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GIFT or

1^IS/

JOHN CHARITY

A ROMANCE OF YESTERDAY

First Edition . . . Dec.^ 1900
Reprinted. . . . May^ic^o'j

JOHN CHARITY

A ROMANCE OF YESTERDAY

CONTAINING CERTAIN ADVENTURES AND
LOVE-PASSAGES IN ALTA CALIFORNIA OF
JOHN CHARITY, YEOMAN OF CRANBERRY-
ORCAS IN THE COUNTY OF HAMPSHIRE,
ENGLAND, AS SET DOWN BY HIMSELF

EDITED BY

HORACE ANNESLEY VACHELL

AUTHOR OF " THE PROCESSION OF LIFE," ETC.

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

1907

TO MY FRIEND
DON CLODOMIRO SOBERANES

THE NEPHEW AND KINSMAN OF

ALVARADO AND VALLEJO

IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF

MANY KIND SERVICES, I DEDICATE

THIS BOOK

38006

CONTENTS

CHAP. ' PAGE

I. CRANBERRY-ORCAS I

II. MORE ENTERTAINING BECAUSE IT EMBRACES A

PRETTY WOMAN 1 4

III. \VESTWARD HO ! 28

IV. ALTA CALIFORNIA 44

V. MAGDALENA ESTRADA 56

VI. EL SENOR GOBERNADOR - JUAN BAUTISTA

ALVARADO 68

VII. I FIND MYSELF IN A PECK OF TROUBLES . . 85

VIII. SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 95

IX. IN ARCADIA 107

X. FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM . . . .1X6

XI. HABET 126

XII. THE BLOODY FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA . 1 39

XIII. THE QUICKSANDS OF SANTA MARIA . . • I51

XIV. THE WAY OF A MAID WITH A MAN . . . 161
XV. OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 171

XVI. RE-ENTER CUPID 1 83

XVII. FOR LOVE I BECOME NOT A PAPIST BUT A JEW 19I

vii

viii CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

XVIII. A TIGER-LILY 204

XIX. LA NOCHE ES CAPA DE PECADORES . . . 2l6

XX. WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 225

XXI. CASTANEDA RIDES FAST 239

XXII. "EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA " . . 248

XXIII. WHEREIN A PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE IS FUL-

FILLED 264

XXIV. NEMESIS 271

JOHN CHARITY

CHAPTER I

CRANBERRY-ORCAS

It was in the year 1837, when her Gracious
Majesty Victoria ascended the throne of England,
that I, John Charity, left England for Alta Cali-
fornia. But before setting down the adventures
that befell me, 'twere well, doubtless, to give the
reader some brief information in regard to my
birthplace, Cranberry-Orcas, in the County of
Hampshire, my upbringing, and the causes that
constrained a poor young man to leave his native
land to seek beneath alien skies those gifts of the
gods — fame and fortune.

The village of Cranberry-Orcas lies between
Winchester and Southampton, upon the right
bank of the silver Itchen, and a man may travel
from John o' Groats to Land's End and nowhere
find a prettier hamlet, nor one to which memory
w411 cling more fondly. The parish (and others
that need not be named) belonged to Sir Marma-
duke Valence, Bart, (the baronetcy was of
James i.), and when Henry viii. dissolved the
lesser monasteries, the Abbey of Orcas and the
fat pastures adjoining were granted by the king
to that gallant knight, Sir Wilfrid de Valence,
whose full-length portrait by Holbein hangs to

1 JOHN CHARITY

this day in the long gallery at the Court. All
know that the abbey was destroyed by fire in
Queen Anne's reign (when the present house was
built), and nothing remains of the ancient monas-
tery save a curious chamber with a groined roof,
pronounced by archaeologists to have been a crypt
beneath the abbot's lodging.

The name Valence is written large in English
history, and the family has had its fair proportion
of saints and sinners, but, with the exception of
Sir Marmaduke, those who were saints lived and
died in the odour of sanctity, and the sinners
remained sinners till Satan claimed them. Sir
Marmaduke, however, combined in his own
person, one of the comeliest in England, the
qualities that go to the making of an Augustine.
Unless the witness of thousands be disputed, he
was the wildest, the most rake-helly of that wild,
rake-helly crowd who, under the leadership of the
first gentleman of Europe, ravaged society. He
was justly notorious as a drunkard, a gambler,
and a seducer of women. He could fight, crack
jests, and make love like Alvanley, and like
Alvanley, he may have reflected in leisure
moments that the God whom he flouted had
touched him, perhaps, to finer issues than the
hazard of the dice and the worship of Venus. At
any rate, he suddenly repented him of his great
wickedness, married the ugliest and most pious
heiress in the kingdom — one can conceive no
more dismal penance — bade farewell for ever to
the town, ana settled down at Cranberry-Orcas.
In due season a son was born of this marriage
(that the wits maliciously held to be one of
convenience), and if it be true that only the
children of love take after the sire, then surely
the jests of Sir Marmaduke's friends were seasoned
with truth, for an uglier urchin was never seen.

CRANBERRY-ORCAS 3

Then five years after, when a daughter was looked
for, my foster-brother came to gladden the eyes
of all women and most men. My mother has often
assured me that a sweeter babe might be found in
heaven, but not on earth, and assuredly not in
the South of England, and my mother was
a woman of ripe experience upon domestic
matters.

Now it fell out that when Sir Marmaduke's
dame was brought to bed of Courtenay Valence,
my mother, Cicely Charity, was brought to bed
of me, her first-born, and the lady of quahty being
unable to nurse her lusty boy, a yeoman's wife —
there being none other in like condition in
Cranberry-Orcas — was constrained, not without
specious argument, to take to her bosom the lord
of the manor's son, and to give him, as she gave
me, share and share alike, not only a mother's
milk, but a mother's love and tenderness.

" Charity never faileth," said Sir Marmaduke,
who cracked few jests save those with a Biblical
twang to them ; and as a token of his favour and
gratitude he stood sponsor to me, and gave me a
silver-gilt tankard, and later much goodly counsel
and more than one whipping. Indeed, I think he
knew my back better than my face, for I never
failed to turn tail and run whenever I saw his
stately figure and stern, grim face approaching my
father's house.

Before we were weaned, Courtenay's mother
sickened of the small-pox and died. The Court
was quarantined, but my mother betook herself
and nurslings to a brother's house at Alresford,
and so we escaped the plague that raged terribly
in the Itchen Valley and left many scars upon
the hearts and faces of our neighbours. Sir
Marmaduke's elder son, Austin Valence, caught
the infection, and was like to die for many days,

4 JOHN CHARITY

but the scourge spared him to become a scourge
in turn to Courtenay and me, as will be shown
hereafter.

Six months passed before my mother returned
to Cranberry-Orcas, and Courtenay, being so well
accustomed to the sight of her round rosy face,
and missing, perhaps, me who shared his cradle,
set up such a hullabaloo at the sight of the new
nurse who was sent to fetch him, and cried so
lustily for nigh upon twenty-four hours, that Sir
Marmaduke, spurred to action by an impending
fit, ordered the infant to be returned forthwith to
the Abbey Farm, to be left there, so to speak, till
called for. He rode up the next day upon his
sleek, round-barrelled cob, and my mother held
up the child and prated, you may be sure, of its
dimpled limbs and pretty tricks. But Sir Marma-
duke never smiled, not even when the urchin
crowed and chirruped, and he spoke, so my
mother said, with a sneer upon his thin, clean-cut
lips.

" The brat is well enough, madam, and I'm
heartily grateful to you. My steward will see
you, and "

My mother smiled and interrupted him.

'* I want nothing else. Sir Marmaduke. Your
gratitude and the child's love — God bless him —
are enough."

Sir Marmaduke frowned. Interruptions were
not to his taste.

" I shall charge myself," he replied coldly,
" with his foster-brother's education. Not a word,
madam." And he rode slowly away, touching
his hat with a lean forefinger, after the fashion set
by His Grace the Duke of Wellington.

My mother was not ill-pleased at this manifesta-
tion of gratitude. She had gentle blood in her
veins, and set perhaps an extravagant value upon

CRANBERRY-ORCAS S^

academical education. But my father, I learned
later, was impatient of the baronet's favour, and
minded to rid himself of what might prove a
burden.

''Thou'rt a fool, Cicely," said he, when she
advised him of what had passed, " a spoiled yeo-
man makes but a sorry scholar."

''John," retorted my mother, and I'll warrant
her eyes were sparkling, "is the son of a man
that followed the plough, but the grandson of a
man who kept terms at Cambridge."

" Being a woman, thou'lt have thy way, Cicely,
but it may lead thee and the boy into a quagmire.
Learning, my lass, is a load that galls many a
shoulder."

My mother confessed that she had the last word
upon this occasion.

" Ignorance," she replied, " has done more
damage than learning, Tom Charity. Samson
slew the Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass."

I doubt not my father laughed and chucked
his wife under the chin, for he loved her tenderly,
and was every whit as proud as she of the good
blood that flowed in her veins. And I know that
he loved my foster-brother, and taught him many
things that come not amiss even to the finest of
fine gentlemen : Arcadian lore, sweet and simple
as the song of a skylark. Courtenay spent the
first four years of his life beneath the roof-tree of
the Abbey Farm, and when he was breeched and
taken to the big comfortless nurseries at the
Court, I too was made welcome by the butler and
housekeeper, because I was the playmate and
foster-brother of the little lad they loved.

Yet, strange to say, and a wiser man than I
must interpret the riddle, the boy whose bright
face and mirthful laugh were an open sesame to
all hearts found no favour in his father's sight,

6 JOHN CHARITY

and, indeed, was but seldom in it. Sir Marma-
duke, I take it, had loved many and much in his
hot youth, and in a cold old age the fountain ran
dry. I suspect, too, that he was jealous of my
parents, too proud to enter the lists against them,
too just, I give him his due, to impugn their
influence. He had outlived his evil reputation,
and was now universally respected and admired.
The estate, once crippled with mortgages, was
nursed by his untiring efforts into high health
and prosperity. Not a roof leaked in Cranberry-
Orcas, not a farm was suffered to fall into neglect,
not a stomach nor a barn was empty upon the
baronet's lands.

He made good his promise to my mother, and
instructed the chaplain to spare neither Courtenay
nor me. We could construe Caesar and Virgil
before we were ten years old, and had more than
a smattering of French and Spanish. As I write
my eyes rest upon a thin volume, bound in tree-
calf, the gift of Sir Marmaduke, and on the fly-
leaf thereof is my name, and below it, in the
baronet's courtly handwriting, diligentice prcemium
in colendis Uteris prcecipue in Unguis hodiernis. The
elder boy had been sent to Eton, but Courtenay
and I were placed upon the books of Winchester
College, and entered that famous institution of
learning in the year of grace 1827.

During our first holidays, 1 remember, we
scraped acquaintance with a master mariner, a
perfectly delightful man, salt as the sea he loved,
full of anecdote, who distilled adventures by the
bucketful, an ocean of reminiscence into which
we plunged headlong. Both he and his house
were strictly forbidden us, a fact that lent zest to
our intercourse, and we learned from the baronet's
austere lips that our friend was, or rather had
been, a notorious smuggler, if not a pirate — how

CRANBERRY-ORCAS 7

our hearts thumped at the word — and that the
gallows, I quote Sir Marmaduke, had been robbed
of a very dirty scoundrel.

Dirty he was not, unquestionably, nor, I think,
a scoundrel, nor one who had wrought one-fourth
of such evil as has been imputed to Sir Marma-
duke Valence. That, however, is neither here
nor there. To us the captain, as we called him,
was blameless as the king. He had seen Nelson,
had fought beneath his glorious flag, had cruised
in the South Seas, had run blockades, and knew
the ins and outs of the English Channel as we
knew the pools and eddies of the Itchen.

One day the captain expressed surprise because
we bashfully confessed that we had never
explored the docks at Portsmouth and Southamp-
ton. *' And I thought," he concluded mournfully,
" that ye were lads o' some spirit ! " Now the
captain had never taken the trouble to walk to
Winchester, that ancient capital of England,
whose cathedral is the boast and glory of the
kingdom, and knowing this we might have
returned a Roland for his Oliver, but we blushed
sheepishly and held our peace. But, good Lord !
how his words rankled, biting into our plastic
minds like acid into a cork !

" Jack," whispered Courtenay to me, as w^e
slipped home in the gloaming, ''we'll go to
Southampton to-morrow." And we did.

It was the first of many visits, a day to be
marked with red. It chanced that a big ship was
sailing for the Brazils, and we saw the passengers
go aboard and listened breathlessly to the chatter
of the stevedores. I can see the huge stern of
that leviathan now, as plainly as if she were
anchored on the lawn outside, and I can hear the
hoarse cries of the sailors and the scream of the
boatswain's whistle.

8 JOHN CHARITY

"Jack," said my foster-brother, " let's go aboard
as stowaways and chance it."

More prudent counsels, my own, prevailed, but
Courtenay would have sailed to the Brazils then
and there had I consented to accompany him.
Moreover, I burned to say yes. The thought of
my mother's kind face, and that alone, quenched
the ardours of temptation.

We told the captain, Mark Jaynes, what we
had done and seen, and he was kind enough to
approve our enterprise. He knew the Brazils
well, he said, and began forthwith to spin a stiff
yarn, to which we listened agape. The warp
and woof of it were so cunningly interwoven
with diamonds, gold-dust, coffee, cocoa, rice,
slaves, tobacco, and other stuffs dear to boys'
hearts, that it served as a magical carpet, trans-
porting us in a jiffy from the captain's parlour to
the broad bosom of the Plata and the tropical
forests of the Amazon. As we walked home
Courtenay marvelled that the captain, after the
enjoyment for so many years of the fulness of all
desirable things, should be seemingly content
with such meagre entertainment as his present
life afforded — to wit, a small cottage upon the
King's highway, an anker of Jamaica rum, his big

Eipe and the strong black tobacco wherewith he
lied it.

" He can't stand our lubberly ways much
longer," said Master Courtenay, in an ecstasy of

Erophecy. " He'll go to sea again. Jack, and
ark ye — we'll go with him."
" He might not want us," I replied doubtfully.
Courtenay at once suggested the propriety of
bribing our seafaring friend, and accordmgly we
spent all our savings in the purchase of a splendid
pipe that was duly presented to and accepted by
Captain Jaynes. His mahogany-coloured face

CRANBERRY-ORCAS 9

with its long thin nose, like the cut-water of a
swift sailing sloop, was aglow with gratitude as
he loaded solemnly the vast bowl.

*' Lads," said he, "when you want a friend, in
fair or foul weather, pass the word for Mark
Jaynes."

We shook his hard hand in silence.

When we returned from school next Christmas
the captain's cottage was empty, and we learned
from one-legged Tom, the Cranberry-Orcas pike-
man, himself an ancient mariner, that our friend,
as Courtenay prophesied, had wearied of inaction,
and found employment at his old trade. One-
legged Tom winked a bloodshot left eye at the
word trade, and left us to infer what we pleased.

'* He's smuggling," said Courtenay, when we
were again alone. " Don't I wish we were with
him ! "

The truth is he was none too happy at the
Court.

Austin played the spy, and reported our doings
and misdoings to the chaplain, who in duty
bound told Sir Marmaduke. We were punished
again and again, till our hearts grew tough as our
hides.

The baronet told my mother that he destined
me for holy orders. Having fat livings in his
gift he hinted at preferment, a hint that leaked
from the fond mother's Hps in kisses. Courtenay
laughed and called me his reverence, till I cuffed
his head, for I was the stronger, and bade him
find me another name.

''Pax, Pax,'' he cried. " Forgive me."

*' You are sorer than I," was my answer, for
my fist had fallen heavily. '* There is nothing to
forgive, but don't call me parson."

The years passed as we climbed the ladder of
learning, and finally we crowed from the top

lo JOHN CHARITY

rungs. Sir Marmaduke sent for us, one fine
spring morning, and spoke of Oxford and a
gentleman-commoner's gown for Courtenay.
**The doctor tells me you are both fair scholars,"
he said, in his thin courtly phrases, **and both
scapegraces. I would have you mend your ways."

" Jack and I wish to serve the King," said his
son, disregarding the frown upon the cold face
that looked down upon us.

" Serve the devil ! " ejaculated the friend of the
Prince Regent. ** What hare-brained folly is
this ? "

'' Buy us commissions, sir, in some regiment of
the line. You have been a soldier." The baronet
had held a commission in the Coldstream Guards.
** There is no finer career. We would wear, sir.
His Majesty's livery."

" You are like to wear motley," said Sir
Marmaduke sternly. ** Enough, sir, you will do
as I please, as I command."

Courtenay shrugged his shoulders and bowed.
The baronet's bow had been commended by
Brummel, that of his son by a still finer judge,
Count Alfred d'Orsay. For my part I stood stiff
as a ramrod. Sir Marmaduke never vouchsafed
me more than a passing nod, and upon formal
occasions the largesse of two lean white fingers.
Perhaps my attitude provoked him, for he turned
suddenly.

*' And what do you say, sirrah ? "

" I am your honour's humble and obedient
servant," I replied discreetly.

He laughed very softly, a purring laugh, the
laugh of a fine gentleman who laughs at and not
with his fellow-creatures.

*' Very humble," he repeated, '* and very
obedient ! Egad, sir, I have set you a-horseback,
but you will ride where I direct,"

CRANBERRY-ORCAS 1 1

"Jack will ride into the very gates of Hades if
you so direct him," said my foster-brother, with
his sweetest smile.

" His destination, I doubt not," replied Sir
Marmaduke, tapping the snuff-box that a famous
beauty had given him.

" I'll ride anywhere, your honour, except into
the pulpit. I dare not preach what I cannot
practise."

He measured me from head to heel with his
contemptuous eyes, and I marked a smouldering
cinder of dislike.

"You shall go to India," he said slowly, "and
serve John Company. Courtenay will be con-
soled of your loss at Christ Church."

He waved his hand in token of dismissal, but
Courtenay stood still, spell-bound by surprise
and dismay. Looking back, I cannot doubt that
the baronet wished to sever with one cruel
stroke the link that bound me to his son. Why
had he waited so long ? I confess that his words
stirred me to the heart's core. India ! The
very name whetted ambition. India, the nursery
of Clive, of Warren Hastings, of the Iron Duke.
Could I refuse such an offer as this ?

Then Courtenay's eager voice fell upon the
silence. I had never seen him so moved.

" You would part us, sir? "

The tears were in his eyes.

" Part you ? " echoed Sir Marmaduke. " Are
you flesh and blood, husband and wife, that you
speak of parting with wet eyes ? Ay, 'tis time
for you to part. You've run riot together long
enough. John Charity shall serve John Com-
pany— there's reason if not rhyme for you — a
pleasing alliteration. You, Courtenay, must take
your degree, and after that I have a friend's
promise that a place shall be found for you in

12 JOHN CHARITY

one of his Majesty's embassies. And now, leave
me."

" You have made John an offer, he has not yet
accepted it," said my foster-brother.

Then they looked at me, and my tongue seemed
to swell and to stick in my mouth.

" If he refuse," said Sir Marmaduke drily, " he
may expect nothing more at my hands."

" He will not refuse," exclaimed Courtenay.
" Pardon me. Jack, I was selfish ; you will go
to India, of course, marry a begum, and return
a nabob."

He spoke gaily enough with a smile upon his
face, but I saw that his lip trembled.

" Sir Marmaduke," said I, ** I'm truly grateful
for what you have done already. I can never
hope to cancel the debt I owe you and yours,
but most respectfully I beg to decline your
generous offer."

** So be it," he rephed grimly, and turning his
back upon us he walked slowly away. Courtenay
and I escaped from the long gallery — the temple
of injustice where we had been flogged many
a time — and beat a silent retreat into the park
that sloped to the Itchen.

"What will you do. Jack?" said Courtenay,
pale and anxious. " Damme, I've put a rope
round your neck. I could hang myself for a
selfish ass."

I bade him pluck up his spirits. Already I
had matured a plan that now must be promptly
executed. My tutor had encouraged me to
believe that a scholarship at Oxford was well
within my grasp if I chose to exert myself

"A scholarship first, and a fellowship to
follow," said Courtenay, in high good-humour.
" And, Jack, my purse, remember, is yours."

I laughed and pressed his hand.

CRANBERRY-ORCAS 13

To cut short a tedious business, I will sum
up in a sentence the labours of many months.
I obtained a scholarship, tenable for five years,
of the value of ;^8o per annum, at the College
of St. Mary of Winchester, commonly called
New College, founded by William of Wykeham
and affiliated with our own college of Winchester.
My father promised me ;^40 a year, and my dear
mother pressed into my hand a stocking full of
guineas, the savings of twenty years, a gift I
refused to accept. Courtenay and I went up to
Oxford on the same coach, at Michaelmas Term,
which begins on the loth of October, but he
was set down, a gentleman-commoner, at Christ
Church, while I, a poor scholar, descended at
the gates of New.

CHAPTER II

MORE ENTERTAINING BECAUSE IT EMBRACES A
PRETTY WOMAN

I HAVE written as yet but little of my own family,
and nothing of that member of it who is justly
entitled to honourable mention, and a chapter to
herself — my cousin, Lettice Charity. She came
to live with us, the pretty orphan, when I was
some ten years old, and grew to be the loveliest
maiden in the Itchen Valley. My mother tended
her as if she had been a sensitive plant of some
rare and exotic species, but the reader may take
my word that the girl was but wholesome flesh
and blood, though fashioned more daintily than
many a dame of quality. We had returned from
Oxford to spend the Christmas vacation at Cran-
berry-Orcas, and Courtenay had not clapped
eyes on Lettice for more than two years. My
mother, who regarded Letty as a daughter, and
whose ambition, fed by her gentility, was centred
upon her two children, had placed the maid in
a very select seminary — the honest word school
was not genteel enough — a seminary, therefore,
situate in the suburbs of Southampton, and pre-
sided over by a gentlewoman as prim and austere
as the famous Miss Pinkerton of the Mall,
Chiswick.
Mindful, doubtless, of this lady's precepts, my

A PRETTY WOMAN 15

cousin, on greeting Courtenay, who had been
accustomed to salute her as I did, with a hearty
kiss, drew back bashfully from his extended arms
and dropped him the demurest curtsey in the
world.

" Why, Letty ! " exclaimed my mother, with
ill-advised reproach, " what means this coque-
try?"

Then, with many blushes, Lettice surrendered
her sweet Hps, and Courtenay took full posses-
sion. Time had been more than kind to both of
them ; a prettier pair never kissed and sighed and
yearned to kiss again. My foster-brother was
just turned two-and-twenty. He was tall and
slender, admirably formed, with wavy auburn
locks crowning a fair white forehead, beneath
which lurked the bluest and most mischievous
eyes. Lady Blessington has recorded that he
closely resembled Lord Byron, and the likeness
was more than accidental, for Sir Marmaduke's
mother was a Gordon, and of kin to the author of
Childe Harold.

''I've not kissed her for two years," said
Courtenay, as though want were a synonym of
excess. He had the grace to blush, however, and
my mother blushed also and blinked confusedly,
while Letty's cheeks were as scarlet as her lips,
and her bosom heaved beneath her kerchief. A
kiss, such as I have feebly described, is no
ha'penny matter.

That night Cupid mixed metaphors on Courte-
nay's tongue.

** You marked her confusion?" he said, and I
nodded gloomily. ** Why, man, she is a link
between the seen and the unseen, between heaven
and earth, yet of the earth, the Lord be praised !
A lily of the vale, planted by God's hand, to be
plucked and cherished by the hand of man. The

i6 JOHN CHARITY

elements were her sponsors. Flame has touched
her hair."

" And her heart," said I, more gloomily, but he
marked me not.

" Water from Choaspes," continued the in-
fatuated youth, " is no more limpid than her eyes,
and Naples' Bay no bluer. The air has set
her curls a-fluttering. And earth, the clay of
Phidias, the marble of Carrara, has weighted
her limbs, else, Jack, she would float from us
and depart."

*' She had better depart," said I sulkily, " before
worse mischief befall her."

" Mischief! " he repeated fiercely, gripping my
arm : " what the deuce d'ye mean ? Has any

one dared to " and he paused, his voice

trembling.

My heart ached for him, for her also, and the
part that I was constrained to play was not to my
liking.

" Courtenay," said I, "you love Lettice?"

" By God, I do ! " he replied gravely ; " I
always loved her. Jack, the sweet, fair creature,
but 1 never knew it till to-day — and. Jack — she
loves me. There has been no speech between
us, but between true lovers there is no need of
speech."

" Courtenay," said I, " this is midsummer mad-
ness. The falcon mates not with the dove. If
you are a man, if you honour your gentle
breeding, if the affection you bear me is worth a
pinch of snuff, this love you speak of must be
tought and overcome. Come, now, be sensible.
You are absolutely dependent upon your father's
favour. You cannot as yet support yourself, let
alone a wife, and the babies that follow. Lettice
has nothing but her face and her virtue ; pursue
this mad quest, and you will injure both."

A PRETTY WOMAN 17

'' Not even from you, Jack, will I suffer such
words."

I gripped his shoulder and continued : " You
are but just of age, and Lettice has not left school.
Pass me your word, now^ that this unhappy
business shall be pushed no further."

'* And if I refuse ? " he asked hotly.

'' I must speak to my father, and Sir Marma-
duke."

"You! A false friend ! "

I met his angry glance and tightened my grip.

*' Am I a false friend, Courtenay, or is it you
who misinterpret friendship ? "

His eyes fell, and, releasing his shoulder, I held
out my hand.

** Your word of honour, Courtenay."

He placed his hand in mine, very reluctantly,
and sighed.

*' I pledge you my word," he said slowly, '* that
I will respect the love I bear Letty, and you. I
will keep away from the Abbey Farm for the
space of one year — no more. Then I shall be-
seech her to become my wife. You may trust me.
Jack."

" Ay," I replied curtly ; and that was all.

He spent that Christmas with a kinsman in the
county of Dorset, and none suspected the cause
of his absence. But Letty pined for him, losing
colour and appetite. Watching her as she sewed
by the fireside in the oak-panelled parlour, I
could mark the change in the girl, and my mother
marked it also.

** Do you know what ails the little lass ? " she
asked, one bitter morning in January, when the
snow was knee-deep outside, and the icicles hung
a foot long from the eaves.

" 'Tis the cruel cold," said I evasively.

*' 1 have heard her weeping in her chamber,"

i8 JOHN CHARITY

continued my mother softly, laying down her
knitting and gazing anxiously into my face.
" And I think, John, that, as you say, 'tis the
cruel cold and naught else that afQicts her. Now "
— her voice changed all of a moment, and I was
amazed at the passion in her tone — " how could
he come here, and kiss her, and hold her to his
heart, and devour her with his eyes, and then
depart without a word ? How could he do it ?
'Twas not like him." Then her voice broke, and
she murmured tenderly: ''She is frost-bitten,
sweet flower, frost-bitten."

Her distress moved me profoundly, and then —
fool that I was — I blurted out the truth. My
mother listened, a blush coming and going upon
her smooth cheeks, and in her eyes a suffused
light, a glamour spread by pride and pleasure.
** Dear lad," she whispered, '' dear lad, shall I live
to call him nephew ? "

" We may live to call him scoundrel, mother.
We love him, both of us, but — remember — he is
Sir Marmaduke's son."

In my witless anxiety to keep these young
creatures apart, I could have chosen no surer way
to bring them together than by aspersing Cour-
tenay's character. My mother rounded on me
with so pretty a display of temper that within
five minutes I was braving the cold without in
preference to the warmth, nay, the scorching heat,
within. My ears were tingling as I clapped hat
to head and strode into the blizzard. When I
returned to the midday meal, my mother kissed
me with a demure smile, and Lettice, who sat in
the chair from which a scolding had driven me,
turned aside a blushing cheek. This Delilah of a
mother had betrayed me ! The maid's confusion
was the sweetest thing to witness — and the most
exasperating. At dinner, as luck \vould have it,

A PRETTY WOMAN 19

my father said that he had had news from the
Vale of Blackmoor, from his cousin-german, a
famous breeder of cattle. In the tail of the letter
was mention of Courtenay. During the mild
weather that preceded the frost he had been seen
cutting down the boldest riders in the Vale
Hunt.

" The day will come," said my father, who loved
to follow the hounds, " when Master Courtenay
will see, mayhap, a wife and children on t'other
side o' the fences. 'Tis so with me, I know."

Letty's cheek was pale, but her blue eyes
sparkled.

" Tis a gallant youth," continued my father,
" and a reckless. A breaker of horses, and a
breaker of bottles, and a breaker of hearts, I'll
warrant ! "

My good mother sniffed, and for the second
time that day took up the cudgels.

*' Thy warranty, Tom Charity, hath been called
in question more than once, I mind me. This
young gentleman's finger is worth the bones and
body of a man I know who rides fifteen stone or
more.

And then a laugh broke from pretty Lettice,
and I could see that for her the sun was shining
and all was well. Later, my mother tore to
tatters my reproaches, and banished my frowns
with kisses. Lettice, she said, only needed the
assurance that the friend of her childhood was
not indifferent to her. The child was a modest
maid, and thought nothing of love and marriage ;
and so on and so forth — a madrigal of nonsense.
I take credit to myself, because I remained pro-
foundly convinced that the affair was serious and
should be nipped i' the bud. How serious it

E roved the reader will soon be able to judge for
imself.

20 JOHN CHARITY

During this vacation Sir Marmaduke's heir,
Austin, spared no pains to make himself agreeable
to me, a tenant's son. Austin was now five-and-
twenty and a very fine gentleman, if there be truth
in the saying that fine feathers make fine birds.
His coats were cut by Stultz, and Hoby was his
bootmaker. You can picture to yourself a petit
mattre, undersized, pock-marked, with a long,
lean face and sharp eyes set too close together
beneath bushy brows. He had studied the arts
that please, and could turn a phrase as neatly as
his father — which is high praise. He was, indeed.
Sir Marmaduke's understudy, aping his walk, his
gestures, and his conversation. The baronet was
a personal friend of Lord Melbourne, and Austin
was already a member of Parliament. We have
been told that the Prime Minister either was or
tried to be a mere lounger — one who played with
feathers and dandled sofa cushions when important
issues were at stake; and Austin, when Sir Marma-
duke's back was turned, affected the same indiffer-
ence to all matters of moment, assuming (when
with me) a lively interest in the nice adjustment
of a cravat, and shrugging his shoulders at the
mere mention of social and political reforms.

For a season his civility perplexed me. He
would stroll across the park to the Abbey Farm
and drink a dish of tea with my mother, besprink-
ling her with compliments soft as April showers.
These falling on generous soil bred weeds, pride,
vanity, and the like that choked reason, instinct,
and a fair sense of proportion.

"A kind heart," said my mother, "is better
than a handsome face. Mr. Austin has been mis-
judged in this house."

" He talks sweetly of his brother Courtenay,"
sighed Letty.

1 pricked up my ears at this.

A PRETTY WOMAN 21

" And he admires our little lass. He told me
yesterday that he has seen at Almack's none to
match her."

" He cannot be a judge of beauty," said I
angrily, " because I've seen him studying his own
face in the mirror as if he were Narcissus' self"

And this speech begat a homily from my
mother and a frown on the face of Lettice.

Being in my salad days I never suspected that
these visits were paid to Letty, and to her alone ;
but love, who may be blind, but is surely not deaf,
roused a very tempest of jealousy and wrath in
the breast of Courtenay, when the tale of this
wooing by proxy — for Austin paid court to my
mother — came to the ears of that impassioned
youth. Lettice had returned to school when we
met at Oxford, but my foster-brother assailed me
bitterly, and for three days cut my acquaintance.
Then his wits, for he was no fool, pricked his con-
science, and he apologised humbly and entreated
my pardon.

" I am not afraid of Austin," said he, smiling.

" I am," I retorted. " He's a hypocrite and a
scandal-monger."

"Jack, I wish you had dusted his jacket for
him."

" For what. Master Shallow ? For his courtesy
to my mother?"

''On general principles," rephed the youth.
" We thrashed him once, you and I, Jack. I
shall never forget that day;" and he laughed
heartily.

"Nor will he, Courtenay. His debt to us has
been compounding interest ever since."

The months passed quickly, for I was making
a business of work, and Master Courtenay of
play. At this time he was one of the most
popular men in the University, hail-fellow with

22 JOHN CHARITY

all, saving the proctors and his dean. We met
daily at the fencing school, but at other times our
paths lay apart, and the company that he kept
was too fine for a poor scholar. He would urge
me again and again to share his purse and his

Eleasures; I declined both and stuck to my
umanities.

My life at New College was drab-coloured, but
the red came into it soon enough, and plenty of it.
The long vacation I spent in France and Spain
with a sprig of nobility, who paid me handsomely
for my services as coach and bear-leader.
Courtenay was absent from Cranberry-Orcas.
Lettice was left to bloom alone. I wrote many
letters to my foster-brother during my tour
abroad, and some he answered, but of Letty not
a word was said till we met at the Court upon
the eve of his twenty-third birthday. If I nad
hoped that fashionable dames would surely put
to flight his passion for a yeoman's daughter I
was soon undeceived. I dined that evening at
the baronet's table and Austin was present,
a-glitter with trinkets and perfumed like Kufillus.
Toasts were drunk in those days, though the
fashion even then was on the wane, and Sir
Marmaduke took wine with me, and gravely
wished me a double-first. I think he was not
ashamed of his godson, and doubtless surmised
that the intimacy that had existed between
Courtenay and myself was at an end. I confess
that I thought so also, knowing well that porce-
lain and common crockery do not lie upon the
same shelf.

" Tell us of your adventures, O Ulysses," said
Courtenay. " What of the seftoras and senoritas
— hey? Mark his sober face, Austin. I'll wager
that his heart lies snug beneath that snuff-
coloured coat; no woman has touched it."

A PRETTY WOMAN 23

** Speaking of sefioritas," said Austin, "I'll
swear you saw no woman so fair as Lettice
Charity in your travels."

He looked as he spoke at Courtenay, and the
pockmarks in his face seemed to deepen as if
filled with bile and malice. My foster-brother
blushed outright, as Austin added, "You agree
with me, Courtenay ? "

" Upon devlish few subjects, Austin, but on
that— yes."

Sir Marmaduke held his glass of Madeira to
the light of a wax candle.

" We will drink to all fair women," said he
gravely, and the toast was drunk standing.

Upon the next day we shot partridges, and the
largest coveys were found upon the Abbey Farm.
My father rode into the turnips, touched his hat
to the lord of the manor, and respectfully invited
the party to eat luncheon at his house ; an annual
invitation, formally made and as formally accepted.
The meal was always served in our panelled
parlour, for the dining-room adjoined the big
kitchen, and was not deemed fit for the entertain-
ment of fine company. The stout oak table
was brought in, covered with my mother's finest
damask and brightest silver, and then piled high
with substantial viands, a mighty boar's head, a
game-pie (my mother's pies were famous), a
larded capon, and in pleasant contrast the lightest
confections, trifles, tartlets, and the like, with
many liquors and cordials, including a bowl of
cold punch compounded from the recipe given to
Sir Marmaduke by no less a person than the
Prince Regent. After this meal but few partridges
were shot.

My mother, I remember, wore her best dress, a
" Paduasoy," and Letty was bravely attired Jin an
Indian muslin, that looked, so Courtenay^said, as

24 JOHN CHARITY

if it had been flounced and frilled by fairy fingers.
I think the rogue knew that she had made the
gown herself. She sat between him and Austin,
opposite me, and I could see the knot of ribbon
at her bosom rising and falling, even as the
colour ebbed and flowed in her cheeks. Her
vivacity enchanted the young men, but it alarmed
Sir Marmaduke, for more than once I marked a
frown upon his high, white forehead, and he
answered absently some of my mother's ques-
tions, and ate but sparingly of the game-pie. My
own appetite, one of the heartiest in the world,
failed me as I tried to interpret these signals of
displeasure. When the women withdrew, and
the cordials circled. Sir Marmaduke's cold face
relaxed, and our tongues began to wag freely.
Courtenay punished the famous brew of punch,
and raved mdiscreetly of the white hands that
served it. He assured my father that his niece
was a beauty, toasted her again and again, and
audaciously appealed to Sir Marmaduke to confirm
and crown a youth's opinion.

"You, sir," said he, "are a judge of wine and
women. Have you seen a fairer creature ? "

" She is very fair," said Sir Marmaduke ; " too
fair" he added, with emphasis.

" Ay," my father assented, " 'tis a dangerous
gift, but the little lass is good, and honest, and
sensible. She hath heard more flattery to-day,
ril warrant, than is seemly, but 'twill not turn
her head."

" Humph ! " said the baronet sourly ; " I trust
not."

Austin, however, looked sourer than Sir Mar-
maduke. What foul scheme was bubbling in his
head as he sat at my father's board I never
suspected then ; later it was revealed to me. But
he must have realised upon this particular

A PRETTY WOMAN 25

occasion that the woman he desired — for I will
not pollute the word love by mentioning it in
connection with Austin Valence — was beloved by
his handsome brother, and he guessed, doubtless,
that this rival's passion had kindled responsive
flames. I do know that he sought the baronet
that same afternoon, and laid information against
Courtenay, for Sir Marmaduke sent for me.

" You have spoken," said he, " more than once
of the debt you owe me. That debt you are now
able to cancel. Tell me, frankly, does Courtenay
love your cousin ? "

We were sitting in the library at the Court,
and I can still recall the faint, musty smell of the
leather volumes, and see the long rows and rows
of books to which, as a scholar, I had free access.
The room was eloquent of age and decay, for
here were no new books in gay binding, no
papers and magazines to prattle of the present,
no flowers, no portraits even of youth and beauty.
Nothing but hoary folios, quartos, and octavos,
clad alike in soberest livery, servants all of them,
ancient retainers — so to speak — set apart from
use or abuse, rotting at ease in silence and
seclusion. Not a living soul save I disturbed
their peace, and Sir Marmaduke rarely entered
the room. Perhaps he chose it for that very
reason as the most fitting place for an interview
that could not fail to be unpleasant. Moreover,
my old friends on the shelves would certainly
prick my sense of obligation to the man who had
made me first acquainted with them. And who
could urge the claims of love and the joys of to-
morrow in a sanctuary of mouldering yester-
days ?

As I paused in confusion, Sir Marmaduke
laughed.

** You need not answer, John," said he, " for

26 JOHN CHARITY

your honest face has betrayed you. Had you
studied men as faithfully as you have studied
books, my task had been more difficult. So he
loves pretty Lettice, and she, of course, loves
him ? Ha 1 you cannot deny it, and you have
the grace to blush for both of them. And
Courtenay's intentions are, doubtless, honour-
able ? "

I have used a note of interrogation, but the
inflection in his voice was rather exclamatory,
and contemptuously so.

** I could answer " I began hotly.

** You need not answer, John. Your tongue is
of little service to you or to me. I can read your
face."

He must have read there dislike of a patron
who had pinched patronage into tyranny.

" If you have no love for me," he continued,
" you have an extravagant affection for Courtenay.
I doubt whether man or woman is worthy of the
sacrifice you made when you refused the sword
I offered you and took instead a quill. That,
however, is your own affair. I have sent for you;
first, to satisfy myself in regard to the facts —
which I have done; and secondly, to send a
message through you to Courtenay and Lettice.
I " — he paused and took a pinch of snuff, and I
saw that the white fingers that encircled the box
were as impassive and seemingly as lifeless as
marble — *' I need not recite to you, nor to
Courtenay, my reasons — but they are essentially
reasonable — my reasons, I say, for employing
you as go-between. You will tell these foolish
young persons that a marriage between them
will sever the tie between Courtenay and me.
His allowance of a thousand a year will be
forfeited. His name will be wiped from my will.
This is my message — that I beg you deliver at

A PRETTY WOMAN 27

your earliest convenience. A personal appeal
irom Courtenay would annoy me excessively,
and might provoke, you understand, a scene."

Then he rose — a stately and impressive figure
— and bowed. The interview was at an end.

The butler informed me that Courtenay was
not in the house ; nor could I find him in the
stables or gardens, but I met Austin, who said,
with a sneer, that I should hunt my quarry
nearer home. Then I suddenly remembered that
this was his birthday, that his promise to me,
concerning Lettice, had already expired, that,
perhaps, at this moment, he was with her — a
plighted lover. I unconsciously mended my
pace and strode briskly along till I came to our
orchard that slopes south-westerly to the Itchen.
And here I found my suspicions verified, and two
blushing fools, and a love story that made my
heart ache with pity and sealed for the moment
my lips, for I felt like a serpent in Eden bearing
in my mouth a deadly poison.

They stood before me with arms interlaced,
the light filtering through the apple trees and
falling on their faces.

" Well," said Courtenay, and he laughed gaily ;
" we have told you our story. Now, what have
you to say to us ? "

CHAPTER III

WESTWARD HO !

The reader will, doubtless, have guessed that the
tap-root of my distress and of my objections to
this match lay deep in my own heart. When we
were children together the little maid had been
my sweetheart, and as we grew up, although my
brain was busy with other matters, yet my heart
was faithful to her, and gradually, as the down
coarsened on my cheeks, so also those nebulous,
intangible fancies and desires, the floss out of
which is woven love, became as ropes of steel,
binding the present to the future. That kiss I
spoke of turned them into ropes of sand.

Looking back, after the lapse of years, and with
such experience of life as i have gleaned, I can
see how ill-equipped the poor scholar was to play
the part of lover. I might have won her, the

Eretty dear, had I wooed her — as maids wish to
e wooed — ardently ; but love with me was a
thing apart from life, laid in lavender, kept under
lock and key. None guessed my secret save
Letty, and I know she was kinder to me on that
account, more tender, more lovable, so that I was
the more inflamed, and my loss, contrasted with
Courtenay's gain, proved a grievous and intoler-
able burden. For he seemed to have all the gifts
of the gods, and could have chosen a wife out of

WESTWARD HO! 29

the Book of Beauty, or out of that other book
that Englishmen hold sacred — the Peerage — and
yet he had been constrained to rob me, his foster-
brother and true friend, of a simple country maid.

None the less, I can say that I still loved him
and admired him. Now, it is plain that he often
imposed upon that love and admiration, being at
the core somewhat selfish and thoughtless of
others' feelings. He learned early the expediency
of never doing for himself what another might do
for him. When we were lads, I remember, he
would ask me again and again the time of day,
although he carried a handsome gold watch of
his own, and he would borrow half a crown with
the air of a monarch conferring the Order of the
Golden Fleece. It seems now, although then
such a thought never entered my head, that
in regard to his wooing he had unwittingly
suffered me, so to speak, to prepare the soil that
he might reap the crop, for I cannot doubt that
Letty, marking my amorous glances, learned the
first lesson of love — anticipation. Expecting (the
witch confessed it later) something from me and
getting nothing, she fell an easy victim to the
silver-tongued Courtenay.

My message mellowed somewhat during the
time that elapsed between the kiss I gave blush-
ing Letty and the moment that I found myself
alone with her lover. I had not the heart to
deliver it in her presence, for both she and he
had quick tempers, and I feared that they might
marry in haste, whipped to folly by Sir Marma-
duke's keen tongue. In Spain 1 had learned the
meaning of the word *' manana," and accordingly
urged not renunciation but procrastination.

Finally, we agreed that for the present it
would be wise to keep secret the engagement. I
promised to tell my mother at once, and did so

30 JOHN CHARITY

that same afternoon. Dear woman! the match
was of her making, and it pains me, now that she
is dead, to criticise so fond a creature. Yet, who
can deny that she acted unwisely ? She was
monstrously pleased when she learned that the
lovers had actually plighted troth, and her vanity
so bubbled and flowed over that I could not but
smile, and lacked the moral courage to protest
against it. Moreover, I dared not speak out
what was festering in my mind, fearing that I
might betray myself. I had agreed with
Courtenay that Sir Marmaduke must be advised
that his message was duly delivered, and my
mother firmly believed that the wind would be
tempered to these lambs. " Sir Marmaduke," she
said innocently, *' is failing ; he ate but once of
my pie, and shunned the ginger cordial. He
cannot plague us much longer."

The Baronet thanked me civilly, and asked no
questions. My face, you may be sure, was blank
as a stone wall, yet he guessed, I fancy, what I
tried to conceal, and smiled doubtless in his
sleeve at the donkey who counted himself a
diplomat. Courtenay swore to me that he would
be careful not to compromise Letty by too ardent
attentions, and the pair of us actually believed
that we were throwing dust in Sir Marmaduke's
eyes. Lord, what fools we were !

Austin, of course, watched us out of the tail of
his eye, and beguiled my mother to the very
brink of confession. " I'm sure," said she, " that
he is our friend, and he has influence with Sir
Marmaduke." Tis true that he had influence
with his father, and to this day I am unable to
account for so strange a fact ; for the two had
little in common, save an insane and un-Christian
pride of the house of Valence, a pride con-
spicuously wanting in Courtenay, who, with my

WESTWARD HO! 31

mother's milk, perhaps, imbibed a yeoman's
simplicity and sense of humour. The ludicrous
appealed to my foster-brother as strongly as it
appeals to me, and what is more likely to stir
men to laughter than the windy, bombastic self-
assertion and arrogance of an egoist of the stamp
of Austin Valence ? Believing him to be a prig
of prigs, we stupidly belittled him, and paid
dearly for our folly.

One day, late in September, Courtenay and I
rode into Southampton, and there, coming out of
a tavern near the docks, whom should we see but
old Mark Jaynes, the friend and hero of our
youth. He was little changed ; the broad face
had a purplish cast, and he carried a larger
paunch ; the nose, too, seemed a thought longer
and sharper, as if it had poked itself into more
than one tight place since we last had seen it.
We were strolling along afoot, having left our
horses in charge of the hostler at the White
Hart Inn, so we purposely ran athwart the
captain, and then, heaving-to, craved his pardon.

"Is this Captain Jaynes?" said Courtenay,
dofhng his hat and bowing.

"Ay," growled the captain, "Mark Jaynes it
is — at your service, gentlemen."

" We must arrest you," said Courtenay.

The old fellow began to bristle up.

" On the criminal charge," continued Courtenay,
" of cutting dead two old friends."

A grin betokened recognition.

" It's Master Courtenay and John Charity."

We each took an arm, and escorted him in
triumph back to the tavern he had just left.
There we engaged a private room and a bottle of
Madeira, and later — for the wine was poor stuff —
a bowl of punch. For a time our three tongues
wagged at once ; then the captain, who had a

32 JOHN CHARITY

fine gift of the gab, began to recite his adventures,
and the old glamour spread its spell upon us.
Smuggling, it seemed, was at an end, and our
friend was now master and part owner of a fine
barque about to sail for the Californias with a
cargo of general merchandise.

" 'Tis my last trip," said the captain. " I shall
marry a senorita," — he smacked his thick hps —
*'and settle down upon a rancho. There is no
finer country than Alta California upon God's
footstool — a land, my lads, of milk and honey.
And the women love the sailors. The Dons—ay,
the bluest blooded of 'em — admit it, and are like
to go mad because of it. By the Lord ! didn't my
own boatswain, red-headed Ben Buston from Win-
chester, marry a beauty, with a name as long as
a man-o'-war's pennant, and a big estate pinned
to her petticoat ? He had to join the true church,

o' course ; but there " and he winked in the

old, delightful fashion. " Ben told me that he
left his conscience at Cape Horn in charge o'
Mother Carey's chickens, and I hope it didn't
choke 'em. The padre at the Mission in Santa
Barbara made Ben walk barefoot, with not a
stitch on but a sheet, a-holding a lighted taper in
his hand, from the beach to the church door ; but
behind the door was the senorita, and behind the
Mission the good leagues o' land ! "

To this, and much more, we listened, vastly
amused at the thought of this ancient mariner
wedded to a blooming Californian and lord of
rolling leagues and countless herds. You may
be sure that we visited the barque, and inspected,
with interest, the captain's curios : abalone shells,

E earls from the peninsula, some wondrous
askets, weaved by the Indians so closely and
cunningly that they actually held water, opals
from Mexico, and an amazing bit and bridle,

WESTWARD HO! 33

inwrought with gold and silver. Before we
parted Mark Jaynes opened a bottle of Cognac,
that I'll warrant had paid no duty, and we
drank solemnly to the lotos-land and the lovely
women, not forgetting honest Ben Buston and
the red-headed babies that his wife had borne
him.

" My lads," said Mark, in conclusion, " I would
that a sight of Alta California could be vouchsafed
ye. It hath a glorious future, sure, and 'twill be-
long in time to our people. The Yankees are
crossing the mountains already, but I look to see
the flag of England float above the presidio at
Monterey. These Dons are an indolent lot,
pleasure-loving, content to lie in the sun gorged
with beef and frijol, and the good padres who
ruled the land well and wisely have seen their
sun set for ever. Ye were lads of spirit, I mind
me ; why don't ye up anchor, and sail with old
Mark Jaynes to the Canaan that lies upon the
shores of the Pacific ? "

And why not, we asked ourselves, as we rode
home through the pleasant woods of Stoneham —
why not ?

Fate answered that question within twenty-four
hours.

I have now to set down (in ink no blacker than
the story) the history of an attempt on the part
of Austin Valence to rob Letty of fair name and
reputation. The scoundrel, a spy and an eaves-
dropper, must have learned that this pure maid
was as far from his reach as the evening star; and
knowing also, or guessing, that Courtenay was
her pHghted lover, having, moreover, his finger
upon the pulse of Sir Marmaduke's pride, in
possession doubtless of the message intrusted to
me, coveting, perhaps, the handsome allowance

34 JOHN CHARITY

of his brother and the money that would be his
at the Baronet's death — bearing, in short, all
these matters in mind, he conceived a hellish
scheme of revenge. He told the officers quartered
at Winchester, and others of his acquaintance,
that his brother Courtenay was pursuing a
common amour, and skilfully painted him as a
Lothario ; yet he hinted, with incredible baseness,
that this was no case of seduction, inasmuch as
the young woman had bestowed her favours upon
others, including one who was not given to boast-
ing of his bonnes fortunes. I make certain he
calculated that either Courtenay would be
hounded into hasty marriage and ruin by the
yapping of the gossips, or Lettice, falling a victim
to slander, and driven from her true lover's arms,
might become his own prey.

