d hez settled down thar with a big Free Will Baptist
Church congregation and a heap o' land got from them Mexicans. Thar's
a lot o' poor Spanish and Injin trash that belong to the land, and
Almiry's brother hez set about convertin' 'em, givin' 'em convickshion
and religion, though the most of 'em is Papists and followers of the
Scarlet Woman. Thar was an orphan, a little girl that he got outer the
hands o' them priests, kinder snatched as a brand from the burnin', and
he sent her to us to be brought up in the ways o' the Lord, knowin'
that we had no children of our own. But we thought she oughter get the
benefit o' schoolin' too, besides our own care, and we reckoned to bring
her here reg'lar to school."

Relieved and pleased to help the good-natured couple in the care of the
homeless waif, albeit somewhat doubtful of their religious methods, the
schoolmaster said he would be delighted to number her among his little
flock. Had she already received any tuition?

"Only from them padres, ye know, things about saints, Virgin Marys,
visions, and miracles," put in Mrs. Hoover; "and we kinder thought ez
you know Spanish you might be able to get rid o' them in exchange for
'conviction o' sins' and 'justification by faith,' ye know."

"I'm afraid," said Mr. Brooks, smiling at the thought of displacing the
Church's "mysteries" for certain corybantic displays and thaumaturgical
exhibitions he had witnessed at the Dissenters' camp meeting, "that I
must leave all that to you, and I must caution you to be careful
what you do lest you also shake her faith in the alphabet and the
multiplication table."

"Mebbee you're right," said Mrs. Hoover, mystified but good-natured;
"but thar's one thing more we oughter tell ye. She's--she's a trifle
dark complected."

The schoolmaster smiled. "Well?" he said patiently.

"She isn't a nigger nor an Injin, ye know, but she's kinder a
half-Spanish, half-Mexican Injin, what they call 'mes--mes'"--

"Mestiza," suggested Mr. Brooks; "a half-breed or mongrel."

"I reckon. Now thar wouldn't be any objection to that, eh?" said Mr.
Hoover a little uneasily.

"Not by me," returned the schoolmaster cheerfully. "And although this
school is state-aided it's not a 'public school' in the eye of the law,
so you have only the foolish prejudices of your neighbors to deal with."
He had recognized the reason of their hesitation and knew the strong
racial antagonism held towards the negro and Indian by Mr. Ho