made head shepherd.

On all sides were beaming faces, smiles, and glad cries of greeting.
Underneath these were affectionate hearts quaking with fear lest the
home-coming be but a sad one after all. Vaguely they knew a little of
what their dear Senorita had been through since she left them; it seemed
that she must be sadly altered by so much sorrow, and that it would
be terrible to her to come back to the place so full of painful
associations. "And the Senora gone, too," said one of the outdoor hands,
as they were talking it over; "it's not the same place at all that it
was when the Senora was here."

"Humph!" muttered Juan Can, more consequential and overbearing than
ever, for this year of absolute control of the estate. "Humph! that's
all you know. A good thing the Senora died when she did, I can tell you!
We'd never have seen the Senorita back here else; I can tell you that,
my man! And for my part, I'd much rather be under Senor Felipe and the
Senorita than under the Senora, peace to her ashes! She had her day.
They can have theirs now."

When these loving and excited retainers saw Ramona--pale, but with her
own old smile on her face--coming towards them with her babe in her
arms, they broke into wild cheering, and there was not a dry eye in the
group.

Singling out old Marda by a glance, Ramona held out the baby towards
her, and said in her old gentle, affectionate voice, "I am sure you will
love my baby, Marda!"

"Senorita! Senorita! God bless you, Senorita!" they cried; and closed
up their ranks around the baby, touching her, praising her, handing her
from one to another.

Ramona stood for a few seconds watching them; then she said, "Give her
to me, Marda. I will myself carry her into the house;" and she moved
toward the inner door.

"This way, dear; this way," cried Felipe. "It is Father Salvierderra's
room I ordered to be prepared for you, because it is so sunny for the
baby!"

"Thanks, kind Felipe!" cried Ramona, and her eyes said more than her
words. She knew he had divined the one thing she had most dreaded in
returning,--the crossing again the threshold of her own room. It would
be long now before she would enter that room. Perhaps she would never
enter it. How tender and wise of Felipe!

Yes; Felipe was both tender and wise, now. How long would the wisdom
hold the tenderness in leash, as he day after day looked upon the face
of this beautiful woman,--so much more beautiful now than she had been