mud-walled Presidio, it seemed that none sat his horse so straight nor
so bravely as did Don Luis Argüello. And at night to the young soldier
dozing before the campfire in the forest, the billowy smoke seemed to
shape itself into the soft folds of a lace mantilla from which looked
out the smiling face of a lovely grey-eyed girl, framed in an exquisite
mist of copper-colored hair.

"There was no opposition on the part of the parents to the union of
these young people. The elder Argüello loved the sweet Rafaela as if she
were his own daughter, and Ensign Sal was proud to claim the splendid
young soldier as a son-in-law. So the betrothal was solemnized, but
since Don Luis was a Spanish officer, the marriage must await the
consent of the king, and forthwith papers were dispatched to the court
of Madrid. California was an isolated province in those days and the
packet boat, touching on the shore but twice a year, frequently brought
papers from Spain dated nine months previous, so the older people
affirmed that permission could not be received for two years, while Luis
and Rafaela declared that if the king answered at once--and surely he
would recognize the importance of haste--word might be received in
eighteen months.

"After a year and a half had passed the young people could talk of
little besides the expected arrival of the boat with an order from the
king. Frequently Luis would climb the hills back of the Presidio where
the wide expanse of the ocean could be seen. At last a sail was
discovered on the horizon and the little settlement was thrown into a
turmoil of excitement. Luis was first at the beach and impatiently
watched the ship make its way between the high bluffs that guarded the
entrance to the bay, and nose along the shore until it came to anchor in
the little cove in front of the Presidio. Had the king's permission