ches?"

"You ain't heard me say he shouldn't have had it"

"So the _alcalde_ executed the act of possession for a tract, to be
bounded on the south by Crow Spring, following its cordillera to the Ojo
del Chico, east to the Pedornal range, north to the Ojo del Cibolo
--Buffalo Springs--and west to the great divide. It was a princely
estate, greater than the State of Delaware; and Don Bartolome held it
for the King of Spain, and ruled over it with powers of life and death,
but always wisely and generously, like the great-hearted gentleman he
was."

"Bully for him."

"And at his death his son ruled in his stead; and _his_ only son died in
the Spanish-American War, as a lieutenant of volunteers in the United
States Army. He was shot before Santiago."

The voice died away in her tremulous throat; and he wondered if it could
be possible that this girl had been betrothed to the young soldier. But
presently she spoke again, cheerfully and lightly:

"Wherefore, it happens that there remains only a daughter of the house
of Valdes to carry the burden that should have been her brother's, to
look out for his people, and to protect them both against themselves and
others. She may fail; but, if I know her, the failure will not be
because she has not tried."

"Good for her. I'd like to shake her aristocratic little paw and tell
her to buck in and win."

"She would no doubt be grateful for your sympathy," the young woman
answered, flinging a queer little look of irony at him.

"But what's the hitch about the Valdes grant? Why is there a doubt of
its legality?"

She smiled gaily at him.

"No person who desires to remain healthy has any doubts in this
neighborhood. We are all partizans of Valencia Valdes; and many of her
tenants are such warm followers that they would not think twice about
shedding blood in defense of her title. You must remember that they hold
through her right. If she were dispossessed so would they be."

"Is that a threat? I mean, would it be if I were a claimant?" he asked,
meeting her smile pleasantly.

"Oh, no. Miss Valdes would regret any trouble, and so should I." A
shadow crossed her face as she spoke. "But she could not prevent her
friends from violence, I am afraid. You see, she is only a girl, after
all. They would move without her knowledge. I know they would."

"How would they move? Would it be a knife in the dark?"

His gray eyes, which had been warm as summer sunshine on a hill, were
no