Upon the day we met Mark Jaynes the mine
laid by this villain prematurely exploded. It
happened on this wise. Courtenay and I had
accepted an invitation to sup at the George Inn,
in Winchester, with an old Wykehamist, an
officer quartered in the town. Austin was of the
party, and a good deal of wine was drunk and as
many jests cracked as bottles. Presently a cer-
tain captain of cavalry, quite unknown to me, the
son of a rich merchant in London — a man of
fashion but of no breeding — began to rally
Courtenay upon his love intrigue.

" Egad ! " said this buck, who was more fool
than knave ; *' I hear that the girl is a famous
beauty, and has made more than one man happy.
We wondered why you had forsaken your old
friends, my dear fellow; but tell us her name,
and promise me an introduction, and we will
toast her — this Venus of Cranberry-Orcas ! "

" Sir," repHed my foster-brother, " you talk in
riddles. 1 know of no such lady, nor is it my

WESTWARD HO! 35

habit to forsake old friends, nor to overlook the
insolence of new ones."

He was furiously angry, I could see, but out-
wardly cool and collected. The captain flushed
and laughed harshly.

" You are dense to-night," he retorted quickly.
" Come, I will give you a clue to the enigma.
We have Scriptural warrant that there be three
blessings vouchsafed to good men — Faith, Hope,
and Charity, and the greatest of these, as you
must know, is Charity."

The table was in a tumult as the words left
his lips, for those present, excepting the speaker,
knew my name, and knew also that I was of kin
to the lady. Perhaps my yeoman's blood moves
somewhat sluggishly, for before I could act, so
stunned was I at this stranger's speech, Courtenay
had taken the initiative. He held in his hand a
cut-glass goblet of champagne, and this he hurled
at the face opposite with so true an aim that in a
second the captain found himself drenched with
wine and blood.

" Curse you ! " spluttered the dandy, convulsed
with pain. " I'll kill you for this, Courtenay
Valence."

My foster-brother bowed. ** We cannot meet
too soon," said he, coldly.

Then I pushed forward. *' 'Tis my affair,"
said I fiercely. ** My name is Charity, and charity
foully abused, as this gentleman will find, is even
a greater curse than a blessing."

But here the others interfered, and Captain
Phillipson was dragged from the room by a couple
of friends. I turned to my foster-brother and
repeated that it was my affair.

** Gentlemen," said he, " I appeal to you. Whose
affair is this ? "

" Faith ! " exclaimed a grizzled major, " you

36 JOHN CHARITY

have set your brand upon the captain, and he'll
do his best to return the compHment, or I don't
know the man."

" Jack," said Courtenay, " you shall act for me,
and, by God, if I fall you can try your luck."

As he spoke I caught Austin's eye, and marked
the expression upon his ugly face. My befogged
wits were clear in a jiffy. 'Twas he who had
wrought this evil.

" Courtenay," said I, " you will forgive me when
you learn my reason, but I cannot be your friend
now. Find another man."

He turned from me with a gesture of annoyance;
then he approached Austin.

** I must ask you, brother, to receive the
message that Phillipson must send. The honour
of the Valences is safe in your hands."

" Pray excuse me," murmured Austin coldly.
'* You acted hastily, and should apologise "

Courtenay stared at him in amazement and
laughed.

" Something more than skin and glass has been
cracked to-night," he said, " and no apology will
mend that Stracey," he spoke to our host, *' will
you refuse to help me ? "

*' Not I," said Stracey, taking his arm. " Come,
this is no place for you. Major, my friend and 1
may be found at the Black Swan opposite.
Perhaps you will so advise Captain Phillipson's
seconds. I wish you all good-night."

As the door closed upon Courtenay and our old
school-fellow, I came forward and spoke.

** Gentlemen, some of you know my cousin, and
you all know me. The villain who has tried to
stain the fair fame of the best and purest maiden
in the Itchen Valley stands thej-e^' and I pointed
to Austin Valence, "and my mark shall be placed
on him."

WESTWARD HO! 37

With that I caught him by the nose, a large
and amorphous nose that came to him from the
distaff side, held it firmly between thumb and
forefinger, and with my open right hand struck
him twice upon the cheek. Such honest powder
lay behind the blow that he spun round like a
teetotum, and dropped half-senseless to the
floor.

'* Major," said I, " a word with you down-
stairs."

" With pleasure," he replied, for he had no love
for Austin Valence, and we left the supper-room
arm-in-arm.

The meetings that followed have been described
elsewhere, for they brought about, indirectly, the
famous ordinance of 1844, that ukase of the Com-
mander-in-Chief which forbade, under severest
penalties, the practice of duelling in the British
Army, a practice, be it noted, that had the support
and approval of His Grace the Duke of Welling-
ton. We fought with pistols, at the same time
and place, a fact that lent the double event
notoriety. Fearing the interference of the police,
we met early, upon the morning following the
supper, on the Winchester Downs, hard by that
clump of trees known as Oliver Cromwell's
Battery. Courtenay heard from my lips that I
was about to meet his brother, and had no objec-
tions to offer. Indeed, from the major I learned the
whole truth, for that gallant officer was in posses-
sion of the garrison gossip, and Austin, so ne told
me, had sown his seed far and wide : most in-
discreetly, the major said, not taking into account
the fact that malice and hatred will whistle down
the wind the prudence and judgment of even a
Shylock. Moreover, Austin disproved the saying
that conscience makes cowards of us, for he faced

38 JOHN CHARITY

my pistol with a grim smile, and the determi-
nation, plain upon his face, to kill me if Fortune
stood his friend. While the prehminaries of our
affair were being arranged, and I was marvelling
at the great self-control and coolness displayed by
men when lives other than their own were at
stake (the major was in high good humour, and
Austin's second had a Roland pat in exchange for
an Oliver), Courtenay and Captain Phillipson
fired ; and soon after Stracey came running up
from the far side of the Battery with the welcome
news that Phillipson had been winged, that my
foster-brother was not touched, and that the
captain had apologised for his misdemeanour and
declared himself satisfied. I gripped the butt of
my pistol the firmer for this mtelligence, and
Austin's cheek — the one I had not slapped —
turned, I fancied, a pale saffron in hue, but this
may have been a trick of the sun, which rose at
that instant behind a reek of blue smoke.

Then I heard the major's jolly voice, crisp and
clear : '' Gentlemen, you will fire at the word
three. The man who reserves his fire, for even
the fraction of a second, will be held responsible
to me and to society."

I paid no attention to him, but fixed my glance
upon Austin. Frankly, I hoped to kill him, and
wished from the bottom of my heart that a sword
and not a pistol were in my hand.

" One ! " said the major, and I felt my muscles
tighten.

" Two ! " I caressed the trigger.

" Three!''

We fired together, and a bullet grazed my left
shoulder. Then I saw Austin stagger forward,
gripping his smoking pistol, and fall headlong.
The others, including the doctor, ran to his assist-
ance ; but I stood still, trembling and distraught

WESTWARD HO! 39

with anxiety. Now that my enemy lay prostrate
before me, I prayed that he was not dead, yet
I knew that my aim had been good, that my
bullet must lie near his heart. It seemed an
eternity before the major joined me, and said
gravely that my ball had passed through the left
lung.

" He has his gruel," said the major. ** It would
be wise for both of us to lie snug till the noise of
this affair has abated."

** Michaelmas Term begins on the Tenth," said I.

"Egad!" replied the veteran, "this morning's
work, my lad, has robbed you of your honours at
Oxford. Come, cheer up, it might be worse — ay ?
What if you were lying there ? "

So I hugged such comfort as his words sug-
gested to my bosom, and started hot foot for the
Abbey Farm. There I took my father aside and
told him what had passed. To my surprise, he
took the matter very coolly.

" Jack," said he, " thou art not the stuff they
make bookworms out of, and I am right glad you
struck a stout blow^ in defence of the little lass.
The villain hath his deserts, I'll warrant. And
now, my lad, as the major says, thou must lie
snug, rack thy duds and be off to Southampton,
and there take the first ship sailing to foreign

Earts. I can give thee money, for, as luck would
ave it, I have here a draft on Baring's for two
hundred pounds, the price of my fat steers, and I
can spare all of it to a good son. And now, as
time presses — be off. Kiss thy mother and the
little lass, and leave all further speech to me."

I told him briefly that I had a friend in need in
old Mark Jaynes, and that the Californias might
prove my destination. My father whistled, but
made no objections, and promised to send me
word of Austin before the barque sailed. I had

40 JOHN CHARITY

seen Courtenay for a minute, and he told me that
as soon as a lodging was found for Austin he
would join me in Southampton. Although we
had spoken of Alta California, he had said nothing
of accompanying me, yet I feared that he would
find a sorry welcome at the Court, and an oak
door, may be, slammed in his face. The Dean,
too, if he heard of the duel, would not suffer him
to return to Christ Church.

Although two hundred pounds was a sum
larger than my necessities, 1 was forced to accept
it for the present, for the draft, like the babe of
the woman who appealed to Solomon, could not
be divided. I reflected also that my father was
well-to-do, and would surely be offended if I
refused his gift. Perhaps my mother marvelled
at the kisses I pressed upon her comely face, but
she and Lettice were busy in the making of crab-
apple jelly, and both bade me good-temperedly
begone. Twas indeed a blessed dispensation, for
I have no stomach for partings, and had those
two fond creatures suspected the truth, I had got
a surfeit of grief; and my heart was heavy enough,
you may take your oath, without being freighted
with women's tears.

The comical part of the story was my reception
by Mark Jaynes, and the bloodthirsty delight he
took in the recital of my woes, for woes indeed
they were to me, and I counted myself as sorely
wounded as Austin Valence. I have not spoken
of my college career, but it was not without
promise, and I had learned to love ih^ pulverem
Olympicum, the dust of competition that lies thick
in the schools, choking the many and stimulating
the few. And now the bays within my grasp had
withered.

" Killed a man," exclaimed old Mark, slapping
his thigh ; " d'ye call him a man, a puppy that

WESTWARD HO! 41

'twere flattery to call a dog ? Cheer up, my bully
boy, and believe me that this parsons' gabble about
the sancity of human life is only fit to stuff a goose
with — green sauce, Jack, to one who hath fought
under Lord Nelson. Do I sleep the less soundly
because I've slit many a Frenchman's throat?
Not I, my lad," and he stretched out his long,
sinewy arms and laughed hoarsely.

"And the honours the scholars prate of and
prize ! What are they, Jack ? Spume of the sea !
Spume of the sea ! w hy, the applause of your
musty Dons would be no more to a sailor than
the humming of the wind in the ratlins. Your
hand, my lad, for you're a man now, and have
tasted blood."

I could not keep my face straight, for Mark
Jaynes, I knew, had a tender heart beneath his
rough pilot coat, and this Cambyses vein was
assumed as a token of sympathy. Finally, I
laughed myself into a happier humour, and dis-
cussed with better appetite plans for the future.
The captain, however, opined that Southampton
was no place to lie snug in — too near to Cranberry-
Orcas, a town infested ('twas his word) with
constables. The barque, he said, would not sail
for a week, for the cargo was not all aboard, and
meantime I might be arrested at any minute and
clapped into gaol. He painted the perils of the
moment in such vivid and startling colours, that
I presently agreed to slip aboard a lugger sailing
on the next tide for rlymouth. The captain
winked so furiously, when he spoke of the lugger
and the three men who sailed her, that I was led
to infer that the joint-owners of the boat were as
little anxious as 1 to linger long in Southampton.
He assured me that I would be perfectly safe in
their hands, and that he would pick me up a week
hence off a fishing village in Devonshire, and

42 JOHN CHARITY

would further charge himself with the purchase
of an outfit suitable for one in my condition.
Accordingly I placed my draft in his hands to be
cashed, and he provided me with a few sovereigns,
a suit of stout cloth, and a heavy cap such as
pilots use — a most effective, if not becoming,
disguise, or rather face-extinguisher, for it left no
features visible save the nose and upper lip.

We were to sail at midnight, and at nine by my
watch Courtenay Valence found Jaynes and me
at the tavern near the docks, where we had made
merry the day before. He told me at once that
Austin was like to die, and that a warrant was
out for my arrest. He had not seen Sir Marma-
duke, he added, but Captain Phillipson had
written the Baronet a very handsome letter, set-
ting forth the facts of the case, and placing the
blame, where it belonged, upon Austin, " but, I
fear," said Courtenay, *' that my father, who has
met the captain, does not hold him in the highest
esteem." l thought this so very probable that I
answered nothing, and my own affairs clamouring
for attention, we fell to discussing them, and for-
bore to speculate upon what Sir Marmaduke
would do or not do.

My leave-taking with my foster-brother affected
me deeply. His eyes were wet as he pressed
my hand at parting, and my own were not dry.
But he said not a word of taking passage to
California, and I felt that his heart was at Cran-
berrv-Orcas.

Where else could it have been ?

And yet I was not suffered to sail alone to a
foreign and distant land, for when, ten days later,
I stepped aboard the barque, and bade good-bye
to the owners of the lugger, who had sheltered
me faithfully when the whole South of England
was ringing with my name, and when Mark

WESTWARD HO! 43

Jaynes held out his hand in greeting, I could feel
in the magnetic pressure of that clasp and read in
his sly, sparkling eyes that something of extra-
ordinary interest had transpired. He stood by
my side till the lugger was a dozen cable-lengths
astern. Then he pinched my arm, and led me, as
home-sick a wretch as ever was driven from his
native shore, to the companion-way and down
into the main cabin, and there, with his arm
around her waist, stood Courtenay Valence and
— Lettice.

CHAPTER IV

ALTA CALIFORNIA

*' Jack," said my foster-brother, *' let me introduce
you to my wife."

At first I was so overwhelmed with surprise,
so delighted at the sight of their kind, eager
faces, that I had no words for them save those of
affection and congratulation. Letty was rather
pale, not being accustomed to the motion of a
ship, so, when the excitement had abated, she
went below, and then Courtenay told me at length
what had passed since he bade me adieu on
Southampton Water.

Sir Marmaduke, it seemed, had hastened to the
sick-bed of Austin, who was now like to recover,
though not entirely out of danger. Courtenay
added bitterly that the villain, so far from re-
penting of the evil he had wrought, had poured
such poison into his father's ears that he — Sir
Marmaduke — was fain to believe the shameful
stories about Letty, stories now circulating in
every pot-house within a ten-mile radius of
Cranberry-Orcas. An old rake — even one of
whom it was said that he protected women against
all men save himself— is quick to impute evil;
and although Courtenay pleaded poor Letty's
cause to the best of his ability — with indiscreet
passion, I doubt not — the Baronet merely smiled
cynically, and remarked that he had been young

ALTA CALIFORNIA 45

and foolish himself. Whereupon my foster-
brother lost both his wits and his temper, and
flew into such a fury that Sir Marmaauke not
only commanded him to hold his peace, but
further warned him, under the severest penalties,
not to set foot on the Abbey Farm. (Jourtenay
swore to me that he could find but one way to
silence the tongues of the gossips. He bought a
special licence, and with my parents' consent
married the woman he loved.

**And I thought of you. Jack," he added,
" setting sail alone for a land that few have heard
of And I told your father what Mark Jaynes
told us, about the opportunities that were as ripe
pippins on a tree ; and, by the Lord Harry, there
IS nothing to regret, old fellow. I have the best
wife and the staunchest friend that man ever
had, a heart full of hope, and a sack full of gold."

" A sack full of gold ? " I repeated, knowing the
habits of this youth. " Who gave you that ? "

*' My father," said Courtenay, the smile fading
from his face. " He sent me a thousand pounds
and this letter, which I will read you. I had a
mind to return both, but there was Lettice to
think of, and all our pockets needed lining."

Then he read aloud the following letter :

** Sir, — You will find enclosed my cheque in
your favour for one thousand pounds, all that
you may expect from me, living or dead. You
have flagrantly set my authority at defiance,- and
must accept the consequences. I send you this
money because I wish to assist you in leaving
England. The more miles you place between us
the better I shall be pleased. So far as I am
concerned, these are your funeral expenses.

" Faithfully yours,

" Marmaduke Valence."

46 JOHN CHARITY

The letter was sealed with the big seal that
always lay upon the Baronet's desk, and I noted
the different quarterings, including the Plan-
tagenet lions passant gardant, for Sir Marmaduke
claimed descent from John of Gaunt. Not a
spilled speck of wax betrayed haste or nervous-
ness ; the impression was as clean cut as Sir Mar-
maduke's aquiline nose ; the fine delicate hand-
writing was the outward and visible sign of a cold
and conscious determination. Many changes
might await Courtenay and me, but the man to
whom one of us owed his birth and breeding, and
the other his education, would die as he had
lived — heartless, inflexible, unforgiving.

Having noted the care exercised, I returned
the letter to my friend with a sigh.

*' Gad ! " said he ruefully, " I thought the sight
of us would warm the very cockles of your heart,
but you look as cold as this blue water."

** It beats me," I muttered, "how you obtained
my father's consent to your marriage."

" I've a tongue," he laughed in reply, ** and
know how to use it. Your mother stood my
friend."

His happiness and faith in the future put my
fears to flight. After all, I reflected, these great
matters of life and marriage and death lie beyond
comprehension and criticism. Yet my mind mis-
gave me when I thought of Lettice, a maid scarce
out of the schoolroom, ill-equipped to suffer
hardship, torn from my mother's arms, flung from
a warm nest before her pin-feathers were grown.
However, honest Mark consoled me. ** Cali-
fornia," said he, ** is no wilderness. The
Spaniards are a gentle, mirth-loving people. 'Tis
a land of meriendas (picnics) and sunshine. And
I'll warrant that this fair-faced, golden-haired
lady will be worshipped as a goddess. My

ALTA CALIFORNIA 47

friends at Monterey and Santa Barbara have
never seen the like."

" Surely there are some English women there ? "

" May be. I have not seen one. When we
land there will be staring eyes at the presidio and
beating hearts, for these Dons dearly love the
sight of a beauty." He chuckled and rubbed his
big hands together. " By God, she'll prove a
rare advertisement to me; for our goods, look
you, will be sold aboard."

As we paced the deck together (Courtenay had
gone below to his wife), the old fellow opened
his heart, which I have said before was of the
softest. He was close on sixty, yet he, too,
hoped to hold a bride in his arms, and this hope
made him wondrous kind to the lovers. The
cuddy was filled with delicacies, cordials, pre-
serves, tinned goods, and the like; forward,
beyond the cook's galley, were pigs, sheep, and
four big coops of chickens ; and aft the men had
rigged up an awning, beneath which were some
comfortable chairs and a table. I told the captain
that his vessel might have been a private yacht,
and he answered, proudly, that few yachts were
as well found as the Heron (that was the name of
the barque), and none, he added, could outsail
her on a long voyage. Courtenay, moreover,
had provided books, not forgetting some favour-
ites of mine, and he and Jaynes had bought me
an excellent outfit.

Lettice soon found her sea-legs. She and
Courtenay were perfectly happy and contented ;
for the first month aboard the Heron was a
honeymoon such as falls to the lot of few. We
struck a spell of fine weather on leaving the
English Channel ; the wind was abeam, and our
gallant ship slid through the roaring forties at a
pace that amazed even the skipper. Both he and

48 JOHN CHARITY

the mate opined that our luck was too good to
last, but after crossing the Equator we caught the
S.E. trade, and sped merrily on to Rio, our first
stopping-place. By this time the three of us
knew the names of every article aboard, from the
truck to the false-keel. Knots were no longer
knots to us ; we could splice a rope, build up
sennit, take an observation, and talk knowingly
about currents. After leaving Rio we encountered
head winds, and old Jaynes refused to risk the
passage through the Straits of Magellan (now the
common route, but then much to be dreaded
unless sailing from the Pacific to the Atlantic).
Instead, we made the Straits of Le Maire, and
passed through in safety, although the weather
was of the dirtiest and our decks so wet that for
more than forty-eight hours we dared not venture
outside the cuddy. We met more than one ice-
berg, but (advised of its proximity by the falling
of the mercury in the ship's thermometer) were
enabled to steer clear. Jaynes told me that he
feared ice as he did the devil, and it seems that in
these latitudes vagabond bergs have sent more
men to Davy's locker than wind and sea together ;
and wind and sea together off Cape Horn can
make mountains in five minutes out of molehills.
We got well to windward before turning north,
and were fortunate enough to find once more the
S.E. trade, our best friend, and also the ocean
current that sets in the same direction. Indeed
the Pacific spread beneath our keel the bluest
and smoothest carpet in the world. There is
something indescribably enchanting about these
summer seas. The lazy, leisurely roll of the ship,
the soft, balmy breezes, the sense of isolation and
distance, the vague, opalescent mists that steal so
often and so noiselessly across the waters — these
weave a spell that broods for ever in the memory.

ALTA CALIFORNIA 49

One day Courtenay, who was active as a cat,
made a wager with the bo'sun that he would
climb to the main-truck, and despite my remon-
strance essayed what is held to be no easy feat
for a land-lubber. As he was swarming up the
bare pole, Lettice appeared on deck and became
distraught with anxiety. The poor girl clutched
my arm, and 'twas then, I think, that I realised
the great love she bore her husband. What
danger there was passed in a moment, and by the
time Courtenay had regained the ratlins her fears
had turned to anger, and she upbraided me
bitterly for permitting such folly, as if I indeed
were folly's keeper. Old Mark mixed a bowl of
punch in honour of the occasion, but not a drop
would Mistress Valence swallow till Courtenay
had sworn upon her lips a promise to keep nearer
earth. " 'Tis not alone your neck that you risk,
but my heart," she said with a tearful smile.

"Dearest," he replied, "you are right. I thought
to get nearer heaven, but my heaven is here " —
and he kissed her again.

Presently they wandered aft ; and old Jaynes
winked his blood-shot left eye and smacked his
lips.

" You and I, my lad," said this ancient sinner,
" will find our heaven, and soon^ I'll warrant ! By
God, sir, a man without a wife is a sheer hulk
adrift in a stormy sea. There is that rogue, Ben
Buston ; within six weeks we shall clap eyes on
his senora and the red-headed brats. Ben and I
were shipmates aboard one of the finest frigates
in His Majesty's Navy ; but Ben lies at anchor
now, and this is my last voyage."

I will frankly confess that at this time I was in
no mood to talk of love, being somewhat soured,
and — knowing nothing of women — somewhat dis-
gusted with the humours of the fair. It seemed

50 JOHN CHARITY

to me, I remember, a monstrous thing that I
should be blamed by Letty for her husband's
folly. Truly, I had much to learn !

We touched at Valparaiso for fresh water, meat,
and vegetables. Here, in Chili's principal port, I
was made aware of the extraordinary effect of
Letty's blonde beauty upon men who had seen
brunettes alone. As we walked the streets we
were fairly mobbed, though the Latin race, I
confess, is politer than the Anglo-Saxon — and the
black-a-vised Chilenos were most careful not to
hustle us nor to impede our progress. But the
admiring glances that fell upon Letty's golden
curls were not to be misinterpreted ; and the
little baggage, you may be sure, missed none of
them.

''I told you, Jack," said old Mark, ''that she
would drive them crazy. These Dons have a
pretty taste in women, and this one has set 'em
afire.^'

I could not contradict him, and was not sorry
to find the stout planks of the Heron beneath my
feet, and to see the lovely bay of Valparaiso
fading astern. I reflected that a madder business
than bringing this pretty firebrand from our cool
northern country into these tropical latitudes had
never been undertaken by sane men. Courtenay
joked about it, and said that my solemn face
would extinguish an auto-da-fe; the hour was not
far distant when he looked graver than I.

The truth is that if Lettice was a pretty girl when
she left Cranberry-Orcas, she was now a beautiful
woman — quite another matter. Love and ozone
had lent magic tints to eyes and cheeks, seducing
curves to limbs and bosom. The Latin maidens
are very lovely when young, and the most
accomplished coquettes under high heaven ; but
they are creatures of the night, daughters of the

ALTA CALIFORNIA 51

moon and stars, whereas Letty was a true child
of the sun.

At Acapulco we took aboard a passenger, a
very honourable caballero, a Government official,
as sly a looking fellow as I ever saw. From him
we learned that, in 1836, Alvarado had proclaimed
Alta California an independent state (this, of
course, in defiance of presidential authority in
Mexico), and after a bloodless revolution, had
invested himself with the powers of a dictator.
Later, perceiving that the country could not
possibly maintain its independence, he had sent
despatches to President Bustamente, submitting
his allegiance, and demanding recognition as
El Gobernador Constitutionel de Alta California.
Meantime Carlos Carrillo, the most powerful man
in Southern California, had been appointed
Governor in place of Alvarado. Civil war, in a
word, was impending, for Alvarado refused to
recognise Carrillo as chief executive.

Our passenger, Don Miguel Soto (Fm ready to
swear that he had no more right than I to the
ducal name of Soto), was kind enough to assure
me of his everlasting friendship and anxiety to
place all he had ('twas precious little) at my dis-
position. As this fellow will figure in these
memoirs I make no apology for describing him at
length. You may picture to yourself a tall and
graceful man, clad in an absurd green and yellow
uniform, almost covered by a large black cape.
He was of a pale complexion that contrasted
queerly with a pair of bristling blue-black
moustachios, and blue-black brows overhung two
eyes that proclaimed this apocryphal Don's kin-
ship with the red race, for the irids were tawny
as a wild cat's, and encircled with a peculiar
glaucous-coloured ring. Pendent from these
gems, for gems they were in lustre and corusca-

52 JOHN CHARITY

tion, was a long, thin, pointed nose. For the rest,
he was handsome in his way, and — as we learned
later — a remarkable horseman. The Don knew
no word of English, and was ignorant upon all
matters not directly connected with himself. The
sun rose and set for him on the Pacific Slope. I
discovered this — for he was too clever to be
easily caught — by accident. One afternoon, as
we were talking together, he showed me a sword
of which he was inordinately proud, and as he

Eulled it from the scabbard assured me that it
ad been for more than a century in the possession
of the Sotos ; that it had been forged and tempered
in Toledo, and so on and so forth, calling the
Blessed Virgin and all the saints to attest what
proved a farrago of lies. For, examining carefully
this heirloom, I found upon the blade a tell-tale
name — ** Philadelphia."

** That word," said Don Miguel airily, " I cannot
translate. If the senor, who is, doubtless, a

scholar, will interpret " he bowed and smirked,

and for my life I couldn't help smiling.

** It means brotherly love," I replied. ** A
curious word to engrave upon a sword. There
is a city of that name in the United States."

The friend of Alvarado pulled his moustachios.

** Is there ? " he muttered. " I assure you, seilor,
I have never heard of such a town. It is possible
that this village you mention — ah ! city you say —
yes, this city, then, was named after my sword
here, which has been, as I have told you, in the
possession of the Sotos for so many generations."

I had wit enough: to hide my dislike of this
hidalgo, but Lettice refused to play the hypocrite,
and the repugnance with whicn she received his
compliments and flatteries provoked dreadful
scowls from the cavalier ; indeed, he protested to
me, with many oaths, that woman had never so

ALTA CALIFORNIA 53

used him before. Nothing pleased him better
than to boast of his bonnes fortunes', few ladies,
according to him, were proof against the assaults
of Don Miguel Maria Soto.

Since, I have wondered what our fortunes
might have been had Letty concealed her dislike
of this man. I cannot doubt that he hated her,
and that his hatred proved a Pandora's box
of troubles. To my surprise and annoyance,
Courtenay fell an easy prey to the Don's flattery,
and each day they walked and talked together,
notwithstanding my remonstrance.

'' He is false as Judas," said I to my foster-
brother.

" Pooh, pooh," he laughed. " He has promised
to be our friend at court."

" At which court ? " I asked ; for 'twas plain that
we had come to California in troublous times.

" I fancy he favours the South," said Courtenay;
" but depend upon it he will trim his sails to the
strongest wind, and he has as good as told me
that our future shall be his care."

''Words are cheap," I retorted hotly. "And,
mark you, Courtenay, with a wife aboard, you
had better steer clear of such craft. He carries
the black flag, or I do him a grievous wrong."

My foster-brother smiled amiably.

"Dear little Letty," said he. "Do you know.
Jack, she is really jealous because I walk with
the Don."

I had noted this already, and had tried to
console the pretty creature — quite in vain. I had
now but a brother's affection for her. 'Tis a
drastic remedy, but let a love-sick swain accom-
pany a successful rival and his wife around the
Horn, and I'll warrant that his wound will be
healed before he passes the Golden Gate. None
the less, a scar remains.

54 JOHN CHARITY

'' She is yours to make or mar," I rejoined ; and
he smiled again with the conceit of youth.

We did not touch at either San Diego or Los
Angeles, but steered straight for the Pacific
capital, hugging the coast. The Santa Lucia.y
Mountains fringed the eastern horizon, and tpe
foothills were aglow with colour after abundant
rains. It seemed to our sea-weary eyes a paradise
of peace and plenty, well watered, for every
ravine had its rivulet, thickly wooded and covered
with rich grasses and wild flowers — poppies, the
yellowest in the world, lupine imperially purple,
and wild lilac. When the land breeze filled our
sails, the perfume of the sage and other aromatic
herbs floated across the shimmering waters, and
the nights were so balmy that from choice I slept
on deck.

Upon the morning of February 15th we passed
the old mission of Santa Cruz, from which the
bells were ringing for matins, and shortly after
were lying snugly, with all sails furled, off
Monterey. I cannot say that the first sight of the
capital was inspiring. The place is finely situated,
but the Don confessed that it had made no
progress to brag of in five-and-twenty years. He
pointed out to me the castle, a whitewashed
adobe fort crowning a hill, the plaza, and some of
the better houses belonging to his friends. These
were all built of adobe and roofed with bright
red tiles, and the only building worth looking at
was the Presidio Church, with its handsome
tower. Almost immediately the Custom House
barge came alongside, and the Don, Jaynes, and
I went ashore, leaving Lettice with her husband.
I carried with me my passport that I had procured
before I went to Spain, CJourtenay's passport for
himself and wife, and some other papers. After

ALTA CALIFORNIA 55

some formalities had been observed we were
received by Alvarado, and courteously treated by
him and his staff. The Governor proved to be a
handsome man — tall, finely formed, with black
curly hair, an aquiline nose, white teeth, olive
complexion, and charming manners. He made
himself particularly civil to old Mark, and compli-
mented me upon my Castilian accent. Then,
after promising to pay his respects to Letty,
whom Soto had described to those present as a
dona of surpassing loveliness, he retired, and we
were free to exchange greetings with the British
and American residents.

To cut a tedious story short, the Custom House
chief agreed with Jaynes, on receipt of a lump
sum down, that our cargo should be sold from
the ship both here and at Santa Barbara, and the
sum paid, so Jaynes told me, was much less than
he had anticipated. Our pleasure at this good
fortune was somewhat dampened, however, by a
talk with Thomas Larkin, an American, who was
in the confidence of His Excellency. We learned
from him also that Carrillo had assumed the
purple in the south, and that both parties were at
daggers-drawn, although as yet no blood had
been shed.

** Alvarado needs friends," said Mr. Larkin,
with a significant glance at Jaynes, '* and to that
fact you can lay the warmth of your reception."

" He needs the blunt, too," replied old Mark,
with his wicked wink, for the port dues and
duties had been largely commuted in His
Excellency's interests ; ** but we want land, Tom,
and plenty of the best in California."

" Ah," said the Bostonian, *' that, gentlemen, is
not his to give — ^yet."

CHAPTER V

MAGDALENA ESTRADA

The days that followed were filled with sunshine
and laughter ; with meriendas^ horse-racing, bull-
fights, and bowls (Thomas Larkin had an ex-
cellent alley); with much eating of spiced dishes;
much drinking of strong waters. In early days,
ora et lahora (work and pray) had been the motto
of the padres ; and before the secularisation of
the missions none disputed their sovereign
authority, but now 'twas play and pray, and more
of the former than of the latter. We were given
the freedom of Monterey, and the best people
vied with each other in entertainment of the
Ingleses.

At the ball given by Alvarado in our honour
Madame Letty wore ner wedding dress, and a
diamond star, the gift of that spendthrift Cour-
tenay, blazed in her golden hair. The gown was
of satin, and the Dons said that surely she had
dropped from heaven. These good Catholics
were, to a man, only too ready to bow the knee
and worship this fair divinity from over-seas.

" She is white as milk," I heard the wife of an
alferez say. ** Virgen Santisima ! She has a look
of the Madonna."

On this occasion I first met Magdalena Estrada.
The Governor introduced me to the seflorita, but

MAGDALENA ESTRADA 57

I had already learned from Soto that she was the
only child of a Spaniard of degree, that she was be-
trothed to a wealthy Mexican, and that the famous
Rancho Santa Margarita (which had belonged to
her dead mother) was a portion of her dowry.
She had just passed her seventeenth birthday,
and was esteemed by the caballeros a wit and a
beauty, fairer of skin than most of the Monterey-
enas, and nimbler of tongue. But what capti-
vated my fancy was the splendour of her eyes
and the pensive, pathetic droop of her mouth.
Before she spoke to me I was sensible of a thrill,
a bitter-sweet pang, a premonition, may be, of
pain and pleasure. She seemed different from
other maidens. In Letty I had admired and loved
simplicity, purity, innocence; but in Magdalena
something far more subtle appealed to me. And
the charm was allusive, cunningly compounded
of speech and silence, of mirth and melancholy.
For her silence was more eloquent than speech,
and tears lurked in her laughter. When she
wept — this I discovered later — she would often
pause to smile, and the witchery and pitifulness
of these smiles would make my own eyes wet.
Now that I am old I see that she was a true type
of her race, a child of to-morrow, in that she re-
pudiated the troubles of to-day, and a daughter
of yesterday, in that the glory and beauty ot her
was of the past rather than the present.

And sitting with her in the long, low sala, I
could not but be aware that the dominant note of
the function was also of yesterday. The furni-
ture, though handsome, was antique, the costumes
were beautiful, but I marked on more than one
jaqueta the ravages of moths.

" Ah ! " said Magdalena, when I praised the
silks and satins and brocades, '' they are lovely,
yes, but old. Ay de mi I old and almost worn

58 JOHN CHARITY

out. Do you know, I prefer your sober colours.
Look at that man there. All he has is on his
back. He has gambled away everything except
his grandfather's clothes,"

I marked the buck with interest. He wore a
jacket of green satin with Mexican pesetas for
buttons, his waistcoat was of lemon-coloured
brocade with gold buttons, the breeches of red
velvet, the boots fashioned out of buckskin,
bound below the knee with green silk ribbons,
and embellished further with tassels from which
hung little figures of cats and dogs made of glass
beads. His mantle was of sky-blue cloth with a
red lining, gallooned with silver and fringed.
Would that D'Orsay could have seen him ! He
wore his hair in three long braids, but Alvarado
and the Dons of quality cut their hair after the
European fashion. Some of the young men,
however, notably those they called soldados dis-
tingtiidos, had let their forelocks grow. This
fasnion ^2ls peinado defuria.

" He is not beggared yet," I remarked.

*' And he has his grandfather s ideas, too," con-
tinued Magdalena, in her soft voice. '' He was a
Spaniard, but the grandmother, alas ! was an
Indita, and when the fine clothes are staked and
lost at monte, he will be all Indian again. Que
lastima!^'

Then she fell to praising Letty's colouring, not
forgetting, perhaps — for the witch was cunning —
her own eyes and hair.

'* We must all look like Indios to you, se;flor,"
she whispered, with a laugh that belied the
words.

" If I should tell you, seflorita, how you look to
me^ your cheeks, I'll warrant, would grow redder
than my cousin's."

She laughed. " I was warned to beware of

MAGDALENA ESTRADA 59

you. Ay de mi ! You are a heretic, senor," and
she sighed sweetly.

"Ay," said I, ''and I burn already."
" Our sun has kissed your cheeks."
" Not a Californian son," said I in English, for
Soto had told me that she had studied our
tongue, " but a Californian daughter has wrought
the mischief."

" I don't understand," she answered, but she
blushed and turned aside her graceful head.
"Tell me, did a Castellana teach you to make
nice speeches ? "

" Perhaps," said I. " I have travelled in Castile,

senorita, and the ladies of Spain are "

" Yes ," she murmured, pouting, " they are

the handsomest in the world, you would say."
" The handsomest in the old world, senorita."
As we chatted, the contra-danza, in which we
took no part, was being danced. Curiously
enough, the young women remained seated, while
the elders — I saw grandmothers on the floor —
stood up in two rows, the men facing the women,
as we do at home in Sir Roger de Coverley.
The music was of the tempo 01 a waltz and the
figures were intricate. His Excellency had com-
manded several pastoral dances : lajota^ la bamba^
a most comical performance, wherein the danseuse
placed on her head a glass of water, and then
proceeded to pick up handkerchiefs without a
drop being spilled, el oorrego^ a sort ofpantomime,
and, of course, el son. Magdalena Estrada was
not called out, obviously at her own desire. The
tecolero, or master of ceremonies, approached her
twice ; each time she rose, gave him her small
hand, and was then by him turned and reseated.

In a few minutes she dismissed me, but not till
I had obtained the promise of a waltz^, for she
told me that after supper the waltzing would

6o JOHN CHARITY

begin, and that the ladies of quahty would dance.
I made my best bow at parting, and thanked her
for the pleasure she had given me.

*' Pleasure ! " echoed this shameless coquette ;
" what pleasure have I given to the seftor ? "

" Pleasure and pain are yours to give," I
murmured. *' Pleasure comes first, but pain may
follow."

*' Pain," she whispered, and her voice broke for
an instant, "is the common lot, seftor; but no
pain, I hope, will come to you from me."

As I strolled away Soto touched my arm, and
led me outside.

" Tate, tate ! Have a care," said he lightly.
" Forbidden fruit, you know, Don Juan, is "

" Where is her lover ? " I demanded. ** Why is
he not here? I should like to see him."

" He is good to look at," said the comisionadoy
twirling his black moustachios with an ineffable
air, " and rich, ay, rich ; and mi amigo, Narciso
Estrada, the father of Magdalena, loves gold.
Not a word, you understand. Dios ! but the
daughter is beautiful."

We drank her health in His Excellency's
Madeira, and as we were draining our glasses I
marked a big man in a friar's habit, a genuine
Friar Tuck.

" Who is that?" said I, nudging Miguel Maria.

* A friend," replied Soto (truly his friends were
legion). " You must know him. Hola ! Padre
Quijas, what angel has sent you to Monterey? "

" No angel," replied the good father, coming
forward, with a smile upon his jolly face, " but el
Comandante^^ and I knew that he was speaking
of Vallejo.

My companion kissed the padre's hand, in
mockery of^ course, for that fashion had departed,
and inquired tenderly concerning the health of

MAGDALENA ESTRADA 6i

what seemed to me the most robust person I had
met in Alta California. Old Mark joined us ; he
had been dancing, and was very warm and very
loquacious, indeed indiscreetly so.

** And what does Vallejo say, Padre Jose ? "

The father shrugged his mighty shoulders.
" He says that he is neither centralist, federalist,
nor monarchist, but a ranchero."

** Jealous of Juanito, his beloved nephew —
hey?"

" Perhaps," replied the priest. " We all love
power."

" The country was happier and more prosperous
under the Mission rule," muttered Jaynes. *' I find
one hide now where four years ago there were
ten. 'Twill take me more than two years to get
a cargo."

" You can console yourself meanwhile with a
wife," said Miguel Soto. He laughed and left
us.

" D n his impudence ! " exclaimed old Mark.

" I hate these Mexicans. That fellow would luff
into a British frigate, and expect the admiral of
the fleet to give him leeway."

" Tell me," said I to the priest, *' do you know
a friend of Soto's, a Mexican, who came to
California with Gutierrez, and obtained a big
grant of land, and who "

" Is engaged to Magdalena Estrada," concluded
the padre, with a keen glance at me. " Yes, yes,
my son, I know him well. His name is Casta-
fieda, Santiago Castaneda, and the saintliness, i'
faith, lies only in his name."

At this our first meeting Quijas spoke mainly
of Vallejo and the troublous times. That the
padre loved the bottle was indisputable, but where
IS the man without a failing ? Quijas had virtues
that out-weighed his vice. Jaynes told me that

62 JOHN CHARITY

he had been a soldier, a brave and capable one,
but on account of a most unfortunate and romantic
love affair had been constrained to take orders.
He had the confidence of both Vallejo and
Alvarado, and was frequently employed by the
former to carry despatches from Sonoma, Vallejo's
stronghold in the north, to the capital. He cer-
tainly had a better understanding of these complex
Californian affairs than any man in the country,
with the one brilliant exception of Juan Bautista
Alvarado.

Looking back, I make no doubt that 'twas
Quijas who either consciously or unconsciously
was the cause of my drawing my sword on behalf
of the people of the north.

Supper was served at midnight. There was an
abundance of beef and chickens, tamales^ frijoles^
tortillas^ enchiladas, a very savoury dish, chiles
rellenos (stuffed peppers), dukes, or preserves,
some delicious sugared pastry, called aziicarillos,
and plenty of white wine, red wine, and aguardi-
ente. Lettice sat beside the Governor, and I found
myself next Magdalena, having had the honour of
leading her formally to the table. Before being
accorded this privilege, an introduction to her
father, Narciso Estrada, was indispensable. He
was a gaunt, tall, thin-lipped man, hook-nosed as
a buzzard, with piercing black eyes set close
together beneath grizzled brows. He begged me
to visit his rancho near San Luis Obispo.

" 'Tis a pity," said he slowly, " that my
daughter's future husband, Don Santiago, is
not here to meet you."

I bowed ceremoniously.

" He prefers Santa Barbara to Monterey,"
continued the Don, " and so do I."

At supper Courtenay sat near Magdalena and
me. He was in the highest spirits. Already his

MAGDALENA ESTRADA 63

charming manners had bewitched the half — I need
not mention which half — of those present. A
stout dona on my left confessed to me that her
heart still throbbed ardently in a body that must
have weighed close upon two hundred pounds.
" But I love him, senor; se Dios meperdona^ I love
him. Why did Juanito permit him to land ? Ayy
ay f He is beautiful, this Valencia. Ojala ! "

Nothing but a stuffed pepper sealed her lips,
and as she gobbled away t could hear her mutter-
ing to herself a thousand interjections.

" My Aunt Maria Luisa was once a beauty,"
whispered Magdalena to me. " She has charge
of me, you know, but really," and the rogue
laughed, " I think it will be my duty to play the
duena."

As the azucarillos were being served I spoke of
her wedding. She frowned.

" My wedding ! Tate I Quien sabe ? Perhaps
I shall die a nun, seflor."

" A good many men will have to die first," said
I. " A nun, you ! "

*' But truly," she persisted softly, and the lisping
Spanish was sweet as the azucarillos ; " truly,
senor, the peace and repose of a convent have
charm for me. Padre Quijas is of my opinion.
You know, he once loved a beautiful girl, and
consoled himself for her loss in the Zacatecas
College. He is a good man, senor, and I am
sorry for him."

''Are you sorry for all who are unfortunate in
love ? " I asked.

" Yes, senor, for all. It is surely the one thing
worth having ; and lost, what is left save the con-
solations of religion ? "

She spoke sympathetically, with her liquid eyes
gravely confronting me and a pathetic quiver upon
her lip.

64 JOHN CHARITY

" £)o you know what love is?" I whispered.
'' You are only seventeen — a child."

" Santisima ! A child ! Many marry at thir-
teen, sefior. I have seen girls of twelve with a
baby in their arms. I am no child. And as for
love — he he ! Perhaps I, a child " — I could see
that the word had affronted her — "I, who am
only seventeen, could teach you what love is,
and " — her voice broke for the second time that
evening — ** and, ay de mi ! what it is not."

I withheld the obvious and commonplace
answer.

** You are offended — no ? " she whispered shyly,
interpreting my silence amiss.

*' Not I, believe me. The truth is, I was
thinking of — of Senor Castaneda."

" I, too, am silent when I think of him," she
replied gravely ; and then we were interrupted by
Tia Maria Luisa.

** You eat nothing, nothing," she said to us in
mild remonstrance. "You talk, talk, talk all the
time. Dios ! But that is foolish. To talk, when
one can eat ! Huy ! " And she drew in her breath
sharply between two rows of pretty teeth. I
could see that in her youth this stout duena had
been more than comely, and I wondered whether
Magdalena would grow like her, and become
huge and greedy.

" Tate ! " whispered the witch. " My mother
was a Bandini, and I take after them. Tia Maria
is an Estrada."

" Can you read my thoughts, sefiorita ?"

** You have an honest face," she replied, smiling,
as she rose from the table. ** We are going to be
good friends, I am sure."

I danced with her twice after supper, and only
once with Lettice, who was besieged by the
caballeros. Master Courtenay, I noted, was greatly

MAGDALENA ESTRADA 65

struck by the charms of Magdalena, and when
they waltzed together — he so fair, she so dark,
both so graceful — a buzz of applause broke from
the company, and not a few clapped their hands.
It chanced that I was standing beside Alvarado,
and he turned to me, smiling.

" Mr. Valence," said he in English, " is a hand-
some man — too handsome, some of my friends
think," and he glanced amusedly at the scowling
face of the buck in green satin and red velvet.
His Excellency was dressed in a sober, dark
green frock, with white pantaloons, not calzoneras,
and he seemed to mark with silent approval my
own sober garments.

**You dance, sir?" said I.

He answered quietly, " As you see, my friend,
I am slightly lame — a touch of rheumatism. For
a Spaniard I dance badly."

"But you make the others dance — well?" I
ventured to add. I use the word " ventured "
advisedly, for Alvarado, though still a young
man, was not one with whom a stranger would
dare to be famihar. However, he smiled and
seemed pleased.

"Can I see you to-morrow?" he said curtly,
for he was no phrase-maker. '* To-morrow at
one? Yes? That is good. And now oblige
me by waltzing with that pretty girl yonder,
who looks so invitingly at you. Caramba I Blue
eyes are in demand to-night ! "

As I obeyed, I wondered vaguely what the
Governor would say to me on the morrow, and
reflected that it would be a pleasure to serve
this CaHfornian, who needed friends and could
pipe to their dancing. The times were indeed
troublous, as Padre Quijas said, but for my part
I was glad of it. Only when my mind dwelt
upon Lettice did I feel misgiving, and lament

66 JOHN CHARITY

vainly that she was not safe and snug at Cran-
berry-Orcas.

We danced till four, and then accompanied the
ladies to their houses. Returning to my lodging
at Thomas Larkin's, I espied a tumbled heap of
brown cloth leaning against an adobe wall, and
from the heap came a mellow voice, muttering,
so it seemed to me, some dog-Latin. It was
the good father.

*' Padre Quijas," said I, " let me assist you."

** The Lord hath sent you, my son," he replied
very soberly. " As you see, my head, which is
the best part of me, has not failed me, but my
legs are a disgrace to a Christian friar."

I lent him an arm, and escorted him to a quaint
little room near the Church of the Presidio. He
bubbled over with jests and anecdotes, and recited
some verses :

" O soberano liquor !
Nacido de verdes matas !
Tu me tumbas, tu me matas,
Y — al hombre mejor —
Haces andar a gatas ! "

Which, freely translated, means that too much
aguardiente will turn a priest into a beast.

The good father gave me his blessing before
I left him, and assured me solemnly that he had
nothing else to bestow.

" But," said he, *' to-morrow, my son, you will
see one who holds the future in the palm of his
hand — El Gobernador, Don Juan Bautista. And
I shall see him, too, I shall see him, too," he
repeated, wagging his handsome head. '' Good-
night, my son ! Sleep well — and dream of
Magdalena."

" Who is betrothed to another," I retorted.

" True, true," muttered the friar. " Madre de

MAGDALENA ESTRADA 67

Dios ! I had forgotten that. I forbid you, my
son, to dream of her. Good-night."

None the less, the lovely senorita came to me
in my sleep, and whispered in m}^ ear that she
hated Santiago Castaneda, and wished that he
were in heaven. I awoke with a start, and
somewhat of a headache.

The sun was high in the heavens — the first
quarter of a day destined to be marked by me
with red was already spent.

CHAPTER VI

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR — JUAN BAUTISTA
ALVARADO

His Excellency received me in a small room, very

Elainly furnished. In the centre of it stood a
andsome mahogany table ; upon this were an
inkstand, some paper and quill pens, and a rough
map of Alta California. The Governor offered
me a cigar, lit one himself — he was ever a great
smoker — waved me to a chair, sat down, and,
fixing his fine, rather melancholy eyes upon my
face, began to speak slowly in Spanish.

" My friend Larkin tells me that you want
land — a grant."

I bowed.

" 1 should be glad, senor, to give you and your
friends as many leagues as you please, for we
need just such people — how badly, perhaps I
alone know."

He paused as if embarrassed ; then he rose
from his chair. Later I discovered that Alvarado
could never express himself fluently when sitting.
A man of action, he loved to talk pacing up and
down, emphasising his periods with gestures.

" The Senora Valencia," he said abruptly, " is
extraordinarily beautiful, too beautiful."

I could not help smiling. Doubtless Alvarado
held with Thucydides that the less that is seen

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 69

and heard of a woman the better. I explained
to him that Courtenay owned a small interest in
the cargo of the Heron, and that, for the present,
he would accompany Jaynes upon his trips up
and down the coast.

''Jaynes sails for Santa Barbara within a few
days. It is certain that your friends go with
him ? "

" Quite certain, your Excellency."

