'
"At this moment an old woman made her appearance at the door, and
at a word from Pepita took our horses, while Pepita signed to us to
enter.
"'Excuse me, signora,' I said. 'We will go first and see our horses
stabled. It is our custom; one never knows when he may want them.'
"I thought Pepita looked annoyed, but it was only for a moment, and
then she said something in one of the country dialects to the old
woman. She nodded her head, and went off round to the back of the
house, we leading our horses, and following her. The stables, I
observed, were singularly large and well kept for a house of its
size; but, to my surprise, instead of going to the long range of
buildings, the old woman led the way to a small shed."
"'Ain't these stables?' said I.
"She shook her head, and said in Spanish, 'They were once, but we
have only two horses. Now they are used as a store for grain; the
master has the key.'
"I could not contradict her, though I believed she was telling me a
lie. However, we fastened our horses up in the shed, put the
pistols from our holsters into our belts, and, taking our rifles in
our hands, entered the house.
"Pepita received us very warmly, and busied herself assisting the
old woman to get us something to eat; after which she and Rube
began love-making, and it really seemed as if the girl meant to
change her mind, and go back with Rube, after all.
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