regularly with Roberto. On reaching the lower hall he was informed that his henchman had early succumbed to the potency of his libations, and had already been carried by two men to bed.

Receiving this information with his usual stoical composure, he entered the dining-room, but was surprised to find that a separate table had been prepared for him by the landlord, and that a rude attempt had been made to serve him with his own native dishes.

"Senores y Senoritas," said Don Jose, turning from it and with grave politeness addressing the assembled company, "if I seem to-day to partake alone and in a reserved fashion of certain viands that have been prepared for me, it is truly from no lack of courtesy to your distinguished company, but rather, I protest, to avoid the appearance of greater discourtesy to our excellent Jenkinson, who has taken some pains and trouble to comport his establishment to what he conceives to be my desires. Wherefore, my friends, in God's name fall to, the same as if I were not present, and grace be with you."A few stared at the tall, gentle, melancholy figure with some astonishment; a few whispered to their neighbors; but when, at the conclusion of his repast, Don Jose arose and again saluted the company, one or two stood up and smilingly returned the courtesy, and Polly Jenkinson, the landlord's youngest daughter, to the great delight of her companions, blew him a kiss.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 好父母你该如何爱孩子

    好父母你该如何爱孩子

    普天下的父母最无私的时候就是爱孩子的时候。全天下的父母都一样。但是当父母在爱孩子的时候,是否考虑过孩子的感受呢?是否思考过:这些究竟是孩子的需要,还是父母的需要?宠爱和溺爱仅有一线之隔,除了物质,我们还有其他方法爱孩子吗?“圈养”还是“放养”,究竟哪一种教育方式更加完善呢?凡此种种,不一而足。对孩子的爱,如何给,给多少,都是应该细致讨论的问题。本书向父母说说什么是真正的爱,什么是错误的爱,该怎样去爱孩子,该怎样让孩子去爱别人。我们都知道,能够决定一个人命运的,从来都不是什么技术性的工作技巧和生存技能,只有好的性格才是孩子受益一生的财富,才是好的命运的基石。
  • 小学语文课程与教学

    小学语文课程与教学

    本书结合小学语文教学实践,围绕小学语文课程教学中的热点、难点问题,以开阔的视野、缜密的分析、典型的案例,揭示小学语文课程教学规律和学习方法,为小学语文教师教学素养和专业成长提供借鉴。
  • 一剑乱天机

    一剑乱天机

    她本是笑容明媚,慧黠灵动的无忧少女,奈何造化弄人,一朝穿越,等待她的竟是这样沉重的使命。族姐暗害,母亲疯癫,她筋脉寸断,跌落无回之谷。因祸得福,习得三煞鬼剑,看她如何回归,一了恩仇。先师遗命,回归之愿,她一路前行,天魔宫前,雪山之巅,她墨发飞扬,三煞鬼剑,剑指天阑……天机乱,生灵将覆,天宫出,鬼剑纵横。是谁的手,掌这天下棋局?是谁翻手为云覆手为雨,以天下人血祭天魔?天宫魔典,引血雨腥风。天下江湖,谁主浮沉?
  • 玉斗山人集

    玉斗山人集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 郊庙歌辞 梁太庙乐

    郊庙歌辞 梁太庙乐

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 家庭安全用药百问百答

    家庭安全用药百问百答

    围绕农民朋友十分关心的具体话题,分“新农民技术能手”、“新农业产业拓展”和“新农村和谐社会”三个系列,分批出版。“新农民技术能手”系列除了传授实用的农业技术,还介绍了如何闯市场、如何经营;“新农业产业拓展”系列介绍了现代农业的新趋势、新模式;“新农村和谐社会”系列包括农村政策宣讲、常见病防治、乡村文化室建立,还对农民进城务工的一些知识作了介绍。全书新颖实用,简明易懂。近年来,江苏在建设全面小康社会的伟大实践中成绩可喜。我们要树立和落实科学发展观、推进“两个率先”、构建和谐社会,按照党中央对社会主义新农村的要求,探索农村文化建设新途径,引导群众不断提升文明素质。
  • 女扮男装世子爷太能作

    女扮男装世子爷太能作

    一眼万年,转世寻你。阿初,上一世不曾保护好你,这一世,便是逆天而为,神挡杀神,佛挡杀佛。他是上界仙尊,她是魔界魔君,因为某种因素,转世到一个古代王朝,这里的人都没有法力,有法力的人都会被当做神一样供着……(以前没有注明)“王爷王爷,不好啦,世子养眼要拆了您的王府”“她想拆旧拆,人手不够本王帮他”某王一脸淡定的喝着茶“尊上尊上,殿下出宫了”“她闲闷也是应当的”某仙尊一脸的不在意“可是,殿下说要广纳后宫……”某神尊“嗖”的一下冲出去了,阿初,你是我的。(这是一个霸道傲娇仙尊和腹黑能作魔君殿下的爱情故事)
  • 剑出隋山

    剑出隋山

    且看一痴儿三剑破了天井江湖。且看一公主骑驴当了武林盟主。西蜀下棋的白发一落子惹得大唐群雄逐鹿。北莽蓄势的铁蹄望着南势要中原妇掳丁屠。算卦布衣寻真命,等了二十年寒暑。帝师和尚住皇宫,起了法号叫瘦虎。不曾想倒夜香的白发太监,原来是个帝王心腹。不曾想市井上的屠户大汉,竟然是个活佛文殊。何处去寻西蜀亡主的复国遗孤?醉卧白马的浪子枪上悬着酒壶。哪里去找大唐王庭的出逃公主?娥眉胭脂的艳娘腰间别着头颅。拜读圣贤企望登堂的儒门,哪个缺的了城府?寻证长生想要飞仙的道士,哪个逃得了命数?唐突,唐突,事事浅显奈人揣度。江湖,江湖,人心交错如读天书。
  • 一路阳光一路歌

    一路阳光一路歌

    几十年来,她一直用自己的笔为央行激情吟唱、纵情高歌,她把央行人、央行事、央行情融进了自己的血液,刻进了自己的年轮,无怨无悔,笔耕不辍地传递着正能量,让人心生敬佩和感动。
  • 众神降临

    众神降临

    (新书《我在东厂当大佬》正式发布,欢迎各位书友入坑。)在地球的平行位面,一千万被众神挑选出的人类,成为了众神大陆的玩家。他们拥有把众神大陆所获得的一切带回地球的权力。地球,迎来了一场因众神玩家而起的阶级变革。但是,他们不知道,在此之前,有一千位神选玩家,参加了众神大陆的删档内测。“我只是不想成为被支配的弱者,顺带着,我想活到见证真相的那一天。”——圣焰者.楚南