He shrugged his shoulders. Then he said,
quietly : " My signature to a deed at this moment
might be called in question hereafter. Carlos
Carrillo is the Governor of Alta California to-
day."

*' But to-morrow, senor ?"

" To-morrow. Ah ! Manana — quien sabe ? "

" One may guess," said I.

'* Tut ! " said Alvarado, smiling. " Fortune is
fickle. See here, senor, you are a young man —
so am I ; neither of us can afford to make mis-
takes. I will be entirely frank with you, for you
are honest and can serve me — if you will ? I
expect Castro any minute. He was at San Jose
last night ; he will be here this morning. I have
just learned that nothing can prevent war. Castro
will march south at once, and I shall follow.
Meantime I must find a friend " — he emphasised
the word friend — "who will accompany Father
Quijas to my uncle's house at Sonoma, and confer
with him at length upon the situation. None
will suspect the nature of your mission. You
will bring me a message from my uncle — a verbal
message. You perceive, senor, that I trust you."

Now a minute before I had no intention of
pledging myself Yet his question demanded an
answer, and on that answer depended much, so
much, indeed, that an older and wiser man would
surely have hesitated. I was then (as now) a

70 JOHN CHARITY

hero-worshipper. So I replied boldly : ** Your
excellency can command me."

He eyed me keenly.

" Have you talked with Soto, sefior ? "

" He has talked to me," I replied.

" Ah ! he is a fox, a coyote. We have many
coyotes in Alta California."

At this moment Castro clanked into the room,
and was warmly greeted by the Governor. He
was considered at that time to be the handsomest
and strongest man north of Point Conception.
Lacking the breeding of Alvarado, he looked
every inch a soldier : a soldier of fortune, perhaps,
rough and ready, prepared to fight, drink, or
make love to a pretty woman at an instant's
notice. He was very tall, very broad, and very
dark. Beneath his curling black moustachios
were a pair of red sensual lips. The chin was
square and massive. The brows overhung large
finely-formed eyes. The neck was the neck of
a gladiator. He glanced at me somewhat super-
ciliously, but Alvarado introduced me and added
kindly : " You can speak freely. This gentleman
is my friend."

" Then he is the friend of Jose Castro. When
we have taught these dogs of abajenos a lesson
I shall be at your service, sefior. What news,
Bautista?"

" Estudillo has sent Pio Pico, with men and
ammunition, from San Diego to Los Angeles."

Castro's great laugh rang out.

" Pio Pico ! Ah^ que necio ! "

Then he turned to me famiharly and took my
arm.

" Caballero," he said, still laughing immoder-
ately, *' I must tell you a story about Pio Pico.
It was when he was head of the Diputacion "

" Jos6," said Alvarado, in a tone that enforced

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 71

obedience, " no stories, please ; another time, not
now. Tell me, when can you march for the
South?"

" In half-an-hour, if the Senor Gobernador com-
mands."

" We must wait a little — till we hear from
uncle " — he always spoke of Vallejo as uncle ;
Carrillo was his cousin. " When will it be con-
venient for you, senor, to leave Monterey ? "

*' In half-an-hour," said I, repeating Castro's
words, ''if the Senor Gobernador commands."

Castro laughed again.

" Dios ! You have faithful servants."

" I have friends — and enemies," replied Alvarado
thoughtfully. ' ' To-morrow, senor, you and Father
Quijas will take the road."

I bowed, and turned to leave.

" Santiago Castaneda is here," said Castro
carelessly. " His cousin Juan will occupy San
Buenaventura " (one of the southern ports).
" Can we depend on Santiago ? "

Alvarado's deep voice reached my ears as I
walked down the corridor : " His ranchos are in
the north, and Magdalena is here."

At the mention of the girl's name my heart
began to beat. Already, before I had clapped
eyes on him, I hated the Mexican. However, for
the moment I was concerned with other matters.
Why had Alvarado chosen me — a stranger — as
the bearer of despatches? Vanity furnished an
obvious, but not an adequate reason. Why,
too, had he concerned himself with Letty's de-
parture ?

I confess that these questions troubled me but
little. At last I had found a captain under whose
banner I was eager to serve, and the services he
might require of me whetted no apprehension.
So I whistled as I crossed the Plaza with its half-

72 JOHN CHARITY

dozen cannons mounted on rotting carriages, and
the tune that I whistled was " Malbrouk s'en va
t'en guerre."

Both Letty and Courtenay — who were lodging
not far from the Presidio — eyed me queerly when
I told them that I was about to take the northern
road. Courtenay laughed, and said, with mean-
ing, that he was glad to hear it. Presently he
left the room, and then Letty spoke nervously :
" Dear John, you won't take any words of mine
amiss ? "

" Good Lord," said I, " what have I done?"

" Nothing— yet."

The pretty creature was blushing, and my own
cheeks were redder than usual.

" You were never a flirt, John."

** No," said I, rather sourly.

" And you are not going to begin now, are
you ? "

Was she jealous ? I asked myself. Who can
fathom a woman's heart ? I confess that my
cheeks were red with anger, not with confusion.
What right had she and Courtenay to indict me ?

" I don't like Magdalena Estrada," she continued
nervously. " She is engaged to marry another
man, and yet last night 'twas plain that she had
eyes only Tor you."

*' Because the other was not there," I retorted.

" If you really thought that was the reason, you
wouldn't give it."

This shaft hit the white.

" You are right. She cares nothing for the
Mexican."

" Ah ! " she sighed, " do not be angry with me,
dear John."

" I should think," said I hotly, " that her con-
dition would appeal to you ; the child is being

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 73

forced through political reasons into a detestable
marriage."

'* Detestable ? I hear that her lover is charm-
ing."

" Many women have thought so, but not
Magdalena."

" 1 have put your back up, John. Yet I spoke
in your interest. Forgive me. Here is Courtenay."

My foster-brother asked for details concerning
my interview with Alvarado, and his eye sparkled
when I said that war had been practically de-
clared.

** Egad ! " said he ; *' I should like to take a hand
in this quarrel myself."

" No, no ! " cried timid Letty.

I told the hot head that I had reason to believe
that His Excellency would be in a position to
grant us many leagues of good land before the
year was out.

" I'm not so sure of that," he replied. " He
may not have more than six cubic feet of his own
twelve months hence."

This speech was not to my liking, but I said
nothing, and presently we walked together to a
picnic, where I found Tia Maria Luisa, and by her
side the fascinating niece. The aunt pointed out
to me a dashing horseman, who was about to
engage in the " colear," the tailing of a bull, and
before she whispered his name instinct told me
that I was looking upon Santiago Castaneda.
He had a fine figure and a comely face, and he
rode as only those who are cradled in the saddle
can ride. We sat outside a large stone corral.
In the centre of it was a young bull ; at opposite
sides were Soto and Castaneda. Don Miguel, I
noted, anxious to distinguish himself in the eyes
of the Montereyenas, was playing pranks that
aroused hoarse cries of admiration from the

74 JOHN CHARITY

crowd of Indians and Mestizos. He vaulted on
and off his horse, a big sorrel gelding, or he
would lean out of the saddle as he galloped
round the corral, picking up handfuls of dust
that he flung into the faces of the brown-skinned
boys upon the top of the wall. Magdalena's
lovely eyes were sparkling.

" Ay" she murmured. *' He is a caballero in-
deed."

Just then, at a word from Alvarado, who was
riding with Narciso Estrada, two panels of the
big gate were taken down, leaving an opening
wide enough to permit the passage of the bull and
the two horsemen. The rules of the game for-
bade either man to reach for the tail till abreast
of the opening, and the bull must be thrown
within sixty feet of the corral. When the bull
saw the pastures beyond it bolted, tail up, for
liberty and a meal, and the men raced after it, one
on each side : positions previously determined —
so Magdalena informed me — by the drawing of
straws. Soto, drawing the shorter straw, was on
the right of the bull, and therefore at a dis-
advantage, being constrained to tail the bull with
his left hand. The opening was so small that it
seemed to us a miracle that the three got through
without a smash ; but as they shot out of the
dust of the ring into the clearer atmosphere
beyond, 'twas seen that Soto had the tail, with
a twist of the wrist he placed it beneath his left
knee. Then, slightly turning his horse, he threw
the big beast, and in a second was afoot beside it,
the pella, a piece of soft, raw hide some seven feet
long, in hand. With incredible deftness he bound
the bull's legs so that it could not rise, and as he
bowed to the crowd, a la espada, a hoarse shout
broke from every Latin throat, and you may be
sure that the Anglo-Saxons were not dumb.

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 75

" Virgen Santisima I " exclaimed Magdalena.
She was watching Castaneda, who, because he
had failed, was ill-treating his horse ; jerking its
bleeding mouth with the monstrous bit that
Spaniards use, and spurring it cruelly upon flanks
and shoulders. I watched her curiously, knowing
that cruelty to animals is not an unpardonable
sin in the opinion of Latin women. Then her
glance met mine, and her lips quivered with
feeling. Was it pity for the norse or for her-
self?

When the Mexican joined us a few minutes
later, Magdalena received him but coldly, and my
own face was sour as I bowed in reply to his
greeting. I marked his thin curling lips, his
harsh and metallic laugh, the laugh of the man
who laughs at 'and not with his friends. Mean-
time, Letty, as usual, was the centre of a crowd
of Montereyenas, and I could see Castafieda's
quick upward twist of the eyebrows when his
glance rested upon her fair face. Then the blood
rushed into his pale cheeks.

" Who is that ? " he asked abruptly. " Dios I
*Tis the Englishwoman of whom they rave."

So speaking, without a word of courtesy to
either Magdalena or me, he turned his back upon
us, and walked straight into the middle of the
group. I saw him touch the arm of a dandy
in green and silver ; the chatter died down :
Castaneda advanced ; the introduction was made ;
the customary phrase followed : *' At your feet,
senora."

The words have ordinarily no significance.
And yet there lay behind them an impassioned
avowal. The men lounging near exchanged
smiles. Magdalena laughed.

'* You look so fierce, sefior," she whispered.

" A thousand pardons."

ye JOHN CHARITY

** Nay — it becomes you," she answered, smil-
ing. .

** 1 go north to-morrow," I said abruptly.

It seemed to me that a shadow flitted into her
expressive eyes.

" Ojala ! you are plotting too — no ? senor. I
ask you to betray no confidence. Of course you
go to the comandante. Well, I — I wish that I
were riding with you."

"I wish to Heaven you were," I replied
fervently.

"We will take care of your friends, but they
are so popular already "

She shrugged her shoulders as I explained that
the Heron was about to weigh anchor for Santa
Barbara, and raised her arched brows with a
comical side glance at Master Courtenay.

Truly that youth, who had seen no ladies save
his wife for nearly five months, was making up
for lost time. I wondered vaguely if Lettice were
jealous. Courtenay's face was so expressive, and
he could turn a compliment so glibly, that my
mind misgave me. I saw that his wife's eyes
wxre a-sparkle as she listened to the exuberant
nonsense of Castafteda, and that her brows con-
tracted when she glanced at her debonair hus-
band. Her cheeks, too, glowed with a deeper
colour than the occasion warranted.

"They are all her slaves," said Magdalena.

" Yes," said I, with a shameless lack of tact,
and — may be — a sigh. My pretty companion
eyed me sharply.

" You envy her husband — no ? "

This insinuating " no " was accompanied by a
sly droop of the eyelids. And I fear I blushed,
for Magdalena laughed very softly.

''Ay de mi! You are one of the unfor-
tunates ? "

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 77

" Not I, senorita. I envy no man when I am
sitting beside you."

" You say so. Ah, but "

This Spanish trick of completing a sentence
with the eyes has amazing witchery.

" I say it, and I mean it, dear senorita."

Lest the reader should accuse me of inveracity, I
hasten to add that I did mean it. The child, for
so I regarded her, had excited in me the warmest
interest and pity.

Magdalena blushed beneath my eyes, and
looked uneasily at Castaneda.

*' Ojala I " she murmured. " You are much too
bold."

Possibly others thought so too, for the good
aunt played the duena, and not another word
save '' adios " did I exchange with Magdalena.
Presently I took my leave and hunted up Quijas,
who was busy with preparations for our journey.
He begged me to leave everything to him, and
showed me a huge saddle and accoutrements set
aside for my use. One of the officers gave me a
cuera de gamuza^ a sort of sack coat made of many
thicknesses of antelope's skin, thick enough to
turn a sabre cut, and some armitas, which covered
the thighs and were quite waterproof. A cavalry
soldier's carbine was offered me, but I refused it,
saying that my sword and pistols would surely
prove sufficient.

" Besides," said I to Quijas, " we are not going
to war, but on a friendly visit to Vallejo."

" 'Tis well to be prepared," said the jolly priest.
"We might come across some Indians ; they are
giving the comandante a deal of trouble. Can
you use a sword, my son ? "

'' Tolerably well," said I ; and the talk falling
upon weapons, he took me into a rough guard-
room, and discoursed volubly upon schools and

78 JOHN CHARITY

methods of fence. Soto was present and an
alferez of the Presidio, who was loud in praise of
the sabre. Some foils were hung upon the wall,
but the lieutenant said they were rarely used by
Californians. As we chatted, Castefieda and
Courtenay entered, and the former was effusively
greeted by Don Miguel ; the alferez^ I perceived,
bowed coldly, and shortly after bade us good-
evening, pleading duty as an excuse for leaving
us.

" Senor Castaneda," said Soto to me, " is ex-
pert with the foils. Will you try a bout, gentle-
men ? "

The sneer upon the Mexican's face annoyed
me.

" If the senor will give me a lesson," said I, " I
shall be most grateful."

The light was faihng, but Castaneda bowed

Eolitely, and in less than five minutes we were
ard at it. He fenced well after the Spanish
fashion, whereas I had been trained by Angelo in
the modern French school — in a word, I had him
at my mercy. When I had touched him several
times, he flung down his foil and called for sabres,
and once more we faced each other. I saw that
he was angry and mortified, and, perhaps, being
a very young man, I showed my sense of superi-
ority too plainly. However, with the change of
weapons 1 soon discovered that the Don was at
least my equal, if not my master. Three times in
succession he touched me on the arm, using a
peculiar feint followed by a flicking cut very
difficult to parry. As the light grew worse every
minute, I bowed and expressed myself satisfied.
** The honours," said (Jourtenay, " are even."
Castaneda complimented me on my skill,
and I followed suit. Then he and Soto strolled
away.

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 79

" He can beat you with the sabre," said Cour-
tenay.

" Not he," said Father Quijas. " I can teach
you to guard that cut. Quick, before it is dark."

The padre stripped off his frock, and picked
up the sabre as if he loved it. I remembered
that he had been in his youth a soldado distingui-
do.

''There!" he cried. "See — a mere trick, a
turn of the wrist ; drop your point — so ! Again.
That is better. Not so stiff! Once more. Ha,
ha ! Don Santiago is now your inferior, but
don't let him know it."

The good padre laid down his weapon with a
sigh, and confessed to a consuming thirst.

" For my sins last night," said he, " not a drop
to-day has passed my lips, but come with me and
we will crack a bottle oi Frontignac that a friend
sent me. The thought of it has tormented me
since sunrise."

So we strolled to the priest's cell and finished
the bottle that had come, indeed, out of the hold
of the Heron. Quijas said that Alvarado had
spoken of me most handsomely, and commended
me warmly to his uncle in a letter that, even now,
lay against the friar's broad chest.

** Your fortune is made, my son," said he.
" Alvarado will die, perhaps, a poor man, but he
will see to it that his friends become rich.
Caramha ! not a drop is left of the good French
wine."

Courtenay said that he could hunt up old Mark,
and find another bottle and another friend. This
we did, and then went aboard for my pistols, that
were vastly admired by Quijas. Jaynes added to
our kit a big case bottle of cognac, and bade me
take charge of it. I knew that the sly rascal was
desperately anxious to renew acquaintance with

8o JOHN CHARITY

the fair Barbarena, the cousin of Mrs. Ben Buston,
with a cultivated taste for ancient mariners. We
rallied him upon the subject of matrimony, and
Father Quijas undertook at a more fitting time to
baptize a most unregenerate sinner — an offer
peremptorily declined.

" Juanito," said old Mark, who called Alvarado
to his face Senor Gobernador, " will grant me a
dispensation."

Father Quijas frowned, and for the first time I
had a taste of his quality as a priest.

*' My friend," he said gravely, "you have
touched upon a serious matter. His Excellency
has been under the ban of Holy Church ('twas
for reading Telemaque when a youth), and he
will not lightly offend again. A marriage between
a heretic and a Catholic is no marriage — in my
eyes."

He spoke soberly, in a heavy, mule-hke fashion,
but with obvious sincerity, and then Courtenay
led the talk into a smoother channel. Meantime,
I was considering how I could get speech with
Magdalena. Quijas and I were under orders to
leave Monterey at daybreak. Magdalena, so to
speak, was under lock and key. I dared not visit
her again, and if I did so I should infallibly fall
foul of the Mexican. But see her I must and
would.

Courtenay returned to the Presidio to sup with
his wife, while Quijas, Jaynes, and I walked
together to Larkin's. Here we found Castro and
some roystering boon companions of his, great
eaters and heavy drinkers. They welcomed
Quijas uproariously.

'* Ho, no I Padre Quijas ; wilt thou lay us all
beneath the table, as thou didst the last time we
supped with thee ? "

**An empty head holds liquor," retorted the

EL SESOR GOBERNADOR 8i

friar. ** Hadst thou brains, my son, in that head-
piece of thine, the aguardiente would not so easily
get possession."

I then saw plainly that Castro and his friends
were about to make a wet night of it, so as soon
as supper was over, and not without protest,
you may be sure, I went my way, having agreed
with Quijas to meet him at daybreak in the
plaza.

** Caballero ! " shouted Castro, '' I'll wager a
hundred steers that you are taking that sober face
to a senorita."

" You would lose the bet," I returned carelessly.
'* I have to say adieu to the Senora Valence."

" I'm sorry for you, then," replied the big
soldier. " I pity the man who has to take leave of
the handsomest woman in Alta California."

When I found myself outside, the first thing I
marked was the thickness of the fog that had
floated in from the Pacific. The moon had not
yet risen, and 'twas dark as pitch — none too dark,
however, for my purpose. I wore a sombrero of
vicuna and a heavy manga^ and knew that I
would pass for a Spaniard at a pinch. There
were few men abroad as I skirted the wall of the
Presidio and ascended the slope that led to the
house where Courtenay lodged. The soldiers
were singing over their cups, and from the ocean
came the boom of the big combers as they broke
with thundering salvos upon the shore.

I found Lettice diligently sewing, and to my
amazement Castaneda was at her side. His
presence there, dancing attendance upon a mar-
ried woman, was, I knew, contrary to etiauette ;
but he looked a man who would ride rough-shod
over the Decalogue itself, but I heard him say
presently that the Estradas had pleaded fatigue as
an excuse for dismissing him early.

82 JOHN CHARITY

" Is a guest in California ever dismissed ?" said
the innocent Lettice.

'* He dismisses himself, senora, when he sees
that his presence is no longer desired."

He sneered openly, and I suspected that Mag-
dalena had afforded her betrothed but sorry
entertainment. 'Twas plain that he found favour
in the eyes of Lettice, for she entreated him to
sing sentimental ditties, and he warbled as sweetly
as a sucking dove for nearly half-an-hour. I told
Courtenay to keep an eye upon him, but he
laughed at me, and asked what mischief I appre-
hended. Having no answer pat, I replied con-
fusedly that the fellow's face was a danger-signal ;
and then Courtenay swore that he liked the man
vastly well, and hoped to spend many pleasant
hours in his company. I told him bluntly that
a man's meat might prove a woman's poison, and
he retorted that I was a stupid old ass, or words
to that effect. It was on my lips to beg him
earnestly to be guarded in his intercourse with
these languishing southern beauties, and to
remember that a wife's jealousy is quickly in-
flamed and not so quickly extinguished, but I
feared that he would take such counsel amiss.

When I bade Letty good-bye she held tightly
my hand. " Dear John," she whispered, " I shall
miss your kind face. Must you really leave us ?
I — I dread some way the days that I must pass
without you. God bless you, dear cousin."

I kissed her cheek and laughed at her fears.
Since, I have learned to respect a woman's
instinct, that amazing sixth sense withheld from
men.

The time was now ripe for my adventure, and
as I stepped again into the murk fog I wondered
how it would end. By chance I knew that

EL SENOR GOBERNADOR 83

Magdalena slept in a small chamber adjoining
her aunt's bedroom and beyond it. The closet —
for it was nothing more — had a small window,
heavily barred, that looked upon the road, but
no door save the one that led into the duena's
chamber. The house was distant a couple of
cable-lengths from where I stood, and between it
and me lay a deep gulch, that might prove a
sanctuary in an hour of need. Seemg no pas-
sengers on the road, I set nimbly forth, with my
sombrero pulled down about my ears and my
cape drawn tight across my chin. A light glim-
mered in the senorita's window, but the rest of
the house was black as ink against the dark grey
sky. I felt like Peeping Tom of Coventry as I
sneaked up to the illumined pane and peered
within. The child was half undressed and sitting
upon her bed ; her small hands were crossed
upon her petticoat : her pensive face was framed
in two glorious braids of black hair that fell
below her slender waist; her attitude and the
pathetic droop of her mouth indicated distress
tempered by resignation. It seemed an infamy
to look upon her, but for my life I could not turn
aside my eyes. Then, as I gazed pityingly —
swearing to myself that if she needed a champion
one was ready to risk his life on her behalf — she
suddenly fell upon her knees, and uplifted her
hands in a passon of supplication. I could not
doubt that she was beseeching Heaven to send
her a friend, and I vowed to accept the trust that
God himself seemed to have placed in me — John
Charity.

I waited till she rose from her knees, and then
tapped gently upon the glass. In an instant she
had caught up a rebozo, and entwined it around
her head and shoulders ; then she approached the
window on tiptoe, and her eyes stared steadily

84 JOHN CHARITY

into mine. Without hesitation she opened the
casement and placed her graceful head close to
the iron bars. "Why have you come to me?"
she whispered.

** Can you ask ? " said I. " God has sent you a
friend ; here he is."

" Madre de Dios'^' she sighed, " thou hast heard
my prayers. I thank thee ! "

CHAPTER VII

I FIND MYSELF IN A PECK OF TROUBLES

Having returned thanks to Our Lady of Sorrows,
Magdalena vouchsafed me a brilHant smile, and
pushed through the bars her hand, which I
devoutly kissed. I was standing on the public
highway, but not a soul was stirring either within
or without the house. My heart, I confess, beat
the devil's tattoo. It seemed that something more
than mere chance had brought a friend that night
to Magdalena Estrada.

She wasted no precious seconds in coquetry.

" Heaven has sent you," she murmured, " to
save me from a hateful marriage with Senor de
Castaneda."

She gave him the particle, to which, I believe,
he was entitled, though few used it, and the
formality emphasised her dislike of the man.

" I am at your service," said I warmly.

" I dare not appeal to Alvarado," she continued.
*' It is most important that my father and his
friends should be concihated. A small cause of
provocation would rank them with the abaienos.
You see we are all connected by blood, and
marriage."

" I understand," said I.

" But Vallejo, they say, will not mix himself up
with these factions. He is a gallant gentleman,

86 JOHN CHARITY

always prepared to espouse the cause of the
weak. Senor, you must tell him from me that I
cannot wed this Mexican. I cannot, I cannot !
Not to please ten thousand fathers, not for all
the land in California. I would sooner, if the
worst comes to the worst, enter a convent. Will
you tell him this, senor, and bring me back his
answer ? One word from him to my father will
suffice to at least postpone this horrible wedding.
I could go to Sonoma till the times mend. Then,
when Alvarado's position is assured, 1 can trust
him to help me. Meantime, some pretext must
be found for delay. Don Santiago asked my
father to-night to name an early day. Thank
Heaven, Lent is close at hand ; we must wait in
any case till Easter; and Vallejo hates the
Mexicans ; he is a true Californian."

She spoke so rapidly that I followed the words
with difficulty.

" I tried to see Father Quijas, but they kept
him from me. Oh ! they know that I am des-
perate. And they even suspect you, senor. My
aunt scolded me well for — for being so forward,
so unmaidenly," she said.

I caught her hand and kissed it again, not quite
so devoutly. The answer seemed satisfactory.

*' Give Vallejo this ring, senor ; it belonged to
my dead mother, his first cousin, and ask him for
her sake to interfere. I think — I hope that he
will."

" By God," said I, " if he doesn't, I will ! "

My confidence seemed to impress her.

" That is all," she murmured. " How can I
thank you ? \Vhat can I do or say ? "

She looked wistfully at me, the pretty child, as
if she would fain leave her prison. I thrust my
arm past the barriers and clasped her round the
waist. I swear solemnly 'twas but to comfort

A PECK OF TROUBLES ^7

her. A strong arm tells its own story to the
weak. Then her head drooped towards me, and
we kissed each other through the bars. As her
lips clung to mine, the scales fell from my eyes,
and I knew that she loved me with the passion of
youth. I have never played the dog in the
manger. I believed that Providence had sent
this loving soul to comfort me, so I swore to
comfort her, and you may be sure that I succeeded.
I had known her but a week, some cold-blooded
Saxon may say. And what of it ? Her trust in
a stranger would have fired a wiser and cooler
head. Her kisses would have provoked kisses
from a graven image.

" But Juanito, querido,'' she whispered presently,
" this seems to have complicated matters."

" Not at all," I replied promptly. ** On the
contrary 'tis now simple as A B C. Come weal
or woe, I am bound to you, and you to me."

A fatuous solution of a problem, but it pleased
Magdalena mightily.

** That is true. We are bound, you and I. Ah^
Dolor ! you are a heretic."

I waited, with a queer feeling in my throat.
Then she dropped the formal " usted," and
murmured softly :

** I love thee — I love thee — I love thee ! "

Those confounded bars were as hard and cold
as that proverbial Charity to which I trust I am
an exception. But they served to remind me that
other barriers lay between this loving creature
and a poor yeoman's son — prejudice, avarice,
ambition, superstition. Yet these difficulties
whetted rather than blunted my determination
to overcome them. The Alps had been crossed
before.

Before we parted Magdalena gave me a tress
of her hair, and snipped a yellow lock from my

88 JOHN CHARITY

temples, that she swore would lie in her bosom.
Then the jealous witch asked me point-blank if
there had been love-passages between me and
another. And I confess that I was tempted
sorely to lie to her. Being a son of Adam I
foolishly evaded the question.

"There is not a woman in England," I replied,
" whose eyes are wet for me, save my dear
mother."

'' But the Senora Valence ? "

" I have kissed her a thousand times. We
were brought up together. She is my cousin. I
have been a diligent student, querida, with eyes
glued to my books."

" A student— thou, Bueno ! For the future
thou must look at mey

I vowed that my eyes should prove her faithful
servants. Then in turn I asked if she had lived
heart-whole for seventeen years.

" I used to tell the girls, Juanito, that I would
surely marry a man with blue eyes and yellow
hair ; a man with a white skin and a white heart ;
a strong man, qiierido, as thou art, brave and
clever. But," she sighed prettily, " I really
thought thou wouldst never come to me. San-
tisima ! my aunt has heard us ! "

I could hear that stout dame rolling uneasily
upon an ancient bed which creaked with almost
human infirmity. Magdalena pointed expressively
down the road, and silently closed the casement.
I fled to the friendly gulch, and lay snug for some
five minutes ; then the casement opened again,
and I cautiously stole up. Tia Maria Luisa was
snoring blissfully, the alarm had proved a false
one. Magdalena, however, was shivering with
fright, so we kissed again and again — and parted.

Now common-sense, not [to mention fatigue,

A PECK OF TROUBLES 89

ought to have steered me straight to my lodging ;
but excitement had banished sleep, and I felt in
the mood for a stroll. The moon had risen, and
now shone palely throught the mist. The fog
was less thick. So, wrapping my mantle about
me, I walked on up the road, and away from the
town. My heart was still beating an infernal
tattoo, but my head grew cooler, and I reflected
soberly that in truth I was up to my^ears in a
very pretty pickle, and like to be well salted
before I was out of it. Nor could I take counsel
of any man, saving, perhaps. Father Quijas, who
knew that I was a heretic, and no fit mate for a
true believer. Weighing the matter, I made
certain that Alvarado would prove my friend,
when, bien entendu^ I had proven myself his. And
I looked forward to meeting the comandante^
Vallejo, who was a power in the land, and a
gallant, courtly gentleman to boot. But the
future, study it as I might, was as misty as the
moon above me, though illumined by the light of
love.

Now adventures, so often a synonym for
troubles, come in battalions. I had had, God
knows, enough excitement for one night ; but the
Fates held me in their toils, and were minded to
play the spider to my fly, for I soon found myself
in a most unhappy position — a tangled web —
from whence, squirm as I might, I dared not
extricate myself for fear of ensnaring two others
— my master Alvarado, and my sweet mistress,
Magdalena. In a word, sorely against my will, I
was forced to undertake the dishonourable role of
eavesdropper and spy.

I was passing on my return Estrada's house,
loitering, in truth, beneath my lady's window —
what fools we mortals be ! — and hoping to steal
another kiss before seeking my lodging. The

90 JOHN CHARITY

window was shut, however, and the taper had
been extinguished, so I scratched lightly on the
pane, and waited — not for long. Magdalena I
knew would sleep but little that night. She heard
the signal and unfastened the casement. But our
lips had scarce met when the sound of voices
floated up the road, and for the second time I fled
into the gulch. From behind the shelter of a
sage-brush I could just see two men, but 'twas
impossible to distinguish their faces. And speak-
ing as they did in Spanish, very softly and
quickly, I could not swear that I knew them,
although the voice of one reminded me strongly
of Soto.

" Is it certain," said one, the taller of the two,
" is it certain that Bustamente " (the Mexican
President) '' will support Alvarado ? "

" He will support the party in power."

" Well, what chance has Carrillo against
Bautista ? Not one. Yet Carrillo would prove
a more generous friend."

" My friend, who knows, Bautista may not live
to welcome the Comisionado."

The speaker laughed significantly, and then the
pair fell to whispering ; but strain my ears as I
might, I could catch nothing but disjointed words
— words, however, of damnable import. 'Twas
plain that these were conspirators, ready to sell
themselves to the highest bidder, trusting neither
God nor man, tossed hither and thither by windy
fears, buzzards scenting carrion.

Presently they flitted away, and I crawled from
the gulch and regained the town. I deemed it of
importance to see Alvarado and warn him.'
Father Quijas had told me that the Governor was
a burner of midnight oil, a student of ancient and
modern history, and 'twas not yet eleven by my
watch. But how to obtain an interview at such

A PECK OF TROUBLES 91

an unseasonable hour baffled my wits. Here
again, however, fortune stood my friend. I dared
not face the questions and raillery of Castro, or
else I had marched straight to Quijas, and left to
him the solution of the problem. Nor could I

fet word to Thomas Larkm. Torn by misgiving,
turned the corner of the Presidio wall, and
blundered into the arms of- a foot-passenger. He
cursed me roundly in vile Spanish, and I recog-
nised the voice of a friend, an American, the only
doctor in Monterey, the best of good fellows.

" Is that you, Pearson ? " said I.

" It's what's left of me," he replied. " Confound
it, man, you've stove in my bulkheads. Where
the deuce are you going in such a desperate
hurry ? "

'* And where are you going ? " I retorted.
*' Come with me, and I'll give you a sip of cognac
— not your aguardiente de trigo, but the genuine
medicine."

" I'm on duty," said Pearson. " You needn't
mention it, but the Governor has sent for me.
He's a mighty sick man, let me tell you, though
he doesn't show it. He has a Spartan's pluck,
that chap, but rheumatism will lay him by the
heels if he isn't careful. Good-night."

I persuaded him to take me with him, not with-
out argument, for Alvarado, it seemed, had a
morbid dread of pubHshing his infirmity. To-
gether we entered the Governor's house, and
were ushered into the same room, whose simple
furnishings were an epitome of the owner's life
and character. His Excellency was reading, and
the volume that engrossed his attention was
Cicero's famous essay on friendship. He looked
up as we crossed the threshold, and smiled
courteously, though his handsome face was
seamed with pain. I hastened to explain that

92 JOHN CHARITY

business of importance justified my presence, and
he begged me to sit down.

** I sent for you," he said to Pearson, '' because
my knee is worse to-night. Have you brought
the Hniment ? You have. Good. I will apply
it myself. If I have inconvenienced you, forgive
me."

His consideration for the comfort of others
touched me. It is in such matters that men
manifest their quality. Pearson bowed and
withdrew, and in less than two minutes I had
told Alvarado what I knew. He nodded gravely.

" Yes," he said slowly, " most of my friends are
pendulums. I have known that for a long time,"
and he sighed.

Then he looked at me with his queer enig-
matical smile, the smile of the man who holds
the key that unlocks the closets where men's
skeletons are laid away. Beneath this steadfast
gaze my cheek flushed.

" You know Magdalena Estrada ? " he said
abruptly.

" I have that honour," I murmured. ** Your
Excellency presented me to the senorita."

"So I did," he muttered, '*so I did. The
blame be on my head. You find her charming
—no?"

** I have found all the senoritas charming," I
replied evasively.

A question, I could see, was in his eyes, but
he denied it utterance. Doubtless he wondered
what had led me to Estrada's house. I tried to
throw dust in those inquisitive orbs.

" I wished to bid my friends good-bye," I said
carelessly.

"Just so."

Racked as he must have been by pain, his lips
flickered with humour. 'Twas not hard to guess

A PECK OF TROUBLES 93

that the good aunt had made free with my name,
and suddenly, Hke a flash of summer lightning,
this thought illumined obscurity. Was this
mission to Vallejo an excuse for separating
Magdalena and me ? It seemed more than
likely.

He unlocked a cabinet, and took from it a
decanter of sherry and some fine, thin-stemmed
glasses. I don't think he knew that sherry is
poison to a rheumatic man, for he filled the
glasses to the brim and tendered me one.

" I drink to — California," he said, and, clinking
our glasses, we emptied them in silence.

I confess that I was perplexed, and to turn the
conversation picked up the Cicero and asked my
host if he admired the orator and his philosophy.

" I read Latin with difficulty," said he, sitting
beside me. " Can you construe this passage
for me?"

I did so.

'* Do you read Greek ? " he asked.

Upon my answering in the affirmative, he said
that he regretted an early lack of education more
than anything else. He told me of the few books
that he and Vallejo had read together — Chateau-
briand, Gil Bias, Buflfon, a volume of Rousseau,
and some histories. He added modestly that
he was self-taught, and I paid him no idle com-
pliment when I replied that he had had an ex-
cellent tutor. He spoke with ardour of the
pleasures of systematic study, of the joys that
temper mental labour, of the delight in acquiring
stores of knowledge.

" Ignorance will ruin us," he said sadly. " We
think of nothing but eating and drinking — and
making love," he added slily. ''You have been
but ten days in Monterey, but you must see how
it is with us. Some of my friends, men of breed-

94 JOHN CHARITY

ing too, can hardly read and write. I could
mention a dozen, a dozen who sign their names
with a rubrica ! Dios ! But it maddens me !
And this country, so rich, so beautiful — what
will become of it ? Ah ! if I dared speak, if I

could tell you what I see, if " He paused

and wiped the perspiration from his forehead.
Then he laughed bitterly, and held out his hand.

"Forgive me, senor; I am keeping a tired man
from his bed, and to-morrow you must ride far
and fast. Buenas noches!'

I rose and clasped his hand.

" You count me your friend ? " he said.

" I count myself your grateful servant, Seflor
Gobernador," and with that I left him.

CHAPTER VIII

SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO

Father Quijas and I, with two vaqueros in
charge of the horses, left the plaza of Monterey
as the sun tipped with madder the peaks of the
Gabilan Range. We galloped ahead, while the
vaqueros followed, one of them leading the bell-
mare, whom the other horses always kept in
sight. Quijas told me that in this fashion dis-
tance was discounted. Nothing so tires a rider
as a weary mount. When a horse flagged (we
rode at a hand gallop) a vaguero caught and
saddled a fresh one, and the jaded beast joined
the caballada behind. We had five-and-twenty
mounts in our string.

My baggage — a change of clothes and other
articles — was packed in a maleta, an oblong sack,
with the opening in the middle, that was fastened
securely with raw hide to the crupper of my big
saddle. We carried no food, counting upon the
hospitality of the missions and ranchos en route^
and although the fare set before us was often
of the plainest and coarsest, yet it never lacked
the sauce of a hearty welcome.

Through what a smiling landscape we passed !
Abundant rains had spread a mantle of tender
green upon the hills, and the valleys were lush
with grasses — alfileria, clover, and malva. I

96 JOHN CHARITY

never had seen so many wild-flowers, not even
in the water meadows that skirt the Itchen when
the daffodils and cowslips are in bloom. We
came upon acres of golden poppies, what they
now call eschscholtzias, and Quijas told me that
later the same ground would blaze with larkspur
and yellow violets. As we rode on the country
grew more beautiful, more thickly wooded with
both live and white oaks. It reminded me of the
park at Cranberry-Orcas. Here stood the same
ancient trees, some of them slightly warped from
the perpendicular, leaning toward the south, bent
— so I learned from Quijas — beneath the kiss of
the strong trade wind ; here were gently rolling
hills, round as the breasts of a woman ; here, too,
were fairy glades, beloved by the black-tail deer ;
rabbits and hares scampered away to our right
and left ; bevies of quail whirled up from beneath
our horses' hoofs ; doves cooed from the branches
of the pines. Presently we skirted a vast marsh,
and far out in the pools of water I could see flocks
of ducks, widgeon, mallard, and teal, with here
and there long lines of white and grey geese, and
more than one wild swan, whose dazzling plumage
can never be mistaken. Quijas showed me fresh
bear-tracks in the dust of the road — tracks like
a giant's foot— the spoor of the grizzly Ursus
horribilis. He promised me that I should see one
of these monsters lassoed, or, if I pleased, stake
my skill with a rifle against his strength. 'Twas
a sportsman's paradise !

1 believe that no Englishman has a greater love
of England than I — 'tis the heritage of every yeo-
man ; but on this spring morning I confessed to
the burly friar that not even my dear Hampshire
could be compared with this sweet, virginal
California. For she lay before me in all her
glowing beauty, fresh from the hand of God,

SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 97

untouched as yet by man, immaculate. And then
I began to dimly understand the feelings of
Alvarado, that cool, slow-speaking Spaniard, who
could see, as in a nightmare, this precious gem
slipping from his grasp. What wonder that the
sweat bedewed his brow !

The good padre had a very perfect gift of
silence. Perhaps he was reflecting that this pearl
of price had been filched from the bosom of his
church, and that the sweet music of the mission
bells was now jangled and out of tune. I have
since learned that the fat acres that lay round the
missions were deeded to the padres on trust, so
to speak, and not as a permanent possession.
Later Alvarado explained the matter to me ; but
the priests, who had laboured faithfully and well,
evolving order out of chaos, thought otherwise.

Upon this first day Quijas was in the mood to
try my mettle as a horseman, and we rode a
hundred miles. The missions in Alta California
are about fifty miles apart, and were used as.
stopping-places. Those travelling leisurely rode
fifty miles a day, those in a hurry a hundred. I
had ridden regularly since we dropped anchor in
Monterey Bay, but I confess that I was sore and
tired when we drew rein at the San Jose Mission.
Here the number of buildings, corrals, and the
like amazed me. Quijas pronounced it to be the
most prosperous of the Californian missions, on
account of the superb soil of the Santa Clara
Valley, now famous all over the civilised world.

"The Church," said he, as I expressed my
admiration of what had been accomplished, " is
the greatest organisation in the world, and she
has shown even in California what she can do.
Now," and he smiled sarcastically, ** it is the turn
of the State. We will see how quickly she can
cut our stitches."

98 JOHN CHARITY

" Those in charge," I replied warmly, " will be
sure to guard such valuable properties."

'* Quis custodiet custodes ? " he answered, smiling ;
and I murmured the name of Alvarado. Quijas
nodded, admitting curtly that His Excellency was
a man of executive ability, alone upon the poop of
a galleon. 'Twas plain the good father had no
faith in the ship, though he commended the pilot.

Next day we climbed into our saddles and took
the old north road that skirts the bay of San
Francisco. Our tongues wagged freely, and the
friar told many stories. In return, I said that I
was the bearer of a message from Magdalena to
Vallejo, and bespoke a confessor's influence with
the comandante. He eyed me sharply, and
grinned when I said that Magdalena would
sooner enter a convent than marry the Mexican.

" My son," said he, still grinning, *' how didst
thou obtain the confidence of this maiden ? "

*' How did I obtain the confidence of Alvarado,
my father ? "

" A countertime," he exclaimed, with his jolly
laugh. *' Well, my son, thou hast good credentials
writ plain upon thy face. See to it that the devil
does not erase God's character. And be not too
friendly with that little witch. She in a convent !
Madre de Dios ! " and he laughed again, louder
than ever.

" Will Vallejo interfere ? " I asked.

" Perhaps," he replied evasively ; *' but, my son,
be not too zealous on the maids behalf. Plead
her cause coolly. Perhaps thou wouldst do well
to leave the matter to me."

" Gladly," said I, and I gave him Magdalena's
ring.

"On one condition," he spoke emohatically,
and dropped the familiar "thou." "You must
pass me your word as a gentleman, sefior, never

SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 99

to abuse the trust this innocent child has reposed
in you."

" Father Quijas," said I, ''you go too far."

" Tut, tut ! Better too far than not far enough.
I know what flesh and blood is, my son. Well,
well, you understand what I mean. I'm her friend
and yours, but I'd kill you with these hands if you
wronged Magdalena Estrada."

" Amen," said I, and we rode on in silence.

We reached the mission of San Francisco
Solano at mid-day upon the first of March, Ash
Wednesday that year falling on the seventh. The
comandante was walking up and down the
plaza as we rode up, and he greeted Quijas
with a shout of welcome, and me with Spanish
courtesy. He looked a younger man than his
nephew Alvarado, although just three years older
— for he was born in 1806. His bodily presence
and bearing were most distinguished. He wore
no moustache upon a finely-cut upper lip, but the
cheeks were fringed with side whiskers, black
and curly as his hair. The forehead was broad
and high, the chin rounded and dimpled, the eyes
less keen than Alvarado's, but crowned with
arching brows. He was, in fine, the typical
hidalgo of high degree, a trifle pompous for so
young a man, but a charming talker, full of
anecdote, and well-informed upon many subjects.
Like the de la Guerras of Santa Barbara and the
Bandinis of San Diego, he counted amongst his
peons many mechanics trained by the padres —
carpenters, weavers, blacksmiths, and the like.
No patriarch of ancient history possessed such
flocks and herds. He owneci at least forty thou-
sand head of neat cattle, five thousand mares, two
thousand colts, sheep innumerable, and other
animals. Lieutenant Revere, of the United States
Navy, who visited Vallejo in 1846, says **he had

loo JOHN CHARITY

eight hundred trained vaquero horses on his
ranches, of which thirty-five were picked cahallos
de su silla — his own private saddle horses —
splendid animals, which a sultan would be proud
to bestride."

I presented my letter on arrival ; but the com-
andante said not a word concerning my mission
till I had dined and refreshed myself with a long
siesta. Dona Francisca Vallejo showed me my
room, and after the vermin-infested places I had
slept in during my journey, you may be sure that
I looked with delight upon a comfortable bed,
whose linen was white as the snow of Shasta.

" The Saints give you pleasant dreams," said my
hostess, glancing at the highly -coloured en-
gravings that adorned the wall — portraits of St.
John, St. Joseph, and the Blessed Virgin. *' Hasta
luego^ senor."

My host was awaiting me as I stepped into the
patio, and led me to his private room, where he
offered me cigars and cigaritos. He looked at me
attentively as I sat before him, and I returned his
glance with interest. He wore the picturesque
costume of the country — the short jacket, ex-
quisitely embroidered, the calzoneras^ open at the
sides and displaying the finest and whitest linen,
and a scarlet silk sash. The dress became him so
vastly well that I ventured a compliment.

" You will do me a favour, senor," said he, *' if
you will accept at my hands a similar suit. We
are something of a size, and the ladies will be
gratified, ay, tickled to death, to see an English-
man in the trappings of a Spaniard. Nay, do not
refuse. Hola / Inocente ! "

He clapped his hands like a pacha, and a
mestizo^ or naif-breed, came running.

" Take a complete suit, the dark blue one, and

SAN FRANCISCO 'SOLANO loi

the manga that goes with it, to the room of the
senor caballero. See to it that the botas and the
linen are new."

Then he turned to me, and said courteously :

" Now, senor, I am at your service. My
nephew, it seems, counts you his friend, and his
friends are my friends, although," and he smiled
pleasantly, ** some of his enemies are my friends
also. I wrote to him, as you know, that I was
tired of these stupid quarrels, that I was no
politician, but a ranchero, and he has sent you,
it seems, to argue the matter."

'* He sent me, Senor Comandante, because His
Excellency knows that letters often miscarry."

" And messengers, too, are lost. The Indians
are a perfect pest. Well, I thank you for coming,
and him for sending so accomplished a caballero."

Then I told him briefly that Estudillo had sent
an armed force to occupy Los Angeles ; that Jose
Castro would march south immediately, and that
Alvarado would follow. I added that Juan
Castaneda was now at San Buenaventura, and
was expected to attack Santa Barbara. Vallejo
smoked quietly, and made no comments.

** His Excellency," said I, in conclusion, '* has
no choice in the matter ; he must fight.''

" You Englishmen talk of fighting as if it were
a merienda. You will accompany my nephew —
no?"

" I hope to have that honour and pleasure."

" I shall stay here," said Vallejo gravely, " and
do my duty. The Indians are keeping me busy,
and I have hundreds of lives and valuable pro-
perty to protect. This campaign, senor, will
prove a farce, and / do not choose to play the

Eart of a comedian. My nephew will please
imself, as he always does. I shall take the same
privilege."

502 JO^N CHARITY

I bowed ; there seemed nothing more to be
said. Vallejo was a diplomatist ; but he spoke
truth when he Unked duty with pleasure, and in
my heart I hardly blamed him for holding aloof
from these family squabbles. Perhaps he had an
exaggerated sense of his own importance — per-
haps he had other plans — for he asked me m a
pomted manner if I had had talk with Larkin,
and, on my replying in the negative, raised his
brows.

" Don Tomas," he observed carelessly, with his
eyes upon the smoke from his cigar, " has a
future before him. Make him your friend."

'' If the United States "

" We will not discuss that, senor, if you
please."

*' I spoke of Soto, and Vallejo pronounced that
accompHshed cavalier a time-server. " But," he
concluded, " such men can be used. Any stick
will do to stir mud with."

I missed the point. Later, I knew that he
alluded to the process of adobe-making, the bricks
of which houses are built. And I knew also, in
after years, that the houses built by Alvarado and
this man crumbled into dust and corruption, be-
cause of the *' sticks " who had stirred the mud —
the sorry workmen so unworthy of their masters.

" And now," said my host, rising, " let me show
you Lacrymae Montis, my beautiful spring of
water. I shall build there some day."

" The name," said I, '' is pretty, but not of good
omen. This is the land of laughter."

" We cannot banish the tears," said Vallejo ;
" but we will laugh, seftor, while we can."

We passed a room where I caught a glimpse of
Dofia Francisca superintending the labours of
her needlewomen. Vast piles of linen lay upon
the floor. Some of the girls were making lace,

SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 103

others hemmed sheets and napkins ; all were gay
as larks, and chatted like blue jays. From the
kitchens came savoury odours and more laughter ;
from an arbour of Castilian roses the pathetic
music of a guitar.

'^ There are tears in that," said I.

**Yes, sefior, our music is sad, and our songs
still sadder. Ay, but that boy plays well. If I
could send him to Europe he would astonish his
professors. I found him running barefoot at the
mission of San Juan Bautista, and clapped my
ear-mark on him."

" You have the best of everything, senor."

" That is my ambition."

We sauntered past the huts of the Indians, and
quickened our steps at the sound of a tumult of
voices.

" 'Tis that cursed German Jew, Solomon," said
Vallejo angrily. " I turned the impudent rogue
from my door not an hour ago."

We skirted the wall of the rancheria, and came
suddenly upon a picturesque group of Indians,
mestizos, vaqueros, and half a score of women.
The Indians wore a sort of camisole, but the
others were ga}^ in primary colours— reds, whites,
blues, and yellows. The women carried rebozos,
and each vaquero sported a scrape, gaudy with
tarnished gold and silver galloon. In the centre
stood a stout fellow as big as I am ; but a true
and unmistakable son of Israel, one of the
pioneers of his ubiquitous race in Alta California.
When he saw the comandante he cringed, and
laid a long forefinger against his large nose.

** Did I not tell you to begone ? " said Vallejo
harshly.

The Jew pointed to his wares, a collection of
cheap finery, not more than a small mule could
carry.

I04 JOHN CHARITY

Solomon looked at me. The sight of a Euro-
pean seemed to encourage him, for he said in
broken English to me :

" Der poor Jew don't make no friendts no-
vheres."

Vallejo understood him, for he spoke English,
although imperfectly. A silence fell on the rest
of the company.

" Der poor Jew must live. It vasn't no use
my going avay till I do my peesness mit dese
peoples."

He looked so fat and good-natured that I burst
out laughing.

*' He pretends that he does not understand my
Spanish, senor, but he can chatter glibly enough
with you. Tell him that I keep a cuerda for such
dogs as he."

I was astonished at this harshness. Poor
Solomon fixed his bright eyes upon mine,
cringing and quivering at the word ** cuerda."
He had tasted raw-hide before.

"The cuerda!" he muttered. "Oh, my gra-
cious ! "

He began to pack his bundles, sighing and
muttering to himself in Hebrew. A tear started
down his long nose and fell with a splash upon a
piece of silk. It was plain that our untimely
presence had wrecked a fine market.

