He could throw a bull as fearlessly as his elder
brothers; he had ridden alone at night the length of the rancho in
search of a pet colt that had strayed; and he had once defended the
women of the family single handed against a half dozen savages until
reinforcements had arrived. Moreover, the stories of American warfare
which he had managed to read, despite the prohibition of the priests,
had stirred his soul and fired his blood. But army life in California!
It meant languishing in barracks, hoping for a flash in the pan between
two rival houses, or a possible revolt against a governor. If the
Americans should come with intent to conquer! Roldan ground his teeth
and stamped his foot. Then, indeed, he could not get to the battlefield
fast enough. But the United States would never defy Mexico. They were
clever enough for that. His anger left him, and he gave a little
regretful sigh. Not only would he like that kind of a battle, but it
would be great fun to know some American boys. Then he shook his head
impatiently and dismissed these tourist thoughts. The present alone was
to be considered.

There were two ways to avoid conscription. One was to marry--Roldan
sniffed audibly; the other lay in flight and eluding the men until
their round was over for the year.

Roldan did not like the idea of running away from anything; he and
several of his father's vaqueros had once made an assault upon a band
of cattle thieves and hunted them into the mountains: that was much
more to his taste. Nevertheless there was one thing he liked less than
showing his heels, and that was giving up his liberty. Not to gallop at
will over the rancho, or sleep in a hammock, to coliar the bulls and
shout with the vaqueros at rodeo, to be the first at the games and the
races, to wear his silken clothes and lace ruffles, and eat the
delightful dishes his mother's cooks prepared! And then he was a very
high-spirited young gentleman. Although the same obedience, almost
reverence, was exacted of him by his parents that was a part of the
household religion in California, yet as the youngest child, who had
been delicate during his first five years, he had managed to get very
badly spoiled. He did not relish the idea of leading a life of monotony
and discipline, of performing hourly duties which did not suit his
taste, above all of being ordered to leave his father's house as if he
were a mere Indian. No, he decided, he would not go into the army--not
this