' !' ' 
 
 .- /:...- 
 
 
 AM ; 
 
BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
BY MRS.ATHERTON 
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 CALIFORNIA: An Intimate History 
 
 THE CONQUEROR 
 
 A FEW OF HAMILTON'S LETTERS 
 
 FICTION 
 CALIFORNIA SERIES 
 
 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME, Containing REZANOV [1806] 
 
 and THE DOOMS WOMAN [1840JJ 
 THE SPLENDID IDLE FORTIES [1800-46] 
 A DAUGHTER OF THE VINE [The Sixties] 
 AMERICAN WIVES AND ENGLISH HUSBANDS [The Eighties] 
 THE CALIFORNIANS [The Eighties] 
 
 A WHIRL ASUNDER [The Nineties] 
 ANCESTORS [Present] 
 
 THE VALIANT RUNAWAYS: A Book for Boys [1840] 
 
 FICTION STUDIES OF OTHER PARTS 
 OF THE WORLD 
 
 PERCH OF THE DEVIL [Montana] 
 
 TOWER OF IVORY [Munich] 
 
 JULIA FRANCE AND HER TIMES [B.W. 1. and England] 
 
 RULERS OF KINGS [Austria, Hungary and the Adirondacks] 
 
 THE TRAVELLING THIRDS [Spain] 
 
 THE GORGEOUS ISLE [Nevis, B.W.I.] 
 
 SENATOR NORTH [Washington] 
 
 PATIENCE SPARHAWK AND HER TIMES [Monterey, California, 
 
 and New York] 
 THE ARISTOCRATS [The Adirondacks] 
 
 MRS. PENDLETON'S FOUR-IN-HAND [New York] 
 
 THE BELL IN THE FOG : Short Stories of Various Climes and 
 Phases 
 
BEFORE THE 
 GRINGO CAME 
 
 ("REZANOV'ond "THE DOOMSWOMAN") 
 
 GERTRUDE ATHERTON 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
 cc 
 
Copyright, 1915, by 
 FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 
 
 Copyright, 1893, 1906, 1913, by 
 GERTRUDE ATHERTON 
 
 Att rights reserved 
 
tfv & 2 <? 
 Bancroft LJbnuy 
 
 TO 
 
 DELFINA DE LA GUERRA Y MORENO 
 
 A FRIEND WHOM I GREATLY ADMIRE 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 REZ!NOV 1 
 
 THE DOOMSWOMAN . 199 
 
REZANOV 
 
REZANOV 
 
 As the little ship that had three times raced with death 
 sailed past the gray headlands and into the straits of 
 San Francisco on that brilliant April morning of 1806, 
 Rezanov forgot the bitter humiliations, the mental and 
 physical torments, the deprivations and dangers of the 
 past three years; forgot those harrowing months in the 
 harbor of Nagasaki when the Russian bear had caged 
 his tail in the presence of eyes aslant; his dismay at 
 Kamchatka when he had been forced to send home an- 
 other to vindicate his failure, and to remain in the 
 Tsar's incontiguous and barbarous northeastern posses- 
 sions as representative of his Imperial Majesty, and 
 plenipotentiary of the Company his own genius had 
 created ; forgot the year of loneliness and hardship and 
 peril in whose jaws the bravest was impotent; forgot 
 even his pitiable crew, diseased when he left Sitka, that 
 had filled the Juno with their groans and laments; and 
 the bells of youth, long still, rang in his soul once more. 
 "It is the spring in California/' he thought, with a 
 sigh that curled at the edge. * However/' life had 
 made him philosophical; "the moments of unreasonable 
 happiness are the most enviable no doubt, for there is 
 neither gall nor satiety in the reaction. All this is as 
 enchanting as well, as a woman's promise. What lies 
 beyond? Illiterate and mercenary Spaniards, vicious 
 natives, and boundless ennui, one may safely wager. 
 But if all California is as beautiful as this, no man that 
 has spent a winter in Sitka should ask for more." 
 
2 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 In the extent and variety of his travels Rezanov 
 had seen Nature more awesome of feature but never 
 more fair. On his immediate right as he sailed down 
 the straits toward the narrow entrance to be known as 
 the Golden Gate, there was little to interest save the 
 surf and the masses of outlying rocks where the seals 
 leapt and barked ; the shore beyond was sandy and low. 
 But on his left the last of the northern mountains rose 
 straight from the water, the warm red of its deeply in- 
 dented cliffs rich in harmony with the green of slope 
 and height. There was not a tree; the mountains, the 
 promontories, the hills far down on the right beyond 
 the sand dunes, looked like stupendous waves of lava 
 that had cooled into every gracious line and fold within 
 the art of relenting Nature; granted ages after, a light 
 coat of verdure to clothe the terrible mystery of birth. 
 The great bay, as blue and tranquil as a high mountain 
 lake, as silent as if the planet still slept after the 
 agonies of labor, looked to be broken by a number of 
 promontories, rising from their points far out in the 
 water to the high back of the land; but as the Juno 
 pursued her slanting way down the channel Rezanov 
 saw that the most imposing of these was but the end of 
 a large island, and that scattered near were other islands, 
 masses of rock like the castellated heights that rise 
 abruptly from the plains of Italy and Spain; far away, 
 narrower straits, with a glittering expanse beyond; 
 while bounding the whole eastern rim of this splendid 
 sheet of water was a chain of violet hills, with the pale 
 green mist of new grass here and there, and purple hol- 
 lows that might mean groves of trees crouching low 
 against the cold winds of summer ; in the soft pale blue 
 haze above and beyond, the lofty volcanic peak of a 
 mountain range. Not a human being, not a boat, not 
 even a herd of cattle was to be seen, and Rezanov, for a 
 moment forgetting to exult in the length of Russia's 
 arm, yielded himself to the subtle influence abroad in 
 the air, and felt that he could dream as he had dreamed 
 in a youth when the courts of Europe to the boy were 
 
REZANOV 3 
 
 as fabulous as El Dorado in the immensity of ancestral 
 seclusions. 
 
 "It is like the approach to paradise, is it not, Excel- 
 lency?" a deferential voice murmured at his elbow. 
 
 The plenipotentiary frowned without turning his 
 head. Dr. Langsdorff, surgeon and naturalist, had ac- 
 companied the Embassy to Japan, and although Rezanov 
 had never found any man more of a bore and 
 would willingly have seen the last of him at Kam- 
 chatka, a skilful dispenser of drugs and mender of 
 bones was necessary in his hazardous voyages, and he 
 retained him in his suite. Langsdorff returned his polite 
 tolerance with all the hidden resources of his spleen; 
 but his curiosity and scientific enthusiasm would have 
 sustained him through greater trials than the exactions 
 of an autocrat, whom at least he had never ceased to 
 respect in the most trying moments at Nagasaki. 
 
 "Yes," said Rezanov. "But I wonder you find any- 
 thing to admire in such importable objects as moun- 
 tains and water. I have not seen a living thing but 
 gulls and seals, and God knows we had enough of both 
 at Sitka." 
 
 "Ah, your excellency, in a land as fertile as this, and 
 caressed by a climate that would coax life from a stone, 
 there must be an infinite number of aquatic and aerial 
 treasures that will add materially to the scientific lore 
 of Europe." 
 
 * ' Humph ! ' ' said Rezanov, and moved his shoulder in 
 an uncontrollable gesture of dismissal. But the spell 
 of the April morning was broken, although the learned 
 doctor was not to be the only offender. 
 
 The Golden Gate is but a mile in width and the swift 
 current carried the Juno toward a low promontory from 
 the base of which a shrill cry suddenly ascended. Reza- 
 nov, raising his glass, saw what he had taken to be a 
 pile of fallen rocks was a fort, and that a group of 
 excited men stood at its gates. Once more the plenipo- 
 tentiary on a delicate mission, he ordered the two naval 
 
4 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 officers sailing the ship to come forward, and retired to 
 the dignified isolation of the cabin. 
 
 The high-spirited young officers, who would have 
 raised a gay hurrah at the sight of civilized man had it 
 not been for the awe in which they held their chief, 
 saluted the Spaniards formally, then stood in an atti- 
 tude of extreme respect; the Juno was directly under 
 the guns of the fort. 
 
 One of the Spaniards raised a speaking trumpet and 
 shouted : 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 No one on the Juno, save Rezanov, could speak a word 
 of Spanish, but the tone of the query was its own in- 
 terpreter. The oldest of the lieutenants, through the 
 ship 's trumpet, shouted back : 
 
 "The JunoSitka Russian." 
 
 The Spanish officer made a peremptory gesture that 
 the ship come to anchor in the shelter given by an im- 
 mense angle of the mainland, of which the fort's point 
 was the western extreme. The Russians, as befitted the 
 peaceful nature of their mission, obeyed without delay. 
 Before their resting place, and among the sand hills a 
 mile from the beach, was a quadrangle of buildings 
 some two hundred feet square and surrounded by a wall 
 about fourteen feet high and seven feet thick. This 
 they knew to be the Presidio. They saw the officers that 
 had hailed them gallop over the hill behind the fort to 
 the more ambitious enclosure, and, in the square, confer 
 with another group that seemed to be in a corresponding 
 state of excitement. A few moments later a deputa- 
 tion of officers, accompanied by a priest in the brown 
 habit of the Franciscan order, started on horseback for 
 the beach. Rezanov ordered Lieutenant Davidov and 
 Dr. Langsdorff to the shore as his representatives. 
 
 The Spaniards wore the undress uniform of black and 
 scarlet in which they had been surprised, but their 
 peaked straw hats were decorated with cords of gold or 
 silver, the tassels hanging low on the broad brim ; their 
 high deer-skin boots were gaily embroidered, and bris- 
 
REZANOV 5 
 
 tied with immense silver spurs. The commanding officer 
 alone had invested himself with a gala serape, a square 
 of red cloth with a bound and embroidered slit for the 
 head. Leading the rapid procession, his left hand rest- 
 ing significantly on his sword, he was a fine specimen 
 of the young California grandee, dark and dashing and 
 reckless, lithe of figure, thoroughbred, ardent. His eyes 
 were sparkling at the prospect of excitement; not only 
 had the Russians, by their nefarious appropriation of 
 the northwestern corner of the continent and a recent 
 piratical excursion in pursuit of otter, inspired the 
 Spanish Government with a profound disapproval and 
 mistrust, but a rumor had run up the coast that made 
 every sea-gull look like the herald of a hostile fleet. 
 This was young Argiiello's first taste of command, and 
 life was dull on the northern peninsula; he would have 
 welcomed a declaration of war. 
 
 Davidov and Langsdorff had come to shore in one of 
 the Juno's canoes. The conversation was held in Latin 
 between the two men of learning. 
 
 ' ' Who are you and whence come you ? ' ' asked the priest. 
 
 Langsdorff, who had been severely drilled by the 
 plenipotentiary as to text, replied with a profound bow : 
 "We are Russians engaged in completing the circum- 
 navigation of the globe. It was our intention to go 
 directly to Monterey and present our official documents, 
 as well as our respects, to your illustrious Governor, 
 but owing to contrary winds and a resultant scarcity of 
 provisions, we were under the necessity of putting into 
 the nearest harbor. The Juno is navigated by Lieuten- 
 ant Davidov and Lieutenant Khovstov, of the Imperial 
 Navy of Russia; by gracious permission associated with 
 the Marine of the Russo- American Company/' He 
 paused a moment, and then swept out his trump card 
 with a magnificent flourish: "Our expedition is in 
 command of His Excellency, Privy Counsellor and 
 Grand Chamberlain Baron Rezanov, late Ambassador to 
 the Court of Japan, Plenipotentiary of the Russo- Amer- 
 ican Company, Imperial Inspector of the extreme eastern 
 
6 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 and northwestern American dominions of His Imperial 
 Majesty, Alexander the First, Emperor of all the Rus- 
 sias, whose representative in these waters he is. ' ' 
 
 The Spaniards were properly impressed as the priest 
 translated with the glibness of the original ; but Argiiel- 
 lo, who now announced himself as Commandante ad 
 interim of the Presidio of San Francisco during the 
 absence of his father at Monterey, nodded sagely several 
 times, and then held a short conference in Spanish with 
 the interpreter. The priest turned to the Eussians with 
 a smile as diplomatic as that which Rezanov had drilled 
 upon the ugly ingenuous countenance of his medicine 
 man. 
 
 "Our illustrious Governor, Don Jose Arrillaga, re- 
 ceived word from the court of Spain, now quite two 
 years ago, of the sailing in 1803 from Kronstadt of the 
 ships Nadeshda and Neva, in command of Captain 
 Krusenstern and Captain Lisiansky, the former having 
 on board the illustrious Ambassador to Japan, the Privy 
 Counsellor and Chamberlain de Rezanov. It was ex- 
 pected that these ships would touch at more than one of 
 His Most Holy Catholic Majesty's vast dominions, and 
 all viceroys and gobernador proprietaries were alike in- 
 structed to receive the exalted representative of the 
 mighty Emperor of Russia with hospitality and respect. 
 But we cannot understand why his excellency comes to 
 us so late and in so small a ship, rather than in the state 
 with which he sailed from Europe. ' ' 
 
 ' ' The explanation is simple, my father. The original 
 ships, from a variety of circumstances, were, upon our 
 arrival at Kamchatka, at the conclusion of the embassy 
 to Japan, under the necessity of returning at once to 
 Europe. His Imperial Majesty, Alexander the First, 
 ordered the Chamberlain and plenipotentiary, the rep- 
 resentative of imperial power in the Russo-American 
 possessions, to remove to the Juno for the purpose of 
 visiting the Kurile and Aleutian Islands, Kadiak and 
 the northwestern coast of America." The Tsar had 
 never heard of the Juno, but as Rezanov was practically 
 
REZANOV 7 
 
 his august self in these far-away waters, there was 
 enough of truth in this statement to appease the con- 
 science of a subordinate. 
 
 The Spaniards were satisfied. Lieutenant Argiiello 
 begged that the emissaries would return to the ship and 
 invite the Chamberlain and his party to come at once 
 to the Presidio and do it the honor to partake of the 
 poor hospitality it afforded. An officer galloped furi- 
 ously for horses. 
 
 A few moments later they were still more deeply im- 
 pressed by the appearance of their distinguished visitor 
 as he stood erect in the boat that brought him to shore. 
 In full uniform of dark green and gold lace, with cocked 
 hat and the splendid order of St. Ann on his breast, 
 Rezanov was by far the finest specimen of a man the 
 Californians, themselves of ampler build than their Eu- 
 ropean ancestors, had ever beheld. Of commanding 
 stature and physique, with an air of highest breeding 
 and repose, he looked both a man of the great world 
 and an intolerant leader of men. His long oval face was 
 thin and somewhat lined, the mouth heavily molded and 
 closely set, suggestive of sarcasm and humor; the nose 
 long, with arching and flexible nostrils. His eyes, sel- 
 dom widely opened, were light blue, very keen, usually 
 cold. Like many other men of his position in Europe, 
 he had discarded wig and queue and wore his short fair 
 hair unpowdered. 
 
 It was a singularly imposing but hardly attractive 
 presence, thought young Argiiello, until Rezanov, after 
 stepping on shore and bowing formally, suddenly smiled 
 and held out his hand. Then the impressionable Span- 
 iard " melted like a woman," as he told his sister, 
 Concha, and would have embraced the stranger on either 
 cheek had not awe lingered to temper his enthusiasm. 
 But Rezanov never made a stauncher friend than Louis 
 Argiiello, who vowed to the last of his days that the 
 one man who had fulfilled his ideal of the grand seig- 
 neur was he that sailed in from the North on that fate- 
 ful April morning of 1806. 
 
II 
 
 As Rezanov, heading the procession with young Argiiel- 
 lo, entered the wide gates of the Presidio, he received 
 an impression memorably different from that which 
 led earlier travelers to describe it inclemently as a large 
 square surrounded by mud houses thatched with reeds. 
 It is true that the walls were of adobe and the roofs of 
 tule, nor was there a tree on the sand hills encircling 
 the stronghold. But in this early springtime the sum- 
 mer of the peninsula the hills showed patches of ver- 
 dure, and all the low white buildings were covered by 
 a network of soft dull green and archaic pink. The 
 Castilian rose, full and fluted, and of a chaste and pene- 
 trating fragrance, hung singly and in clusters on the 
 pillars of the dwellings, on the barracks and chapel, 
 from the very roofs; bloomed upon bushes as high as 
 young trees. The Presidio was as delicately perfumed 
 as a lady's bower, and its cannon faced the ever-chang- 
 ing hues of water and island and hill. 
 
 As the party approached, heads of all ages appeared 
 between the vines, and there was a low murmur of irre- 
 pressible curiosity and delight. 
 
 "We do not see many strangers in this lonely land," 
 said Argiiello apologetically. "And never before have 
 we had so distinguished a guest as your excellency. It 
 was always a gala day when even a Boston skipper 
 came in with a few bales of goods and a complexion like 
 the hides we sold him. Now, alas! they are no longer 
 permitted to enter our ports. Governor Arrillaga will 
 have none of contraband trade and slaying of our otter. 
 And as for Europeans other than Spaniards, save for 
 an English sea captain now and then, they know naught 
 of our existence." 
 
 8 
 
REZANOV, 9 
 
 But Rezanov had not come to California on the im- 
 pulse of a moment. He replied suavely: " There you 
 are mistaken. Your illustrious father, Don Jose Mario 
 de Argiiello, is well known to us as the most respected, 
 eminent and influential character in the Californias. It 
 was my intention, after paying a visit of ceremony to 
 his excellency, Governor Arrillaga, to come to San Fran- 
 cisco for the sole purpose of meeting a man whose record 
 has inspired me with the deepest interest. And we have 
 all heard such wonderful tales of your California, of 
 its beauty, its fertility, of the beneficent lives of your 
 missionaries so different from ours! and of the hos- 
 pitality and elegance of the Spaniards, that it has been 
 the objective point of my travels, and I have found it 
 difficult to curb my impatience while attending to im- 
 perative duties elsewhere." 
 
 "Ay! senor!" exclaimed the young Calif ornian. 
 "What you say fills me with a pride I cannot express, 
 and I can only regret that the reports of our poor habi- 
 tations should be so sadly exaggerated. Such as our 
 possessions are, however, they are yours while you deign 
 to remain in our midst. This is my father's house. I 
 beg that you will regard it as your own. Burn it if you 
 will!" he cried with more enthusiasm than commonly 
 enlivened the phrases of hospitality. ' ' He will be proud 
 to know that a lifetime of severe attention to duty and 
 of devotion to his King have won him fame abroad as 
 well as at home. He has risen to his present position 
 from the ranks, but he is of pure Spanish blood, not a 
 drop of Indian; and my mother was a Moraga, of the 
 best blood of Spain," he added artlessly. "As to the 
 beauty and variety of our country, senor, of course you 
 will visit our opulent south; but " They had dis- 
 mounted at the Commandante's house in the southeast 
 corner of the square. Argiiello impulsively led Rezanov 
 back to the gates and pointed to the east. "I have 
 crossed those mountains and the mountains beyond, 
 Excellency, and seen fertile and beautiful valleys of a 
 vast extent, watered by five rivers and bounded far far 
 
10 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 away by mountains covered with snow and gigantic 
 trees. The valley beyond the southern edge of the bay, 
 where the Missions of Santa Clara and San Jose are, is 
 also rich, but those between the two ranges is an empire ; 
 and one day when the King sends us more colonists, 
 we shall recompense Spain for all she has lost." 
 
 "I congratulate you!" Rezanov, indifferent to his 
 host's ancestral tree, had lifted an alert ear. His quick 
 incisive brain was at work. "I should like to stretch 
 my legs over a horse for a week at a time, and even to 
 climb your highest mountains. You may imagine how 
 much exercise a man may get on a vessel of two hun- 
 dred and six tons, and it is thirty-two days since I left 
 Sitka. To look upon a vast expanse of green to say 
 nothing of possible sport after a winter of incessant 
 rain and impenetrable forests what a prospect! I beg 
 you will take me off into the wilderness as soon as pos- 
 sible." 
 
 "I promise you the Governor shall not withhold his 
 consent and there are bear and deer quail, wild duck 
 your excellency will enjoy that beautiful wild country 
 as I have done." Argiiello was enchanted at the pros- 
 pect of fresh adventure in the company of this fascinat- 
 ing stranger. ' ' But we are once more at our poor abode, 
 senor. I beg you to remember that it is your own." 
 
 They ascended the steps of the piazza, suddenly de- 
 serted, and it seemed to Rezanov that every sense in 
 his being quivered responsively to the poignant sweet- 
 ness of the Castilian roses. He throbbed with a sudden 
 exultant premonition that he stood on the threshold of 
 an historic future, with a pagan joy in mere existence, a 
 sudden rush of desire for the keen wild happiness of 
 youth. Such is the elixir of California in the north and 
 the spring. 
 
 They entered a long sala typical of its day and of 
 many to come; whitewashed walls hung with colored 
 prints of the Virgin and saints; horsehair furniture, 
 matting, deep window seats; and a perennial coolness. 
 The Chamberlain (his court title and the one commonly 
 
REZANOV 11 
 
 attached to his name) made himself as comfortable as 
 the slippery chair would permit, and Argiiello went for 
 his mother. 
 
 Langsdorff, who had lingered on the piazza with the 
 priest, entered in a moment. 
 
 "The good padre tells me that this rose of Castile is 
 the only imported flower in Calif ornia, ' ' he cried, with 
 enthusiasm, for although not a botanist there was a 
 bump between his eyes as big as a child 's fist and he had 
 a nose like the prow of a toy ship. "Many cuttings 
 were brought from Spain " 
 
 * l What difference does it make where it came from ? ' ' 
 interrupted Rezanov testily. "Is it not enough that it 
 is beautiful, but it must have a pin stuck through it like 
 some poor devil of a butterfly ? ' ' 
 
 "Your excellency has also the habit to probe into 
 things he deems worthy of his attention/' retorted the 
 offended scientist; but he was obliged to closet his 
 wrath. An inner door opened and the host reappeared 
 with his mother and a fair demonstration of her virtues. 
 She was a very large woman dressed loosely in black, 
 but she carried herself with an air of complete, if some- 
 what sleepy, dignity, and it was evident that her beauty 
 had been great. Her full face had lost its contours, 
 but time had spared the fine Roman nose and the white 
 skin, that birthright of the high-bred Castilian. Ar- 
 giiello presented his family ceremoniously as the guest 
 of honor rose and bowed with formal deference. 
 
 * ' My mother, Dona Ignacia Argiiello, your excellency, 
 who unites with me in praying that you will regard our 
 home as yours during your sojourn in the north. My 
 sister, Maria de la Concepcion Marcella Argiiello, and 
 my little sisters, Ana Paula and Gertrudes Rudisinda. 
 My brothers : Gervasio soldado distinguido of the San 
 Francisco Company ; Santiago, a cadet in the same com- 
 pany; Francesco and Toribio, whose presence at the 
 table I beg you will overlook, for when we are so fortu- 
 nate as to be all together, sefior, we cannot bear to be 
 separated. My oldest brother, alas ! Ignacio is study- 
 
12 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 ing for holy orders in Mexico, and my sister Isabel 
 visits at the Presidio of Santa Barbara. I beg that you 
 will be seated, Excellency." And he continued the in- 
 troduction to the lesser luminaries, with equal courtesy 
 but fewer periods. 
 
 Rezanov exchanged a few pleasant words with his 
 smiling hostess before she returned to her distracted 
 maids preparing the dinner; but his eyes during Ar- 
 giiello 's declamation had wandered with a singular fidel- 
 ity to the beautiful face of the eldest daughter of the 
 house. She had responded with a humorous twinkle in 
 her magnificent black eyes and not a hint of diffidence. 
 As she entered the room his brain had flashed out the 
 thought: " Thank heaven for a pretty girl after these 
 three abominable years !" Possibly his pleasure would 
 have been salted with pique had he guessed that her 
 thought was the twin of his own. He was the first man 
 of any world more considerable than the petty court 
 of the viceroy of Mexico that had visited California in 
 her time, and excellent as she found his tall military 
 figure and pale cold face, the novelty of the circum- 
 stance fluttered her more. 
 
 Dona " Concha " Argiiello was the beauty of Cali- 
 fornia, and although her years were but sixteen her 
 blood was Spanish, and she carried her tall deep figure 
 and fine head with the grace and dignity of an accom- 
 plished woman. She had inherited the white skin and 
 delicate Koman-Spanish profile of the Moragas, but 
 there was an intelligent fire in her eyes, a sharp accen- 
 tuation of nostril, and a full mobility of mouth, child- 
 ish, half-developed as that feature still was, that be- 
 trayed a strong cross-current forcing the placid ma- 
 ternal flow into rugged and unexplored channels, while 
 assimilating its fine qualities of pride and high breed- 
 ing. Gervasio and Santiago resembled their sister in 
 coloring and pi :>file, but lacked her subtle quality of 
 personality and divine innocence. Luis was more the 
 mother's son than the father's saving his olive skin; 
 a grandee, modified by the simplicities of a soldier's 
 
REZANOV 13 
 
 life, amiable and upright. Dona Ignacia recognized in 
 Concha the quintessence of the two opposing streams, 
 and had long since ceased to impose upon a girl who 
 had little else but her liberties, the conventional restric- 
 tions of the Spanish maiden. Concha had already re- 
 ceived many offers of marriage and regarded men as 
 mere swingers of incense. Moreover, her cultivated 
 mind was filled with ideals and ideas far beyond any- 
 thing California would yield in her day. 
 
 As Rezanov, upon Dona Ignacia 's retreat, walked 
 directly over to her, she smilingly seated herself on a 
 sofa and swept aside her voluminous white skirts. She 
 was not sure that she liked him, but in no doubt what- 
 ever of her delight at his advent. 
 
 Her manners were very simple and artless, as are the 
 manners of most women whom Nature has gifted with 
 complexity and depth. 
 
