e
fas' goin' to church. Dese youngsters laff all time and say I never get
here unless de dogs is 'long. Sacre! Act all time lak I vas von ol' man.
_Humbre_, keep away from dis horse; he allow nobody but me to lay von
han' on him--keep away, I tol' you!"

I helped the girls to dismount, Miss Jean kissing them right and left,
and bustling them off into the house to tidy up as fast as possible; for
the hour was almost at hand. On catching sight of Mrs. Annear, fresh and
charming in her widow's weeds, Uncle Lance brushed Don Pierre aside and
cordially greeted her. Vaqueros took the horses, and as I strolled up
the pathway with Esther, I noticed an upper window full of ranger faces
peering down on the girls. Before this last contingent had had time to
spruce up, Pasquale's eldest boy rode around all the _jacals_, ringing
a small handbell to summon the population to the dedication. Outside of
our home crowd, we had forty white guests, not including the two Booth
children and the priests. As fast as the rangers were made presentable,
the master and mistress introduced them to all the girls present. Of
course, there were a few who could not be enticed near a woman, but
Quayle and Happersett, like kindred spirits, took the backward ones
under their wing, and the procession started for the chapel.

The audience was typical of the Texas frontier at the close of the
'70's. Two priests of European birth conducted the services. Pioneer
cowmen of various nationalities and their families intermingled and
occupied central seats. By the side of his host, a veteran of '36, when
Mexican rule was driven from the land, sat Lieutenant Barr, then engaged
in accomplishing a second redemption of the state from crime and
lawlessless. Lovable and esteemed men were present, who had followed the
fortunes of war until the Southern flag, to which they had rallied, went
down in defeat. The younger generation of men were stalwart in physique,
while the girls were modest in their rustic beauty. Sitting on the
cement floor on three sides of us were the natives of the ranch,
civilized but with little improvement over their Aztec ancestors.

The dedicatory exercises were brief and simple. Every one was invited to
remain for the celebration of the first mass in the newly consecrated
building. Many who were not communicants accepted, but noticing the
mistress and my sweetheart taking their leave, I joined them and
assisted in arranging the tables so that al