then he laughed, 'but saint's day or birthday, it is all the same, I'm twenty-three to day." "Yes, 'twas twenty-three he said," confirmed another, "and do you remember how he reddened and laughed when I told him he was old enough to think of wedding?" "But vexed enough," added another, "when I repeated our old proverb, 'Who goes far to marry, goes to deceive or be deceived.' I meant no ill, but he turned on me like a hornet. But poor young fellow, all his quick tempers are over now; he'll be quiet enough till the judgment day-cursed be the hand that struck him!" "Come! come!" suddenly broke in Don Rafael, "no more of this chatter; clear the room for the Señor Alcalde," and with much important bustle, and portentous gravity, the official in question entered. He had, in fact, been one of the first to hasten to the scene of the murder, for the time forgetting the dignity of his position, of which in his ragged frazada, his battered straw hat, and unkempt locks, there was little to remind either himself or his fellow villagers. However, on the alcalde being called for, he immediately dropped his rôle of curioso libre, and proceeded with the most stately formality to the hacienda de beneficio. After viewing the dead body, he made most copious notes of the supposed manner of assassination, which were chiefly remarkable in differing entirely from the reality; and gave profuse orders for the following of the murderer or murderers, delivering at the same time to Don Rafael Gomez the effects of the deceased, for safe keeping and ultimate transmission to the relatives; meanwhile delivering himself of many sapient remarks, to the great satisfaction of his hearers. It appeared upon examination of various persons connected with the reduction works that the young American had been in the habit of riding forth at night, sometimes attended by a servant, but often alone, spending hours of the beautiful moonlight in exploring the deep cañons of the mountains; having, seemingly, a peculiar love for their wild solitudes and an utter disregard of dan ger. More than once when he had ventured forth alone, the gatekeeper or clerk had remonstrated, but he had laughed at their fears; and in fact, it was the mere habit of caution that had suggested them; the whole country being at that time remarkably free from marauders, and the idea that John Ashleyalmost a stranger, so courteous, so well liked by inferiors, as well as those who called themselves his equals or superiors-should have a personal enemy, never entered the mind of even the most suspicious. But for once, the cowards were justified; the brave man had fallen; the days of his young and daring life were ended. The alcalde and Don Rafael were eloquent in grave encomiums of his worth, and regret for his folly, as they at last left the hacienda de beneficio together. They had agreed that a letter must be written to the American consul, in Mexico, with full particulars, and that he should be asked to communicate with the family of the deceased; but as several days, or even weeks, must necessarily elapse before he could be heard. from, that the murdered man should be buried upon the following day. To wait longer was both useless and unusual. And so, these matters being satisfactorily arranged, the alcalde and administrador, both, perhaps, ready for breakfast, parted. The latter at the gate of the hacienda met the major domo, who whispered to him mysteriously, and finally led him to the courtyard, where the forsaken mule was munching his fodder. A pair of sandals lay there. Pedro, had he wished, could have shown a striped blanket and hat, that he had picked up near the gateway and concealed; but the mule and sandals were patent to all. "Well, what then ?" cried Don Rafael impatiently, when he had minutely inspected them, turning the sandals with his foot as he stared at the animal. Aliette (Octave Feuillet), 99.-Alton Locke (Kingsley), 438.-American Commonwealths: Royce's California, 216, 222, 329.—American Diplomacy (Eugene Schuyler), 213.—American Four-in-Hand in Great Britain, An, (Carnegie), 560.-Anna Karénina (Tolstoï), 104.—— Arnold's (Edwin) India Revisited, 335.-Atalanta in the South (Mand Howe), 107.-Ausgewählte Briefe (Schiller), 559. Balzac's César Birotteau, 435; Duchesse de Langeais, Etc., 99; Eugenie Grandet, 435; Père Goriot, 99.-Baring-Gould's and Gilman's The Story of Germany, 444.-Barlow, Joel, Life and Letters of, (Charles Burr Todd), 334.—Beckonings for Every Day, 668.-Bietigheim, 448.Blair's Unwise Laws, 336.-Blue and Gold, The, 224.-Boyesen's The Story of Norway, 444. Boys' Book of Famous Rulers, The, 671.-Boys' Book of Sports, The, 670.-Burglars in Paradise (Elizabeth Stuart Phelps), 107.-Burnett's (Frances Hodgson) Little Lord Fauntleroy, 670.-Burrough's (John) Signs and Seasons, 220. California (Josiah Royce, American Commonwealths), 216, 222, 329-California Greeting, A, (Art Students' League), 669.-California, History of (Theodore H. Hittell), 447.-Canoeing in Kanuckia (Norton and Habberton), -—.—Carthage, The Story of, (Church and Gilman), 672.-César Birotteau (Balzac), 435.-Childhood-Boyhood-Youth (Tolstoï), 436. Children's Books, 670.-Chivalric Days (E. S. Brooks), 671.-Choson (Percival Lowell), 111.-Christmas Country, and Other Tales, The, 671-Colfax, Schuyler, Life of, 674—Constance of Acadia, 328.--Constitutional Law of the United States, Introduction to, (John Norton Pomeroy), 674.—Crack of Doom, The (William Minto), 325.—Cruise of the Alabama, The, 558.-Cut (Cervus), 326. Dante, A Study of (Susan E. Blow), 448.-Death of Hewfik Pasha, The, 325.-Demos, 106.-- English Hymns (Samuel Willoughby Duffield), 112. Eugénie Grandet (Balzac), 435. Germany, The Story of, (Baring-Gould and Gilman), 444.-Glimpses of Three Coasts (Helen Hale's (E. E. and Susan) The Story of Spain, 414.-Hamlet's Note Book (W. D. O'Connor), 332.-Handbook of English History (Guest and Underwood), 445.-Hardy's (Arthur) The Wind of Destiny, 108.-Her Own Doing, 325.-Hetty's Strange Story (Helen Jackson, "H. H."), 109.--Histories, Young People's: England, Germany, Norway, Spain, 443; Carthage, Hungary.-History of California (Theodore H. Hittell), 447.-History of Democracy, The, 559.-Holiday Books, 668.-Household Remedies, 336.-Hunting Trips of a Ranchman (Theodore Roosevelt), 223.-Hungary, The Story of (Vambéry), 672.-Hutchings's (J. W.) In the Heart of the Sierras, 560. If Love be Love, 106.-India Revisited (Edwin Arnold), 335.-In the Heart of the Sierras, (J. W. Hutchings), 560.-In the Old Palazzo, 325.-Introduction to the Constitutional Law of the United States, (John Norton Pomeroy), 674. Jackson's (Helen, "H. H.") Glimpses of Three Coasts, 211; Hetty's Strange Story, 109; Mercy Philbrick's Choice, 109.-Jewett's (Sarah Orne) A White Heron, 440.-Jewish Altar, The, 448.-Jo's Boys (Louisa M. Alcott), 671.--Justina, 327. Kidnapped (R. L. Stevenson), 328.--Kingsley's Alton Locke, 438. Lay of the Last Minstrel, The, 668.-Letters to Dead Authors (Andrew Lang), 220.-Letters to Our Children, 670.-Life and Letters of Joel Barlow, 334.-Life of Robert Fulton, 556.-Life of Schuyler Colfax, 674.--Like Lucifer, 325.-Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett), 670.-Little Master, The, (J. T. Trowbridge), 670.—Lives of Girls who Became Famous (Sarah K. Bolton), 672.-Longfellow's Prose Works, 672.-Loughead's (Flora Haines) The Man Who was Guilty, 107. 195. 266 459 .292 561 |