 "It is now two years and more that we have been 
 excited over the prospect of this visit/' she said. "But 
 if you will tell me what you have been doing all this 
 time, I, at least, will forgive you ; for you will never be 
 able to imagine, senor, how I long to hear of the great 
 world. I stare at the map, then at the few pictures we 
 have, I know many books of travel by heart; but I am 
 afraid my imagination is a poor one, for I cannot con- 
 jure up great cities filled with people thousands of 
 people! Dios de mi alma! A world where there is 
 something besides mountains and water, grain fields, 
 orchards, forests, earthquakes, and climate! "Will you, 
 senor ?" 
 
 ' ' For quite as many hours as you will listen to me. I 
 propose a compact. You shall improve my Spanish. 
 I will impart all I know of Europe and of Asia if 
 your curiosity reaches that far." 
 
 "Even of Japan?" There was a wicked sparkle 
 in her eye. 
 
 "I see you already have some knowledge of the cause 
 of my delay. ' ' His voice was even, but a wound smarted. 
 "It is quite true, senorita, that the first embassy to 
 
14 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Japan, from which we hoped so much, was a humiliat- 
 ing failure, and that I was played with for six months 
 by a people whom we had regarded as a nation of 
 monkeys. When my health began to suffer from the 
 long confinement on shipboard we had previously been 
 fourteen months at sea and I asked to be permitted to 
 live on shore while my claims to an audience were under 
 consideration, I was removed with my suite to a cage 
 on a strip of land nearly surrounded with water, where 
 I had less liberty and exercise than on shipboard. Final- 
 ly, I had a ridiculous interview with a 'great man,' in 
 which I accomplished nothing but the preservation of 
 what personal dignity a man may while sitting on his 
 heels ; the superb presents of the Tsar were returned to 
 me, and I was politely told to leave; Japan wanted 
 neither the friendship of Russia nor her gimcracks. 
 That, senorita, is the history of the first Russian Em- 
 bassy for the tentative visit of Adam Lanxmann, 
 twelve years before, can be dignified by no such title 
 to Oriental waters. It is to be hoped that Count Golof- 
 kin, who was to undertake a similar mission to China, 
 has met with a better fate." 
 
 Underneath the polished armor of a man who was a 
 courtier when he chose and the dominating spirit al- 
 ways, he was hot and quick of temper. His light cold 
 eyes glowed with resentment at the dancing lights in 
 hers, as he cynically gave her a bald abstract of the 
 unfortunate mission. He reflected that commonly he 
 would have fitted a different mask to the ugly skull of 
 fact, but this young barbarian, as he chose to regard 
 her, excited the elemental truth in him, defying him to 
 appear at his worst. He was astonished to see her eyes 
 suddenly soften and her mouth tremble. 
 
 1 'It must have been a hateful experience hateful!" 
 Her voice, beginning on its usual low soft note, rose to 
 a hoarse pitch of indignation. "I should have killed 
 somebody! To be a man, and strong, and caressed all 
 one's life by fortune and to be as helpless as an In- 
 dian ! Madre de Dios ! ' ' 
 
REZANOV 15 
 
 "I shall take my revenge, " said Rezanov shortly; but 
 the wound closed, and once more he became aware of 
 the poignant sweetness of Castilian roses. Concha wore 
 one in her soft dusky hair, and another where the little 
 round jacket of white linen, gaily embroidered with 
 pink, met on her bosom. But if sentiment tempted him, 
 he was quickly poised by her next remarks. She uttered 
 them in a low tone, although the animated conversation 
 of the rest of the party would have permitted the two 
 on the sofa to exchange the vows of love unheard. 
 
 "But what a practice for your diplomatic talents, 
 Excellency! Poor California! At least let me be the 
 first to hear what you have come for?" Her voice 
 dropped to a soft cooing note, although her eyes twin- 
 kled. "For the love of God, senor! I am so bored in 
 this life on the edge of the world! To see the seams 
 and ravelings of a diplomatic intrigue ! I have read and 
 heard of many, but never had I hoped to link my finger 
 in anything subtler than a quarrel between priest and 
 Governor, or the jealousy of Los Angeles for Monterey. 
 I even will help you if you mean no harm to my father 
 or my country. And I am not a friend to scorn, senor, 
 for my blessed father is as wax in my hands, the dear 
 old Governor adores me, and even Padre Abella, who 
 thinks himself a great diplomat, and is watching us out 
 of the corner of his eye, while I make him believe you 
 pay me so many compliments my poor little head turns 
 round Bueno senor!" As she raised her voice she 
 plucked the rose from her dress and tossed it to Reza- 
 nov. Then she lifted her chin and pouted her childish 
 lips at the ironical smile of the priest. 
 
 Rezanov was close to betraying his surprise ; but as he 
 cherished a belief that the souls of all pretty women 
 went to school to the devil before entering upon earthly 
 enterprise, he wondered that he had been open to the 
 illusion of complete ingenuousness in a descendant of 
 one of the oldest and subtlest civilizations of earth. 
 Within that luminous shell of youth there were, no 
 doubt, whispering memories of men and women steeped 
 
16 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 in court intrigue to the eyes, of triumphant beauties 
 tliat had lived for love and their power over the pas- 
 sions of men as ardent as himself. It was quite possible 
 that she might be as useful as she desired. But his 
 impulses were in leash. He merely looked and mur- 
 mured his admiration. 
 
 "Better ask, what chance have I, a defenceless man, 
 who has not seen a charming woman for three years, 
 against such practised art? If you can hoodwink a 
 Spanish priest, and manipulate a Governor who has won 
 the confidence of the most suspicious court in Europe, 
 what fortune for a barbarian of the north? Less than 
 with Japan, I should think. ' ' 
 
 He divested the rose of its thorns and many tight 
 little buds, and thrust the stem underneath the star of 
 St. Ann. She lifted her chin again and tossed her head. 
 
 "You do not trust me, but you will. I fancy it will 
 be before long for it is quite true that the Californians 
 are not so easily outwitted. And even did I not help 
 you, I would not I vow, seiior! betray you. Is it 
 true that Russia is at war with Spain?" 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Have you not heard? It was for that we were all 
 so excited this morning. "We thought your ship might 
 be the first of a fleet." 
 
 1 1 1 have heard no such rumor, and you may dismiss it. 
 Eussia is too much occupied with Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 who has had himself crowned Emperor, and by this time 
 is probably at war with half Europe " 
 
 She interrupted him with flashing eyes. The pink in 
 her cheeks had turned red. The thin nostrils of her 
 pretty Roman nose fluttered like paper. "Ah!" she 
 exclaimed, again with that note of hoarseness in her 
 voice. "There is a great man, not a mere king on a 
 throne his ancestors made for him. Papa hates him 
 because he has seized a throne. Ay yi! Dios! you 
 should hear the words fly when we go to war together. 
 But I do not care that" she snapped her firm white 
 fingers "for all the Bourbons that are in Europe. 
 
REZANOV 17 
 
 Bonaparte! Do you know him Have you seen him?" 
 "I have seen him insult poor Markov, our ambassa- 
 dor to France, when I can assure you that he looked 
 like neither a demi-god nor a gentleman. When you 
 have improved my Spanish I will tell you many anec- 
 dotes of him. Meanwhile, am I to assume that you re- 
 serve your admiration for the man that carves his ca- 
 reer in defiance of the rusty old machinery ? ' ' 
 
 "I do! I do! My father was of the people, a poor 
 boy. He has risen to be the most powerful of all Cali- 
 fornians, although the King he adores never makes him 
 Gobernador Propietario. I tell him he should be the 
 first to recognize the genius and the ambitions of a 
 Bonaparte. The mere thought horrifies him. But in 
 me that same strong plebeian blood makes another cry, 
 and if my father had but enough men at his back, and 
 the will to make himself King of the Californias 
 Madre de Dios ! how I should help him ! ' ' 
 
 "At least I know her better than she knows me," 
 thought Rezanov, as the inner door was thrown open and 
 another bare room with a long table laden with savory 
 food on a superb silver service was revealed. ' ' And if I 
 know anything of women, I can trust her for as long 
 as she may be necessary, at all events." 
 
Ill 
 
 ''SANTIAGO!'* whispered Concha. "Do not go down 
 to the ship. Take me for a walk. I have much to 
 say." 
 
 Santiago, who had not been asked to form one of 
 the escort upon the return of the Eussians to the 
 Juno for the night, felt injured and sulky and deigned 
 no reply. 
 
 "If you do not, I'll not braid your hair to-morrow," 
 said his sister, giving his arm a little shake; and he 
 succumbed. The luxuriant tresses of the male Argiiellos 
 were combed and braided and tied with a ribbon every 
 morning by the women of the family, and Concha's 
 fingers were the gentlest and deftest. And Concha 
 and Santiago were more intimate than even the rest 
 of that united family. They had studied and read 
 together, were equally dissatisfied with their narrow 
 existence, ambitious for a wider experience. Santiago 
 consoled himself with cards and training roosters for 
 battle, and otherwise as a man may. He was but 
 fifteen, this haughty severe-looking young hidalgo, but 
 while in some respects many years older than his sister, 
 in others he was younger, for he possessed none of 
 her illuminating instinct. 
 
 She led him through a postern gate, round the first 
 of the dunes, and they were alone in a waste of sand. 
 She demanded abruptly: 
 
 "What do you think of our illustrious visitor?" 
 
 "I like him. He would wring your neck if you got 
 in his way, but has a kind heart for those that call 
 him master. I like that sort of a man. I wish he would 
 take me away with him." 
 
 "He shall one of these days. Santiago mio, let me 
 
 18 
 
REZANOV 19 
 
 whisper " She pulled his ear down to her lips. 
 
 "He will marry me. I feel it. I know it. He has 
 talked to me the whole day. He has told me grave 
 secrets. Not even to you would I reveal them. So many 
 have loved me why should not he? I shall live in St. 
 Petersburg, and see all Europe ! thousands of people 
 Dios mio! Dios mio!" 
 
 " Indeed I" Santiago, still unamiable, responded to 
 this confidence with a sneer. "You aspire very high 
 for a little girl of the wilderness, without fortune, 
 and only half a coat-of-arms, so to speak. Do you know 
 that this Rezanov Dr. Langsdorff has told us all about 
 him is a great noble, one of the ten barons of 
 Russia, and a Chamberlain in accordance with a de- 
 cree of Peter the Great that court titles should be 
 bestowed as a reward for distinguished services alone? 
 He got a fortune in his youth by marriage with a 
 daughter of Shelikov that Siberian who founded the 
 Eussian colonies in America. The wife died almost 
 immediately, but the Baron's influence remained with 
 Shelikov for his influence at court was even greater 
 and after the older man 's death, with his mother-in- 
 law, who is uncommonly clever. Shelikov 's schemes 
 were but sketches beside Rezanov 's, who from merely a 
 courtier and a gay blood about town developed into a 
 great man of business, with an ambition to correspond. 
 It was he who got the Imperial ukase that gave the 
 Russian-American Company its power to squeeze all 
 the other fur hunters and traders out of the northeast, 
 and make Rezanov and everybody belonging to it so 
 rich your head would swim if I told you the number 
 of doubloons they spend in a year. Nobody has ever 
 been so clever at managing those old beasts of autocrats 
 as he. They think him merely the accomplished courtier, 
 a brilliant dilettante, a condescending patron of art and 
 letters, a devotee of pleasure, and all the time he is 
 pulling their befuddled old brains about to suit him- 
 self. The Tsar Paul was a lunatic and they murdered 
 him, but meanwhile he signed the ukase. The Tsar 
 
20 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Alexander, who is not so bad nor so silly as the others, 
 thinks there is no man so clever as Rezanov, who 
 addresses him personally when sending home his re- 
 ports. Do you know what all that means? Your pleni- 
 potentiary is not only a Chamberlain at court, a Privy 
 Councillor, and the Tsar himself on this side of the 
 world, but when his inspections and reforms are con- 
 cluded, and he is one of the wealthiest men in Russia, 
 he will return to St. Petersburg and become so high and 
 mighty that a princess would snap at him. And you 
 aspire! I never heard such nonsense. " 
 
 "His excellency told me much of this," replied 
 Concha imperturbably. "And I am sure that he cares 
 nothing for princesses and will marry whom he most 
 admires. He would not say, but I know he cared noth- 
 ing for that poor little wife, dead so long ago. It was 
 a mariage de convenance, such as all the great world 
 is accustomed to. He will love me more than all the 
 fine ladies he has ever seen. I feel it ! I know it ! And 
 I am quite happy." 
 
 "Do you love him?" asked Santiago, looking curi- 
 ously at his sister's flushed and glowing face. It seemed 
 to him that she had never looked so young. "Many 
 have loved you. I had begun to think you had no 
 heart for men, no wish for anything but admiration. 
 And now you give your heart in a day to this Russian 
 who must be nearly forty unasked." 
 
 "I have not thought of my heart at all. But I could 
 love him, of course. He is so handsome, so kind, so 
 grand, so gay ! But love is for men and wives has not 
 my mother said so? Now I think only of St. Peters- 
 burg! of Paris! of London! of the beautiful gowns and 
 jewels I shall wear at court a red velvet train as long 
 as a queen's, and all embroidered with gold, a white 
 veil spangled with gold, a head-dress a foot high studded 
 with jewels, ropes of diamonds and pearls I made him 
 tell me how the great ladies dressed. Ah! there is the 
 pleasure of being a girl to think and dream of all those 
 beautiful things, not of when the wife must live always 
 
REZANOV 21 
 
 for the husband and children. That comes soon enough. 
 And why should I not have all! all! there is so little 
 in life for the girl. It seems to me now that I have 
 had nothing. When he asks me to marry him he will 
 tell me of the fine things I shall have and the great 
 sights I shall witness the ceremonies at court, the win- 
 ter streets with snow snow, Santiago! where the 
 great nobles drive four horses through the drifts like 
 little hills, and are wrapped in furs like bears! The 
 grand military parades how I shall laugh when I 
 think of our poor little Presidios with their dozen officers 
 strutting about " She stopped abruptly and burst- 
 ing wildly into tears flung herself into her brother's 
 arms. ' ' But I never could leave you ! And my father ! 
 my mother! all! all! Ay, Dios de mi alma! what an 
 ingrate I am ! I should die of homesickness ! My San- 
 tiago! My Santiago!" 
 
 Santiago patted her philosophically. "You are not 
 going to-morrow, ' ' he reminded her. ' ' Don 't cross your 
 bridges until you come to them. That is a good proverb 
 for maids and men. You might take us all with you, 
 or spend every third year or so in California. No doubt 
 you would need the rest. And meanwhile remember 
 that the high and mighty Chamberlain has not yet asked 
 for the honor of an alliance with the house of Argiiello, 
 and that your brother will match his best fighting cock 
 against your new white lace mantilla from Mexico, that 
 he is not meditating any project so detrimental to his 
 fortunes. Console yourself with the reflection that if he 
 were, our father and the priests, and the Governor him- 
 self, would die of apoplexy. He is a heretic a member 
 of the Greek Church! Hast thou lost thy reason, 
 Conchita? Dry your eyes and come home to sleep, and 
 let us hear no more of marriage with a man who is not 
 only a barbarian of the north and a heretic, but so 
 proud he does not think a Californian good enough to 
 wash his decks." 
 
IV 
 
 IT was long before Rezanov slept that night. The usual 
 chill had come in from the Pacific as the sun went down, 
 and the distinguished visitor had intimated to his hosts 
 that he should like to exercise on shore until ready for 
 his detested quarters; but Argiiello dared not, in the 
 absence of his father, invite the foreigner even to sleep 
 in the house so lavishly offered in the morning ; although 
 he had sent such an abundance of provisions to the ship 
 that the poor sailors were deep in sleep, gorged like 
 boa-constrictors ; and he could safely promise that while 
 the Juno remained in port her larder should never be 
 empty. He shared the evening bowl of punch in the 
 cabin, then went his way lamenting that he could not 
 take his new friends with him. 
 
 Rezanov paced the little deck of the Juno to keep his 
 blood in stir. There was no moon. Tha islands and 
 promontories on the great sheet of water were black 
 save for the occasional glow of an Indian camp-fire. 
 There was not a sound but the lapping of the waves, 
 the roar of distant breakers. The great silver stars 
 and the little green stars looked down upon a solitude 
 that was almost primeval, yet mysteriously disturbed 
 by the restless currents in the brain of a man who 
 had little in common with primal forces. 
 
 Rezanov was uneasy on more scores than one. He 
 was annoyed and mortified at the discovery made over 
 the punch bowl that the girl he had taken to be twenty 
 was but sixteen. It was by no means his first experi- 
 ence of the quick maturity of southern women but 
 sixteen! He had never wasted a moment on a chit 
 before, and although he was a man of imagination, and 
 notwithstanding her intelligence and dignity, he could 
 
 22 
 
REZANOV 23 
 
 not reconcile properties so conflicting with any sort of 
 feminine ideal. 
 
 And the pressing half of his mission he had confided 
 to her! No man knew better than he the value of a 
 tactful and witty woman in the political dilemmas of 
 life; more than one had given him devoted service, nor 
 ever yet had he made a mistake. After several hours 
 spent in the society of this clever politic dissatisfied 
 girl he had come to the conclusion that he could trust 
 her, and had told her of the lamentable condition of 
 the creatures in the employ of the Russian-American 
 Company; of their chronic state of semi-starvation, of 
 the scurvy that made them apathetic of brain and body, 
 and eventually would exterminate them unless he could 
 establish reciprocal trade relations with California and 
 obtain regular supplies of farinaceous food; acknowl- 
 edged that he had brought a cargo of Russian and 
 Boston goods necessary to the well-being of the Missions 
 and Presidios, and that he would not return to the 
 wretched people of Sitka, at least, without a generous 
 exchange of breadstuffs, dried meats, peas, beans, barley 
 and tallow. Not only had he no longer the courage 
 to witness their misery, but his fortune and his career 
 were at stake. His entire capital was invested in the 
 Company he had founded, and he had failed in his 
 embassy to Japan to the keen mortification of the 
 Tsar and the jubilation of his enemies. If he left the 
 Emperor's northeastern dominions unreclaimed and 
 failed to rescue the Company from its precarious con- 
 dition, he hardly should care to return to St. Peters- 
 burg. 
 
 Dona Concha had listened to this eloquent harangue 
 they sat alone at one end of the long sala while Luis 
 at the other toiled over letters to the Governor and his 
 father advising them of the formidable honor of the 
 Russian's visit in exactly the temper he would have 
 chosen. Her fine eyes had melted and run over at the 
 moving tale of the sufferings of the servants of the 
 Company until his own had softened in response and 
 
24 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 he had impulsively kissed her hand; they had dilated 
 and flashed as he spoke of his personal apprehensions; 
 and when he had given her a practical explanation of 
 his reasons for coming to California she had given him 
 advice as practical in return. 
 
 He must withhold from her father and the Governor 
 the fact of his pressing need; they were high officials 
 with an inflexible sense of duty, and did all they could 
 to enforce the law against trading with foreigners. He 
 was to maintain the fiction of belting the globe, but 
 admit that he had indulged in a dream of commercial 
 relations for a benefit strictly mutual between neigh- 
 bors as close as the Spanish and Eussians in America. 
 This would interest them what would not, on the edge 
 of the world ? and they would agree to lay the matter, 
 reinforced by a strong personal plea, before the Viceroy 
 of Mexico; who in turn would send it to the Cabinet 
 and King at Madrid. Meanwhile, he was to confide in 
 the priests at the Mission. Not only would their sym- 
 pathies be enlisted, but they did much trading under 
 the very nose of the government. Not for personal gain 
 they were vowed to a life of poverty; but for their 
 Indian converts, and there were twelve hundred at the 
 Mission of San Francisco, they would wink at many 
 things condemnable in the abstract. He had engaged 
 to visit them on the morrow, and he must take presents 
 to tempt their impersonal cupidity, and invite them to 
 inspect the rest of his wares which the Governor would 
 be informed he had been forced to buy with the Juno 
 from the Yankee skipper, D 'Wolf , and would rid himself 
 of did opportunity offer. 
 
 Kezanov had never received sounder advice, and had 
 promptly accepted it. Now, as he reflected that it had 
 been given by a girl of sixteen, he was divided between 
 admiration of her precocity and fear lest she prove to 
 be too young to keep a secret. Moreover, there were 
 other considerations. 
 
 Rezanov, although in his earlier years he had so far 
 sacrificed his interests and played into the hands of 
 
REZANOV 25 
 
 his enemies, in avoiding the too embarrassing partiality 
 of Catherine the Great, had nevertheless held a high 
 place at court by right of birth, and been a man of the 
 world always; rarely absent from St. Petersburg dur- 
 ing the last and least susceptible part of the imperial 
 courtesan's life, the brief reign of Paul, and the two 
 years between the accession of Alexander and the sailing 
 of the Nadeshda. Moreover, there was hardly another 
 court of importance in Europe with which he was not 
 familiar, and few men had had a more complete ex- 
 perience of life. And the life of a courtier, a diplomat, 
 a traveller, noble, wealthy, agreeable to women by 
 divine right, with active enemies and a horde of flat- 
 terers, in daily contact with the meaner and more dis- 
 ingenuous corners of human nature, is not conducive 
 to a broad optimism and a sweet and immutable Chris- 
 tianity. Rezanov inevitably was more or less cynical 
 and blase, and too long versed in the ways of courts and 
 courtiers to retain more than a whimsical tolerance of 
 the naked truth and an appreciation of its excellence 
 as a diplomatic manoeuvre. Nevertheless, he was by 
 nature too impetuous ever to become under any provo- 
 cation a dishonest man, and too normally a gentleman 
 to deviate from a certain personal code of honor. He 
 might come to California with fair words and a very 
 definite intention of annexing it to Russia at the first 
 opportunity, but he was incapable of abusing the hos- 
 pitality of the Argiiellos by making love to their sixteen- 
 year-old daughter. Had she been of the years he had 
 assumed, he would have had less scruple in embarking 
 upon a flirtation, both for the pastime and the use he 
 might make of her. A Spanish beauty of twenty, still 
 unmarried, would be more than his match. But a child, 
 however precocious, inevitably would fall in love with 
 the first uncommon stranger she met ; and Rezanov, less 
 vain than most men of his kind, and with a fundamental 
 humanity that was the chief cause in his efforts to 
 improve the condition of his wretched promuschleniki, 
 had no taste for the role of heart-breaker. 
 
26 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 But the girl had proved her timeliness; would, if 
 trustworthy, be of further use in inclining her father 
 and the Governor toward such of his designs as he had 
 any intention of revealing ; and, weighing carefully his 
 conversations with her, he was disposed to believe that 
 she would screen and abet him through vanity and love 
 of intrigue. After the dinner, in the seclusion of the 
 sala, he had taken pains to explore for the causes of 
 her mental maturity. Concha had told him of Don 
 Jose Argiiello's ambition that his children in their youth 
 should have the education he had been forced to acquire 
 in his manhood; he had taught them himself, and not- 
 withstanding his piety and the disapproval of the priests, 
 had permitted them to read the histories, travels, and 
 biographies he received once a year from the City of 
 Mexico. Kezanov had met Madame de Stael and other 
 bas bleus, and given them no more of his society than 
 politeness demanded, but although astonished at the 
 amount of information this young girl had assimilated, 
 he found nothing in her manner of wearing her intel- 
 lectual crown to offend his fastidious taste. She was 
 wholly artless in her love of books and of discussing 
 them; and nothing in their contents had disturbed the 
 sweetest innocence he had ever met. Of the little arts 
 of coquetry she was mistress by inheritance and much 
 provocation, but her unawakened inner life breathed the 
 simplicity and purity of the elemental roses that hov- 
 ered about her in his thoughts. Her very unsuscepti- 
 bility made the game more dangerous ; if it piqued him 
 and he aspired to be no more than human he either 
 should have to marry her, or nurse a sore spot in his 
 conscience for the rest of his life; and for neither 
 alternative had he the least relish. 
 
 He dismissed the subject at last with an impatient 
 shrug. Perhaps he was a conceited ass, as his English 
 friends would say ; perhaps the Governor would be more 
 amenable than she had represented. No man could 
 forecast events. It was enough to be forearmed. 
 
 But his thoughts swung to a theme as little disbur- 
 
REZANOV 27 
 
 dening. His needs, as he had confided to Concha, were 
 very pressing. The dry or frozen fish, the sea-dogs, the 
 fat of whales, upon which the employees of the Com- 
 pany were forced to subsist in the least hospitable 
 of climes, had ravaged them with scorbutic diseases until 
 their numbers were so reduced by death and desertion 
 that there was danger of depopulation and the conse- 
 quent bankruptcy of the Company. Since June of the 
 preceding year until his departure from New Archangel 
 in the previous month, he had been actively engaged in 
 inspection of the Company's holdings from Kamchatka 
 to Sitka: reforming abuses, establishing schools and 
 libraries, conceiving measures to protect the fur-bearing 
 animals from reckless slaughter both by the pro- 
 muschleniki and marauding foreigners; punishing and 
 banishing the worst offenders against the Company's 
 laws; encouraging the faithful, and sharing hardships 
 with them that sent memories of former luxuries and 
 pleasures scurrying off to the realms of fantasy. But 
 his rule would be incomplete and his efforts end in 
 failure if the miserable Russians and natives in the 
 employ of the Company were not vitalized by proper 
 food and cheered with the hope of its permanence. 
 
 In Santiago's story of the Russian visitor's achieve- 
 ments and status there was the common mingling of 
 truth and fiction the exalted never fail to inspire. Reza- 
 nov, although he had accomplished great ends against 
 greater odds, was too little of a courtier at heart ever 
 to have been a prime favorite in St. Petersburg until 
 the accession of a ruler with whom he had something in 
 common. A dissolute woman and a crack-brained despot 
 were the last to appreciate an original and independent 
 mind, and the seclusion of Alexander had been so com- 
 plete during the lifetime of his father that Rezanov 
 barely had known him by sight. But the Tsarovitz, 
 enthusiastic for reform and a passionate admirer of 
 enterprise, knew of Rezanov, and no sooner did he 
 mount his gory throne than he confirmed the Chamber- 
 lain in his enterprise, and two years later made him a 
 
28 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Privy Counsellor, invested him with the order of St. 
 Ann, and chose him for the critical embassy to the 
 verdant realm with the blind and gateless walls. 
 
