by Bret Harte
CHU CHU.
I do not believe that the most enthusiastic lover of that "useful andnoble animal," the horse, will claim for him the charm of geniality,humor, or expansive confidence. Any creature who will not look yousquarely in the eye--whose only oblique glances are inspired by fear,distrust, or a view to attack; who has no way of returning caresses, andwhose favorite expression is one of head-lifting disdain, may be "noble"or "useful," but can be hardly said to add to the gayety of nations.Indeed it may be broadly stated that, with the single exception ofgold-fish, of all animals kept for the recreation of mankind thehorse is alone capable of exciting a passion that shall be absolutelyhopeless. I deem these general remarks necessary to prove that myunreciprocated affection for "Chu Chu" was not purely individual orsingular. And I may add that to these general characteristics shebrought the waywardness of her capricious sex.
She came to me out of the rolling dust of an emigrant wagon, behindwhose tailboard she was gravely trotting. She was a half-broken colt--inwhich character she had at different times unseated everybody in thetrain--and, although covered with dust, she had a beautiful coat, andthe most lambent gazelle-like eyes I had ever seen. I think she keptthese latter organs purely for ornament--apparently looking at thingswith her nose, her sensitive ears, and, sometimes, even a slight liftingof her slim near fore-leg. On our first interview I thought she favoredme with a coy glance, but as it was accompanied by an irrelevant "Lookout!" from her owner, the teamster, I was not certain. I only know thatafter some conversation, a good deal of mental reservation, and thedisbursement of considerable coin, I found myself standing in the dustof the departing emigrant-wagon with one end of a forty-foot riata in myhand, and Chu Chu at the other.
I pulled invitingly at my own end, and even advanced a step or twotowards her. She then broke into a long disdainful pace, and began tocircle round me at the extreme limit of her tether. I stood admiringher free action for some moments--not always turning with her, which wastiring--until I found that she was gradually winding herself up ON ME!Her frantic astonishment when she suddenly found herself thus brought upagainst me was one of the most remarkable things I ever saw, and nearlytook me off my legs. Then when she had pulled against the riata untilher narrow head and prettily arched neck were on a perfectly straightline with it, she as suddenly slackened the tension and condescended tofollow me, at an angle of her own choosing. Sometimes it was on oneside of me, sometimes on the other. Even then the sense of my dreadfulcontiguity apparently would come upon her like a fresh discovery, andshe would become hysterical. But I do not think that she really SAW me.She looked at the riata and sniffed it disparagingly, she pawed somepebbles that were near me tentatively with her small hoof; she startedback with a Robinson Crusoe-like horror of my footprints in the wetgully, but my actual personal presence she ignored. She would sometimespause, with her head thoughtfully between her fore-legs, and apparentlysay: "There is some extraordinary presence here: animal, vegetable, ormineral--I can't make out which--but it's not good to eat, and I loatheand detest it."
When I reached my house in the suburbs, before entering the "fifty vara"lot inclosure, I deemed it prudent to leave her outside while I informedthe household of my purchase; and with this object I tethered her by thelong riata to a solitary sycamore which stood in the centre of the road,the crossing of two frequented thoroughfares. It was not long, however,before I was interrupted by shouts and screams from that vicinity, andon returning thither I found that Chu Chu, with the assistance of herriata, had securely wound up two of my neighbors to the tree, where theypresented the appearance of early Christian martyrs. When I releasedthem it appeared that they had been attracted by Chu Chu's graces,and had offered her overtures of affection, to which she hadcharacteristically rotated with this miserable result. I led her, withsome difficulty, warily keeping clear of the riata, to the inclosure,from whose fence I had previously removed several bars. Although thespace was wide enough to have admitted a troop of cavalry she affectednot to notice it, and managed to kick away part of another section onentering. She resisted the stable for some time, but after carefullyexamining it with her hoofs, and an affectedly meek outstretching ofher nose, she consented to recognize some oats in the feed-box--withoutlooking at them--and was formally installed. All this while she hadresolutely ignored my presence. As I stood watching her she suddenlystopped eating; the same reflective look came over her. "Surely I am notmistaken, but that same obnoxious creature is somewhere about here!" sheseemed to say, and shivered at the possibility.
It was probably this which made me confide my unreciprocated affectionto one of my neighbors--a man supposed to be an authority on horses, andparticularly of that wild species to which Chu Chu belonged. It was hewho, leaning over the edge of the stall where she was complacently and,as usual, obliviously munching, absolutely dared to toy with a pet lockof hair which she wore over the pretty star on her forehead. "Ye see,captain," he said with jaunty easiness, "hosses is like wimmen; ye don'twant ter use any standoffishness or shyness with THEM; a stiddy butkeerless sort o' familiarity, a kind o' free but firm handlin', jesslike this, to let her see who's master"--
We never clearly knew HOW it happened; but when I picked up my neighborfrom the doorway, amid the broken splinters of the stall rail, and aquantity of oats that mysteriously filled his hair and pockets, Chu Chuwas found to have faced around the other way, and was contemplating herforelegs, with her hind ones in the other stall. My neighbor spoke ofdamages while he was in the stall, and of physical coercion when hewas out of it again. But here Chu Chu, in some marvelous way, rightedherself, and my neighbor departed hurriedly with a brimless hat and anunfinished sentence.
