was of course kept plugged with its tampion, there was no
danger of discovery, and with five more barrels to fill, we felt that
whenever the Governor-General chose to release the Lieutenant and his
men, they would be able to march out of the territories of His Most
Catholic Majesty fairly _loaded_ with information against the tyrant.

So, casting aside every thought of duty, I allowed my mind to dwell
constantly upon my wooing, and, frivolous as it may appear, was more
concerned over our visit to the tailor than to the magnificent hospital
in the old Jesuit edifices on the west side of Chihuahua. That
institution of healing was finely situated and furnished. But when I
ventured to suggest an improvement upon some of the antiquated and
barbarous methods of treatment, I met with such a heat of jealous
prejudice from the clerical physicians that I was forced to silence.

Returning to the plaza, we were agreeably surprised to find our little
French tailor most modern not only in his knowledge of the modes but
also in the quickness of his work. He and his assistants had already
completed our suits. As the following day was a Sunday, it was
particularly gratifying to find ourselves becomingly costumed for
genteel society.

Pike and our host slept late in the morning, but I had given old Caesar
orders to rouse me early. Donning my new garments, I slipped out and
hastened across the plaza toward the Parroquia. The bell was already
intoning for mass, and I passed numbers of _rebozo_-shrouded women
streaming churchward. With my Anglo-American eyes and complexion I
suppose I presented rather a striking figure among these people, who are
so very rarely other than brunette,--though it may be I attracted more
attention because of the fact that few other men had sallied out so
early to attend mass.

Whatever the cause, I received enough smiles and alluring glances from
pretty senoritas and, I fear, senoras, to have quite turned my head, had
I not been far too intent upon the hope of seeing my lady to heed these
charming coquettes. What I did heed, however, was the fact that the
prettier the girl, the more jealously guarded was she by a keen-eyed
duenna. What hope had I of a word apart with Alisanda if she came in
company with Dona Marguerite?

Between the thought of this and the need to scan the scores of
approaching ladies, I was not in a favorable frame of mind to appreciate
the grandeur and beauty of the _Parroquia_. Yet so sp