" I vish I vhas in Englandt," he said piteously
to me. " I risk mine life mit der Indians to get
here. Dem goods is halluf sold," and he choked
with emotion.

" You are a Jew," said Vallejo coldly ; " you
must go."

** Yes, I am a Jew," retorted Solomon ; " schoost
the same as your Christ."

" You blaspheming dog "

" Senor," said 1, " this man is a Jew, but he has

SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO 105

addressed me in my own tongue. And he has
risked, as he says, his life to get here. Let him
sell his goods this time, and Til answer for it that
he returns no more to Sonoma. You will not
return, Solomon ? "

''MeinGott— ?/(?.'"

" Of course," said Vallejo, bowing, *' if you wish
to befriend him, senor, that is another matter
entirely."

Then he took my arm and led me aside, but not
before I had seen the bright eyes of Solomon
suffused with gratitude. Before we had walked a
score of yards I could hear his voice loudly ex-
tolling the quality of his rebozos ; and a roar of
laughter broke from the crowd.

''Thank God," said my host to me, "we have
but few Jews in California, but they stick to us
like limpets. You thought me cruel, senor. Ay !
you have an expressive face. But I know that
man. They are barnacles — these hook-nosed,
cringing pedlars. Why it is I know not, but the
sight of a Jew makes me shiver ! "

Now, reading the past by the light of the
present, it is no wonder to me that the Don
shivered, for the Jew in California has been the
curse of curses to him and his. As he said, the
barnacles that prey upon the stout timbers of the
finest ships, insidiously destroying them, may
justly be compared with God's most peculiar
people. The Shylocks of the lotus-land had more
than their pound of Spanish flesh. They drifted
in with the human tide then steadily setting west-
ward ; they taught their customers to borrow ;
they took their gold in exchange for dross, and
loaned it back at exorbitant rates of interest — at
sixty, seventy, ay, and a hundred per cent. They
were turned from the front doors, but they
slipped in at the back. They smarted often

io6 JOHN CHARITY

beneath the cuerda of the wealthy ranchero.
They suffered a thousand indignities and hard-
ships.

But that was yesterday.

To-day you may see the descendants of the
haughtiest famiUes in Alta Cahfornia peddhng
tamales along Van Ness Avenue — the Juden
Strasse of San Francisco.

CHAPTER IX

IN ARCADIA

I WAS dressing for supper in the gay suit that my
host had given me, when the mestizo, Inocente,
brought me a small package and a note from the
Jew, Solomon. The package contained a fine silk
handkerchief such as the Californian men were
wont to tie around their heads, and the note (a
sheet torn from an account book that doubtless
held some queer entries) expressed very respect-
fully the writer's gratitude and the assurance that
he would never forget the kindness of Mr. John
Charity.

Before supper Vallejo introduced me to many
whose names I have forgotten ; amongst them, I
remember, were his brother and brother-in-law.
Quijas told me that five-and-twenty persons sat
daily at the comandante's board, eating and drink-
ing of the best. In the dining-room were three
tables, and I noted that whereas Dona Francisca
could only see the guests at her own table, the
comandante sat seeing and seen by all. Young
Indian girls, Inditas, waited upon us. They
glided to and fro, barefooted, clad in a livery of
white calico spotted with red. Their thick tresses
hung down their backs in two long braids tied
with crimson ribbon, and their brown faces shone
with good humour and soap and water. I saw at

107

io8 JOHN CHARITY

once that these were no Digger Indians, and the
Senorita Castro told me that they had been taken
from a northern tribe of Solanos, and were prize
specimens carefully culled out and as carefully
trained. I marked too some very handsome old
Spanish plate and beautiful china. I record these
things, because some writers have asserted that
the rancheros of Alta California were gross
feeders, eating often without knives and forks,
mindful only of the quantity of the food, and
caring nothing for the quality and the fashion
of service. We drank champagne at Vallejo's
table, and other foreign wines, and my host's
small talk outsparkled the Clicquot.

Dona Francisca asked me presently if a date had
been set for the Castaneda-Estrada wedding. I
was on my guard, and answered her question
cautiously.

''Ayf' she said sharply. '' I hate that Mexican."

" Whom dost thou hate ? " asked Vallejo.

" I hate Santiago Castaneda. Why do you
allow Magdalena to marry a Mexican ? "

** Her father has set his heart upon the match,"
said Vallejo. " Why should I interfere? "

A peculiar note of cruelty vibrated in his voice,
and I wondered whether Quijas had delivered
Magdalena's ring and message ; surely not yet.
Looking intently at Vallejo's handsome face, I
marked a parodox : the relaxed features indicated
strength and weakness, cruelty and tenderness,
austerity and sensuality. One sees such faces
amongst those in power, and they are interesting
to behold so long as the issue of the strife
between good and evil is left in doubt.

" Why should you interfere ? " repeated his
wife. '* Because you alone are able to do so.
Narciso Estrada will listen to you."

** 1 meddle not with others' affairs, Thoy

IN ARCADIA 109

wouldst do well, my dear, to profit by my
example."

*' You dare not scold me this week," she
retorted, and Vallejo smiled. During the week
that precedes Ash Wednesday a certain licence
prevails ; children and servants are never pun-
ished, and everybody holds high carnival.
Vallejo explained this to me, and promised to
entertain me with a bull and bear fight, horse-
racing, dancing, and card-playing. He seemed to
take for granted that my visit would last at least
a week, and pooh-poohed rather contemptuously
his nephew's instructions to me to return as soon
as possible.

Being very weary, I went to bed early, and
slept soundly till dawn. I breakfasted alone with
Vallejo, and then we rode out together to see
something of the rancho. He looked at the saddle
and accoutrements furnished me by Alvarado,
and on our return forced upon my acceptance (for
I was loth to be placed under such obligations) a
saddle and bridle heavily plated with silver, and a
superb coraza (saddle-cloth) embroidered with
gold thread. I interpreted the ironical smile on
his face as follows : " My nephew has given you a
saddle as plain as his speech. He cares nothing
for show, and yet he knows, none better, the
value of it."

I presented him in return with one of my pis-
tols, a beautiful weapon that he had admired, and
he listened with interest to the story of our flight
from England, and the duels that preceded it.
He said that duels were often fought in California,
that the gente de razon used the sabre, and the
lower classes the pufial, the knife they carry at
the side of the right leg beneath the garter. I
asked him if he were a swordsman, and he

no JOHN CHARITY

answered yes — that he preferred fencing to any
other exercise, and often crossed foils with Padre
Quijas. When we returned from our ride, he
proposed a bout, and sent a boy to summon the
jovial priest, who came gladly enough, you may
be sure, for he never forgot that he had been a
soldier. I cannot doubt that this morning's work
was the means of preserving my life, for Vallejo
and Quijas taught me several Mexican tricks :
queer barbaric thrusts and feints easily parried
after a little practice. Quijas found an opportu-
nity to whisper to me that he had given the
comandante Magdalena's ring and message, and
that he (Vallejo) had promised to invite the girl to
Sonoma, and would send the invitation by my
hand. " He will do that and no more," said the
padre, " and Tia Maria Luisa will be glad enough
to come here. She has told me often that at no
other house does she get such gallinas rellenadas
(stuffed chickens) or a softer bed."

Upon hearing this good news I decided to start
for Monterey on the morrow, and so advised my
host, who protested that such haste was indecent.
Yet I fancy he was soldier enough to appreciate
my sense of duty, for he said that his nephew was
well served, and that my welcome when 1 returned
to Sonoma would be the warmer because my de-
parture had been unduly sped. After the midday
siesta I was entertained by Dona Francisca. I
could see that her heart was of the softest, and
sowed some good seed that bore fruit thereafter.
Once she eyed me sharply, and flung at me a
pretty note of interrogation.

" Senor," said she, " you seem to have studied
many things for so young a caballero, and doubtless
the art of love. How could you leave England ? "

The best of women lay such traps for unsus-
pecting men.

IN ARCADIA III

" I have left one loving soul in England," said
I : " my mother, senora."

" And how is it with you now ? " she asked
sweetly, with downcast eyes, that saw more than
the embroidery in her lap.

" I have only been here two weeks, senora."

" How long does it take Englishmen to fall in
love ? "

** It is a question of climate — and tempera-
ment."

" You are cold, you English."

** Ice is easily melted, senora."

'* Ay. You are not ice, Don Juan," and she
laughed coquettishly, ** for you do not melt at all.
I thought you would have entertained me with a
pretty story — a romance ; but 'tis plain our senor-
itas have made no impression."

So we fenced ; but I kept my secret, although
I wondered if Quijas had been gossiping. I
knew that amongst these people the tongue
sometimes outstrips discretion. And the padre
loved his bottle, and talked at score when
tippling.

We supped at six, and afterwards danced in a
large arbour upon ground beaten level for the
purpose and hard as a floor. The women sat
upon low benches at one end ; at the other stood
the men. One Indita danced superbly, and the
men howled with delight. Presently a soldier
darted forward and crowned the girl with his
hat; a vaquero followed suit, and then another,
till the pile of hats was a yard high. Then the
dancer, still dancing, removed this extraordinary
headpiece, and slowly circled round the arbour,
while more hats and silver coins were hurled at
her twinkling feet. She was too proud, I marked,
to pick up the money, but the tecolero did so and
brought it to her, pouring the silver into her lap

112 JOHN CHARITY

as she sat, happily panting, amongst the other
Inditas. Afterwards each man in turn redeemed
his hat, paying what he pleased, but in no case
less than two reales (one shiUing). It seemed to
me that I was tasting the true essence of Arcadia
as I stood and watched these mirth-loving people.
Some of them were terribly scarred with small-
pox, for that pest had visited Sonoma in '34 ; but
pleasure had marked them too, and I saw no
unhappy faces, no frowns, nothing but smiles
flashing out of red mouths, and eyes aflame with
joy and excitement. Later, trays of casmrones^
eggs filled with tinsel or perfumed water, were
brought in. The cascaron levels all ranks. A
stout nymph stole up behind me, tipped off my
sombrero, and cracked her egg with a sounding
smack on the top of my sconce. It is de rigueur
to return the compliment, but the egg-breaker
must not be detected in the act, which leads to
much manoeuvring. The comandante did not
escape, and seemed to enjoy himself as well as
the humblest of his retainers. Some of the
daughters of the Suisun Indians wore nothing
but a short smock of white calico that set off the
glowing bronze of their limbs. They were not
embarrassed by the scantiness of their skirts, nor
troubled by conventionality, for suddenly, at a
given signal, they surrounded me, linking their
slender arms together, and then, amidst volleys
of laughter from the crowd, began to dance
round me, chanting some unintelligible jargon.
I blushed, you may be sure, at finding myself a
prisoner, but just as I was wondering what
absurd prank they would play next, they stopped
dancing, curtsied, broke up the circle, and fled.

"They paid you a great compliment," said
Vallejo. " Your white skin provoked what was
practically an act of worship. The padres wink

IN ARCADIA 113

at some of their superstitions. You are now a
chief in the eyes of the Suisun maidens." But I
saw that the warriors of the tribe had not
approved this absurd performance.

1 went to bed at midnight, heartily sorry that
this pleasant visit was at an end, but thinking

Fossibly overmuch of a sweet face in Monterey,
know that I dropped asleep as soon as my
head touched the pillow, and that I seemed to
wake suddenly, as if a hand had touched my
lips, while in my ears was the echo of a voice.
**Juanito!" it whispered, and the name was at
once a caress and an invocation. I closed my
eyes, and again, clearly and softly, as a petal
drops upon the water, my name fell on the
silence. I sprang from the bed and looked out
upon the moonlight plaza. Not a soul was
abroad. The dance was over, and the dancers
asleep. Dawn was at hand. And yet I could
have sworn that a woman, speaking with the
voice of Magdalena, had just murmured ** Juanito!"
I went back to bed and reflected that fancy plays
odd tricks — feeling and hearing had been appealed
to, but not sight. I once more closed my eyes
and dozed off, and as I hovered on the out-
skirts of slumber fancy touched another sense.
Magdalena used a certain perfume, not a strong
essence, but a subtle, faint, languorous odour, as
of wood-violets. And now this delicate scent
tickled my nose, but when I opened my eyes I
could smell nothing save my own clothes, that
reeked with the musk of the cascarones. I began
to speculate upon what would happen next, and so
speculating fell asleep. And now, on my honour,
I cannot say whether I waked again or not, but I
vow that I thought I waked, and believed myself
to be in possession of my wits. For I felt the
touch of a maiden's finger, I smelt that sweet

114 JOHN CHARITY

perfume of violets, I heard my name, and I saw
Magdalena herself standing at my bedside. She
was dressed in a broidered petticoat, and around
her slender shoulders was twisted a white rebozo
worked with blue flowers. Her face was very
pale and tear-stained, and in her dark eyes I
could read fear and anguish, but not love. Nor
did she look at me, but beyond me, as if beseech-
ing Heaven, not man, for aid. As I gazed spell-
bound at this stricken face the figure vanished,
and now indeed I was awake, trembling and wet
with sweat, distraught with anxiety, for I doubted
not that a vision had been vouchsafed me. I rose
and walked to the window. In the east I could
discern a silvery gleam of light that waxed stronger
as I gazed. Outside the birds were twittering
their matins, and presently a cock crowed.

And three hundred miles la}^ between me and
Magdalena !

The bell for vespers was tolling as I and my
vaqueros approached Monterey upon the after-
noon of Monday, the 5th of March. We had left
the highway some three miles to the east of the
town, and the tide being out we were riding
leisurely along the shore of the bay. The sand-
pipers, then as now, ran nimbly across the wet
sands ; the gulls were screaming above the white
spume of the combers ; and, far out, where the
shoals of sardines lay packed together, I could
see the huge cormorants plunging headlong for
their supper. Beyond the Punto de los Pinos
the sun was sinking into a saffron-coloured sea,
and the sky above was a tone lighter than the
water — of a pale cadmium in hue, stained with
blood-red reeks of mist. To the north-west lay
the fog-banks, seemingly still, a grey, grim host,
awaiting the signal of their pilot, the keen trade

IN ARCADIA 115

wind. Soon they would steal up and blot out
all life, and colour, and warmth. Already their
herald, the evening breeze, blew chill upon my
cheek.

As I marked the peace that seemed to hang
like a celestial tissue above the old capitol, I saw
a horseman rapidly approaching us. He drew
rein — 'twas Castaneda— and doffed his hat.

'' I am rejoiced to see you," he said politely.

I wondered, as he turned his horse and
cantered at my side, at the peculiar expression
upon his face.

** I kiss your hands," I replied, not willing to
be outdone.

*' You return in the nick of time."

" The carnival ? " said I.

" My wedding, senor, takes place to-morrow."

His cold eye was on me, but I shook in my
saddle.

'* Your wedding?" I stammered.

" Yes, senor ; to-morrow, by the grace of God,
I lead to the altar the sefiorita Estrada."

CHAPTER X

FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM

I WAS speechless with anger and dismay, but —
the Lord be praised — my wits did not desert me.
Indeed, after a short pause, I begged him to
accept my congratulations. " For," said I, with
a sneer — he marked, possibly, a tremor in my
voice — ** for surely, senor, even you must confess
that the best and most accomplished of men will
receive more at the hands of the sefiorita Estrada
than he will give."

His eyes sparkled with rage, as he nodded
curtly in reply.

**A week ago," I continued, "there was no
mention of this marriage."

" Pardon me, senor, you are mistaken. Our
plans were not then made public. I deprecate
undue haste as much as any man, but the times
are such that ceremony must courtesy to con-
venience. Castro has marched south. I shall
take no part in this quarrel, because my cousin
Juan is on the other side, and I am not a Cali-
fornian. The senorita Estrada needs a pro-
tector."

" She does," said I.

Here we parted, and I rode straight to the

Elaza, and, dismounting, walked to Alvarado's
ouse. There I learned that His Excellency was

Ii6

FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM 117

seriously ill and a-bed. However, he consented
to see me, and a minute later I entered a very
comfortless room and saluted my chief. I asked
but coldly after his health, for I was raging in-
wardly, being convinced that I had been sent
upon a fool's errand. He told me that he had
succumbed to a sharp attack of inflammatory
rheumatism upon the afternoon of the day I had
left Monterey. Then he read the letters I
delivered.

" Tell me, frankly, what you think," he said.

" I am thinking, senor, that a marriage between
Castaneda and the sefiorita Estrada is an affair
that stains the honour of her kinsmen. The
bride loathes the groom."

If I expected an outburst of anger I was dis-
appointed.

" What has that to do with you, my friend ?"

** Nothing," I stammered, like a green boy,
" nothing, your Excellency."

Then, scarlet in the face, I told him in sub-
stance what had passed between Vallejo and me,
and, upon his again demanding my opinion, pro-
nounced the comandante a diplomatist, biding the
issue of a quarrel he refused to make his own.

** But there is more behind this, no?" muttered
Alvarado uneasily. " They say in your language
that lookers-on see most of the game. My uncle
till now has been my active ally. He has had his
finger in every pie. Why does he call himself a
ranchero ? "

His keen eyes were on mine ; they were steady
as beacon fires, although his lips were twitching
with pain.

'' Come and see me to-morrow ; and look you,
my friend, do not meddle in affairs that concern
others alone. I have work for you to do. Dios !
1 rejoice that you are in no woman's mesh.

ii8 JOHN CHARITY

Think of your handsome friend — tied hand and
foot to a wife's petticoat."

His voice had a cold ironical note in it. The
gossips vowed that His Excellency left h.\s fiancee^
the lovely Martina Castro, to sigh by herself upon
her father's rancho. Certainly he regarded love
as something apart from and immeasurably below
the duties and responsibilities of his position ;
and in this, as I now know, and in this alone, he
was wanting in a sense of the true proportion of
things.

'* I thank your Excellency for your advice," said
I, pausing on the threshold.

tie laughed lightly.

" Bueno ! You English have it that advice is
given and not taken. That is not really so ;
advice is generally taken. We are all influenced
by the opinions of others : and that, senor, is the
reason why I so seldom give — advice. Adios^
and thank you for your services."

I walked away convinced that my patron was a
masterful man, and yet — strange to say — I liked
him the better, because he was stronger than I.
None the less, John Charity determined to meddle
most strenuously in an affair that he held to con-
cern him more intimately than aught else on
earth.

As I crossed to Larkin's house I saw that the
town was en fete. Flags and banners hung from
the windows ; booths lined the plaza and adjoin-
ing streets ; on all sides I heard the twanging of
guitars and the squeaking of fiddles; dancing,
gambling, and drinking claimed the attention of
the gay Montereyenos.

As soon as supper was over I walked up the
hill to the Casa Estrada with the intention of
delivering Vallejo's letters, and if possible ex-

FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM 119

changing a word in private with Magdalena.
Why had she, so full of fire and spirit, submitted
tamely to these outrageous proceedings? Had
she a plan ? And if so — what was it ?

At the adobe I found a gay company assembled
to inspect the trousseau of the bride and the
donas of the groom. Although the time had
been short, the good Tia Maria Luisa had proved
equal to the occasion. The exquisite linens and
embroideries had lain for months in the handsome
baules — chests lined with camphor-wood and
covered with red leather, brass-mounted, studded
with brass nails, and gay with painted flowers —
and Castaneda during his last visit to Mexico
had bought the donas, a pearl necklace, some
filmy, fairy-like under-garments, lace, fans, a man-
tilla, and a pair of diamond rings for his wife's
pink ears. These were spread out before the
envious eyes of senoras and senoritas.

*' Santisima ! " said one pretty girl ; " but our
Magdalena must be a happy woman to-night."

" She laughs, and laughs, and laughs," said
another. " Ay ! she is happy, of course."

Pushing my way through the crowd, I pre-
sented my letters to Estrada and Tia Maria
Luisa. Magdalena was standing by Don Narciso,
and as her glance met mine she quivered and let
fall her heavy lids. When she raised them
languidly, for my life I could not interpret the
message of her eyes. She stepped forward and
greeted me with a smile, but the hand she placed
in mine was cold as a stone. Castaneda, who
was near, had doubtless told her of my return,
and he watched us narrowly as we exchanged a
half-dozen conventional phrases. I dared not
lower my voice, and I pressed her hand to my
lips and felt the muscles of her slim fingers
harden beneath the soft, velvety skin.

120 JOHN CHARITY

Then in a cold, courteous voice, Don Narciso
thanked me for bringing his kinsman's letters,
and begged me to be present at the morrow's
ceremony in the church at Carmelo. I bowed,
and turned to Tia Maria Luisa.

'* Your friends have gone," said she dolefully.
^* Ay de mil but I am sorry. The Senor Valencia
has left me nothing but a pot of dulces as sweet
as himself ! Que desgracia I But his wife !
Madre de Dios I it is well that the lovely lady has
taken her white skin to Santa Barbara. The
men had begun to quarrel for her smiles ; and,
look you," her voice sank to a whisper mellow as
mayonnaise, ** look you, senor, even our bride-
groom was not proof against her charms. Oh,
you men, you men ! "

*' Sefiora," said I, " I was a saint till I came to
Monterey, and now I am a sinner. Whose fault
is that ? "

^^Tate.tate! You a saint 1 He, He I A likely
story. No man was ever a saint till he was dead
— se Dios me perdona ! "

God knows I jested with a sore heart, waiting
and watching for a chance to speak to Magdalena.
I was sure that she would sleep with Tia Maria
upon the eve of her wedding. Custom demanded
it ; and the house would be crammed with friends
and relations. I dared not approach her window
at night. I knew of no soubrette who might be
intrusted with a letter. In short, I was where
many another man has been before me — in a
blind alley of perplexity, unwilling to retreat,
unable to advance.

I took pleasure, however, in watching the face
of Castaneda. The man was ill at ease, at a loss
to account for Magdalena's gaiety. Her smiles
bred frowns, and more than once she rallied him
upon his dismal countenance. Others remarked

FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM 121

his sour looks, and whispered together in corners,
murmuring behind their fans. 'Twas plain the
Mexican found little favour in the eyes of the
Montereyenas.

Soto presently engaged me in talk, and I said,
in answer to a question, that I was enjoying
myself vastly well, and looking forward to the
morrow's function.

*' I suppose, senor, that none will see the bride
till she leaves this house upon her father's arm —
no outsiders, I mean ? That is our custom."

" And ours also."

He chattered away, describing the details of a
Californian wedding, but eyeing me, I fancied,
maliciously, as if he knew that I was in torment.
Then the devil prompted him to allude to my
bout with sabres at the cuartel.

'^ You handle the fleuret better than the sword,"
said he.

As he spoke I saw my way clear. Why, in the
name of the Sphinx, had I overlooked such a
simple solution of the problem ? Being essenti-
ally a man of peace, I had not considered the
propriety of killing the Mexican, although I had
come to the conclusion that the world could spare
him. He was no coward ; he believed himself to
be my superior in the use of the sabre ; in a
word, he would not shrink from the ordeal of
combat. It was simple as the game of beggar-
my-neighbour. Before midnight some pretext
could be found for a quarrel ; we would meet at
dawn ; and a funeral would give the Monte-
rej^enos almost as much entertainment as a
wedding. I laughed as I reflected that Soto,
Castaneda's toady and parasite, had given me my
cue.

" You are in high spirits," he sneered.

" I was thinking about that queer flicking cut

122 JOHN CHARITY

of your friend's. Faith ! it was too much for me.
Would he teach me the trick, senor ? "

" Perhaps," said Soto, with his evil smile.

" Three times he had me. It piqued me, senor —
I confess it ; but, as you say, I can handle the foil
better than the sabre."

Till now I had held aloof from Magdalena, not
wishing to arouse suspicion by my attentions, for
the cold eye of Don Narciso was ever on me, and
the duena doubtless had her instructions. Despite
appearances, I had absolute trust in Magdalena.
From the moment I had felt her cold hand tighten
convulsively in mine I knew that she was true to
me, that her love was stronger than ever. But I
was by no means so certain that custom might
not drive a Spanish woman— little more than a
child — to the arms of another. Policy now con-
strained me to play a bolder game. So I joined
the group at the other end of the sala, and flung
a phrase at Castaneda.

'' Senor," said I, with my best bow, " you are
thinking, doubtless, that marriage is a more
serious thing for a man than for a woman."

How he scowled as I grinned in his handsome
face!

" And you, seflorita," I continued glibly, turning
to Magdalena ; " would it be an impertinence to
ask what thoughts are chasing themselves so
merrily through your beautiful head ? I am one
of those who believe that experience should be
borrowed, not bought. You "

" I am making the most of the passing hour,
seflor," she replied gaily. " Lent is coming, no ?
But my thoughts ! Ay ! you must guess those
for yourself."

The others laughed, but looked queerly at the
sour-faced groom.

" Don Santiago," said I impudently, " is natu-

FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM 123

rally distraught with anxiety. The cup is at his
lips ; he is thirsty ; but he must wait till to-
morrow."

Magdalena drew together her delicate brows.
I perceived that she thought me indiscreet. Yet
her lovely eyes were sparkling with malice.

*' Ay, ay ! " exclaimed a pretty girl. " To-
morrow never comes, senor. You know what
' manana ' means with us. Hiiy ! Don Santiago
need not fear. It is too late now for him to count
the cost."

" There was a story once " I began.

'* A story, a story," they clapped their hands.
" Que alegria ! The senor Inglese will tell us a
story."

''You may know it already," said I, smiling.
'' I would not tell it, only the circumstances are
so entirely different in this case. 'Tis a story
writ in verse — the love-story of young Lochinvar
and the lovely Ellen."

" The story of Elena ! For the love of the
saints, senor, tell us the story of Elena."

" Elena," said I slowly, with my eyes on the
Mexican, " was the rich and beautiful daughter of
a Scotch ranchero. Lochinvar was young, hand-
some, and poor, I suspect, although we are not
told so. Elena's father had betrothed her to a
man she hated, for there were bitter factions in
those days between the North and the South, and
this man would take no part in them. He was a
laggard in love and a dastard in war."

Those present knew that Castaneda had
declined to draw his sword against the abajefios.
He grew livid with rage as I continued, but said
not a word. Some of the men smiled ; the women
paled ; and Magdalena flushed scarlet.

" Elena," I said softly, " loved Lochinvar ; but
the day of her wedding was set, and he was not

124 JOHN CHARITY

within call. When he heard of the marriage he
was far away. He had to swim rivers to get
to her side. That reminds me the straits of
Carquinas are cold waters. Well, Lochinvar
arrived in time for the wedding — just in time, no
more. They danced at those Scotch weddings as
you dance here in Alta California. And they
were all famous riders, like you, senores. And,
of course, such a caballero as Lochinvar had a
splendid horse, the finest in the country."

They listened in breathless silence.

" Lochinvar entered the house of the bride's
father, and left his horse outside, as you do,
senores. Then he asked the lovely Elena for one
dance, which could not well be refused. He was
gay and debonair, this Scottish caballero, but the
other, the laggard and dastard, stood apart,
frowning, and the old father, you may be sure,
was fuming also. As they danced, Lochinvar
whispered one word in the pink ear of Elena.
Only one, senoritas."

'* Santisima ! " murmured the pretty girl at my
side ; '* as if one word was not enough."

** Yes, one word, and as they neared the door
she saw that his horse stood there, champing his
bit, full of fire and strength. In a moment — p-s-
s-s-s-st ! — they were outside the hall, in another
Lochinvar had swung the lady to the saddle and
mounted also. Before the astonished guests
could stir from their seats they were off and
away."

" Madre de Dios ! " ejaculated the little sefiorita,
who did not understand the significance of my
story. ** He was a true caballero, that one !
Ojala ! Had he Spanish blood in his veins,
no r

** Were they pursued and caught ? " said Mag-
dalena calmly.

FACIT INDIGNATIO VERSUM 125 ^

" They were pursued, but not caught," said I.

" Ay, ay ! " cried the little one ; " they would
have been caught here — sure. The bridegroom
would have taken a caponera."

" And what, senor," said Magdalena to me,
" would the poor caballero have done in that
case?"

*' Probably," said I, " he would have killed his
rival at the very steps of the altar, if need be.
Rest assured that the wrong man would never
have married the lovely Elena. And now,
senorita, I will bid you good-night."

I bowed to the company assembled, and took
my leave. If I had not misread the expression
upon Castaneda's face, I would surely have com-
pany before I reached my lodging.

CHAPTER XI

HABET

I LAUGHED quietly to myself as I stepped out
into the raw, damp fog, leaving my Caiifornian
friends agape with astonishment and dismay. I
could see Castafieda's scowl, and Soto's black
moustachios twitching in protest of my impudence.
But what pleased me most was the spirit dis-
played by my dear Magdalena. As I had bowed
before her, she flashed into my face a glance of
love and passion that set my pulses a-quiver.
Castafieda had marked that sweet message of
trust and approval, and you may be sure his
anger needed no such whet, for already, if desire
were as potent as performance, I had been stiff
and stark. The word dastard had pricked him
in, his tenderest spot.

I had hardly reached my lodging when Soto,
as I had expected, came hot-foot after me. We
sought together my small bedroom, and I bade
him be seated. Perhaps the expression upon my
face puzzled him, for he stared askance at my
courtesy, and fiddled nervously with his hat. He
did not sit down.

" You've insulted us, senor," he gasped.

" If you choose to make it your quarrel," I
replied, " you will find me willing to give you
satisfaction later. I presume you speak now

126

HABET 127

for the Seftor de Castaneda ? Yes, I have insul-
ted him publicly. I admit it."

'^ And for what r-r-reason ? " stammered Soto,
looking less fierce.

" Your ingenuity," said I, " need not be at
fault for a reason. Let us say that I had a mind
to learn the secret of that cut."

*' Carajo ! you jest, sefior."

" Why not ? I smile, and the other man scowls.
It is a matter of temperament."

" He will kill you."

" Perhaps. 'Twould be a pity — eh ? Because it
would interfere with our little affair. When you
came in just now, I saw that you were burning to
cross swords with me."

** You are mistaken," he muttered uneasily.
** I — I hoped that the insult was unintentional."

" Does Don Santiago want an apology ? "

" No ; but if the affair could be arranged "

" It can be arranged in five minutes, my dear
sir. I will send for my friend Pearson. Mean-
while, pray sit down and let me prescribe a glass
of cognac. I see that you are distressed."

He took a chair, and I despatched one of
Larkin's Indians for the doctor. I happened to
know that he was in the house.

*' You have insulted the Senor Estrada, too,"
said Soto, who did not refuse to swallow my
medicine. *' I confess that I do not understand
you, sefior."

I shrugged my shoulders and laughed.

When Pearson came in I told him gravely that
his services were claimed as man and probably as
surgeon. He made no objections, so I left him
alone with Soto, merely warning him that a fight
was inevitable. Presently he joined me, as I
w^as pacing up and down the road, and said that
Soto exacted choice of weapons as being the

128 JOHN CHARITY

aggrieved party. I told him that I was prepared
to make all reasonable concessions, and then he
said nervously that Castaneda was considered
invincible with the sabre.

" The sabre by all means," said I.

Accordingly, it was arranged that we should
meet at dawn on the morrow behind the old fort
that overlooks the town. Soto departed, swag-
gering, and eyeing me as if I were already his
man's meat. Then Pearson and I talked the
matter over, and as I knew him to be an honest
fellow, I confessed frankly that Magdalena was
at the bottom of the mischief; that I loved
her, and that I had reason to believe she loved
me.

" I fancy," said I, " that she has a plan, Pear-
son ; she swore to me that sooner than marry this
Mexican she would enter a convent. But she
feared to compromise Alvarado. It's strange
what an influence that man has upon all who
come near him. I feel already that I am his
servant."

Pearson admitted as much for himself, and
added that His Excellency was like to lose my
services. 1 cooled his apprehensions somewhat
with a toot from my horn, but he looked worried
and anxious, and entreated me to go to bed. As
I was dog-tired, I made no objections, and soon
was lying snug beneath the sheets. Nor did I
lie awake, borrowing trouble, but fell asleep at
once and never stirred till Pearson doused me
with cold water.
^ " Egad ! " said he, grinning, '* a hundred mile
ride is better than a dose of opium. I'll warrant
the Don was more easily wakened. Well, I have
coffee for you and a red-hot tamale. An English-
man fights best on a full stomach."

I ate what he provided with appetite, and

HABET 129

then the good fellow pulled out a box of ointment
and anointed my wrist and forearm.

" I'm no swordsman," he said, '' but this will
make your sinews as supple as silk."

It was thoughtful of him, for the morning was
chill, and the fog lay heavy upon the landscape.
He told me that one of tne officers would
accompany us, because he thought it well in case
of complications to provide a native-born witness.
Castaneda would bring two friends to the ground.
When we set forth I was as hot as the tamale I
had just swallowed, with the blood tingling to
my finger-tips, and, not being the first to arrive,
I had no time to grow cold.

The spot was admirably chosen : level as a
billiard-table, the ground neither too hard nor
too soft, no trees ; and, the fog obscuring the
sun, the light was fairly apportioned to each.
Castaneda, I marked, was in excellent form, and
he saluted me with an amiable grin, as if to say
that he bore no malice against a doomed man.
When we faced each other I saw that he was
quite confident, and as eager as I for the signal
to begin.

However, the opening was tame enough, for
Castaneda was biding an opportunity for his
favourite cut, and I was willing to humour him.
Presently it came, so quickly that I barely parried
it. I saw him frown, and laughed. Then he
attacked me more fiercely, advancing and retreat-
ing, Spanish fashion, cutting and thrusting with
great vigour and no little grace. I contented
myself with acting entirely on the defensive,
knowing that my physical condition must be
better than his, and soon I had the pleasure of
hearing his breath sob in his throat. Then I
pressed him as hard as he had pressed me, but
ne broke ground again and again with amazing

130 JOHN CHARITY

dexterity and quickness. Indeed, he used his
feet like an accomplished master of arms, and
had his sword-play matched his dancing this
story would assuredly have never been written.
Finally, I feinted, lunged again, and split his
cheek from mouth to ear. 'Twas a horrible cut,
one that must scar him for life, but not a dangerous
wound, nor one that would keep him from ful-
filling his noon engagements. I thought, of course,
that the duel was over, and cursed myself for a
bungler. Castaneda cursed too, and refused to
stop. Three stitches were taken in his cheek,
and then once more our swords crossed. He
had his wind again, and I could read in his eye
the most venomous determination to kill me.
Knowing that he was tricky, I was on my guard,
but twice he nearly had me, and he cursed each
time with rage and disappointment. I now
made certain that he was at my mercy^ and I
think he knew it too, for his eyes were grim with
despair.

Now, so far, I had kept cool, but just then, as I
was planning the last coup, the sound of voices
floated up out of the fog below us. If we were
interrupted by officials Castaneda would go to
San Carlos a sorry bridegroom, it is true, but
quite able to play the part. The fight must be
ended now or never. As each was conscious of
the approach of strangers, we paused, and the
same thought must have quickened both our
minds, for we lunged together so fiercely and
quickly that our swords entered our bodies as if
we had mutually agreed beforehand that neither
should leave the ground alive.

Fortunately for both of us we stooped as we
lunged ; my point entered Castafieda's right
shoulder, and ranged upward and outward ; his
— for he had aimed lower — pierced my pectoral

HABET 131

and latissimus dorsi muscles. We fell in a
crumpled heap as our seconds rushed forward.
Then I felt that the blood was pouring from me,
and the voices round me slowly grew inarticulate.
I must have fainted soon, after, for I remember
nothing till 1 woke to the consciousness of being
in my own bed at Larkin's, with a queer feeling
of numbness in my right side, and of nausea in
my stomach.

" You're all right," said Pearson cheerily.

" And Castafleda ? "

" He's better off than you are — a mere flesh
wound; but you've set your brand on him for
life."

" Where is he ? " I asked faintly.

** In bed, I suppose. Now, look here. Jack, you
keep quiet, and inside of a week you'll be up and
about. You've lost a lot of blood, my good
fellow, but he missed your lung."

I closed my eyes and presently felt much
stronger, and the feeling of nausea passed away.
Pearson had bound up rny wound, applying some
styptic that stopped the now of blood. He began
to joke about the affair, and said that I needed
cupping anyway, for he was satisfied that my
blood ran too hotly in my veins. I asked him
the time of day, and he showed me his big silver
watch. It was not yet nine.

" I shall leave you now," he said a few minutes
later. " By the way, the whole town has it that
Mrs. Valence was the cause of the duel. Castafleda
paid her marked attentions, you know ; so marked
that I wonder Valence did not call him to
account. I believe old Estrada was beginning to
think he had lost a rich son-in-law. Well, by-by !
Keep quiet."

Alter he had gone I reflected that 'twas just as
well that the town should believe what it did.

132 JOHN CHARITY

One or two knew better, but they would hold
their peace. Castafleda had ever a taste for
forbidden fruit, and doubtless he had little love
for Magdalena. His damnable passion for Lettice
accounted for his frowns, and for the smiles of
the Montereyenas. So far as Magdalena was
concerned, the w^ord ** laggard" had been as
applicable as " dastard." 1 sighed contentedly,
though my wound was throbbing and smarting,
when I thought of his slit cheek; his looks, at
least, would never again commend him to ladies'
favour.

Thomas Larkin came in and sat beside my bed,
well pleased, I could see, with the issue of the
fight : and his wife, an American woman, brought
me a delicious cup of tea, and some sugared
phrases.

*' You are the most popular man in Monterey,"
she said.

I drank the tea, and began to feel myself again ;
but when I stirred in bed the pain was horrible.

Larkin was much too busy to linger long ; his
store was filled with carnival customers, and I
begged him to give them his attention. But Mrs.
Larkin was in the mood for a gossip. She gave
me, with little encouragement on my part, the
history of the past week, absolving Lettice of
blame, but laying stress upon Castafleda's ex-
travagant and shameless behaviour.

"Of course," said she, ** Mr. Valence's lady,
sweet soul, does not understand our ways. A
Spanish woman might have been more careful.
She has a fine spirit, Mr. Charity, and a pretty
wit. She did not encourage the fellow, but she
suffered his attentions, because " — then she
laughed — "well, because the dear heart was,
maybe, a little mite jealous of the compliments
paid by her husband to other ladies. Mercy me !

HABET 133

but Mr. Valence is a handsome man. I'll warrant
he's made more than one heart ache ! "

If she were really curious as to the true cause
of the duel, Mrs. Larkin had wit enough to ask
no indiscreet questions ; but, to my amazement,
she seemed to think Magdalena's conduct in no
way to be criticised. Spanish girls, she said, did
what they were bid.

" She could not disobey her father, Mr. Charity,
and the donas are very beautiful. Did you see
the diamond earrings?"

I listened, secretly amused, thinking of what a
recent writer would call the barrier of associa-
tions that cannot be imparted. In this lotus land
of love 'twas plain that custom ruled supreme in
the marriage mart.

" But I cannot believe," said I, " that she would
really have married him. She may love another."

" I'd not be a bit surprised at that,'' said Mrs.
Larkin emphatically. " Bless you, sir, 'tis love,
and love, and love with these pretty senoritas.
They talk of it so much that they think as lightly
as they speak of it. An American girl or an
English girl would be ashamed to talk as these
little misses do."

" But they think about it just as much," said I.

" Maybe they do, sir ; but an American woman
wouldn't marry one man loving another, and
most of these Californians hold it no shame to
do so."

I confess that these idle words smarted worse
than my wound. Was it possible that Magdalena
would have married the Mexican, loving me ?
I burned with indignation at the mere thought
of it.

When my hostess left me I lay still turning
over in my mind what she had said and left
unsaid. Mrs. Larkin was certainly an unim-

134 JOHN CHARITY

peachable witness, but her Anglo-Saxon blood
had possibly discoloured her testimony. And
I reminded myself that no rule is without an
exception. Most of the girls I had met were
obviously cut to pattern — pulpy of mind and
destined in a few years to be pulpy also of body,
superstitious, believing firmly that an angry
father could invoke the curse of God, sensuous
rather than sensual, frivolous, vain, greedy, and
withal charming, with the charm of feminine
weakness that appeals so subtly to a strong man.
I had actually seen Magdalena gloating over the
filmy laces that formed part of the donas. And
why not ? Even Mrs. Larkin set an absurd
price upon a pair of earrings.

At ten Pearson examined my wound, and said
that the haemorrhage had stopped entirely. He
seemed very cross and sulky, but I supposed that
some detail connected with his daily duty had
upset him. I asked how my antagonist fared,
and he cursed him roundly, and said that the
rascal was bragging of his victory. I believed
him to be laid by the heels, and put no more
questions.

" Now mind," said Pearson, as he stood on the
threshold, " no matter what happens, don't you
leave your bed. You can see your friends, and
I've found a nurse for you, a not ill-looking
Indian girl, who will keep the flies off you and
get you what you want. Hasta luegoT

The girl was waiting outside, and came in as
Pearson bade me keep my bed. I thought that
the doctor made some sign to her, for she
nodded her head intelligently. Then the door
closed.

I dozed off in a minute, too, and awoke with
the clang and clamour of bells in my ears.

" What is that ? " said I.

HABEf 135

" The church bells. 'Tis Shrove Tuesday,
senor."

I did not know that Catholics held a midday
service upon Shrove Tuesday, but the girl's
explanation was simple enough. The church
was hard by, and the bells made a deal of noise.
I tried in vain to sleep.

Just then the girl rose to answer a tap at the
door. Some one, it seemed, wished to see me.

" 'Tis the Jew, Solomon," said the Indita
disdainfully. *' He says he has a miraculous
salve."

I wondered vaguely how the deuce he had
contrived to get from Sonoma to Monterey. Had
he seven-leagued boots or a magic carpet? I
told the girl I would see him, and presently he
shuffled in very humbly, with his eyes sparkling
and his long nose twitching with sympathy.

" Good Lord ! " said I, ** what wind blew you so
far south?"

** Der trade," he replied, with quick wit. " I
found a drogher " (a ship that carries hides).
" Veil, yes, peesness vas goodt — fifie. Dot Vallejo
is grazy — hein ? I shvallow his insults, yes, but
I sell mine goods. So you haf bin fighting ?
Himmel ! I am sorry. Undt I bring you mine
salve."

He laid the box of ointment on the bed. He
was sacrificing time and money to gratitude, and
I told him that I was sensible of this. He
shrugged his fat shoulders.

** Veil, you vas kind to der poor Jew. He vill
not forget you vas his friendt.'

** Come and see me again. Minutes are worth
pesetas just now."

** Veil, you see, choost now der beoples vas gone
mit der church."

** What, all of them ? "

136 JOHN CHARITY

" Dey vas crazy mit funerals undt weddings."

" And who is to be married ?" I asked.

The Indita jumped up, and began to wave her
hands. '' God of my soul ! Get out of this, thou
swine ! "

" Hold your pert tongue," I said sharply.
" Solomon is my friend."

Then the queer creature covered her face with
her skirt and began to sob. Later, I was told by
Pearson that he had threatened to kill her if
I learned what was passing in the town.

" Whose marriage is it ? " I asked again.

^^ Ay de mi^^ sobbed the girl. ^^Ay de mi!
Virgen Santisima ! "

" Vy, it's dot daughter of Estrada," said Solomon,
sorely puzzled, but obedient. ** Undt she's marry-
ing dot Mexican "

" Great God ! " I exclaimed, sitting up.
" Castaileda marrying ? "

The Indita howled, and Solomon laid a heavy
hand upon my sound shoulder, forcing me back
upon the pillow. I struggled vainly in his
grasp.

" Solomon, Solomon," I gasped. " Listen. Do
you want to do me a service ? Then for Heaven's
sake get me to the church ! Choke that screaming
fool, or chuck her out of the window ! No, no.
She's strong and can help us. Leaning on both
of you I can stagger to the church. The wedding
was to have taken place at Carmelo, but I suppose
they changed their plans. Quick, now! Raise me.
That's it. Gently does it. Good ! My trousers —
and that cloak."

He obeyed deftly, and the girl, frightened into
silence, assisted him. I suffered tortures, but
found to my great joy that I could walk, and I
did walk, step by step, out of my room into the
deserted street, and finally into the church.

HABET 137

'Twas folly, madness, if you will, but a raging
devil of jealousy sustained me. And he, you may
be sure, was stronger than Solomon and the girl
together.

As I stumbled along, the facts unrolled them-
selves. The Mexican had plenty of pluck and an
iron will. I respected him for keeping his appoint-
ment. Magdalena, poor little maid, had been
unable to repudiate the customs and traditions of
her country.

I found the church packed with people, but the
main aisle was clear, and I could see Magdalena
and Castafieda standing side by side upon the
steps of the altar.

And then a paroxysm of despair unnerved me.
I was weak from loss of blood, and leaning
unnoticed against the white-washed wall I
blubbered like a schoolboy. Strength deserted
me ; faith and hope were crushed ; even the fierce
flames of jealousy were burned out. But wretched
though I was, I marked the details of the scene.
To-day, after so many years have passed, the
imprint of that picture is still fresh upon the
quicksands of memory. 1 saw the mystic candles
blazing upon an altar decked with flowers and
resplendent with brocade, before which stood
priest and acolytes sexless in flowing robes ; the
boys in cassock and cotta swinging their censers,
the padre in gorgeous vestments. Then my eyes
fell on Castafieda, tall and grim, black and sombre
in clothes of European cut, and on the faithless
Magdalena in green satin, her hair — gleaming
dark beneath the silvery tissue of a mantilla —
piled high upon her small head ; below, to the
left, was Estrada in full Californian costume —
calsoneras, jaqueta, serapCy and botas — a brave
caballero in the crowd's eyes, in mine a scoundrel.
The rest of the company was a vibrant blur of

138 JOHN CHARITY

brilliant colours — reds, yellows, blues, and greens.
Upon all lay the prismatic tints of the stained
glass windows, lending to substance the unreality
of shadow.

And then out of the silence floated the passion-
less voice of the priest.

" Santiago Inocente, wilt thou take Magdalena,
here present, for thy lawful wife, according to the
rite of our Holy Mother, the Church ? "

In tones as cool and measured came the answer:
" I will."

" Magdalena, wilt thou take Santiago Inocente,
here present, for thy lawful husband, according to
the rite of our Holy Mother, the Church ? "

A pause followed :

"I will wo/!"

In a moment a buzz of amazed protest burst
from the crowd, and I saw Magdalena turn and
confront the congregation.

" I will not," she repeated scornfully, and her
words pattered like hail upon my ears. " I told
my father that I would not marry a man who was
odious to me, a Mexican. But," her sweet voice
quivered, ** he dragged me here against my will,
and now, in the presence of God and before you,
I solemnly vow and declare that I will not marry
Santiago de Castaneda. I do not love him, and
he does not love me."

While she spoke my heart was beating
furiously ; as she finished I struggled forward,
staggered a couple of paces, and fell. I heard the
buzz of many voices swelling to a chorus of
applause. I smelled the pungent fumes of the
incense ; I saw the church and its contents reel
as if smitten by an earthquake; and then my
very life seemed to ebb from my body — and I
knew no more.

CHAPTER XII

THE BLOODY FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA

For the next ten days I kept my bed, a mighty
sick man, for excitement and loss of blood played
the deuce with my heart's action, and had I not
known that life for me was so well worth the
living I might have died of sheer weakness and
anaemia. I was a sorry figure, you may be sure,
when I first took the air upon Pearson's arm,
lean of face — where before I had been full — pale
as putty, and feeble and awkward as a new-born
colt. Like the colt, however, I soon sucked
health and strength from the glorious spring
breezes, not to mention more solid nourishment
generously provided by my kind friend Mrs.
Larkin. 'Twas from her I learned in detail what
passed in the church during and after my faint-
mg spell. Magdalena, it seemed, had aroused a
pretty tempest of sympathy and pity in the hearts
of many gentlemen present. Upon the arm of a
cousin she had left the church, and Mrs. Larkin
said that the little girls strewed flowers in her
path, as if she had been in truth a bride, and that
she walked down the aisle with a smile upon her
face and a sparkle in her eyes that became her
vastly well. The groom and Don Narciso were
left scowling at the altar, mingling their curses
with the lamentations of Tia Maria Luisa. In

139

140 JOHN CHARITY

the confusion Magdalena passed me by, knowing
nothing then of my presence, unable to see a
prostrate man on account of the crowd around
her, and believing me, of course, to be safe in my
bed at Larkin's. The brave girl marched straight
to Alvarado's house and told him what she had
done.

Meanwhile, Solomon and the Indita, with
Pearson's help, had carried me to my lodging.
Within an hour the town knew that I had dragged
myself to the church, and the comments upon
such a piece of folly were, you may be sure, of a
mixed complexion. Finally, the story reached
the ears of Magdalena, with the corollary that I
was like to pay dearly for my rashness. She
tried, in defiance of Spanish etiquette, to see me,
but Pearson guarded my door and allowed none
admittance. And Alvarado, it seems, entreated
his cousin to be discreet. I learned later that he
persuaded her, not without difficulty, to accept
Vallejo's invitation. Don Narciso was about to
take the road for San Luis Obispo ; he had no
stomach for his daughter's company ; he dared
not leave her in Monterey, so he added his
commands to the Governor's entreaties. In brief,
she was constrained to go aboard a small vessel
that set sail for Sonoma upon the afternoon
following, but she wrote and despatched by a
secret hand the first love-letter I had ever
received. 'Twas in Spanish, and the literal
translation may sound to northern ears high-
falutin, but to me, I know, her sweet superlatives
were as wine to the weak :

" Best beloved of my soul " (she wrote), " I
leave thee, because 'tis best — so my cousin says —
that I should anger my father no more. He
has called me dreadful names that I would blush

FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 141

to set down upon paper. And he looks at me
— ay ! so cruelly ! His glances smart like the
lash of the cuerda. Tia Maria Luisa says that I
shall burn in hell for ever for loving a heretic,
and, may God pardon me, but I do love thee,
Juanito, my darling, and I kiss thy yellow curl
when I tell my beads. Santisima / but thou didst
send me a pretty bridegroom ; yet I thank thee in
the name of all women for setting thy mark upon
his false face. And now, my best beloved, aaios.
The rude Pearson says thou wilt be in the saddle
again in three weeks, and my cousin needs thee.
I must go north and thou wilt go south, but my
thoughts by night and day are with thee, my
Juan. And my heart tells me that we shall meet
again soon. And, Juanito, the Barbarenas are
beautiful ! Dios de mi alma ! I shall burn with
jealousy when I think of thy blue eyes resting
softly upon the faces of other girls. And, O my
darling, beware of de Castafteda ! He has the
heart of a devil, and the brain of a fox. He will
kill thee — if he can. Our Lady protect thee !
The blessed Saints, may they watch over thee.
A dios ^ adios !