My next intermediary was Enriquez Saltello--a youth of my own age,and the brother of Consuelo Saltello, whom I adored. As a SpanishCalifornian he was presumed, on account of Chu Chu's half-Spanishorigin, to have superior knowledge of her character, and I even vaguelybelieved that his language and accent would fall familiarly on her ear.There was the drawback, however, that he always preferred to talk ina marvelous English, combining Castilian precision with what he fondlybelieved to be Californian slang.
"To confer then as to thees horse, which is not--observe me--a Mexicanplug! Ah, no! you can your boots bet on that. She is of Castilianstock--believe me and strike me dead! I will myself at different timesoverlook and affront her in the stable, examine her as to the assault,and why she should do thees thing. When she is of the exercise I willalso accost and restrain her. Remain tranquil, my friend! When a fewdays shall pass much shall be changed, and she will be as another. Trustyour oncle to do thees thing! Comprehend me? Everything shall be lovely,and the goose hang high!"
Conformably with this he "overlooked" her the next day, with a cigarettebetween his yellow-stained finger-tips, which made her sneeze in asilent pantomimic way, and certain Spanish blandishments of speech whichshe received with more complacency. But I don't think she ever evenlooked at him. In vain he protested that she was the "dearest" and"littlest" of his "little loves"--in vain he asserted that she was hispatron saint, and that it was his soul's delight to pray to her; sheaccepted the compliment with her eyes fixed upon the manger. When he hadexhausted his whole stock of endearing diminutives, adding a few playfuland more audacious sallies, she remained with her head down, as ifinclined to meditate upon them. This he declared was at least animprovement on her former performances. It may have been my ownjealousy, but I fancied she was only saying to herself, "Gracious! canthere be TWO of them?"
"Courage and patience, my friend," he said, as we were slowly quittingthe stable. "Thees horse is yonge, and has not yet the habitude of theperson. To-morrow, at another season, I shall give to her a foundling"("fondling," I have reason to believe, was the word intended byEnriquez)--"and we shall see. It shall be as easy as to fall away froma log. A leetle more of this chin music which your friend Enriquezpossesses, and some tapping of the head and neck, and you are there.You are ever the right side up. Houp la! But let us not precipita
te thisthing. The more haste, we do not so much accelerate ourselves."
He appeared to be suiting the action to the word as he lingered in thedoorway of the stable. "Come on," I said.
"Pardon," he returned, with a bow that was both elaborate and evasive,"but you shall yourself precede me--the stable is YOURS."
"Oh, come along!" I continued impatiently. To my surprise he seemed tododge back into the stable again. After an instant he reappeared.
"Pardon! but I am re-strain! Of a truth, in this instant I am grasp bythe mouth of thees horse in the coat-tail of my dress! She will that Ishould remain. It would seem"--he disappeared again--"that"--he was outonce more--"the experiment is a sooccess! She reciprocate! She is, of atruth, gone on me. It is lofe!"--a stronger pull from Chu Chu here senthim in again--"but"--he was out now triumphantly with half his garmenttorn away--"I shall coquet."
Nothing daunted, however, the gallant fellow was back next day witha Mexican saddle, and attired in the complete outfit of a vaquero.Overcome though HE was by heavy deerskin trousers, open at the sidefrom the knees down, and fringed with bullion buttons, an enormousflat sombrero, and a stiff, short embroidered velvet jacket, I was moreconcerned at the ponderous saddle and equipments intended for the slimChu Chu. That these would hide and conceal her beautiful curves andcontour, as well as overweight her, seemed certain; that she wouldresist them all to the last seemed equally clear. Nevertheless, to mysurprise, when she was led out, and the saddle thrown deftly across herback, she was passive. Was it possible that some drop of her old Spanishblood responded to its clinging embrace? She did not either look at itnor smell it. But when Enriquez began to tighten the "cinch" or girtha more singular thing occurred. Chu Chu visibly distended her slenderbarrel to twice its dimensions; the more he pulled the more she swelled,until I was actually ashamed of her. Not so Enriquez. He smiled at us,and complacently stroked his thin moustache.
"Eet is ever so! She is the child of her grandmother! Even when youshall make saddle thees old Castilian stock, it will make large--it willbecome a balloon! Eet is a trick--eet is a leetle game--believe me. Forwhy?"
I had not listened, as I was at that moment astonished to see the saddleslowly slide under Chu Chu's belly, and her figure resume, as if bymagic, its former slim proportions. Enriquez followed my eyes, liftedhis shoulders, shrugged them, and said smilingly, "Ah, you see!"
When the girths were drawn in again with an extra pull or two from theindefatigable Enriquez, I fancied that Chu Chu nevertheless secretlyenjoyed it, as her sex is said to appreciate tight-lacing. She drew adeep sigh, possibly of satisfaction, turned her neck, and apparentlytried to glance at her own figure--Enriquez promptly withdrawing toenable her to do so easily. Then the dread moment arrived. Enriquez,with his hand on her mane, suddenly paused and, with exaggeratedcourtesy, lifted his hat and made an inviting gesture.
