y the Spanish
grammar and dictionary, mute evidences of the way she had intended to
spend the siesta hour. She gave them not so much as a glance, but
stepping out of her clothes left them in a heap where they fell,--an
action indicating a state of demoralization hardly to be believed of
the parson's daughter,--and flung herself into bed with a groan.

Two hours later she was awakened by the other four girls who had
turned inquisitors, and while two were stripping off the bedclothes
the other two applied a feather to the soles of her feet.

"Oh--is it morning?" gasped Sarah, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"It doesn't seem as if I had been asleep a minute."

"Such a waste of time!" quoted Kitty mockingly. "There's such a
thing, Sarah, as overdoing the siesta," she taunted.

Sarah drew up her feet and sat on them, smothering the groan that
arose to her lips at the action. Every bone and joint had a new and
awful kind of ache, and in that minute Sarah wished she had never
heard of the Blue Bonnet ranch. Just then came the welcome clatter of
dishes and at the doorway appeared Benita bearing a tray of good
things, while back of her was Grandmother Clyde.

"Now off with you,--you tormentors," the Senora commanded gaily. "This
poor child must be nearly famished."

"Grandmother's pet!" sang Blue Bonnet over her shoulder, as obeying
orders, the four girls left the suffering Sarah in peace.

Existence assumed a brighter hue to Sarah when she had eaten the
generous repast Benita set before her; and when she had bathed and
rubbed herself with the Pond's Extract Mrs. Clyde had secretly
provided her with, life seemed once more worth living. But she was
very quiet and moved with great circumspection for the rest of the
day, quite content to leave to the others the handling of the
fireworks in the evening.

Uncle Cliff's "dangerous" box yielded still more wonders. The noisy
bombs and giant crackers of the morning were followed by pyrotechnics
that aroused unbounded admiration from the grown-ups and caused an
excitement among the small greasers that threatened to end in a human
conflagration. A small fortune went up in gigantic pin-wheels;
flower-pots that sent up amazing blossoms in all the hues of the
rainbow; rockets that burst in mid-air and let fall a shower of
coiling snakes, which, in their turn, exploded into a myriad stars;
Roman candles that sometimes went off at the wrong end and caused a
wild scattering of the aud