The Pride of Palomar by Peter B. (Peter Bernard) Kyne
page 9 of 390 (02%)
page 9 of 390 (02%)
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Don Miguel gazed across the valley to the crest of the hills. There, against the sky-line, a solitary horseman showed. Pablo cupped his hands over his eyes and gazed long and steadily. "It is Tony Moreno," he said, while the man was still a mile distant. "I know that scuffling cripple of a horse he rides." Don Miguel seated himself On the bench beside Pablo and awaited the arrival of the horseman. As he drew nearer, the Don saw that Pablo was right. "Now, what news does that vagabond bear?" he muttered. "Assuredly he brings a telegram; otherwise the devil himself could not induce that lazy wastrel to ride twenty miles." "Of a truth you are right, Don Miguel. Tony Moreno is the only man in El Toro who is forever out of a job, and the agent of the telegraph company calls upon him always to deliver messages of importance." With the Don, he awaited, with vague apprehension, the arrival of Tony Moreno. As the latter pulled his sweating horse up before them, they rose and gazed upon him questioningly. Tony Moreno, on his part, doffed his shabby sombrero with his right hand and murmured courteously, "_Buenas tardes_, Don Miguel." Pablo he ignored. With his left hand, he caught a yellow envelope as it fell from under the hat. |
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