well get under way, feeling lonesome. I went out
and around to the rear of the house, where the corral was, to get my
horse, but found the gate fastened with chains and securely locked. The
corral walls were built of adobe, and the two walls of it were a
continuation of the side walls of the house, and its end wall formed an
enclosure or backyard. My horse was there, and I found my saddle in one
of the rooms of the building, hidden under a blanket. I entered the
corral through the back door of the house, caught and saddled my horse,
and then led him out to the street. This was a very laughable manner of
leave-taking. The house was cut up into a labyrinth of small rooms,
just large enough for a horse to turn around in, and the doors were low
and narrow. As I could not find the outer door, I led my horse
successively into every room in the house.

There is no furniture such as we use in a typical Spanish dwelling, no
bedsteads, tables, or chairs. The inmates squat on divans arranged on
the floor around the walls of the rooms, and at nighttime they spread
their bedding on the floors. Some of the rooms were nicely carpeted
with Mexican rugs. My horse must have thought he had come to a suite of
stables, for he acted accordingly. He nosed around after grain and hay,
whinnied and pawed, and seemed to enjoy himself generally. At last I
found the right door, came out into the street and rode to the church
to tender my best wishes to the happy couple and bid them adios. When
the party emerged from the chapel they seemed to be very much surprised
at seeing me. I told my host that I regretted to leave them so early in
the day, but had an appointment to keep elsewhere. I would ride slowly
out of town so that they could overtake me easily, should they wish to
see me later, but nobody came, and after several hours I caught up with
my companions.

CHAPTER VIII.

WITH THE NAVAJO TRIBE

After a couple of days we came to Fort Wingate, which controls the
Navajo Indian Reservation. We camped here for a day to have some repair
work done to our wagons, and I took a stroll over the hills after
rabbits and returned to camp at nightfall. Don Juan told me that he had
been visited by a number of Indians, who had bartered him some blankets
and buckskins and he was highly pleased thereat.

The next morning we started early and traveled until noon. Several
Indians had been following us for some time, and as soon as we made
camp they squ