 Rezanov had conquered so far in life even less by 
 address than by the demonstration of abilities very 
 singular in a man of his birth and education. When 
 he met Shelikov, during the Siberian merchant-trader's 
 visit to St. Petersburg in 1788, he was a young 
 man with little interest in life outside of its pleas- 
 ures, and a patrimony that enabled him to com- 
 mand them to no great extent and barely to main- 
 tain the dignity of his rank. Shelikov 's plan to obtain 
 a monopoly of the fur trade in the islands and terri- 
 tories added by his Company to Russia, possibly through- 
 out the entire possession, thus preventing the destruc- 
 tion of sables, seals, otters, and foxes by small traders 
 and foreigners, interested him at once; or possibly he 
 was merely fascinated at first by the shrewd and daunt- 
 less representative of a class with which he had never 
 before come in contact. The accidental acquaintance 
 ripened into intimacy, Rezanov became a partner in the 
 Shelikov- Golikov Company, and married the daughter 
 of his new friend. After the death of his father-in- 
 law, in 1795, his ambitions and business abilities, now 
 fully awake, prompted him to obtain for himself and 
 his partners rights analogous to those granted by Eng- 
 land to the East India Company. Shelikov had won 
 little more than half the power and privileges he had 
 solicited of Catherine, although he had amalgamated 
 the two leading companies, drawn in several others, and 
 built ships and factories and forts to protect them. 
 And if the regnant merchants made large fortunes, the 
 enterprise in general suffered from the rivalries between 
 the various companies, and above all from lack of 
 imperial support. 
 
 Rezanov, his plans made, brought to bear all the 
 considerable influence he was able to command, called 
 upon all his resources of brain and address, and brought 
 Catherine to the point of consenting to sign the charter 
 
REZANOV 29 
 
 he needed. Before it was ready for the imperial signa- 
 ture she died. Rezanov was forced to begin again with 
 her ill-balanced and intractable son. Natalie Shelikov, 
 his famous mother-in-law, the old shareholders of the 
 Company, and the many new ones that had subscribed 
 to Rezanov 's ambitious project, gave themselves up to 
 despair. For a time the outlook was dark. The personal 
 enemies of Rezanov and the bitter and persistent op- 
 ponents of the companies threw themselves eagerly into 
 the scale with tales of the brutality of the merchants 
 and the threatened extirpation of the fur-bearing ani- 
 mals. Paul announced his intention to abolish all the 
 companies and close the colonies to traders big and 
 little. 
 
 But the enemy had a very subtle antagonist in 
 Kezanov. Apparently dismissing the subject, he applied 
 himself to gaining a personal ascendancy over the erratic 
 but impressionable Tsar. No one in the opposing camp 
 could compare with him in that fine balance of charm 
 and brain which was his peculiar gift, or in the adroit 
 manipulation of a mind propelled mainly by vanity. 
 He studied Paul's moods and character, discovered that 
 after some senseless act of oppression he suffered from 
 a corresponding remorse, and was susceptible to any 
 plan that would increase his power and add lustre 
 to his name. The commercial and historic advantages 
 of prosperous northeastern possessions were artfully 
 instilled. At the opportune moment Kezanov laid before 
 him a scheme, mature in every detail, for a great com- 
 pany that would add to the wealth of Russia, and con- 
 vince Europe of the sound commercial sense and immor- 
 tal wisdom of its sovereign. "Without more ado he 
 obtained his charter. 
 
 This momentous instrument granted to the "Russian- 
 American Company under our Highest Protection," 
 "full privileges, for a period of twenty years on the 
 coast of northwestern America, beginning from latitude 
 55 degrees north, and including the chain of islands ex- 
 tending from Kamchatka northward, and southward to 
 
30 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Japan; the exclusive right to all enterprises, whether 
 hunting, trading, or building, and to new discoveries; 
 with strict prohibition from profiting from any of these 
 pursuits, not only to all parties who might engage in 
 them on their own responsibility, but also to those who 
 formerly had ships and establishments there, except 
 those who have united with the new Company." All 
 private traders who refused to join the Company were 
 to be allowed to sell their property and depart in peace. 
 
 Thus was formed the first Trust Company of America ; 
 and the United States never has had so formidable a 
 menace to her territorial greatness as this Russian 
 nobleman who paced that night the wretched deck of the 
 little ship he had bought from one of her skippers. 
 Perturbed in mind at his recent failures and immediate 
 prospects, he was no less determined to take California 
 from the Spaniards either by absorption or force. 
 
 On his way from New Archangel to San Francisco 
 he had met with his second failure since leaving St. 
 Petersburg. It was his intention to move the Sitkan 
 colony down to the mouth of the Columbia River, not 
 only pressed by the need of a more beneficent soil, 
 but as a first insidious advance upon San Francisco 
 Bay. Upon this trip it would be enough to make a 
 survey of the ground and bury a copper plate inscribed : 
 " Possession of the Russian Empire." The Juno had 
 encountered terrific storms. After three desperate 
 attempts to reach the mouth of the river, Rezanov had 
 been forced to relinquish the enterprise for the moment 
 and hasten with his diseased and almost useless crew 
 to the nearest port. It was true that the attempt could 
 be made again later, but Rezanov, sanguine of tempera- 
 ment, was correspondingly depressed by failure and 
 disposed to regard it as an ill-omen. 
 
 An ambassador inspired by heaven could have accom- 
 plished no more with the Japanese at that mediaeval 
 stage of their development than he had done, and the 
 most indomitable of men cannot yet control the winds 
 of heaven ; but sovereigns are rarely governed by logic, 
 
REZANOV 31 
 
 and frequently by the favorite at hand. The privilege 
 of writing personally to the Tsar, in his case, meant 
 more and less than appeared on the surface. It was a 
 measure to keep the reports of the Company out of 
 the hands of the Admiralty College, its bitterest enemy, 
 and always jealous of the Civil Service. Nevertheless, 
 Kezanov knew that he had no immediate reason to 
 apprehend the loss of Alexander's friendship and 
 esteem ; and if he placed the Company, in which all the 
 imperial family had bought shares, on a sounder basis 
 than ever before, and doubled its earnings by insuring 
 the health of its employees, he would meet, when in St. 
 Petersburg again, with practically no opposition to his 
 highest ambitions. These ambitions he deliberately kept 
 in a fluid state for the present. Whether he should 
 aspire to great authority in the government, or choose 
 to rule with the absolute powers of the Tsar himself 
 these already vast possessions on the Pacific to be ex- 
 tended indefinitely would be decided by events. All 
 his inherited and cultivated instincts yearned for the 
 brilliant and complex civilizations of Europe, but the 
 new world had taken a firm hold upon his humaner and 
 appealed more insidiously to his despotic. Moreover, 
 Europe, torn up by that human earthquake, Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, must lose the greater half of its sweetness 
 and savor. All that, however, could be determined upon 
 his return to St. Petersburg in the autumn. 
 
 But meanwhile he must succeed with these Califor- 
 nians, or they might prove, toy soldiers as they were, 
 more perilous to his fortunes than enemies at court. 
 He could not afford another failure; and news of this 
 attempt and an exposition of all that depended upon 
 it were already on the road to the capital of Russia. 
 
 He had known, of course, of the law that forbade the 
 Spanish colonies to trade with foreign ships, but he had 
 relied partly upon the use he could make of the orders 
 given by the Spanish King at the request of the Tsar 
 regarding the expedition under Krusenstern, partly 
 upon his own wit and address. But although the royal 
 
32 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 order had insured him immediate hospitality and saved 
 him many wearisome formalities, he had already dis- 
 covered that the Spanish on the far rim of their empire 
 had lost nothing of their connate suspicion. Rather, 
 their isolation made them the more wary. Although 
 they little appreciated the richness and variousness of 
 California's soil, and not at all this wonderful bay that 
 could accommodate the combined navies of the world, 
 pocketing several, the pious zeal of the clergy in behalf 
 of the Indians, and the general policy of Spain to hold 
 all of the western hemisphere that disintegrating forces 
 would permit, made her as tenacious of this vast terri- 
 tory she had so sparsely populated as had she been 
 aware that its foundations were of gold, conceived that 
 its climate and soil were a more enduring source of 
 wealth than ever she would command again. If Rezanov 
 was not gifted with the prospector's sense for ores al- 
 though he had taken note of Argiiello's casual reference 
 to a vein of silver and lead in the Monterey hills no 
 man ever more thoroughly appreciated the visible re- 
 sources of California than he. Baranhov, chief-manager 
 of the Company, had talked with American and British 
 skippers for twenty years, and every item he had accu- 
 mulated Rezanov had extracted. To-day he had drawn 
 further information from Concha and her brothers; 
 and their artless descriptions as well as this incompara- 
 ble bay had filled him with enthusiasm. What a gift 
 to Russia ! What an achievement to his immortal credit ! 
 The fog had rolled in from the Pacific in great white 
 waves and stealthily enfolded him, obliterated the sea 
 and the land. But he did not see it. Apprehension left 
 him. Once more he fell to dreaming. In the course of 
 a few years the Company would attract a large popula- 
 tion to the mouth of the Columbia River, be strong 
 enough to make use of any favorable turn in European 
 politics and sweep down upon California. The geo- 
 graphical position of Mexico, the arid and desolate, 
 herbless and waterless wastes intervening, would pro- 
 hibit her sending any considerable assistance overland ; 
 
REZANOV 33 
 
 and, all powerful at court by that time, he would take 
 care that the Russian navy inspired Spain with a distaste 
 for remote Pacific waters. He had long since recovered 
 from the disappointment induced by the orders com- 
 pelling him to remain in the colonies. The great Com- 
 pany he had heretofore regarded merely as a source of 
 income and a means of advancing his ambitions, he now 
 loved as his child. Even during the marches over frozen 
 swamps and mountains, during the terrible winter in 
 Sitka when he had become familiar with illness and even 
 with hunger, his ardor had grown, as well as his deter- 
 mination to force Russia into the front rank of commer- 
 cial Europe. The United States he barely considered. 
 He respected the new country for the independent 
 spirit and military genius that had routed so powerful 
 a nation as Great Britain, but he thought of her only 
 as a new and tentative civilization on the far shores 
 of the Atlantic. After some experience of travel in 
 Siberia, and knowing the immensity and primeval con- 
 ditions of northwestern America, he did not think it 
 probable that the little cluster of states, barely able to 
 walk alone, would indulge in dreams of expansion for 
 many years to come. He had heard of the projected 
 expedition of Lewis and Clarke to the mouth of the 
 Columbia, but perhaps he was too Russian he did 
 not take any adventure seriously that had not a mighty 
 nation at its back. And as it was almost the half of a 
 century from that night before the American flag flew 
 over the Custom House of Monterey, there is reason to 
 believe that Russian aggression under the leadership of 
 so energetic and resourceful a spirit as Nicolai Petrovich 
 de Rezanov was in a fair way to make history first in 
 the New Albion of Drake and the California of the 
 incompetent Spaniard. 
 
THE Russians were to call at the house of the Com- 
 mandante on their way to the Mission, and Concha her- 
 self made the chocolate with which they were to be 
 detained for an hour. It was another sparkling morn- 
 ing, one of the few that came between whiter and 
 summer, summer and winter, and made even this bleak 
 peninsula a land of enchantment before the cold winds 
 took the sand hills up by their foundations and drove 
 them down to Yerba Buena, submerging the battery and 
 every green thing by the way; or the great fogs rolled 
 dewn from the tule lands of the north and in from the 
 sea, making the shivering San Franciscan forget that 
 not ten miles away the sun was as prodigal as youth. 
 For a few weeks San Francisco had her springtime, 
 when the days were warm and the air of a wonderful 
 lightness and brightness, the atmosphere so clear that 
 the flowers might be seen on the islands, when man 
 walked with wings on his feet and a song in his heart; 
 when the past was done with, the future mattered not, 
 the present with its ever changing hues on bay and 
 hill, its cool electrical breezes stirring imagination and 
 pulse, was all in all. 
 
 And it was in San Francisco 's springtime that Concha 
 Argiiello made chocolate for the Russian to whom she 
 was to give a niche in the history of her land; and 
 sang at her task. She whirled the molinillo in each 
 cup as it was filled, whipping the fragrant liquid to 
 froth; pausing only to scold when her servant stained 
 one of the dainty saucers or cups. Poor Rosa did not 
 sing, although the spring attuned her broken spirit to 
 a gentler melancholy than when the winds howled and 
 the fog was cold in her marrow. She had been sen- 
 
REZANOV 35 
 
 tenced by the last Governor, the wise Borica, to eight 
 years of domestic servitude in the house of Don Jose 
 Argiiello for abetting her lover in the murder of his 
 wife. Concha, thoughtless in many things, did what she 
 could to exorcise the terror and despair that stared from 
 the eyes of the Indian, and puzzled her deeply. Kosa 
 adored her young mistress and exulted even when 
 Concha's voice rose in wrath; for was not she noticed 
 by the loveliest senorita in all the Californias, while 
 others, envious and spiteful to a poor girl no worse 
 than themselves, were ignored? 
 
 Concha's cheeks were as pink as the Castilian roses 
 that grew even before the kitchen door and were quiver- 
 ing at the moment under the impassioned carolling of a 
 choir of larks. Her black eyes were full of dancing 
 lights, like the imprisoned sun-flecks under the rose 
 bush, and never had indolent Spanish hands moved so 
 quickly. 
 
 1 ' Mira ! Mira ! " she cried to the luckless Rosa. ' ' That 
 is the third time thou hast spilt the chocolate. Thy 
 hands are of wood when they should be of air. A soft 
 bit of linen to clean them, not that coarse rag. Dios 
 de mi alma! I shall send for Malia." 
 
 "For the love of Mary, senorita, have pity!" wailed 
 Rosa. "There see thanks to the Virgin I have 
 poured three cups without spilling a drop. And this 
 rag is of soft linen. Look, Dona Concha, is it not true ? ' ' 
 
 "Bueno; take care thou leavest not one drop on a 
 saucer and I will forgive thee do not kiss my hand 
 now, foolish one ! How can I whirl the molinillo ? Be 
 always good and I will burn a candle for thee every 
 time I go to the Mission. The Russians go to the Mission 
 this morning. Hast thou seen the Russians, Rosa?" 
 
 "I have seen them, senorita. Did I not serve at 
 table yesterday ? ' ' 
 
 "True; I had forgotten. What didst thou think of 
 them?" 
 
 "What matters it to such great folk what a poor 
 Indian girl thinks of them? They are very fair, which 
 
36 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 may be the fashion in their country; but I am not 
 accustomed to it; and I like not beards." 
 
 "His excellency wore no beard he who sat on my 
 mother's right and opposite to me." 
 
 "He is very grand, seiiorita; more grand than the 
 Governor, who after all has red hair and is old. He is 
 even grander than Don Jose, whom may the saints 
 preserve; or than the padres at the Mission. Perhaps 
 he is a king, like our King and natural lord in Spain. 
 (El rey nuestro y senor natural.) Is he a king, 
 senorita ? ' ' 
 
 "No, but he should be. Rosa, thou mayst have my 
 red cloak that came from Mexico last year. I have a 
 new one and that is too small. I had intended to give 
 it to Ana Paula, but thou art a good girl and should 
 have a gay mantle for Sunday, like the other girls. 
 I have also a red ribbon for thy hair " 
 
 Rosa spilt half the contents of the chocolate pot on 
 the floor and Concha gave her a sound box on the ear. 
 However, she did not dismiss her, a sentence for which 
 the trembling girl prepared herself. 
 
 "Make more quickly!" cried the lady of caprice. 
 "They come. I hear them. But this is enough for 
 the first. Make the rest and beat with the molinillo as 
 I have done, and Malia will bring all to the corridor." 
 
 She ran to her room and her mirror. Both were 
 small, the room little more luxurious than the cell of 
 a nun. But the roses hung over the window, the birds 
 had built in the eaves, and over the wall the sun shone 
 in. In one corner was an altar and a crucifix. If the 
 walls were rough and white, they were as spotless as 
 the hands that shook out and then twisted high the fine 
 dusky masses of hair. When a fold had been drawn 
 down over either ear, in the modest fashion of the 
 California maid and wife, and the tall shell comb had 
 fastened the rest, Concha instead of finishing the head- 
 dress with her long Spanish pins, divested the stems 
 of two half -blown roses of their thorns and thrust them 
 obliquely through the knot. Her dress was of simple 
 
REZANOV 37 
 
 white linen made with a very full skirt and little round 
 jacket, but embroidered by her own deft fingers with 
 the color she loved best. She patted her frock, rolled 
 down her sleeves, and went out to the " corridor " to 
 stand demurely behind her mother as the Russians, 
 escorted by Father Ramon Abella, rode into the square. 
 
 Rezanov had intended merely to pay a call of cere- 
 mony upon the hospitable Argiiellos, but after he had 
 dismounted and kissed the hands of the smiling senora 
 and her beautiful daughter he was nothing loath to 
 linger over a cup of chocolate. 
 
 It was served out there in the shade of the vines. 
 Rezanov and Concha sat on the railing, and the man 
 stared over his cup at the girl with the roses touching 
 her cheek and ruffling her hair. 
 
 "Do you like chocolate, senor?" asked Concha, who 
 was not in the intellectual mood of yesterday. * 1 1 made 
 it myself I and my poor Rosa." 
 
 "It is the most delectable foam I have ever tasted. I 
 am interested to know that it has the solid foundation 
 of a name. What is the matter with your Rosa?" 
 
 "She is an unfortunate. Her lover killed his wife, 
 and it is said that she is not innocent herself. The 
 lover serves in chains for eight years, and she is with 
 us that we may make her repent and keep her from 
 further sin. She is very unhappy and will marry the 
 man when his punishment is over. I am very sorry 
 for her." 
 
 ' ' Fancy you living close to a woman like that ! I find 
 it detestable." 
 
 "Why? if I can do her good and make her happy, 
 sometimes ? ' ' 
 
 "Does she ever talk about her life before she came 
 here?" 
 
 ' ' Oh, no ; she is far too sad. Once only, when I told 
 her I would pray for her in the Mission, she asked me 
 to burn a candle that her lover might serve his sentence 
 more quickly arid come out and marry her. Will you 
 light one for her to-day, senor?" 
 
38 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "With the greatest pleasure; if you really want your 
 maid to marry a man who no doubt will murder her for 
 the sake of some other woman/' 
 
 "Oh, surely not! He loves her. I know that many 
 men love more than once, but when they are punished 
 like that, they must remember." 
 
 "Is it true that you are only sixteen? Is that an 
 impertinent question? I cannot help it. Those years 
 are so few, and so much wisdom has gone into that 
 little head." 
 
 "Sixteen is quite old." Concha drew herself up with 
 an air of offended dignity. "Elena Castro, who lives 
 on the other side, is but eighteen and she has three 
 little ones. The Virgin brought them in the night and 
 left them in the big rosebush you see before the door 
 one at a time, of course. Only the old nurse knew ; the 
 Virgin whispered it while she was saying a prayer for 
 Elena; and early in the morning she came and found 
 the dear little baby and put it in Elena's arms. I am 
 the godmother of the first Conchitita. In Santa Bar- 
 bara, where we lived for some years, Anita Amanda 
 Carillo, the friend of Ana Paula, is married, although 
 she is but twelve and sits on the floor all day and plays 
 with her dolls. She prays every night to the Virgin 
 to bring her a real baby, but she is not old enough 
 to take care of it and must wait. Twelve is too young 
 to marry." Concha shook her head. Her eyes were 
 wise, and Eezanov noted anew that her mouth alone 
 was as young as her years. "My father would not per- 
 mit such a thing. I am glad he is not anxious we 
 should marry soon. I should love to have the babies, 
 though; they are so sweet to play with and make little 
 dresses for. But my mother says the Virgin does not 
 bring the little ones to good girls poor Rosa had one 
 but it died until their parents find them a husband 
 
 first. I have never wanted a husband " Concha 
 
 darted a swift glance over her shoulder, but Santiago 
 was in the clutches of the learned doctor and wishing 
 
REZANO V 39 
 
 that he knew no Latin; "so I go every day and play 
 with Elena's babies, which is well enough." 
 
 Bezanov listened to this innocent revelation with the 
 utmost gravity, but for the first time in many years 
 he was conscious of a novel fascination in a sex to 
 which he had paid no niggard's tribute. In his world 
 the married woman reigned; it was doubtful if he had 
 ever had ten minutes' conversation with a young girl 
 before, never with one whose face and form were as 
 arresting as her crystal purity. He was fascinated, 
 but more than ever on his guard. As he rode over 
 the sand hills to the Mission she clung fast to his 
 thoughts and he speculated upon the woman hidden 
 away in the depths of that lovely shell like the deep 
 color within the tight Castilian buds that opened so 
 slowly. He recalled the personalities of the young officers 
 that surrounded her. They were charming fellows, 
 gay, kindly, honest ; but he felt sure that not one of them 
 was fit to hold the cup of life to the exquisite young 
 lips of Concha Argiiello. The very thought disposed 
 him to twist their necks. 
 
VI 
 
 THE Mission San Francisco de Assisi stood at the head 
 of a great valley about a league from the Presidio and 
 facing the eastern hills. Behind it, yet not too close, 
 for the priests were ever on their guard against Indians 
 more lustful of loot than salvation, was a long irregular 
 chain of hills, breaking into twin peaks on its highest 
 ridge, with a lone mountain outstanding. It was an 
 imposing but forbidding mass, as steep and bare as 
 the walls of a fortress; but in the distance, north and 
 south, as the range curved in a tapering arc that gave 
 the valley the appearance of a colossal stadium, the 
 outlines were soft in a haze of pale color. The sheltered 
 valley between the western heights and the sand hills 
 far down by the bay where it turned to the south, was 
 green with wheat fields, and a small herd of cattle 
 grazed on the lower slopes. The beauty of this superbly 
 proportioned valley was further enhanced by groves 
 of oaks and bay trees, and by a lagoon, communicating 
 with an arm of the bay, which the priests had named for 
 their Lady of Sorrows Nuestra Sefiora de los Dolores. 
 The little sheet of water was almost round, very green 
 and set in a thicket of willows that were green, too, in 
 the springtime, and golden in summer. Near its banks, 
 or closer to the protecting Mission on whose land grant 
 they were built were the comfortable adobe homes of 
 the few Spanish pioneers that preferred the bracing 
 north to the monotonous warmth of the south. Some 
 of these houses were long and rambling, others built 
 about a court ; all were surrounded by a high wall, en- 
 closing a garden where the Castilian roses grew even 
 more luxuriantly than at the Presidio. The walls, like 
 the houses, were white, and on those of Don Juan 
 
 40 
 
REZANOV 41 
 
 Moraga, a cousin of Dona Ignacia Argiiello, the roses 
 had been trained to form a border along the top in a 
 fashion that reminded Rezanov of the pink-edged walls 
 of Fiesole. 
 
 The white red-tiled church and the long line of rooms 
 adjoining were built of adobe with no effort at grandeur, 
 but with a certain noble simplicity of outline that har- 
 monized not only with the lofty reserve of the hills but 
 with the innocent hope of creating a soul in the lowest 
 of human bipeds. The Indians of San Francisco were 
 as immedicable as they were hideous-; but the fathers 
 belabored them with sticks and heaven with prayer, 
 and had so far succeeded that if as yet they had sown 
 piety no higher than the knees they had trained some 
 twelve hundred pairs of hands to useful service. 
 
 On the right was a graveyard, with little in it as 
 yet but rose trees; behind the church and the many 
 spacious rooms built for the consolation of virtue in the 
 wilderness was a large building surrounding a court. 
 Girls and young widows occupied the cells on the north 
 side, and the work rooms on the east, while the youths, 
 under the sharp eye of a lay brother, were opposite. 
 All lived a life of unwilling industry: cleaning and 
 combing wool, spinning, weaving, manufacturing choco- 
 late, grinding corn between stones, making shoes, fash- 
 ioning the simple garments worn by priest and Indian. 
 Between the main group of buildings and the natural 
 rampart of the "San Bruno Mountains" was the 
 Rancheria, where the Indian families lived in eight long 
 rows of isolated huts. 
 
 In spite of vigilance an Indian escaped now and again 
 to the mountains, where he could lie naked in the sun 
 and curse the fetich of civilization. As the Russians 
 approached, a friar, with deer-skin armor over his 
 cassock, was tugging at a recalcitrant mule, while a 
 body-guard of four Indians stood ready to attend him 
 down the coast in search of an enviable brother. The 
 mule, as if in sympathy with the fugitive, had planted 
 his four feet in the earth and lifted his voice in derision, 
 
42 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 while the young friar, a recruit at the Mission, and 
 far from enamored of his task, strained at the rope, 
 and an Indian pelted the hindquarters with stones. 
 Suddenly, the mule flung out his heels, the enemy in the 
 rear sprawled, the rope flew loose, the beast with a 
 loud bray fled toward the willows of Dolores. But the 
 young priest was both agile and angry. With a flying 
 leap he reached the heaving back. The mule acknowl- 
 edged himself conquered. The body-guard trotted on 
 their own feet, and the party disappeared round a bend 
 of the hills. 
 
 Rezanov laughed heartily and even the glum visage 
 of Father Abella relaxed. 
 
 "It is a common sight, Excellency," he said. "We 
 are thankful to have a younger friar for such fatiguing 
 work. Many a time have I belabored stubborn mules 
 and bestrode bucking mustangs while searching for one 
 of these ungrateful but no doubt chosen creatures. It 
 is the will of God, and we make no complaint; but we 
 are very willing, Father Landaeta and I, that youth 
 should cool its ardor in so certain a fashion while we 
 attend to the more reasonable duties at home." 
 