" Thy Magdalena.
" See — I have kissed the cross that I have made
(X). I love thee, Juanito, as my heart tells me
thou lovest me. Adios ! "

The little Indian girl gave me this dear billet,
and smiled when I kissed it, thinking, doubtless,
of the vaquero to whom she was betrothed, and of
whose skill as a horseman she chattered glibly as
she sat by my side keeping the flies from my face.

Upon the third day His Excellency paid me a
visit. He still limped, but told me that rheuma-
tism had been exorcised by Pearson's strong
drugs. As soon as we were alone he said

142 JOHN CHARITY

abruptly: ''Senor, this scrape of yours has cost
me dear."

He spoke quietly, but a smile flickered round
the corners of his finely-cut mouth. I knew
what he meant. Estrada and de Castafieda were
almost certain to espouse Carrillo's cause. I
made no reply, having none pat, and His Ex^
cellency touched my hand.

'* After all," he added kindly, *' the gain, perhaps,
outweighs the loss. One loyal friend is worth a
regiment of false ones."

With such words he turned my respect and
admiration for him into a warmer sentiment.
Doubtless he had taken my measure, and clothed
my nakedness — for I was feeling very lonely and
ill — with a mantle cut by an artist and fashioned
out of the stoutest cloth. Saint Martin, you may
be sure, lined the half of the cloak he gave to the
beggar with the silver of kindly speech.

Then he told me that de Castaneda had left
Monterey in Estrada's company ; that Castro was
at the mission of San Miguel ; that word had
come to him (Alvarado) that Bustamente would
support the victor, and that accordingly he had
sent a despatch to Castro to win or lose a battle
within fifteen days.

** Would that I were with him," I groaned, for
confinement proved irksome to me.

Alvarado smiled.

" We will march together," he said cheerily.
" Did you see any good land up north ?*'

" Did I ? Yes ; thousands of leagues."

After that His Excellency honoured me with a
daily visit, and finding many topics of mutual
interest — politics, literature, but never love — we
soon became friends. Padre Quijas brought
word from Vallejo, who still held aloof, sending
his brother Salvador as proxy with a company of

FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 143

soldiers. The burly friar set soberly to work to
make me a Catholic. I could not help laughing
when he expounded the doctrines and dogmas of
Rome, for I had been through the Tractarian
Movement at Oxford, and was well prepared to
meet him in argument. Alvarado, listening to
us, said that Quijas was a better swordsman than
a logician, and the irate Quijas retorted, not un-
reasonably, that the senor gobernador was an
iconoclast in danger of perdition.

" I break no idols," said Alvarado ; " but if they
fall I do not set them up again."

This proves that Alvarado was at heart a re-
former even in matters spiritual. I have never
met a man less tolerant of abuse, no matter how
cunningly masked, nor one who despised more
intensely humbug and hypocrisy.

Quijas obtained permission from the father
superior of his order to march south with us.
His hand was itching for the sword-hilt, while he
talked solemnly of souls to be shrived upon the
field of battle. Alvarado said little, but he made
journeys to San Juan and Santa Clara, and
neglected nothing that might ensure the success
of what he hoped would prove a bloodless cam-
paign.

Upon March 25th we took the field with a small
body of soldiers and some civicos^ and upon the
31st reached Buenavista, where we learned of
Castro's victory at San Buenaventura. Of this
famous battle it is sufficient to say that after " two
days' continual firing" — I quote from Castro's
report — the abajenos fled under cover of night.
One man was killed : one man to an intolerable
deal of powder burned. Castro captured seventy
fugitives, with muskets and other arms, and took
possession of the pueblo of Los Angeles upon
April Fools' Day.

144 JOHN CHARITY

We marched on very leisurely, eating a great
deal of beef, and drinking many gallons of " tinto."
I confess that I was disappointed with the turn
matters were taking. My strength and energy
had returned, and with them a burning desire to
distinguish myself in the eyes of my chief. He
always laughed when I talked in a Cambyses'
vein, and, writing many letters, assured me that
the pen was mightier than the sword. As his
secretary, I saw not only the letters he sent but
those he received, and amongst them one from
the alcalde of Santa Barbara, in which mention
was made of Lettice and Courtenay. ** She has
bewitched us all," he wrote, " and I learn that
Santiago Castaneda is mad for love of her. He
is here with his slit cheek "

Castafieda in Santa Barbara ! The news
troubled me.

A letter from Courtenay explained this and
other matters :

** My dear Jack " (he wrote), ** we heard of
your duel with de Castaneda from the man him-
self. I must say that he speaks handsomely of
you. The gossips have it — and Castafieda hinted
as much to me — that the pretty Magdalena has
enslaved you. She seems to have a high spirit —
so beware, old John, beware ! As for the scene
in the church, the Mexican admits 'twas humili-
ating for him, but he adds that the marriage was
one of convenience on both sides, and that for
his part he has nothing to regret — except, I
should imagine, that hideous scar upon his face.
He is monstrous civil to Letty and me "

This letter puzzled me. The Mexican's civility
implied a motive. And I knew that Courtenay
could be imposed upon : large blue eyes, 1 have

FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 145

noted, of a peculiar azure tint hold much dust.
In a word, 1 was uneasy ; the more so because
duty chained me to my chief. I took Quijas into
my confidence, but he cooled apprehension with
common-sense, laying stress upon Letty's modesty
and decorum, and the fact that the multitude of
her admirers would prove a body-guard in case
of need.

We joined forces with Jos6 Castro, and I accom-
panied Salvador Vallejo, who with his company
was sent on in advance to occupy San Juan
Capistrano. We had His Excellency's instruc-
tions to use, if possible, conciliatory means, but
Salvador sent the abajenos a message saying
that he would hang all who did not instantly
surrender. They fled — to a man ; and the
soldiers, with drawn bayonets, rushed helter-
skelter through the mission buildings, which held
nothing more dangerous than some barrels of
aguardiente !

The battle of Las Flores followed : a battle in a
bandbox. We had three interviews with Carlos
Carrillo ; hot encounters, but nothing was spilled
save wine. Finally, upon April 23rd, a treaty was
signed, by the terms of which Vallejo was recog-
nised as comandante general, and Alvarado,
virtually, as Governor, although it was agreed
that for the time being Carrillo should act with
him, pending the action of the departmental
assembly. We then retraced our steps to San
Fernando, eating, drinking, and making merry.
I could see that Alvarado had Carrillo beneath
his thumb, but, while we were calling together a
convention of representatives from the different
pueblos, Jose Antonio Carrillo and Pio Pico
arrived, and, after more talk, constrained Don
Carlos to return with them to Los Angeles.

** Carajo ! " said Alvarado to me, ** we shall

146 JOHN CHARITY

have our work to do all over again. My uncle is
a schoolboy. But Jos6 Antonio and rico shall
smart for these pranks."

It was plain by now that Don Carlos had
proved himself a man of straw, possessed of none
of the qualities necessary in a ruler. Alvarado,
on the other hand, had commended himself to all
by his suavity and resolution. But, of course, as
my chief had predicted, the pranks began again,
and finally led to the arrest of the chief offenders.
We hunted for them high and low, finding Pio
Pico tucked away beneath the madre of the
tapanco (garret ; the madre is the big mother
beam that supports the roof), and Jos6 Antonio
under a pile of hides. Pico was in his shirt,
pallid and cold with terror, but Jos6 Antonio
laughed gaily, and said that hide and seek was a
sorry game for grown men. Well, Villavicencio
and I escorted these hidalgos to Santa Barbara,
where at last I met Letty and Courtenay.

We had got into town late, but, learning that a
dance was being held at the house of the de la
Guerras, and that Letty would surely be present,
I slipped into the suit that Vallejo had given me
and joined the revellers. The big sala was filled
with dancers, but I could not see Letty, and was
about to question my host, when Courtenay came
up from behind and slapped me on the back.
Lord ! how glad I was to see him !

"Where is Letty? "said I.

" She is on the verandah with Castafteda."

I stared at him in amazement.

" Surely you know what gossip says of this
squire of dames ? "

*' I don't believe a word of it. He's an accom-
plished fellow and a very good chap. He has
forgiven you, as I wrote you."

He laughed, and ran off to dance with a very

FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 147

languishing dame. Alvarado was at the other
end of the room, so I paid him my respects. I
was afire with impatience to see Letty ; but he
laid his hand on my arm. We walked together
into the patio.

" Are you ready to take the road again ? " he
asked.

"Yes," said I.

'* Will you ride to Sonoma ? "

" At once, your Excellency."

He smiled.

" There is no hurry. But I am minded to send
our prisoners to my uncle. Jose Castro wishes

to despatch them to the devil. They shall go

instead to the comandante."

His lip flickered with humour, and I recalled
some stories about Vallejo's cruelty, and re-
membered what he had said about the Jew,
Solomon.

" And now," he added, tapping me on the cheek,
" enjoy yourself. You cannot go north yet. We
must celebrate these glorious victories first."

I found my cousin and Castaileda on the front
porch. The two chairs seemed to me unneces-
sarily close together.

** Letty," said I, " what welcome have you for
me?"

She rose at once with a joyful cry, and opened
her arms. A sister could have hugged a brother
no harder. When she released me, Castaneda
stepped forward, bowed, and offered his hand
and a courteous phrase, both of which I was con-
strained to accept. The Mexican left me alone
with Letty. We sat down, and she gave me her
slender hand.

*' Dear John," she said fervently, " how glad I
am to see you ! "

" What ! is the honeymoon over ? "

148 JOHN CHARITY

Perhaps the question was indiscreet, but I had
played gooseberry so often. She ignored it and
said quietly : '^ I have missed you." Then, at her
request, I recited my adventures, and she told
me in return what had befallen her, but of
Courtenay she said little, and of Castaileda still
less, which alarmed me, for she was naturally of
a frank and ingenuous disposition. The de la
Guerra punch, however, unlocked old Mark's lips,
and when Letty had gone to her bed, I got at the
marrow of the matter.

" He has some of Sir Marmaduke's blood in his
veins," said the Captain, filling the famous meer-
schaum we had given him. Then, in answer to a
hot ejaculation from me, he continued : '' It is
nothing serious, and this work of ours is deadly
monotonous. Ay, ay, it '11 pass."

** What will pass ?" I demanded impatiently.

" This love of pleasure. Jack. He leaves his
wife too much alone; but dammy, I love the
lad."

" Nobody can help doing that," I replied
moodily. *' Hang it ! do you love Castafleda
too?"

The old fellow answered rather sheepishly that
the Mexican was not without charm, and I re-
torted that as much and more could be said of a
rattlesnake.

" Well," said he, with a sly wink, " you know
that the best of women — God bless 'em — have a
weakness for sinners."

A protest would have been wasted. During
the week that followed 1 spent many hours with
Letty, and de Castaneda gave me sea room ;
when we met, smile encountered smile. The
Heron sailed south again, and Courtenay promised
that he would give less time to pleasure (which I
found with relief to be abstract, not concrete) and

FIELD OF SAN BUENAVENTURA 149

more to duty. Old Jaynes — with an Englishman's
respect for rank — made the young gentleman's
labours as light as possible, humouring and
pampering a temperament that needed drastic
treatment. Beneath soft and smiling skies Master
Courtenay bid fair to become a selfish epicurean.
And yet, who am I to throw even a pebble at
him ? If he worked too little, I assuredly worked
too hard, consumed by ambition. My heart was
in Magdalena's keeping, but my mind was busied
with a thousand schemes. Nor did I write to
the maid, but my name often figured in Alvarado's
despatches to his uncle, and I may not repeat the
kind things he said of me : giving me, indeed,
credit that was not my due. Unhappily, as will
appear shortly, others were in correspondence
with the autocrat of Sonoma, and some of them
doubtless marked the attention I paid poor Letty,
and drew therefrom conclusions most unwarrant-
able. I had smarted sorely on her account, and
was to smart still more, but after a different
fashion.

About the middle of May Alvarado sent me
north in charge of the prisoners. *^ Beware of
Jose Antonio," he said at parting. " I doubt not
that he will try to persuade the comandante that
a jackass may be a lion." (He was speaking of
Carlos Carrillo.)

** Jose is a sly dog," said I.

" For that reason he goes north. He shall not
worry these domestic fowls any longer, these
stuffed chickens who only gobble and crow."

** Shall I return here, your Excellency ? "

He laughed and held up a lean forefinger.

**You will return to Monterey at once. Nor
can you expect the comandante to entertain you.
Magdalena is in his care."

I looked glum, for he laughed again.

I50 JOHN CHARITY

" Don't despair. There are many maidens in
Alta California."

" None so fair as Magdalena," I replied.

"She is an Estrada, my friend," he said
pointedly.

" Your Excellency, I have her word for it that
she is a Bandini."

CHAPTER XIII

THE QUICKSANDS OF SANTA MARIA

Next day we took the northern road, and after
climbing the Gaviota Mountain and passing
through a very wild and sterile country, lay for
the night at the mission of Santa Ynez, where we
were most hospitably entertained by the good
padres. Not far from this place a misadventure
befel me. I had supped well, and was chatting
with Jose Antonio tarrillo (who for a prisoner
certainly made bonne mine a mauvais jeu) beneath
the old mission arches, when a mestizo rode up
on a horse lathered with sweat, and doffed his
sombrero to my companion.

"" Who is that ? " said I, for the man had a
noticeable face of the colour of old mahogany,
illumined by a pair of black, beady eyes, the cruel
and inquisitive eyes of a rat, deep set beneath
coarse shaggy hair worn, as fashion then dictated,
a la furia.

" I do not know," replied Carrillo. " Madre de
Dios ! he is ugly as sin."

The fellow dismounted, and then — seemingly
for no reason — brutally kicked the poor jaded
beast in the stomach. Carrillo snickered, for
these Californians, so kind to humans, are no
lovers of animals ; and whether his snicker fired
my wrath, or whether, which is more probable,

151

152 JOHN CHARITY

some subtle instinct of antipathy possessed me,
I cannot tell, but without thinking I sprang
forward and hit the rascal so hard on the ear that
he fell to the ground. However, he was on his
feet again in a jiffy, and drawing his punal,
attacked me fiercely. Whereat my companion
also rose, and in a loud voice bade the man give
pause, threatening him with a score of punish-
ments. The fellow bowed humbly, sheathed his
knife in his boot, and slunk away.

When I thanked Carrillo, he said, gravely, that
a half-breed never forgives an injury, and fears
nothing on earth save the lash. "You are my
gaoler," he concluded, " but I trust, sefior, that no
harm will come of this."

His concern touched me, and in company we
smoked many cigaritos, talking well into the
small hours, for I found this southerner a cheery
and clever companion. Under his sombrero —
so Alvarado had told me — lay the brains of the
abajenos, and before starting His Excellency had
bid me beware of a subtle tongue. " Be sure,"
said he, " that Carrillo will fish patiently and use
many baits." Bearing this in mmd, I left politics
alone. We left the mission next day at an early
hour, and travelled leisurely through a pretty,
well-wooded country till we came to the Santa
Maria river, where we camped for the night upon
the banks of what was considered then, as now,
the most treacherous stream in Alta California.
At that season of the year the channel was almost
dry, yet, where the water flowed, a cunning eye
might detect smooth, slimy masses of shifting
sand, crossing which a horse or steer would sink
to the belly and surely perish, unless rescued at the
end of a stout lariat. Here, our larder needing
replenishing, and the river bottom being alive with
game, I shouldered my rifle and sauntered down

QUICKSANDS OF SANTA MARIA 153

stream till I came to a place where the river forked.
Upon the left bank was a bluff, the end of a spur
of the foothills, and on the crest of the bluff,
gloriously outlined against an opaline sky, stood
a fine blacktail buck, fat as butter, with a head
of horns that looked like a thick bush for the
number of its points. I stalked him successfully,
the sea breeze setting from him to me ; and when
I pulled trigger he lurched forward and fell
crashing down the face of the bluff, as if sen-
sible of the propriety of giving a hungry man as
little trouble as possible. Now, between me and
my quarry lay the river, into which I waded,
holding my rifle above my head. But I had not
gone a dozen paces before I found myself sinking
in the soft sand, and after wallowing in this cursed
quagmire, I soon realised that I was like to come
to an inglorious end unless help was at hand. I
yelled loud as Stentor, but, being far from camp,
had but slim hope that my friends would hear me.
And then, as I was straining my ears for a distant
shout, I heard from the other bank a diabolical
chuckle. I am not more superstitious than my
neighbours, but, on my word, I thought that the
fiend himself was mocking me. Such laughter,
to a man in deadly peril, seemed inhuman. Yet,
had it not been for that dreadful, triumphant ** Ha !
ha ! ha ! " I believe I had sunk, for it stirred my
pulses to the most frantic efforts, and by dint of
kicking and rolling I presently, to my great joy,
struck bottom and soon lay, panting and exhausted
but safe, upon a firm gravelly bar. Now I confess
that I was badly scared, and, lying on the bar, I
wondered whether the laughter had been a trick
of fancy. My doubts on this point were increas-
ing, when I heard the crack of^ a pistol and also
the '* zip " of a bullet singing by my ear, and
burying itself in the earth not four intrhes to

154 JOHN CHARITY

the left of my head. Although spent with my
previous exertions, I began to roll again toward
the thick sage brush and was tumbling into cover,
when something like a slung shot seemed to smite
my head, and my senses forsook me. I reckon
that I must have lain there for half an hour.
Then I became aware that I was still alive,
although desperately sick and giddy. I had wit
enough to crawl into the brush, and presently
feeling for my wound found it on my head. The
bullet had slit the skin, merely grazing the scalp, so
after all I was more frightened than hurt. Doubt-
less my enemy — whoever he might be — counting
me dead and fearing the treacherous sands, had
left me to the buzzards. Soon the giddiness and
the nausea left me, and in time I reached camp, a
sorry-looking object, but none the worse for my
misadventure.

Jose Carrillo, while dressing my wound (for he
had skill in such matters), said that I was surely
not destined to die in my boots.

The night following we lay at another mission,
that of San Luis Obispo, so called from a moun-
tain near the pueblo wnose peak bears a curious
resemblance to a bishop's mitre. This mission,
one of the oldest in California, was charmingly
situated upon rising ground, whence on three
sides great pastures swept away in lovely undula-
tions to the blue mountains that encircled them.
I walked in the padre's garden, a pleasaunce
fragrant with old-fashioned flowers — Castilian
roses, St. Joseph's lilies, and the like — and marked
many herbs and simples, some silvery olive-trees,
and a long, cool, vine-clad arbour, called an
emparado. Here my wound was dressed again
by a padre, who pronounced it to be healing with
the nrst intention. Here, also, the chief people

QUICKSANDS OF SANTA MARIA 155

called upon our prisoners and openly condoled
with them. 'Twas plain that John Charity was
regarded as a pestilent fellow, and had it not been
for the fierce aspect of my soldados (whose valour,
to tell the truth, lay chiefly in their tongues' tip),
a rescue might have been attempted. The pris-
oners, whom I had treated as friends, gave me
their parole in exchange for certain amenities, but
I made it clearly understood that anything in the
nature of a scrimmage would lead to a massacre.
In the teeth of this ultimatum I encountered more
smiles than scowls.

After leaving the town of the bishop we
approached the domains of Don Narciso Estrada,
the lovely and fertile rancho Santa Margarita.
To the right and left of us towered the Santa
Lucia Mountains, the Trossachs of Southern
California, and between these lay the Salinas
Valley, studded with sycamores and huge live
oaks, and knee-deep in lush clover and alfileria.
I began to understand why Castafieda had been
so keen to marry a girl for whom he had no love ;
for indeed, to gain a title to so many and such fat
acres a man might be tempted to make a covenant
with the devil, let alone a young and handsome
seftorita. However, the sight of Magdalena's
heritage pricked my pride till it smarted. The
barrier between a penniless son of a yeoman and
the heiress of the Santa Margarita seemed greater
than the vast bulwark of mountains that lay
between the Salinas and the Pacific. And so,
for some time, the train of my thoughts bur-
rowed into a gloomy tunnel, travelling none the
less at a speed that promised me daylight, for I
was sensible that I had my sweet lady's love, and
also that Venus is ever kind to those who serve
her faithfully and ardently.

Of course, Jose Carrillo was cognisant of what

156 JOHN CHARITY

had passed in Monterey, and presently he turned
this knowledge to account.

" Narciso Estrada is accounted one of the
richest men in the country."

" I can well believe it, senor."

** The old fox is on the fence."

" The nearer to the grapes."

" Do you know why he betrothed his daughter
to Castafieda ? "

** The Mexican is of kin to Bustamente."

" True ; but there were other reasons — reasons
you can guess."

I understood him perfectly. From what had
passed between us, I could no longer doubt that
Castaneda was in league with the abajefios.
These gentlemen were the aristocrats, the cava-
liers, so to speak, of Alta California, and, like
them, intensely proud, arrogant, conceited, and
ignorant of the true trend of events. Jose
Carrillo was silent for a few minutes, then
he said slily, " You have engaged the interest
of the most powerful men in the North, senor,
but had you landed at San Diego, or Los
Angeles, quien sabe, you might now "

'' Have been a prisoner," I retorted bluntly, for
I could smell powder in such talk.

*'A thousand pardons. I had no intention to
offend. You came here in search of Fortune, you
and your brother, Senor Valencia, and 1 frankly
hope that you will find the lady. But I am not
speaking beyond my brief when I profoundly
regret that you did not land at San Diego, where
we could have found you a rancho and a hand-
some wife to boot."

To this I made no reply. Twas plain he
wished to bribe me. I remember that I marvelled
why John Charity was seemingly regarded as
a personage by these Californians. The secret

QUICKSANDS OF SANTA MARIA 157

leaked out later. Honest Jaynes, it seemed, had
descanted freely of the glories of the Valence
family, of the wealth of Sir Marmaduke, of his
friendship with the late king, and so on and so
forth. It was very generally believed, both at
Monterey and Santa Barbara, that we were duly
accredited agents from the Court of Saint James ;
spies, in fact, overlooking the Canaan of the
Pacific.

Soon after we rode up to the ranch-house,
and were received by Don Narciso with much
ceremony and many protestations of esteem.
The prisoners, being persons of quality, were
made equally welcome and assigned good rooms.
I noted, however, that at John Charity the old
gentleman cocked a curious eye. I was bound
to Sonoma, where his daughter was the guest of
Vallejo, and he knew that with me duty and
inclination marched abreast. I also marked that
he talked apart with Carrillo, and drew many
conclusions not flattering to my host's loyalty.
Not a doubt remained in my mind that Alvarado,
even in Monterey, was encompassed with spies
and traitors. At dinner, none the less, I was
seated at Estrada's right, and he showed me
much attention, taking wine with me a number
of times and entreating my opinion upon the
quality of the liquors. Later, as we sat smoking
upon the verandah, he engaged me in talk, and
conversed amicably in a voice singularly sweet
and flexible. I realised for the first time that he
was the father of Magdalena, and did not forget
that flies are caught with molasses.

" These family quarrels" — he was something of
a euphuist — " are the curse of California. They
give educated strangers, like yourself, seftor, a
false impression of the people and the country."

'' The country is the finest on God's footstool,

158 JOHN CHARITY

Don Narciso, and as for this quarrelling you
speak of, egad ! the best man has won, and now
we shall have peace."

" You are young," he observed drily, ''and
naturally of a sanguine disposition."

" Well," I retorted, thinking of Magdalena
" this world would be a sorry place without
youth and hope."

" Hope has starved many a pretty gentleman.
I prefer certainty."

" And I too, Don Narciso."

I made a shift to catch his eye, but in vain. As
the devil would have it, we were interrupted by
Estrada's major-domo. The old fox — as Carrillo
well named him — was about to break cover, and
I felt that I had missed a run. But, after I had
retired to a somewhat evil-smelling, windowless
bedroom, and was pulling off my heavy riding-
boots, he came discreetly to my door, asked
civilly to be admitted, and, entering, assured me
that his business would not take long in the
telling. In my egregious vanity and inexperience
of the Latin race, I believed that he felt more
kindly toward me, and that my position in
Alvarado's favour had modified his opinion of
a young man whom he had no reason to suppose
other than an adventurer. In short, I hoped
that he had come to claim me as a son-in-law,
wherein I was not much out, although approach-
ing a sound conclusion from the side of folly
rather than that of wisdom. For to my amaze-
ment, after pledging me to secrecy, he coolly
offered me Magdalena's hand upon two condi-
tions : the release of the prisoners in my charge,
and the rupture of my relations with Alvarado.
I was red-not with rage before the words were
out of his mouth, but I managed to say quietly :
*' Anything else, seflor ? "

QUICKSANDS OF SANTA MARIA 159

"Is not that enough?" he demanded inso-
lently.

" You would give your daughter to a traitor.
But the senorita does not love traitors, as you
know "

** You are a very foolish young man."

*' No doubt."

" Jose Carrillo is a fool too."

" If he advised you to traffic with an English-
man's honesty, yes."

At the word Englishman he laughed grimly.
Then he said with a sneer on his thin lips : ** The
Seftor Valence is not so particular."

'• What I " I gasped.

** His sympathies are with us. He is of the
nobility, as we are. You look incredulous,
sefior; but ask your friend, ask him, I say.
And we have promised to protect his interests."

I was silent, overcome by what he said. For
I dared not contradict him. Then I told him
that Courtenay had sworn no allegiance to
Alvarado, that he was free to choose his side ;
and yet the fact that he had so chosen without
a word with me burnt like acid. Possibly the
old Don fathomed my thoughts, for he added
angrily : ** Juan Bautista is using you as a tool ;
a spade wherewith to dig your grave and his
own. D n him ! "

He was certainly angrier with himself than
me. These Dons seldom plead for favours. He
was ** a beggar who had never begged before,"
and never would again — to me.

"Senor Don Narciso," said I, "you make it
hard for me to remember that you are my
host."

I had flicked him on the raw, for he drew him-
self up with great hauteur, bowed, apologised,
and bade me good-night. When he had gone

i6o JOHN CHARITY

I began to laugh. Latin honour tickled Anglo-
Saxon humour. That he had offered his daughter
in exchange for my loyalty seemed to the Don a
ha'penny matter ; but a shght to a guest curved
his backbone into an abject bow

CHAPTER XIV

THE WAY OF A MAID WITH A MAN

We reached Sonoma on June 3rd. Vallejo
hemmed and hawed when I inquired after the
health of the senorita Estrada, and I was
assigned a room in the house of his brother
Salvador, which stands at the corner of the
plaza, a poor lodging, neither clean nor com-
fortable. Later, Quijas told me, with a broad
grin upon his red face, that he had encountered
Tia Maria Luisa, and had learned from her
that Magdalena was sick in bed of a fever.
From the twinkle in the burly friar's eye one
might infer that the fever was 01 the kind that in
these latter days would be treated homoeopath-
ically to a successful issue — similia similibus
curantur. I supped that night at Vallejo's table,
and in the sala afterwards paid my court to the
stout aunt.

" Ay^ ay ! " she exclaimed, holding up her fat
little hands, ** these fevers, Don Juan, are terrible
things, terrible. La pobrecita was running about
the patio not three hours ago, just before you
came."

Her small eyes twinkled with malice and
slyness.

'* Senora," said I, capturing and kissing her
left hand, " let me comfort you. These fevers

l6l II

i62 JOHN CHARITY

come and go, as you say, like travellers. The
senorita may be running about the patio again
three minutes after I have left."

She held up her fan to hide a smile.

** And when do you depart, senor?" she
asked softly.

** This instant," I replied, " if I believed
honestly that my going would affect the health
or happiness of your niece."

Tia Maria Luisa snatched away her hand,
turned up her eyes, crossed herself, and
muttered something that assuredly was not
a benediction. Indeed, so obvious was it that
she counted me an enemy to be held at arm's-
length that I made no further attempt to win
her favour. Moreover, Vallejo's wife eyed me
coldly. It has been said that her sympathies
were with her kinsmen, the abajenos, and the
part I had played in their capture was doubt-
less displeasing to this kind and gentle lady.
Martina Castro was at her father's house, so
practically I had no friend amongst the women
whose services I could command at a pinch.
None the less, fortune smiled on me, for that
evening as I was crossing the plaza a pretty
Indita slipped a billet into my hand :

" I am imprisoned " (wrote Magdalena) " in the
small room m the north-east corner of the house.
Do not attempt to see me. But be at the big
sycamore below Salvador Vallejo's house to-
night at ten."

The note required no answer, but as I slipped
a piece of silver into the Indita's palm I asked
how my dear fared. The graceful creature
laughed coquettishly, and said that the senorita
had eaten a sorry dinner. Her sparkling eyes

THE WAY OF A MAID WITH A MAN 163

assured me that an intrigue is meat and drink for
maid and mistress.

At the appointed hour I sallied forth, wrapped
in my mantle, with my sombrero pulled far over
my eyes. 'Twas pitch dark, but I made my way
to the sycamore and sat down on one of its big
roots. And here I sat, cursing the delay, for
nearly half-an-hour, till my eyes — for I was dog-
tired — grew heavy as lead. Perhaps the lids fell,
for I saw nothing, heard nothing, till a light touch
upon my shoulder sped drowsiness. Then I
dimly discerned the Indita standing beside me,
veiled in a rebozo. Bitterly disappointed, I spoke
sharply : '' You are late."

She murmured softly: ^^ No viene dia que no
tenga su tardea

*' Well, what message have you ? "

*' Are you awake, senor ? "

" Yes, impudence."

" The sand is still in your eyes — no .?"

She mocked me so that I tried to tweak her
hair — twin braids that hung far below the waist.
The girl ducked cleverly and laughed. Lo ! 'twas
the laugh of Magdalena.

^^ Querida /" I exclaimed, opening my arms.

** Don Juan Charity, do not touch me. You
are a caballero. See, I forbid you to come nearer
than thatj' and she stuck her sweet cheek some
ten inches from my own. " Ojala ! I have staked
my reputation to come here, so — behave ! And,
besides, I am angry with you."

" Good Lord ! what have I done ? Thou dost
chill me with thy frigid 'usted."

She had slipped aside the rebozo, and I was
able to see her face, which looked very pale and
pensive by starlight

** I heard of your doings at Santa Barbara. I
am not your wife yet, senor, and I warn you that

i64 JOHN CHARITY

I am jealous. Virgen Santisima ! How jealous
la m ! No, no, no. Back — or I leave you."

She was bewitching in the Indita's short skirt
and camisole : and my heart was hungry for
kisses, yet I dared not disobey. She continued :

" You are too kind, too cousinly to the lovely
senora Valence."

" She is my cousin."

'* You say * my ' as if you owned her."

** Magdalena, don't be foolish. Think of the
precious time we are wasting."

" You want to sleep again. Dios ! You could
not keep awake when I was coming to you."

" How didst thou escape from Tia Maria ?"

" Ay ! You are clever to change the subject.
My Indita is lying in my bed with her face in the
pillow. If my aunt should come in she will see
nothing but two black braids. We removed the
grating, Juanita and I, and then I slipped through
the window. And all for love of a faithless
Englishman."

And then she laughed that beguiling laugh of
hers with the tears in it ; pearls in a ripple of
diamonds. And I knew intuitively that she had
suffered, hearing idle tales of Letty and me. And,
accordingly, I was so sorry for her that my voice
trembled when I spoke.

" Believe me, Magdalena, I am true to thee ; my
heart is all thine. Oh ! my dear, nothing came
from thee to me save the trade wind that blew
glad and strong from the north."

** Ah ! " she murmured, " did not the sob of the
sea tell thee that I was yearning for thee ? "

Now that my eyes were used to the starlight I
could see her plainly, and marked with a pang a
thinner cheek, a slighter figure. She seemed
rather shadow than substance; a creature of
fancy, a sprite from the world unseen. And with

THE WAY OF A MAID WITH A MAN 165

my eyes gazing into the velvety depths of hers I
told myself, with a sense of impending evil, that
she was indeed of the past, a daughter of yester-
day, whereas I, big, clumsy, ambitious, was the
incarnation of to-day. And so thinking, a tear
trickled down my cheek, for my heart was twisted
so cruelly that I gasped with the pain of it. And
then Magdalena threw her arms about my neck
and kissed me, entreating my pardon, and
whispering a thousand endearments — words that
do not lend themselves to our cold northern
tongue, words that are as flames of fire.

The passion of it dismayed me. Compared
with this love, the love of a maid such as Letty
had been is as the flow of the silver Itchen to the
arrowy rushes of the Rhone. And I was borne
upon this swirling, seething tide as a log is
whirled to the sea. And then, as a log is tossed
upon a sand-bar, I suddenly found myself released
from her clinging arms and stranded on a silence.

" Juanito," she murmured timidly, ** thou dost
think me unmaidenly ? "

" No," I replied heavily. " No, 'tis not that,
querida, but I would — I would "

I stammered. She finished the phrase bitterly.

" Thou wouldst have me different — no ? Like
the English daisy."

Her mouth drooped piteously. Her moods
distracted me.

'* Magdalena," said I, '' leave the daisy alone,
thou tiger-hly. For thy sake, not for mine, I
would that thy blood flowed more calmly. Fever
and fret will undo thee."

She laid her head with a sigh upon my shoulder.
Truly a man is humbled rather than exalted by
such love as this, poured out in fullest measure.
For unless he be fool or devil he must be sensible
of his own unworthiness. And yet, if he strive to

i66 JOHN CHARITY

become worthy, it will be well with him ; but if
he accept such a gift in a vainglorious spirit,
'twere better for him and for the woman that they
had never been born.

As she leaned trembling against me, I reflected
that the way of a man with a maid is ever vary-
ing, a game played, so to speak, by misrule. And
then I recalled Shakespeare's lines : '' That which
is the strength of their amity shall prove the
immediate author of their variance." Had she
loved me less our love-passages might have
proved smoother.

Presently we fell to talking of the future, and
then her wit and foresight amazed me, for in
Latin countries the women, as a rule, meddle not
with what pertains to men. 'Twas plain that she
held the claims of the rival factions in some
contempt — a difference 'twixt tweedledum and
tweedledee. Finally, as her head lay upon my
shoulder, and her soft breath stirred the hair about
my ear, she whispered : '* Juanito, thou dost fear
for me because my blood flows too quickly. I
fear for thee, querido, because thou art easily
fooled."

'* Who is fooling me, Magdalena ? "

" Thy handsome cousin for one, the senor
Valencia."

She could read in my face that I thought her
jealous of my friend.

" Ay, I am not jealous of him ; but I do not
like him. He is shallow, a trifler, and he imposes
on thee ; for that I hate him," and I heard her
small teeth meet in a significant click. Nor
would she listen to my defence of Courtenay, but
interrupted me with gusts of light laughter ; and
when I persisted, growing warm, she laid her
fingers on my mouth and entreated silence.

" How much dost thou love me, Juanito ?"

THE WAY OF A MAID WITH A MAN 167

I answered the question after a fashion that
did not satisfy her.

** No, no ; thy kisses are sweet. But tell
me — wouldst thou make a sacrifice for my
sake?"

'' What dost thou want ? " I asked.

" Ay^ how cold thy voice is ! I want, I want —
thee."

" But you have me, sweetheart."

''A part of thee, yes. But not all. Oh!
Juanito mio, my heart tells me that Alvarado
and his ambition will come, nay, has come
between us."

I was silent.

" Virgen Santzsima,^^ she sighed, ** it is so."

" Magdalena, I have no home to offer thee. I
must work, dearest, as other men work, and thou
must wait."

" There is no must about it," she retorted,
pouting. From the corner of her eyes flashed a
glance compounded of disdain, impatience, dis-
appointment, and love. Oh ! she was a witch,
a witch. I began to build with words the
castle wherein I hoped to lodge this fair en-
chantress.

** Tate^ tate" she exclaimed, '* how little thou
dost understand me. By the time thou hast built
such a cage as that, the bird may be flown. No,
no, not flown, but dead. Ay^ how ambitious thou
art ! For me, I want but little to eat and drink
and wear, but I must have love — plenty of it.
But thou, like Alvarado, dost hold love to be a
pastime. Fool, fool, not to know that it is all, all
of life."

Was I impatient with her ? Perhaps. I begged
her to be more explicit, and at last she put her
desire into words.

She entreated me, in fine, to leave her kind

i68 JOHN CHARITY

kinsman's service. I protested in vain. She was
obstinate.

" Thou must choose between him and me."

I confess that the unreason of the choice
angered me. It is true that she did not ask me
to join the abajenos, but she beseeched me, with
tender words and caresses, to play the part most
abhorrent to a man of spirit — that of spectator
when grave issues are at stake. I know now
that her amazing instinct was not at fault. That
she saw only too clearly that I was the tool of a
politician, that she was thinking, sweet soul, not
of herself but of me, and using a woman's lever
with a woman's guile. But — God help me ! —
in my conceit I laid rude hands upon her intui-
tions.

" I would not tempt thee to dishonour. No,
no. I do not ask thee to play the spy."

" A spy ! " I interrupted hotly.

" Ay, a spy, senor Innocence. For what other
purpose, think you, were you sent here? For
what other purpose are you here now? All is
fair in war, yes ; but this is not war ; it is the
petty quarrel of relations ; and with such matters
outsiders had better not meddle. Do not speak ;
I shall finish and — go. To a man is the present ;
to a woman belong the past and the future. And
'tis of the future I speak now. I have heard
these matters discussed ever since I was a baby,
the child of a house " — her voice sank — " of a
house divided against itself. Divided, too, into
four camps; some of my kinsmen are true
Californians. Alvarado was once of them, a
patriot, a born leader. Yes, I know that he
failed, but he might have tried again. Then
there are those who favour the powers that be,
the Mexican rule — rotten to the core. And then
there are those, like Vallejo, who are looking

THE WAY OF A MAID WITH A MAN 169

eastward, plotting to deliver their country into
the hands of the Americans, who will despoil
them. And, lastly, there are those who are
intriguing with England. Alvarado thinks that
his secret has been kept. It has leaked from
every lip — save perhaps yours, senor."

Her use of the '' 'usted " moved me more than
the recital of facts already in my possession.

" And what will be the end of these intrigues ?
Ah, quien sabe ! But I think that Alvarado will
sacrifice everything and everybody to his ambi-
tion. And Vallejo will fare no better. And in
the end we shall all be swept away."

She covered her face with her hands. I could
say nothing, although I longed to comfort her.
But when I touched her she sprang lightly aside,
and her voice was cold and clear as the voice of a
sibyl.

" Adios, Don Juan."

She ran nimbly from me, but I soon overtook
her, and in my arms her anger melted. It is
often so, and the man flatters himself that he has
prevailed, because indeed the flesh is stronger
than the spirit. Then I escorted her as far as the
plaza, and from a discreet distance saw her reach
the sanctuary of her room.

For an hour or more I paced up and down.
The man who holds happiness in his grasp in the
guise of such a maid as Magdalena may well
tremble with fear as well as with delight. In
cooler mood I brought myself to believe that she
had tempted me to dishonour, and the belief
rankled. Also, the word ''spy" was not to be
exorcised. Gradually, however, I began to tread
a gayer measure, and as my pace mended I left
behind doubt and perplexity. Men run from
such foes, leaving them with their women.
Before I went to bed that night my mind was

170 JOHN CHARITY

made up. I would play my own game to the end,
play it off my own bat, asking counsel of none.
I told myself that in such matters a man must be,
so to speak, his own chronometer, telling himself
the time o' day. With me it was high noon, and
the shadows were hardly visible.

CHAPTER XV

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

Next day I returned to Monterey, according to
my instructions, leaving Magdalena in the care of
Vallejo and Tia Maria Luisa. Nor did I see my
dear again, although I wrote her a long letter,
which I intrusted to the Indita. Later, I learned
that she and the good aunt were sent south to
Santa Barbara, Magdalena returning to her
father's house, and Tia Maria Luisa paying a visit
to the Bustons, of whom mention has been made.
Meantime, I heard from Letty and Courtenay.
They had been as far south as San Diego, slowly
collecting their cargo of hides and selling their
wares at the different ports. Courtenay wrote
that Jaynes was at Tia Maria's feet, a victim — so
he said — to the beaux yeux de sa casette (for the
dame had fat acres in her own right and many
gold pieces safely hid in the tapanco of her house).
But Letty added in a postscript that 'twas the
sight of Ben Buston's happiness and the red-
headed babies which had stirred the ancient
mariner's heart. Then there was a long epistle
from my dear mother, exhaling love, lavender,
and anxiety. Austin Valence it seemed, had
recovered of his wound, and had taken to a rake-
helly life that was playing the mischief with his
purse and reputation. These letters I answered,

171

172 JOHN CHARITY

but feared to write to Magdalena, knowing that if
they fell into wrong hands they would breed
trouble for my Rachel. Nor did she write ; but,
nightly, she came to me in my dreams — a gracious
figure with love burning in her eyes. Why did I
not find means to send her a message ? 1 never
suspected — fool that I was — her loneliness, per-
plexity, anxiety. How could she guess that I was
working hard with nothing to sweeten labour
save thoughts of her ?

For I was quartered in Alvarado's house, acting
as his secretary, and when I add that my master
rose each day at four and gave sixteen hours to
the service of his state, you may believe that 'twas
no holiday life I was leading. Upon August 13th
the Catalina dropped anchor in Monterey Bay,
bringing despatches from Bustamente, and
although Alvarado's title as chief executive was
not at that time legally confirmed, none doubted
now his powers.

That same afternoon, I remember, I ventured to
speak of his love affairs, that of late had been
somewhat neglected. He frowned.

'* This is no time for marrying or giving in
marriage. Well, senor, do you still wish to be a
ranchero ? "

I told him yes, descanting enthusiastically upon
Arcadian joys. He listened courteously, and
presently sighed. Then, to my surprise, he said
abruptly : '* I presume you are prepared to swear
allegiance to Mexico and to become a Catholic ? "

My face fell. Alvarado smiled cynically.

" I think I can promise you as much land as
you want — nowT

The emphasis on the now was a dominant note
of triumph.

" What is your English citizenship to you ?
And as for your conscience — is it not true that

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 173

your countrymen leave such ballast at Cape
Horn ? "

^ I was on the rack. This man's eyes were as
gimlets boring and twisting into my brain. Upon
this stake, a rancho, I had pinned my hopes, my
time, my labour.

*' Your Excellency," I repHed at length, " I
thank you for your kindness to me, but I can
neither swear allegiance to Mexico nor join your
church."

** Sleep over it. What of Magdalena Estrada ? "

Never had I been so sorely tempted.

"Well, my friend?"

" My answer will be the same to-morrow."

" That is your last word ? "

'' It is."

I had risen from my chair, and so had
he. Now that I had said " No," the situation
seemed less strained. Alvarado held out his
lean hand.

" Pardon me. I wished to test you. So much
base coin passes current that for my life I cannot
always detect the sterling metal. However, I
never doubted what your answer would be."

I blushed, for Heaven knows what that answer
might have been.

" You shall have land," he continued, " as soon
as I am governor deptre, as well as de facto T

'* And my foster-brother ? "

^^Ojala ! Do you know that he plotted against
me at Santa Barbara ? "

I was covered with confusion, for I had hoped
that Courtenay's dealings with the abajenos had
escaped my patron's notice. Since, I have often
wondered how and where he got his secret
information.

" Cheer up," he said very kindly. '* I will
make a bargain with you, and with your foster-

174 JOHN CHARITY

brother, whom frankly I would sooner have for
friend than foe, although," — he looked at me
queerly — ** although to me he will be held as
neither. But for your sake he shall have land
too. And, in confidence, he and that pretty fire-
brand, his wife, will be safer and happier on a
rancho. But you — I cannot spare you. I want
you here, here by my side."

He began to pace up and down.

'* You are ambitious, no ? Yes, yes, I can read
your heart. That is why I like you. And we, you
and I, are not free to please ourselves. You take
my meaning ? This lotus life is not for us. I
speak to you as a brother. If I can hold Cali-
fornia for the Californians I shall do so. If that
proves impossible " — he sighed, and finished
his sentence very slowly — " if I am driven to
it, mark you, I shall offer the bone over which
these dogs are quarrelling to — England. And
will England prove ungrateful to me — and to
you ? "

I was fired by his passionate interrogation. If
it should be my good fortune to lend a hand in
the hoisting of our flag ; if I, a yeoman's son,
should be called on to take part in a game such
as this, my life would cheerfully be staked on the
issue. For I knew that California was even then
what it has since been called — a Golden State, a
principality worth the acceptance of that gracious
maiden, her sweet Majesty Victoria. And I knew
that Mexico had lost her grip of this treasure,
and that time must take it from her and give it to
the all-conquering Anglo-Saxon. Yet who can
doubt to-day that had it been possible for us to
have accomplished such a piece of work, the
United States must have interfered, and a war
would have ensued as the world has not seen,
for the prize that Alvarado spoke of as a bone

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 175

proved on inspection a gem of gems, a very
Koh-i-noor, whose rays v^ere destined to dazzle
and attract all mankind.

Accordingly I pledged myself anew to my
master, and professed myself ardent to follow
such a leader. None the less his last words
somewhat cooled my protestations.

" As for marriage, Martina Castro is constrained
to wait. Be patient."

Now a man who can control his own passions
can control also the lives and passions of others.
I confess that I was plastic as clay in the hands
of this skilful and strong potter.

As I sat silent, he said m a low voice : " I have
reason to know that the comisionado, Castillero,
whom we may expect now in a few weeks, will
bring two sets of papers ; one set will confirm
me governor, the other set will give California to
Carlos Carrillo and his friends."

" But " — I stammered in astonishment — " why
and wherefore ? "

" I may not be alive when Castillero lands,"
said Alvarado quietly. '* My life was attempted
in Los Angeles, and again at Santa Barbara. No,
I did not mention it to you ; the less said about
such matters the better; but, Juan, they may slit
your throat too, so be on your guard."

** Whom does your Excellency suspect? "

He spread out his hands, smiling.

** Castaneda would kill me for a tamale, so
would Soto ; so would " — he paused, eyeing me
keenly — " so would Estrada."

" Magdalena's father?" I exclaimed.

*' He is false as Judas. You must know as
much."

My cheek flushed, for I had withheld from my
chief what had passed between Estrada and me
when I was in charge of the prisoners. I could

1/6 JOHN CHARITY

not bring myself to prefer charges against my
dear's father. Alvarado continued :

" All these Mexicans are scoundrels. They have
not even the thieves' honour of being loyal to
each other, as Narciso Estrada may find out to
his cost. Well, amigo^ we are playing for high
stakes."

The use of the " we " touched me.

Later, when I was alone, I reflected bitterly
that my gain must prove Magdalena's loss, for I
could not doubt that when supreme authority
was legally his, my chief would hold his enemies
to strict account. And so thinking, a suspicion
that had long festered in my mind became cer-
tainty. I identified Narciso Estrada with the
taller of the two men whose plots I had over-
heard when lying snug in the gulch near
Magdalena's window. Soto, of course, was the
other. And now I was almost equally well
assured that Castaneda had been concerned in
the attempt on my life, and, curiously enough,
I had proof-presumptive of this within a few
days. In acknowledgment of my services in
taking the prisoners to Sonoma, Alvarado had
presented me with a caponera of twenty-five
horses, led by a beautiful yegua pinta, a calico
piebald mare ; and with this caponera was in-
cluded the vaquero in charge, a Yaqui Indian
from the plains of Sonora, Procopio by name.
He was as cunning, pious, patient, and super-
stitious a fellow as could be found in the
Californias ; and not the least of his good qualities
was a faithful affection for me. Now it was the
Yaqui's duty to come to my bedside every
morning. One day I marked a queer expression
in his eyes.

" Don Juan," said he, " you are a man of many
friends."

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 177

** I have enemies also, Procopio."

" 'Twas of them I wished to speak, senor."

I could not help laughing as Procopio showed
his teeth in an appreciative grin. It was typical
of the Californian that he wished to spare my
feelings, and preferred the oratio ohliqua^ so to
speak, of the Latin race to plain Saxon directness
of speech.

" You had a narrow escape at Santa Maria, no ?
Well, the man who fired that bullet, senor, is
here, in Monterey."

" Good," said I, with interest. " His name ? "

" Cosme Servin, the mozo of Don Santiago de
Castaneda, who is first cousin to the devil," and
Procopio piously crossed himself. I could see
that he had more to say, and he continued softly :
" I have cast six bullets, senor, and have dipped
them all in holy water, and marked each with the
blessed cross. One is for Cosme, because he too
is a devil, and the others "

" Yes— the others."

** There are many devils, Don Juan. Ah ! you
laugh, senor, but 'tis well for you that I'm an
honest man and a good Catholic."

" How do you know that Cosme Servin fired
that shot at me ? "

Procopio laughed slily and spread out his long
thin fingers, the fingers of an Autolycus.

" He and I are courting the same girl, senor,
Eustachia Bonilla. She loves me, the dear one,
but she hates Cosme, who is beast as well as
devil."

Cosme seemingly was fool as well, for he had
bragged to the girl of what he had done.

