For after all Kit Rhodes was only twenty-three and all of life ahead
of him for dreams! He was wondering what he could fetch back from the
East that would be acceptable to a witchy elf of a butterfly girl who
already had, to his simple estimate, all the requisites of a princess
royal.

Juanito came loping past, and Rhodes asked for his father.

"I am myself looking for him," said the boy. "He has there on his
horse all the things for Tio Miguel, but Miguel not coming, and I
wonder who goes? Maybe it will be me. What you think?" he asked
hopefully.

Kit did not answer, for Juanito's mention of the articles for Miguel
brought from home by Tomas, and still fastened to the back of the
saddle, drew his attention to the articles tied there--some clothing
badly wrapped, a pair of black shoes tied together with brown strings,
and under them, yet plainly visible, a canvas water bag.

There was nothing unusual in a water bag or a canteen tied back of any
saddle in the dry lands, it was the sensible thing to do, but Kit
found himself staring at this particular water bag stupidly,
remembering where he had seen it last. It had been only partly full
then, but now it was plump and round as if water-filled; yet one
glance told him it was not wet, and moreover, he had noted the day
before a hole in the side tied up in a hard knot by twine, and there
was the knot!

Yet it might be a stock of _pinole_, parched corn, as evidence of
Miguel's forethought against privation on the long eastern trail. He
could think of several reasonable things to account for an old water
bag tied to a Mexican's saddle, but reason did not prevent his glance
turning to it again and again.

The fear in Narcisco's eyes came back to him, and his attempt to cover
his harmless playthings at the coming of the unexpected American. He
wondered----

"Say, Bub, I've got ten dollars to invest in some little trinket for
Billie boy, and I want you to put it down in your jeans and invest it
in whatever it will cover," said Captain Pike at his elbow, clinking
the silver coin meditatively. "You'll have time to see plenty
attractive things for the money there in the streets of New York, or
Baltimore, or whichever of the dock towns you'll be heading for."

Rhodes accepted the coin, absently frowning.

"That's one of the dark secrets not yet divulged by this curious
management," he growled. "I'm to go, or so I was told, but have been
given no instructions. Where's