A Summer in a Canyon

y, from me

d wood and

ilent wi

as quite two o'clock, instead of half-past twelve, as they had expected, before they were lan

packages to see if anything had bee

attle were browsing near by, and the locality seemed to be well supplied with lizards, which darted over the dusty ground in all directions. But the startling point of the lands

ho have f

is way and never ar

Hilario Noriega have grown ti

o Noriega been drinking too much ag

ghway robbers, and served up in

stions and exclamations that greeted the ears of the lizards, and ca

gh to lose his way coming fifty miles down the coast,

im,' added Aunt

d we can't get into camp this evening. Shall we go up to the neare

he young people, wit

ave vowed that a bed shall not know me

goods are there all right, and whether the men saw Pancho on his way up to the ca?on. Meanwhile, Phil and I will ride over here somewher

the camp to-night, someho

can't reach the ground I selected before dark and we can't choose any nearer one, b

t latest. Now it's bright moonlight, and if we find Pancho, he'll have the baggage unloaded, and Hop Yet will have a fire lighted. What's to prevent our

ed a most enthus

are all agreed, I suppose we may as wel

it didn't come, after all. Well, it was so in this case; for just as Dr. Winship and the boys started out over the hillside at a

ief when there issued from the dense grey cloud the familiar four-horse team, with Daisy, Tule Molly, Villik

being translated by Dr. Winship, furnished a

goods were already packed in his wood-cart he would follow them immediately. So the whole party started without more delay; Dr. and M

, and hungry, although he had been consuming ginger-snaps and apricots since early morning. After asking plaintively for the fiftieth time how long it woul

oad, winding as it did through grand old growths of trees, acres and acres of waving grain, and endless stretches of gorgeous yellow must

ildren playing in the sunshine, while their mother, black-haired and ample of figure, occupied herself i

ence, gave the poor animal a desperately tight 'cinch,' threw himself into the saddle without touching his foot to the lumbering wooden stirrups,

ship, savagely. 'I wish they were all obliged

illennium,' said Jack, sagely, 'for t

eats of horsemanship. They dropped four-bit pieces on the dusty road, and riding up to them at full speed clutched them from the ground in some mysterious way th

ped at the top of the hill to let the horses breathe, one of the little Mexi

ht a rich colour to her nut-brown cheek; she had one little flimsy, ragged garment, neither long, broad, nor thick, which hung about her picturesquely; and, with her soft,

your name, little one?) asked Bell, air

cent, as she scratched a set of five grimy

sita caught the piece of silver very deftly, and ran excitedly b

ma?' said Bell. 'The fruit is so immense, the ca?ons so deep, the tree

l was talking in rhyme without knowing it. 'California is just the place for you

dignity. 'When I wish to describe you, for instance, I

o private life

sketching, 'and call it The Summer Child, or some such thing. I should think the fa

to the surface again, after Bell's rebuke, and delivering h

d, much less spell it. I don't see how it grows under such an abominable Russian

r ichthy

n the world w

ainted w

irst hear

a long whil

they call it la copa de oro, the golden cup. Oh, see

joyous carnival of vivid colour, in which the thousand golden goblets, turned upward to the sun, were dancing, an

rmed young girl should know at least the flora of her o

y, irreverently, but meeting Aunt Truth's reproving glance, which brought a blush and a whispered 'Excuse me,' she went on, 'Well, what I mean is, he doesn't know any more than other people, after all; for he car

p roots and tie them to the pommel of his old saddle, so that we came into town looking like moving herbariums. The stable-man lifted him on to his horse when he

thing but easy riding. There they met some men who were driving an enormous band of sheep to a distant ranch for pastu

ed tone, 'Why, do they?' giving her the longed-for opportunity to respon

'That's an ancient joke. Just look at those she

-a thousand, certainly; and

und anything to eat on these bare, brown hillsides, until the farmers showed me the prickly little burr clover balls that cover the gro

at nothing is so calculated to disturb your faith in and love for lambs

osed Bell. 'That's what Carlyle called one Lamb,-dear Mr. "Roas

the ca?on. I found them,-that was comparatively easy; but when I tried to get them home, I couldn't. At last, after infinite trouble, I managed to drive them up on to the trail, which was so narrow there was but one thing for a rational creature to do, and that was to go

these people who interfere with all your cherished ideas, and say that Columbus didn't disc

rofound stupidity. There is that charming old lyric about Mary's little lamb; I can explain that. After

e teacher tu

he linge

ed patie

y did ap

e didn't know enoug

he ran to

upon he

ay, 'I'm n

me from al

capable of that amount

s the lamb

er chil

oves the lam

cher di

day and twice on Sundays, he probably not only knew on which

; we are going to meet some respectable people, and we actual

aid Polly, sagely. 'Why, it is

ho two hours before, and that he was busily clearing rubbish from the camping-ground. This was six o'clock, and by a little after eight the weary, happy party were s

age and getting to rights generally, but Dr. Winship placed a prompt and decisiv

into a profound slumber at once, with the happy unconsciousness of childhood. His father completed the preparations for his comfort by opening

generally walk to and fro in the room, eating a bunch of grapes or an orange, look out of the window five or ten minutes, brush my hair, read my chapter in the Bible, take m

Polly, wickedly. 'Seems to me it would hav

he point-but the languages. Besides, she didn't learn all

ers the case. Thank you,'

raise my right foot considerably from mother earth, with a view to passing it over the hammock's edge. Every move is calculated, you perceive, and produces its own share of the perfect result; the method is the same that Rachel used in rehearsing her wond

motion, she gave a sudden lurch, pulled the hammock entirely over herself and fell out head first on the other side, leaving her feet tangled in its meshes. 'Shall we help her out, Meg? She

ed, and looked su

en to criticism; so I think we'll manage in our ordinary savage way. We m

icked flea of California, which man pursueth but seldom catcheth, is apt, on many a summer night, to interfere shamelessly with slu

for sleep. 'Bell, you must keep one eye open, for the coyotes will be steali

that one victim always slakes the animals' thirst for blood. Well, let them come on.

young party

ut of doors

ed how s

she was

ise doing

l be able to drive Bell off her o

n your present condition of mind a

, you remember, poets are not fit, but nascitur,-don't y

the dark places, midst the branches of thick foliage, the owls hooted gloomily. If you had happened to be an owl in that vicinity, you might have heard not only the feverish tossing to and fro of the girl

ore the fire, and constituted their pillow; on this their heads reposed, each decorated with a tightly fitting silk handkerchief; then came a compact, papoose-like roll

ion of her eyes, I fear Polly was reviewing former happy nights spent on spring-beds; and at this particular moment the realities of camping-out hardly equalled her anticipations. Whatever may have been her feelings, however, they were promptly sti