ally, and Felipe still one whole leap behind, until a
derisive shout, a feminine exclamation of shrieking glee, awoke Felipe
to the spectacle he was making of himself before the eyes of the
community. He stopped; growled disappointed rage; darted back along the
trail. Once in the privacy of his house, he hurriedly donned his clothes
and gave himself over to deliberations. The result of these
deliberations was that he concluded to return to work.

After a scant breakfast of chili and coffee he moved out to the corral.
He leaned his arms upon the fence and surveyed the colt with fresh
interest.

"Thot li'l' _caballo_," he began, "he's bringin' me mooch good
luck. Thot _potrillo_ he's wort' seven--he's
wort'--_si_--eight dolars--thot _potrillo_. I t'ink I haf sell
heem, too--queek--in town! But first I must go cuttin' thee wood!" With
this he let down the bars and entered the inclosure. Then his thoughts
took an abrupt turn. "I keel thot Pedro Garcia soomtime--bet you' life!
He's stealin' fleas off a dog--thot _hombre_!"

Felipe drove the borrowed horse out of the inclosure, and then singled
out the mate to the mare. As he harnessed up this horse, the colt,
standing close by, revealed marked interest. Also, as Felipe led the
horse out of the corral the colt followed till shut off by the bars,
which Felipe hurriedly put up. But they did not discourage him. He
remained very close to them, peering out between the while Felipe
hitched the team to his empty lumber rigging. Then came the crack of a
whip, loud creaking of greaseless wheels, the voice of Felipe in lusty
demand, all as the outfit set out up the trail toward the timber-slopes.
But not till the earth was still again, the cloud of dust in the trail
completely subsided, did the colt turn away from the bars and seek his
mother, and then with a look in his soft-blinking eyes that told of
concentrated pondering on these mysteries of life.

CHAPTER III

A SURPRISE

Next morning, having returned from the timber-slopes, Felipe, fresh and
radiant, appeared outside the corral in holiday attire. Part of this
attire was a pair of brand-new overalls. Indeed, the overalls were so
new that they crackled; and Felipe appeared quite conscious of their
newness, for he let down the bars with great care, and with even greater
care stepped into the inclosure. Then it was seen, since he was a
Mexican who ran true to form, there was a flaw in all this splendor. For
he had dr