John C. Horst's Blog, page 27

“Are you self-taught or a morbidly ignorant product of our public school system?”

Jesus Helguera She changed her focus to the lawyer. “Mr. Talking Horn, there is no such word as irregardless, you’ll need to strike that. You’ve also written, let me see, one two three, four, five, six times the wrong use of the word council, I’m guessing you meant counsel.” She looked further and stopped herself, like an impatient schoolmarm. “No, no, here”, she pushed it toward him, “I’ve circled all the errors, to include the use of wave instead of waive, you can take it back and rewrite it.” She sat back in her chair and looked the men in the eye. “Are you self-taught or a morbidly ignorant product of our public school system?” She wondered suddenly if she’d gone too far and tried to change the mood.
“Either of you gentlemen smoke? I could stand a cigarette right now.” The Mule Tamer III, Marta's Quest

“Temper, temper, little one.”

Jesus Helguera Maria sat in a great field, cross-legged and frustrated as she poked and pried and pulled on the fancy rifle. It was beginning to make her very angry and she decided that she might just as well smash it to pieces with a rock. The thing was nothing more than a fancy club. She raised it over her head and prepared to dash it to pieces when a kindly old voice startled her. “Temper, temper, little one.”
She looked up, astonished that such a big man could sneak up on her so silently. She looked at him and realized he had her. She’d never been caught unawares and it was very confounding.
“Who are you?” She demanded and gave him a defiant look.
“Oh, that is my prerogative, little one. This is my land. I get to find out who you are first.” He casually walked up to her and took the rifle from her hand. He looked it over and at the silver plate bearing the original owner’s name.
“Maria.” She stood up and wiped her trousers clean, watched him as he manipulated the rifle. He casually unscrewed the caps protecting the lenses on either end of the telescopic sight, looked through it and grunted in satisfaction. It was a finely made instrument. He handed it to Maria and now everything about the gun made sense.
“Ay, chingao. Look at that!” She pointed the rifle at a distant rock and it appeared to be right on top of them. She loaded the rifle with one of the big cartridges and fired. She missed. Maria's Trail

“Because God’s a bastard and a pendejo and an alfeñique.”

Jesus Helguera The woman smiled and walked back onto the beach and dropped down upon the sand and stared up at the moonlit sky. Maria joined her.
“Why do you want to anger God?”
“Because God’s a bastard and a pendejo and an alfeñique.”
The woman laughed and stretched out on her side, resting her pretty face on her hand. “I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing.”
“Oh, it is the truth. God has done nothing but torture me all my life and he’s killed everyone I love. He’s taken everything from me.”
“I see.”
“And so, I…” She looked the woman in the eye. “Do you know the Ten Commandments?”
“I do.”
“I will break all of the Commandments to mock Him. And I plan to rob and steal and bring everything to you so that you can give me money. I’m going to help poor people because God is too much of an alfeñique to do this thing. And I am going to kill every bad man I meet. Every one.”
“I see.”
The woman was very calm and Maria thought at least the woman would try to argue with her or lecture her, but she did nothing but smile at Maria and look pretty in the moonlight.
Maria wanted more wine and walked over to their clothes and picked up the bottle and drank from it. She handed it to the pretty assistant and she did the same.
“Aren’t you angry at me for saying bad things about your God?” She liked the woman. She seemed to be wise and kind and treated Maria like a peer, not like she was a young girl who knew nothing.
“Oh, He’s not my God.” Maria's Trail

“Why is it that you never remember anything I ask about, Juana?”

Sergio Martinez She woke and sat up in Uncle Alejandro’s bed. A lamp was lit in another room and Maria got up to investigate. Juana was taking a bath. She was full grown now and she smoked a cigar and her enormous breasts poked out of the bathwater like two perfectly matched islands. She picked up a tortilla and ate it and spoke with a full mouth. “I didn’t think you’d get an old one, too.”
“I didn’t get anything.” Maria pulled up a chair and watched Juana eat. She was such a pretty woman and Maria now realized she was even prettier naked than she was wearing clothes. She looked beautiful with her blonde hair done up in the German style.
“Oh, this mule man. You’ll get him. I know it.”
“How did you know he had mules?” Maria was suspicious of Juana. She seemed to always know everything.
Juana shrugged. “I don’t remember. But you’ll get him all right and then you’ll have babies.”
“Have you had babies yet, Juana?”
Juana shrugged again.
“You don’t know if you’ve had babies, Juana?”
“I’ve forgotten.” She stood up and water splashed out onto Maria and now she was cold.
“Why is it that you never remember anything I ask about, Juana?” She was a little perturbed.
Juana shrugged. “I never forget to come see you when you have a problem, though.”
Maria could not argue with that. Juana was faithful in that regard.
“You know why you’ve fallen in love with him?”
“I don’t know that I have.”
“Oh, you have. It’s because of the old man. The old man who taught you to play cards and shoot. You got a man like him. And he was old.”
“That’s ridiculous. You never had an old man raise you, yet you got an old man.”
“But I didn’t love him. Do now, but I didn’t.”
“Why’d you marry him?”
“Because he’s got a lot of money, of course. Why do you think?”
“I don’t know.” She looked at Juana. “Do you suppose I really do love him?”
“Sure you do.” Juana eyed her. “Go find me a towel, Maria.” Maria's Trail