" He says," murmured Procopio, " that if he
had dared to cross the quicksands he would have
used the punal. Ojala ! he didn't dip his bullet
into holy water."

178 JOHN CHARITY

I gave him some silver, and told him to keep
his ears open and his mouth shut. That same
day I met de Castaneda in the plaza. He and
Soto had returned to the capitol from Los
Angeles. The Mexican inquired punctiliously
after the health of Letty and Courtenay.

" I learn with pleasure," he added, in his own
tongue, "that the Heron is due in Monterey
Bay."

" Yes," said I, curtly.

" You are changed, senor," he continued blandly.
'* You look like a true caballero. How long do
you remain in the city ?"

" My plans are uncertain, sefior."

" Nothing is certain in this world."

" Except death," said I moodily, for I was
linking his visit to Monterey with Letty's return.

" True," he answered with a grim smile ; " al-
though some of us bear charmed lives." And he
saluted and passed on.

Next day, the Heron came to her old moorings,
and I went aboard at once. Courtenay said,
with a cheerful grin, that he had made a mis-
take.

'* I kept my plots from you, John. After all,
the difference is small. You ran with the hare, I
coursed with the hounds."

" A sorry pack, Courtenay — too fat and sleek
for hunting."

" You take life seriously," he replied, laughing.
" Your Alvarado is a surly fellow. Egad ! the
work he does gives me the backache."

Thus lightly he dismissed the subject. And if
I condemn him now as frivolous and volatile, 'tis
because I cannot see his laughing face, the twinkle
in his blue eyes, the coaxing tones of his
melodious voice. These had ever affected me.

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 179

and I was so truly glad to welcome him, that I
lacked moral courage to scold him. He took for
granted that what was mine was his. And he
added that he thirsted for pastoral joys, and
seemed as sorry as I that the coming of Castillero
was delayed. Jaynes turned over his ship to the
mate. Courtenay and Letty lodged with Thomas
Larkin; and Courtenay, having money to burn
in company with Castro and de Castaneda, left
his wife to be entertained by John Charity.
What hours I could spare from my duties I spent
with her. Time had changed a girl into a woman,
and if a sparkle or two had fled from her eyes, a
dimple from her cheek, there glowed instead the
light that warms as well as illumines. In my
sight she was ten times as beautiful. Castaneda,
I fancy, thought so too.

" Courtenay will grow jealous of me," I said
one Sunday, as we sat together in the sand-dunes
that fringe the bay. I had marked her willing-
ness to be often in my company.

" He does not need me as he did," she
answered constrainedly, her cheeks flushing.
" He can amuse himself without — us."

She slipped in the ** us " so slily that I laughed.
But my heart was sore. In the old Oxford days
I had burned with jealousy because my friend
made other friends so easily. So I could now
sympathise with poor Letty.

" I wish he would leave Castaneda alone," I
remarked gloomily.

She raised her brows, the innocent creature.

" You always speak so — so ungenerously of
him," she murmured. "And 'tis not like you,
dear John."

I was about to tell her of Cosme Servin. Yet
I could not bring myself to speak ill of my
enemy. Moreover, since Castaneda had met

i8o JOHN CHARITY

Letty he seemed to have reformed, and amongst
the Montereyenas there was much rejoicing over
this tardy repentance. As for me, the ugly smear
of a dissolute life was no plainer than the scar on
his face. Such a man, to compass his ends, can
play any part.

Meantime old Mark's courtship gave us many
an honest laugh. I had called with him upon Tia
Maria Luisa the night of his arrival, hoping to
tickle her favour with a peace-offering — a large
box of panocha, a sweetmeat she preferred above
all others. Mark placed in her plump hands a
bottle of brandied cherries, and if she counted me
a Trojan she did not scruple to accept my gift. I
told her that Courtenay and I were about to be-
come rancheros.

" I heard that you were busying yourself about
such matters," she replied politely. " I was not
aware, however, that a foreigner and a heretic
could acquire title. Have you found yourself a
wife, senor ? "

We had opened the bottle of cherries, but the
good liqueur in which they were preserved had
toughened (as alcohol will) rather than softened
the stout dame's heart. I answered softly that
I knew where to look for a wife, whereat she
chuckled in an oleaginous fashion. I made
certain that she was in possession of information
of interest to me, but her moon face had no more
expression than a new-laid ^gg.

" If you marry," she spoke to me, but her beady
eyes rested complacently upon old Mark, ** you
must join the only true church."

" On ! " growled he, " I've no objections to turn-
ing Roman Catholic. Not a bit. But it would
take a woman, not a priest, to convert me " ;
and so saying, he glanced very sweetly at Tia
Maria.

OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

i«i

" You love not the ladies, senor capitan," said
the lady coquettishly. " See, you are unmarried.
Que Lastima ! "

'' I love 'em," said Mark, " but they don't love
me.

Tia Maria screamed with laughter. Old Mark
looked very comical, a typical sea-dog, but he was
not displeased. The laughter was complimentary,
ironical ; that an English captain should lack ladies
to love him was, according to Tia Maria, supremely
ridiculous. If the old sea-dog's big black beard
was streaked with white, what of it ? Had he
not burnt Nelson's powder at Trafalgar ? And if
his language, and maybe his clothes, smelt of tar,
both were silvered with the salt of half a dozen
oceans.

'* This is no town for bachelors," said
Courtenay. "The governor's wedding will breed
others."

'' I know of one other already," said Tia Maria,
with a malicious glance at me. '' Don Miguel
Soto and my niece Magdalena are likely to become
one."

'' Soto ! " exclaimed Courtenay, with his most
scornful laugh. '' What ! "

Tia Maria shrugged her fat shoulders.

'* It makes so little difference. Look you, I
married a small ugly man. Ojala ! but he was
ill-favoured. Still, he made me a good husband.
I never saw him till my wedding-day. And then
it was too late. He gave me lovely donas. This
rebozo was one of them. You see he is dead,
but the donas are still in that big chest yonder."

Courtenay told the dame that now she could
marry to please herself.

" Magdalena," she continued, ** disobeyed her
father once. She won't do it again. Madre de
Dios ! what a little fool ! "

i82 JOHN CHARITY

The hot angry blood began to flow into my
cheeks. I could not doubt that my dear had
been punished, perhaps cruelly, for her dis-
obedience. I could see in fancy Estrada's stern
face, and thought continually of that beautiful but
lonely ranch near San Luis Obispo. You may
be sure I wasted no righteous wrath upon Soto
and his suit, for most of these Californian dames
had the trick of fibbing. But I swore that some
day, by God's grace, my love and devotion should
make amends to Magdalena for the suffering she
had endured.

Presently we took our leave of Tia Maria Luisa,
leaving old Mark in her tender care. She squeezed
my hand at parting. " Ay yi" she whispered, " I
am sorry for you, my friend ; but, Virgen Santisima!
are there not many girls in Alta California ? One
piece o{ panocha, look you, is as good as another."
She was nibbling at the sweetmeat with her small
white teeth.

'* El Capitan doesn't think so," I replied signifi-
cantly, and the answer pleased her. Afterward I
learned that from that hour she counted me a
friend.

CHAPTER XVI

RE-ENTER CUPID

Meantime, the town was agog with excitement
over a fashionable wedding and its attendant
festivities — a bear and bull fight, horse-races,
endless eating and drinking ; in brief, a week's
carnival. And upon the eve of the function,
Alvarado told me that another plot was afoot, and
that the '' friends " of the senor Valence — as he put
it — were implicated, to wit, Soto and de Casta-
neda. I offered myself as surety for Courtenay's
innocence.

" Tate,'' said Alvarado; " he is fool, not knave,
this pleasure-loving youth, but fools at times give
wise men anxiety. Estrada is here."

A question burned on my tongue's tip, and my
chief laughed.

" Yes," said he, '' Magdalena is with him."

Then he eyed me curiously and waited.

" If the pack were reshuffled," he observed
presently, '' Soto might find himself next to your
Queen of Hearts. Are you still of the same mind
in regard to her ? "

" Yes, I am. Your Excellency smiles ; but
I love her, as — well, as she deserves to be loved."

'' And," he seemed cruelly unsympathetic, '* and
you are sure, my friend, that this love is returned ? "

•' Absolutely."

183

i84 JOHN CHARITY

" Bueno. I see my way. If I told you to go to
Estrada to-morrow and to ask him for his daughter,
if I authorised you to use my name as a guarantee
that your fortune would be my care, if, in fine, I
sent him a son-in-law, I, Alvarado, do you think
he would accept you ? "

" Your Excellency," I exclaimed, fervently grate-
ful, " how can I thank you ? "

'* Thank me later," he said drily. ** If my sus-
picions hold water, you will be politely shown the
door. And — Dios ! I hate to wound you — but
I doubt whether the senorita will accord you the
reception you anticipate. She will be at the Casa
Estrada to-night. Go and tempt Fortune."

" Your Excellency is not quite frank with

^'You are — dense, my friend," he retorted.
" Well, then, listen. Estrada has come to Mon-
terey, a town he detests, to attend, ostensibly, this
wedding, but unless my information is at fault he
and Castaneda are about to make a last effort."

" Then you apprehend — assassination ? "

" I expect to take care of myself and of you —
hot head."

'* And you think that Magdalena would lend
herself to "

" I did not say so," he interrupted ; *' but my
point is this — a fine one, you will admit — if
Estrada considers your suit, we may assume that
he considers the issue of his plans at best doubt-
ful, but if he is confident of success he will politely,
very politely, snap his fingers at both of us. I
know the man well."

" And I know the maid."

" Her father's daughter, Juan."

" Her mother's, your Excellency."

" Well, I wish you luck. I shall not require
your services again to-day."

RE-ENTER CUPID 185

As I was hurrying to Larkin's I met old Mark
and told him my news. He said that he had just
seen Magdalena ; and, when I asked him how she
did, he replied that she was thin and peaky-faced.
" The birdis pining," he added, somewhat gloomily.
I asked how his own affairs were prospering.
He grinned and said gruffly : " The aunt is making
a damned fool of me."

"Jilted?" I gasped.

" No, my lad ; we'll be spliced right and tight
before Christmas ; but I am to do penance. A
Jack priest orders me about as if I were a swab
before the mast. Enough o' that. And, hark ye,
the Madam is your friend. I've given you a coat
of paint, and registered you AI. But you, too,
must turn Papist. She insists. What? You
won't. Pooh, pooh, the maid is worth it."

He pinched my arm. Then he dealt me a slap
in the face.

"Jack," said he, "I must warn you that your
Magdalena has a big black crow to pick with you."

I stared at him, gaping with amazement.

" In God's name, what have I done ? "

" My lad, she's a Latin and but a slip of a girl.
She has suffered. And I'll wager she counted
upon you to come to the rescue."

" I am working night and day for her sake."

" Tut, tut ! Here, Jack, love comes first ; work is
put off till to-morrow. Judge not the maid ac-
cording to your prim Oxford standard."

And with that he left me, face to face, for the
first time, with the barrier that lies for ever
between the sexes.

Magdalena, it seemed, resented what she stigma-
tised as neglect. Neglect ! Good God ! After
such strenuous endeavour ! I forgot that while I
was working she was sitting idle, a captive,
scorned by her father, possibly ill-treated. The

i86 JOHN CHARITY

injustice of woman is a scourge of scorpions. I
had yet to learn that the best of them visit upon
the heads of their well-beloved the sins and short-
comings of others. Now I was being whipped
for the cruelty of Don Narciso, and you may be
sure I smarted. Letty poured oil into my
wounds ; predicted plenary absolution for sins
not committed. Her sympathy, I discovered, was
with the maid and against the man. I ought at
least to have written.

** The letter would have fallen into her father's
hands." _

" Not if it had been given to a friend to deliver.
There are ways and means."

When my wrath cooled I saw more clearly the
nature of my offence. Then I burned again to
kiss away the hurt, and so burning returned to
Letty and coaxed her to walk with me to the Casa
Estrada. I prinked myself out in the suit Vallejo
had given me, and scrubbed my big face till it
shone like a harvest moon. Finally, feeling as
stiff as the felt of my sombrero, I climbed the
hill with Letty, and presently stood, scarlet
with heat and excitement, in the presence of my
mistress.

She welcomed me with cruel ceremony. 'Tis
true Tia Maria Luisa was present, but Letty —
who received but a cold kiss from Magdalena —
engaged the stout dame. I was confounded at
the change in her : her face was pale, her eyes
encircled with bistre-coloured rings, her graceful
figure less round in outline. The eyes, however,
flashed a spark or two.

** I compliment you," she began in her soft voice.
" The rich grasses of Monterey agree with Don
Juan Charity. Ay de mi! the feed is not so fine
on the Santa Margarita."

I suppose I looked like a stuffed calf. None the

RE-ENTER CUPID 187

less, though compared indirectly to the beasts of
the field, I was not dumb. The prick of the goad
moved me to retort :

'' If my body has been fed in Monterey, my spirit
—God knows — has nourished itself on the Santa
Margarita."

" You have not forgotten how to turn a phrase,"
said my Lady Disdain, and she met all advances
and explanations with a pretty show of wit and
exasperating indifference. She was equally cold
with Letty. I had not the sense to guess what
ailed her.

Presently Letty rose, and we took our leave.
I was in a vile temper, yet with a queer twist in
my vitals, for suffering and solitude were writ
plain on Magdalena's face. I had appraised
working at a higher price than waiting — a
man's blunder. Now I felt doubly sore on
her account and on my own. Passing Soto with
a grin upon his face, I was minded to pull his
long nose, but reflected suddenly that I would
then be doing to him what I had accused Mag-
dalena of doing to me. After all the barrier
between a man and a maid is not so big as it
seems. I took pleasure in stripping myself of
my finery, and made certain that Magdalena
had been better pleased with my soiled face
and clothes. I must have looked a popinjay
to her. After that I played a game of skittles
with Larkin, and listened to the gossip of the
town, but all the time I was thinking of the
grating in Magdalena's chamber and savouring
the honey of stolen kisses.

Presently Courtenay joined us with a cloud
on his fair face. I explained matters and he
whistled, much disconcerted. He had counted
upon Magdalena's becoming my wife and the
companion of Lettice. He fretted at the touch

i88 JOHN CHARITY

of the curb. The mercury in him raced up and
down at any change in the temperature.

** Soto thinks his marriage a certainty," he mut-
tered. '' And if she jilts you "

** Don't use that word."

" You were pHghted lovers."

*' Were ? We arer

'Twas late when I stole up to Magdalena's
grating, and, lo ! in the middle of the road stood
§oto, guitar in hand, wailing out in a dismal
falsetto some absurd serenade. I sHpped away
noiselessly, making good use of the gulch before
mentioned, and turning a sharp corner tumbled
over Procopio. He held his finger to his lips
and then grinned. I understood that Servin
was also abroad, and that my faithful servant
had a cross-marked bullet ready for its billet.
We crouched there for half an hour till the
coast was clear, for Cosme joined Soto after
the squalling was done, and the pair strolled
townward together, a well-matched team. I
bade Procopio keep his distance, and then ran
to the grating. No light burned in the room,
but I whispered " Magdalena " through the
bars, and waited. She was there. I could
hear her breathing.

" Cruel one," I whispered. ** I have my pufial
at my belt. Come and finish your work."

Was the wretch laughing ? A soft chuckle fell
on the silence.

" Magdalena, your laughter is a stab in the
dark."

A sigh inflamed me.

" Come," I urged passionately, " you cannot
doubt my love. You have it all. Will you
make no return ? Will you leave me bank-
rupt ? You have misjudged me, wronged me,

RE-ENTER CUPID 189

but I love you too dearly to be angry. Dios de
mi alma I will you keep me in hell, when you
hold the keys of Heaven?"

I heard a movement toward the grating ; then
the fat voice of Tia Maria Luisa said, softly,
" Don Juan, will you teach the captain the art of
making love ? Truly you are a master," and
she chuckled again, but not unkindly.

'* Dear lady," I urged, *' where is Magdalena ?
Send her to me."

*' Ojala ! You ask me, her duefia, for my
niece, as if she were a dish of dulcesP

*' You know what love is," I pleaded. *' Be
kind."

" I am kind not to wake Don Narciso."

" You are the most blessed of women, and El
Capitan the luckiest of men."

''^Ay yi ! how sweetly you talk ! You make
me feel young."

" Is Magdalena very angry with me ? "

" Never mind. The senor Soto sings to her."

" His singing does not stir my jealousy, dear
lady. Will you take a message from me to
Magdalena ? "

''What is it?" I could tell from the tone
that curiosity was pricking duty.

" Swear to deliver it ? "

" I swear, by the Virgin, if — if it is proper."

" Your ear, please."

She inclined her ear between the iron bars.
'Twas the prettiest part of her, a pink, delicately
curved ear, that had leaned to more than one
such message as I straightway delivered.

** Ay de mi ! You wicked man ! How dare
you!"

" Please take that to Magdalena, senora."

" To the captain rather ; he will kill you. Dios !
but you are bold, bad ! What will Padre Quijas

190 JOHN CHARITY

say when I tell him in confession that a heretic
has kissed me ? "

*'Tell every man in Monterey, senora. Not
one will blame me."

And with that for a parting shot, I marched
away.

However, the next morning, when I waited on
Don Narciso, and stated the nature of my
business with him, he said, with a face like a
block of granite, that his daughter was not for
me.

" For Soto ? " I exploded.

" Not for you, senor."

" I love her and she loves me," I stormed.
" You dare not keep us apart. She is mine —
here and hereafter."

" Tate^ tate ! Has youth in England no respect
and courtesy for age ? Yes, senor, don Inglese,
I dare to keep my daughter from a heretic in
this world, and God will doubtless attend to
the matter in the next. I wish you good-day."

CHAPTER XVII

FOR LOVE I BECOME NOT A PAPIST BUT A JEW

The cannibals' reason for the eating of missionaries
— because they are so good — does not adequately
account for woman's appetite for the company of
priests. Padre Jose Lorenzo Quijas,for instance,
was not good (not even from a cannibals' point of
view, being tough as the hondo of a reatd), yet he
was the pet confessor of half the dames in
Monterey. He had, however, a tender sympathy
for sinners, pretty ones in particular, and with
him, as with the fair penitents, precept ever out-
stripped performance.

Knowing his influence with Tia Maria Luisa,
knowing also that the stout dame had warmed to
me, I hurried to the friar after my interview with
the Don, and gave him the marrow of the matter
in half a dozen sentences, thereby glutting his
humour.

** Tut, tut ! " he chuckled, tapping my cheek
with his broad forefinger. " Is thine a holiday
title to the name of lover ? Kites, my son, rise
against the wind. A maid's caprice may be the
zephyr that blows a heretic to Heaven. Now,
thou must join the church. Then I'll tackle the
man, and the maid, and the widow, and marry
thee myself within the month. What ? Oh, thou
mule! Well, thou must burn here and here-

191

192 JOHN CHARITY

after. And speaking of burning, my mouth is a
fiery furnace this morning. Let us find the pious
Jaynes and crack a bottle."

'* You won't help me ? "

*' My son, ask not too much of a Zacatecan.
See now, I cannot help thee, but I will not hurt
thee ; and thou shalt have my prayers."

Whereat I laughed and left him to his prayers
— and his bottle.

Alvarado cocked an anxious eye when I
reported the result of my interview with Estrada.

** The old fox must be sure of his grapes," he
murmured. Then I told him that thanks to my
Yaqui's vigilance I had probably escaped a thrust
of the pufial. He frowned heavily and bade me
run no risks.

Of course I could think of nothing but Magda-
lena. And one must live in a Spanish country to
understand how thoroughly my dear was encom-
passed with bristling abattis. She was not per-
mitted to stir from the Casa Estrada unescorted ;
and at the wedding — a function she was bound to
attend — she was hemmed in by her father and his
black-a-vised friends.

Soto, in a gorgeous new suit, waited on her,
and Dame Gossip's tongue wagged faster than a
terrier's tail. The fellow, I must confess, could
ride like a centaur, and performed a most extra-
ordinary feat. I saw him take a silver salver
laden with glasses filled to the brim with cham-
pagne ; then he spurred his horse to a full gallop,
pulled the beast on to its haunches before it had
gone fifty yards, and served the wine to us. Not
a drop had been spilled !

From all parts of the country came the aueer
ox-drawn carts, rumbling along upon their huge
solid wheels. The women sat inside — those at

FOR LOVE I BECOME A JEW 193

least who could not ride — and in front rode the
men, a glittering cavalcade, a-sparkle with silk,
velvet, and embroidery, singing, for the most part,
the songs of the country. Here is one :

" Palomita, vete al Campo,
Y dile a los tiradores
Que no te tiren, porq'eres
La duena de mis amores."

This touched me to the core. Would these
hunters slay my own little dove, who held my
love in her tender breast? They had failed as
yet to kill me ; but Quijas, when he was sober and
in serious mood, assured me that a father would
not scruple to severely punish a disobedient
child.

Not till the day of the bull and bear fight did I
get word to her. It happened on this wise : The
crowd would have been less cheery lacking the
Jew, Solomon. I saw him each day displaying
his wares upon the plaza, cajoling his customers,
ogling the girls, and, need it be added, coining
money. He came to me at my lodging and asked
eagerly how 1 fared, but I was busy at the time
and begged him to call again. After that he was
busy, so nothing but nods passed between us. At
the bull ring I marked him perched upon a corner
of the high fence, and pointed him out to Letty,
telling her of the famous trade he drove and pre-
dicting for him a golden future. I added that
after the day's work in the plaza he would
shoulder his pack and tramp from house to house,
skimming the evening's cream at each. Letty
pricked up her sharp little ears. '' Let him play
the postman," she said, " between Magdalena and
you." I was amazed that so simple a reading of
the riddle had eluded a fond and scheming lover.
Certainly, I would write that same day. But, on

194 JOHN CHARITY

second thoughts, a better plan tickled my fancy.
Why should I not masquerade in the gloaming as
Solomon ? We were something of a size. With
his peculiar clothes, his pack, some false hair, and
a pot of rouge I would wager that the change
could be made. As soon as the fight was over (a
sorry combat, for the bear was tied by one leg to
a stake, and the bull was too tame), I sought
Solomon, and told him to be at my lodging with-
out fail 'at seven. He made a grimace, but I
jingled some loose silver, and he winked approval
and assent.

But when, after supper, I unfolded my plan, the
Jew raised his hands and voice in terrified protest.
He was plainly scared out of his wits, and
promised me that Estrada would spit him like a
pullet if the fraud were detected. Finally cash-
box arguments prevailed, and we exchanged
clothes. I added to my nose size and colour,
stuffed my waistcoat with a pillow, trailed a
brace of wiry curls behind my ears, and gave my
eyebrows an upward tilt. When I spoke to
Solomon in his own voice and peculiar accent,
the wrinkles fled from his forehead. He pro-
nounced the metamorphosis nearly perfect — in
the twilight.

Then I shouldered his heavy pack and sallied
forth. The street was empty, for the town was
making merry near the plaza, but as I turned the
corner past Alvarado's house who should rudely
jostle the humble Jew but the Senor Cosme
Servin, a bully, and, as events proved, a coward.
Poor Solomon was patient as an ass beneath the
insults and injuries of the Californians, entering
them, doubtless, with other debts in his ledger;
but I was minded to astonish the mestizo, so I
fetched him with ,my left fist a buffet that laid
him flat in the dust. He jumped up quickly,

FOR LOVE I BECOME A JEW 195

punal in hand, but with Solomon's cudgel I
cracked the bone of his wrist so sharply that he
dropped his knife and scuttled away howling. I
grinned and stepped briskly on. Close to the
barracks some booths had been put up, and in a
willow enclosure a fandango was in full swing.
Passing the gate, I saw that mad priest Quijas,
who had laid aside his Zacatecan habit, and now
was footing it with a pretty Indita. He had
arrayed himself in the cuera de gamuza of a
soldier, and looked a swashbuckler of the church
militant. As ill-luck would have it, he espied me,
and yelling out, " Halt ! Jew," dropped his pretty
armful, and gave chase, for I scurried away like a
rabbit at sound of his stentor tones. I stopped,
however, out of earshot of the crowd, and was
condemned by the friar to eternal punishment for
the pace I had set.

" A rebozo," he panted, pinching my arm.
" Quick — undo thy pack."

I began to unstrap it, mumbling apologies. It
was dark, and the good priest was more than
mellow, but delay and a crowd were likely to
undo me.

" Father," I muttered in Spanish, " keep off the
buzzards and I will give thee my wares at cost,
nay, I'll make thee a present of a rebozo, for truly
trouble awaits me if I be not at the house of
Estrada upon the stroke of eight."

The friar eyed me sharply ; then he laughed,
and growled in his beard that the Jew's voice was
thickened with aguardiente. As I pushed the
rebozo across the pack, he caught my hand in his
and gripped his thanks for the present. He was
a powerful man and gripped hard ; unconsciously
I gripped back. " Dios ! " he exclaimed. " Thou
hast a Christian's grip, Solomon. I like thee the
better for it. Go in peace."

196 JOHN CHARITY

" Father," I mumbled, " I have given thee the
rebozo for nothing save a squeezed hand. May
your Indita prove more grateful."

** Thou impudent knave ! " he said hurriedly.
" See now, I frolic with the crowd ; they like it,
but I do not soil my cloth. None of the gente de
razon " (the quality) " is here. Not a word,
Solomon, thou wise Jew, to the ladies at Estrada's.
Be gone ! "

I was right glad to be released, for some half-
breeds were hovering round us, not daring to
approach the sacred person of the priest, yet
curious as to the nature of his business with a
Jew. You may be sure I started hot-foot up the
hill, and I heard Quijas bidding the others not to
follow me.

Now the Jew had told me that Tia Maria Luisa
had ordered of him some linen kerchiefs, plain
goods to be fashioned into filmy laces by the
cunning hands of the serving-women, and these
lay snug at the bottom of the pack against some
fine white silk stockings — my lure for Magdalena.
Above them were .the tawdry trifles so dear to
the heart of Inditas. Like a canny house-wife, I
proposed to scatter my common grain for the
chickens to peck at, whilst my tit-bits would
challenge the attention of that fatted hen, Tia
Maria Luisa. On arrival at the house I was
surrounded at once by the chattering crowd of
domestics, and presently Tia Maria waddled forth
and drew me aside. I gave her the linen, which
she examined with a falcon's eye, and then, in a
humble voice, I craved permission to show a pair
of stockings to the sefiorita. I had promised
them to her, I said, and of course she would wish
to see them. Tia Maria grunted, and a girl was
sent a-running for my dear. How my heart
ached, as she walked towards me, so thin, so pale,

FOR LOVE I BECOME A JEW 197

so tired. But her voice was warm and kind when
she greeted the poor Jew, and she begged me to
enter the sala where she could inspect my wares
in peace and silence. This piece of luck I had
scarce hoped for, though Solomon had told me
that such was her custom. Alas ! as I crossed
the threshold I spied the sour face of Don Narciso
peering out of a cloud of tobacco smoke, and
cheek by jowl with the Don sat Soto, leering at a
glass of Madeira. Truly I was in the jackals'
den. However, I passed them in safety, and my
dear led the way to a table at the end of the
room. As I bent over my pack I murmured :
*' 'Tis I, Magdalena, your lover."

She started ; and then her sweet face was
suffused with the tenderest glow, and a sigh
fluttered from her parted lips. I had stormed the
citadel, surprised the garrison, and could dictate
my terms — unconditional surrender. Action
stampeded the imps bred by inaction. I saw that
I was forgiven.

As she bent, blushing, over my pack, I stole a
kiss. Then, as I mumbled a pedlar's patter, I
exhausted a lover's vocabulary in pleading my
cause.^

She began to bargain for the stockings, while
her eyes showered sparks upon a heart sensitive
as tinder.

"They are too dear," she said loudly; whisper-
ing " as thou art, queridoT

" Pure silk," I retorted, in my execrable Jew's
Spanish; "made for agoddess — whom I worship,"
I added softly.

The game warmed us both, and the men at the
other end of the room had their backs to us, and
were completely engrossed with their cigars and
wine.

" Why wert thou so cruel, Magdalena ? "

198 JOHN CHARITY

" Answer me truly, Juan. Didst thou not once
love thy beautiful cousin ? "

And at that I made tardy confession, whereat
she pouted, and confided in turn that she had
been and still was jealous of Letty. The minutes
flew, and we feared to arouse the suspicions of
Don Narciso, so presently Magdalena said aloud,
with mocking emphasis, " Art sure, Solomon,
that thy goods will wear ? "

" For a lifetime, senorita."

" Thou canst come again, Solomon. AdioSy
Lochinvar."

" At your service, senorita. Adios^ Elena."

Then we glanced furtively round and our lips
met. A slight grunt from the doorway tore us
apart. There, on the threshold, palsied with
amazement stood Tia Maria Luisa. Not a moment
was to be lost. I rose to my full height, lifted
my false curls, and blew a kiss to the stout dame.
Magdalena flew to her^ chattering like a frightened
finch. I rammed my wares into my pack, and
shuffled past the men, past the women, and out
into the patio. Tia Maria followed majestically,
a battle-ship sailing into action.

" Wretch ! " she growled. " How dare you,
how dare you?"

" Sefiora, I kiss your lovely ear, that is — if I
only could."

'* You are utterly shameless. I must tell my
brother."

'' Then El Capitan will die a bachelor."

" Go, go, or I shall strike you. Take these."

She held the handkerchiefs in her hand. " Keep
them," I whispered.

''Ay! You are a devil." Cupidity wrestled
with duty and prevailed.

'' Adios, sefiora."

She turned a broad back to me, as I slipped

FOR LOVE I BECOME A JEW 199

across the patio and mingled with the crowd.
Five minutes later I was running, helter-skelter,
down the slope, and within a quarter of an hour
Solomon had his pack again and a small sackful
of pesetas. He chuckled with delight when he
learned of Cosme Servin's misadventure, and
groaned when I imitated Tia Maria Luisa's
peculiar grunt and baleful stare.

*' My cracious ! " he exclaimed. " I dink I do
no more peesness mit her."

" Cheer up. El Capitan will soon foot the bills
at the Casa Estrada."

Solomon shook his greasy curls.

" El Capitan vill be fooled," he said solemnly,
" if he ogspect to touch der moneys of dot lady.
He vill be fooled badly, by Chimini."

And in this Solomon, the Jew, proved a true
prophet.

Now Magdalena's allusion to Lochinvar set me
thinking. The Heron was about to clear for
England, and I made no doubt that the mate,
now skipper, a warm friend of mine, would
gladly splice Magdalena and me, sailor fashion,
upon the high seas. Then he could put us ashore
at Santa Barbara. Later, Holy Church, who ever
accepts the inevitable with grace and sagacity,
would not refuse her rights to a daughter of the
Estradas, and all Californians would agree that
John Charity had proved himself a lover and a
caballero.

Accordingly, I wrote a letter, first in Spanish,
which I destroyed, for the Spanish tongue, albeit
the language of love, does not readily lend
itself to the plainer, more practical purposes
of life. So I cut my quill to a blunter point
and began again in English, which Magdalena
could read fluently, though ever unwilling to

200 JOHN CHARITY

talk it. I avoided, it will be noted, the use ot
names.

" My dearest" (I began), " would to God that
you could read my heart as easily as this letter,
for then I know that you would not fear to trust
yourself to my keeping. I know what your life
has been for many months, that he who should
protect and love you has proved cruel, a tyrant, a
gaoler. I know how lonely you are, how forlorn,
and I know, also, that of late I have unconsciously
given you offence, because I have been forced — I
underscore the word — to console another woman,
as forlorn as you, a woman, sweetheart, for
whom I have no such love as I bear you, but
whose beauty, as I told you, once stirred my
heart, and whose present unhappiness stirs my
sympathy and pity. The poor soul is racked by
jealousy, and you will understand without further
words the delicacy of my position. But now
your love claims me, as I claim you. And I ask
you for both our sakes to brave the chatter of the
gossips, the sneer of those unworthy to kiss your
feet, and to give your life as you have given your
love into my charge. I ask you to leave Monterey
with me. And I have a plan. The skipper of
the Heron is my friend. His gig lies beside the
Custom House barge. Your quick wit will
devise means to such an end as our mutual
happiness. And once on blue water we can
laugh at the world. The skipper will put us
ashore at Santa Barbara. My darling, there is
no other way than this. 'Tis an awful step for a
woman to take. Only true love can excuse it.
Come to me, sweetheart, come. I cannot live
without you.

"To-morrow I shall look for a red rose in
your hair, for that will mean assent to my plan.

FOR LOVE I BECOME A JEW 201

If it is not there, I shall know that — No, no, it
will be there. I no more doubt your love for me
than mine for you. Hasta luego.

" Your devoted friend."

Now, the matter of composing this billet had
been simple enough, but the manner of delivering
it troubled me. While I was debating the how
and the when of it, Courtenay came into my room
and sat down.

*' I am honoured," said I, for he seemed to
prefer the company of Castafieda and Castro
to mine, a fact that vexed and hurt me. Yet
I confess that his bonhomie and charm were ever
potent to melt resentment. Accordingly, we
fell to talking, and I told him of my adventure,
of my dear maid's surrender, and finally of the
letter I had just sealed. I added that I was
certain none but Quijas would know of what
had passed between Magdalena and me, for
the holy man would commend Tia Maria Luisa
to silence. Had not the Jew caught the Gentile
on the hip ? For pranks that might not soil
a habit carefully laid aside, would, if repeated
to dames of quahty, discolour a friar's reputation.

" I will get your billet delivered," said Cour-
tenay suddenly. '* Give it to me, old John."

I let him have it — fool that I was — with a word
of caution, nothing more. He would not tell me
the name of his postman, but was laughingly
positive that the letter would be duly delivered.
Later, he informed me that a dame of his acquaint-
ance had undertaken the task, and that it would
surely be accomplished.

I must now pause to observe that I blame
myself as much as Courtenay for a thoughtless
and reckless piece of business. Knowing my
foster-brother to be somewhat hare-brained, I

202 JOHN CHARITY

was a fool to trust him with a paper so import-
ant. His gay importunity beguiled my judg-
ment, as before it had beguiled it many a
time when we were boys and undergraduates.
What became of it must now be set forth,
although I learned the exact facts many months
after. It seems that Courtenay had been struck
by the charms of a Montereyena, the wife of a
big, yellow-faced, black-whiskered kinsman of
Alvarado. And she returned his admiration
with interest, being naturally flirtatious, and —
as I shall shortly prove — none too scrupulous.
Courtenay has since sworn that 'twas play on
his part, but the dame doubtless thought other-
wise. In fine, she was infatuated with the
young man's splendid figure and handsome face.
To this lady Courtenay delivered my letter. She
was an intimate friend and kinswoman of Mag-
dalena, and, being a Latin, accepted the commis-
sion without asking indiscreet questions. A man
of sense would at least have made it plain that
the letter was none of his, and had Courtenay
frankly told her so, much terrible misery would
have been avoided. When he took his leave the
lady, believing that my foster-brother had written
the billet himself, broke the seal, and not being
able to interpret the English, knowing also that
Magdalena could read it easily, her suspicions
became certainty. In this mood she encountered
de Castaneda, who lodged in the same house, and
to him she made confession and entreated a trans-
lation. Now Castaneda knew my handwriting,
and might have consoled the lady, but some
hearts being as easily broken (and mended) as
seals, and a knave ever having an immeasurable
advantage over a fool, he deliberately assured her
that the billet was indeed Courtenay's, and so
inflamed her jealousy that she finally gave it to

FOR LOVE I BECOME A JEW 203

the Mexican. Indeed he demanded it, as the
price of silence, telling the dame — I had this story
From her own lips some years after — that he had
a use for it.

And thus it came to pass that my own foster-
brother, mon frere du lait^ as the French have it,
put into the hands of my enemy a deadly weapon.

CHAPTER XVIII

A TIGER-LILY

Next day my eyes were peeled for a sight of
the red rose. I knew that I should see Magda-
lena at the threshing of her aunt's grain, an
occasion, of course, for merry-making. The dame
owned many acres around Monterey, which,
with the adobe house, formed a portion of her
late husband's estate. Everybody rides in Cali-
fornia, but as the corral wherein the grain was
threshed was less than two miles from our
lodging, I asked Courtenay to go afoot. He
declined, pleading an engagement. Letty was
present.

" We don't amuse him, Jack," she said softly ;
yet her blue eyes were flashing scorn and
jealousy, and her lips were compressed as if she
feared that her anger might leak from them.
Courtenay left the room. I held my peace.

But, later, as Letty and I were climbing the
second hill on the road to the threshing, my
cousin began abruptly : " Dear John, I am miser-
able."

" Good Lord I " I exclaimed. " Let us sit down,
and then you can tell me all about it."

** No, no," she murmured ; " words won't mend
the matter." None the less she sat down under a
big live oak and poured out her troubles. As she

204

A TIGER-LILY 205

talked her pretty face began to pucker, and long
before she had finished tears were trickling down
her cheeks. I took her hand and held it tight.
We had often sat thus as children, and it seemed
hard to believe that we were thousands of miles
from Cranberry-Orcas, and further still from that
happy childhood.

*' He has tired of me, John. He took me from
your mother and father, and — 'tis cruel, cruel ! "

I would have paid a round sum had I been
able to swear that she had no cause for tears.
For Courtenay's love seemed indeed to have
flitted from her. On this account my own heart
had been sore. I had ever feared that the match
between Sir Marmaduke's son and a country lass
would prove a misfit. And yet, noting how
cleverly she adapted herself to him, how vastly
she had improved in wit and manners, and also
in beauty, knowing, too, that love is the alchemist
who can transmute even the base metal of passion
into sterling affection, I had hoped also against
my fears. What was evil in my foster-brother
had begun to bloom and blossom in this lovely
land. He was far from those influences and
traditions that are as a buckler to many a home-
keeping Briton. And he had never learned to
say no. All this and more filtered through my
mind.

For the moment I hated the Epicurean who had
torn a primrose from a hedgerow and left it to
wilt beneath a scorching sun ; but when I began
to abuse him (and I did not measure adjectives)
the wife clapped her hand to my mouth, and
sobbed harder than ever.

Well, what could I do then, in the name of the
Sphinx, but take this trembling creature into my
arms and kiss away her tears? Truly a man's
arms are a very present help in trouble to a weak

2o6 JOHN CHARITY

woman. And she, poor dear soul, laid her wet
face on my shoulder and hugged me tight. And
then, as the devil would have it, who should come
riding by but Estrada, Soto, and Magdalena.
The dust lay thick as a Persian carpet on the
road, and their horses were unshod.

Before I could release Letty the trio had passed.
The old Don showed his breeding ; not a smile
twisted his grim lips. Soto chuckled and twisted
his blue-black moustachios. Magdalena flaunted
a scornful, fine-lady contempt, very maddening to
see. Then she struck her horse and galloped on,
as if anxious to place what distance she could
between a false lover and his lady.

Letty, covered with confusion, entreated me to
return to Monterey, but my pride forbade this, so
we took the road again very soberly.

'' I shall tell her the truth," said my cousin,
whose tears were now dry. ** I can make it right
between you."

" Letty," said I, ''the rose was not in her hair."

" I certainly did not see it, my poor John."

" She is of a jealous disposition," I muttered,
and my tone was so mournful that Letty laughed
for the first time that day.

*' We all are," she retorted, " when — we really
love. You have her heart. Jack. Don't fret."

Presently we reached the corral and found a
couple of raised seats. The manner of threshing
gram in Alta California was like this : Into a
corral, built for the purpose around smooth hard
ground, and filled with wheat in the shock, is
driven a manada of mares ; and then a vaquero,
cracking his cuerda, drives the mares round and
round the enclosure till at length the grain is
trampled out of the straw. To one accustomed
to old-country methods this primitive function is
not without charm.

A TIGER-LILY 207

Magdalena and Soto were opposite, and I could
hear my dear laughing and talking in a voice
louder than usual. Soto was grinning and
grimacing like an ape ; and the fellow looked so
well outside his big bay gelding (the Californians
and Mexicans never ride mares), and the hand-
some beast pranced and curvetted in such perfect
accord with its rider, that I felt the fiercest pangs
of jealousy. The old Don was riding slowly
round, and when he passed me I caught his cold
eye. He cut me dead. My rage at this insult
was suddenly cooled by a misadventure that
befell an urchin perched on the top rail of the
corral. We had marked the little dare-devil
already. He was throwing pellets of clay at the
smoking backs of the mares, and now and again
would swing down (hanging by bare legs to the
bar) and try to slap the vaquero as he raced by.
A more audacious attempt to knock off the
vaquero's sombrero had caused him to lose his
balance, and a second later a shout from the
crowd proclaimed a fall. We could see him
sprawling in the straw, half stunned and scared
out of his wits. The mares had just passed, but
if they completed another circuit their sharp
hoofs would surely make mincemeat of the lad.
I caught a shriek of horror from Magdalena, and
then I saw Soto's bay breasting the barrier. It
was a fine leap, finely taken, for jumping fences is
not a sport practised by Californians. The horse
topped the bar, and landed with a stagger, but
Soto steadied him cleverly, and sent him at a
gallop across the corral. What followed was a
pretty piece of work. As the leading mare was
within twenty feet of the child, Soto swung out
from the saddle, grasped the urchin by his shirt
(he had little else in the way of clothing), and
lifted him from the ground. At the pace he had

208 JOHN CHARITY

set 'twas an amazing feat, for the bay turned
sharp at the rails, and as he turned the Mexican
swooped for the boy. Then holding his prize
across the saddle, Soto thundered on ahead of
the mares amidst the wild yells of the spectators.
A minute later he rode out of the corral to
receive the smiles and congratulations of Mag-
dalena.

Quijas touched my arm.

"Ho, ho!" he said slyly. "Take care, my
son, take care. That sort of thing drives our
maidens crazy. See, she was pale as a snow-
drop yesterday ; to-day her cheeks are as warm
as thine. So thou didst play the Jew last night.
Fooled the father and the padre. Ojala ! Did
it avail thee ? Thou hast a sour look. Soberly,
my son, and speaking in thy true interest, thou
dost ask too much. What ! 'tis a cry for the
moon."

I plucked up spirit to answer him, but his jests
bit like acid.

" The baby who cries not, father, never gets the
milk." . » ^

^^^ Bueno ! I forgive thee the pranks of last
night. Thou didst embrace opportunity, but "

" So did you, father," I whispered. '* And what
did she say when you gave her the rebozo ? "

" My son, that does not concern thee. She
mocked not a friend. See now — thou must look
elsewhere for a wife. Hasta luegoP

He pushed on through the crowd, a friar again,
robed in piety, of whom all foot passengers craved
a benediction. I wondered what Tia Maria had
said to him. The stout dame was no longer my
enemy, but she dared not offend her brother, not
even to please Jaynes. For that matter, the
ancient mariner, whose voice I had often heard
above the raging of a tempest, sat mute in the

A TIGER-LILY 209

presence of the widow. She rated him unmerci-
fully if the smell of rum was upon him, and he
spoke of her to me, privately, as " the skipper."
Yet he had come to a safe anchorage in Pactohan
sands, and the dame in melting mood was sweet
as panocha.

And now, how to make my peace with Magda-
lena racked my brains. I despatched another
letter to her by the hand of Solomon. Twas re-
turned unopened.

During the days that followed, Letty — to my
intense annoyance — received marked attentions
from de Castaneda. Why she tolerated him is a
question that has been asked and not yet
answered ; instinct should have warned her that
here was a hooded snake poised for a deadly
stroke. He had, of course, the guile as well as
the venom of the cobra. And hence the woes
that befell us. The best of women is a creature
of ambuscades, of surprises and disguises. Letty
had always seemed to me a simple soul, trans-
parent as crystal, white as a moon-flower. But
now, forsaken by her husband, homesick, and
lovesick, she assumed the motley of folly and
caprice, the bilious yellows of jealousy, the
scarlet of anger, pigments hourly mixed and
stirred by her handsome lord. He, for his part,
loving peace and mirth, held aloof. He had
worked — so he said — for many months, and his
hoHday fell upon feast days when licence stalked
unrebuked even in friar's robes. Can you wonder
that poor little Letty deemed herself the un-
happiest wife in Christendom ?

1 ought to have scolded her, but I had not the
heart.

Magdalena I had not seen since the threshing,
save at a distance, but I learned from Courtenay
that Soto was in constant attendance, and when

210 JOHN CHARITY

I passed him in the street he wore the simper of
an accepted lover.

" The truth is this," said Courtenay, to whom,
by the way, I had not confided the facts, " women,
old John, are kittle cattle. Magdalena has tired
of you, even as Letty has tired of me."

At this amazing statement I laughed bitterly.

'* Look at the way she is treating me. She
imposes the burden of sour looks and cutting
words, yet when I try to explain she turns aside
an adder's ear. Damme, 'tis taxation without re-
presentation."

I really believe that he counted himself an
injured person. Yet I was too angry to look at
the thing in its humorous Hght.

** My sympathy, Courtenay, is with Letty."

" Good God ! " he exclaimed, " you look at me
as if I had ridden rough-shod through the Decal-
ogue."

" You may have broken no laws. You are
like to break the sweetest, truest heart in the
world."

He was certainly affected, but after his fashion
tried to laugh the matter off.

** You exaggerate, old John. Would she have
me for ever dangling at her apron-strings ? "

" Ay, she would, for she loves you ; and you
ought to be philosopher enough to know that you
can only take from the bunghole of life's barrel
what you pour in at the spigot. Letty is no fine
city madam, but a country lass."

" She has the looks and spirit of a countess."

" The spirit, Courtenay, is a pale ghost, believe
me."

He raised his handsome brows and left me. I
was sorry for myself, for his selfishness had
seemingly undone me, and desperately sorry for
Letty, the little lass 1 had pelted not long ago

A TIGER-LILY 211

with cowslip balls and hung with daisy chains.
This was her dark hour, and the farthing dip
called advice only emphasised the gloom.

" He makes merry, and so shall I," she said.

" Don't trifle with happiness, Letty."

*' Has it not trifled with me ? " she asked
sharply. ** I find that my hero is a — butter-
fly.",^

Time, as a rule, may be trusted to mend hearts,
and I was too busy just then with my own
troubles to pay much heed to the bickerings of
others. Faithful to her promise, Letty demanded
an interview with Magdalena, from w^hich she re-
turned with flashing eyes and scarlet cheeks. " I
congratulate you, John," she said sharply. " You
have had a narrow escape." And not another
word would she vouchsafe me.

Meantime, we were watching, watching, watch-
ing for the white wings of Castillero's barque. I
often wondered in these days whether ambition's
game is worth the candle. Uncertainty fills
many a coffin, and no man's nerves are proof
against the impending thrust of a punal. Doubt-
less the lovely Martina Castro shed many tears,
and fingered impatiently her bridal finery. But
my chief continued as cool and impassive as a
block of ice.

** You look unhappy," he said to me one morning
in November, " and your cheek is growing thin
and pale. Dios ! Wipe these worries from your
face, my poor boy. Fools can afford to fret, wise
men must smile. You have the air of one who
has had the doors of Paradise slammed in his
teeth."

'* And that," said I gloomily, ** is exactly what
has happened to me."

Inaction, too, bred blue devils. Pending the

212 JOHN CHARITY

arrival of the comisionado the business of state
lay somewhat in abeyance. Nor could I doubt
that the plans of our enemies, cleverly hid from
us, were nearly ripe for execution. I guessed as
much from de Castaneda's extreme civility to
me. Treachery sits at ease on some faces. The
Mexicans were bland and smiling ; the old Don,
on the contrary, was puckered with frowns.

" You are sure that your handsome friend is
only with these fellows and not of them ? " said
Alvarado. ^^ Bueno, let us test him. I appreciate
the apothegm : * Deceive me once, it is your
fault ; deceive me twice, it is mine.' If he is
caught in their mesh, he will refuse to leave
Monterey, will he not ? " I admitted as much,
and he continued : " I think a change would do
you good, Juan. Go into the Carmelo foothills
for a week, my friend, and take Valence with you.
If he refuses to accompany you, I shall draw my
own conclusions."

" But, your Excellency, I cannot leave you —
now."

" You will do as I tell you," he replied coldly.

" And the Senora Valence ? " I urged, for I was
sore at leaving my patron. Yet he had the habit
of command, and I was his servant.

" Take her with you," he said curtly.

Accordingly, I asked Courtenay if he were not
keen to kill a fat buck, and, somewhat to my
relief, he approved what he called an outing. He
mentioned, for the thousandth time, his work
aboard the Heron ; and when I told him that he
deserved a holiday, gravely agreed with me.
Thus it will be seen that a selfish, pleasure-
seeking life may play the deuce with that gracious
gift of the gods — a sense of humour. Then I
dropped a discreet hint concerning Soto and de
Castaneda, but he laughed me into silence, calling

A TIGER-LILY 213

me a damned suspicious old ass. I regret now
that I held my peace ; ridicule will bridle even a
shrew's tongue.

And here I am tempted to throw a pebble at my
kind chief. The ways of the Latin are not lightly
to be apprehended by the Anglo-Saxon. Would
to God that Alvarado had been more candid
with me. It seems that he knew that my life
was in danger, and that he took this opportunity
of considering my safety before his own. And
knowing — far, far better than I did — the character
of Castaneda, he wished Letty to be safe and
snug in the foothills, out of ken of the scoundrels
who encompassed her. And, alas ! had he only
made these matters clear to me, the ends he had in
view might have been accomplished. Instead, he
merely said curtly :

** Be mum, Juan, about your destination. A
man cannot be stabbed when his enemies do not
know where he is. Forget not to muzzle your
friend. You will start to-morrow."

" To-morrow ! " I echoed. " To-morrow ! "

" Certainl}^ — the sooner the better."

