ifornia. Diego, who was
of a roving disposition, had wandered off to the south, working at his
trade of carpentry as the mood seized him, or the state of his pocket
forced him, now here, now there, until finally he found himself in
the coast town of San Blas. This was the point from which many of the
expeditions to the northern province set sail; and the busy preparations
for departure, which Diego witnessed, fired his desire to join a company
about to leave for the remote, half-mythical region in the north. This
he did, and, some weeks later, landed at Monterey, whence, in the course
of the next year, he worked his way south until he reached Mission San
Buenaventura. Here he settled down permanently, having grown tired of
his aimless life, and became an active and useful man to the Father.
Communication between the two countries in those days was infrequent,
and Benito had heard his brother was settled at San Buenaventura only
after he had been there nearly a year. Diego described, in glowing
terms, the advantages of the province--the fine climate, exceeding
fertility of the soil, land to be had for the asking, where everything
necessary and desired could be grown, and his own content, far away,
though he was, from his old home. This letter had reached Benito when
he was at the lowest ebb of his fortunes. The glowing language of his
brother's description of Nueva California awakened an intense longing
in his heart to go there and make a new beginning, under more favorable
influences. He said nothing to Maria, but wrote a letter to Diego,
telling of his troubles, and asking if there were room for himself and
wife in that new land. This he sent off by a friend to San Blas, where
it was given over to a priest who, in turn, was to deliver it into the
charge of the next expedition to be sent out. Benito had written nearly
six months before, and had about given up looking for an answer, when a
neighbor, returning home from the town, handed him a letter as he passed
by. His brother gave him encouraging news and advised him to come,
ending with the words quoted above. After reading it, Benito hastened
to find Maria, and with her by his side on the little porch he read it
again to her.

At last Maria broke the silence:

"Benito, I am glad you wrote to Diego, and I feel sure the best thing
for us to do is to go. How can we keep on in the way we have been doing
the last two years? I am tired and disheartened, and I know you are