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rnestly, "I'll never forgive you." No one being inclined to risk Blue Bonnet's undying enmity, there was complete silence for the space of time imposed. They were rolling along the smooth white road between the railway station and the ranch, Grandmother Clyde and the girls in a buckboard drawn by sturdy little mustangs, while Alec, Uncle Joe and Uncle Cliff, who had stayed behind to look after the luggage, were following on horseback. Blue Bonnet sat tense and still, her hands clasped in her lap, the color coming and going in her face in rapid waves of pink and white; her eyes very shiny, her lips quivering. This home-coming was having an effect she had not dreamed of. Every familiar object, every turn of the road that brought her nearer the beloved ranch, gave her a new and delicious thrill. As they neared the modern wire fence two dusky little greaser piccaninnies rose out of the chaparral, hurled themselves on the big gate and held it open, standing like sentinels, bursting with importance, as the buckboard rolled through. "They're Pancho's twins!" cried Blue Bonnet. "Stop, Miguel, while I give them something." Hurriedly seizing a half-eaten box of candy from Amanda's surprised hands, Blue Bonnet leaned down and tossed it to the grinning youngsters. "_Muchas gracias_, Senorita!" they cried in a duet, their black eyes wide with joy. "Bless the babies!" exclaimed Kitty, "--did you hear what they called you?" Blue Bonnet laughed. "I'm never called anything else here. They meant 'Many thanks, Ma'am.' You will be 'Senorita' too,--better get used to it." "Oh, I shall love it," cried Kitty. "It sounds like a title--'my lady' or 'your grace' or something grand." "Grandmother will be 'Senora'--doesn't it just suit her, girls?" asked Blue Bonnet. "Mrs. Clyde, may we call you 'Senora,' too?" asked Debby, "--just while we're on the ranch?" "Debby believes in the eternal fitness of things," put in Kitty. "Certainly, you may call me Senora," said Mrs. Clyde. "When you're in Texas do as the Texans do," she paraphrased. "I intend to learn all the Spanish I can while I'm here," remarked Sarah. "I brought a grammar and a dictionary--" A chorus of indignation went up from the other girls. "This isn't a 'General Culture Club,' Sarah Blake," scolded Kitty. "We didn't come to the Blue Bonnet ranch for mutual improvement--but for _fun_!" "We'll make a bonfire of those books," warned Blue Bonnet. "Al
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