e till now thought it a luxury; now he tosses on it, and says it is
throwing him all the time."

Alessandro smiled, in spite of his reverence for the Senora. "I once lay
down on one myself, Senora," he said, "and that was what I said to my
father. It was like a wild horse under me, making himself ready to buck.
I thought perhaps the invention was of the saints, that men should not
sleep too long."

"There is a pile of raw-hides," said Juan, "well cured, but not too
stiff; Juan Jose was to have sent them off to-day to be sold; one of
those will be just right. It must not be too dry."

"The fresher the better," said Alessandro, "so it have no dampness.
Shall I make the bed, Senora?" he asked, "and will the Senora permit
that I make it on the veranda? I was just asking Juan Can if he thought
I might be so bold as to ask you to let me bring Senor Felipe into the
outer air. With us, it is thought death to be shut up in walls, as he
has been so long. Not till we are sure to die, do we go into the dark
like that."

The Senora hesitated. She did not share Alessandro's prejudice in favor
of fresh air.

"Night and day both?" she said. "Surely it is not well to sleep out in
the night?"

"That is the best of all, Senora," replied Alessandro, earnestly. "I beg
the Senora to try it. If Senor Felipe have not mended greatly after the
first night he had so slept, then Alessandro will be a liar."

"No, only mistaken," said the Senora, gently. She felt herself greatly
drawn to this young man by his devotion, as she thought, of Felipe.
"When I die and leave Felipe here," she had more than once said to
herself, "it would be a great good to him to have such a servant as this
on the place."

"Very well, Alessandro," she replied; "make the bed, and we will try it
at once."

This was early in the forenoon. The sun was still high in the west,
when Ramona, sitting as usual in the veranda, at her embroidery, saw
Alessandro coming, followed by two men, bearing the raw-hide bed.

"What can that be?" she said. "Some new invention of Alessandro's, but
for what?"

"A bed for the Senor Felipe, Senorita," said Alessandro, running lightly
up the steps. "The Senora has given permission to place it here on the
veranda, and Senor Felipe is to lie here day and night; and it will be
a marvel in your eyes how he will gain strength. It is the close room
which is keeping him weak now; he has no illness."

"I believe that is the truth, Alessandro,"