Roots of Indifferences

by Terri Ragsdale

  There was an excitement in Victoria's memory; like a metaphor, the thrilling moment of seeing new things, thinking of Juan and the events of several nights before. How could she forget the early morning, as they were leaving for the Colegio? She heard a commotion from the servants upon finding a body outside the Hinojosa's stone walls. Victoria turned to Felicia, who had been very quiet as she was removing her lingerie from a drawer on her side of the room.

  "Did you hear the workers when they found the body this morning as we were leaving?"

  "Yes, Victoria and your grandfather sent for the Federalists to investigate the incident. They are suspecting Juan Alvarez of the murder. I couldn't say anything to you because Mother kept hanging on to me until now, and I was afraid and acted surprised, pretending to be shocked. Mother was appalled."

  "Who told you that they were suspecting Juan?"

  "Mother did! Your grandfather has put two and two together. That young, green-eyed bandit, as your grandfather called him. Your grandfather claims he must have wanted some kind of revenge, since there is a very little crime committed in this part of the country, especially among the large haciendas."

  "In that case, Juan is going to be in grave danger. I hope he leaves the area before anything gets investigated." Victoria frowned and began to worry, chewing on her nails.

  *****

  Within the two months stay in Monterrey, Don Federico took care of the legal implications that came with the gold mine and closed the bank account. The money that was left in the account was given to Jorge's wife and her two children. The moment in time came to return to Texas.

  Early in the month of March, Don Federico, Doña Francisca, Emma and her maids, Fred and young Carlos, began their long trip home. At the border, they reached the town of Reynosa, where Emma and her servants left them and headed back to Mercedes City. Don Federico and Doña Francisca spent several days with their good friends the Solis, distant cousins by marriage of La Señora.

  In the town of Reynosa, Doña Francisca consulted with her old physician, Dr. Cantu, since they had been informed that Dr. Mendez had left and moved to El Paso. Dr. Cantu saw that her illness was becoming extremely critical and ordered her to see him twice a week. Several sanitariums were recommended for treatment. He gave her some red liquid medicine and several glass bottles of pills, including herbs to boil with tea. This situation automatically complicated the possibility of where they would be staying on the Texas side before arriving at Spanish Acres. Francisca needed her rest and could not travel very far, for her health was fast deteriorating and the coughing exhausted her to the point of fainting.

  After spending three days with the Solis family, Don Federico decided to leave and thanked the family for their generous hospitality. The Solis's driver drove the Juelson family in their six-passenger carriage onto a ferryboat crossing the Rio Grande River into Hidalgo, Texas, which several years back had been the county seat. Here they visited with Don Florencio Saenz and his family on the Toluca Rancho a half-mile into the interior of Texas. Señor Saenz owned a grocery store and did his business under a barter system with the surrounding ranchitos. As an act of gratefulness for finding sweet good water, he had built St. Joseph's Church, now one of the oldest in the area.

  After resting for several hours, they discussed the Mexican conditions across the border and how serious the situation was getting. Don Federico warned Señor Saenz to move up to Mercedes City. Being so close to the border was dangerous. The bandit raids had become frequent and dangerous.

  Finally, after several hours of visiting, the family got on the road and continued on to the home of Emma and Howard Ale in Mercedes City, where Francisca could rest for the night until they drove north to their hacienda. The thought of having to face Howard Ale irritated Don Federico since Ale was the main plotter of the gold mine conspiracy. However, he had no choice, since Francisca was ill, and he needed to find the best hospital for La Señora.

  Emma received them with a joyous reception; however, Howard Ale, in a striking suit and smoking his pipe, only nodded to them, displeased, and went into his library and closed the door. "Don't pay any attention to him," Emma remarked, "Howard hasn't been feeling very well. He's had a touch of resfrío and is just recovering. So! Pay no mind."

