a: "It is the will of God," and with a shrug he
dismissed the mystery from his mind.

But when he missed a second and a third little pig from the litter, he
openly and violently accused the old sow of devouring her offspring,
and talked of sending down to El Macho for the Padre. He did better
than that, however, for he isolated the old sow in a board pen and gave
the youngsters the run of the corral. A day or two later another pig
mysteriously disappeared, and Don Mariano began to suspect his next
door neighbor of reprehensible practices, and talked about sending for
the constable. Upon second thought, he strung barb wire on the top of
the stockade and set steel-traps cunningly outside. Then half a dozen
little porkers were spirited away in rapid succession, and when Don
Mariano satisfied himself that nobody on the Peco's had feasted upon
roast pig since last Christmas, he concluded that the devil had a hand
in the business for sure.

Now, Don Mariano had been heard frequently to say that he was not
afraid of the devil, and truly he was no idle braggart, for he loaded
up his gun and laid in wait for him inside the old sow's pen, grimly
determined, if the devil swooped down after another pig, to take a shot
at him flying. He felt sure of at least winging the satanic thief, for
he had scratched a cross on every buckshot in the load.

It was a moonlight night. Don Mariano lay upon the clean straw that he
had placed in the old sow's pen and waited for the hour of midnight, at
which time, as is well known, churchyards yawn and devils flit about.
He had apologized to the bereaved mother for entertaining unworthy
suspicions of her, and they were on amicable terms. Don Mariano was
almost dozing when he was startled broad awake by a familiar grunt.
Peering between two of the posts of the stockade, he saw coming across
the clearing, looming huge and distinct in the moonlight, two bears.
They were headed straight for the corral. Don Mariano knew they could
not climb the stockade, and he watched them with languid interest. But
the corral was evidently their objective point, for they lumbered along
right toward it.

"Now, look at those infatuated fool bears," said Don Mariano to
himself. "They'll get into one of the traps and make a grand row and
frighten the devil away, so that I won't get a shot. Por Dios!"

But the two fool bears did not get into a trap. Without delay they
clambered up into a large tree beside wh