 They dismounted at the door of the church. The 
 horses were led off by waiting Indians. The soldiers 
 on guard saluted and stepped aside, and the party 
 entered. Two priests in handsome vestments stood be- 
 fore the altar, but the long dim nave was empty. The 
 Russians had been told that a mass would be said in 
 their honor, and they marched down the church and 
 bent their knees with as much ceremony as had they 
 been of the faith of their hosts. When the short mass 
 was over, Rezanov bethought himself of Concha's re- 
 quest, and whispering its purport to Father Abella was 
 led to a double iron hoop stuck with tallow dips in 
 various stages of petition. Rezanov lit a candle and 
 fastened it in an empty socket. Then with a whim- 
 sical twist of his mouth he lit and adjusted another. 
 
 "No doubt she has some fervent wish, like all chil- 
 dren," he thought apologetically. "And whether this 
 
KEZANOV 43 
 
 will help her to realize it or not, at least it will be inter- 
 esting to watch her eyes and mouth when I tell her. 
 Will she melt, or flash, or receive my offering at her 
 shrine as a matter of course ? I '11 surprise her to-night 
 in the middle of a dance. ' ' 
 
 He deposited a gold piece among the candles on the 
 table and followed Father Abella through a side door. 
 A corridor ran behind the long line of rooms designed 
 not only for priests but for the travellers always sure 
 of a welcome at these hospitable Missions. Father 
 Abella shuffled ahead, halted on the threshold of a large 
 room, and ceremoniously invited his guests to enter. Two 
 other priests stood before a table set with wine and 
 delicate confections, their hands concealed in their wide 
 brown sleeves, but their unmatched physiognomies the 
 one lean and jovial, the other plump and resigned 
 alight with the same smile of welcome. Father Abella 
 mentioned them as his coadjutor Father Martin 
 Landaeta, and their guest Father Jose Uria of San 
 Jose ; and then the three, with the scant rites of genuine 
 hospitality, applied themselves to the tickling of palates 
 long unused to ambrosial living. Eesponding ingenu- 
 ously to the glow of their home-made wines, they begged 
 Rezanov to accept the Mission, burn it, plunder it, above 
 all, to plan his own day. 
 
 "I hope that I am to see every detail of your great 
 work/' replied the diplomatic guest of honor. "But 
 at your own leisure. Meanwhile, I beg that you will 
 order one of your Indians to bring in the little presents 
 I venture to offer as a token of my respect. You may 
 have heard that the presents of his Imperial Majesty 
 were refused by the Mikado of Japan. I reserved many 
 of them for possible use in our own possessions, par- 
 ticularly a piece of cloth of gold. This I had intended 
 for our church at New Archangel, but finding the priests 
 there more in need of punishment than reward, I con- 
 cluded to bring it here and offer it as a manifest of 
 my admiration for what the great Franciscan Order 
 of the Most Holy Church of Rome has accomplished 
 
44 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 in the Calif ornias. Have I been too presumptuous ? " 
 
 The priests all wore the eager expressions of children. 
 
 " Could we not see them first?" asked Father 
 Landaeta of his superior; and Father Abella sent a 
 servant with an order to unload the horse and bring in 
 the presents. 
 
 Not a vestige of reserve lingered. Priests and guests 
 sat about the table eating and drinking and chatting 
 as were they old friends reunited, and Eezanov extracted 
 much of the information he desired. The white pop- 
 ulation "gente de razon" of Alta California, the 
 peculiar province of the Franciscans the Jesuits 
 having been the first to invade Baja California, and 
 with little success numbered about two thousand, the 
 Christianized Indians twenty thousand. There were 
 nineteen Missions and four Presidial districts San 
 Diego, close to the border of Baja California, Santa 
 Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. Each Mission 
 had an immense grant of land, or rancho generally 
 fifteen miles square for the raising of live stock, agri- 
 cultural necessities, and the grape. At the Presidio of 
 San Francisco there were some seventy men, including 
 invalids ; and the number varied little at the other mili- 
 tary centres, Rezanov inferred, although there was a 
 natural effort to impress the foreigner with the casual 
 inferiority of the armed force within his ken. Cattle 
 and horses increased so rapidly that every few years 
 there was a wholesale slaughter, although the agricul- 
 tural yield was enormous. What the Missions were 
 unable to manufacture was sent them from Mexico, and 
 disposed of the small salaries of the priests ; the ' ' Pious 
 Fund of California" in the City of Mexico being sys- 
 tematically embezzled. The first Presidio and Mission 
 were founded at San Diego in July of 1769 ; the last at 
 San Francisco in September and October of 1776. 
 
 Rezanov's polite interest in the virgin country was 
 cut short by the entrance of two Indians carrying heavy 
 bundles, which they opened upon the floor without 
 further delay. 
 
REZANOV 45 
 
 The cloth of gold was magnificent, and the padres 
 handled it as rapturously as had their souls and fingers 
 been of the sex symbolized while exalted by the essence 
 of maternity in whose service it would be anointed. 
 Kezanov looked on with an amused sigh, yet conscious 
 of being more comprehending and sympathetic than 
 if he had journeyed straight from Europe to California. 
 It was not the first time he had felt a passing gratitude 
 for his uncomfortable but illuminating sojourn so close 
 to the springs of nature. 
 
 The priests were as well pleased with the pieces of 
 fine English cloth; and as their own homespun robes 
 rasped like hair shirts, they silently but uniformly con- 
 gratulated themselves that the color was brown. 
 
 Father Abella turned to Rezanov, his saturnine fea- 
 tures relaxed. 
 
 "We are deeply grateful to your excellency, and our 
 prayers shall follow you always. Never have we re- 
 ceived presents so timely and so magnificent. And be 
 sure we shall not forget the brave officers that have 
 brought you safely to our distant shores, nor the dis- 
 tinguished scholar who guards your excellency's health." 
 He turned to Langsdorff and repeated himself in Latin. 
 The naturalist, whose sharp nose was always lifted 
 as if in protest against oversight and ready to pounce 
 upon and penetrate the least of mysteries, bowed with 
 his hand on his heart, and translated for the benefit of 
 the officers. 
 
 "Humph!" said David ov in Russian. "Much, the 
 Chamberlain will care for the prayers of the Catholic 
 Church if he has to go home with his cargo. But he has 
 a fine opportunity here for the display of his diplomatic 
 talents. I fancy they will avail him more than they did 
 at Nagasaki where I am told he swore more than once 
 when he should have kowtowed and grinned." 
 
 "I shouldn't like to see him grin," replied Khostov, 
 as they finally started for the outbuildings. "If he 
 could go as far as that he would be the most terrible 
 man living. Were it not for the fire in him that melts 
 
46 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the iron just so often he would be crafty and cruel 
 instead of subtle and firm. He is a fortunate man! 
 There were many fairies at his cradle! I have always 
 envied him, and now he is going to win that beautiful 
 Dona Concha. She will look at none of us.-' 
 
 "We will doubtless meet others as beautiful at the 
 ball to-night, " said David ov philosophically. "You are 
 not in love with a girl who has barely spoken to you, 
 I suppose." 
 
 ' l She had almost given me a rose this morning, when 
 Rezanov, who was flattering the good Dona Ignacia with 
 a moment of his attention, turned too soon. I might 
 have been air. She looked straight through me. Such 
 eyes! Such teeth! Such a form! She is the most 
 enchanting girl I have ever seen. And he will monopo- 
 lize her without troubling to notice whether we even 
 admire her or not. Pray heaven he does not break 
 her heart." 
 
 "He is honorable. One must admit that, if he does 
 fancy his own will was a personal gift from the Al- 
 mighty. Perhaps she will break his. I never saw a 
 more accomplished flirt." 
 
 "I know wom$n," replied the shrewder Khostov. 
 
 "When men like Rezanov make an effort to please " 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. "Some men are the off- 
 spring of Mars and Venus and most of us are not. We 
 can at least be philosophers. Let us hope the dinner 
 will be excellent." 
 
VII 
 
 IT proved to be the most delicate and savory repast 
 that had excited their appetites this side of Europe. The 
 friars had their consolations, and even Dona Ignacia 
 Argiiello was less gastronomic than Father Landaeta. 
 Rezanov, whose epieurianism had survived a year of 
 dried fish and the coarse luxuries of his managers, sud- 
 denly saw all life in the light of the humorist, and told 
 so many amusing versions of his adventures in the wil- 
 derness, and even of his misadventure with Japan, that 
 the priests choked over their wine, and Langsdorff, who 
 had not a grain of humor, swelled with pride in his 
 chance relationship to a man who seemed able to manip- 
 ulate every string in the human network. 
 
 "He will succeed," he said to Davidov. "He will 
 succeed. I almost hoped he would not, he is so indif- 
 ferent I might almost say so hostile to my own scien- 
 tific adventures. But when he is in this mood, when 
 those cold eyes brim with laughter and ordinary human- 
 ity, I am nothing better than his slave." 
 
 Kezanov, in reply to an entreaty from Father Uriai 
 to tell them more of his mission and of the strange 
 picture-book country they had never hoped to hear 
 of at first hand, assumed a tone of great frankness and 
 intimacy. "We were, with astounding cleverness, 
 treated from the first like an audience in a new theatre. 
 After we had solemnly been towed by a string of boats 
 to anchor, under the Papen mountains, all Nagasaki 
 appeared to turn out, men, women, and children. Thou- 
 sands of little boats, decorated with flags by day and 
 colored lanterns by night, and filled with people in gala 
 attire, swarmed about us, gazed at us through telescopes, 
 were so thick on the bay one could have traversed it on 
 
 47 
 
48 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 foot. The imperial sailors were distinguished by their 
 uniforms of a large blue and white check, suggesting 
 the pinafores of a brobdingnagian baby. The barges 
 of the imperial princes were covered with blue and 
 white awnings and towed to the sound of kettledrums 
 and the loud measured cries of the boatmen. At night 
 the thousands of illuminated lanterns, of every color 
 and shade, the waving of fans, the incessant chattering, 
 and the more harmonious noise that rose unceasingly 
 above, made up a scene as brilliant as it was juvenile 
 and absurd. In the daytime it was more interesting, 
 with the background of hills cultivated to their crests 
 in the form of terraces, varied with rice fields, hamlets, 
 groves, and paper villas encircled with little gardens as 
 glowing and various of color as the night lanterns. 
 When, at last, I was graciously permitted to have a 
 residence on a point of land called Megasaki, I was 
 conveyed thither in the pleasure barge of the Prince of 
 Fisi. There was place for sixty oarsmen, but as one 
 of the few tokens of respect I was enabled to record 
 for the comfort of the mighty sovereign whose repre- 
 sentative I was, the barge was towed by a long line of 
 boats, decorated with flags, the voices of the rowers rising 
 and falling in measured cadence as they announced to 
 all Japan the honor about to be conferred upon her. 
 I sat on a chair of state in the central compartment of 
 the barge, and quite alone; my suite standing on a 
 raised deck beyond. Before me on a table, marvellously 
 inlaid, were my credentials. I was surrounded by cur- 
 tains of sky-blue silk and panels of polished lacquer 
 inwrought with the imperial arms in gold. The awning 
 of blue and white silk was lined with a delicate and 
 beautiful tapestry, and the reverse sides of the silken 
 partitions were of canvas painted by the masters of the 
 country. The polished floor was covered by a mag- 
 nificent carpet woven with alarming dragons whose 
 jaws pointed directly at my chair of state. And such 
 an escort and such a reception, both of ceremony and 
 of curiosity, no Russian had ever boasted before. Flags 
 
REZANOV 49 
 
 waved, kettledrums beat, fans were flung into my very 
 lap to autograph. The bay, the hills, were a blaze of 
 color and a confusion of sound. The barracks were 
 hung with tapestries and gay silks. I, with my arms 
 folded and in full uniform, my features composed to 
 the impassivity of one of their own wooden gods, was 
 the central figure of this magnificent farce ; and it may 
 be placed to the everlasting credit of the discipline of 
 courts that not one of my staff smiled. They stood with 
 their arms folded and their eyes on the inlaid devices at 
 their feet. 
 
 "When this first act was over and I was locked in 
 for the night and felt myself able to kick my way 
 through the flimsy walls, yet as completely a prisoner 
 as if they had been of stone, I will confess that I fell 
 into a most undiplomatical rage; and when I found 
 myself played with from month to month by a people 
 I scorned as a grotesque mixture of barbarian and 
 mannikin, I was alternately infuriated, and consumed 
 with laughter at the vanity of men and nations." 
 
 His voice dropped from its light ironical note, and 
 became harsh and abrupt with reminiscent disgust. 
 ' ' And the end of it all was failure. The superb presents 
 of the Tsar were rejected. These presents: coats of 
 black fox and ermine, vases of fossil ivory and of marble, 
 muskets, pistols, sabers, magnificent lustres, table 
 services of crystal and porcelain, tapestries and car- 
 pets, immense mirrors, a clock in the form of an ele- 
 phant, and set with precious stones, a portrait of the 
 Tsar by Madame le Brun, damasks, furs, velvets, printed 
 cotton, cloths, brocades of gold and silver, microscopes, 
 gold and silver watches, a complete electrical machine 
 presents in all, of the value of three hundred thousand 
 roubles, were returned with scant ceremony to the 
 Nadeshda and I was politely told to leave. 
 
 4 'But the mortification was the least of my worries. 
 The object of the embassy was to establish not only 
 good will and friendship between Russia and Japan, for 
 which we cared little, but commercial intercourse be- 
 
50 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 tween this fertile country and our northeastern and 
 barren possessions. It would have been greatly to the 
 advantage of the Japanese, and God knows it would 
 have meant much to us." 
 
 Then Rezanov, having tickled the imaginations and 
 delighted the curiosity of the priests, began to play upon 
 their heartstrings. His own voice vibrated as he related 
 the sufferings of the servants of the Company, and while 
 avoiding the nomenclature and details of their bodily 
 afflictions, gave so thrilling a hint of their terrible con- 
 dition that his audience gasped with sympathy while 
 experiencing no qualms in their own more fortunate 
 stomachs. 
 
 He led their disarmed understandings as far down 
 the vale of tears as he deemed wise, then permitted 
 himself a magnificent burst of spontaneity. 
 
 "I must tell you the object of my mission to Cali- 
 fornia, my kind friends!" he cried, "although I beg 
 you will not betray me to the other powers until I think 
 it wise to speak myself. But I must have your sympathy 
 and advice. It has long been my desire to establish 
 relations between Russia and Spain that should be of 
 mutual benefit to the colonies of both in this part of 
 the western hemisphere. I have told you of the hor- 
 rible condition and needs of my men. They must have 
 a share in the superfluities of this most prodigal land. 
 But I make no appeal to your mercy. Trade is not 
 founded on charity. You well know we have much you 
 are in daily need of. There should be a bi-yearly 
 interchange." He paused and looked from one staring 
 face to the other. He had been wise in his appeal. 
 They were deeply gratified at being taken into his con- 
 fidence and virtually asked to outwit the military 
 authorities they detested. 
 
 Rezanov continued. 
 
 "I have brought the Juno heavy laden, my fathers, 
 and for the deliberate purpose of barter. She is full 
 of Russian and Boston goods. I shall do my utmost 
 to persuade your Governor to give me of his corn and 
 
REZANOV 51 
 
 other farinaceous foods in exchange. It may be against 
 your laws, and I am well aware that for the treaty I 
 must wait, but I beg you in the name of humanity to 
 point out to his excellency a way in which he can at 
 the same time relieve our necessities and placate his 
 conscience. ' ' 
 
 ' ' We will ! We will ! ' ' cried Father Abella. ' ' Would 
 that you had come in the disguise of a common sea- 
 captain, for we have hoodwinked the commandantes 
 more than once. But aside from the suspicion and 
 distrust in which Spain holds Russia, with so dis- 
 tinguished a visitor as your excellency, it would be 
 impossible to traffic undetected. But there must be a 
 way out. There shall be! And will your excellency 
 kindly let us see the cargo? I am sure there is much 
 we sadly need: cloth, linen, cotton, boots, shoes, casks, 
 bottles, glasses, plates, shears, axes, implements of hus- 
 bandry, saws, sheep-shears, iron wares have you any 
 of these things, Excellency?" 
 
 ''All and more. Will you come to-morrow ?" 
 
 ' ' We will ! and one way or another they shall be ours 
 and you shall have breadstuffs for your pitiable sub- 
 jects. We have as much need of Europe as you can 
 have of California, for Mexico is dilatory and often 
 disregards our orders altogether. One way or another 
 we have your promise, Excellency?" 
 
 "I shall not leave California without accomplishing 
 what I came for," said Eezanov. 
 
VIII 
 
 CONCHA boxed Rosa's ears twice while being dressed for 
 the ball that evening. It was true that excitement had 
 reigned throughout the Presidio all day, for never had a 
 ball been so hastily planned. Don Luis had demurred 
 when Concha proposed it at breakfast ; officially to enter- 
 tain strangers not yet officially received exceeded his 
 authority. Concha, waxing stubborn with opposition, 
 vowed that she would give the ball herself if he did not. 
 Business immediately afterward took the Commandante 
 ad. in. down to the Battery at Yerba Buena. Before 
 he left he gave orders that the large hall in the barracks, 
 where balls usually were held, should be locked and the 
 key given up to no one but himself. He returned in 
 the afternoon to find that Concha had outwitted him. 
 The sala of the Commandante 's house was very large. 
 The furniture had been removed and the walls hung 
 with flags, those of Spain on three sides, the Russian, 
 borrowed by Santiago from the ship, at the head of the 
 room. Concha laughed gaily as Luis stormed about 
 the sala rasping his spurs on the bare floor. 
 
 ' ' Whitewashed walls for guests from St. Petersburg ! ' ' 
 she jeered, as Luis menaced the flags. "We have little 
 enough to offer. Besides what more wise than to 
 flaunt our flag in the face of the Russian bear? Their 
 flag, of course, is a mere idle compliment. Let me tell 
 you two things, Luis mio: this morning I invited the 
 Russians to dance to-night, and told Padre Abella to 
 ask all our neighbors of the Mission besides ; and Ra- 
 faella Sal helped me to drape every one of those flags. 
 When I told her you might tear them down, she vowed 
 that if you did she would dance all night with the 
 Bostonian. ' ' 
 
 52 
 
REZANOV 53 
 
 Luis lifted his shoulders and mustache to express an 
 attitude of contemptuous resignation, but his face dark- 
 ened, and a moment later he left the room and strolled 
 up the square to the grating of Rafaella Sal. 
 
 Concha well knew that the frank gray eyes of the 
 Bostonian all citizens of the United States were Bos- 
 tonians in that part of the world, for only Boston 
 skippers had the enterprise to venture so far were for 
 no one but herself. But his face was bony and freckled, 
 and his figure less in height and vigor than her own. 
 He was rich and well-born, but shy and very modest. 
 Concha Argiiello, La Favorita of California, was for 
 some such dashing caballero as Don Antonio Castro of 
 Monterey, or Ignacio Sal, the most adventurous rider 
 of the north. Meanwhile he could look at her and 
 adore her in secret, and Dona Rafaella Sal was very 
 kind and danced as well as himself. He never dreamed 
 that he was being used as a stalking horse to keep 
 alive in' the best match in the Calif ornias the jealous 
 desire for exclusive possession that had animated him 
 in 1800 when he had applied through the Viceroy of 
 Mexico for royal consent to his marriage with the Fa-. 
 vorita of her year. That was six years ago and never 
 a word had come from Madrid. Luis was faithful, 
 but men were men, and girls grew older every day. 
 So the wise Rafaella was alternately indifferent and 
 alluring, the object of more admiration than a maid 
 could always repel, yet with wells of sentiment that 
 only one man could discover. And the American was 
 patient, and even had he known, would not in the least 
 have minded the use she made of him. He still could 
 look at Concha Argiiello. 
 
 William Sturgis had sailed in one of his father's 
 ships, now six years ago, from Boston in search of 
 health. The ship in a dense fog had gone on the rocks 
 in the straits between the Farallones and the Bay of 
 San Francisco. He alone, and after long hours of 
 struggle with the wicked currents, not even knowing in 
 what direction land might be, was flung, senseless, on 
 
54 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the shore below the Fort. For the next month he was 
 an invalid in the house of the Commandante. Fortu- 
 nately, his papers and money were sewn in an oilskin 
 belt and his father's name was well known in Cali- 
 fornia. Moreover, there never was a more likable youth. 
 His illness interested all the matrons and maids of the 
 Presidio in his fate ; when he recovered, his good dancing 
 and unselfishness gave him permanent place in the 
 regard of the women, while his entire absence of beauty, 
 and his ability to hold his own in the mess room, estab- 
 lished his position with the men. 
 
 In due course word of his plight reached Boston, 
 and a ship was immediately despatched, not only to 
 bring the castaway home, but with the fine wardrobe 
 necessary to a young gentleman of his station. But the 
 same ship brought word of his father's death his 
 mother had gone long since and as there were brothers 
 enamored of the business he hated, he decided to remain 
 in the country that had won his heart and given him 
 health. For some time there was demur on the part of 
 the authorities; Spain welcomed no foreigners in her 
 colonies. But Sturgis swore a mighty oath that he 
 would never despatch a letter uninspected by the Com- 
 mandante, that he would make no excursions into the 
 heart of the country, that he would neither engage in 
 traffic nor interfere in politics. Then having already 
 won the affections of the Governor, he was permitted to 
 remain, even to rent an acre of land from the Church 
 in the sheltered Mission valley, and build himself a 
 house. Here he raised fruit and vegetables for his own 
 hospitable table, chickens and game cocks. Books and 
 other luxuries came by every ship from Boston; until 
 for a long interval ships came no more. One of these 
 days, when the power of the priests had abated, and the 
 jealousy which would keep all Californians landless but 
 themselves was counterbalanced by a great increase in 
 population, he meant to have a ranch down in the south 
 where the sun shone all the year round and he could 
 ride half the day with his vaqueros after the finest 
 
REZANOV 55 
 
 cattle in the country. He never should marry because 
 he could not marry Concha Argiiello, but he could 
 think of her, see her sometimes ; and in a land where a 
 man was neither frozen in winter nor grilled in summer, 
 where life could be led in the open, and the tendency 
 was to idle and dream, domestic happiness called on a 
 feebler note than in less equable climes. In his heart 
 he was desperately jealous of Concha's favored cavaliers, 
 but it was a jealousy without hatred, and his kind 
 earnest often humorous eyes were always assuring his 
 lady of an imperishable desire to serve her without re- 
 ward. Of course Concha treated him with as little con- 
 sideration as so humble a swain deserved; but in her 
 heart she liked him better than either Castro or Sal, 
 for he talked to her of something besides rodeos and 
 balls, racing and cock-fights; he had taught her Eng- 
 lish and lent her many books. Moreover, he neither 
 sighed nor languished, nor ever had sung at her grating. 
 But she regarded him merely as an intelligence, a well 
 of refreshment in her stagnant life, never as a man. 
 
 "Rosa," she said as she caught her hair into a high 
 golden comb that had been worn in Spain by many a 
 beauty of the house of Moraga, and spiked the knot with 
 two long pins globed at the end with gold, while the 
 maid fastened her slippers and smoothed the pink silk 
 stockings over the arched thin instep above; "what is 
 a lover like? Is it like meeting one of the saints of 
 heaven ? ' ' 
 
 "No, seriorita." 
 
 "Like what, then?" 
 
 "Like like nothing but himself, senorita. You 
 would not have him otherwise." 
 
 1 ' Oh, stupid one ! Hast thou no imagination ? Fancy 
 any man being well enough as he is! For instance, 
 there is Don Antonio, who is so handsome and fiery, 
 and Don Ignacio, who can sing and dance and ride as 
 no one else in all the Californias, and Don "Weeliam 
 Sturgis, who is very clever and true. If I could roll 
 them into one a tamale of corn and chicken and pep- 
 
56 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 pers there would be a man almost to my liking. But 
 even then not quite. And one man what nonsense ! 
 I have too much color to-night, Rosa. " 
 
 "No, senorita, you have never been so beautiful. 
 When the lover comes and you love him, sefiorita, you 
 will think him greater than our natural king and lord, 
 and all other men poor Indians." 
 
 "But how shall I know?" 
 
 "Your heart will tell you, sefiorita." 
 
 "My heart? My father and my mother will choose 
 for me a husband whom I shall love as all other women 
 love their husbands just enough and no more. Then 
 I suppose I shall never know?" 
 
 "Would you marry at your parents' bidding, like a 
 child, senorita? I do not think you would." 
 
 Concha looked at the girl in astonishment, but with a 
 greater astonishment she suddenly realized that she 
 would not. Even her little fingers stiffened in a rush 
 of personality, of passionate resentment against the 
 shackles bound by the ages about the feminine ego. Her 
 individuality, long budding, burst into flower ; her eyes 
 gazed far beyond her radiant image in the mirror with 
 a look of terrified but dauntless insight; then moved 
 slowly to the girl that sat weeping on the floor. 
 
 "I know not what thy sin was," she said musingly. 
 "But I have heard it said thou didst obey no law but 
 thine own will and his. Why should the punishment 
 have been so terrible? Thou hast sworn to me thou 
 didst not help to murder the woman." 
 
 "I cannot tell you, senorita. You will never know 
 anything of sin ; but of love yes, I think you will know 
 that, and before very long." 
 
 1 1 Before long ? ' ' Concha ? s lips parted and the nervous 
 color she had deprecated left her cheeks. "What 
 meanest thou, Rosa?" Her voice rose hoarsely. 
 
