s was
child-like. Once when he saw in the store of Don Mario a colored
chromo of Venus and Cupid, a cheap print that had come with goods
imported from abroad, he had devoutly crossed himself, believing it to
be the Virgin Mary with the Christ-child.

"But I will fix you up, Rosendo," said Jose, noting the man's genuine
anxiety. "Have Dona Maria cut out a cloth heart and fasten it to a
stout cord. I will take it to the church altar and bless it before the
image of the Virgin. You told me once that the Virgin was the Rincon
family's patron, you know."

"_Bueno!_" ejaculated the pleased Rosendo, as he hastened off to
execute the commission.

Several times before Rosendo went back to Guamoco Jose had sought to
draw him into conversation about his illness, and to get his view of
the probable cause of his rapid recovery. But the old man seemed loath
to dwell on the topic, and Jose could get little from him. At any
mention of the episode a troubled look would come over his face, and
he would fall silent, or would find an excuse to leave the presence of
the priest.

"Rosendo," Jose abruptly remarked to him as he was busy with his pack
late the night before his departure, "will you take with you the
quinine that Juan brought?"

Rosendo looked up quickly. "I can not, Padre."

"And why?"

"On account of Carmen."

"But what has she to do with it, _amigo_?" Jose asked in surprise.

Rosendo looked embarrassed. "I--_Bien_, Padre, I promised her I would
not."

"When?"

"To-day, Padre."

Jose reflected on the child's unusual request. Then:

"But if you fell sick up in Guamoco, Rosendo, what could you do?"

"_Quien sabe_, Padre! Perhaps I could gather herbs and make a tea--I
don't know. She didn't say anything about that." He looked at Jose and
laughed. Then, in an anxious tone:

"Padre, what can I do? The little Carmen asks me not to take the
quinine, and I can not refuse her. But I may get sick. I--I have
always taken medicine when I needed it and could get it. But the only
medicine we have in Simiti is the stuff that some of the women
make--teas and drinks brewed from roots and bark. I have never seen a
doctor here, nor any real medicines but quinine. And even that is hard
to get, as you know. I used to make a salve out of the livers of
_mapina_ snakes--it was for the rheumatism--I suffered terribly when I
worked in the cold waters in Guamoco. I think the salve helped me. But
if I should get the disease now, woul