  *****

  After a late supper, all, including Howard Ale, retired to the big sala where the women continued to talk about the two girls entering the convent and how proud they were going to be when they graduated. John and Jamie, Fred and Carlos went outside to play. Emma's inferiority complex over her enormous weight and compulsive, habitual eating made her a garrulous conversationalist; she would talk forever, leaving out commas, pauses, and periods in her long, stretched sentences. Her maids in the kitchen had made fresh pumpkin empanadas, which they were serving with a hot cup of Mexican coffee for dessert.

  Emma launched into another running commentary. "Mercedes City is developing into a very nice place to live, becoming the darling of the small towns around us. Some of the lands is already going for only a dollar an acre and many of the gringos from up north are buying it like it was going out of style. With the coming of the American Rio Grande Irrigation Company, many lots have been cleared for the newcomers."

  Emma's behind wobbled like cold menudo as she got up and lumbered toward the large picture window and opened her beautiful scarlet velvet drapes, then the white lace curtains underneath. Pointing across the dirt road, she proudly exclaimed, "Look at the new two-story independent school being built for the white children. A superintendent was just hired. It will be a beautiful school teaching many children." She stopped and sat down in her rocking chair, putting her feet up on her ottoman, in time to eat a dozen of her warm empanadas and coffee, and then continued, "They need another teacher for the Mexican children across the tracks, to help Señora Agapita Tijerina."

  Don Federico and Howard Ale had been quiet throughout the entire evening, listening to the promotion that Emma gave the Juelson's about the town of Mercedes City. The Don looked straight into Emma's eyes and commented, "Can't this town find a teacher who can teach those poor Mexican children proper English in reading and writing?"

  Howard Ale finally spoke up. "Well, I suppose there are plenty of whites that have an education in this community and can speak Spanish, but they do not want to teach the cockroach, greaser, Mexican children. They don't want to deal with those dirty people."

  "Howard!" Emma twisted around, as her face became beet red from embarrassment and shock. "Stop being so hateful and so disrespectful, speaking that way in front of my family!" She lifted her enormous body from her comfortable position and stomped toward Howard in a nervous vexed, as the china and crystal on all the shelves rattled. She stood in front of him, pointing her finger. "You know they need a good teacher with good morals and a high education."

  Don Federico interrupted her, "Where is the school?" he asked, his face flushing with anger.

  "Why, across the tracks! Next to our Lady of Mercy Church being helped and run by the nuns," exclaimed Emma in her high-pitched voice. "They have added three more rooms to the one room shack, and Father Joseph Couturier has been pleading with us at church, asking if we know of someone to help teach the Mexican children. He needs someone that speaks bilingual that would help and make it easier for the children to better understand—someone with a high education. That's what's wrong with the Mexican children—few know how to read and write. And you, Federico, are the right person."

  Howard Ale took a puff from his pipe, made a disgusting face, and got up from his chair. He walked over and stared out his picture window, turning his back on Don Federico and the rest of the family. "They don't need to be educated!" His voice rose, laced with hatred and egotism. "All the Mexican fathers do is have more children so they can be put out to work in the fields and farms to support them so they can get drunk on Saturdays and Sundays. They beat their wives when they come home. That's what they are good for, living in dirty and greasy shacks. They don't want to
educate themselves."

  "Howard!" bellowed a flush-faced Emma.

  Don Federico wanted to get up from his chair and punch Howard Ale in the face, but he was a man of much honor and this was not the right time to confront Ale's bigotry. He wasn't about to take advantage of Emma's gracious hospitality. Humiliating her and his family in front of everyone in the grand sala was out of the question.

  Emma continued, "I don't know of any other person in this part of the country who has the ability to teach the Mexican children both languages. A man with your education should put it to good use, instead of being out in Spanish Acres fooling around with a bunch of cattle. You are wasting your talents."

  "Emma is right!" agreed Doña Francisca, while resting with her feet on a stool and a warm blanket wrapped around her. She spoke out for the first time. "The Mexican children should have a chance to be educated. Victoria and I taught the children at Spanish Acres and were very successful. With Victoria gone and my illness—" She coughed and grabbed her handkerchief.