'Twas useless to ask for reasons he chose to
withhold ; so I returned to Larkin's, and found
my foster-brother hot-foot for the chase, diligently
cleaning his rifle. He carelessly agreed to speak
to none of our plans, but added that in his opinion
such mystery was absurd. Just then Letty came
in, and, to my consternation, flatly refused to
accompany us.

** You mitst come," said her lord.

" Oh, indeed ! My wishes, of course, should
curtsey to your convenience. Let me tell you I
shall not go anywhere — under the lash."

*' You deliberately disobey me ? "

Her face dimpled with derisive smiles.

"Why not?"

214 JOHN CHARITY

Then she turned to me.

" Dear Johnnie, why should I leave this com-
fortable house to gratify Courtenay's whim ? "

" I am your dear Johnnie, and you are my dear
Letty ; but, madam, you are also a coquette, and
hang me if I'll dance to such measures as you
have set of late."

'' Let her stay," growled Courtenay. ** She
would spoil our fun with her tantrums," and he
rubbed viciously the barrel of his rifle.

She stood eyeing him disdainfully, and I confess
that her obstinacy exasperated me. I had yet to
learn that sympathy between the sexes argues —
according to the law of periodicity — antipathy.
Letty's love for Courtenay had touched her to
fine issues. But, alas ! Love's rule is also the
yard-stick of hate. A woman measures gain by
loss.

" Courtenay," she said nervously, " you cannot
break me as the colts of this country are broken —
by abuse." I am sure she would have melted with
one warm word, which we withheld. " I wish
you good sport," she continued, ** and also good-
bye. What ! Not a word ? How cross you both
are ! " Then she walked to the door, and paused
on the threshold, a slim, gracious figure, daintily
clad in thin muslin, framed in ancient oak. '* Good-
bye," she murmured. ** Good-bye, old John. Good-
bye, Courtenay."

My foster-brother turned his back and walked
to the window. Letty laughed ironically, and
closed the door.

" Go after her," said I. " A kiss will adjust this
business."

" No," he answered obstinately ; " I won't go."

So I went instead, and found her standing at
the other end of the corridor that ran the length
of the house. When I urged her to obey her

A TIGER-LILY 215

husband, she refused emphatically to leave
Monterey.

" I have more than a woman's reason, John.
Good-bye, dear. Perhaps I shall have news for
you on your return."

** Why good-bye ? " I asked, puzzled more by
her tone than by her words. " We do not leave
till to-morrow."

" I shall sleep to-night at the Casa Estrada."

'' What ! "

"Your Magdalena came to me this afternoon
and entreated my pardon. I have forgiven her
the hard words she said to me. And, John, she
must melt when she learns how good and faith-
ful you are. Be sure that I shall sing your
praises."

I stared at her, sorely perplexed. Yet I
remembered that Tia Maria Luisa was now my
friend. Moreover, when we first came to
Monterey, Letty had passed more than one night
beneath the dame's roof. So misgiving melted,
and hope — that had somewhat sickened — took a
new lease of life. Seeing that further remon-
strance would be fruitless, I kissed my cousin
and bade her cheer up.

" There are few dun days in California," I
whispered. '* The sun will shine again, Letty,
for all of us."

I did not see Alvarado again, for I was busy at
Larkin's, and indeed, slept there against an early
start upon the following morning. But — as ill
luck would have it — as we were riding out of town,
whom should we meet but Don Miguel Soto ;
and, very naturally, he asked Courtenay whither
we were bound. The careless fellow answered,
before I could wink a discreet lid, '* To Carmelo."

CHAPTER XIX

LA NOCHE ES CAPA DE PECADORES

We camped in a delightful spot — a grove of oaks
surrounding a cold and limpid pool. Diana
addressing herself to the bath could have found
no more perfect retreat, for in the soft sand
around the spring we marked the slot of deer,
and the imprint of bear and puma criss-crossed
v^ith tracks of quail innumerable, but of man
there v^as no sign whatever. The reek of our
fire ascended from a wooded spur of the Coast
Range, while below, obscured by a shimmering
golden haze, lay the foothills and valleys of
Carmelo ; obscured, also, were the peaks of the
Santa Lucia mountains ; and veiled was the
dazzling azure of skies and seas. Indeed, the
land and seascape seemed enchanted, lying silent
and glowing beneath the spell of autumn. For
when the sweet fall of the year comes to California
the trade winds cease their blustering, the pines
and chattering cottonwoods sough no more, the
brooks are voiceless, the birds are mute. Yet
life does not depart ; it is only suspended. The
strange silence is eloquent not of decay, as in less
favoured lands, nor of death, but of sleep.

" A dear sweet country," said Courtenay to me.
"Hark! What is that?"

Out of the silence floated the sound of a bell, a
ai6

LA NOCHE ES CAPA DE PECADORES 217

magic chime from the belfry of San Carlos. The
ruined mission buildings and the rude huts of the
Indians were lost to view in the milky mists, but
the incantation of sound bewitched the fancy not
so easily beguiled by sight (that most matter-of-
fact of the senses). So we listened to the bells
tolling — as it seemed to us — the requiem of the
past. If their silvery tongues murmured peace, a
harsh jarring note ever and again proclaimed
strife. Ah me! California is still the land of
melting mist and golden haze ; the cypress and
pine fringe the foothills of Monterey as of yore ;
the great combers curl and break upon the
bristling rocks of Point Lobos. But, to the great
eagles and condors who float high up on motion-
less pinions, watching and waiting, what changes
the years have brought !

We were standing upon the edge of a plateau,
whence the ground broke sharply to the south-
east in a ragged succession of steep, gulch-seamed
slopes. So standing we watched the phantoms
of the mist, as they climbed the foothills and
scaled the mountain peaks beyond. Through the
white glimmer of the skirmishing line shone the
rosy gleams of the setting sun, with here and
there a steely glint as of spears — lights reflected
from the smooth surfaces of rocks and leaves. A
faint perfume of herbs and grasses floated up with
the mist, and from the moist lands that border the
Carmel creek came the chorus of the frogs.

Being spent with fatigue after four days' hard
deer-stalking, this heavenly evening cooled our
blood. Courtenay, ever a keen sportsman, had
been unusually successful, and yet, watching his
expressive face, I knew that he was thinking not
of the dead stags, but of a wounded hind.
Presently, he said abruptly : ** She is only a
child. I regret that we parted in anger."

2i8 JOHN CHARITY

Then we fell to talking of our dear ones, eagerly
yet softly, as friends talk when the shades of
evening woo to speech halting and reluctant
tongues. And now my foster-brother's ardent
voice recalled our boyhood, when we would
chatter like blue jays upon every subject and
object. Of late this intimate communion had
ceased.

Suddenly he touched my arm.

" Is there something moving down there ? " he
asked.

I strained my eyes into the shadows of the
mist.

" 'Tis an animal," he said, after a pause.
'^ Possiby a coyote lured here by the smell of
venison. Egad ! Jack, I can smell the buck's
liver that is now sizzling over our fire. Come,
I've a wolf's appetite."

Later we lay around the camp fire, piled high
with blazing cones. These, after giving forth
glorious heat and light, burned down till nought
was left save a mass of dull red cinders, plastic
stuff wherewith to paint pictures or weave fancies.

Soon Procopio began to snore loudly beneath
his serape, and not an hour had passed before
Courtenay followed the Yaqui into the happy
hunting fields of sleep. But I strolled through
the suburbs of slumber in pleasant vagabondage,
arm in arm with fancy and ambition, those Will-
o'-the-wisps of the soul. And if they lured me
into a divmer aether, I was still sensible that my
body was chained to earth, for the mere cracking
of a rotten twig brought me presently to my feet.
I listened for another sound, and glanced at the
dark forms beside the dying fire. White man
and Indian were soundly asleep, fagged out. It
seemed a pity to wake them, yet if a grizzly were
prowling about I might need them. Again 1

LA NOCHE ES CAPA DE PECADORES 219

listened, till the silence became oppressive, and
then, being thoroughly awake and in the mood
for a walk beneath the stars, took my rifle and
slipped quietly into the shadows. At first it was
so dark that I failed to distinguish the vast trunks
of the oaks. And then a curious horror of the
invisible fell upon me, for I was sensible that
some animal was stealing stealthily through the
under-brush to my right. I caught a faint rustle.
Fancy whispered the word — puma ! A fierce
beast when hungry, the bane of tender calves and
suckling colts. The noise ceased when I stood
still, but now I marked an ominous crackle to my
left. Did pumas hunt in pairs ? Heart in mouth,
I decided to return to camp and arouse my
companions, and, accordingly, swung on my heel,
thereby miserably conscious that I had lost my
bearings. I might, of course, have cried out, for
the camp at most was not a hundred paces from
me, but a youngster is always more than half a
fool, and Courtenay would twit me for a month if
my fears proved groundless. So I stood still for
the third time, a poor confounded ass.

A minute must have passed, an aeon to me, and
beads of cold sweat trickled slowly down my nose,
for I was positively of the opinion that the
animals — if animals they were — had not moved,
and that the three of us might be included in a
circle of small radius. By this time my eyes had
somewhat adapted themselves to the mirk, and I
could see the trunks of two large trees rising
ghostlike from a shadowy tangle of sage-brush
and poison oak. Then, through the interlaced
boughs above me, I caught a glimpse of Orion's
belt, and knew that the camp was in front of me.
My fears vanished and I stepped briskly forward.
But before I had gone two yards, a crash behind
proclaimed pursuit, and as I took ignominously

220 JOHN CHARITY

to my heels, a rifle exploded. Almost immediately
I heard the cool voice of the Yaqui : *' Bueno^
bueno ! Our Lady's bullets never miss. Senor,
Don Juan, let us look together for the body of
Cosme Servin."

" Can you see in the dark ? " I stammered.

^^ Ay yi! I could see you, and that dog of a
coyote."

'' You cannot have hit him ?"

'* It is not possible to miss with the bullets
blessed by our Lady. When you left camp,
senor, I followed. Huh! you thought I was
sleeping ; yet I heard the twig snap when you
did. Cosme Servin is in that bush."

It was as he said. Together we pulled the
bleeding wretch from his ambush and dragged
him to the camp fire. The others — for others
there were — bolted. Courtenay threw more cones
upon the fire, and by the light of the flames we
examined the wounded man. The bullet had
entered the abdomen, and must have touched the
spinal cord, for the fellow was completely
paralysed from the waist down, and quite un-
conscious. Brandy revived him, and he seemed
to realise that he was in desperate straits, for he
asked faintly for a priest.

" Thou wilt burn in hell before the priest
comes," said the Yaqui fiercely, his lean face livid
with hate. " Shall I ride to Monterey and fetch
Eustachia Bonilla ? "

" Silence," said Courtenay sharply. '' If he
wants a priest he shall have one. Ride to San
Carlos. There is one priest, I know, work-
ing there amongst the Indians and fishermen.
Go!"

Procopio obeyed sullenly. In his opinion
punishment here and hereafter was a sentence
meet for Cosm6 Servin, but for my part I

LA NOCHE ES CAPA DE PECADORES 221

pardoned the man, albeit hating the more his
master, the treacherous Mexican.

When the Yaqui had galloped away, we did
what we could for the easement of the dying
mestizo. Life was ebbing from him painlessly,
but he complained of constant thirst, and also of
cold. Our ministrations pricked his gratitude,
for he thanked us courteously each time we
moistened his lips, and smiled his thanks in a
ghastly grin. As time wore on and the priest
came not, his anxiety was horrible to witness.
He had been baptised and educated at one of the
southern missions, and the teaching of the padres
was bearing fruit, for the good fathers use much
colour in discourse, and the horrors of the Indian's
Inferno are portrayed by men familiar with the
works of Augustine, Origen, and Tertullian. The
wretch was twisting his fingers in agonised
anticipation of hell's fiercest flames, and nothing
we could say, being heretics, sufficed to comfort
him. Only the balm of the Holy Oils can heal
such wounds.

Finally, as the mist upon the mountains
assumed the sea-shell tints of dawn, Procopio
and the priest from Carmel rode up the slopes.
The priest was a Zacatecan friar whom I had met
before, one who had known and loved, and been
beloved by, the famous Padre Junipero Serra.
Tall and very thin, but bent and broken by age
and infirmity, he was of a pale, pure, and clear
complexion, with a lean prominent chin, a thin-
lipped mouth, a falcon's beak, and, surmounting
a pair of dark, deep-set eyes, a high, narrow,
wrinkled brow — the face of an old soldier who
has seen more than one stricken field, yet in the
evening of life has found peace. He had been an
itinerant friar. In hunger and thirst, in sickness
and health, in sunshine and storm he had

222 JOHN CHARITY

wandered from mission to mission. Only a poor
monk, yet, in the eyes of the Architect, surely a
temple of rock crystal with God's lamp set therein,
and fed with the oils of poverty, obedience, and
chastity. There were many such in early days,
who confronted exile, solitude, servitude, and the
manifold terrors of the wilderness. A few were
scholars, men of gentle birth ; the many were
artisans — carpenters, masons, and bricklayers —
who taught the Indians simple trades and laboured
with them each day from dawn till dusk. They
had their faults, these friars of St. Francis and
St. Dominic ; they were stern disciplinarians,
intolerant of interference, bigots, if you will, but
they were the true sowers in California, the
pioneers, to be likened to a placid stream whose
waters, flowing slowly on and on, irrigating,
percolating, fertilising, bear upon their bosom
Christ's gospel of life and love.

Courtenay and I withdrew, leaving the dying
man in the priest's care. My foster-brother was
much affected, and spoke soberly of life and its
duties, of the here and the hereafter, of the heaven
and hell we make for ourselves, and so forth. A
violent death, be it of friend or foe, leaves a scar
upon the memory. Many years have passed
since that night, yet I can recall Courtenay's
sombre face and the tones of his voice.

** A vile death in a vile stew is bad enough, old
Jack, but a rude exit from such a world as this
seems horrible."

Courtenay had ever a poet's appreciation of the
beautiful, and also, in marked degree, that interest
in others without which man is a poor thing.
This had led him into quagmires. The keen eyes
of Alvarado apprehended the weakness of such a
character. ** Your friend," said he, " is a chameleon.
That is why he is so charming."

LA NOCHE ES CAPA DE PECADORES 223

And now he seemed to realise the ignoble part
he had played of late, for ever eating, drinking,
and jesting.

" I'll mend my ways," he muttered contritely.
" Egad ! we might be lying stiff and stark by the
fire yonder, and I should have had but a sorry
record to show the angel. And my poor Letty
left alone in a foreign land."

The priest approached, and held up a lean
finger.

** Cosme Servin," said he solemnly, " has but a
few minutes to live. Before I grant him the last
rites and absolution it is necessary that he should
speak with you. Come."

We could mark the signs of dissolution — the
livid pallor, the dreadful dew of death — yet the
man's eyes still blazed with impatience, the im-
patience of a soul denied the joys of paradise.
We knelt down, and then Cosme spoke :

" Senores, I was tempted by much gold to
come here with two Indians and stab you whilst
you slept. With gold in my hand, plenty of it, I
could go to Eustachia and ask her to be my wife.
It was love for her, not love for any other, nor
hate of you, senores, that tempted me."

** We forgive you," said Courtenay.

The priest bent down and muttered the words
of the absolution. Then from the folds of his
habit he took a silver-gilt vial that contained the
oils.

'* Per sanctam unctionem et suam puisissimam
misericordiam indulgeat tihi quidquia per visum
deliquisti. ..."

The priest made the sign of the cross upon the
man's eyelids, and then rapidly anointed all the
different parts of the body in turn, murmuring
the same formula. When he had finished, the
lips of Servin moved either in praise or thanks-

224 JOHN CHARITY

giving, but the sounds were inarticulate. Then
the man raised his heavy hand and pointed up-
ward, whilst I marvelled at the rigidity of that
pointing finger. No trembling betrayed the
weakness of a departing soul. The certainty of
forgiveness steeled the muscles as it had already
fortified the mind. Then, suddenly, the hand fell
with a crash, and the friar began that beautiful
apostrophe : " Profiscere, anima Christiana . , .
hodie sit in pace locus tuus, et habitatio tua in Sancta
Sion. ..."

Cosme Servin was dead.

The breath had scarce left the body of the mis-
guided and unfortunate man when the Franciscan
turned to me.

" Senores," said he quietly, " I advise you to
ride at once to Monterey. I am not betraying
my holy office when I warn you that mischief is
brewing."

We gazed at each other stupidly. The land-
scape was still bathed in mist, and all things
seemed grey and grim. The trees were gigantic
phantoms. The skies were a winding-sheet.
And at our feet lay the dead Indian, with a smile
upon his face, while the priest raised his voice in
supplication.

CHAPTER XX

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN

I HAVE often thanked my Maker that I am a
man, because to the male is given the blessed
privilege of action. Who would not sooner work
than weep ? And work that draws the sweat
from the skin and racks strained muscles and
sinews is surely a better anodyne than all the
drowsy syrups of the pharmacopoeia.

That ride m the early morning, with the wet
boughs of the chaparral scourging our faces^
lasted but one hour. The Yaqui led the way,
and spared neither quirt nor spur. In after
years I rode over the same ground with an
English friend at my side, a man, too, known
in the shires as a bold horseman, no mean
judge of what a horse and rider can do at a
pinch. Yet he shook his head and smiled as
we picked our way up a rocky, gulch-seamed
slope, down which I told him we had raced at
a gallop.

As we jogged into the town, Courtenay pointed
out to me a ship at anchor, not far from the
moorings of the Heron.

" By Jove ! " he exclaimed, " Castillero has
come at last."

I wondered whether he had come too late, but
the question was answered in a couple of minutes.

225 15

226 JOHN CHARITY

The town was en fete even at that early hour,
and on every lip was the name of my brave and
patient chief. Leaving Courtenay at Larkin's, I
rode straight to the Governor's house, which I
found crowded with friends — truly their name
was legion on that day — and amongst them were
the comisionado and all the chief men of the
north. I soon learned that Alvarado had been
formally confirmed as Governor, Vallejo as Com-
mander-in-Chief; while to Carlos Carrillo was
given a large island, whither it was hoped he
would betake himself. I had never seen his
Excellency in finer health or spirits.

" Well, my friend," he said, as soon as we
were alone, " I have power now, and shall use
it."

** Has any attempt been made upon your Excel-
lency's life ? "

" Why do you ask ? " he retorted quickly.

'* I had reason to believe that mischief was
brewing."

" The yeast was not strong enough, my friend.
Yes, between ourselves death has been near
me since you left Monterey. And," his voice
softened, " I have reason to believe that I owe
my life and what it holds to a woman. I was
sitting at my desk reading upon the evening
of the day you went to Carmelo when this was
brought to me."

He took from his pocket a half sheet of paper.
On it were inscribed a few words, obviously
written with the left hand : a friend entreated
his Excellency to go to bed at ten instead of
at midnight — the usual time.

I looked at my chief inquiringly.

" You know my habits, Juan. I can only study
when the town is quiet, and 1 am apt to be en-
grossed in my work. A man could steal through

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 227

that window yonder and stab me easily, could he
not?"

" He could," I assented. " My God ! Why
did we not think of that before ? "

" Or from the top of the wall he could shoot
me. 'Twould be a fair shot, even for a poor
marksman."

" Your Excellency, I cannot forgive myself for
being so careless of your safety."

" It seems," he said gravely, " that God will
not permit me to die a dog's death. Well, my
friend, that paper was confirmation, ' strong as
Holy Writ,' to me of what we had both sus-
pected. Yet I wished to put my doubts to the
test. And I hoped to arrest the assassin with
my own hand."

" Your Excellency," I said gloomily, ** you are
not to be trusted alone. You ran a dreadful
risk."

" Wait. Only a fool, Juan, runs a risk that
may be avoided. Yet some chances a man,
if he be a man, must take — matrimony for
instance," and he smiled slily. " Accordingly, I
prepared a dummy that I set in my chair, back
to the window ; then I armed myself and waited,
but I bade the orderly to stand without the door.
My fear was that the assassin, if he chanced to be
hid in the garden, would see me at my work.
And, unhappily, this is exactly what must have
happened, for no shot was fired, no man crawled
through the open window ; and yet, when I
searched the garden upon the following morning,
I found this."

He laid before me a small tobacco pouch, such
as the Indians of Sonora make and sell. They
are costly trifles, and never used by the Indians
themselves.

'* If I could find the owner of this," said my

228 JOHN CHARITY

chief softly, " I would send for Quijas. The
wretch should not die unshriven."

" That belongs," said I, ^* to de Castaneda. I
can swear that it is his, and there is not another
like it in Monterey ! "

" I made certain it was he, but I lacked proof.
And, Juan, I dared not show this pouch to my —
my friends, for fear that one of them would warn
the scoundrel. Make you aught of that piece of
paper ? "

I turned it over and over, examining with care
the texture of it, the ink, the writing. Then 1
shook my head.

" Smell it," said my chief.

" Madre de Dios ! " I exclaimed. Then I
paused, crimson with confusion. About that
scrap of paper hung a scent familiar to me,
the faint odour of an essence used by Magdalena.

" Who wrote that letter ? " said his Excellency,
in a cold voice.

I hesitated. I could not bring myself to name
the daughter of Estrada. Alvarado slapped my
shoulder.

" My poor Juan," said he. " Your Magdalena
has saved her father's life as well as mine. And
do you think I shall prove ungrateful? Well,
what remains to be told ? The arrival of Castill-
ero has given me a new lease of life. Coyotes
will bait a solitary bull ; they keep their distance
from the herd. Do you know that the com-
isionado's vessel. La California, had not rounded
the Punto de los Pinos an hour before that old
fox Estrada came to me, entreating my pardon ?
He gave me the history of the past six months,
and swore that my life had never been in danger.
I laughed in his yellow face, and even he had the
grace to blush. For your sake, Juan, and for the
sake of Magdalena, I shall spare him. But Soto

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 229

and de Castafieda shall hang high as Haman. A
soldier's death is too honest for them."

Then I told him exactly what had passed in the
foothills of Carmelo. Before I had finished the
story he sent an orderly for Castro, and as soon
as that large gentleman entered the room com-
manded the immediate arrest of the Mexicans.

Castro shrugged his broad shoulders. " The
birds are flown," he said, with an oath. *' They
left Monterey the day before yesterday with two
caponeras."

*' Curse it ! " exclaimed my chief savagely.
" Why was I not told of this ? "

** We have been busy," muttered the big fellow.

'^ We ? " The emphasis was ironic. ** Well,
send some soldiers after them at once."

*' The men cannot leave before to-morrow," said
Castro sullenly.

" It is always to-morrow," said Alvarado savagely.
** Well, see to it that no blunders are made."

When Castro had gone, he said : " Narciso will
give you Magdalena, and I fancy the maid is
willing enough, for she has made friends again
with your cousin. And yet," he sighed, " I could
wish, Juan, that you had chosen another. Ay,
you say she is a Bandini, but she is also Estrada."

" I love her with all my soul," said I fervently.

He went to his desk, unlocked a drawer and
took from it a roll of parchment.

** Here is your title," said he, '' to the lands once
owned by the Marquis of Branciforte. The
papers have been prepared for a long time ; they
were signed yesterday." And as he spoke I made
certain — poor fool — that our worries and per-
plexities were at an end. The barque that bore
Caesar and his fortunes had crossed the troubled
waters. And so far as Caesar was concerned I
was right. From that hour Juan Bautista

230 JOHN CHARITY

Alvarado became the autocrat of Alta California.
What happened to him afterwards has become a
chapter in the world's history, a chapter not with-
out interest to the Anglo-Saxon race. But let
this be said of him — in the hour of triumph he
forgot not his friends.

I took the papers he gave to me, and stammered
my thanks.

Then, for the first time — for he was the most
undemonstrative of men — he took me in his arms
and kissed me solemnly on both cheeks. It was
a joyful minute for both of us.

Soon after I left him and went at once to Larkin's,
where I expected to find Letty. My foster-brother
came forward to meet me, a frown upon his face,
and in his hand a letter. He told me that Letty
and Magdalena were not in town. Tia Maria
Luisa had a kinsman who owned a beautiful
rancho on the banks of the Salinas, and to this
the girls had gone to attend a big rodeo.

'* Old Narciso took them," said Courtenay,
absently. '' Yes, it really looks. Jack, as if we
had come into smooth water at last."

I vyas not aware that Master Courtenay had
been in rough water, but I said nothing, for I saw
from his face that he was deeply affected. Then
he handed me the letter, which was in my mother's
writing. I read a dozen lines. Austin Valence
was dead.

I took his hand and pressed it.

" My dear Courtenay, what can I say to you ? "

" Nothing," he replied gravely. ** He was my
enemy and my brother. Ah ! John, old friend,
death tears the veil from our eyes — doesn't it ?
The evil that was in him, poor fellow, is in me
also. Finish the letter."

" Sir Marmaduke " (wrote my mother) " is

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 231

sorely afflicted. Yet I cannot doubt that his hard
heart is softened. Come home, Courtenay, you
are wanted here, and England is surely the best
place for you and the little lass. . . ."

There was much more in the same strain.

'* My mother is right, Courtenay ; you had
better return as you came, in the Heronr

He protested that he would not leave me, but I
could see that in fancy his mind was seven thou-
sand miles away.

A clod is in its element out of doors, but the
same piece of clay transmuted into porcelain is
seen to better advantage in a drawing-room. I
was naturally simple, he complex, versatile,
volatile, but always charming. I have since come
to the conclusion that fascinating persons are
innately selfish. Because they please them-
selves, because they cultivate assiduously the joie
de vivre, they please others. But I did not find
this out for many years.

As I was thinking sadly of the sweet vale of
Itchen and my mother's dear face, Quijas entered,
wearing a very sour look. It must distress the
sons of Holy Church to find themselves burdened
with secrets which untold may work mischief to
their friends. Quijas had seen Procopio, and
doubtless had learned from him details withheld
from heretic ears. Perhaps, too, the Indita,
Eustachia Bonilla, knew more than she confided
to her lover.

" You look cross, padre Quijas," said I. " But
Courtenay has just told me that we are in smooth
water. His Excellency triumphs, his enemies
have vanished."

" Vanished ! " said Quijas, somewhat contemptu-
ously. '' If I were you, senores, knowing as you
do what manner of men these Mexicans are, I

232 JOHN CHARITY

would make sure of that. Alta California is too
small a country to hold them and you."

I was silent, sensible that de Castaneda and
Soto driven to the wall were about as dangerous
and treacherous as tigers. Courtenay rose at
once with an air of determination.

** We can talk just as well in the saddle," he
said significantly. " Come, Jack, I shan't be happy
till Letty's hand lies in mine."

** I'll go with you," said Quijas bluntly. Then
he asked if we were well armed. I noted that he
borrowed a pistol and a punal, weapons banned
and barred to a friar. " Virgen Santisima" he
growled to me, " I carry these, my son, to the
glory of God and the undoing of His enemies."

'' What ! You look for a fight ? "

** Though the sun shine, leave not thy cloak at
home. Perhaps we borrow trouble, but quien
sabel The rattlesnake strikes when the colt
is grazing."

His words made us very uneasy. Courtenay
took me aside while our horses were being
saddled, and said despondently, ** The devil sent
his Indians to kill us, so that he might deal as he
pleased with Letty. The sweet soul may be now
in his clutches. What a blind fool I have been ! "

My fears marched with his, a choir invisible.

"Is Magdalena to be trusted?" he asked
abruptly.

Now this question I had not dared to answer.

" There may be some plot," continued my
foster-brother. '* A jealous woman sticks at
nothing. Why should she kiss the cheek she has
slapped ? Curse it ! Not half an hour ago I
told you that we were in smooth water. And
now "

I consoled him — and muzzled my own mis-
givings— with a few obvious arguments. Mag-

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 233

dalena — I pointed out — being a Latin would
doubtless prefer to make her peace with me
indirectly, and having wronged Letty in thought
would make extravagant amends in deed. The
old Don, too, might now be counted as a friend.
He, at least, dared to compromise himself no
more. And so on and so forth.

At nine we again took the road, and galloped
without drawing rein till we came to the broad
ford of the Salinas, flashing and sparkling in the
sunlight. 'Twas piping hot, and our horses were
spent. California, be it remembered, is a twin.
The California of matins and vespers is fresh and
dewy, perfumed, melodious, a chromatic scale of
colours, sounds and odours ; but the California of
high noon is sun-scorched and dusty, bare and
bleak, scentless, a monotone.

" Carajo ! " exclaimed the Yaqui, as we stopped
at the ford to water our cattle and tighten the
slackened girths, '* a draught of Padre Duran's
aguardiente would be sweeter than a kiss from
Eustachia."

While he was speaking the keen eyes of Quijas
had marked a milky stain upon the horizon.
This soon became a pillar of dust, and as we rode
to meet it the forms of a man and mule were
made manifest."

" 'Tis your friend the Jew," said the priest.

From Solomon we gleaned rank weeds — doubt,
disappointment, stinging fears. He had attended
the Castro rodeo and reported the presence there
of Castaneda and Soto. This audacity on their
part whetted fresh apprehensions. At the same
time we were enchanted to learn that Letty
was safe and sound in old Narciso's charge.

** You left them at the ranch-house ? " said
Courtenay.

234 JOHN CHARITY

Solomon replied that Soto and Castaneda had
left the ranch at dawn with their caponeras and
Indians, and that two hours after Narciso and his
party had set out for the capitol.

" But there is only one road. Why have we
not met them ? "

Solomon shrugged his fat shoulders.

" Why have we not met them ? " repeated
Courtenay.

Procopio explained that possibly Don Narciso
had stopped for rest and refreshment at a small
place that belonged to him, known as La Laguna
Seca, situate about a mile from the high road.
This seemed so probable that we plucked up our
spirits. It was insufferably hot, no Spaniard,
with ladies in his company, would brave the
rigours of a midday journey.

" What road did the Mexicans take ? " asked
Quijas.

That question the Jew could not answer.
Accordingly we bade him God-speed, and rode on
again rather lighter of heart. Quijas, galloping
at my side, spoke of Magdalena, and his cunning
tongue conjured up a score of scenes. I could
see the little maid at her devotions — the alabado^
chanted always at dawn, echoed in my ears. I
could see her at play, at hoodman-blind, ducks
and drakes, hide-and-seek, the same games dear
to English children. I could see her, a pathetic
figure, en penitencia^ kneeling in a corner of the
big comeaor^ before a hide-covered stool, on
which was laid in mockery a cup, a platter, and
a spoon (suggesting a Barmecide's feast), while at
the long table her stern-faced father and his
guests gorged heavily. I could see her, a maiden
of thirteen, overlooking with kindly eyes the
labours of the Inditas, standing in the laundry,
beside the snow-white, sweet-scented piles of

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 235

linen, whose finest pieces had been hemmed and
embroidered by her own fingers, or in the
kitchen upon the eve of a fiesta, or last of all,
when the day's work was done, seated on the
long cool varandah, her fingers caressing the
strings of her guitar, while from her lips, out
into the starry silence, floated the mournful love-
lilts of Spain and Mexico.

This fluent talk beguiled the time, and ere long
we topped a ridge below which lay the dried-up
lake that gave the grant its name. The ranch-
house, a small adobe, stood upon the farther
shore, with a stone corral hard by, but of human
life there was not a sign, not even a reek of
smoke.

" The place is deserted," exclaimed Courtenay.

We skirted a lake fringed with a rank growth
of tule and rushes, and drew rein at the closed
door of the adobe. In and around the corral
were the fresh hoof-marks of many horses.
Castaneda and his caponeras had evidently come
and gone.

" We waste our time," said Courtenay im-
patiently. " I doubt whether the ladies have
been here at all."

Procopio suddenly spurred his horse to a
canter, swung from the saddle, and picked up a
white object.

" They have been here," said I, as Procopio
tendered me a piece of linen. ''This is Letty's
handkerchief."

We looked at each other, while Quijas, with a
nod to the Yaqui to follow him, rode around the
buildings and corral. When he rejoined us his
large face was black with misgiving.

'' There is the road to Monterey," he pointed
due west. " Castaneda and those with him are
riding north,"

236 JOHN CHARITY

" Then our course is north," said my foster-
brother. ''Curse it!" he broke out, " what does
this mean ? "

Quijas answered : " What I feared has come to
pass. The ladies have been abducted."

" And we stand prating about it. Mount, man,
mount."

Quijas held up his hand. Authority sat en-
throned on his massive brows. Never had I
liked the man so much as now.

" La noche es capa de pecadores " (night is a
cloak for sinners), quoted the friar softly. '' 'Twill
be night, senor Valence, in one hour, our horses
are not fresh ; we are four against a possible ten ;
we must make haste, my friend, slowly. Am I
right ? " He turned to me.

I did not answer.

" We must procure horses and men, an Indian
trailer "

" You can leave that to me," said Procopio, in
his peculiar, guttural tones. ''Huh! what was
that?"

He and Quijas had dismounted, and had un-
cinched their horses. Now the Yaqui ran quickly
to the adobe, tore the heavy shutter from one
of the windows, and, peering within, uttered a
loud cry. The rest of us were at his heels in an
instant.

'' Dios ! " exclaimed Quijas, " it is Don Narciso
bound and gagged."

We entered the hut and released the old man,
who glared savagely at us whilst we cut the raw
hide thongs. The gag had paralysed his jaw.
Quijas poured some brandy down his throat, and
presently the words came in jerks, as if the
speaker's tongue had the spring-halt.

" What does he say ? " asked Courtenay.

" Nothing but curses so far," replied the fria,r,

WITHOUT DRAWING REIN 237

The old fellow, still stammering incoherently,
pointed a trembling finger at Courtenay. Rage
rather than weakness impeded speech. Finally
we interpreted his story. Soto and de Castaneda
had carried off Lettice and Magdalena. Then the
Don fell to cursing again.

** Don Narciso," said Quijas, in his deepest
bass, ** the saints will not suffer this outrage.
Faya, we must be moving. Every minute is of
consequence."

** You are going to Monterey — no ? "

" Assuredly."

" I ride north," said Courtenay, and his lips
were set in a curve I knew well. Sir Marmaduke
used to say that his wife had been the most
obstinate woman in Great Britain.

" That is madness, senor Valence."

** Perhaps. Good-bye, Jack."

" I follow you," said I.

*' Caramba I You cannot trail them, you "

" I go with the caballeros," observed Procopio,
vaulting into his saddle. "And, father, I have
five of my blessed bullets yet."

The friar shrugged his vast shoulders. " So
be it," he murmured. ** One fool makes many.
Don Narciso, you must share my horse."

The old man stood up, very stiff and pompous.

" Must," said he, **is a word that has no mean-
ing to an Estrada. I shall accompany these
gentlemen. I have no horse, you say ? Biieno !
I will take the Yaqui's. He can run. His nose
will be nearer the ground."

Finally, it was agreed that Quijas should carry
our ill news to his Excellency. He promised to
return with the soldiers detailed to arrest the
Mexicans.

Then, without setting foot in the stirrup, he
sprang to the saddle and spurred his sorrel into

238 JOHN CHARITY

a gallop. Don Narciso mounted Procopio's horse.
The Yaqui ran swiftly forward. We followed.

Now, despite my own anxiety and dismay, 1
could not help marking the peculiar expression
upon Courtenay's face. Suddenly he turned to
the Don and said savagely, " This may be no
rape."

" What ! " I exclaimed, " you think Letty is a
party to this outrage ? You are mad."

''You insult my daughter," said old Narciso,
with much dignity.

" God forgive me," my foster-brother muttered
to me. ** I am indeed mad, John ; and I have
been mad for months, i^eglecting the sweetest
wife man ever had."

Then he fell into such a black melancholy that
I did my best to comfort him.

" I have a feeling," he said shudderingly, " that
I shall never look into Letty's blue eyes again."

CHAPTER XXI

CASTANEDA RIDES FAST

Before we had gone a mile — Procopio running
ahead like a sleuth-hound, and the rest of us
following at a sharp canter — I told myself that we
had set forth on a fool's errand. Yet any course
save that of due north would have shamed our
manhood. The tracks of our quarry lay across
the sand-dunes that skirt the curving shores of
Monterey Bay. Without doubt, so Procopio said
(and Estrada was of the same opinion), the
abductors, knowing that pursuit was certain,
would endeavour to reach a certain wilderness,
known as the ** pilarcitos," a labyrinth of thick
willows, the sanctuary of half the cut-throats in
Alta California. Thence they would cross the
mountains into the Santa Clara Valley, and push
on with all speed to Castaneda's rancho near the
town now named Pleasanton. They had many
horses and sufficient food for themselves. How
could we on our jaded beasts, ourselves worn out,
without food, compete with Castaneda and his
caponeras ? That question I asked myself a
thousand times.

Fortunately for us the moon was at its full, and
soon her lamp hung resplendent in the heavens.
None the less we travelled but slowly, making
many halts, for at times the trail would have

239

240 JOHN CHARITY

baffled any man save one of Indian blood. Finally,
we camped in the lee of a dune, the Don insisting
that the horses were spent, and would surely fall
dead if we pressed them farther. So far Castafieda
had avoided all ranchos, so we had been unable to
obtain fresh mounts, but Procopio told us that on
the morrow, crossing the valley, we should find
both horses and food. I noted with some amuse-
ment that the Yaqui and Don Narciso spread
their blankets and scrapes close to the fire we
had kindled, placed their heads in the hollows of
the great saddles, pulled their sombreros over
their eyes, and in three minutes were fast asleep.
Courtenay and I talked, unable to sleep on account
of anxiety and cold, for there was a sharp frost
and a north wind that froze the marrow in our
bones. Suddenly, about four of the morning, the
Yaqui sprang to his feet. Old Estrada pulled out
his long knife, the only weapon he had, and we
looked to the priming of our pistols. Listening
intently, I could hear the faint tinkle of a bell, and
presently, through the mists of early dawn, I saw
a colossal figure. It was the good Quijas. As he
flung himself from the horse and stretched his
cramped limbs by the smouldering ashes of our
fire, he explained that he had met not far from
Monterey a friend and had borrowed from him a
caponera and a vaquero.

" 'Twas a kinsman of his Excellency," said the
friar ; " and he promised me to return on my
horse to the capitol and advise Juan Bautista of
what scoundrels were loose in California. Of
course the soldiers from the presidio will follow
hot-foot on our trail. Castaneda has many
Indians, so there is like to be a fight. Ho, ho !
Don Narciso, that knife of yours shall carve a
Mexican's face."

The old fellow nodded. He looked gaunt as a

CASTANEDA RIDES FAST 241

coyote in the morning light, and was licking his
lips, displaying his white teeth in a grin.

Meantime the vaquero and caponera came to a
halt not fifty paces away, and we hurriedly
decided to continue the chase at once. Quijas
had not closed his eyes, but he looked the
freshest of the party. Of the gente de razon he
had least at stake. So we saddled up, drank
a draught of cold water, and with nothing heavier
beneath our belts galloped on. To our left lay
that sea of glory, the bay of Monterey ; to our
right were the sand-dunes ; in front were the
green forests of pine and sequoia ; above was
the stainless sky. Lord ! how the sun streamed
upon our necks and heads as we rode through
the clouds of fine white dust, sweating and
choking. Toward noon Quijas espied a small
adobe about a mile from the trail, and we agreed
that 'twere wise to stop for an hour to rest and
refresh ourselves. Before we came to the door of
the hut — for it was nothing more — our nostrils
were violently assailed by a most pungent smell,
proceeding, as we soon discovered, from a large
pot containg a guisado, that noble Spanish stew
wherein beef, chillies, tomatoes, onions, and many
odoriferous herbs — ay, and dos dientes de ajo, a
touch of garlic — met and mingled in sweet and
perfect intimacy.

^^ Ave Maria Purisima del Refugio ! " exclaimed
the friar, as we passed the threshold, and straight-
way a black-browed woman went down upon her
knees and began to patter the Bendito. Quijas
rubbed his large hands together as he peered into
the steaming pot. ** Your guisado, my daughter,
is worthy of a Zacatecan's benediction."

** He thinks of nothing but eating and drinking,"
said Courtenay, impatiently, in my ear.

I blushed. God knows that the cruellest

242 JOHN CHARITY

anxiety had me by the throat, yet the stew smelled
good, although perhaps the testimony of a yeoman
upon such a matter may be impugned by those of
higher degree. I marked, however, that Master
Courtenay disdained not the cheap and fiery red
wine that was set before us in a huge earthen-
ware pitcher.

As we ate the good wife chatted with Quijas.
Her husband, it seemed, had seen Castaneda
and his party some hours before, but had not
spoken to them, being at a distance. Several
Indians were reported to be with them, and all
rode fast. Knowing what fast riding beneath a
Californian sun means, my very flesh melted in
sympathy with our dear ones, yet, strenuous
flight being of necessity the first consideration, I
doubted not that Magdalena and Letty had
suffered so far nothing more serious than fatigue
and discomfort. As we talked a baby swinging in
a small hammock (and quaintly linked to its
mother by a light cord, so that she could rock
her child whilst busy with domestic duties) began
to bawl.

" Tate, tate,'' said the mother. " Quiete la boca !
Yoscolo is coming. Yoscolo ! "

The child instantly stopped whimpering and I
asked the mother what magic lay in the name
Yoscolo. Quijas said that it belonged to an
Indian who for many years had terrified the
fathers as well as the children of Alta California.
Finally, in '34, the fellow had been captured, and
for many months his head rotted upon the point
of the flagstaff that stands next to the cross in
front of the Santa Clara Mission. The woman
said, with a shudder, that once when she was
praying at the foot of the cross a tuft of coarse
hair had fallen upon her shoulder from the
grinning skull above. Prayer, she added naively,

CASTANEDA RIDES FAST 243

had been turned into panic. This story begat
others, and Quijas spoke at length of the fierce
warriors whose tepees were to be found along
the northern and eastern frontiers — the Notontos,
Talches, Telames, and Chausilas. Meantime the
husband of our hostess had ridden up, and
listening to these tales he said gruffly that there
were hostile Indians in the neighbourhood of the
San Jose Mission, and that the rancheros in the
Santa Clara Valley had lost of late many cattle
and horses.

" Indians never attack men," said old Narciso,
who came from a country where the gentle digger
is indigenous.

Quijas and I, although we had read Vallejo's
bloody records, were in no mood to contradict
the Don. He had eaten more than the burly friar,
and now professed himself ready to take the road
again.

" Indians," he muttered, " are coyotes ; but
these Mexicans," and he cursed them living and
dead, " are wolves."

'' Pay court to the old man," whispered Quijas
to me.

I tried to profit by this good advice, but the
Don answered me in monosyllables. None the
less his glance, when it lingered on my face,
had less of dislike in it, and his complexion
seemed less bilious.

And now I would that a yeoman's pen could do
justice to the good friar who cheered us all with
many a quip and story. For each he had the
proper medicine : a word of cheer for Courtenay,
an argument for me, an apophthegm for the Don,
a jest for the Yaqui, a prayer for the other
vaquero, who proved a pious soul. Never did
man better beguile a long and miserable day's
travel. If I had liked him before, I now loved

244 JOHN CHARITY

the big kindly, mirth-loving fellow. And if in his
case practice limped somewhat behind precept,
what of it ? As he said with his jovial laugh :
Del fraile toma el consejo pero no el ejemplo (do as
the friar says, not as he does). The Franciscan
who brought the sacred oils to Cosme Servin was
a saint ; the Zacatecan was a man.

That afternoon, I remember, brought to light a
piece of cruelty that served to further whet our
apprehensions of what might befall two weak
women at the mercy of such men as de Castaneda
and Soto. We found near the trail two heifers
streaming with blood. From these poor beasts
had been cut what is called the ** frazada," the
tender steak that lies along each side of the back-
bone. This removed, they had been left to perish
miserably.

We rode on and on through the lovely Santa
Clara Valley, galloping at times through thickets
of wild mustard five feet or six feet high. The
trail became plainer as we neared the Mission of
San Jose, but the Yaqui was of opinion that
Castaneda was riding much faster than we. At
the mission we learned that the party had been
seen some twelve hours before, so borrowing
fresh horses we pushed on through the night.
Finally we came to the creek that flowed past the
Mexican's stronghold. Into this we waded, and
rode at a walk up stream till within a mile of the
buildings. By this means we left no tell-tale
tracks, and presently were lying snug in thick
manzanita. By this time the night was almost
spent, but Procopio undertook a reconnaissance,
and was absent upwards of two hours, returning
at last with a meagre report. There were about
forty Indians, more or less armed, two mestizos,
and, of course, Soto and Castaneda, a force too
great to be openly attacked. Yet we dare not

CASTANEDA RIDES FAST 245

postpone action till the arrival of the soldiers.
Quijas said that after such a journey the Mexicans
would give their prisoners time to rest and
refresh themselves. According to the padre,
abduction in the eyes of a Latin lover is a venial
offence. Without doubt Soto — conceited ass —
expected more than forg:iveness from Magdalena.
Many wives in Alta California had been obtained
by force and fraud. So, for the present, violence
was not to be feared from him. But the case of
Letty and de Castafieda was of a different com-
plexion. What horrors, poor child, she must be
suffering. If we could only advise her of our
presence she might endure with fortitude the
rigours of captivity, and perhaps find means to
escape. Now it chanced that as a boy I had
learned to whistle like a bird, and could imitate
amongst other notes the peculiar glug, glug of the
nightingale, a bird unhappily quite unknown in
California. I had often called Letty with this note,
and if it fell upon her quick ears our object
would be accomplished. The Indians, as rro-
copio pointed out, might detect me, but they were
like to spend the morning gorging. At any rate,
I determined to risk discovery, not, however,
without protest on the part of the others. Before
starting I exacted from all a promise that if I
were captured no rescue would be attempted till
the arrival of the soldiers. This they reluctantly
gave, and about dawn I started, following the
sinuous trail of the Yaqui till I lay within two
hundred paces of the house. From my coign of
vantage, a large sage-brush, I could see that the
Indians were already astir, and presently an
immense quantity of coarse food, meat, and pinole
was brought out and poured into troughs.
Around these the redskins gathered like a
herd of swine, and began to stuff themselves.

246 JOHN CHARITY

At another time the sight would have tickled me,
but smiles come not easily to men when the lives
and honour of their women are at stake. So I
watched and waited, marvelling at the amount of
food these fellows stowed away. Presently the
troughs were empty, and the smoking began. Then
one of the mestizos stalked from the low door of
the adobe, and gave some orders to half a dozen
vaqueros. By his gestures I apprehended that
he was sending them out as scouts, and one
galloped by within two rods of the bush where I
lay. You may be sure that I returned thanks for
the Yaqui's cunning in taking to the stream.

It must have been nine o'clock when, to my
great joy, both Letty and Magdalena appeared
upon the verandah. A bench was brought, and the
ladies sat down. My opportunity had come. At
first I whistled softly, chirping till I made certain
that my throat and lips would not betray me.
Then I essayed the familiar call, and at once
Letty cocked her pretty head. I stopped whist-
ling, and saw Letty whisper to Magdalena. Then
I called again. At the second call Letty drew a
handkerchief from her bosom and waved it as if
she were beating off a fly. Then I knew that my
work was done. And now the question of retreat
had to be determined ; no easy matter, for I am a
large man, and the cover — now that the sun was
up — looked mighty thin. None the less I judged
it all-important that I should rejoin my com-
panions, for obviously Castaneda was not expect-
ing an attack. Had he anticipated, or even
apprehended pursuit, he had not paralysed the
activities of his Indians with meat and pinole.
Some of the men, it is true, were on duty, but I
reckoned that a sudden attack would put them to
rout. At any moment the vaqueros might return
bringing news of us, for an Indian's eye is

CASTANEDA RIDES FAST 247

marvellously keen. So, bearing these things in
mind, I began to crawl stealthily through the
grass, but I had not gone a hundred yards, when
the thud of galloping hoofs fell on my ear. I
crouched down, guessing that a vaquero was
passing, and then, quicker than I can set it down
on paper, I heard the peculiar hiss of the reata,
and an accursed coil of rawhide wound itself
around my shoulders, pinning my arms to my
side. A second later I was being dragged over
the rough, flinty ground, and could feel the sharp
stones tearing my clothes and my flesh. Then,
my head having struck some rock or jagged
stump, I lost consciousness and drifted gently out
into an ocean of oblivion.

CHAPTER XXII

When I opened my eyes I was sitting in an arm*
chair, bound hand and foot, with an intolerable
buzzing in my ears, and a feeling in my body as
if I were one big bruise from head to heel.
Opposite to me, coolly smoking a cigarette, stood
Castaneda, and behind him Soto.

*' Welcome to my poor house," said the Mexican;
" it is yours."

I could hear but indistinctly, but it seemed to
me that some one was sobbing in the next room.
Castaneda grinned, and the cruelty of the man lay
like a loathsome sore upon his handsome face.

" The senora is tender-hearted," he said softly.

Of course, both Letty and Magdalena had
witnessed my capture. My wits came back to
me.

" You must have ridden fast, Don Juan. Well,
where are the others ? "

" I dare say they will pay their respects to you
soon."

"The sooner the better," he retorted grimly.
" I have burnt my ships. By the way, sefior, I
must thank you, we must thank you — eh, Miguel ?
— for your kind offices on our behalf with Juan
Bautista."

* Spanish proverb.

248

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 249

Soto scowled at me. He had none of Castafieda's
audacity. He knew that Alta Cahfornia would
soon be ringing with the story of an attempted
murder and a cruel rape, and perhaps he had
already found out the nature of his partner in
crime.

" Saw you aught of Cosme Servin ? " said
Castaneda nonchalantly, and when he said this I
knew that the man realised that he was an out-
law. I remember what rage possessed me
because I was bound, and must die without the
privilege of striking a blow, lassoed like a clumsy
calf.

" Cosme Servin is with the saints," said I.

" He repented at the last ? Well, he blundered.
Que lastima ! And so have you. Pray excuse
me."

