ck along the tortuous trail he had
come.

But not far. He stopped and waited in the silent depths of the pear
until half an hour had passed. And then Tonia heard the high, untrue
notes of his unmusical singing coming nearer and nearer; and she ran
to the edge of the pear to meet him.

The Kid seldom smiled; but he smiled and waved his hat when he saw
her. He dismounted, and his girl sprang into his arms. The Kid looked
at her fondly. His thick, black hair clung to his head like a wrinkled
mat. The meeting brought a slight ripple of some undercurrent of
feeling to his smooth, dark face that was usually as motionless as a
clay mask.

"How's my girl?" he asked, holding her close.

"Sick of waiting so long for you, dear one," she answered. "My eyes
are dim with always gazing into that devil's pincushion through which
you come. And I can see into it such a little way, too. But you are
here, beloved one, and I will not scold. _Que mal muchacho_ [77]! not
to come to see your _alma_ [78] more often. Go in and rest, and let me
water your horse and stake him with the long rope. There is cool water
in the jar for you."

[FOOTNOTE 77: Que mal muchacho!--(Spanish) What a bad boy!]

[FOOTNOTE 78: alma--(Spanish) soul, spirit; in this sense a
"soul-mate"]

The Kid kissed her affectionately.

"Not if the court knows itself do I let a lady stake my horse for me,"
said he. "But if you'll run in, _chica_ [79], and throw a pot of coffee
together while I attend to the _caballo_ [80], I'll be a good deal
obliged."

[FOOTNOTE 79: chica--(Spanish) girl, little one]

[FOOTNOTE 80: caballo--(Spanish) horse]

Besides his marksmanship the Kid had another attribute for which he
admired himself greatly. He was _muy caballero_ [81], as the Mexicans
express it, where the ladies were concerned. For them he had always
gentle words and consideration. He could not have spoken a harsh word
to a woman. He might ruthlessly slay their husbands and brothers, but
he could not have laid the weight of a finger in anger upon a woman.
Wherefore many of that interesting division of humanity who had come
under the spell of his politeness declared their disbelief in the
stories circulated about Mr. Kid. One shouldn't believe everything one
heard, they said. When confronted by their indignant men folk with
proof of the _caballero's_ deeds of infamy, they said maybe he had
been driven to it, and that he knew how to t