 And the Indian, with the insight of her own tragedy, 
 replied : "The Russian has come for you, sefiorita. You 
 will go with him, far away to the north and the snow. 
 These others never could win your heart; but this man 
 
REZANOV 57 
 
 who looks like a king, and as if many women had loved 
 
 him, and he had cared little Oh, senorita, Carlos 
 
 was only a poor Indian, but the men that women love 
 all have something that makes them brothers the great 
 Russian and the poor man who goes mad for a moment 
 and kills one woman that he may live with another 
 forever. The great Russian is free, but he is the same, 
 senorita he too could kill for love, and such are the 
 men we women die for ! ' ' 
 
 Concha, ambitious and romantic, eager for the bril- 
 liant life the advent of this Russian nobleman seemed 
 to herald, had assured Santiago that he would love her ; 
 but they had been the empty words of the Favorita of 
 many conquests ; of love and passion she had known, sus- 
 pected, nothing. As she watched Rosa, huddled and 
 convulsed, little pointed arrows flew into her brain. 
 Girls in those old Spanish days went to the altar with 
 a serene faith in miracles, and it was a matter of honor 
 among those that preceded their friends to abet the 
 parents in a custom which assuredly did not err on the 
 side of ugliness. Concha had a larger vocabulary than 
 other Calif ornians of her sex, for she had read many 
 books, and if never a novel, she knew something of 
 poetry. Sturgis had filled the sala with the sonorous 
 roll of his favorite masters and it had pleased her ear; 
 but the language of passion had been so many beau- 
 tiful words, neither vibrating nor lingering in her 
 consciousness. But the rude expression of the miserable 
 woman at her feet, whose sobs grew more uncontrolla- 
 ble every moment, made it forever impossible that she 
 should prattle again as she had to Santiago and Rezanov 
 in the last day and night; and although she felt as if 
 straining her eyes in the dark, her cheeks burned once 
 more, and she rose uneasily and walked to the window. 
 
 She returned in a moment and stood over Rosa, but 
 her voice when she spoke had lost its hoarseness and 
 was cold and irritated. 
 
 " Control thyself," she said. "And go and bathe 
 thine eyes. Wouldst look like a tomato when it is time 
 
58 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 to pass the dulces and wines? And think no more of 
 thy lover until he can come out of prison and marry 
 thee." She drew herself away as the woman attempted 
 to clutch her skirts. "Go," she said. "The musicians 
 are tuning." 
 
IX 
 
 "THE sash, Excellency?" Jon longed to see his master 
 in full regalia once more, and after all, was not this 
 an embassy of a sort? But Rezanov, who already re- 
 garded his reflection with some humor, shook his head. 
 
 "I'll go as far as decency permits, for no one is so 
 impressed by external magnificence as the Spaniard. 
 But full dress uniform and orders are enough ; an ambas- 
 sador 's sash and they might suspect I took them for the 
 children they are. Children are not always fools. My 
 stock is too tight. Remember that I am to dance, and 
 am too tall for most women's pretty little ears. And 
 I doubt if an ear is less thirsty for being so provoca- 
 tively screened. " 
 
 Jon, a "prince" whose family had fallen upon evil 
 days long since, but whose thin clever fingers were no 
 mean inheritance, unwound and readjusted the folds of 
 soft batiste, that most becoming neck vesture man has 
 ever worn. He fain would have pressed the matter of 
 the sash, but Rezanov, most indulgent of masters to 
 this devoted servant, was never patient of insistence. 
 Jon also regretted the powdered wig and queue, which 
 he privately thought more befitting a fine gentleman 
 than his own hair, even though the latter were thick 
 and bright. He said tentatively: 
 
 "I notice these Calif ornians still wear the hair long; 
 and with their gay ribbons and showy hats look much 
 better no doubt than if they followed a fashion of 
 which it would seem they had not heard and perhaps 
 do not admire. I ventured to pack two of your excel- 
 lency's wigs when we were leaving St. Petersburg " 
 
 "Good heavens, no!" cried Rezanov, rising to his 
 feet and casting a last impatient glance at the mirror. 
 
 59 
 
60 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "When a man has escaped from a furnace does he run 
 back of his own accord? My brain would cook under 
 a wig in this climate, and I need all my wits for more 
 reasons than one." And he went up on deck. 
 
 There, while awaiting his horses and escort he had 
 another glimpse of the happy Arcadian life of the Cali- 
 fornians. Over the sand hills through which he had 
 floundered twice that day rode young men in gala attire, 
 a maiden, her attire as brilliant as the sunset along 
 the western summits, on the saddle before them. These 
 saddles were heavy with silver, the blanket beneath was 
 embroidered with both silver and gold. Gay light 
 laughter floated out on the cool evening breeze to the 
 little ship in the harbor. 
 
 "It has been a good day," thought Rezanov, lowering 
 his glass. "It is like her to arrange so charming a 
 finale." 
 
 When he arrived at the Presidio the guitars were 
 tinkling and the sala was full of eager and somber 
 faces. The Californians had come early, determined to 
 witness the arrival of the Russians. Very pretty most 
 of the girls were, and by no means a bevy of brunettes. 
 There was hair of every shade of brown, looped over the 
 ears, drawn high and confined by the high comb and 
 the long pins ; and Raf aella Sal, with her red hair and 
 gray eyes, was still celebrated as a beauty, although 
 no longer in her first youth she was twenty-two, and 
 should have been a matron and mother long since ! But 
 she looked very handsome and coquettish in her daring 
 yellow frock that no other red head would have dared 
 to wear, and she displayed three ropes of Baja Cali- 
 fornia pearls, one strand being the common possession. 
 The matrons, young and old, wore heavy satins or bro- 
 cades, either red or yellow, but the maids were in flow- 
 ered silks, sometimes with coquettish little jacket, gen- 
 erally with long pointed bodice and full flowing skirt. 
 Concha's frock was made in this fashion, but quite 
 different otherwise ; an aunt in the City of Mexico being 
 mindful at whiles of the cravings of relatives in exile. 
 
REZANOV 61 
 
 It was of a soft shimmering white stuff covered with 
 gold spangles and cut to reveal her young neck and 
 arms. She stood at the head of the room with her mother 
 as Rezanov entered, and he noticed for the first time 
 how tall she was. She held herself proudly ; mischievous 
 twinkle, nor child-like trust, nor flashing coquetry pos- 
 sessed her eyes; these, even more star-like than usual, 
 nevertheless looked out upon her guests with a dignified 
 composure. Her lips, her skin, were luminous. In this 
 well-cut evening gown she saw that her figure was su- 
 perb ; and that she could command stateliness as well as 
 vivacity moved her toward a pedestal in his regard that 
 had been occupied by few and never for long. 
 
 Rezanov, in his splendid uniform and blazing orders, 
 filled the sala with his presence as he walked past the 
 rows of bright critical eyes toward his hostesses. The 
 young lips of the maids parted with delight and the 
 men frowned. For the first time William Sturgis felt 
 the sickness of jealousy instead of its not unagreeable 
 pain. Davidov and Khostov, both handsome and well- 
 bred young men, were also in full naval uniform, and 
 by no means ignored ; while Langsdorff, in the severe 
 black of the scholar, was an admirable foil. 
 
 Rezanov, wondering at the subtle change in Concha, 
 bowed ceremoniously and murmured: "You will give 
 me the first dance, sefiorita?" 
 
 "Certainly, Excellency. Are you not the guest of 
 honor?" 
 
 She motioned to the Indian musicians, fiddles and 
 guitars fairly leaped to position, and in a moment Re- 
 zanov enjoyed the novel delusion of encircling a girl's 
 floating wraith. 
 
 "We can waltz, you see ! Are you not surprised?" 
 
 "It is but one accomplishment the more. I feared 
 a preference for your native dances, but ventured to 
 hope you would teach me." 
 
 "They are easy to learn. You will watch us dance 
 the contra-danza after this." 
 
 "With whom do you dance it?" 
 
62 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Her black eyelashes were very thick ; he barely caught 
 the glance she shot him. 
 
 "The Russian bear growls," she said lightly. ''Did 
 you expect to dance every dance with me?" 
 
 "I came for no other purpose." 
 
 "You would have several duels to fight to-morrow." 
 
 "I have no objection." 
 
 "You have fought others, then?" Her voice was 
 the softer with the effort to turn its edge. 
 
 "No more than most men, I suppose. May I ask 
 how many have been fought for you?" 
 
 "My memory is no better than yours. Why should 
 I burden it with trifles?" 
 
 "True. It doubtless is charged with matters far 
 more serious than the desires of mere men. Tell me, 
 senorita, what is your dearest wish?" He had bent 
 his head and fixed his powerful gaze on her stubborn 
 lashes. As he hoped, she raised startled eyes in which 
 an angry glitter dawned. 
 
 "My dearest wish? If I had one should I tell you? 
 Why do you ask me such a question?" 
 
 ' ' Because I lit a candle at the Mission to-day that you 
 might realize it," he answered smiling. 
 
 To his surprise he saw a flash of terror in her eyes 
 before she dropped them, and felt her shiver. But she 
 answered coldly: 
 
 "You have wasted a candle, senor. I have never 
 had a wish that was not instantly gratified. But I 
 thank you for the kind thought. Will you finish this 
 waltz with my friend, and the fiancee of Luis, Rafaella 
 Sal ? She has quarrelled with Luis, I see ; Don Weeliam 
 is dancing with Carolina Ximeno, and she cares to waltz 
 with no one else. Pardon me if I say that no one has 
 ever waltzed as well as your excellency, and I must 
 not be selfish." 
 
 "I will release you if you are tired, but otherwise 
 I shall do myself the honor to waltz with your friend 
 later." 
 
 "I must look after my other guests," she said coldly; 
 
REZANOV 63 
 
 and he was led with what grace he could summon to 
 the fair but sulky Eafaella. 
 
 "How am I to help flirting with that girl?" he 
 thought as he mechanically guided another light and 
 graceful partner through the crowded room. "If she 
 were one girl I might resist. But since eleven o'clock 
 yesterday morning she has been three. And if she was 
 twenty yesterday, twelve this morning, she is twenty- 
 eight to-night, and this might be a court ball in Madrid. 
 I shall leave the day after I bring the Governor to 
 terms. " 
 
 He sat beside Dona Ignacia during the contra-danza 
 and found the scene remarkably brilliant and animated 
 considering the primitive conditions. In addition to 
 the bright flags on the wall and the vivid colors of the 
 women, the officers of the Presidio and forts wore full 
 dress uniform, either white coats with red velvet vest, 
 red pantaloons and sash, or white trousers and scarlet 
 coat and waistcoat faced with green. The young men 
 from the Mission wore small clothes of a black silk, 
 fastened at the knee with silver buckles, and white silk 
 stockings ; two gentlemen from Monterey wore the even- 
 ing costume of the capital, dove-colored small clothes, 
 with white silk waistcoat and stockings, and much fine 
 lawn and lace. The room was well lighted by many 
 wicks stuck in lumps of tallow. The Indian musicians, 
 soldiers recruited from a superior tribe in the Santa 
 Clara valley, were clad almost entirely in scarlet, and 
 danced sometimes as they played; and Indian girls, in 
 short red skirts and snow-white smocks open at the 
 throat, their long hair decorated with flowers and rib- 
 bons, already passed about wine and dulces. The win- 
 dows were open. The sweet night air blew in. 
 
 The contra-danza was not unlike the square dances of 
 England except that it was far more graceful, and the 
 men rivalled the women in their supple glidings and 
 bendings, doublings and swayings. Concha danced with 
 Ignacio Sal, Rafaella with William Sturgis ; their pliant 
 grace, as facile as grain rippling before the wind, would 
 
64 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 have put the best ballet in Europe to the blush. 
 Concha 's skirts swept Rezanov's feet, her little slippers 
 twinkled before his admiring eyes, and he lost no sinu- 
 ous turn or undulation of her beautiful figure; but she 
 never vouchsafed him a glance. 
 
 When the dance finished his host introduced him 
 to the prettiest of the girls and he paid them as many 
 compliments as their heads would stand. He even took 
 some trouble to talk to them, if only to fathom the 
 sources of their unlikeness to Concha Argiiello. He 
 concluded that the gulf that separated her from these 
 charming vivacious shallow young girls was not dug by 
 education alone. Individualities were rare enough in 
 Europe; out here, in earthly, but sparsely settled para- 
 dises, they must be rarer still ; but that one had wandered 
 into the lovely shell of Concha Argiiello he no longer 
 doubted. The fact that it had developed haphazardly, 
 with little or no help from her sentience, and was still 
 fluid and uncertain, but multiplied her in interest and 
 charm. The women to whom he was accustomed knew 
 themselves, consequently were no riddle to a man of his 
 experience, but here he had an odd sense of having 
 entered into a compact in the dark with a girl who 
 might one day symbolize some high and impassioned 
 ideal he had cherished in the days before ideals had been 
 cast aside with the negative virtues that bred them. 
 
 As he coolly studied the good looks of the young 
 caballeros and the plain intellectual face and slight little 
 figure of the Bostonian, noted the utter indifference with 
 which they were treated by the Favorita of Presidio and 
 Mission, he felt a sudden rush of arrogance, a youthful 
 tingling of nerves, the same prophetic sense of imminent 
 happiness and power that his first contact with the 
 light electrical air and the beauty of the country had 
 induced. After all, he was but forty-two. Life on the 
 whole had been very kind to him. And, although he did 
 not realize it as yet, his frame, blighted by the rigors 
 of the past three years, was already sensible to a re- 
 newal of juice and sap. He admitted that he was more 
 
REZANOV 65 
 
 interested than he had been for many years, and that if 
 he was not in love, he tingled with a very natural mas- 
 culine desire for an adventure with a pretty girl. 
 
 But he was by no means a weak man, and his mind 
 counted the cost even while his imagination hummed. 
 He had almost decided to bid Dona Ignacia an abrupt 
 good-night, pleading fatigue, which his pallor indorsed, 
 when the door of the dining-room was thrown open to 
 the liveliest of fiddling, and a white hand with a singular 
 suggestion of tenacity both in appearance and clasp took 
 possession of his arm. 
 
 "My mother has gone to Gertrudis Rudisinda, who is 
 crying," said Concha. "It is my pleasure to lead your 
 excellency in to supper." 
 
 They sat side by side at the head of the long table 
 almost covered by the massive service of silver and 
 loaded with evidences of Dona Ignacia 's generosity and 
 skill; chickens in red rice and gravy, oysters, tamales, 
 dulces, pastries, fruits and pleasant drinks. Luis, with 
 Rafaella Sal dimpling and sparkling at his side, and 
 now quite resigned to the semi-official nature of the ball, 
 rose and drank the health of the distinguished guest in 
 long and flowery phrases. Rezanov responded in briefer 
 but no less felicitous vein, and concluded by remarking 
 that the only rift in the lute of his present enchanting 
 experience was the fear that whereas he had nearly died 
 of starvation several times during the past three years, 
 he was now threatened with a far more ignominious end, 
 so delicious and irresistible were the temptations that 
 beset the wayfarer in this most hospitable land. Both 
 speeches were gaily applauded, the conversation became 
 animated and general, and Concha dropped her voice 
 to the attentive ear beside her. 
 
 "You were very successful to-day at the Mission, 
 Excellency. ' ' 
 
 "May I ask how you know?" 
 
 "I never saw anything so serenely arrogantly, per- 
 haps would be a truer description triumphant as your 
 bearing when you walked down our humble sala to- 
 
66 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 night. You looked like Caesar returned from Gaul ; but 
 I suppose that all great conquests are merely the sum 
 of many small ones." 
 
 "I do not regard the friendship of so shrewd a man 
 as Father Abella a trifling conquest. And according 
 to yourself, dear senorita, it is essential to the success 
 of a mission upon which many lives and my own honor 
 depend. ' ' 
 
 "Is it really so serious?" she asked with a faint 
 sneer. 
 
 He drew himself up stiffly and his light eyes glowed 
 with anger. "It is a subject I never should have 
 thought of introducing at a festivity like this," he said 
 suavely. "May I be permitted to compliment you, 
 senorita, upon your marvellous grace in the contra- 
 danza? It quite turned my head, and I am delighted 
 to hear that you will dance alone after supper. ' ' 
 
 Her face had flushed hotly. She dropped her eyes 
 and her voice trembled as she replied : ' ' You humiliate 
 me, senor, and I deserve it. I my poor Rosa told me 
 something of her great tragedy while dressing me, and 
 for the moment other things seemed unimportant. What 
 is hunger and court favor beside a broken heart and a 
 desolate life? But that of course is the attitude of an 
 ignorant girl." She raised her eyes. They were soft, 
 and her voice was softer. "I beg that you will forgive 
 me, senor. And be sure that I take an even deeper inter- 
 est in your great mission than yesterday. I have thought 
 much about it, and while I have told my mother noth- 
 ing, I have expressed certain peevish hopes that a ship 
 would not come all the way from Sitka without taking 
 a hint more than one Boston skipper must have given, 
 and brought us many of the things we need. She is 
 quite excited over the prospect of a new shawl for her- 
 self, and of sending several as presents to the south; 
 besides many other things: cotton, shoes, kitchen uten- 
 sils. Have you any of these things, Excellency?" 
 
 Rezanov stared at her face, barely tinted with color, 
 dully wondering why it should be so different from the 
 
KEZANOV 67 
 
 one roguish, pathetically innocent, that had haunted him 
 all day. He asked abruptly: 
 
 "Which is the friend whose little ones you envy? 
 You have made me wish to see them and her." 
 
 "That is Elena beside Gervasio." She indicated a 
 young woman with soft patient brown eyes, the dignity 
 of her race and the sweetness of young motherhood, 
 who would have looked little older than herself had it 
 not been for an already shapeless figure. "I can take 
 you to-morrow to see them if you wish." 
 
 She had cast down her eyes and her face was white. 
 Still he groped on. 
 
 "Pardon me if I say that I am surprised your par- 
 ents should permit such a woman as this Eosa to attend 
 you. Why should your happy life be disturbed by the 
 lamentations of an abandoned creature who can do you 
 no good, and possibly much harm?" 
 
 Still Concha did not raise her eyes. "I do not think 
 poor Rosa would do anyone harm. But perhaps it were 
 as well she went elsewhere. We have had her long 
 enough. I have taken a dislike to her. I reproach 
 myself bitterly, but I cannot help it. I should like never 
 to see her again." 
 
 "What has she told you?" Concha glanced up 
 swiftly. His eyes were blazing. She felt quite certain 
 that he rolled a Russian oath under his tongue, and she 
 made a slight involuntary motion toward him, her lips 
 trembling apart. 
 
 "Nothing," she murmured. "I do not know I do 
 not know. But I no longer wish her near me. She 
 life is very strange and terrible, senor. You know it 
 well I, so little." 
 
 Rezanov felt his breath short and his hands cold. 
 For a moment he made no reply. Then he smiled 
 charmingly and said in the conventional tone that was 
 ever at his command: "Of course you know little of 
 life in this Arcadia. One who hopes to be numbered 
 among the best of your friends prays that you never 
 may. Yes, senorita, life is strange strangely common- 
 
68 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 place and disillusionizing but sometimes picturesque. 
 Believe me when I say that nothing stranger has ever 
 befallen me than to find out here on the lonely brink 
 of a continent nearly twenty thousand versts from 
 Europe, a girl of sixteen with the grand manner, and an 
 intellect without the detestable idiosyncrasies of the 
 fashionable bas bleus I have hitherto had the misfortune 
 to encounter." 
 
 She was tapping the table slowly with her fork, and 
 he noted that her soft childish mouth was set. ''No 
 doubt you are quite right to put me off, ' ' she said finally, 
 and in a voice as even as his own. "And my intellect 
 would do me little good if it did not teach me to ignore 
 mysteries I can never hope to fathom. There is no such 
 thing as life in your sense in this forgotten corner of 
 the world, nor ever will be in my time. If you come 
 back and visit us twenty years hence you will find me 
 fat and worn like Elena, and busy every minute like 
 my mother unless, indeed, I marry Don Weeliam 
 Sturgis and become a great lady in Boston. It would 
 not be so mean a fate." 
 
 Rezanov darted a look of angry contempt at the pale 
 young man who was eating little and miserably watch- 
 ing the handsome pair at the head of the table. "You 
 will not marry him!" he said briefly. 
 
 "I could do far worse." Concha's lashes framed an 
 adorable glance that sent the blood to the hair of the 
 sensitive youth. "You have no idea how clever and good 
 he is. And Madre de Dios! I am so tired of Cali- 
 fornia." 
 
 "But you are a part of it the very symbol of its 
 future, it seems to me. I wish I had a sculptor in my 
 suite. I should make him model you, label the statue 
 ' California, ' and erect it on the peak of that big island 
 out there." 
 
 "That is very poetical, but after all you are only 
 saying that I am a pretty savage with an education 
 that will be more common in the next generation. It is 
 little consolation for an existence where the most ex- 
 
REZANOV 69 
 
 citing event in a lifetime is the arrival of a foreign 
 ship or the inauguration of a governor." And once 
 more she smiled at Sturgis. He raised his glass impul- 
 sively, and she hers in gay response. A moment later 
 she gave the signal to leave the table. Kezanov fol- 
 lowed her back to the sala chewing the cud of many 
 reflections. 
 
x , 
 
 CONCHA had eaten no supper. As she entered the sala 
 she clapped her hands, the guests ranged themselves 
 against the wall, the musicians, livelier than ever, flew 
 to their instruments; with the drifting swaying 
 movement she could assume at will, she went slowly, 
 absently, to the middle of the room. Then she let her 
 head drop backward, as if with the weight of her hair, 
 and Rezanov, vaguely angry, expected one of those 
 appeals to the senses for which Spanish women of an- 
 other sort were notorious. But Concha, after tapping 
 the floor alternately with the points and the wooden heels 
 of her slippers, for a few moments, suddenly made an 
 imperious gesture to Ignacio Sal. He sprang to her 
 side, took her hand, and once more there was the same 
 monotonous tapping of toes and heels. Then they 
 whirled apart, bent their lithe backs until their brows 
 almost touched the floor in a salute of mock admiration, 
 and danced to and from each other, coquetry in the very 
 tilt of her eyebrows, the bare semblance of masculine 
 indulgence on his eager passionate face. Suddenly to 
 the surprise of all, she snapped her fingers directly un- 
 der his nose, waved her hand, turned her back, and 
 made a peremptory gesture to that other enamoured 
 young swain, Captain Antonio Castro of Monterey. Don 
 Ignacio, surprised and discomfited, retired amidst the 
 jeers of his friends, and Concha, with her most vivacious 
 and gracious manner, met Castro halfway, and, taking 
 his hand, danced up and down the sala, slowly and with 
 many improvisations. Then, as they returned to the 
 center of the room and stepped lightly apart before 
 joining in a gay whirl, she snapped her fingers under 
 his nose, made a gesture of dismissal over her shoulder, 
 
 70 
 
REZANOV 71 
 
 and fluttered an uplifted hand in the direction of Stur- 
 gis. Again there was delighted laughter, again a dis- 
 comforted knight and a triumphant partner. 
 
 "Concha always gives us something we do not ex- 
 pect," said Santiago to Rezanov, whose eyes were twin- 
 kling. "The other girls dance El Son and La Jota 
 very gracefully yes. But Conchita dances with her 
 head, and the musicians and the partner, when she takes 
 one, have all they can do to follow. She will choose 
 you, next, senor." 
 
 Rezanov turned cold, and measured the distance to 
 the door. ' ' I hope not ! " he said. ' ' I should hate noth- 
 ing so much as to make an exhibition of myself. The 
 dances I know that is all very well but to improvise 
 for the love of heaven help me to get out ! ' ' 
 
 But Santiago, who was watching his sister intently, 
 replied: "Wait a moment, Excellency. I do not think 
 she will choose another. I know by her feet that she 
 intends to dance El Son in her own way, of course 
 after all." 
 
 Concha circled about the room twice with Sturgis, 
 lifted him to the seventh heaven of expectancy, dis- 
 missed him as abruptly as the others. Lifting her chin 
 with an expression of supreme disdain for all his sex, 
 she stood a moment, swaying, her arms hanging at her 
 sides. 
 
 "I am glad she will not dance with Weeliam," mut- 
 tered Santiago. ' ' I love him yes ; but the Spanish 
 dance_is not for the Bostonian." 
 
 Rezanov awaited her performance with an interest 
 that caused him some cynical amusement. But in a 
 moment he had surrendered to her once more as a crea- 
 ture of inexhaustible surprise. The musicians watching 
 her began to play more slowly. Concha, her arms still 
 supine, her head lifted, her eyes half veiled, began to 
 dance in a stately and measured fashion that seemed to 
 powder her hair and dissolve the partitions before an 
 endless vista of rooms. Rezanov had a sudden vision of 
 the Hall of the Ambassadors in the royal palace at 
 
72 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Madrid, where, when a young man on his travels, he 
 had attended a state ball. There he had seen the most 
 dignified beauties of Europe dance at the most formal 
 of its courts. But Concha created the illusion of hav- 
 ing stepped down from the throne in some bygone fash- 
 ion to dance alone for her subjects and adorers. 
 
 She raised her arms, barely budding at the top, with 
 a gesture that was not only the poetry of grace but as 
 though bestowing some royal favor; when she curved 
 and swayed her body, again it was with the lofty sweet- 
 ness of one too highly placed to descend to mere seduc- 
 tiveness. She glided up and down, back and forth, with 
 a dreamy revealing motion as if assisting to shape some 
 vague impassioned image in the brain of a poet. She 
 lifted her little feet in a manner that transformed boards 
 into clouds. There were moments when she seemed 
 actually to soar. 
 
 "She is a little genius !" thought Rezanov enthusias- 
 tically. "Anything could be made of a woman like 
 that." 
 
 It was not her dancing alone that interested him, but 
 its effect on her audience. The young men had begun 
 with audible expressions of approval. They were now 
 shouting and stamping and clapping. Suddenly, as 
 once more she danced back to the very center of the 
 room, her bosom heaving, her eyes like stars, her red lips 
 parted, Don Ignacio, long since recovered from his 
 spleen, invaded his pocket and flung a handful of silver 
 at her feet. It was a signal. Gold and silver coins, 
 chains, watches, jewels, bounced over the floor, to be 
 laughingly ignored. Rezanov looked on in amazement, 
 wondering if this were a part of the performance and 
 if he should follow suit. But after a glance at the faces 
 of the young men, lost to everything but their passion- 
 ate admiration for the unique and beautiful dancing of 
 their Favorita, and when Sturgis, after wildly searching 
 in his pockets, tore a large pearl from the lace of his 
 stock, he doubted no longer nor hesitated. Fastened 
 by a blue ribbon to the fourth button of his closely 
 
REZANOV 73 
 
 fitting coat was a golden key, the outward symbol of 
 his rank at court. He detached it, then made a sudden 
 gesture that caught her attention. For a moment their 
 eyes met. He tossed her the bauble, and mechanically 
 she lifted her hand and caught it. Then she laughed 
 confusedly, shrugged her shoulders, bowed graciously to 
 her audience, and signalled to the musicians to stop. 
 Kezanov was at her side in a moment. 
 
