he desert they hurried for the enlarged stems of the
desert trumpet which was to serve that day for an appetizer in the stead
of pickles. Here, too, they filled a bucket from the heart of a big
Bisnaga cactus as a basis for their drink. Among Katherine O'Donovan's
cooking utensils there was a box of delicious cactus candy made from the
preserved and sun-dried heart meat of this same fruit which was to serve
as their confection. On the way back they stopped at the bridge and
gathered cress for their salad. When they returned to Katy she had five
fine trout lying in the shade, and with more experienced eyes and a more
skillful hand Linda in a few minutes doubled this number. Then they tore
out the dam, rinsed the screen and spread it over a rock to dry. While
Donald scaled the fish Linda put the greens to cook, prepared the salad
and set the table. Once, as he worked under her supervision, Linda said
to Donald: "Now about bread, kid--there's not going to be any bread,
because the Indians did not have it when they lived the way we are
living today. When you reach the place where your left hand feels empty
without a piece of bread in it, just butter up another amole and try
it. It will serve the same purpose as bread, and be much better for the
inner man."

"If you would let me skin these fish," said Donald, "I could do it much
faster and make a better job of it."

"But you shouldn't skin them; you want the skin to hold the meat
together when it begins to cook tender; and you should be able to peel
it off and discard it if it burns or gets smoky in the cooking. It's a
great concession to clean them as we do. The Indians cooked them in the
altogether and ate the meat from the bones."

"Oh my tummy!" said Donald. "I always thought there was some dark secret
about the Indians."

Linda sat on a rock opposite him and clasped her hands around her knees.
She looked at him meditatively.

"Did you?" she asked. "Suppose you revise that opinion. Our North
American Indians in their original state were as fine as any peoples
that ever have been discovered the round of the globe. My grandfather
came into intimate contact with them in the early days, and he said that
their religion, embracing the idea of a great spirit to whom they were
responsible for their deeds here, and a happy hunting ground to which
they went as a reward for decent living, was as fine as any religion
that ever has been practiced by people of any nation. Immoral