ery stout so they got her in without any
trouble.

They put in the brasero and all the other things, and last of all Pancho
and Pedro climbed on board themselves, hoisted the sail, and pushed off.
Luckily the breeze was just right, and they floated away over the blue
water at about the time of day that you first begin to think of waking
up.

III

Even with a good breeze it took nearly an hour to sail across the lake.
If they hadn't been in such a hurry to see the fun in town, the Twins
and Pablo would have wished to have it take longer still.

Far away across the lake they could see the town with its little
bright-colored adobe houses and the spire of the church standing up
above the tree-tops.

As they drew nearer and nearer, they could see a bridge, and people
passing over it, and flags flying, and then they turned into a river
which ran through the town, where there were many other boats.

It took some time to find a good place to tie the boat, but at last it
was done, and the whole party went ashore and started up the street
toward the open square in the middle of the town.

Pedro and Pancho went ahead, each carrying three bundles of reeds on his
back. Then came Pedro's wife with the bag of sweet potatoes, while Dona
Teresa carried the baby. Pablo had the brasero and the wood, and Tonio
and Tita brought up the rear with the molasses jug, the cooking-dishes,
and their Judases all carefully packed together.

"Now, mind you, Tonio," said Dona Teresa as the procession started,
"don't you get to watching everything in the street and forget that jug
of molasses."

[Illustration]

It was pretty hard to keep your mind on a jug when there were so many
wonderful things to see. In the first place there was the street itself.
No one had ever seen it so gay! Strings had been stretched back and
forth across the street from the flat tops of the houses on either side,
and from these strings hung thousands of tissue-paper streamers and
pennants in all sorts of gorgeous colors.

The houses in Mexican towns are close to the street-line and stand very
near together. They are built around a tiny open space in the center
called a patio. The living-rooms open on the patio, so all that can be
seen of a house from the street is a blank wall with a doorway, and
perhaps a window or two with little balconies. Sometimes, if the door is
open, there are glimpses of plants, flowers, and bird-cages in the
little patio.

Pablo and