er short,
drive for two or three hours before The Jehu called a halt. He explained
that we should require at least an hour for the unloading and erection
of the tents, tables, etc., before dusk; therefore, as the sun was only
a hand's breadth from the horizon (roughly speaking, an hour before
setting), we must dismount. He had chosen a pleasant spot for the camp
of the night, not far from a small ranch, and here the coaches halted.
Of course the luggage carts could not come up until some time later, as
their loads were so much heavier, and My Lady became even more popular
than usual when she suggested that the wait should be beguiled with a
cup of tea, and produced her tea-basket from the coach; true, we found
that there was no tea, but My Lady had plenty of cocoa. Water was
obtained from the house near by, and a very welcome cup of cocoa handed
round, accompanied by an unexpected slice of cake which apparently
appeared from nowhere, and which disappeared equally effectively, for it
was decidedly useful fodder and appreciated as such by all.

We discovered here that our friend "Monte" had declined to go back after
lunch with his present master to Lucero, but had chosen to accompany his
past master on this expedition. His presence was an agreeable surprise.
He was found surveying the party with his calm scrutiny, and apparently
he approved of our spot for camping, also of the cake.

As The Chaperon could find no work to do before the carts arrived, he,
for once, relaxed from his terrible strain of usefulness, and tided over
the tedious hour by trying to "throw the knife" in the most approved
cowboy manner. As each member of the party had had their "tea" (he was
practising with the knife which was used for the carving of the
cake--and anything else, when needed), no one objected to this harmless
amusement on his part, provided he did not pitch the knife on to their
toes; and, after long exercise, with the help of The Wild Man, who is
an adept at these tricks, The Chaperon at last succeeded in "throwing
the knife" to his satisfaction, and others' terror. A sigh of relief
escaped the lips of those who were dodging the knife when they saw the
luggage-carts looming in the distance. They at once drew the attention
of The Chaperon to the approach of the carts, and were rejoiced to see
him return the weapon to its sheath (in his leggings), and stiffen into
the attitude of action once more.

No sooner were the carts on the spot