"You will honor me to precede."
I shook my head laughingly.
"I see," responded Enriquez gravely. "You have to attend the obsequiesof your aunt who is dead, at two of the clock. You have to meet yourbroker who has bought you feefty share of the Comstock lode--at theesmoment--or you are loss! You are excuse! Attend! Gentlemen, make yourbets! The band has arrived to play! 'Ere we are!"
With a quick movement the alert young fellow had vaulted into thesaddle. But, to the astonishment of both of us, the mare remainedperfectly still. There was Enriquez bolt upright in the stirrups,completely overshadowing by his saddle-flaps, leggings, and giganticspurs the fine proportions of Chu Chu, until she might have been aplacid Rosinante, bestridden by some youthful Quixote. She closed hereyes, she was going to sleep! We were dreadfully disappointed. Thisclearly would not do. Enriquez lifted the reins cautiously! Chu Chumoved forward slowly--then stopped, apparently lost in reflection.
"Affront her on thees side."
I approached her gently. She shot suddenly into the air, coming downagain on perfectly stiff legs with a springless jolt. This she instantlyfollowed by a succession of other rocket-like propulsions, utterlyunlike a leap, all over the inclosure. The movements of the unfortunateEnriquez were equally unlike any equitation I ever saw. He appearedoccasionally over Chu Chu's head, astride of her neck and tail, or inthe free air, but never IN the saddle. His rigid legs, however, neverlost the stirrups, but came down regularly, accentuating her springlesshops. More than that, the disproportionate excess of rider, saddle,and accoutrements was so great that he had, at times, the appearance oflifting Chu Chu forcibly from the ground by superior strength, and ofactually contributing to her exercise! As they came towards me, a wildtossing and flying mass of hoofs and spurs, it was not only difficultto distinguish them apart, but to ascertain how much of the jumping wasdone by Enriquez separately. At last Chu Chu brought matters to a closeby making for the low-stretching branches of an oak-tree which stood atthe corner of the lot. In a few moments she emerged from it--but withoutEnriquez.
I found the gallant fellow disengaging himself from the fork of a branchin which he had been firmly wedged, but still smiling and confident, andhis cigarette between his teeth. Then for the first time he removed it,and seating himself easily on the branch with his legs dangling down, heblandly waved aside my anxious queries with a gentle reassuring gesture.
"Remain tranquil, my friend. Thees does not count! I have conquer--youobserve--for why? I have NEVER for once ARRIVE AT THE GROUND! Consequentshe is disappoint! She will ever that I SHOULD! But I have got her whenthe hair is not long! Your oncle Henry"--with an angelic wink--"is fly!He is ever a bully boy, with the eye of glass! Believe me. Behold! I amhere! Big Injin! Whoop!"
He leaped lightly to the ground. Chu Chu, standing watchfully at alittle distance, was evidently astonished at his appearance. She threwout her hind hoofs violently, shot up into the air until the stirrupscrossed each other high above the saddle, and made for the stable in asuccession of rabbit-like bounds--taking the precaution to remove thesaddle, on entering, by striking it against the lintel of the door. "Youobserve," said Enriquez blandly, "she would make that thing of ME. Nothaving the good occasion, she ees dissatisfied. Where are you now?"
Two or three days afterwards he rode her again with the sameresult--accepted by him with the same heroic complacency. As we did not,for certain reasons, care to use the open road for this exercise, and asit was impossible to remove the tree, we were obliged to submit to theinevitable. On the following day I mounted her--undergoing the sameexperience as Enriquez, with the individual sensation of falling from athird-story window on top of a counting-house stool, and the variationof being projected over the fence. When I found that Chu Chu had notaccompanied me, I saw Enriquez at my side. "More than ever is becomenecessary that we should do thees things again," he said gravely, ashe assisted me to my feet. "Courage, my noble General! God and Liberty!Once more on to the breach! Charge, Chestare, charge! Come on, DonStanley! 'Ere we are!"
He helped me none too quickly to catch my seat again, for it apparentlyhad the effect of the turned peg on the enchanted horse in the ArabianNights, and Chu Chu instantly rose into the air. But she came down thistime before the open window of the kitchen, and I alighted easily on thedresser. The indefatigable Enriquez followed me.
"Won't this do?" I asked meekly.
"It ees BETTER--for you arrive NOT on the ground," he said cheerfully;"but you should not once but a thousand times make trial! Ha! Go andwin! Nevare die and say so! 'Eave ahead! 'Eave! There you are!"
Luckily, this time I managed to lock the rowels of my long spurs underher girth, and she could not unseat me. She seemed to recognize the factafter one or two plunges, when, to my great surprise, she suddenlysank to the ground and quietly rolled over me. The action disengagedmy spurs, but, righting herself without getting up, she turned herbeautiful head and absolutely LOOKED at me!--still in the saddle. I feltmyself blushing! But the voice of Enriquez was at my side.