“Well,” She lit a cigarette with trembling hands. “That sure broke up the monotony.”

Jesus Helguera He walked a few feet and put his hand on another child’s head. She was pulling bandoliers off her tiny shoulders and placing them in a pile. “Maria.” He gently kissed her forehead and she smiled up at him, then immediately went back to the task at hand. “Maria was found at death’s door. She was beaten so badly that she could not walk. Her crime was that she was dipping her fingers into a pot of raw eggs. She was hungry and could not contain herself.” He grinned cynically. “The eggs were being rubbed into the coat of a hacendado’s prize racehorse.” He looked up at her and she thought she could see tears welling in his eyes. “A shiny coat on a horse is so important, Miss Walsh.”
Zapata remounted and rode up next to Rebecca, looked on at her and finally said, “Miss Walsh, the newspapers did get this part right,” He looked on at some others, two small boys and a girl unloading ammunition from a cattle car. “It’s better for them to die on their feet than to live on their knees.”
She knew that he was sincere. She understood why it was all happening but could not let it go. She wasn’t trying to fight with the man, but she wanted to, had to say it. “It’s not the dying that I worry over, General. When they die, their troubles will be over. It is living that will be so hard on them.” With that, as if on cue, to prove her point, Marta galloped up on them, stopped her mount amidst them and grinned broadly. She was on the high, the high that only battle brings.
“Well,” She lit a cigarette with trembling hands. “That sure broke up the monotony.” The Mule Tamer III, Marta's Quest

“This is the only one in the world you can truly rely on, little one. The only one in the world. You remember that.”

Jesus Helguera By sundown all the children were around her with the smallest ones resting in her lap. She kissed them on the head and sang and spoke to them in Spanish. They loved the queer language and mimicked most everything she said. One came out with Maria’s things and this she found quite astonishing. They did not seem to have a concept of ownership or privacy of things.
The child found Maria’s old mirror and was looking it over. Maria called her over, pulled her down onto her lap and held it up so the child could see herself. Maria smiled and looked, pointed at the image in the mirror, “This is the only one in the world you can truly rely on, little one. The only one in the world. You remember that.”
The child looked at herself and smiled. She did not know what the pretty woman had said but it didn’t matter. To her it sounded like magical birds singing in her ear. Maria's Trail

“Here’s for you, lady. Get out of this business; get away from this terrible place.”

Jesus Helguera “Finished, gringo?” She could see it in his eyes. She could see that he could not be left behind. He’d give her trouble and she remembered the vaquero’s warning, “Never hesitate, Maria, never hesitate.” And, as if on cue, the severe looking man went for his gun. Maria killed him with one shot.
She ran for the door and was quickly outside. Alanza was not where she’d tied her. She looked up and down the street. She’d have to escape on foot.
“Lady! Lady!” It was one of the whores who’d preemptively prepared Alanza and was waiting in an alley. Maria ran up and in one motion was on her beloved pony. She reached down and touched the woman’s face. “Thank you, lady.”
The whore blushed as she’d not been called a lady in a long time. Maria reached into her blouse and grabbed a handful of bills, thrusting them into the prostitute’s hand. “Here’s for you, lady. Get out of this business; get away from this terrible place.” And she was gone. Maria's Trail

We have a network all over Mexico, boys, women, men, children, we are Zapatistas and Villaistas, we can get news and messages out better than can the mail system.