 "You must be tired," he said. "I insist that you 
 come out on the veranda and rest. ' ' 
 
 "Very well," she said indifferently; "it is quite time 
 we all went out to the air. Santiago mio, wilt thou 
 bring my reboso the white one?" 
 
 Santiago, more flushed than his sister at her triumphs, 
 fetched the long strip of silk, and Rezanov detached 
 her from her eager court and led her without. Elena 
 Castro followed closely, yet with a cavalier of her own 
 that her friend might talk freely with this interesting 
 stranger. The night air was cool and stimulating. The 
 hills were black under the sparks of white fire in the 
 high arch of the California sky. In the Presidio square 
 were long blue shadows that might have been reflections 
 of the smoldering blue beyond the stars. Bezanov and 
 Concha sat on the railing at the end of the "corridor." 
 
 "It is a custom all that very material admiration?" 
 he asked. 
 
 "A very old one, but not too often followed. Other- 
 wise we should not prize it. But when some Favorita 
 outdoes herself then she receives the greatest reward 
 that man can think of gold and silver and jewels. We 
 do not dare to return the tributes in common fashion, 
 but they have a way of appearing where they belong as 
 soon as their owners are supposed to have forgotten the 
 incident. As you are not a Californian, senor, I take 
 the liberty of returning this without any foolish sub- 
 terfuge." She handed him his contribution. "I thank 
 you all the same. It was a spontaneous act, and I am 
 very proud." 
 
 He accepted the key awkwardly, not daring to press 
 
74 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 it upon her, with the obvious banalities. But he felt a 
 sudden desire to give her something, and, nothing better 
 offering, he gathered half a dozen roses and laid them 
 on her lap. 
 
 1 1 1 was disappointed that you did not wear your roses 
 to-night," he said. "I associate them with you in my 
 thoughts. "Will you put one in your hair?" 
 
 She found a place for two and thrust another in the 
 neck of her gown. The rest she held closely in her 
 hands. Then he noticed that she was very white, and 
 again she shivered. 
 
 "You are cold and tired," he murmured, his eyes 
 melting to hers. "It was entrancing, but I hope never 
 to see you give so much of yourself to others again." 
 His hand in arranging the reboso touched hers. It lin- 
 gered, and she stared up at him, helplessly, her eyes 
 wide, her lips parted. She reminded him of a rabbit 
 caught in a trap, and he had a sudden and violent re- 
 vulsion of feeling. He rose and offered his arm. "I 
 should be a brute if I kept you talking out here. Slip 
 off and go to bed. I shall start the guests, for I am 
 very tired myself." 
 
XI 
 
 HE did not talk with her again for several days. He 
 called in state, but remained only a few moments. His 
 officers went to several impromptu dances at the Pre- 
 sidio and Mission, but he pleaded fatigue, natural in 
 the damaged state of his constitution, and left the ship 
 only for a gallop over the hills or down the coast with 
 Luis Argiiello. 
 
 But he had never felt better. At the end of a week 
 his pallor had gone, his skin was tanned and fresh. 
 Even his wretched crew were different men. They were 
 given much leave on shore, and already might be seen 
 escorting the serving-women over the hills in the late 
 afternoon. Rezanov gave them a long rope, although 
 he knew they must be germinating with a mutinous dis- 
 taste of the Russian north; he kept a strict watch over 
 them and would have given a deserter his due without 
 an instant's pause. 
 
 The estaf ette that had gone with Luis ' letters to Mon- 
 terey had taken one from Rezanov as well, asking per- 
 mission to pay a visit of ceremony to the Governor. 
 Five days later the plenipotentiary received a polite 
 welcome to California, and protest against another long 
 journey ; the humble servant of the King of Spain would 
 himself go to San Francisco at once and offer the hos- 
 pitality of California to the illustrious representative 
 of the Emperor of all the Russias. 
 
 Rezanov was not only annoyed at the Governor's evi- 
 dent determination that he should see as little as possible 
 of the insignificant military equipment of California, 
 but at the delay to his own plans for exploration. He 
 knew that Luis would dare take him upon no expedition 
 into the heart of the country without the consent of the 
 
 75 
 
76 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Governor, and lie began to doubt this consent would be 
 given. But he was determined to see the bay, at least, 
 and he no sooner read the diplomatic epistle from Mon- 
 terey than he decided to accomplish this part of his 
 purpose before the arrival of the Governor or Don Jose. 
 He knew the material he had to deal with at the mo- 
 ment, but nothing of that already, no doubt, on their 
 way to the north. 
 
 Early in the morning after the return of the courier 
 he wrote an informal note to Dona Ignacia, asking her 
 to give him the honor of entertaining her for a day on 
 the Juno, and to bring all the young people she would. 
 As the weather was so fine, he hoped to see them in 
 time for chocolate at nine o'clock. He knew that Luis, 
 who was pressingly included in the invitation, had 
 left at daybreak for his father 's rancho some thirty miles 
 to the south. 
 
 There was a flutter at the Presidio when the invita- 
 tion of the Chamberlain was made known. The compli- 
 ment was not unexpected, but there had been a lively 
 speculation as to what form the Russian 's return of 
 hospitality would take. Concha, whose tides had thun- 
 dered and ebbed many times since the night of her 
 party, submerging the happy inconsequence of her six- 
 teen years, but leaving her unshaken spirit with wide 
 clarified vision, felt young to-day from sheer reaction. 
 She would listen to no protest from her prudent mother, 
 and smothered her with kisses and a torrent of words. 
 
 "But, my Conchita," gasped Dona Ignacia, "I have 
 much to do. Thy father and his excellency come in 
 two days. And perhaps they would not approve be- 
 fore they are here ! to go on the foreign ship ! If Luis 
 were not gone ! Ay yi ! Ay yi ! ' ' 
 
 1 1 We go, we go, madre mia ! And his excellency will 
 give you a shawl. I feel it ! I know it ! And if we go 
 now we disobey no law. Have they ever said we could 
 not visit a foreign ship when they were not here? We 
 are light-headed, irresponsible women. And if they 
 should not not let us go ! If the Governor and the Rus- 
 
REZANOV 77 
 
 sian should disagree ! Now we have the opportunity for 
 such a day as we never have had before. We should be 
 imbeciles. We go, madre mia, we go!" 
 
 So it proved. At a few minutes before nine the Senora 
 Argiiello, clad in her best black silk skirt and jacket, a 
 red shawl embroidered with yellow draped over her bust 
 with unconquerable grace, and a black reboso folded 
 about her fine proud head, rode down to the beach with 
 Ana Paula on the aquera behind and Gertrudis Rudi- 
 sinda on her arm. The boys howled on the corridor, but 
 the good seiiora felt that she could not too liberally 
 construe the kind invitation of a chamberlain of the 
 Russian Court. 
 
 Behind her rode Concha, in white with a pink reboso ; 
 Rafaella Sal, Carolina Ximeno, Herminia Lopez, Delfina 
 Rivera, the only other girls at the Presidio old enough 
 to grace such an occasion; Sturgis, who happened to 
 have spent the night at the Presidio, Gervasio, Santiago 
 and Lieutenant Rivera. Castro had returned to Mon- 
 terey, Sal was officer of the day, and the other young 
 men had sulkily declined to be the guests of a man who 
 looked as haughty as the Tsar himself and betrayed no 
 disposition to recognize in Spain the first nation of 
 Europe. But no one missed them. The girls, in their 
 flowered muslins and bright rebosos, the men in gay 
 serapes and embroidered botas, looked a fine mass of 
 color as they galloped down to the beach and laughed 
 and chattered as youth must on so glorious a morning. 
 Even Sturgis, always careful to be as nearly one with 
 these people as his different appearance and tempera- 
 ment would permit, wore clothes of green linen, a ruf- 
 fled shirt, deer-skin botas and sombrero. 
 
 Three of the ship's canoes awaited the guests, and as 
 not one of the women had ever set foot in a boat, there 
 was a chorus of shrieks. Dona Ignacia murmured an 
 audible prayer, and clutched Gertrudis Rudisinda to 
 her breast. 
 
 "Madre de Dios! The water! I cannot!" she mut- 
 tered. But Santiago took her firmly by one elbow, 
 
78 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Sturgis by the other, Davidov caught up the children 
 with a reassuring laugh, and in a moment she was trem- 
 bling in the middle of the canoe. Concha had already 
 leaped into the second and waved a careless little salu- 
 tation to the Juno. Her eyes sparkled. Her nostrils 
 fluttered. She felt indifferent to everything but the 
 certain pleasure of the day. Rezanov was sure to be 
 charming. What mattered the morrow, and possible 
 nights of doubt, despair, hatred of life and wondering 
 self-contempt ? 
 
 Rezanov awaited the canoes in the prow of the ship. 
 He wore undress uniform and a cap instead of the 
 cocked hat of ceremony which had excited their awe. He 
 too tingled with a sense of youthful gaiety and adven- 
 ture. As he helped his guests up the side of the vessel, 
 and listened to the delighted laughter of the girls, saw 
 the dancing eyes of even the haughty and reserved San- 
 tiago, he also dismissed the morrow from his thoughts. 
 
 As Dona Ignacia was hauled to the deck, uttering 
 embarrassed apologies for bringing the two little girls, 
 Rezanov protested that he adored children, patted their 
 heads, and told off a young sailor to amuse them. 
 
 Four tables on the deck were set with coffee, choco- 
 late, Russian tea, and strange sweets that the cook had 
 fashioned from ingredients to which his skilful fingers 
 had long been strangers. 
 
 Dona Ignacia sat beside the host, and when she had 
 tried both the tea and the coffee and had demanded the 
 recipe of the sweets, he said casually: "After break- 
 fast I shall ask you to go down to the cabin for a few 
 moments. I bought the cargo with the Juno, and find 
 there are several articles which I shall beg as a great 
 favor to present to my kindest of hostesses and the young 
 girls she has been good enough to bring to my ship. 
 Shawls and ells of cotton and all that sort of thing are 
 of no use to a bachelor, and I hope you will rid me of 
 some of them." 
 
 Dona Ignacia lost all interest in the breakfast, and 
 presently, murmuring an excuse, was escorted by Langs- 
 
REZANOV 79 
 
 dorff down to the cabin. When the light repast was 
 over, Rezanov made a signal to several sailors who 
 awaited commands, and they sprang to the anchor and 
 sails. 
 
 1 ' We are going to have a cruise, ' ' announced the host 
 to his guests. "The bay is very smooth, there is a fine 
 breeze, we shall neither be becalmed nor otherwise the 
 sport of inclement waters. I know that most of you have 
 never seen this beautiful bay and that you will enjoy 
 its scenery as much as I shall." 
 
 He moved to Concha's side and dropped his voice. 
 ' ' This is for you, senorita, ' ' he said. ' ' You want change, 
 variety, and I have planned to give you all that I can 
 in one day. I expect you to be happy." 
 
 "I shall be," she said dryly, "if only in watching a 
 diplomat get his way. You will see every corner of our 
 bay, and I shall have the delightful sensation of doing 
 something naughty for which I cannot be held respon- 
 sible." 
 
 He laughed. ' ' I am quite willing that you should un- 
 derstand me," he said. "But it is true that I thought 
 as much of you as of myself. ' ' 
 
 In a few moments the ship was under way. Santiago 
 and Sturgis had gone down to the cabin to reassure 
 Dona Ignacia, who uttered a loud cry as the Juno gave 
 a preliminary lurch. Gervasio and Rivera had opened 
 their eyes as Rezanov abruptly unfolded his plan, but 
 dropped them sleepily before the delight of the girls. 
 After all, it was none of their affair, and what was a 
 bay? If they requested him, as a point of honor, to 
 refrain from examining the battery of Yerba Buena 
 with his glass, their consciences would be as light as 
 their hearts. 
 
 As Eezanov stood alone with Concha in the prow of 
 the ship and alternately cast softened eyes on her intense 
 rapt face, and shrewd glances on the ramifications of 
 the bay, he congratulated himself upon his precipitate 
 action and the collusion of nature. They were sailing 
 east, and would turn to the north in a moment. The 
 
80 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 mountain range bent abruptly at the entrance to the bay, 
 encircling the immense sheet of water in a chain of 
 every altitude and form: a long hard undulating line 
 against the bright blue sky ; smooth and dimpled slopes, 
 as round as cones, bare but for the green of their grasses ; 
 lofty ridges tapering to hills in the curve at the north 
 but with blue peaks multiplying beyond. There were 
 dense forests in deep canons on the mountainside, bare 
 and jagged heights, the graceful sweep of valleys, prom- 
 ontories leaping out from the mainland like mammoth 
 crocodiles guarding the bay. The view of the main 
 waters was broken by the largest of the islands, but far 
 away were the hills of the east and the soft blue peaks 
 behind. And over all, hills and valley and canon and 
 mountain, was a bright opalescent mist. Green, pink, 
 and other pale colors gleamed as behind a thin layer of 
 crystal. "Where the sun shone through a low white 
 cloud upon a distant slope there might have been a 
 great globe of iridescent glass illuminated within. The 
 water was a light soft filmy yet translucent blue. Con- 
 cha gazed with parted lips. 
 
 "I never knew before how wonderful it was," she 
 murmured. "I have been taught to believe that only 
 the south is beautiful, and when we had to come here 
 again from Santa Barbara it was exile. But now I am 
 glad I was born in the north." 
 
 "I have watched the lights on these hills and islands, 
 and what I could see of the fine lines of the mountains, 
 ever since I came, and were there but villas and castles, 
 these waters would be far more beautiful than the Lake 
 of Como 'or the Bay of Naples. But I am glad to see 
 trees again. From our anchorage I had but a bare 
 glimpse of two or three. They seem to hide from the 
 western winds. Are they so strong, then ? ' ' 
 
 * ' We have terrible winds, sefior. I do not wonder the 
 trees crouch to the east. But I must tell you our names. ' ' 
 She pointed to the largest of the islands, a great bare 
 mass that looked as had it been, when viscid, flung out 
 in long folds from a central peak, concaving here and 
 
REZANOV 81 
 
 * 
 
 there with its own weight. Its southern point was on a 
 line with a point of mainland far to the west, and its 
 northern, from their vantage looking to be but a con- 
 tinuation of the curve of the mainland, finished an arc 
 of almost perfect proportions, whose deep curve was a 
 tumbled mass of hills and one great mountain. "That 
 is Nuestra Sefiora de los Angeles, and it opens a triple 
 jaw, Luis has told me, at Point Tiburon you will soon 
 see the straits between. The big rock behind us is Al- 
 catraz, and farther away still is Yerba Buena that 
 looks like a camel on its knees. ' ' 
 
 But Rezanov was examining the scene before him. The 
 lines of this bay within a bay were superb, and in its 
 wide embrace, slanting from Point Tiburon toward an 
 inner point two miles opposite was another island, as 
 steep as Alcatraz, but long and waving of outline, with 
 a glimpse of trees on its crest. Rezanov, while he lost 
 nothing of the picturesque beauty surrounding him, 
 was more deeply interested in noting the many founda- 
 tions, sheltered and solid, for fortifications that would 
 hold these rich lands against the fleets of the world. 
 Never had he seen so many strategic advantages on one 
 sheet of water. The islands farther south he had exam- 
 ined through his glass from the deck of the Juno until 
 he knew every convolution they turned to the west. 
 
 Concha was directing his attention to the tremendous 
 angular peak rising above the tumbled hills. "That is 
 Mount Tamalpais the mountain of peace. It was named 
 by the Indians, not by us. Sometimes it is like a great 
 purple shadow, and at others the clouds fight about it 
 like the ghosts of big sea-gulls. ' ' They were sailing past 
 the rounded end of the western inner point of the little 
 bay. It was almost detached from the bare ridge be- 
 hind and half covered with oaks and willow trees. ' i That 
 is Point Sausalito. I have often looked at it through the 
 glass and longed for a merienda in the deep shade. " 
 She turned to Rezanov with lips apart. * ' Could we not 
 oh, senor! have our dinner on shore?" 
 
 "It is only for you to select the spot. We can sail 
 
82 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 many miles before it is time for dinner, and you may 
 find a place even more to your liking. I fancy we can- 
 not go far here. It looks swampy and shallow. Nothing 
 could be less romantic than to stick in the mud." 
 
 "May I ask/' said Concha demurely, "how you dare 
 to run the risks of an unknown sheet of water ? I have 
 heard it said that there is more than one rock and shoal 
 in this bay. ' ' 
 
 ' 1 1 am not as rash as I may appear, ' ' replied Rezanov 
 dryly, but smiling. ' ' In 1789 there was a chart of this 
 bay, taken from a Spanish MSS., published in London ; 
 and I bought it there when I ran up from the Nadeshda 
 anchored at Falmouth three years ago. Davidov, 
 who, you may observe, is steering, oblivious to the charms 
 of even Dona Carolina, knows every sounding by heart. ' ' 
 
 " Oh ! " Concha shrugged her shoulders. ' ' The Gov- 
 ernor, too, is very clever. It will be a drawn battle. 
 Perhaps I shall remain neutral after all. It would be 
 more amusing." The ship was turning, and she waved 
 her hand to the island between the deep arc of the hilly 
 coast. "I have heard so much of the beauty of that 
 island/' she said, "that I have called it La Bellissima, 
 but I never hoped to see anything but the back of its 
 head, from which the wind has blown all the hair. And 
 now I shall. How kind of you, sefior ! ' ' 
 
 "How easily you are made happy!" he said, with a 
 sigh. "You look like a child." 
 
 ' * To-day I shall be one ; and you the kind fairy god- 
 father," she added, with some malice. "How old are 
 you, senor?" 
 
 "Forty-two." 
 
 "That is twenty-six years older than myself. But 
 your excellency might pass for thirty-five," she added 
 politely. "We have all said it. And now that you are 
 not so pale you will soon look younger and even more 
 triumphant than when you came. ' ' 
 
 "I have never felt so triumphant as on this morning, 
 dear senorita. I had not hoped to give you so much 
 pleasure." 
 
REZANOV 83 
 
 Her cheeks were as pink as her rehoso, her great black 
 eyes were dancing. Her hands strained at the railing. 
 "I shall see La Bellissima! La Bellissima ! " she cried. 
 
 They rounded the low broken point of the island, 
 sailed through the racing currents between the lower 
 end of La Bellissima and "Our Lady of the Angels/' 
 more slowly past what looked to be a perpendicular for- 
 est. From water to crest the gulches and converging 
 spurs of this hillside in the sea were a dense mass of 
 oaks, bays, underbrush; here and there a tall slender 
 tree with a bark like red kid and a flirting polished leaf, 
 at which Concha clapped her hands as at sight of an old 
 friend and called 1 1 El Madrono. ' ' It was a primeval bit 
 of nature, but sweet and silent and peaceful ; there was 
 no suggestion either of gloom or of discourteous beast. 
 
 "We shall have our dinner here, Excellency. There 
 on that little beach; and afterward we shall climb to 
 the top. See, there are trails ! The Indians have been 
 here/' 
 
 They stood out through the straits between Point Tib- 
 uron and the Isle of the Angels, where the tide ran 
 fast. Then, for the first time, was Rezanov able to 
 form a definite idea of the size and shape of this great 
 natural harbor. To the south it extended beyond the 
 peninsula in an unbroken sheet for some forty English 
 miles. Ten miles to the north there was a gateway be- 
 tween the lower hills which Luis had alluded to as lead- 
 ing into the bay of Saint Pablo, another large body of 
 tidewater, but inferior in depth and beauty to the Bay 
 of San Francisco. 
 
 The mist had dissolved. The greens were vivid where 
 the sun shone on island and hill. The woods of Bell- 
 issima, the groves of Point Sausalito, the forests in the 
 northern canons, deepened to purple like that of the 
 great bare sweep of Tamalpais. Only the farther peaks 
 remained a pale misty blue, and were of an indescrib- 
 able floating delicacy. 
 
 Concha pointed to the eastern double cone. ' l That is 
 Monte del Diablo. Once they say it spouted fire, but 
 
84 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 that was long ago, and all our volcanoes are dead. But 
 perhaps not so long ago. The Indians tell the strange 
 story that their grandfathers remembered when this 
 bay was a valley covered with oak trees, and the rivers 
 of the north flowed through and emptied into Lake 
 Merced and a rift by the Fort. Then came a tremendous 
 earthquake and rent the mountains apart where you 
 came through we call it the Mouth of the Gulf of the 
 Farallones the valley sank, the sea flowed in, only these 
 hills that are islands now keeping their heads above 
 the flood. Perhaps it is true, for Drake was close to 
 this bay for a long while and never saw it, and it would 
 have given him a better shelter than the little harbor 
 he found a few miles higher on the coast. I believe it 
 was not here. Madre de Dios, I hope California shakes 
 no more. She would is it not true, Excellency? be 
 the most perfect country in all the world did she not 
 have the devil in her. ' ' 
 
 "Are you afraid of earthquakes?" asked Rezanov, 
 who once more had transferred his comprehensive gaze 
 from battery sites to her face. 
 
 "I cross myself. It is like feeling your grave turn 
 over. But I fancy the poor old earth is like the people 
 on her; she gets tired of being good and is all the 
 naughtier for having been sober too long. Don Vincente 
 Rivera is an example ; he is cold, haughty, solemn, stern 
 to others and himself, as you see him; but once in a 
 while Madre de Dios ! The Presidio does not sleep for 
 three nights ! ' ' 
 
 Rezanov laughed heartily, then turned abruptly away. 
 "Come," he said. "I had almost forgotten. Will you 
 ask the others to go to the cabin, while I give orders that 
 dinner shall be served on your island?" 
 
 In the cabin, Concha forgot him for a few moments. 
 Her mother, her eyes dwelling fondly upon several 
 shawls she hoped were intended for herself alone, was 
 hushing the baby to sleep in the deep chair of his ex- 
 cellency. Ana Paula was playing with an Alaskan doll 
 she had appropriated without ceremony. Rezanov came 
 
REZANOV 85 
 
 in when his guests were assembled, and he had a gift 
 for each; curious objects of Alaskan workmanship for 
 the men, miniature totem poles and fur-bordered moc- 
 casins ; but silk and cotton, linen, shawls, and fine hand- 
 kerchiefs for senora and maiden. 
 
 ''They are trifles/' he said, in response to an en- 
 thusiastic chorus. "The cargo I was obliged to take 
 over was a very large one. You must not protest. I 
 shall never miss these things." And he knew that he 
 had sown the seeds of a rapacity similar to that im- 
 planted in the worthy bosoms of the priests when they 
 had paid him their promised visit. If the Governor 
 were insensible to diplomacy he would have pressure 
 brought to bear upon his official integrity from more 
 quarters than one. 
 
 "There are also many of the presents rejected by 
 the Mikado, somewhere," he added carelessly. "But I 
 could not find them. They must have found their way 
 to the bottom of the hold during one of the storms we 
 encountered on our way from Sitka." 
 
 He certainly looked the fairy godfather, and quite 
 impartial as he distributed his offerings with a chosen 
 word to each; his memory for little characteristics was 
 as remarkable as for names and faces. He had taken 
 off his cap on deck, and the breeze had ruffled his thick 
 fair hair, brought the blood to his thin cheeks. The 
 lines of his face, cut by privation and anxiety and ill- 
 ness, had almost disappeared with the renewed elasticity 
 of the flesh, and his blue eyes were wide open, and 
 sparkling in sympathy with the pleasure of his guests 
 and the success of his own strategy. These few insig- 
 nificant Spaniards dislodged, a half-dozen forts in this 
 harbor, and the combined navies of the world might be 
 defied; while a great chain of hungry settlements fat- 
 tened and prospered exceedingly on the beneficence of 
 the most fertile land in all the Americas. 
 
XII 
 
 THE eastern mountains looked very close from the crest 
 of La Bellissima and of a singular transparency and va- 
 riety of hue. It was as if the white masses of cloud 
 sailing low overhead flung down great splashes of color 
 from prismatic stores stolen from the sun. There was 
 a vivid pale green on the long sweep of a rounding slope, 
 deep violet and pale purple in dimple and hollow, red 
 showing through green on a tongue of land running 
 down from the north ; and on the lower ridges and little 
 islands, pale and dark blue, and the most exquisite 
 fields of lavender. This last tint was reflected in the 
 water immediately below the bridge, and farther out 
 there were lakelets of pale green, as if the islands, too, 
 had the power to mirror themselves when the sea itself 
 was glass. 
 
 Santiago, Davidov, Carolina Ximeno, Delfina Rivera, 
 Concha and Rezanov, had climbed to the ridge. The 
 other young people had given out halfway up the steep 
 and tangled ascent and returned to the beach. Dona 
 Ignacia immediately after dinner had frankly asked her 
 host for the hospitality of his stateroom. She and her 
 little ones must have their siesta, and the good lady was 
 convinced that so high and mighty a personage as the 
 Russian Chamberlain was all the chaperon the proprie- 
 ties demanded. 
 
 Four of the party strayed along the crest in search of 
 the first wild pansies. Rezanov and Concha looked under 
 the sloping roof of brittle leaves into dim falling vistas, 
 arches, arbors, caverns, a forest in miniature with nat- 
 ural terraces breaking the precipitous wall of the island. 
 
 "I should like to live here," said Concha definitely. 
 
 "It would make a fine estate for summer life or 
 
 86 
 
REZANOV 87 
 
 for a honeymoon. ' ' He smiled down upon his compan- 
 ion, who stood very tall and straight and proud beside 
 him. "If you conclude to marry your little Bostonian 
 no doubt he will buy it for you," he said. 
 