"Errise, my friend; you have conquer! It is SHE who has arrive at theground! YOU are all right. It is done; be
lieve me, it is feenish! Nomore shall she make thees thing. From thees instant you shall ride heras the cow--as the rail of thees fence--and remain tranquil. For she isa-broke! Ta-ta! Regain your hats, gentlemen! Pass in your checks! It isovar! How are you now?" He lit a fresh cigarette, put his hands in hispockets, and smiled at me blandly.
For all that, I ventured to point out that the habit of alighting in thefork of a tree, or the disengaging of one's self from the saddle on theground, was attended with inconvenience, and even ostentatious display.But Enriquez swept the objections away with a single gesture. "It isthe PREENCIPAL--the bottom fact--at which you arrive. The next come ofhimself! Many horse have achieve to mount the rider by the knees, andrelinquish after thees same fashion. My grandfather had a barb of theeskind--but she has gone dead, and so have my grandfather. Which is sadand strange! Otherwise I shall make of them both an instant example!"
I ought to have said that although these performances were neveractually witnessed by Enriquez's sister--for reasons which he and Ithought sufficient--the dear girl displayed the greatest interest inthem, and, perhaps aided by our mutually complimentary accounts of eachother, looked upon us both as invincible heroes. It is possible alsothat she over-estimated our success, for she suddenly demanded that Ishould RIDE Chu Chu to her house, that she might see her. It wasnot far; by going through a back lane I could avoid the trees whichexercised such a fatal fascination for Chu Chu. There was a pleading,child-like entreaty in Consuelo's voice that I could not resist, witha slight flash from her lustrous dark eyes that I did not care toencourage. So I resolved to try it at all hazards.
My equipment for the performance was modeled after Enriquez's previouscostume, with the addition of a few fripperies of silver and stampedleather out of compliment to Consuelo, and even with a faint hopethat it might appease Chu Chu. SHE certainly looked beautiful in herglittering accoutrements, set off by her jet-black shining coat. With anair of demure abstraction she permitted me to mount her, and even fora hundred yards or so indulged in a mincing maidenly amble that was notwithout a touch of coquetry. Encouraged by this, I addressed a few termsof endearment to her, and in the exuberance of my youthful enthusiasm Ieven confided to her my love for Consuelo, and begged her to be "good"and not disgrace herself and me before my Dulcinea. In my foolishtrustfulness I was rash enough to add a caress, and to pat her softneck. She stopped instantly with a hysteric shudder. I knew what waspassing through her mind: she had suddenly become aware of my balefulexistence.
The saddle and bridle Chu Chu was becoming accustomed to, but who wasthis living, breathing object that had actually touched her? Presentlyher oblique vision was attracted by the fluttering movement of a fallenoak-leaf in the road before her. She had probably seen many oak-leavesmany times before; her ancestors had no doubt been familiar with them onthe trackless hills and in field and paddock, but this did not alter herprofound conviction that I and the leaf were identical, that our balefultouch was something indissolubly connected. She reared before thatinnocent leaf, she revolved round it, and then fled from it at the topof her speed.
The lane passed before the rear wall of Saltello's garden.Unfortunately, at the angle of the fence stood a beautiful Madrono-tree,brilliant with its scarlet berries, and endeared to me as Consuelo'sfavorite haunt, under whose protecting shade I had more than once avowedmy youthful passion. By the irony of fate Chu Chu caught sight of it,and with a succession of spirited bounds instantly made for it. Inanother moment I was beneath it, and Chu Chu shot like a rocket into theair. I had barely time to withdraw my feet from the stirrups, to throwup one arm to protect my glazed sombrero and grasp an overhanging branchwith the other, before Chu Chu darted off. But to my consternation, asI gained a secure perch on the tree, and looked about me, I sawher--instead of running away--quietly trot through the open gate intoSaltello's garden.
Need I say that it was to the beneficent Enriquez that I again owed mysalvation? Scarcely a moment elapsed before his bland voice rose ina concentrated whisper from the corner of the garden below me. He haddivined the dreadful truth!
"For the love of God, collect to yourself many kinds of thees berry! Allyou can! Your full arms round! Rest tranquil. Leave to your ole oncle tomake for you a delicate exposure. At the instant!"
He was gone again. I gathered, wonderingly, a few of the larger clustersof parti-colored fruit and patiently waited. Presently he reappeared,and with him the lovely Consuelo--her dear eyes filled with an adorableanxiety.
"Yes," continued Enriquez to his sister, with a confidential loweringof tone but great distinctness of utterance, "it is ever so with theAmerican! He will ever make FIRST the salutation of the flower or thefruit, picked to himself by his own hand, to the lady where he call. Itis the custom of the American hidalgo! My God--what will you? I make itnot--it is so! Without doubt he is in this instant doing thees thing.That is why he have let go his horse to precede him here; it is alwaysthe etiquette to offer these things on the feet. Ah! Behold! it ishe!--Don Francisco! Even now he will descend from thees tree! Ah! Youmake the blush, little sister (archly)! I will retire! I am discreet;two is not company for the one! I make tracks! I am gone!"