  Emma shook her head, "See, Francisca is very sick and needs the doctor's attention twice a week. She has no more business out in the boondocks with all that work and cattle than the man in the moon. She needs to be here, close to the doctor. Use the land that your father got several years ago and build her a house. The land needs clearing, and with so many people moving into this area, you can find many Mexicans to hire, and they would gladly help you. Many of the poor people are without jobs, and with many hungry children to feed."

  Don Federico nodded and went silent, rubbing his chin. Here in Mercedes City, the Ales seemed to live very comfortably. Already the small town had elected a new mayor. The Don liked the small palms that had been planted along the main street and the many trees and vines that landscaped the newly constructed homes. There were two hotels, the Mercedes Hotel and the American Hotel, that were separated by several lots. A small newspaper, The Mercedes Tribune had been started by a man named Isador Mority and already had over two hundred subscribers in the surrounding area. There were several churches: a new First Baptist church, the Seventh - Day Adventist Congregation, Methodist, and The Lady of Mercy Mexican Catholic church across the tracks. On the white side, there was a large feed store, a livery stable, a barbershop, a small bakery café, several mercantile stores, a lumber company, and the Hidalgo county bank. The irrigation company hired the Mexicans coming from across the border by the thousands practically every day. Many tents were provided for the working Mexican laborer. For the first time in his life, the Don had to admit to himself that even with the thought of living close to Emma, with her loquacious mouth and overbearing attitude, she was right and made sense. But he would have to confront Howard Ale before he made any more commitments.

  "I will have to make the arrangements, but my first concern is Francisca and getting her well. I'm taking Fred to military school next month, and from there I will make plans and see about my father's property that he owned years ago. I'm sure the land is not worth much, but it will need cultivating. Plans have to be made for Spanish Acres, too." Don Federico turned to his wife. "We could build us a real nice home here, querida if that's what you want."

  Doña Francisca nodded with joy and went into a coughing spell.

  Emma was ecstatic. "Just think, Francisca being close to me where we can visit every day and raise our children and be a family again."

  "Howard!" said Don Federico. "I wonder if you want to step outside with me. I have several things I need to discuss with you that I would rather not say in front of the family."

  The two men walked past the kitchen, and onto the adjacent screened porch. Don Federico lit his pipe, found a comfortable white wicker chair and sat. He crossed his legs and stared out into the horizon of thick undergrowth, not looking toward Howard Ale, and began talking. "You know that Bernard Hanson and his butcher buddy were arrested in Monterrey. The Mexican Federalists have them in jail and have named you as the main conspirator in the plot to have me killed. I knew all along that you had a part in my father's death," Don Federico said, without sparing any words.

  "That's a damn lie!" shouted Ale.

  "Oh?" Don Federico turned and glared at a man caught in his own trap. He resembled a frightened, shaking jackrabbit when caught. "It's funny what a dying man will say, especially when they are ready to face a firing squad. Well, that's what your two friends did. They talked."

  "Not true! I had nothing to do with anything!"

  "But all along, you knew about everything. You even got paid for my father's gold mine. Didn't you? And all along, you knew what Hanson and Hobbs were planning. They were getting the information from you since you were getting it from your wife. Yet you never bothered to tell me. Was the old fart Judge Parker convinced how rich he was going to be in his old age? I call that blackmail and bribery, and it comes with a high price."

  "I've been a retired judge for years," roared Ale, "and I'm much respected in this community, and you had better Goddamn prove your accusations!"

  "I don't have to. But you'll have your chance to do all the talking in the world and prove how respectful and decent in this community you really are when the Texas U.S. Marshal pays you a visit. He's got all of the information that was mailed to him in Austin with your name included in it."

  "Goddamn, Juelson!" Ale stare in anger from behind his thick bifocals. "Your father did a lot of bragging about his money and cattle. He would tell us about his gold mine and how it made his life very comfortable. This started as a joke among us when your father wasn't playing cards. Do you want me to tell you what he was doing when he wasn't with us?"