“Esmeralda, how did you get the telegrams to me?” This was particularly confounding to Marta, as Esmeralda was essentially a captive on the ranch.
“Oh, that is not so hard, Señorita. I have a cousin in Tampico, he works at Western Union. He’s part of the network.”
“Network?”
“Sí. We have a network all over Mexico, boys, women, men, children, we are Zapatistas and Villaistas, we can get news and messages out better than can the mail system.”
“I see.” She was amused. Esmeralda was a sophisticated revolutionary and all along, right under Marta’s nose. It was fascinating.
“Sí. So, I can get a telegram to anyone, anywhere, in one day or even less, if the boys are running fast.” She finished the cigarette and looked on at Marta. “Señorita, we have much to do. I know that Rebecca has found Dan George and Robert Curtin.” She watched Marta’s face. “Sí, they are good, Curtin is a good man, not bad, and not a Jew. He is as Catholic as us.” She regarded her comment and looked up at Marta. “Not that a Jew is bad, I don’t even know a Jew. But this Robert Curtin is not one.” She began pulling out Marta’s hunting clothes. “Here is what we must do.” The Mule Tamer III, Marta's Quest

“You see, Miss Chica, just as the others around the fire have a special gift, given them by the Almighty, you have a gift, too. You are Chica. There is nothing more to be said.“

Jesus Helguera They were especially festive tonight. The Tucson show was bringing in major crowds and people were in a spending mood. They laughed and drank and talked well into the night. Arvel had gotten used to the twins and began regaling them with stories of Chica, which inspired Yakovlevich to make his move.
“Miss Chica, I do not know if Joaquin mentioned anything to you, but the Wild West is big business in the East, and beyond. In Europe, the people cannot get enough of it. And, well, ma’am, I will cut to the chase, I would be honored if you would be part of our show.”
Chica smiled, she had moved close to Arvel, sitting across from the twins who had been taking turns running their fingers through his hair. She pressed her fingers into his arm. “That is a very interesting, how do we say, que es asunto?” She looked at Joaquin.
Joaquin leaned forward, “Proposition.”
“Sí, Proposition. That is a very interesting proposition, Señor Yakovlevich. What would I do in your show?”
“You would be Chica.”
“I don’ think anyone would pay money for this, Señor.”
Yakovlevich laughed and held up his hand. “Miss, Chica, you are wrong. You are…”
“Magnificent!” Vladimir blurted out without thinking; the moment, the wine and the allure of Chica too much for him to contain. He looked down at his hands, trying to hide in the shadows of the dancing fire.
“Bravo, Vladimir, bravo!”
He bowed to Chica. “You see, Miss Chica, just as the others around the fire have a special gift, given them by the Almighty, you have a gift, too. You are Chica. There is nothing more to be said.“
She leaned next to Arvel. She pressed her cheek against his. “What do you think, Pendejo, should I get a house in Bayonne, New Jersey?”
Early next morning, Chica woke Arvel.  “Pendejo, I have to go.”
“Why?” He looked for his watch.
“I gotta go, Pendejo. But, you see, I did tell you. Are you not happy?”
“Yes, Chica.” He wanted to tell her not to go, but something kept him from committing to it. He looked at her and thought about how much he loved her now. “Where are you going? When am I to expect you back?”
“I gotta go, I gotta get these things to my Indios babies, Pendejo.” She waited for a moment, put on the last of her bangles and fixed her hair. She waited a little longer, shrugged.
She was gone. The Mule Tamer

‘You rich gringos can pick and choose your misery. I never wanted to live this way.’

Jesus Helguera “I used to think about him a lot when I was really low down. You know, your money and Sal is what saved me.”
“Was it?”
“She used to take care of me. One day I looked at her and told her I didn’t want to live this way anymore. You know what she said to me?”
“What?”
“She laughed and said, ‘You rich gringos can pick and choose your misery.’ She said, ‘I never wanted to live this way.’” He grinned at his father. “She’d just turned seventeen, wise beyond her years. She’s always been so much wiser than me, than anyone else I’ve ever known.”
“Out of the mouth of babes, eh, son?”
“Yep. And then I got my ass cleaned up and Sal and I took the money you sent me and we came here. No one knew what we were in San Francisco, at least not initially, and no one knew about Sal. She worked and worked and saved and took care of me to keep me on the straight and narrow, and, well, even though I’d drink a bottle of laudanum right now, I don’t do it.” He laughed cynically.
They sat a while and said nothing. Finally, Michael looked over at his father. He was an old man. He was old beyond his years and Michael knew that part of that age was his fault. He finally spoke, “I’m not so sure you’re the ass that you paint yourself to be.”
“No?” Dick blew smoke at the street.
“No. Arvel told me about how much nicer you were than you let on. How you were the one who often held him back. I never used to believe it, but now I do. You aren’t as much the hard case as you’d like to think.” He laughed again. “He told me about how good you always were to Mexicans and Chinese and Negroes and how you changed your tune with his wife. He said you’d talk a big game but your actions never did match your words.” He grinned broader. “The old coot couldn’t keep his eyes off my Sal, by the way. He sure has a weakness for these Mexican gals.” The Mule Tamer II, Chica's Ride