How far Consuelo entirely believed and trusted her ingenious brotherI do not know, nor even then cared to inquire. For there was a prettymantling of her olive cheek, as I came forward with my offering, and acertain significant shyness in her manner that were enough to throwme into a state of hopeless imbecility. And I was always miserablyconscious that Consuelo possessed an exalted sentimentality, and apredilection for the highest mediaeval romance, in which I knew I waslamentably deficient. Even in our most confidential moments I wasalways aware that I weakly lagged behind this daughter of a gloomilydistinguished ancestry, in her frequent incursions into a vaguebut poetic past. There was something of the dignity of the Spanishchatelaine in the sweetly grave little figure that advanced to accept myspecious offering. I think I should have fallen on my knees to presentit, but for the presence of the all seeing Enriquez. But why did I evenat that moment remember that he had early bestowed upon her the nicknameof "Pomposa"? This, as Enriquez himself might have observed, was "sadand strange."
I managed to stammer out something about the Madrono berries being ather "disposicion" (the tree was in her own garden!), and she took thebranches in her little brown hand with a soft response to my unutterableglances.
But here Chu Chu, momentarily forgotten, executed a happy diversion. Toour astonishment she gravely walked up to Consuelo and, stretching outher long slim neck, not only sniffed curiously at the berries, but evenprotruded a black underlip towards the young girl herself. In anotherinstant Consuelo's dignity melted. Throwing her arms around Chu Chu'sneck she embraced and kissed her. Young as I was, I understood thedivine significance of a girl's vicarious effusiveness at such a moment,and felt delighted. But I was the more astonished that the usuallysensitive horse not only submitted to these caresses, but actuallyresponded to the extent of affecting to nip my mistress's little rightear.
This was enough for the impulsive Consuelo. She ran hastily into thehouse, and in a few moments reappeared in a bewitching riding-skirtgathered round her jimp waist. In vain Enriquez and myself joined inearnest entreaty: the horse was hardly broken for even a man's ridingyet; the saints alone could tell what the nervous creature might dowith a woman's skirt flapping at her side! We begged for delay, forreflection, for at least time to change the saddle--but with no avail!Consuelo was determined, indignant, distressingly reproachful! Ah, well!if Don Pancho (an ingenious diminutive of my Christian name) valuedhis horse so highly--if he were jealous of the evident devotion of theanimal to herself, he would--but here I succumbed! And then I had thefelicity of holding that little foot for one brief moment in the hollowof my hand, of readjusting the skirt as she threw her knee overthe saddle-horn, of clasping her tightly--only half in fear--as Isurrendered the reins to her grasp. And to tell the truth, as Enriquezand I fell back, although I had insisted upon still keeping hold of theend of the
riata, it was a picture to admire. The petite figure of theyoung girl, and the graceful folds of her skirt, admirably harmonizedwith Chu Chu's lithe contour, and as the mare arched her slim neck andraised her slender head under the pressure of the reins, it was so likethe lifted velvet-capped toreador crest of Consuelo herself, that theyseemed of one race.
"I would not that you should hold the riata," said Consuelo petulantly.
I hesitated--Chu Chu looked certainly very amiable--I let go. She beganto amble towards the gate, not mincingly as before, but with a freer andfuller stride. In spite of the incongruous saddle the young girl's seatwas admirable. As they neared the gate she cast a single mischievousglance at me, jerked at the rein, and Chu Chu sprang into the road ata rapid canter. I watched them fearfully and breathlessly, until at theend of the lane I saw Consuelo rein in slightly, wheel easily, and comeflying back. There was no doubt about it; the horse was under perfectcontrol. Her second subjugation was complete and final!
Overjoyed and bewildered, I overwhelmed them with congratulations;Enriquez alone retaining the usual brotherly attitude of criticism, anda superior toleration of a lover's enthusiasm. I ventured to hint toConsuelo (in what I believed was a safe whisper) that Chu Chu onlyshowed my own feelings towards her. "Without doubt," responded Enriquezgravely. "She have of herself assist you to climb to the tree to pullto yourself the berry for my sister." But I felt Consuelo's little handreturn my pressure, and I forgave and even pitied him.
From that day forward, Chu Chu and Consuelo were not only firm friendsbut daily companions. In my devotion I would have presented the horseto the young girl, but with flattering delicacy she preferred to call itmine. "I shall erride it for you, Pancho," she said; "I shall feel," shecontinued with exalted although somewhat vague poetry, "that it is ofYOU! You lofe the beast--it is therefore of a necessity YOU, my Pancho!It is YOUR soul I shall erride like the wings of the wind--your lofe inthis beast shall be my only cavalier for ever." I would have preferredsomething whose vicarious qualities were less uncertain than I stillfelt Chu Chu's to be, but I kissed the girl's hand submissively. It wasonly when I attempted to accompany her in the flesh, on another horse,that I felt the full truth of my instinctive fears. Chu Chu would notpermit any one to approach her mistress's side. My mounted presencerevived in her all her old blind astonishment and disbelief in myexistence; she would start suddenly, face about, and back away from mein utter amazement as if I had been only recently created, or with anaffected modesty as if I had been just guilty of some grave indecorumtowards her sex which she really could not stand. The frequency of theseexhibitions in the public highway were not only distressing to me asa simple escort, but as it had the effect on the casual spectators ofmaking Consuelo seem to participate in Chu Chu's objections, I feltthat, as a lover, it could not be borne. Any attempt to coerce Chu Chuended in her running away. And my frantic pursuit of her was open toequal misconstruction. "Go it, Miss, the little dude is gainin' on you!"shouted by a drunken teamster to the frightened Consuelo, once checkedme in mid career. Even the dear girl herself saw the uselessness of myreal presence, and after a while was content to ride with "my soul."
