my Senorita," he said. "Look here;"
and turning towards the willows, he gave two or three low whistles, at
the first note of which Baba came trotting out of the copse to the end
of his lariat, and began to snort and whinny with delight as soon as he
perceived Ramona.

Ramona burst into tears. The surprise was too great.

"Are you not glad, Senorita?" cried Alessandro, aghast. "Is it not your
own horse? If you do not wish to take him, I will lead him back. My pony
can carry you, if we journey very slowly. But I thought it would be joy
to you to have Baba."

"Oh, it is! it is!" sobbed Ramona, with her head on Baba's neck. "It is
a miracle,--a miracle. How did he come here? And, the saddle too!" she
cried, for the first time observing that. "Alessandro," in an awe-struck
whisper, "did the saints send him? Did you find him here?" It would have
seemed to Ramona's faith no strange thing, had this been so.

"I think the saints helped me to bring him," answered Alessandro,
seriously, "or else I had not done it so easily. I did but call, near
the corral-fence, and he came to my hand, and leaped over the rails at
my word, as quickly as Capitan might have done. He is yours, Senorita.
It is no harm to take him?"

"Oh, no!" answered Ramona. "He is more mine than anything else I had;
for it was Felipe gave him to me when he could but just stand on his
legs; he was only two days old; and I have fed him out of my hand every
day till now; and now he is five. Dear Baba, we will never be parted,
never!" and she took his head in both her hands, and laid her cheek
against it lovingly.

Alessandro was busy, fastening the two nets on either side of the
saddle. "Baba will never know he has a load at all; they are not so
heavy as my Senorita thought," he said. "It was the weight on the
forehead, with nothing to keep the strings from the skin, which gave her
pain."

Alessandro was making all haste. His hands trembled. "We must make all
the speed we can, dearest Senorita," he said, "for a few hours. Then we
will rest. Before light, we will be in a spot where we can hide safely
all day. We will journey only by night, lest they pursue us."

"They will not," said Ramona. "There is no danger. The Senora said she
should do nothing. 'Nothing!'" she repeated, in a bitter tone. "That is
what she made Felipe say, too. Felipe wanted to help us. He would have
liked to have you stay with us; but all he could get was, that she would
do 'nothing!' Bu