d more than ever by the desolation and
loneliness of the place. The grounds had been surrounded by an adobe
wall, now broken through in many places. On one side had been a little
flower garden, and on the other a larger kitchen garden. One or two late
roses bloomed in the flower garden, but most of it had been destroyed by
weather.

Ned and the others cut armfuls of grass in a little meadow, just beyond
the adobe wall, and they hastened the work. They did not like the looks
of the night. The skies were darkening very fast, and they saw
occasional flashes of lightning in the far southwest. Ned looked back at
the convent. It was now an almost formless bulk against the somber sky,
its most prominent feature being the cupola in which a bronze bell still
hung.

The wind rose and cold drops of rain struck him. He shivered. It
promised to be one of those raw, cold nights frequent in the southwest,
and he knew that the rain would be chill and penetrating. He was glad
that they had found the convent.

They gave the grass to the horses, and then they went into the main
portion of the convent, where Bowie and the rest were already at work.
Here the ruin was not so great, as the Spaniards had built in a solid
manner, according to their custom. They found a large room, with an open
fireplace, in which Ned would have been glad to see wood blazing, but
Bowie did not consider it worth while to gather materials for a fire.
Adjoining this room was a chapel, in which a pulpit, a desecrated image
of the Virgin, and some frames without the pictures, yet remained. Anger
filled Ned's heart that anyone should plunder and spoil such a place,
and he turned sorrowfully away.

Back of the large rooms were workrooms, kitchen and laundry, all
stripped of nearly everything. The narrow stairway that led to the upper
floor was in good condition, and, when Ned mounted it, he saw rows of
narrow little cell-like rooms in which the nuns had slept. All were
bleak and bare, but, from a broken window at the end of the corridor, he
looked out upon the San Antonio and the forests of oak and pecan. He
could barely see the river, the night had grown so dark. The cold rain
increased and was lashed against the building by a moaning wind. Once
more Ned shivered, and once more he was glad that they had found the old
convent. He was glad to return to the main room, where Bowie and the
others were gathered.

The room had been lighted by two windows, facing the Sa