Notwithstanding this, I am not ashamed to say that it was my custom,whenever she rode out, to keep a slinking and distant surveillance ofChu Chu on another horse, until she had fairly settled down to her pace.A little nod of Consuelo's round black-and-red toreador hat or a kisstossed from her riding-whip was reward enough!
I remember a pleasant afternoon when I was thus awaiting her in theoutskirts of the village. The eternal smile of the Californian summerhad begun to waver and grow less fixed; dust lay thick on leaf andblade; the dry hills were clothed in russet leather; the trade windswere shifting to the south with an ominous warm humidity; a few dayslonger and the rains would be here. It so chanced that this afternoon myseclusion on the roadside was accidentally invaded by a village belle--aWestern young lady somewhat older than myself, and of flirtatiousreputation. As she persistently and--as I now have reason tobelieve--mischievously lingered, I had only a passing glimpse ofConsuelo riding past at an unaccustomed speed which surprised me atthe moment. But as I reasoned later that she was only trying to avoida merely formal meeting, I thought no more about it. It was not until Icalled at the house to fetch Chu Chu at the usual hour, and found thatConsuelo had not yet returned, that a recollection of Chu Chu's furiouspace again troubled me. An hour passed--it was getting towards sunset,but there were no signs of Chu Chu nor her mistress. I became seriouslyalarmed. I did not care to reveal my fears to the family, for I feltmyself responsible for Chu Chu. At last I desperately saddled my horse,and galloped off in the direction she had taken. It was the road toRosario and the hacienda of one of her relations, where she sometimeshalted.
The road was a very unfrequented one, twisting like a mountain river;indeed, it was the bed of an old watercourse, between brown hills ofwild oats, and debouching at last into a broad blue lake-like expanse ofalfalfa meadows. In vain I strained my eyes over the monotonous level;nothing appeared to rise above or move across it. In the faint hope thatshe might have lingered at the hacienda, I was spurring on again when Iheard a slight splashing on my left. I looked around. A broad patchof fresher-colored herbage and a cluster of dwarfed alders indicateda hidden spring. I cautiously approached its quaggy edges, when I wasshocked by what appeared to be a sudden vision! Mid-leg deep in thecentre of a greenish pool stood Chu Chu! But without a strap or buckleof harness upon her--as naked as when she was foaled!
For a moment I could only stare at her in bewildered terror. Far fromrecognizing me, she seemed to be absorbed in a nymph-like contemplationof her own graces in the pool. Then I called "Consuelo!" and gallopedfrantically around the spring. But there was no response, nor was thereanything to be seen but the all-unconscious Chu Chu. The pool, thankHeaven! was not deep enough to have drowned any one; there were no signsof a struggle on its quaggy edges. The horse might have come from adistance! I galloped on, still calling. A few hundred yards furtherI detected the vivid glow of Chu Chu's scarlet saddle-blanket, in thebrush near the trail. My heart leaped--I was on the track. I calledagain; this time a faint reply, in accents I knew too well, came fromthe field beside me!
Consuelo was there! reclining beside a manzanita bush which screenedher from the road, in what struck me, even at that supreme moment, as ajudicious and picturesquely selected couch of scented Indian grass anddry tussocks. The velvet hat with its balls of scarlet plush was laidcarefully aside; her lovely blue-black hair retained its tight coilsundisheveled, her eyes were luminous and tender. Shocked as I was at herapparent helplessness, I remember being impressed with the fact that itgave so little indication of violent usage or disaster.
I threw myself frantically on the ground beside her.
"You are hurt, Consita! For Heaven's sake, what has happened?"
She pushed my hat back with her little hand, and tumbled my hair gently.
"Nothing. YOU are here, Pancho--eet is enofe! What shall come afterthees--when I am perhaps gone among the grave--make nothing! YOU arehere--I am happy. For a little, perhaps--not mooch."
"But," I went on desperately, "was it an accident? Were you thrown? Wasit Chu Chu?"--for somehow, in spite of her languid posture and voice, Icould not, even in my fears, believe her seriously hurt.
"Beat not the poor beast, Pancho. It is not from HER comes thees thing.She have make nothing--believe me! I have come upon your assignationwith Miss Essmith! I make but to pass you--to fly--to never come back!I have say to Chu Chu, 'Fly!' We fly many miles. Sometimes together,sometimes not so mooch! Sometimes in the saddle, sometimes on the neck!Many things remain in the road; at the end, I myself remain! I havesay, 'Courage, Pancho will come!' Then I say, 'No, he is talk with MissEssmith!' I remember not more. I have creep here on the hands. Eet isfeenish!"
I looked at her distractedly. She smiled tenderly, and slightly smootheddown and rearranged a fold of her dress to cover her delicate littleboot.
