to bring her that little gringo," he said; "she longs for an American
son." "Our daughter, Mariquita, is now ten years of age, and has been
asked in marriage by Don Robusto Pesado, a very rich man. But the
child is afraid of him, as he is a mountain of flesh, weighing close
on twelve arrobas. Now we thought that two years hence thou wilt be
seventeen years old and a man very sufficient for our little
Mariquita, who will then, with God's favor, be a woman of twelve
years. She will have a large dowry of cattle and sheep, and as the
saints have blessed us with an abundance of land and chattels, thou
art not required to provide."

I thanked Don Emilio very kindly, but was, of course, too young then
to entertain any thought of marrying. I was really sorry to
disappoint him, as he seemed to have formed a genuine attachment for
me and was seriously grieved by my refusal.

Rumor spreads its vagaries faster among illiterate people than among
the enlightened and educated. Therefore, it was said in New Mexico
long before our arrival there that Don Jose Lopez's outfit brought a
young American, the like of whom had never been known before. He was
not ignorant, as other Americans, for he not only spoke the Spanish,
but he could also read and write the Castillan language. It was well
known that most Americans were so stupid that they could not talk as
well as a Mexican baby of two years, and that often after years of
residence among Spanish people they were still ignorant of the
language. And would you believe it, but it was the sacred truth, this
little American, albeit a mere boy, had the strength of a man. He
made that big heathen Navajo brute Pancho, the mayordomo of Don
Preciliano Chavez, of Las Vegas, stand stark before him in his
nakedness, with his hands raised to Heaven and compelled him, under