  "Go ahead and tell me, as if I didn't already know."

  "He was sleeping with one of the young Texas Ranger's wives, the redheaded one." Howard Ale went silent for a moment and adjusted his glasses. "Matter of fact, she's been missing for over seven to eight months. No one has seen her. Her husband received money under the table from Hanson. It seems they were not getting enough money for being Texas Rangers, so the idea occurred to him."

  "Whose idea?"

  "Hanson's, of course!" He answered and went on. "He convinced young Smith of how easy it was to get more money, buy more land since it was so cheap—more cattle—so on and so forth. He used his wife to sleep with your father so they could blackmail him."

  "In case you don’t know, Smith was killed by bandits close to the village near the gold mines in Monterrey. He tried to escape, and his head was severed."

  "Smith killed? What a shame!" He went silent for a moment and began shaking. "Well, I guess nobody will be looking for her now. In an hour, she was gone. Nobody seems to know what happened to her. The incident has never been reported to any newspaper or authority because she had no family—she was an orphan from Mississippi when Smith found her in some whorehouse. The only family she had was young Smith. Hanson convinced Smith to keep quiet, and he would eventually find out her whereabouts."

  "No doubt, Hanson would say that." Don Federico retorted angrily, looking into Ale's eyes. "You know how my father was killed and how it was done?”

  "Hanson!" stuttered Ale. "He waited until we left the Mercedes Hotel that night and then killed him with a sharp knife to the back of the neck, made it looked like a heart attack. This I know for a fact because Hanson bragged about it to us later. I wanted to stay out of it, because your father had given me some money from his gold mine and because I knew about his romantic encounters. Yes, I kept quiet, and I took the money. Hell! He gave it to me, and I took it!"

  "Well! Hanson and Hobbs are going to rot in the Monterrey jails because I am going to see that the Mexican Federal Courts do not release them to the Texas authorities until I'm good and ready. When Hobbs thought he was going to be killed by the bandits, he admitted Hanson also murdered Tom White, the Pinkerton detective. Tom was on his trail of his deceitfulness and treacherous conduct in killing my father and how he treated the Mexican-American people. Hanson was after their property, including mine. Everything is coming
to light, everything that has been evil is coming to its full circle, and everyone who had a part in it is going to pay."

  "Juelson," said Ale, shaken. "I did suggest it to Hanson, but in a joking manner. It was a game for us. We all laughed about it when your father was not with us at the hotel. The three of us found the situation amusing, but Hanson went too far and killed your father, thinking he then owned the gold mine. Now you know the full story. And as for convicting Judge Parker, my friend, he died of a heart attack one month ago, and all of his records were destroyed."

  "Well, that makes it three down and you're the last," mocked the cattle baron angrily. "My suggestion to you, Howard, is that you had better talk to Emma and tell her the truth about what's happened. You better be straight with her, because you are going to have to do a lot of explaining, testifying to the Federal Courts in Brownsville. You'll be spending a lot of time away, explaining how your little joke got out of control. I was almost killed, but by the grace of some miraculous event was given another chance. Your little threesome's joke will not bring my father back to life. I don't give a rat's ass how long you've been a judge or how decent you've been. You are going to have to prove everything you just said, not to me, but in front of the Federal Brownsville's Courts." Don Federico got up and walked back to the kitchen, where the Mexicans maids were cleaning the floor and drying dishes.

  Emma, who was coming into the kitchen, heard her name mentioned in Don Federico's loud conversation. Apprehensive, she asked, "What am I supposed to know? Tell me, Howard! What about the Federal Courts in Brownsville? What do you have to do with that?" She could see by Don Federico's face that he was very angry as he walked past her into the sala.

  Don Federico walked over to Doña Francisca and told her that he was going to round up the children. They were spending the night at the American Hotel and traveling early, back to Spanish Acres.