ith kisses and a torrent of words.

"But, my Conchita," gasped Dona Ignacia, "I have much to do. Thy
father and his excellency come in two days. And perhaps they would not
approve--before they are here!--to go on the foreign ship! If Luis
were not gone! Ay yi! Ay yi!"

"We go, we go, madre mia! And his excellency will give you a shawl. I
feel it! I know it! And if we go now we disobey no law. Have they
ever said we could not visit a foreign ship when they were not here?
We are light-headed, irresponsible women. And if they should not let
us go! If the Governor and the Russian should disagree! Now we have
the opportunity for such a day as we never have had before. We should
be imbeciles. We go, madre mia, we go!"

So it proved. At a few minutes before nine the Senora Arguello, clad
in her best black skirt and jacket, a red shawl embroidered with yellow
draped over her bust with unconquerable grace, and a black reboso
folded about her fine proud head, rode down to the beach with Ana Paula
on the aquera behind and Gertrudis Rudisinda on her arm. The boys
howled on the corridor, but the good senora felt she could not too
liberally construe the kind invitation of a chamberlain of the Russian
Court.

Behind her rode Concha, in white with a pink reboso; Rafaella Sal,
Carolina Xime'no, Herminia Lopez, Delfina Rivera, the only other girls
at the Presidio old enough to grace such an occasion; Sturgis, who
happened to have spent the night at the Presidio, Gervasio, Santiago
and Lieutenant Rivera. Castro had returned to Monterey, Sal was
officer of the day, and the other young men had sulkily declined to be
the guests of a man who looked as haughty as the Tsar himself and
betrayed no disposition to recognize in Spain the first nation of
Europe. But no one missed them. The girls, in their flowered muslins
and bright rebosos, the men in gay serapes and embroidered botas,
looked a fine mass of color as they galloped down to the beach and
laughed and chattered as youth must on so glorious a morning. Even
Sturgis, always careful to be as nearly one with these people as his
different appearance and temperament would permit, wore clothes of
green linen, a ruffled shirt, deer-skin botas and sombrero.

Three of the ship's canoes awaited the guests, and as not one of the
women had ever set foot in a boat, there was a chorus of shrieks. Dona
Ignacia murmured an audible prayer, and clutched Gertrudis Rudisinda to
he