nd Dave went after
Ricardo Guzman's remains. Blamed if I ain't sorry you sidetracked our
expedition."

It was evident, from the words of the others, that the Jonesville
Guards were indeed quite as heedless of international complications as
was their commander. One and all were highly incensed at Longorio's
perfidy, and, had Alaire suggested such a thing, it was patent that
they would have ridden on to La Feria and exacted a reckoning from him.

Such proof of friendship affected her deeply, and it was not until they
were all under way back toward Romero that she felt she had made her
appreciation fully known. When she reflected that these men were some
of the very neighbors whom she had shunned and slighted, and whose
honest interest she had so habitually misconstrued all these years, it
seemed very strange that they should feel the least concern over her.
It gave her a new appreciation of their chivalry and their worth; it
filled her with a humble desire to know them better and to strengthen
herself in their regard. Then, too, the esteem in which they held
Dave--her husband--gratified her intensely. It made no more difference
to them than to her that he was a poor man, a man without authority or
position; they evidently saw and loved in him the qualities which she
saw and loved. And that was as it should be.

They were gentle and considerate men, too, as she discovered when they
told her, bit by bit, what had happened during her absence. She
learned, much to her relief, that Ed's funeral had been held, and that
all the distressing details of the inquiry had been attended to. Jose
Sanchez, it appeared, had confessed freely. Although her new friends
made plain their indignation at the manner of Ed's taking off, they
likewise let her know that they considered his death only a slight
loss, either to her or to the community. Not one of them pretended it
was anything except a blessing.

The journey drew to an end very quickly. Romero, deserted now by its
garrison, stirred and stared sleepily at the invaders, but concerned
itself with their presence no more than to wonder why they laughed and
talked so spiritedly. Plainly, these gringos were a barbarous race of
people, what with their rushing here and there, and with their loud,
senseless laughter. God had wisely placed them beyond the Rio Grande,
said the citizens of Romero.

The crossing was made; Alaire found herself in Texas once again, and it
seemed to her that the