ts he had brought
her the day before--a certain discarded gown of Miss Nellie Wynn, which
he had hurriedly begged from her under the pretext of clothing the wife
of a distressed overland emigrant then on the way to the mines. Although
he had satisfied his conscience with the intention of confessing the
pious fraud to her when Teresa was gone and safe from pursuit, it
was not without a sense of remorse that he witnessed the sacrilegious
transformation. The two women were nearly the same height and size; and
although Teresa's maturer figure accented the outlines more strongly, it
was still becoming enough to increase his irritation.

Of this becomingness she was doubtless unaware at the moment that he
surprised her. She was conscious of having "a change," and this had
emboldened her to "do her hair" and otherwise compose herself. After
their greeting she was the first to allude to the dress, regretting that
it was not more of a rough disguise, and that, as she must now discard
the national habit of wearing her shawl "manta" fashion over her head,
she wanted a hat. "But you must not," she said, "borrow any more dresses
for me from your young woman. Buy them for me at some shop. They left me
enough money for that." Low gently put aside the few pieces of gold she
had drawn from her pocket, and briefly reminded her of the suspicion
such a purchase by him would produce. "That's so," she said, with a
laugh. "Caramba! what a mule I'm becoming! Ah! wait a moment. I have it!
Buy me a common felt hat--a man's hat--as if for yourself, as a change
to that animal," pointing to the fox-tailed cap he wore summer and
winter, "and I'll show you a trick. I haven't run a theatrical wardrobe
for nothing." Nor had she, for the hat thus procured, a few days later,
became, by the aid of a silk handkerchief and a bluejay's feather, a
fascinating "pork pie."

Whatever cause of annoyance to Low still lingered in Teresa's dress,
it was soon forgotten in a palpable evidence of Teresa's value as a
botanical assistant. It appeared that during the afternoon she had not
only duplicated his specimens, but had discoverd one or two rare
plants as yet unclassified in the flora of the Carquinez Woods. He was
delighted, and in turn, over the campfire, yielded up some details of
his present life and some of his earlier recollections.

"You don't remember anything of your father?" she asked. "Did he ever
try to seek you out?"

"No! Why should he?" replied t