"We certainly shall avail ourselves of the rare privilege, Don Felipe,"
said Bessie. "Do you intend stopping here?" she asked.

"For a few days, yes. A room is always waiting for me here."

"How delightful!" exclaimed Blanch. "We shall expect to see a great deal
of you. In the meantime, we shall visit the town and shall see you this
evening. Until then, _a Dios_, as you Spaniards say. You observe, we are
making rapid progress in the language," she added, smiling and glancing
back at him over her shoulder as they moved away in the direction of the
highroad.

"What a strange costume for a man like Don Felipe to wear! It's as gay
and extravagant as a woman's!" said Bessie as soon as they were out of
hearing.

"It's becoming though," answered Blanch. "This is truly the land of
surprises. I wonder what will happen next?"

"What can have brought them here, to this out-of-the-way place?" mused
Don Felipe, throwing one arm lightly over the neck of his horse as he
leaned gently against the animal.

Don Felipe Ramirez was young and handsome--the handsomest and wealthiest
man in all Chihuahua. One who measured his lands not by acres, but by
hundreds of square miles, over which roamed vast herds of horses, cattle
and sheep, and of which Chiquita might have been mistress had she so
chosen. Within this vast domain were situated numerous villages of
Mexican and Indian populations, subject in a measure to his command. His
word, where it did not conflict with the central Government, was law;
but Don Felipe, selfish and unprincipled though he was by nature, was
too easy going ever to think of making unscrupulous use of such power.
So long as things went smoothly, he was the last man to exercise his
almost unlimited authority for the mere pleasure of dominating others as
many men might were they placed in his position.

His leniency in governing, his lavish manner of living, and a way he had
of fraternizing with his people on occasions--the latter prompted not
from motives of generosity, but purely from those of vanity and a love
of popularity--made him fairly popular among his subjects. It was when
Don Felipe wanted something in particular that he became dangerous,
especially if that something lay within his jurisdiction. Then indeed,
was he one to be feared.

His appearance was striking; a swarthy complexion, thick, shiny, black
curly hair and mustache, lustrous black eyes and delicate features, and
a lithe sinewy body, eve