He left the room, and I heard him speak to the
mestizos outside. Although he spoke quickly
and in a low tone, I gathered that an immediate
departure was commanded, and through the open
door I could see the half breeds kicking the sleep-
ing Indians lying gorged around the troughs.

" Don Miguel," said I, " save these ladies and
my life, and I'll give you a thousand pesos, and
guarantee his Excellency's pardon and your pass-
ports into Mexico. Aid and abet this devil, and
as sure as God will punish you hereafter, so also
shall you pay the last and most ignominious
penalty here."

His queerly-coloured eyes glittered, and he
glanced furtively at the open door. His gills
were white, and 'twas plain he had no stomach
for his job. Yet I doubted whether he had the
nerve to bell such a tiger-cat as Castaneda. On
a horse he was afraid of nothing, afoot he was
ever a coward.

Before he could answer there was a crash on

250 JOHN CHARITY

the panels of the door leading to the room where
I made sure the ladies were confined. The lock
was but a flimsy one, and gave way. Then I saw
what had happened. The room beyond was the
sala ; Letty and Magdalena, hearing my voice, had
dragged an old horse-hair sofa into the middle of
the floor, and, using it as a battering-ram, had
burst open the door. They ran swiftly and knelt
down at my side.

" My poor John," cried Letty, sobbing.

" Juanito," murmured Magdalena, '' canst thou
forgive me ? "

Soto watched her, his face yellow as an orange
with bile and jealousy. Then he walked to the
door and called loudly for Castafieda.

*' Letty," said I, addressing her in English.
" Letty, you will be surely rescued, so cheer up."
Then I turned to the sweet, passionate face at my
knee. '' And thou, Magdalena, hast been more
sinned against than sinning," and as I spoke I
thought of that other Magdalena to whom much
was forgiven — qvtia multum amavit.

" Thou dost not know," she sobbed ; '' when I
tell thee what I have done thou wilt curse me."

She rose to her feet, for Castaneda was darken-
ing the threshold. He came forward and bowed
to Letty, who shrank from him. Magdalena con-
fronted him. If disdain were poison, he had died
at her feet.

'*Senora," he began, addressing Letty, " I wished
to spare you this. But, perhaps, it is well that
you should learn the extent of my debt to this
gentleman, and also how it may be cancelled.
Pray be seated."

They remained standing.

** Thanks to him," and his voice was the voice
of a familiar of the Holy Office, " I am ^ ruined
man."

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 251

I did not care to dispute this lie. He waited a
moment, and then continued. My eyes fell upon
the scar, livid against the blue-white of his cheek.

" Yes, senor," he touched the scar lightly, " that
is the first entry. Then he robbed me of the
Rancho Santa Margarita."

" Oh ! you brute," said Letty, rightly appre-
hending the insult to Magdalena.

** Naturally I cared nothing for her^ after seeing
you, senora. Let me add that I never saw you
look more handsome than at this minute. Let me
continue ; to your cousin here I owe the loss of
Alvarado's favour."

" His favour," echoed Magdalena. *' That you
never had."

" Now, I am banished, disgraced. My lands,
my cattle, my horses, are forfeit to the State. Do
you think it was wise, senor, to push a man like
me to such extremity ? But I have friends in
Mexico, good friends, rich and powerful, so I do
not despair. But Mexico is far off, and Alvarado's
soldiers are doubtless near. So we must take the
road at once, a rough road, I fear. And I am
sure, senora, you will come with me quietly, for I
am prepared to buy your gratitude. In a word,"
— his voice rose as excitement gripped him, and
the lines deepened about his abominable mouth
— " in a word, it lies with you whether this enemy
of mine lives or dies."

** Go back to your room," I said hoarsely.

But the women would not budge. Horror held
Letty spellbound ; Magdalena's fiery eyes were
on Soto, who cringed and cowered. He, at least,
had no rich and powerful friends in Mexico or
elsewhere.

" Shall he live or die ? " continued Castaneda
very softly. " Pass your word to come with me
quietly, and in due time you, senora, shall become

252 JOHN CHARITY

my wife. I can offer you far more, believe me,
than that popinjay, your husband, can give. You,
senorita, shall marry Soto, whom any maiden can
love."

The sneer was not wasted upon the soldado dis-
tinguido. I wondered whether Castaneda's sharp
ears had caught my offer.

" If you refuse,'' said the Mexican, '' dishonour
remains. Dishonour and death for this man, not
the death either that a caballero would wish to
die."

" Go, go ! " I beseeched, for the agony in the
women's faces was dreadful to see. ** Let me
answer this coward."

Magdalena interrupted me.

** No, no, don't anger him. See, I will pray to
him." She fell on her knees before him, sobbing
with passion and grief. And I sat there unable
to stir, while the raw-hide ate into my straining
muscles. " Spare us," she entreated. " You have
good blood in your veins, let that plead for us.
Alvarado will pardon you, God will pardon you,
if you are merciful to us. And you can take all
that is mine, all, all. In the name of your mother,
in the name of the Blessed Virgin, in the name of
all women who have loved and suffered I entreat
you to let us go in peace. Virgen Santisima !
Virgen Purisima ! Ave Maria, Nuestra Senora del
Refugio ! Touch, O gracious Mother of Sorrows,
touch with thy gentle fingers this man's heart ! "

Soto turned aside; Letty's eyes filled with
tears ; my own heart throbbed ; for if such prayer
as this proved unavailing, was not the corner-
stone of faith in peril ? And looking upon
Castaneda's face I marked the struggle between
good and evil ; that battle between the sovereign
powers of the world ; that never-ending strife
which leave? its scars on all of us. For the

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 253

moment 1 believed that faith and hope and love
had prevailed. Then, in eclipse, the light faded,
and sin seemed to darken the room. So dis-
traught was Letty that she screamed, and involun-
tarily I closed my lids, for if the glory of Sinai is
blinding to human vision, so also the horror of
Sheol is as vitriol flung in the eyes.

" Senorita," he said icily, *' your prayers are
wasted on me. Seemingly also upon Our Lady."

** Then save him, and do what you please with
me."

** Magdalena," I groaned, " dost thou wish to
slay me twice ? "

" Carajo ! " said Castaneda, between his teeth,
** you shall die more than two deaths, senor, I
promise you. Unless, of course, the senora
Valence "

" Letty," I implored, " surely now you will
go ? For God's sake leave this devil and me
alone."

She came towards me, and bending down laid
her soft lips upon my forehead. " John," she
murmured, weeping, ** is it possible that once we
were happy children ? " With that she walked
bravely into the inner room, while Magdalena
rose from her knees. The expression of her face
had changed. Now Lettice, in sorrow or joy,
was ever Lettice. Twere irnpossible to confound
her with another woman, but the daughters of
the Latin race are so torn and twisted by their
passions that even a lover under certain circum-
stances may view as a stranger the one being on
earth he cares for as his own. The sight of my
dear's face was terrible to me.

" Before I go," she said slowly, " I must make
confession." Her words had no colour, no
warmth. Passion seemed to have exhausted her.
Only the eyes glowed.

254 JOHN CHARITY

** Listen, qvierido, and curse me not. What has
happened is my fault, mine. Can I blame thee
because thou dost love that witch yonder ? Yet
I love thee better than the Englishwoman. She
would not willingly accept dishonour for thee.
I would. Let me speak. It was not as he told
me," she pointed to Castaneda, ** thou didst have
pity on me — no ? — because I was lonely and
miserable. 'Twas not my money thou wast
after ? "

" By Heaven, no. I loved thee, Magdalena,
only thee. Did I not prove that when I asked
thee to fly with me ? Was I thinking then of the
Santa Margarita ? "

** What ! " she exclaimed, '' thou didst ask me to
fly with thee ? "

** Ay, in the letter I wrote thee the day after I
played the Jew."

Magdalena's voice trembled as she murmured
hurriedly, **You wrote only one letter to me^
which I returned — unopened."

The slight accent on the me did not escape a
fond lover. Castaneda laughed. Magdalena
glanced at him, knitting her brows.

'* I am not speaking of that letter," I said
slowly, '* but of another. In it I laid bare my
soul. My God ! how did it miscarry ? 1 trusted
it to Courtenay."

*' Perhaps I can explain," said the Mexican.
" That letter your foster-brother gave to a jealous
woman, who opened it and gave it to me, or
rather I took it from her. It was written in
English, and, translating it, I let her think that
'twas a billet from the Senor Valence to the
Senorita Estrada. I have since given it to the
senorita ; so you see the letter after all never
miscarried. Only, I told her that I had found it
in the workbasket of Valence's wife."

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 255

In the pause that followed he laughed again.
To him this part of the business was comedy.
His laughter stirred me to the most strenuous
effort of my life ; but the raw-hide would have
held fast a tiger, let alone a man.

** Dios de mi alma ! " wailed Magdalena. " Thou
wilt never forgive me, querido, I believed that
letter was written by you to your beautiful cousin.
And so believing I became altogether evil. Ay
de mil how can I tell thee! See, I whisper it
softly, so : I plotted with him. I told him that I
would help him to his ends. I said to myself
that if the beautiful Letty were dead that thou
wouldst love me. But then I could not kill her,
querido ; I was not so wicked as that, nor would
I permit him to kill Alvarado. You can thank
me for that, Senor Don Santiago. And this devil
told me that I must help him to carry the senora
away, that he would take her to Mexico, and that
there she would learn to love him, being tired of
her foolish, faithless husband, and indifferent to
thee. Dios de mi alma ! I believed him. And
then " — her voice sank into a melodious sigh that
thrilled every pulse in my body — " and then the
good God punished me for my sins. I was taken
too — to be given to Miguel Soto. And that first
night as we galloped through the darkness
Castafieda rode beside us, and said that he had
avenged our wrongs ; that the Ingleses would
never return from Carmelo."

While she was speaking, the Mexican watched
me with a leer upon his lips ; that smile bred by
the cruelties of the bull-ring, by the traditions of
the Inquisition, ay — to go back further in the
history of his race — by the gladiatorial shows of
Rome. Soto was profoundly moved.

** Magdalena," I cried bitterly, *' I love thee,
only thee."

256 JOHN CHARITY

The words were unheeded. She turned from
me and faced her enemy, and I could feel that
her eyes were scanning him from head to foot.
Then she laughed, and her laugh was as brutal
as the man's. I think it even frightened Cas-
taneda, for he said : " It is time this farce was
ended."

She nodded, and came back to me. This time
her sweet pathetic face was softened and dimpled
with love.

*' Thou canst never forgive me, querido. But,
Dios ! how well I have loved thee ! Too well for
thy happiness or mine. A dios ^ alma de mi vida^
aaios 1 "

Pressing her lips to mine, the flutter of her
heart was audible to me. She rose, and passed
swiftly to Soto.

" Don Miguel, there are tears in your eyes, so
what was in my mind to say to you shall be left
unsaid." Then she confronted the other. He
met her gaze insolently, and raising his hand
began to stroke his moustache.

"■ Poor Miguel ! " he remarked.

She eyed him fearlessly. Then she stooped
and grasped the punal at his garter. Why was
she not permitted to kill him — with his own
knife? What mysterious justice forbade so
righteous a deed ? Corday had no greater cause.
Marat was no greater villain. And I thought she
had stabbed him, for her slender arm rose and
fell. But the other, as I had reason to know, was
quick of eye and hand. As the knife glittered in
the air he caught her wrist, tore the weapon from
her grasp, flung it to the ground, and then lifting
her slight figure in his arms, carried her from the
room. Soto approached me.

" Be calm, senor," he muttered. " I will help
you, if I can."

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 257

I did not see either Letty or Magdalena again
that day, for in less than half an hour the adobe
was abandoned. I was told later that the main
body of Indians rode ahead with the women.
Soto, I presume, accompanied them, and also the
two mestizos. Castaneda, three Indians, and I
brought up the rear of the procession. Wq rode
fast for upwards of two hours ; then, at a sign
from the Mexican, the Indians who led my horse
turned sharp to the right. I had noted that two
of them carried spades, and wondered vaguely
what whim had constrained my enemy to give
me decent interment.

Now we advanced at a walk, Castaneda looking
to the right and left, as if seeking something.
Presently one of the Indians gave a grunt and
pointed to an ant-heap in front of him. Even
then I had no conception of what torment I was
destined to suffer. Castaneda halted and dis-
mounted. The Indians dragged me from the
saddle and began to dig. I watched them almost
indifferently, till I saw that the hole was being
dug not horizontally but vertically. Then I knew
that I was to be buried alive, my head alone
being left above ground, exposed to the ravages
of the sun, and also — God in Heaven ! — to the
attack of the ants, for the hole was within a yard
of the big heap.

" You have stung me many a time," said
Castaneda, with a brutal laugh. " Now in your
turn you shall be stung. I am kind, I give you
many hours to make your peace with heaven.
Only I fear the prayers of a heretic will not
avail."

I tried to summon my fortitude, but my blood
was as ice in my veins, and my teeth as castanets.
This particular form of punishment was practised,
I knew, by some of the Indian tribes. If the

258 JOHN CHARITY

manner of my death ever came to light it would
be supposed that savages, not a so-called
Christian, had compassed my end.

Well, I prayed to God to deliver me with such
intensity of supplication that my blood once more
began to circulate. Who will affirm that the
minds of our glorious martyrs were not, even in
the last agony, triumphant over their tormented
bodies ? I can swear that when I prayed (and
my prayer was of the simplest, hardly more than
invocation), a certain peace fell on me, and I
could listen with no craven teeth-chatterings to
the words of my enemy. He was now addressing
the Indians in bastard Spanish, reciting my
offences. And truly he painted me as a wretch
unworthy to nourish ants and buzzards. They
listened to his excoriating rhetoric in silence,
their eyes fixed upon the distant horizon. When
the speaker paused, they exclaimed, as one man,
" ow," a grunt indicative of neither approval nor
the contrary. It seemed strange to me that
Castaneda should deign to explain to these serfs,
to justify himself, to indict me. I suppose, amaz-
ing as it may seem to a Protestant, that he was
actually trying to salve his conscience. To some
there is no fly in the cheap ointment of verbiage.
When he had finished this ghastly farce, I was
dropped into the hole, and the loose earth was
shovelled in and packed tight around me. Earth
had me in a hellish grip ; Heaven, seemingly, had
forsaken me. While the Indians were shovelling
Castaneda mocked me, entreating the men not to
throw dirt into the face of the distinguished
senor, asking me if I were comfortable, and the
like scurvy gibes. I ground my teeth and made
no answer. I was thinking of my friends.
Surely help would come from them.

Suddenly Soto galloped up. When he saw my

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 259

head beside the ant-heap his saffron-coloured face
blanched.

" Madre de Dios ! " he exclaimed. " This is
horrible."

** How dared you leave the ladies ? " said
Castaneda, hoarse with rage. " Go back, you
fool ! Go back ! "

He pointed imperiously to the east.

" I have come," replied Soto, very nervously,
" to plead for this man's life. It is most unwise
to kill him."

" Am I killing him ? " said the other contemp-
tuously. '' The Indians, who practise such gentle
arts, have dug the hole and placed him in it.
The devil will do the rest."

*' But the truth might come out."

" What ! With no white witnesses ? " As he
spoke a curious gleam illumined his eyes. Soto
marked the change of expression, and the hand
that lay upon the horn of the saddle trembled.

" I think we had better release him and the
women."

Castaneda laughed.

" That would be a thousand dollars in your
pocket — eh? A good day's work for such as
you. I heard what our friend here offered you.
And the girl loathes you. That is plain to be
seen."

Soto was livid with terror. The snake-like

Eoise of the Mexican's head seemed to fascinate
im. He was smitten with a palsy.
" She loathes you, yes. I do not blame her.
Tell me, who devised this plan that promised you
a rich bride ? "

" You, you "

" Who sent Servin to wipe a rival from your
path?"
** That was you, too."

26o JOHN CHARITY

He answered almost mechanically. Castafieda
spoke with amazing fluency and ferocity.

" And now you turn on me, you miserable
coyote. And you say the truth may come out.
And, by God, if you live it will come out.
And if you should testify against me, you, even
you, would be listened to, perhaps believed.
And so, Don Miguel Soto, with infinite regret,
you force me to do — this^ With that, as coolly
as if he were potting a sparrow, he snatched
a pistol from his belt and fired. So true was
his aim that not a cry escaped the poor wretch's
lips. As the bullet struck him, he raised his
lean hands, reeled in the saddle, and fell from
his horse — stone dead. Castaneda turned to me.

" You see, Don Juan, I am not a man to fool
with. En boca cerrada no entra mosca " (into a
closed mouth no fly can enter), '* which reminds
me that you must be gagged, which, however,
will not interfere with the ants."

At his command I was securely gagged with
a thick piece of cloth.

^^Adios" said this devil, raising his sombrero,
"I leave you, senor, to your reflections. It may
amuse you to see the buzzards busy with our
silly Soto. Once more adiosT

He rode off, followed by the Notontos leading
Soto's horse.

Already I had begun to suffer horribly, for I
was sorely bruised and desperately thirsty. The
sun, waning to the west, streamed full upon my
face, and now and again an inquisitive ant, the
herald of grim battalions, meandered slowly
round my nose and chin. Soon, I reflected,
their myriads would be pouring into my ears,
my eyes, my nostrils

Sick with horror, I fainted. When I recovered
consciousness the sun had set, the sea breeze

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 261

was fanning my cheek, and in the distance I
could hear the weird bark of a coyote. This
was echoed by another and yet another, till the
chorus became unendurable. I was sensible
that they had formed a circle around Soto and
me, and in the soft radiance of the twilight I
could see the first approach. When his eyes
countered mine, he squatted down upon his
hams, twenty paces away, his scarlet tongue
hanging from slavering jaws. They w^ould not
attack till nightfall, and twilight in these latitudes
lasts barely an hour. Then I heard a laugh,
not unlike that mocking cacaphony which had
terrified me when sinking in the quicksands of
the Santa Maria River, but I realised that this
horrid mirth was my own. Good God ! Gagged,
in agony of mind and body, raging with thirst, I
could laugh ! I was therefore on the brink of
madness. A touch would despatch me to the
inferno of delirium. I closed my eyes and

E rayed that this might be. When I raised my
eavy lids the coyotes had vanished. That
augured the approach of some beast or man
hostile to them, and soon my strained ears
registered a faint crackle as of dry leaves
crushed under foot. The thing, whatever it
might be, was crawling stealthily towards me,
and fear again possessed me — the terror of the
unknown. Out of the shadows stole a black sub-
stance— a monstrous cat, the panther of these
northern woods. And then, to my amazement,
the beast raised itself up.

It was the Yaqui. At first he saw only Soto ;
and then the greatest horror of all had me by
the throat — that he would overlook me in the
gathering gloom. Yet he had the eyes of the
great cat I had supposed him to be. Suddenly
he grunted and ran to me. Then, muttering

262 JOHN CHARITY

prayers and curses, the faithful fellow cut loose
the thongs of the gag, and asked me if I were
still alive and sane. I mumbled out some inarticu-
late answer, and he solemnly thanked the Virgin
and all the saints. In less than half an hour —
though he had no tool save a punal and a pair of
strong hands — he had exhumed me, but I could
not move, and spoke with great pain and effort.
However, I made him understand that I was
thirsty, so he carried me in his arms to a spring
hard by, gave me water and bathed my face
and limbs, chafing the latter with slappings and
rubbings, a process familiar to all Indians
who use the temescal or sweatbath, and as he
rubbed he told me what had passed. How he
had witnessed my capture, how Courtenay (and
I'll warrant he seconded the motion) had pleaded
for a rescue, how Quijas had demonstrated the
folly of attacking a bullet-proof adobe garrisoned
with forty men, how finally they had marked the
preparations for flight, and the flight itself.

*' Where are the others ? " I asked.

" At the adobe, senor, where they await the
soldiers. Padre Quijas said that if they did not
kill you at once your life would certainly be
spared."

" Did he instruct thee to follow me ? "

He shrugged his shoulders whimsically.

"No, senor, but "

" You have saved my life and reason," I said
gravely, using the polite " usted^' as I should
with an equal. ** We are friends from this
hour, Procopio. What I have is yours ! "

Then I wondered if we could compete in guile
with the Notontos and Suisunes. Even the
Yaqui, our brave path-finder, had lived the civi-
lised life so long that eye and brain must have
lQ§t mugh of their cunnmg. Yet he had trailed

EN BOCA CERRADA NO ENTRA MOSCA 263

me by the grace of God, and faith assured me
that by that grace alone our beloved ones would
be sustained and eventually delivered out of
bondage.

After my ov^n miraculous escape, that certainty
glow^ed in my heart and v^^armed my frozen and
benumbed limbs.

CHAPTER XXIII

WHEREIN A PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED

Padre Quijas hugged me to his broad breast as I
fell rather than dismounted from the horse that
Courtenay and the Yaqui had brought me. Even
the old Don kissed my cheek, foaming at the
mouth with impotent rage when he realised that
his daughter was in the hands of a devil so pitiless.
He swore that he would find no peace here or
hereafter till he had slit the throat of his enemy,
but I told him curtly that he would have to be
content with my leavings, for I reserved to myself
the pleasure of speeding this fiend to hell. In-
deed I was feverish with the lust of revenge, yet
feeling in all my bones and sinews the most
terrible weakness, so that I almost lacked strength
to eat the good meal they cooked for me. All of
us were in black mood, and Courtenay, cursing
the delay, beseeched Quijas to take the trail at once.
The friar refused to court destruction, and I never
saw a countenance of a bluer complexion. 'Twas
very plain that he, a Catholic priest, lacked John
Charity's faith in modern miracles. He quoted
the old proverb, ^^ festina lente^' saying that our
horses would travel the faster after proper food
and rest ; and he promised to take the road in the
morning whether the soldiers came or not. I
fell asleep towards midnight, and was wakened

264

A PROPHECY FULFILLED 265

about five by a great noise outside. 'Twas Mark
Jaynes, a lieutenant from the presidio, and some
eight soldiers well armed.

And now began a windy talk that drove
Courtenay and me distracted, for the lieutenant,
a somewhat pompous fellow, refused to push on,
when every minute of delay threatened two fair
women with death or dishonour. Finally, Quijas
constrained him to do as we wished, observing
that a cold trail was as hard to follow as his (the
lieutenant's) arguments. I was horribly stiff and
sore, but able to sit upright in my comfortable
saddle, and so, about nine, we mounted and set
forth at a whipping pace. Afterwards, when we
had passed the place where I had suffered such
dreadful torment, the trail turned sharply to the
right towards the Mount Diablo Range; and,
riding along a narrow path on which a herd of
elk had wiped out the hoofmarks of Castaneda's
horses, we were compelled to draw rein lest we
might overrun our scent. About noon we passed
the band of elk (not moose but wapiti). There
were thousands of them peacefully grazing upon
a plateau knee-deep in bunch grass. Indeed, the
whole country was swarming with game —
antelope, blacktail deer, bears, and quail by the
million. It came in upon my mind as we rode up
and up into a purer aether that a fairer paradise
never lay beneath the eyes of men. Only in my
dreams had I wandered in such enchanted groves
and glades. But here they lay, silent and se-
cluded ; the haunt of wild man and wild beast.
For centuries these had had undisputed posses-
sion. Now their reign was at an end.

Riding with Quijas he spoke of the Indians.

" Castaneda," he began abruptly, " has over-
looked one thing — the treachery of these Indians.
Had he treated them with even ordinary kindness.

266 JOHN CHARITY

he might well hesitate before placing himself, as
he has done, in their hands, now "

My revenge seemed to be slipping from me.

'* What ! You think they will kill him ? "

" I fear it. And then "

" My God ! The women in the hands of those
Notontos ! "

Quijas nodded and spurred on faster. Not six
months before some girls had been abducted by a
band of Talches from Tulare Lake, and despite
hot pursuit, had not been found alive. My gorge
rose as I recalled the details of their fate. Just
then old Mark joined us. His stout figure astride
a lean sorrel gelding would have moved us at
any other time to inextinguishable laughter. He
had his cutlass at his side, and the butts of two
pistols embellished the wide belt that encircled
his paunch. Already he hung out signals of dis-
tress, for he was saddle-worn and weary ; yet he
bespoke us cheerily, as became a bold buccaneer
who had fought with Nelson.

" We're making good leeway. Tell me, Jack,
has not this cursed saddle a list to port ? "

I assured him that the saddle w^as cinched right
and tight, but he shook his head, holding man-
fully on to the horn. Then I gave my trouble
words.

" Pooh, pooh, my lad. Don't I know these
Indios ? A pack o' coyotes ! Treacherous ?
Yes, yes. But the Mexican has his half-breeds.
We'll overhaul them soon."

None the less, I felt in every fibre of my being
a presentiment that Castafieda would be hoist
with his own petard. I recalled the peculiar ex-
pression upon the faces of the Notontos, the glitter
in their beady eyes, the compression of their
coarse lips.

We rode on throughout that day over a rough

A PROPHECY FULFILLED 267

but most beautiful country, well-watered, and
covered with feathery bunch-grass, sweet burr-
clover, and luscious alfileria. We passed two
rancherias of Indians, but they paid no atten-
tion to us, and we paid as much to them. The
trail was growing hotter ; but how hot it was like
to become before many hours had passed none of
us guessed. More than once we were thrown off
the scent, but the size of the party barred ordinary
stratagems, and we divined that Castaneda was
trusting to his start and the speed of his horses.
Towards nightfall we called a halt, being spent
with fatigue and anxiety. Our camping-ground
was a potrero, or meadow, which lay high up in
the hills, surrounded on all sides by thickets of
manzanita and sage-brush, inflammable stuff at
all seasons, but tinder itself in the fall of the year.
It chanced that that hateful north wind, the
tramontana of California, was blowing fiercely.
Since noon it had plagued man and beast, in-
flaming noses, throats, and eyes, till we were
nigh blind and hoarse from its ravages. Now all
winds on the Pacific slope, save this scurvy
Boreas, die down at sunset, so we prepared to
suffer as little as might be by choosing a refuge
well sheltered from the blast. After a supper of
venison and tortillas (pancakes) we lay down, and
in five seconds I was in dreamland, pursuing
Magdalena through the pleasant valley of Itchen,
pelting the maid with cowslip balls, while she
threw roguish glances and light laughter in
return. But run as I might, I could not catch the
witch, till at length she bolted into my mother's
garden, where, amidst the fragrance of lilac and
such sweet spring-blooming plants, I lost her.
The dream was of doubtful omen ; but waking,
fact put fancy to rout, for I opened drowsy eyes
to find Quijas violently shaking my shoulder and

268 JOHN CHARITY

to see the north-eastern horizon aflame with
light. I thought at first 'twas the Aurora Borealis,
but Quijas said hoarsely that the country had
been fired, and that the flames, scourged by the
north wind, were leaping toward us faster than a
horse could gallop. Even as he spoke, and as I
staggered to my feet, the Yaqui shouted that we
must saddle and ride for our lives down the steep
trail we had ascended that afternoon. 'Twas
evident that the fire was the work of incendiaries,
and only too well had they done their stint. We
could hear the fierce, sibilant crackle of the burn-
ing grease-wood and the majestic roar of the
pines. These trees, in this section of the
country, are hoary with streamers of grey moss —
bearded, as the Spanish say — and their boles are
encrusted with dry lichens. So inflammable is
this moss that if you but drop a spark at the base
of one of these pines the whole tree will explode
with the sound and flame of a gigantic sky-rocket.
Now they were popping like minute-guns, while
to the right and left the foothills were as an
ocean of fire — a wonderful and beautiful spectacle
could we have viewed it from some coign of
vantage, but now inconceivably terrific and awe-
inspiring. Indeed, the old Don fell straightway
on nis knees, and implored the Blessed Virgin to
spare a brand not fit for the burning. Whereat
Quijas laid a heavy hand upon his shoulder, and
bade him see that his cinch was tight.

In a few minutes we were in full retreat ; and
we raced many a mile before we found sanctuary.
The Indians, who annually burn ofi'vast stretches
of country for some inscrutable purpose of their
own, seem to know by instinct or experience
(even as the animals) where to find refuge from
the devils they turn loose. This mysterious
knowledge pertained to Procopio, who guided us

A PROPHECY FULFILLED 269

to a thickly-wooded knoll, which the flames
actually encircled and scorched, yet did not con-
sume. From the summit of this we watched the
battle. The flames advanced like irregular
cavalry, charging and retreating, forming and
reforming with incredible noise and fury. We
stood huddled together, as you may see a bevy of
quail at the approach of a hawk, and were quite
assured that a miserable end was at hand. Then,
having done all that mortals could, we knelt down,
and Quijas, standing in our midst, supplicated
the God of the elements to stay His hand. Above
the hiss and bellow of those fiery squadrons we
could hear his mellow tones, and old Mark (who
had been a Methodist in his pious youth) in-
terrupted him with groans and cries. As the
priest pronounced the benediction, vagabond
sparks fell in a golden shower all around us.
And then — in less time than I have taken to set it
down — the hosts of the fire-fiend withdrew, and
we told ourselves in awed whispers that our
prayers had been heard.

And now I have to describe an incident so
truly amazing that, had it not been attested by
many honest men still living, I had surely not
dared to write it down, fearing to strain the
credulity of stay-at-home readers ever suspicious
of travellers' tales. When dawn broke after that
night of terror we rode down to the woods below,
and these we found swarming with all kinds of
wild beasts and birds. Scripture was fulfilled to
the letter, for truce had been declared in the
forest. Not only did the panther inspire no
terror in the doe, but no terror did we inspire in
either. I marked elk, deer, antelope, panthers,
bears (both brown and grizzly), lynx, wild-cats,
racoons, coyotes, and many others. They gazed
at us unconcernedly, as if well assured that

270 JOHN CHARITY

we, too, would respect the law of sanctuary.
Courtenay whispered to me that such peace
might reign for ever when the whole world had
been purged and purified by flame.

But, when we broke cover and stood upon the
smouldering ashes beyond the oasis, the spell was
lifted. The animals followed us into the open,
and as soon as they had passed the charmed
circle they ran or slinked away, seemingly
regaining the terrors together with the freedom
of the wilderness. And then Courtenay whispered
again that liberty was no synonym of peace, that
a universal truce must be bred by fear, that a
world quit of strife would mean a world in
bondage.

" Great peace have they that love the law," I
quoted, having once learned by heart (as a punish-
ment) the hundred and nineteenth Psalm.

" Yes," said my foster-brother, ** the peace of
them that only fear the law is small, and short-
lived."

We rode back over the country traversed the
day before. The face of the landscape was in-
describably desolate and forlorn. Most of the
pines were still standing, appraising, as it were,
their loss — what had been a fair and fertile
champaign was now a charnel-house.

Without speaking we spurred on across a Dead
Sea of ashes, and reached the farther shore.

CHAPTER XXIV

NEMESIS

QuijAS and the alferez had ridden north-east,
while Courtenay and I chose the opposite direc-
tion, hoping to pick up the trail the quicker by
dividing our forces. The Yaqui accompanied us.
We had galloped some two miles when we found
the tracks of the horses, and following these dis-
covered the spot where the party had camped
overnight. From this point they had evidently
fired the brush. Courtenay and I dismounted,
and just then a score of buzzards rose out of the
chaparral, whereat Procopio observed that carrion
must be lying hard by. His curiosity spurred
him to see what animal was dead, and presently
he came racing back to us carrying a tale of
horror.

" The Indios have killed them ! " he shouted.

" Them,'^ we repeated, aghast, " theml^^

** Not the donas," said the Yaqui quickly, and I
could have hugged him for that blessed assurance,
** No, senores, but the mestizos are there," and he
pointed to the place whence the grim birds had
flown.

What we found there had been half devoured
by the buzzards, but we saw that the heads were
missing, and the Yaqui explained with some
unction that the Notontos never scalped their

271

272 JOHN CHARITY

victims, but beheaded them, taking the trophies
to some favoured maidens as a love-token. Twas
plain that the Indians had revolted, and remem-
bering the dreadful welts on the back of Cosme
Servin, I wondered, shuddering, what had been
the fate of Castaneda. The Yaqui began to
speculate on this, reciting, in his impassive tones,
the different tortures in vogue amongst the
northern and eastern tribes. Courtenay roughly
bade him be silent. Perhaps my foster-brother's
rebuke had been more fittingly bestowed on John
Charity. The savage lies beneath the Christian's
skin, and I was mordantly sensible that my ven-
geance had been taken from me.

Meantime, those hideous gluttons were circling
overhead, waiting and watching. My eyes fol-
lowed their movements as they wheeled hither
and thither on outspread, motionless pinions.
The mystery of that flight is as the mystery of
death. Presently one swooped down into the
brush, then another, and still another.

"What does that mean?" said Courtenay, and
his lips trembled, as he looked meaningly into my
eyes.

'' Castaneda is there, and "

We dared not finish the sentence. In sicken-
ing doubt and horror we mounted and rode on,
the Yaqui going first. As we crashed through
the brush, the great birds rose again. Three had
flown to the spot we were approaching. Five
flapped upwards, now. The sun fell upon their
horrible bald heads and stained beaks.

I may not set down in plain English what we
discovered a minute later. By the irony of fate,
the Notontos had done unto my enemy what he
had tried to do to me. He was quite dead — killed
by the ants ; and the awful, ghastly torment to
which his face bore witness racked us too, and

NEMESIS 273

seared for ever our memories. There are things,
as I say, too loathsome to be described. Yet,
surely, it is well that fancy should at times enter
the charnel-house. Not often, for we might go
mad, but once and again ; so that the question
may be met and answered : Might not a similar
fate have overtaken us ?

So died, in torture unspeakable, a man who
hated me with a malignity happily rare. He had
been a traitor, a tyrant, a beast. Once he had
lain an innocent babe in his mother's bosom.
Can one doubt that he was the architect of the
evil within him ? I learned many years after that
the Notontos had cut every sinew in his body
before committing it to the earth, but they could
not wring a cry from their victim. He had all
the vices and one virtue — Fortitude.

Of the three of us Courtenay was most affected.

** My God ! " he cried, " I counted him my
friend. He seemed a good fellow. What brought
him to such a pass ? "

I was silent.

** His sensuality," my foster-brother answered
slowly. " That and nothing else. The octopus
of sins that sucks the blood from the brain and
the heart and the soul."

He covered his face with his hands, and I
guessed what thoughts were streaming through
his mind. He was standing in the presence of
the God of Wrath.

The Yaqui looked impatiently at me.

" Courtenay," said I softly ; ** come, we must
think of the living, not of the dead."

" God forgive me," he exclaimed. '* What a
selfish beast I have been ! "

The Yaqui said that the lives and honour of the
captives would be protected till the Notontos
reached their own tribe. On what would then

274 JOHN CHARITY

take place he maintained silence. As we were
mounting our horses Quijas and the others rode
up. Before separating we had agreed to fire a
couple of shots as soon as the trail was picked
up.

We then held a council of war.

The lieutenant, who had served in some of
Valleio's campaigns on the frontera del norte, and
the Yaqui, were the only ones present who knew
something of the lay of the country. By the
latter's advice we essayed a short cut by which
we should arrive the quicker at a divide in the
mountains across which the Indians must needs
pass. You must picture to yourself a wild and
rugged country, gashed with gulches and canons,
divided into immense water-sheds, heavily
timbered, and excellently watered. The Indians
love the creeks, and are loth to leave them, living
as they do upon game, fish, and such roots as

?row for the most part in moist lands. The
aqui said they would surely follow the creek
upon which they had camped till they came to its
source, then, crossing a divide, they would strike
another stream which emptied itself into the San
Joaquin river. Down this also they would travel
till they came to the valley. The creek we were
on wound in and out of the foothills, and the
Yaqui proposed that we should keep on the crests
of these hills, good galloping ground ; whereas in
the creek bottoms there was much tangled under-
growth, through which even the Indios would be
constrained to move at a snail's pace.

However, of that day's travel I can remember
little save the intolerable fatigue and pain
of it. I had started from Castafieda's adobe
battered and bruised, more fit to be abed than
astride a horse, and the harder I rode the softer
1 seemed to grow, till my body was as it were a

NEMESIS 275

bag of aching pulp, so invertebrate and wretched
was my condition. My companions eyed me
with a dismay they could not disguise, and after-
wards Courtenay told me that he was hourly
expecting to see me fall from my horse. The old
Don, too, looked ghastly, cadaverous, for he was
well on in years and the victim of more than one
disorder. I suppose I became delirious, for I
began to hear mysterious sounds ; the murmur
of the leaves, the soughing of the pines, the
babble of the brooks became articulate, speaking
a tongue that my fancy could interpret ; and this
voice from the woods whispered of rest, rest, a
syren's lullaby wooing me to a sleep that I dimly
aporehended would have no waking.

But in every young man there are, thank
Heaven, reserves of strength only obedient to
the voice of necessity. For when we reached
the divide of which I have spoken, and when
Quijas came to me and said exultantly that we
had outstripped the enemy — when I learned this
blessed news, I say, my pains fell from me, and I
became myself again. A trout stream gurgled
and bubbled below the hog-back on which we
stood, and Quijas bade me bathe in it, which I
and Courtenay did without further urging,
sloughing our grime and emerging, like Naaman,
cleansed of mental and physical ills. Then the
lieutenant, cunning in the art of ambuscades,
submitted a plan of attack.

He proposed to leave our horses and take to
the bed of the creek (where running water would
leave no tracks), following the stream till we
came to a place suitable for an ambush. He sent
the Yaqui ahead at a dog-trot — a pace these
fellows can keep up all day — and we followed
less nimbly, although aglow with the ardour of
battle. In this fashion we must have splashed

276 JOHN CHARITY

along for nearly an hour, sometimes ankle-,
sometimes knee-deep in the water, for 'twas the
lieutenant's notion (and a good one) to let the
enemy's advance guard slip by us if it were
possible, thereby splitting up and weakening
their force. The Yaqui would give us timely
warning of the approach of the scouts, then we
would crouch in the shelter of the willows, and,
when they had passed, charge boldly on the
centre. This plan, none the less, came to naught,
for suddenly the Yaqui came hurrying back with
tidings that a rancheria lay below us on the right
bank of the creek, that our Notontos were
encamped there, and, lastly, that some ceremony
— a dance, he thought — was about to take place.

" This is the tribe," said the lieutenant, " that
has been ravaging the fat ranchos of Santa Clara.
I knew they had a rancheria somewhere in these
mountains."

Procopio was of opinion that the affair had
been pre-arranged. He knew that Castafieda's
Indians had chafed beneath his cruelty and
tyranny, that they were eager to rejoin their own
tribe, and only awaiting an opportunity to do so.
We agreed that the situation had become more
serious. Fight now we must, but the questions
" how " and '* when" were not so easily deter-
mined. Courtenay, remembering school fights,
urged that the first blow be struck by us ; one to
amaze and terrify by its unexpectedness. Quijas
wondered what function was engaging the atten-
tion of braves just returned from the war-path.
He had studied the customs of these tribes, and
hoped to turn that knowledge to account. After
a successful foray, these red-skinned caterans, as
a rule, crown their misdeeds with a disgusting
orgy ; a Saturnalia. To this day licentious
festivals are common with the Indians of Arizona

NEMESIS 277

and New Mexico, and breed now, as then, trouble
between the white and red races.

Finally, we concluded to crawl as close as
possible to the village, and then, at a given signal
from the lieutenant, charge. The Yaqui was
positive that every fighting man would take
part in the dance, and our chief danger lay in
the meeting of some squaw or child. Even this
chance was slim, for the women and children
seldom stray far from the tepees when a function
is tickling their curiosity.

It was pitch dark when we left the stream.
Procopio led us to a knoll just above the plateau
whereon the rancheria was situated. Of course
we could see nothing, but I describe the place as
I saw it on the following morning. The tepees,
or lodges, were merely willow poles driven into
the ground and covered with brush and clay. We
discovered, later, that this village had been ravaged
by the small-pox, so the size of it was out of
proportion to the population. Well, we waited
impatiently till the moon rose, seemingly the
time set by the Indians for the opening exercises,
for we heard many shouts, and saw that a large
bonfire had been built in the centre of the ran-
cheria. Quijas said that a fire-dance was about
to begin, and he added that the moon plays an
important part in Indian mythology. Meantime,
creeping nearer, we noted that a crowd had
gathered around the pyre. The children were
nude, and the men almost so, but the women
wore aprons of grasses. However, at this par-
ticular time we saw nothing save the huge pile of
brush, the pyramidical tepees, and the dark forms
of the Indians silhouetted against the silvery
radiance of the moon-lit ground. Presently a
procession formed, and the men began to circle
round the pyre, chanting some peculiar epis-

2/8 JOHN CHARITY

trophe, for after each clause that seemingly
contained a question the women would answer
in a low mournful wail.

*' That is their mode of worship," whispered
Quijas.

Then the character of the ceremony changed,
and the crowd formed itself into two lines, while
an expectant hush fell upon all. It is hardly
necessary to add that each of us had strained his
eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the captives,
but so far we had seen none but Indians. We
were also burning to attack ; the enem}^ out-
numbered us by ten to one ; yet we knew that
only a few of them were armed with modern
weapons. The lieutenant, however, refused flatly
to give the word "charge," for he said that in half
an hour opportunity would be riper.

The moon was now at an angle that enabled
us to see more clearly, and suddenly out of the
shadows of the tepees came Letty and Magdalena.
Letty walked first, Magdalena followed, but 'twas
plain that the interest of the Indians was focussed
on my cousin.

** Merciful Heaven ! " ejaculated Courtenay,
" are they going to burn them ? "

Quijas assured me that women captives were
never so treated.

*' Por Dws" whispered Quijas. " They think
she is the moon-maiden."

He came near to making a bull's-eye, for there
had been a superstition in many Californian tribes
that one day a lovely moon-maiden would rule
over them, and teach her children magic arts and
sciences. Later, we learned that a greater honour
had been vouchsafed my white-skinned cousin.
The Notontos had confounded her with the
Virgin Mary, believing that our Lady had become
again incarnate. To those who had been baptised

NEMESIS 279

— and all of Castafieda's men were once neophytes
of the missions — the Mother of God was little more
than a beautiful woman with blue eyes, golden
hair, and milk-white skin. And, further, it seems
that Castaneda had encouraged this belief on the
part of his serfs. No doubt it tickled his cynicism
to see the feelings so lovely a creature would be
certain to inspire turned by the breath of super-
stition into holy and adoring passion. And,
curiously enough, this led to the Mexican's fearful
end, for the Indians, noting the horror and disgust
with which this divine lady regarded their tyrant,
assured themselves that in killing him they were
pleasing themselves and also the God to whom
they had prayed as children.

Meantime, Letty had withdrawn to the right of
the pyre accompanied by Magdalena and some
squaws. The lines of men and women then
dissolved ; the pyre was fired ; the braves kindled
torches : and the fire-dance began. As they
danced they sang, while the children imitated the
cries of animals. The yapping of coyotes was
very perfectly rendered, and I remembered that
the souls of Indians are constrained to dwell for
a season in the bodies of these wild curs. At that
very moment Procopio nudged me, and whispered
that he had seen his little grandfather in the skin
of a coyote only two days before, and that, doubt-
less, he (the little grandfather) was present and
enjoying the proceedings.

We waited patiently till the excitement was at
its height, then the lieutenant bade us prepare to
attack. My lips twitched into a smile as I marked
a joyous gleam in the eyes of the padre. By his
oath a friar may shed no blood save in such cases
as these. But now the soldier skipped out of his
habit, as a snake sloughs its dingy skin, and he
loosened his knife in its sheath with the air of an

28o JOHN CHARITY

old campaigner. The soldiers had carbines and
pistols ; Procopio, Courtenay, and I carried
rifles ; but Jaynes drew his cutlass, with a grim
grin upon his broad face, while the Don laid a lean
thumb on the edge of his punal. It was under-
stood that we should charge, reserving our fire,
for they might scatter like sheep before a grizzly ;
and, accordingly, racing down the slope we were
well into the heart of the crowd before they were
aware of our presence. Like the famous field of
San Buenaventura, it had proved a bloodless
victory had not Castafieda's Indians stood their
ground. These poor fellows, believing that in
any case death would be their portion, fought like
Dervishes, and the others, taking heart when they
saw how few we were, snatched up what weapons
they could find and attacked us venomously in the
rear. Courtenay was beside me cutting and
slashing a path to his wife. Suddenly, 1 saw
a flaming torch thrust into his face, and then,
above the screaming of the squaws and the yells
of our soldiers, I could hear his agonised cry : " I
am blind, blind." He reeled back, and I caught
him in my arms.

" Lie here," I whispered. " I will come to you
as soon as I can."

"John," he replied, in a strange, awe-stricken
voice, " did I not tell you that I should never
see her sweet face again ? "

As he spoke I was attacked by the same man,
and with the same weapon : a blazing brand.
Fortunately, old Mark saw the miscreant's
purpose and cut him down. Then, in the crash
and confusion of the melee^ I was torn from
Courtenay and had to fight desperately for my
own hand.

After five minutes of hot work the Indians
broke and ran, as if a panic had struck every man

NEMESIS 281

at once. Some made for the tepees, others
scurried away into the hills. Now, by the light
of the still blazing bonfire, I could see Letty and
Magdalena. They were standing together ; their
arms interlaced. I ran towards them, but at the
same moment two of Castaneda's fellows
approached from the other side of the pyre. As
the glow of the flames fell full upon their faces I
could read their purpose. They had returned to
slay the false goddess who in their opinion was
responsible for these woes.

'* Letty," I shrieked, in English, " run, run ! "
She obeyed, having learned as a child the value
of swift, unquestioning compliance with authority.
But to my horror Magdalena stood where she
was. Why, why ? Did she think in that supreme
moment that I had forgotten her, because I called
first to Letty ? Who knows ? Was the anguish
in my voice proof final that I loved my cousin
better than her ? Did she realise that by staying
where she was Letty's safety was assured, for the
Indians were very near, and would doubtless
have overtaken both of them before I could
interfere? These questions have tormented me
ever since. I called to her — in vain. The little
grey figure, lonely and forlorn, calmly awaited
certain death. And my heart tells me that as it
had been with us in the beginning, so it was in
the end. I had never understood this daughter
of another race, of another day, and she, alas !
had never understood me. I feel assured that
she sacrificed her life for a rival, because she
believed that I — I willed it.

You understand that all of this took place
in less than a minute, although the memory of
it has festered for fifty years. Never, during
that weary time, have I been able to speak of
what I saw/^not^even to my mother. Can that

282 JOHN CHARITY

man give sorrow words who has seen happiness
murdered before his eyes ; who has watched Hfe
and love escaping upon the wings of a blunder ?
Here was I, a strong man, constrained to witness
the shipwreck of hope ; powerless to save, unable
to speak — the wretched creature and victim of a
misunderstanding. Can such a one survey his
loss calmly, critically ? Would that I could. In
after years, when Courtenay was master of the
Abbey, honoured, and respected, and loved ;
when he told me, as he often did, that the loss of
his sight (which had plunged him at first into
direst despair) had proved indeed a gain — for by
the grace of Heaven what was good in him
ripened in adversity — when Letty, fond wife and
mother, would take my hand in hers and whisper
to me that God in His wisdom knows what is
best for His creatures ; when, in fine, in the
evening of a life that men counted successful (the
lands at Branciforte made me rich), I was sensible
of the peace and rest that crown labour and
sorrow — at such times as these, I submit, I did
dimly apprehend that my little maid was but
ill-equipped for the struggles and disappointments
of life to-day. She was of Arcadia, the child of
Nature — a flower that blooms only in a land of
sunshine, that wilts before the storm.

The man who stabbed her received the butt-
end of my rifle on his skull, but the other, before
I could recover, had driven his pufial into the
fleshy part of my left shoulder, and the force of
the blow brought me to my knees. As the fellow
bent over me to withdraw his knife, I caught him
by the ankle and flung him over my hip. But he
fell like a cat, and running in clasped me around
the waist. As we swayed back and forth, my
ribs seemed to be breaking with the pressure,
but he dared not shift his hold, while I was

NEMESIS 283

impotent. Now in wrestling, as you know, the
art lies in using not only your own strength but
the strength of your adversary. Accordingly, as
this redskin hugged me to his sinewy chest, I
threw all my weight and strength in the same
direction, so that we came to the ground with a
crash that loosened his hold. Before he could
recover — I being atop of him — I had clapped on
him a half-Nelson, and so had him at my mercy.
Just then the one I had stunned crawled up from
the side and stabbed me in the right pectoral.
Although gidd}^ from loss of blood I was able to
despatch both of them, at the end falling across
their bodies — to all intent as dead as they.

When my wits came back to me, Quijas was
bandaging my wound. Letty, it seemed, had run
screaming to him, and, doubtless, his prompt
help saved my life. He had fought like a
paladin ; now, once again, he was physician and
priest.

*' Magdalena ? " I gasped.

It seemed an eternity before he replied. Then
he said very gently : ** My son, she is dead."

I am glad that he told me the truth in plain
words. These friars are trained to leave many
things unsaid. Had Quijas soiled the silence that
followed with those trite, sorry phrases which
rise so glibly to the lips of the Chadbands of the
church, it would have been in my heart to smite
him on the mouth.

She was dead.

I closed my eyes, and the past flitted before
me ; those phantoms of what had been, those
gibbering wraiths of what might have been. And
my own ambitions, so mean and petty now,
clamoured like furies, calling me fool and dolt.
O ! my love, my little love ! Are you waiting
for me on the shore to whose lee I am drifting ?

384 JOHN CHARITY

At the last, as the shadows close around me,
shall I see your faithful eyes ? Shall I hear your
tender voice ? Shall I feel your arms about me,
your lips upon mine ?
Ah ! who knows ?

FINIS

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Full text of "John Charity : a romance of yesterday, containing certin adventures and love-passages in Alta California of John Charity, yeoman of Cranberry-Orcas in the county of Hampshire, England, as set down by himself"

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