g over her shoulder
in a fold of red blanket. Mexican families from the country marched in
single file, the men first, then the women enveloped in huge black shawls,
carrying babies and leading older children by the hand. Cowboys, Indians
and soldiers raced their horses through the swarming street with reckless
skill. Automobiles honked and fretted. The street cars, bulging humanity
at every door and window, strove in vain to relieve the situation. Several
children and numerous pigs and chickens were run over. From the unpaved
street to the cloudless sky rose a vast cloud of dust, such as only a
rainless country made of sand can produce. Dust was in every one's eyes
and mouth and upon every one's clothing. It was the unofficial badge of
the gathering. It turned the green of the cottonwood trees to grey, and
lay in wait for unsuspecting teeth between the halves of hamburger
sandwiches sold at corner booths.

Ramon, who had obtained a pass to the grounds through the influence of his
uncle, went to the fair every day, although he was not really pleased with
it. He was assured by every one that it was the greatest fair ever held in
the southwest, but to him it seemed smaller, dustier and less exciting
than the fairs he had attended in his boyhood.

This impression harmonized with a general feeling of discontent which had
possessed him since his return. He had obtained a position in the office
of a lawyer at fifty dollars a month, and spent the greater part of each
day making out briefs and borrowing books for his employer from other
lawyers. It seemed to him a petty and futile occupation, and the way to
anything better was long and obscure. The town was full of other young
lawyers who were doing the same things and doing them with a better grace
than he. They were impelled by a great desire to make money. He, too,
would have liked a great deal of money, but he had no taste for piling it
up dollar by dollar. The only thing that cheered him was the prospect of
inheriting his uncle's wealth, and that was an uncertain prospect. Don
Diego seemed to be doing what he could to get rid of his property before
he died.

Local society did not please Ramon either. The girls of the gringo
families were not nearly as pretty, for the most part, as the ones he had
seen in the East. The dryness and the scorching sun had a bad effect on
their complexions. The girls of his own race did not much interest him;
his liking was for blondes. And b