"But," I proteste
d, "you are not much hurt, dearest. You have broken nobones. Perhaps," I added, looking at the boot, "only a slight sprain.Let me carry you to my horse; I will walk beside you, home. Do, dearestConsita!"
She turned her lovely eyes towards me sadly. "You comprehend not, mypoor Pancho! It is not of the foot, the ankle, the arm, or the head thatI can say, 'She is broke!' I would it were even so. But"--she lifted hersweet lashes slowly--"I have derrange my inside. It is an affair of myfamily. My grandfather have once toomble over the bull at a rodeo. Hespeak no more; he is dead. For why? He has derrange his inside. Believeme, it is of the family. You comprehend? The Saltellos are not as theother peoples for this. When I am gone, you will bring to me the berryto grow upon my tomb, Pancho; the berry you have picked for me. Thelittle flower will come too, the little star will arrive, but Consuelo,who lofe you, she will come not more! When you are happy and talk in theroad to the Essmith, you will not think of me. You will not see my eyes,Pancho; thees little grass"--she ran her plump little fingers through atussock--"will hide them; and the small animals in the black coats thatlif here will have much sorrow--but you will not. It ees better so! Myfather will not that I, a Catholique, should marry into a camp-meeting,and lif in a tent, and make howl like the coyote." (It was oneof Consuelo's bewildering beliefs that there was only one form ofdissent--Methodism!) "He will not that I should marry a man who possessnot the many horses, ox, and cow, like him. But I care not. YOU are myonly religion, Pancho! I have enofe of the horse, and ox, and cow whenYOU are with me! Kiss me, Pancho. Perhaps it is for the last time--thefeenish! Who knows?"
There were tears in her lovely eyes; I felt that my own were growingdim; the sun was sinking over the dreary plain to the slow rising of thewind; an infinite loneliness had fallen upon us, and yet I was miserablyconscious of some dreadful unreality in it all. A desire to laugh, whichI felt must be hysterical, was creeping over me; I dared not speak. Buther dear head was on my shoulder, and the situation was not unpleasant.
Nevertheless, something must be done! This was the more difficult as itwas by no means clear what had already been done. Even while I supportedher drooping figure I was straining my eyes across her shoulder forsuccor of some kind. Suddenly the figure of a rapid rider appearedupon the road. It seemed familiar. I looked again--it was the blessedEnriquez! A sense of deep relief came over me. I loved Consuelo; butnever before had lover ever hailed the irruption of one of his beloved'sfamily with such complacency.
"You are safe, dearest; it is Enriquez!"
I thought she received the information coldly. Suddenly she turned uponme her eyes, now bright and glittering. "Swear to me at the instant,Pancho, that you will not again look upon Miss Essmith, even for once."
I was simple and literal. Miss Smith was my nearest neighbor, and,unless I was stricken with blindness, compliance was impossible. Ihesitated--but swore.
"Enofe--you have hesitate--I will no more."
She rose to her feet with grave deliberation. For an instant, with therecollection of the delicate internal organization of the Saltelloson my mind, I was in agony lest she should totter and fall, even then,yielding up her gentle spirit on the spot. But when I looked again shehad a hairpin between her white teeth, and was carefully adjusting hertoreador hat. And beside us was Enriquez--cheerful, alert, voluble, andundaunted.
"Eureka! I have found! We are all here! Eet is a leetle public--eh! aleetle too much of a front seat for a tete-a-tete, my yonge friends,"he said, glancing at the remains of Consuelo's bower, "but for theaccounting of taste there is none. What will you? The meat of the oneman shall envenom the meat of the other. But" (in a whisper to me)"as to thees horse--thees Chu Chu, which I have just pass--why is sheundress? Surely you would not make an exposition of her to the travelerto suspect! And if not, why so?"
I tried to explain, looking at Consuelo, that Chu Chu had run away, thatConsuelo had met with a terrible accident, had been thrown, and I fearedhad suffered serious internal injury. But to my embarrassment Consuelomaintained a half scornful silence, and an inconsistent freshness ofhealthful indifference, as Enriquez approached her with an engagingsmile. "Ah, yes, she have the headache, and the molligrubs. She will siton the damp stone when the gentle dew is falling. I comprehend. Meetme in the lane when the clock strike nine! But," in a lower voice,"of thees undress horse I comprehend nothing! Look you--it is sad andstrange."
He went off to fetch Chu Chu, leaving me and Consuelo alone. I do notthink I ever felt so utterly abject and bewildered before in my life.Without knowing why, I was miserably conscious of having in some wayoffended the girl for whom I believed I would have given my life, andI had made her and myself ridiculous in the eyes of her brother. I hadagain failed in my slower Western nature to understand her high romanticSpanish soul! Meantime she was smoothing out her riding-habit, andlooking as fresh and pretty as when she first left her house.
"Consita," I said hesitatingly, "you are not angry with me?"
"Angry?" she repeated haughtily, without looking at me. "Oh, no! Of apossibility eet is Mees Essmith who is angry that I have interroopt hertete-a-tete with you, and have send here my brother to make the samewith me."
"But," I said eagerly, "Miss Smith does not even know Enriquez!"
