ater by the actual apparition of
the returning Pendleton.

He was dressed in a tightly buttoned blue frock-coat, which fairly
accented his tall, thin military figure, although the top lappel was
thrown far enough back to show a fine ruffled cambric shirt and checked
gingham necktie, and was itself adorned with a white rosebud in the
button-hole. Fawn-colored trousers strapped over narrow patent-leather
boots, and a tall white hat, whose broad mourning-band was a perpetual
memory of his mother, who had died in his boyhood, completed his festal
transformation. Yet his erect carriage, high aquiline nose, and long
gray drooping moustache lent a distinguishing grace to this survival of
a bygone fashion, and over-rode any irreverent comment. Even his
slight limp seemed to give a peculiar character to his massive
gold-headed stick, and made it a part of his formal elegance.

Handing George his stick and a military cape he carried easily over his
left arm, he greeted Paul warmly, yet with a return of his old dominant
manner.

"Glad to see you, Hathaway, and glad to see the boy has served you
better than the last time. If I had known you were coming, I would
have tried to get back in time to have breakfast with you. But your
friends at 'Rosario'--I think they call it; in my time it was owned by
Colonel Briones, and HE called it 'The Devil's Little Canyon'--detained
me with some d--d civilities. Let's see--his name is Woods, isn't it?
Used to sell rum to runaway sailors on Long Wharf, and take stores in
exchange? Or was it Baker?--Judge Baker? I forget which. Well, sir,
they wished to be remembered."

It struck Paul, perhaps unreasonably, that the colonel's indifference
and digression were both a little assumed, and he asked abruptly,--

"And you fulfilled your mission?"

"I made the formal transfer, with the Mayor, of the property to Miss
Arguello."

"To Miss Arguello?"

"To the Dona Maria Concepcion de Arguello de la Yerba Buena--to speak
precisely," said the colonel, slowly. "George, you can take that hat
to that blank hatter--what's his blanked name? I read it only
yesterday in a list of the prominent citizens here--and tell him, with
my compliments, that I want a GENTLEMAN'S mourning band around my hat,
and not a child's shoelace. It may be HIS idea of the value of his own
parents--if he ever had any--but I don't care for him to appraise mine.
Go!"

As the door closed upon George, Paul turned to the c