 If he had hoped to see a look of blank dismay after 
 his hours of devotion he was disappointed. She made a 
 little face. 
 
 ' ' I do not think I could stand a desert island with the 
 good Weeliam. For that I should prefer one of my own 
 sort Ignacio, or Fernando. Better still, I could come 
 here and be a hermit." 
 
 "A hermit?" 
 
 "In some ways that would suit me very well. All 
 human beings become tiresome, I find. I shall have a 
 little hut just below the crest where I can look from my 
 window right into the woods that are so quiet and green 
 and beautiful. That is a thought that has always fas- 
 cinated me. And when I walk on the crest I can see all 
 the beauty of mountain and bay. What more could I 
 want? What more have you in your world when you 
 know it too well, seiior ? ' ' 
 
 "Nothing; but you might tire, too, of this." 
 
 "What of it? It would be the gentle sad ennui of 
 peace, not of disillusion. I think you have suffered much 
 disillusion, senor. How I wish you would tell me all 
 you know of life!" 
 
 "God forbid. And do not remind me of ennui and 
 disillusions. I have forgotten both in California. Per- 
 haps, after all, I shall not return to St. Petersburg. 
 There is a vast empire here " 
 
 ' ' But it is not yours or Russia 's to rule, Excellency, ' ' 
 she interrupted him softly. 
 
 He did not color nor start, but met her eyes with his 
 deep amused glance. ' ' I, too, can dream, senorita. Of 
 a great and wonderful kingdom that never will exist, 
 perhaps. I have always been called a dreamer, but the 
 habit has grown since I came to this lovely unreal land 
 of yours." 
 
88 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "Have you the intention to take it from us, Excel- 
 lency?" she asked quietly. 
 
 "Would you betray me if you thought I had?" 
 
 Her eyes responded for a moment to the magnetism 
 of his, and then she drew herself up. 
 
 "No, senor, I could not betray a man who had been 
 our guest, and Spain needs no assistance from a weak 
 girl to hold her own against Russia. ' ' 
 
 "Well said ! I kiss your hands, as they say in Vienna. 
 But we must sail again. I told them to be ready at 
 three o'clock." 
 
 Dalliance with the most alluring girl he had ever 
 known was all very well, but the day ? s work was not yet 
 done. When they returned to the ship he deliberately 
 engaged all the Spaniards in a game of cards, ordered 
 cigarettes and a bowl of punch for their refreshment, 
 and then the Juno steered south. 
 
 They sailed swiftly past Nuestra Senorita de los An- 
 geles and the eastern side of Alcatraz, Rezanov sweeping 
 every inch with his glass; more slowly past the peninsula 
 where it came down in a succession of rough hills al- 
 most in a straight line from the Presidio, ascending to 
 a high outpost of solid rock, whence it turned abruptly 
 to the south in a waving line of steep irregular cliffs, 
 harsh, barren, intersected with gullies. Then the land 
 became suddenly as flat as the sea, save for the shifting 
 dunes, the desert porch of the great fertile valley hidden 
 from the water by the waves of sand, but indicated by 
 its rampart of mountains. The shallow water curved 
 abruptly inward between the rocky mass on the right 
 and a gentler incline and point two miles below. At its 
 head was the "Battery of Yerba Buena," facing the 
 island from which it took its name. Rezanov scrupu- 
 lously kept his word and did not raise his glass, but one 
 contemptuous glance satisfied his curiosity. His eye 
 rolled over the steep hills that were designed to bristle 
 with forts, and, as sometimes happened, when he spoke 
 again to Concha, whom he kept close to his side, for 
 
KEZANOV 89 
 
 the other girls bored him, his words did not express 
 the workings of his mind. 
 
 "Athens has no finer site than this," he said. "I 
 should like to see a white marble city on these hills, and 
 on that plain, when all the sand dunes are leveled. Not 
 in our time, perhaps! But, as I told you, I have sur- 
 rendered myself to the habit of dreaming. ' ' 
 
 Concha shrugged her shoulders and made no reply 
 at the moment. As they sailed toward the east before 
 turning south again, she pointed across the great silvery 
 sheet of water melting into the misty southern horizon, 
 to a high ridge of mountains that looked to be a con- 
 tinuation of the San Bruno range behind the Mission, 
 but slanting farther west with the coast line. 
 
 "Those are behind our rancho, senor Rancho El 
 Pilar, or Las Pulgas, as some prefer. Perhaps my father 
 will take you there. I hope so, for we love to go, and 
 may not too often ; my father is very busy here. He is 
 one of the few that has received a large grant of land, 
 and it is because the clergy love him so much they op- 
 pose his wish in nothing. Do you see those sharp points 
 against the sky? They are the tops of lofty trees, like 
 the masts of giant ships, and with many rigid arms 
 spiked like the pines. You saw a few of them in the 
 hollow below Tamalpais, but up on those mountains 
 there are miles and miles of mighty forests. No white 
 man has ever penetrated them, nor ever will, perhaps. 
 We have no use for them, and even if you made this 
 your kingdom, seiior, I suppose not many would come 
 with you. Far, far down where the water stops are the 
 Mission of Santa Clara and the pueblo of San Jose ; but 
 I have heard you cannot approach within many miles 
 of the land in a boat. ' ' 
 
 When they had sailed south for a few moments the 
 boat came about abruptly. Concha laughed. "I had 
 forgotten the chart. I rather hoped you would run on 
 a shoal." 
 
 But as they approached the cove of Yerba Buena 
 again she caught his arm suddenly, unconscious of the 
 
90 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 act, and the little dancing lights of humor in her eyes 
 went out. "Your white city, senor! Ay, Dios! what a 
 city of dreams that can never come true ! ' ' 
 
 The soft white fog that sometimes, even at this sea- 
 son, came in from the sea, was rolling over the hills 
 between the Battery and the Presidio, wreathing about 
 the rocky heights and slopes. It broke into domes and 
 cupolas, spires and minarets. Great waves rolled over 
 the sand dunes and beat upon the cliffs with the phan- 
 toms clinging to its sides. Then the sun struggled 
 through; for a moment the ghostly city was iridescent 
 with a thousand colors. The sun conquered, the mist 
 shimmered into sunlight, and once more the hills were 
 gray and bare. 
 
 Rezanov laughed, but his eyes glowed down upon her. 
 ' ' I am not sure it was there, ' ' he said. ' * I have an idea 
 your imagination and touch acted as a sort of enchant- 
 er 's wand. The others evidently saw nothing." 
 
 "The others saw only fog and shivered. But it was 
 there, senor! "We have had a vision. A Russian city! 
 
 Ay,yi!" 
 
 But Rezanov had forgotten the city. Her reboso had 
 fallen and a strand of her hair blew across his face. 
 His lips caught it and his eyes burned. They rounded 
 a headland and the world looked green and young. 
 
 ' ' Concha ! ' ' he whispered. 
 
 Her eyes flashed and melted, she lifted her chin ; then 
 burst into a merry ripple of laughter. 
 
 "Senor!" she said, "if you make love to me, I shall 
 have to compare you with many others, and I might not 
 like the Russian fashion. You are much better as you 
 are very grand seigneur, iron-handed and absolute, 
 haughty and arrogant, but the most charming person in 
 the world, with ends to gain, even from such humble 
 folk as a handful of stranded Californians. But to sigh ! 
 to languish with the eye ! to sing at the grating ! I fear 
 that the lightest headed of the caballeros you despise 
 could transcend you in all." 
 
 "Very likely! I have not the least intention of sigh- 
 
REZANOV 91 
 
 ing or languishing or singing at gratings. But if we 
 were alone I certainly should kiss you." 
 
 But her eyes did not melt again at the vision. She 
 flushed hotly with 'annoyance. ' ' I am a child to you ! 
 Were it not that I have read a few books, you would 
 find me but a year older than Ana Paula. Well! Re- 
 gard me as a child and do not attempt to flirt with me 
 again. Shall it be so?" 
 
 "As you wish!" Rezanov looked at her half in re- 
 sentment, half wistfully, then shrugged his shoulders, 
 and called to Davidov to steer for the anchorage. She 
 was quite right; and on the whole he was grateful to 
 her. 
 
XIII 
 
 " CONCHA/ ' said Sturgis abruptly, ''will you marry 
 me?" 
 
 Concha, who was sitting in the shade of the rose vines 
 on the corridor making a dress for'Gertrudis Rudisinda, 
 ran the needle into her finger. 
 
 "Madre de Dios!" she cried angrily. "Who would 
 have expected such foolish words from you? and now I 
 have pricked my finger and stained the little frock. It 
 will have to be washed before worn, and is never so 
 pretty after." 
 
 "I am sorry," said Sturgis humbly. "But it seems 
 to me that if a man wishes to marry a maid he should 
 ask her in a straightforward manner, with no prelim- 
 inary of sighs and hints and serenades and all sorts of 
 insincere stage play." 
 
 "He should at least address her parents first." 
 
 "True. I was wholly the American for the moment. 
 May I speak to Don Jose and Dona Ignacia, Concha?" 
 
 ' ' How can I prevent ? No, I will not coquet with you, 
 Weeliam. But I am angry that you have thought of 
 such nonsense. Such friends we were ! We have talked 
 and read together by the hour, and my parents have 
 thought no more of it than it had been Santiago. There ! 
 You have a new book in your pocket. Why did you 
 not read it to me instead of making love? Let me see 
 it." 
 
 ' ' I brought it to read later if you wished, but I came 
 to ask you to marry me and to receive your answer. I 
 never expected to ask you but lately things have 
 changed life seems, somehow, more real. The thought 
 of losing you has suddenly become terrible." 
 
 "You have been drinking Eussian tea," said Concha, 
 
 92 
 
REZANOV 93 
 
 stitching quietly but flashing him a glance of amusement, 
 not wholly without malice. 
 
 "It is true," he replied. "I suppose I never really 
 believed you would marry Raimundo or Ignacio or any 
 of the caballeros. They think and talk of nothing but 
 horse-racing, gambling, cock-fighting, love and cigaritos. 
 I thought of you always here, where at least I could look 
 at you or read with you. But one must admit that this 
 Russian is no ordinary man. I hate him, yet like him 
 more than any I have ever met. Last night I stayed to 
 punch with him, and we talked English for an hour. 
 That is to say, he did ; I could have listened to him till 
 morning. Langsdorff says that he has the greatest 
 possible command of his native tongue, but he speaks 
 English well enough. I wish I could despise him, but I 
 do not believe I even hate him." 
 
 "Well?" demanded Concha. She kept her eyes on 
 her work (and the delight that rose in her breast from 
 her voice). 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 ' ' Why should you hate him ? ' ' 
 
 "Do you ask me that, Concha, when he makes a 
 fence of himself about you, and his fine eyes practised 
 is nearer the mark look at no one else?" 
 
 "But why should that cause you jealousy? He is a 
 man of the world, accustomed to make himself agree- 
 able, and I am the daughter of the Commandante. ' ' 
 
 "He is more in love with you than he knows." 
 
 "Do you think so, Weeliam?" Still her voice was 
 innocent and even, although the color rose above the 
 inner commotion. l ' But even so, what of it ? Have not 
 many loved me ? Am I to be won by the first stranger ? ' ' 
 
 "I do not know." 
 
 The tumult in Concha turned to wrath, and she lifted 
 flashing eyes to his moody face. "Do you presume to 
 say you are jealous because you think I love him a 
 stranger I have known but a week who looks upon me 
 
 as a child who has never never thought " But 
 
 her dignity, flying to the rescue, assumed control. Her 
 
94 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 upper lip curled, Tier body stiffened for a moment, and 
 she went on with her stitching. ' ' You deserve I should 
 rap your silly little skull with my thimble. You are 
 no better than Ignaeio and Fernando. Such scenes as 
 I have had with them ! They wanted to fight the Rus- 
 sian ! How he would laugh at them ! I have threatened 
 they shall both be sent to San Diego if there is any more 
 nonsense." Then curiosity overcame her. "You never 
 had the least, least reason to think I would marry you, 
 and now, according to your own words, you think you 
 have less. Then why, pray, did you address me ? " 
 
 "Because I am a man, I suppose. I could not sit 
 tamely down and see you go. ' ' 
 
 She looked at him with a slight access of interest. A 
 man? Perhaps he was, after all. And his well-bred 
 bony face looked very determined, albeit the eyes were 
 wistful. Suddenly she felt sorry for him; and she had 
 never experienced a pang of sympathy for a suitor be- 
 fore. She leaned forward and patted his hand. 
 
 "I cannot marry you, dear Weeliam," she said, and 
 never had he seen her so sweet and adorable, although 
 he noted with a pang that her mouth was already drawn 
 with a firmer line. "But what matter? I shall never 
 marry at all. For many years forty, fifty perhaps 
 I shall sit here on the veranda, and you shall read to 
 me." 
 
 And then she shivered violently. But she set her 
 mouth until it was almost straight, and picked up the 
 little dress. "Not that, perhaps," she said quietly in a 
 moment. "I sometimes think I should like to be a nun, 
 that, after all, it is my vocation. Not a cloistered one, 
 for that is but a selfish life. But to teach, to do good, 
 to forget myself. There are no convents in California, 
 but I could join the Third Order of the Franciscans, and 
 wear the gray habit, and be set aside by the world as 
 one that only lived to make it a little better. To forget 
 oneself ! That, after all, may be the secret of happiness. 
 I envy none of my friends that are married. They 
 have the dear children, it is true. But the children grow 
 
REZANOV 95 
 
 up and go away, and then one is fat and eats many 
 dulces and the siesta grows longer and longer and the 
 face very brown. That is life in California. I should 
 prefer to work and pray, and"- with a flash of insight 
 that made her drop her work again and stare through 
 the rose-vines "to dream always of some beautiful 
 thing that youth promised but never gave, and that given 
 might have ended in dull routine and a brain so choked 
 with little things that memory too held nothing else. ' ' 
 
 "But, Concha," cried Sturgis eagerly, "I could give 
 you far better than that. I could take you away, from 
 here to Boston, to Europe. You should see live your 
 life in the great cities you have dreamed of that you 
 hardly believe in were made to enjoy. I have told you 
 of the theater, the opera you should go to the finest in 
 the world. You should wear the most beautiful gowns 
 
 and jewels, go to courts, see the great works of art 
 
 I am not trying to bribe you," he stammered, flushing 
 miserably. "God forbid that I should stoop to any- 
 thing as mean as that. But it all rushed upon me sud- 
 denly that I could give you so much that you were made 
 for, with this worthless money of mine. And what hap- 
 piness to be in Europe with you what what " 
 
 His voice trembled and broke, and he dared not look 
 at her. Again she stared through the vines. A splen- 
 did and thrilling panorama rose beyond them, her bosom 
 heaved, her lips parted. She saw herself in it, and not 
 alone. And not, alas, with the honest youth whose words 
 had inspired it. In a moment she shook her head and 
 turned her kind eyes on the flushed averted face of her 
 suitor. 
 
 "I shall never see Europe," she said gently, "and I 
 shall never marry. ' ' 
 
 "Not if this Russian asks you?" cried Sturgis, in his 
 jealous misery. 
 
 But Concha's anger did not rise again. "He has no 
 intention of asking a little California girl to share the 
 honors of one of the most brilliant careers in Europe," 
 she said calmly. ' ' Set your mind at rest. He has paid 
 
96 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 me no more attention than is due my position as the 
 daughter of the Commandante, and perhaps of La Fa- 
 vorita. If I flirt a little and he flirts in response, that 
 is nothing. Is he not then a man? But he will forget 
 me in a month. The world, his world, is full of pretty 
 girls." 
 
 "A week ago you would not have said that," said 
 Sturgis shrewdly. ' l There has been nothing in your life 
 to make you so humble." 
 
 "I cannot explain, but he seems to have brought the 
 great world with him. I know, I understand so many 
 things that I had not dreamed of a week ago. A week ! 
 Madre deDios!" 
 
 And Sturgis, who after all was a gallant gentleman, 
 made no comment. 
 
XIV 
 
 GOVERNOR ARRILLAGA, Commandante Argiiello, and 
 Chamberlain Bezanov sat in the familiar sala at the 
 Presidio content in body after a culinary achievement 
 worthy of Padre Landaeta, but perturbed and alert of 
 mind. Upon the arrival of the two Californian digni- 
 taries in the morning, Bezanov had sent Davidov and 
 Langsdorff on shore to assure them of his gratitude and 
 deep appreciation of the hospitality shown himself, his 
 officers and men. The Governor had replied with a ful- 
 some apology for not repairing at once to the Juno 
 to welcome his distinguished guest in person, and, plead- 
 ing his age and the one hundred and seventy-five Eng- 
 lish miles he had ridden from Monterey, begged him as 
 a younger man to waive informality, and dine at the 
 house of the Commandante that very day. Bezanov had 
 complied as a matter of course, and now he was alone 
 with the men who held his fate in their hands. The 
 dark worn rugged face of Don Jose, who had been skil- 
 fully prepared by his oldest daughter to think well of 
 the Bussian, beamed with good-will and interest, in 
 spite of lingering doubts; but the lank wiry figure of 
 the Governor, who was as dignified as only a blond 
 Spaniard can be, was fairly rigid with the severe for- 
 mality he reserved for occasions of ceremony being a 
 gentleman who loved good company and cheer and his 
 sharp gray eyes were almost shut in the effort to pene- 
 trate the designs of this deputy, this symbol, this index 
 in cipher, of a dreaded race. Bezanov smoked calmly, 
 made himself comfortable on the slippery horse-hair 
 chair, though with no loss of dignity, and beat about 
 the bush with the others until the Governor betrayed 
 himself at last by a chance remark : 
 
 97 
 
98 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 ' ' What you say of the neighborly instincts of the Rus- 
 sian colonists for the Spanish on this coast interests 
 me deeply, Excellency, but if Russia is at war with 
 Spain 
 
 ' ' Russia is not at war with Spain, ' ' said Rezanov, with 
 a flash of amusement in his half-closed eyes. ' ' Napoleon 
 Bonaparte is encamped about halfway between the two 
 countries. They could not get at each other if they 
 wished. While that man is at large, Europe will be at 
 war with him, no two nations with each other." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Arrillaga. "That is a manner of 
 reasoning that had not occurred to me." 
 
 The Commandante had spat at the mention of the 
 usurper's name and muttered "Chinchosa!" and Reza- 
 nov, recalling his first conversation with Concha, looked 
 into the honest eyes of the monarchist with a direct 
 and hearty sympathy. 
 
 "No better epithet for him," he said. "And the 
 sooner Europe combines to get rid of him the better. 
 But until it does, count upon a common grievance to 
 unite your country and mine." 
 
 "Good!" muttered the Governor. "Good! I am 
 glad that nightmare has lifted its bat's wings from our 
 poor California. Captain 'Cain's raid two years ago 
 made me apprehensive, for he took away some eleven 
 hundred of our otter skins and his hunters were Aleu- 
 tians subjects of the Tsar. A negro that deserted 
 gave the information that they were furnished the Bos- 
 tonian by the chief manager of your Company Baran- 
 hov whose reputation we know well enough ! for the 
 deliberate purpose of raiding our coast. ' ' 
 
 Rezanov shrugged his shoulders and replied indif- 
 ferently : "I will ask Baranhov when I return to Sitka, 
 and write you the particulars. It is more likely that the 
 Aleutians were deserters. This O'Cain would not be 
 the first shrewd Bostonian to tempt them, for they are 
 admirable hunters and ready for any change. They 
 make a greater demand upon the Company for variety 
 of diet than we are always prepared to meet, so many 
 
REZANOV 99 
 
 are the difficulties of transportation across Siberia. 
 When, therefore, the time arrived that I could continue 
 my voyage, I determined to come here and see if some 
 arrangement could not be made for a bi-yearly exchange 
 of commodities. We need farinaceous stuffs of every 
 sort. I will not pay so poor a compliment to your 
 knowledge of the northern settlements as to enlarge upon 
 the advantages California would reap from such a 
 treaty/' 
 
 The Governor, who had permitted himself to touch the 
 back of his chair after the dispersal of the war cloud, 
 stiffened again. "Ah!" he said. "Ah!" He looked 
 significantly at the Commandante, who nodded. "You 
 come on a semi-official mission, after all, then?" 
 
 " It is entirely my own idea, ' ' said Rezanov carelessly. 
 "The young Tsar is too much occupied with Bonaparte 
 to give more than a passing thought to his colonies. 
 But I have a free hand. Can I arrange the preliminaries 
 of a treaty, I have only to return to St. Petersburg to 
 receive his signature and highest approval. It would 
 be a great feather in my cap, I can assure your excel- 
 lencies," he added, with a quick human glance and a 
 sudden curve of his somewhat cynical mouth. 
 
 " Urn ! " said the Governor. " Urn ! " 
 
 But Argiiello's stern face had further relaxed. After 
 all, he was but eleven years older than the Eussian, and, 
 although early struggles and heavy responsibilities and 
 many disappointments had deprived life of much of its 
 early savor, what was left of youth in him responded 
 to the ambition he divined in this interesting stranger. 
 Moreover, the idea of a friendly bond with another race 
 on the lonely coast of the Pacific appealed to him irre- 
 sistibly. He turned eagerly to the Governor. 
 
 "It is a fine idea, Excellency. We need much that 
 they have, and it pleases me to think we should be able 
 to supply the wants of others. Fancy anyone wanting 
 aught of California, except hides, to be sure. I did not 
 think our existence was known save to an occasional 
 British or Boston skipper. It is true we are here only 
 
100 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 to Christianize savages, but even they have need of 
 much that cannot be manufactured in this God-forsaken 
 land. And we ourselves could be more comfortable 
 God in heaven, yes! It is well to think it over, Excel- 
 lency. Who knows? we might have a trip to the 
 north once in a while. Life is more excellent with some- 
 thing to look forward to." 
 
 "You should have a royal welcome. Baranhov is the 
 most hospitable man in Russia, and I might have the 
 happiness to be there myself. I see, by the way, that 
 you have not engaged in shipbuilding. I need not say 
 that we should supply the ships of commerce, with no 
 diminution of your profits. We build at Okhotsk, Petro- 
 paulovski, Kadiak, and Sitka. Moreover, as the Bos- 
 tonians visit us frequently, and as your laws prohibit 
 you from trading with them, we would see that you al- 
 ways got such of their commodities as you needed. They 
 come to us for furs, and generally bring much for which 
 we have no use. Captain D 'Wolf, from whom I bought 
 the Juno, had a cargo I was forced to take over. I un- 
 loaded what was needed at Sitka, but as there was no 
 boat going for some months to the other islands, I 
 brought the rest with me, and you are welcome to it, if 
 in exchange you will ballast the Juno with samples of 
 your agricultural products ; while the treaty is pending, 
 I can experiment in our colonies and make sure which 
 are the most adaptable to the market." 
 
 ' ' Urn ! " said the Governor. " Urn ! ' ' 
 
 Rezanov did not remove his cool direct gaze from 
 the snapping eyes opposite. 
 
 "I have not the least objection to making a trade that 
 would fill my promuschleniki with joy ; but that was by 
 no means the first object of my voyage ; which was partly 
 inspired by a desire to see as much of this globe as a 
 man may in one short life, partly to arrange a treaty 
 that would be of incalculable benefit to both colonies and 
 greatly redound to my own glory. I make no pretence 
 of being disinterested. I look forward to a career of 
 
REZANOV 101 
 
 ever increasing influence and power in St. Petersburg, 
 and I wish to take back as many credits as possible." 
 
 "I understand, I understand!" The Governor rested 
 his lame back once more. "Your ambition is the more 
 laudable, Excellency, since you have achieved so much 
 already. I am not one to balk the honest ambition of 
 any man, particularly when he does me the honor to 
 take me into his confidence. I like this suggested meas- 
 ure. I like it much. I believe it would redound to our 
 mutual benefit and reputation. Is it not so, Jose?" 
 
 The Commandante nodded vigorously. ' ' I am sure of 
 it! I am sure of it! I like it much, much." 
 
 "I will write at once to the Viceroy of Mexico and 
 ask that he lay the matter before the Cabinet and King. 
 Without that high authority we can do nothing. But I 
 see no reason to doubt the issue when we, who know 
 the wants and needs of California, approve and desire. 
 We are doomed to failure in this unwieldy land of 
 worthless savages, but it is the business of the wretched 
 servants of a glorious monarch to do the best they can. ' ' 
 
 Rezanov had an inspiration. "You might remind the 
 viceroy that Spain and the United States of America 
 have been on the verge of war for years, and suggest 
 the benefit of an alliance with Russia in the case of the 
 new country taking advantage of the situation in Eu- 
 rope to extend its western boundaries ' 
 
 Arrillaga had bounced to his feet, his small eyes in- 
 jected and blazing. "Those damned Bostonians!" he 
 shouted. "I distrusted them years ago. They have too 
 much calculation in their bluntness. They cheated us, 
 sold us short, traded under my very nose, stole our 
 otters, until I ordered them never to drop an anchor in 
 California waters again. If their ridiculous upstart 
 government dares to cast its eyes on California we shall 
 know how to meet them the sooner they march on Mex- 
 ico and lose their conceit the better. How they do 
 brag! Faugh! It is sickening. I shall remember all 
 you say, Excellency, and thank you for the hint." 
 
 Rezanov rose, and the Commandante solemnly kissed 
 
102 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 him on either cheek. "Governor Arrillaga is my guest, 
 Excellency, ' ' he said. ' ' I beg that you will dine with us 
 daily unofficially that you will regard California as 
 your own kingdom, and come and go at your pleasure. 
 And my daughter begs me to remind you and your 
 young officers that there will be informal dancing every 
 night." 
 
 "So far so good," thought Rezanov, as he mounted 
 his horse to return to the Juno. "But what of my 
 cargo? I fancy there will be more difficulty in that 
 quarter." 
 
