on was
almost beyond him. "Oh, Lawd!" he gasped. Turning to Felipe, "Thet's
mammy," he said. "She wuz real fond o' both on 'em." Turning to his
mother, "This hyar's her brother," he said. "He jest knowed me by Baba,
hyar on ther street. He's been huntin' 'em everywhar."

Aunt Ri grasped the situation instantly. Wiping her streaming eyes, she
sobbed out: "Wall, I'll allow, arter this, thar is sech a thing ez a
Providence, ez they call it. 'Pears like ther couldn't ennythin' less
brung yer hyar jest naow. I know who yer be; ye're her brother Feeleepy,
ain't yer? Menny's ther time she's tolt me about yer! Oh, Lawd! How air
we ever goin' to git ter her? I allow she's dead! I allow she'd never
live arter seein' him shot down dead! He tolt me thar couldn't nobody
git up thar whar they'd gone; no white folks, I mean. Oh, Lawd, Lawd!"

Felipe stood paralyzed, horror-stricken. He turned in despair to Jos.
"Tell me in Spanish," he said. "I cannot understand."

As Jos gradually drew out the whole story from his mother's excited and
incoherent speech, and translated it, Felipe groaned aloud, "Too late!
Too late!" He too felt, as Aunt Ri had, that Ramona never could have
survived the shock of seeing her husband murdered. "Too late! Too late!"
he cried, as he staggered into the house. "She has surely died of the
sight."

"I allow she didn't die, nuther," said Jos; "not ser long ez she hed
thet young un to look arter!"

"Yer air right, Jos!" said Aunt Ri. "I allow yer air right. Thar
couldn't nothin' kill her, short er wild beasts, ef she hed ther baby
'n her arms! She ain't dead, not ef the baby ez erlive, I allow. Thet's
some comfort."

Felipe sat with his face buried in his hands. Suddenly looking up, he
said, "How far is it?"

"Thirty miles 'n' more inter the valley, where we wuz," said Jos; "'n'
the Lawd knows how fur 'tis up on ter the mounting, where they wuz
livin'. It's like goin' up the wall uv a house, goin' up San Jacinto
Mounting, daddy sez. He wuz thar huntin' all summer with Alessandro."

How strange, how incredible it seemed, to hear Alessandro's name thus
familiarly spoken,--spoken by persons who had known him so recently, and
who were grieving, grieving as friends, to hear of his terrible death!
Felipe felt as if he were in a trance. Rousing himself, he said, "We
must go. We must start at once. You will let me have the horses?"

"Wall, I allow yer've got more right ter 'em 'n--" began Jos,
energetically, f