Consuelo turned on me a glance of unutterable significance. "Ah!" shesaid darkly, "you TINK!"
Indeed I KNEW. But here I believed I understood Consuelo, and wasrelieved. I even ventured to say gently, "And you are better?"
She drew herself up to her full height, which was not much. "Of myhealth, what is it? A nothing. Yes! Of my soul let us not speak."
Nevertheless, when Enriquez appeared with Chu Chu she ran towards herwith outstretched arms. Chu Chu protruded about six inches of upperlip in response--apparently under the impression, which I could quiteunderstand, that her mistress was edible. And, I may have been mistaken,but their beautiful eyes met in an absolute and distinct glance ofintelligence!
During the home journey Consuelo recovered her spirits, and parted fromme with a magnanimous and forgiving pressure of the hand. I do not knowwhat explanation of Chu Chu's original escapade was given to Enriquezand the rest of the family; the inscrutable forgiveness extended to meby Consuelo precluded any further inquiry on my part. I was willingto leave it a secret between her and Chu Chu. But, strange to say, itseemed to complete our own understanding, and precipitated, not only ourlovemaking, but the final catastrophe which culminated that romance.For we had resolved to elope. I do not know that this heroic remedy wasabsolutely necessary from the attitude of either Consuelo's family ormy own; I am inclined to think we preferred it, because it involved noprevious explanation or advice. Need I say that our confidant and firmally was Consuelo's brother--the alert, the linguistic, the ever-happy,ever-ready Enriquez! It was understood that his presence would not onlygive a certain mature respectability to our performance--but I do notthink we would have contemplated this step without it. During one of ourriding excursions we were to secure the services of a Methodist ministerin the adjoining county, and, later, that of the Mission padre--when thesecret was out. "I will gif her away," said Enriquez confidently, "itwill on the instant propitiate the old shadbelly who shall perform theaffair, and withhold his jaw. A little chin-music from your oncle 'Arryshall finish it! Remain tranquil and forgot not a ring! One does notalways, in the agony and dissatisfaction of the moment, a ring remember.I shall bring two in the pocket of my dress."
If I did not entirely participate in this roseate view it may havebeen because Enriquez, although a few years my senior, was muchyounger-looking, and with his demure deviltry of eye, and his upper lipclose shaven for this occasion, he suggested a depraved acolyte ratherthan a responsible member of a family. Consuelo had also confided tome that her father--possibly owing to some rumors of our previousescapade--had forbidden any further excursions with me alone. Theinnocent man did not know that Chu Chu had forbidden it also, and thateven on this momentous occasion both Enriquez and myself were obliged toride in opposite fields
like out flankers. But we nevertheless felt thefull guilt of disobedience added to our desperate enterprise. Meanwhile,although pressed for time, and subject to discovery at any moment, Imanaged at certain points of the road to dismount and walk beside ChuChu (who did not seem to recognize me on foot), holding Consuelo's handin my own, with the discreet Enriquez leading my horse in the distantfield. I retain a very vivid picture of that walk--the ascent of agentle slope towards a prospect as yet unknown, but full of gloriouspossibilities; the tender dropping light of an autumn sky, slightlyfilmed with the promise of the future rains, like foreshadowed tears,and the half frightened, half serious talk into which Consuelo and Ihad insensibly fallen. And then, I don't know how it happened, but as wereached the summit Chu Chu suddenly reared, wheeled, and the next momentwas flying back along the road we had just traveled, at the top of herspeed! It might have been that, after her abstracted fashion, she onlyat that moment detected my presence; but so sudden and complete washer evolution that before I could regain my horse from the astonishedEnriquez she was already a quarter of a mile on the homeward stretch,with the frantic Consuelo pulling hopelessly at the bridle. We startedin pursuit. But a horrible despair seized us. To attempt to overtakeher, to even follow at the same rate of speed would only excite ChuChu and endanger Consuelo's life. There was absolutely no help forit, nothing could be done; the mare had taken her determined long,continuous stride, the road was a straight, steady descent all the wayback to the village, Chu Chu had the bit between her teeth, and therewas no prospect of swerving her. We could only follow hopelessly,idiotically, furiously, until Chu Chu dashed triumphantly into theSaltellos' courtyard, carrying the half-fainting Consuelo back to thearms of her assembled and astonished family.
It was our last ride together. It was the last I ever saw of Consuelobefore her transfer to the safe seclusion of a convent in SouthernCalifornia. It was the last I ever saw of Chu Chu, who in the confusionof that rencontre was overlooked in her half-loosed harness, and allowedto escape though the back gate to the fields. Months afterwards it wassaid that she had been identified among a band of wild horses in theCoast Range, as a strange and beautiful creature who had escaped thebrand of the rodeo and had become a myth. There was another legend thatshe had been seen, sleek, fat, and gorgeously caparisoned, issuing fromthe gateway of the Rosario patio, before a lumbering Spanish cabriole inwhich a short, stout matron was seated--but I will have none of it. Forthere are days when she still lives, and I can see her plainly stillclimbing the gentle slope towards the summit, with Consuelo on her back,and myself at her side, pressing eagerly forward towards the illimitableprospect that opens in the distance.