XV 
 
 THE Chamberlain was in a towering bad humor. As he 
 made his appearance at least two hours earlier than he 
 was expected, he found the decks of the Juno covered 
 with the skins of sea-dogs, foxes, and birds. He had 
 heard Langsdorff go to his cabin later than usual the 
 night before, and that his pet aversion was the cause of 
 a fresh grievance, but hastened the eruption of his 
 smouldering resentment toward life in general. 
 
 "What does this mean?" he roared to the sailor on 
 watch. ' ' Clear them off overboard, every one of them. 
 What are you staring at ? ' ' 
 
 The sailor, who was a 1 1 Bostonian, ' ' an inheritance 
 with the ship, opened his mouth in favor of the unfor- 
 tunate professor, but like his mates, he stood in much 
 awe of a master whose indulgence demanded implicit 
 obedience in return. Without further ado, he flung the 
 skins into the sea. 
 
 Rezanov, to do him justice, would not have acted other- 
 wise had he risen in the best of tempers. He had in- 
 flicted himself with the society of the learned doctor that 
 he might always have a physician and surgeon at hand, 
 as well as an interpreter where Latin was the one door 
 of communication. He should pay him handsomely, 
 make him a present in addition to the sum agreed upon, 
 but he had not the least intention of giving up any of 
 the Juno's precious space to the vagaries of a scientist, 
 nor to submit to the pollution of her atmosphere. Langs- 
 dorff was his creature, and the sooner he realized the 
 fact the better. 
 
 " Remember," he said to the sailor, "no more of this, 
 
 or it will be the worse for you What is this ? ' ' He 
 
 had come upon a pile of ducks, gulls, pelicans, and other 
 
 103 
 
104 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 aquatic birds. Are these the cook's or the professor's?" 
 
 "The professor's, Excellency. 7 ' 
 
 "Overboard." And the birds followed the skins. 
 
 Rezanov turned to confront the white and trembling 
 Langsdorff. The naturalist was enfolded in a gorgeous 
 Japanese dressing-gown, purple brocade embroidered 
 with gold, that he had surreptitiously bought in the 
 harbor of Nagasaki. To Rezanov it was like a red rag 
 to a bull ; but the professor was oblivious at the moment 
 of the tactless garment. His eyes were glaring and the 
 extended tip of his nose worked like a knife trying to 
 leap from its sheath. But although he occasionally ven- 
 tured upon a retort when goaded too far in conversa- 
 tion, he was able to curb his just indignation when the 
 Chamberlain was in a bad temper. In that vague gray 
 under winking stars in their last watch, Rezanov seemed 
 to tower six feet above him. 
 
 "Excellency," he murmured. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "My my specimens." 
 
 "Your what?" 
 
 "The cause of science is very dear to me, Excellency." 
 
 "So it is to me in its proper place. Were those 
 skins yours?" His voice became very suave. "I am 
 sorry you should have fatigued yourself for nothing, 
 but I am forced to remind you that this is not an expedi- 
 tion undertaken for the promotion of natural history. 
 I am not violating my part in the contract, I believe. 
 Upon our arrival at Sitka you are at liberty to remain 
 as my guest and make use of the first boat that sails 
 for this colony ; but for the present I beg that you will 
 limit yourself to the requirements of your position on 
 my staff." 
 
 He turned his back and ordered a canoe to be low- 
 ered. Since the arrival of the Governor and Comman- 
 dante, now three days ago, all restrictions on his liberty 
 had been removed, and the phrases of hospitality were a 
 trifle less meaningless. He had been asked to give his 
 word to keep away from the fortifications, and as he 
 
REZANOV 105 
 
 knew quite as much of the military resources of the 
 country as he desired, he had merely suppressed a smile 
 and given his promise. 
 
 This morning he wanted nothing but a walk. He had 
 slept badly, the blood was in his head, his nerves were 
 op. edge. He went rapidly along the beach and over 
 the steep hills that led to the northeastern point of the 
 peninsula. But he had taken the walk before and did 
 not turn his head to look at the great natural amphithe- 
 ater formed by the inner slopes of those barren heights, 
 so uninteresting of outline from the water. Once when 
 Luis had left him to go down with an order to the Bat- 
 tery of Yerba Buena, he had examined it critically and 
 concluded that never had there been so fine a site for a 
 great city. Nor a more beautiful, with the broken line 
 of the San Bruno mountains in the distance and a 
 glimpse of the Mission valley just beyond this vast col- 
 osseum, whose steep imposing lines were destined by na- 
 ture to be set with palaces and bazaars, minarets and 
 towers and churches, with a thousand gilded domes and 
 slender crosses glittering in the crystal air and sun- 
 flood. If not another Moscow, then an Irkutsk in his 
 day, at least. 
 
 But he did not give the chosen site of his city a glance 
 to-day, although in this gray air before dawn when 
 mystery and imagination most closely embrace, he might 
 at another time have forgotten himself in one of those 
 fits of dreaming that slipped him out of touch with 
 realities, and sometimes precipitated action in a manner 
 highly gratifying to his enemies. 
 
 But much as he loved Russia, there were times when 
 he loved his own way more, and since the arrival of 
 Governor Arrillaga he was beginning to feel as he had 
 felt in the harbor of Nagasaki. Not a word since that 
 first interview had been said of his cargo; nor even of 
 the treaty, although nothing could have been more nat- 
 ural than the discussion of details. Whenever he had 
 delicately broached either subject, he had been met with 
 a polite indifference, that had little in common with the 
 
106 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 cordiality otherwise shown him. He foresaw that he 
 might be obliged to reveal the more pressing object of 
 his visit without further diplomacy, and the thought irri- 
 tated him beyond endurance. 
 
 Whether Concha were giving him her promised aid 
 he had no means of discovering, and herein lay another 
 cause of his general vexation. He had dined every day 
 at the Commandante 's, danced there every night. Con- 
 cha had been vivacious, friendly impersonal. Not so 
 much as a coquettish lift of the brow betrayed that the 
 distinguished stranger eclipsed the caballeros for the 
 moment; nor a whispered word that he retained the 
 friendship she had offered him on the day of their meet- 
 ing. He had not, indeed, had a word with her alone. 
 But his interest and admiration had deepened. It was 
 evident that her father and the Governor adored her, 
 would deny her little. Her attitude to them was alter- 
 nately that of the petted child and the chosen compan- 
 ion. As her mother was indisposed, she occupied her 
 place at the table, presiding with dignity, guiding the 
 conversation, revealing the rare gift of making everyone 
 appear at his best. In the evening she had sometimes 
 danced alone for a few moments, but more often with her 
 Russian guests, and readily learning the English coun- 
 try dances they were anxious to teach. Rezanov would 
 have found the gay informality of these evenings delight- 
 ful had his mind been at ease about his Sitkans, and 
 Concha a trifle more personal. He had begun by sus- 
 pecting that she was maneuvering for his scalp, but he 
 was forced to acquit her; for not only did she show no 
 provocative favor to another, but she seemed to have 
 gained in dignity and pride since his arrival, actually 
 to have kissed her hand in farewell to the childhood he 
 had been so slow in divining ; grown he felt rather than 
 analyzed above the pettiness of coquetry. Once more 
 she had stirred the dormant ideals of his early man- 
 hood; there were moments when she floated before his 
 inner vision as the embodiment of the world's beauty. 
 Nor ever had there been a woman born more elaborately 
 
REZANOV 107 
 
 equipped for the position of a public man 's mate ; nor 
 more ingenerate, perhaps, with the power to turn earth 
 into heaven. 
 
 He had wondered humorously if he were fallen in 
 love, but, although he retained little faith in the activi- 
 ties of the heart after youth, he was beginning seri- 
 ously to consider the expedience of marrying Concha 
 Argiiello. He had not intended to marry again, and it 
 was this old and passionate love of personal freedom that 
 alone held him back, for nothing would be so advan- 
 tageous to the Russian colonies in their present crisis as 
 a strong individual alliance with California. Concha 
 Argiiello was the famous daughter of its first subject, 
 and with the powerful friends she would bring to her 
 husband, the consummation of ends dearer to his heart 
 than aught on earth would be a matter of months instead 
 of years. And he thrilled with pride as he thought of 
 Concha in St. Petersburg. Two years of court life and 
 she would be one of the greatest ladies in Europe. That 
 he could win her he believed, and without undue vanity. 
 He had much to offer an ambitious clever girl conscious 
 of her superiority to the men of this province of Spain, 
 and chafing at the prospect of a lifetime in a bountiful 
 desert. His only hesitation lay in his own doubt if she 
 were worth the loss of his freedom, and all that word 
 involved to a man of his position and adventurous spirit. 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders at this argument; he had 
 walked off some of his ill-humor, and reverted willingly 
 to a theme that alone had given him satisfaction during 
 the past few days. At the same time he made a motion 
 as if flinging aside an old burden. 
 
 "It is time for such nonsense to end," he thought 
 contemptuously. "And in truth these three years have 
 wrought such changes in me I doubt I should have pa- 
 tience for an hour of the old trifling. My greatest need 
 from this time on, I fancy, is work. I could never be 
 idle a month again. And when a man is in love with 
 work and power and has passed forty does he want 
 a constant companion? That is the point. At my time 
 
108 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 of life power exercises the most irresistible and lasting 
 of all fascinations. A man that wins it has little left 
 for a woman." 
 
 He had reached the summit of the rocky outpost, the 
 highest of the hills where the peninsula turned abruptly 
 to the south, and, scrupulously refraining from a down- 
 ward glance at the Battery of Yerba Buena, stood look- 
 ing out over the bay to the eastern mountains: dark, 
 almost formless, wrapped in the intense and menacing 
 mystery of that last hour before dawn. 
 
 ' ' Senor ! ' ' called a low cautious voice. 
 
 Rezanov stepped hastily back from the point of the 
 bluff and glanced about in wonder, his pulses suddenly 
 astir. But he could see no one. 
 
 " Senor !" 
 
 This time the direction was unmistakable, and he went 
 to the edge of the plateau facing the south and looked 
 over. Halfway down a shallow and almost perpendicu- 
 lar gully, he saw a girl forcing a mustang up the harsh 
 loose path. The girl's white and oval face looked from 
 the folds of a black reboso like the moon emerging from 
 clouds, and its young beauty was out of place in that 
 wild and forbidding setting. She reined in her horse 
 as she caught his eye and beckoned superfluously; then 
 guided her mustang to a little ledge where he could plant 
 his feet firmly, permitting her to reassume her usual 
 pride of carriage and averting the danger of a sudden 
 scramble or need of assistance. 
 
 As Rezanov reached her side, she gave him a grave 
 and friendly smile, but no opportunity to kiss her hand. 
 
 "I have followed your excellency," she said. "I saw 
 you leave the Juno, and as I am often up at this hour, 
 and as no one else ever is, my father ignores the fact 
 that I sometimes ride alone. I have never come as far 
 as this before, but there is something I wish to say to 
 you, and there is no opportunity at home. I asked San- 
 tiago to find me one last night, but he was in a bad 
 temper and would not. Men! However I suppose 
 you have heard nothing of the cargo?" 
 
REZANOV 109 
 
 "I have not," said Kezanov grimly, although acutely 
 sensible that the subject suited neither his mood nor 
 the hour. 
 
 "But the Governor has! Madre de Dios! all the 
 women of the Presidio and the Mission have pestered 
 him. They are sick with jealousy at the shawls you 
 gave us that day those that did not go to the ship. 
 How clever of your excellency to give us just enough 
 for ourselves and nothing for our friends! And those 
 that went want more and more. They have called upon 
 him one, two, four, and alone. They have wept and 
 Scolded and pleaded. I did not know until yesterday 
 that your commissary had also shown the things to the 
 priests from San Jose Father Jose Uria and Father 
 Pedro de la Cueva. They and the priests of San Fran- 
 cisco have argued with the Governor not once but three 
 times. Dios! how his poor excellency swore yesterday. 
 He threatened to return at once to Monterey. I flew into 
 a great rage and threatened in turn to follow with all 
 the other girls and all the priests vowed he should not 
 have one moment of peace until that cargo was ours. ' ' 
 
 * * Well ? ' ' asked Rezanov sharply, in spite of his amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 Concha shook her head. "When he does not swear, he 
 answers only: 'Buy if you have the money. I have 
 never broken a law of Spain, and I shall not begin in 
 my old age. ' He knows well that we have no money to 
 send out of New Spain; but I have conceived a plan, 
 seiior. It is for you, not for me, to suggest it. You will 
 never betray that I have been your friend, Excellency?'' 
 
 "I will swear it if you wish," said Rezanov frigidly. 
 
 "Pardon, senor. If I thought you could I should not 
 be here. One often says such things. This is the plan : 
 You shall suggest that we buy your wares, and that you 
 buy again with our money. The dear Governor only 
 wants to save his conscience an ache, for we have driven 
 him nearly distracted. I am sure he will consent, for 
 you will know how to put it to him very diplomati- 
 cally." 
 
110 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "But if he refused to understand, or his conscience 
 remained obdurate? I should then have neither cargo 
 nor ballast. ' ' 
 
 "He would never trick a guest, nor would he let the 
 money go out of the country. And he knows well how 
 much we need your cargo and longs to be able to state 
 in his reports that he sold you a hold full of breadstuffs. 
 Moreover, I think the time has come to tell him of the 
 distress at Sitka. He is very soft-hearted and is now 
 in that distracted state of mind when only one more 
 argument is required. I hope I have given you good 
 advice, Excellency. It is the best I can think of. I 
 have given it much thought, and the terrible state of 
 those miserable creatures has kept me awake many 
 nights. I must return now. Will your excellency kind- 
 ly remain here until I am well on my way ? and then 
 return by the beach ? I shall go as I came, through the 
 valley. Neither of us can be seen from the Battery. ' ' 
 
 "I will obey all your instructions," said Rezanov. 
 But he did not move, nor could the mustang. Concha 
 smiled and pointed to the other side of the cleft, which 
 was about as wide as a narrow street. 
 
 ' ' Pardon, senor, I cannot turn. ' ' 
 
 For a moment Bezanov stared at her, through her. 
 Then his heavy eyes opened and flashed. It seemed to 
 him that for the first time he saw how beautiful, how 
 desirable she was, set in that gray volcanic rock with the 
 heavens gray above her, and the stars fading out. It 
 was not the bower he would have imagined for the woo- 
 ing of a mate, but neither moonlight nor the romantic 
 glades of La Bellissima could have awakened in him a 
 passion so sudden and final. Her face between the black 
 folds turned whiter and she shrank back against the 
 jagged wall; and when his eyes flashed again with a 
 wild eager hope she involuntarily crossed herself. He 
 threw himself against the horse and snatched her down 
 and kissed her as he had kissed no woman yet, recog- 
 nizing her once for all. 
 
REZANOV 111 
 
 When he finally held her at arm's length for a mo- 
 ment he laughed confusedly. 
 
 "The Russian bear is no longer a figure of speech," 
 he said. ' * Forgive me. I forgot that you are as tender 
 as you are strong." 
 
 Her hands were tightly clasped against her breast, 
 and the breath was short in her throat, but she made no 
 protest. Her eyes were radiant, her mouth was the only 
 color in that gray dawn. In a moment she too laughed. 
 
 ' ' Dios de mi alma ! What will they say ? A heretic ! 
 If Tamalpais fell into the sea it would not make so 
 great a sensation in this California of ours where civi- 
 lized man exists but to drive heathen souls into the one 
 true church." 
 
 ' ' Will it matter to you ? Are you strong enough ? It 
 will be only a question of time to win them over, if you 
 are." 
 
 She nodded emphatically. "I was born with strength. 
 Now Dios! now I can be stronger than the King of 
 Spain himself, than the Governor, my parents and all 
 
 the priests You would not become a Catholic ? ' ' she 
 
 asked abruptly. 
 
 He shook his head, although he still smiled at her. 
 ' c Not even for you. ' ' 
 
 "No," she said thoughtfully. "I will confess what 
 matters it ? I often dreamed that this would come just 
 because I believed it would not. But why should one 
 control the imagination when it alone can give us happi- 
 ness for a little while ? I gave it rein, for I thought that 
 one-half of all my life was to be passed in that unreal 
 but by no means niggardly world. And I thought of 
 everything. To change your religion would mean the 
 ruin of your career; moreover, it is not a possibility of 
 your character. Were it I think I should not love you so 
 much. Nor could I bear to think of any change in you. 
 Only it will be harder longer." Then she stretched 
 out her hand, and closed and opened it slowly. The most 
 obtuse could not have failed to read the old simile of 
 
112 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the steel in the velvet. "I shall win because it is my 
 nature and my power to hold what I grasp. " 
 
 ''But if they persistently refuse " 
 
 "Dios!" she interrupted him. "Do you think that 
 your love is greater than mine? I was born with a 
 thousand years of love in me and had you not come I 
 should have gone alone with my dreams to the grave. I 
 am all women in one, not merely Concha Argiiello, a 
 girl of sixteen. ' ' She clasped her hands high above her 
 head, lifting her eyes to the ashen vault so soon to yield 
 to the gay brush of dawn. 
 
 "Before all that great mystery/' she said solemnly, 
 "I give myself to you for ever, how much or how little 
 that may mean here on earth. For ever. ' ' 
 
XVI 
 
 THE Commandante of the San Francisco Company sat 
 opposite Rezanov with his mouth open, the lines of his 
 strong face elongated and relaxed. It was the hour of 
 siesta, and they were alone in the sala. 
 
 "Mother of God!" he exclaimed. "Mother of God! 
 Are you mad, Excellency?" 
 
 "No man was ever saner," said Rezanov cheerfully. 
 "What better proof would you have than this final tes- 
 timony to Dona Concha 's perfections ? ' ' 
 
 "But it cannot be! Surely, Excellency, you. realize 
 that ? The priests ! Ay yi ! Ay yi ! " 
 
 "I think I understand the priests. Persuade the 
 Governor to buy my cargo and they will look upon me 
 as an amicus humani generis to whom common rules do 
 not apply. And I have won their sincere friendship. ' ' 
 
 "You have won mine, seiior. But, though I say it, 
 there is no more devout Catholic in the Californias than 
 Jose Argiiello. Do you know what they call me? El 
 santo. God knows I am not, but it is not for want of 
 the wish. Did I give my daughter to a heretic, not only 
 should I become an outcast, a pariah, but I should im- 
 peril my everlasting soul and that of my best beloved 
 child. It is impossible, Excellency unless, indeed, you 
 embrace our faith." 
 
 "That is so impossible that the subject is not worth 
 the waste of a moment. But surely, Commandante, in 
 your excitement at this perfectly natural issue you are 
 misrepresenting yourself. I do not believe, devout Cath- 
 olic as you are, that your soul is steeped in fanaticism. 
 You are known far and wide as the first and most intel- 
 ligent of his Catholic Majesty's subjects in New Spain. 
 
 113 
 
114 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "When you have my word of honor that your daughter's 
 faith shall never be disturbed, it is impossible you should 
 believe that marriage with me would ruin her chances 
 of happiness in the next world. But I doubt if your 
 soul and conscience will have the peace you desire if 
 you ruin her happiness in this. What pleasure do you 
 find in the thought of an old age companioned by a 
 heart-broken daughter ? ' ' 
 
 Don Jose turned pale and hitched his chair. "Other 
 maids have been balked when young, and have forgot- 
 ten. Concha is but sixteen " 
 
 "She is also unique. She will marry me or no one. 
 Of that I am as certain as that she is the woman of 
 women for me." 
 
 "How can you be so certain ?" asked the Comman- 
 dante sharply. "Surely you have had little talk alone 
 with her?" 
 
 "The heart has a language of its own. Eecall your 
 own youth, senor." 
 
 "It is true," said Don Jose, with a heavy sigh, as he 
 had a fleeting vision of Dona Ignacia, slim and lovely, 
 at the grating, with a rose in her hair. "But this tre- 
 mendous passion of the heart it passes, senor, it passes. 
 We love the good wife, but we sometimes realize that we 
 could have loved another good wife as well. ' ' 
 
 "That is a bit of philosophy I should have uttered 
 myself, Commandante yesterday. But there are wom- 
 en and women, and your daughter is one of the chosen 
 few who take from the years what the years take from 
 others. I am not rushing into matrimony for the sake 
 of a pair of black eyes and a fine figure. I have out- 
 lived the possibility of making a fool of myself if I 
 would. Before I realized how deeply I loved your 
 daughter I had deliberately chosen her out of all the 
 women I have known, as my friend and companion for 
 the various and difficult ways of life which I shall be 
 called upon to follow. Your daughter will have a high 
 place at the Russian Court, and she will occupy it as 
 naturally as if I had found her in Madrid and you in 
 
REZANOV 115 
 
 the great position to which your attainments and serv- 
 ices entitle you." 
 
 Don Jose, despite his consternation, titillated agree- 
 ably. He privately thought no one in New Spain good 
 enough for his daughter, and his weather-beaten self 
 was not yet insensible to the rare visitation of winged 
 darts tipped with honey. But the situation was one of 
 the most embarrassing he had ever been called upon to 
 face, and perhaps for the first time in his direct and 
 honest life his resolution was shaken in a crisis. 
 
 "Believe me, your excellency, I appreciate the honor 
 you have done my house, and I will add with all my heart 
 that never have I liked any man more. But Mother 
 of God! Mother of God!" 
 
 Rezanov took out his cigarette case, a superb bit of 
 Russian enamel, graven with the Imperial arms, and a 
 parting gift from Alexander. He passed it to his host, 
 who had developed a preference for Russian cigarettes. 
 
 1 ' There are other things to consider besides the happi- 
 ness of your daughter and myself, ' ' he remarked. ' ' This 
 alliance would mean 'the consolidation of Spanish and 
 Russian interests on the Pacific coast. It would mean 
 the protection of California in the almost certain event 
 of 'American 7 aggression. And I hear that a courier 
 brought word again yesterday that the Russian and 
 the Spanish fleets had sailed for these waters. I do not 
 believe a word of it; but should it be true, I would 
 remind you of two things: that I have the powers of 
 the Tsar himself in this part of the world, and that the 
 Russian fleet is likely to arrive first." 
 
 Again the Commandante moved uneasily. The news 
 from Mexico had kept himself and the Governor awake 
 the better part of the night. He fully appreciated the 
 importance of this powerful Russian 's friendship. Noth- 
 ing would bind and commit him like taking a Califor- 
 nian to wife. If only he had fallen in love with Caro- 
 lina Ximeno or Delfina Rivera! Don Jose had an un- 
 easy suspicion that his scruples as a Catholic might 
 have gone down before his sense of duty to this poor 
 
116 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 California. But a heretic in his own family ! He was 
 justly renowned for his piety. Aside from the wrath 
 of the church, the mere thought of one of his offspring 
 in matrimonial community beyond its pale made him 
 sick with repugnance. And yet California! And he 
 would have selected Rezanov for his daughter out of all 
 men had he been of their faith. And he was deeply 
 conscious of the honor that had descended, however un- 
 f ruitfully, upon his house. Madre de Dios ! How would 
 it end? Suddenly he felt himself inspired. In blissful 
 ignorance of her subtle feminine rule, he reminded him- 
 self that Concha 's mind was the child of his own. When 
 she saw his embarrassment, filial duty and woman's wit 
 would extricate them both with grace and avert the 
 enmity of the Russian even though the latter 's more 
 personal interest in California must die in his disap- 
 pointment. He would make her feel the weight of the 
 stern paternal hand, and then indicate the part she had 
 to play. 
 
 He rang a bell and directed the servant to summon 
 his daughter, drew himself up to his full height, and set 
 his rugged face in hard lines. As Concha entered he 
 looked the Commandante, the stern disciplinarian, every 
 inch of him. 
 
 There was no trace of the siesta in Concha's cheeks. 
 They were very white, but her eyes were steady and 
 her mouth indomitable as she walked down the sala and 
 took the chair Rezanov placed for her. Except for her 
 Castilian fairness, she looked very like the martinet 
 sitting on the other side of the table. The Comman- 
 dante regarded her silently with brows drawn together. 
 Dimly, he felt apprehension, wondered, in a flash of 
 insight, if girls held fast to the parental recipe, or re- 
 combined with tongue in cheek. The bare possi- 
 bility of resistance almost threw him into panic, but he 
 controlled his features until the effort injected his eyes 
 and drew in his nostrils. Concha regarded him calmly, 
 although her heart beat unevenly, for she dreaded the 
 long strain she foresaw. 
 
REZANOV 117 
 
 "My daughter," said Don Jose finally, his tones harsh 
 with repressed misgiving, "do you suspect why I have 
 sent for you ? ' ' 
 
 "I think that his excellency wishes to marry me," 
 replied Concha; and the Commandante was so stag- 
 gered by the calm assurance of her tone and manner that 
 his pent-up emotion exploded. 
 
 "Dios!" he roared. "What right have you to know 
 when a man wishes to marry you? What manner of 
 Spanish girl is this? Truly has his excellency said that 
 you are not as other women. The place for you is your 
 room, with bread and water for a week. Sixteen ! ' ' 
 
 "Ignacio was born when my mother was sixteen," 
 said Concha coolly. 
 
 ' ' What of that ? She married whom and when she was 
 told to marry." 
 
 * ' I have heard that you serenaded nightly beneath her 
 grating " 
 
 "So did others." 
 
 ' ' I have heard that when of all her suitors her father 
 chose one more highly born, a gentleman of the Vice- 
 roy's court, she pined until they gave their consent to 
 her marriage with you, lest she die." 
 
 "But I was a Catholic! The prejudice against my 
 birth was an unworthy one. I had distinguished myself. 
 And she had the support of the priests. ' ' 
 
 "It is my misfortune that M. de Rezanov is not a 
 Catholic, but it will make no difference. I shall not fall 
 ill, for I am like you, not like my dear mother and 
 the education you have given me is very different from 
 hers. But I shall marry his excellency or no one, and 
 whether I marry him or live alone with the thought of 
 him until the end of my mortal days, I do not believe 
 that my soul will be imperilled in the least. ' ' 
 
 "You do not!" shouted the irate Spaniard. "How 
 dare you presume to decide such v a question for your- 
 self ? What does a woman know of love until she mar- 
 ries? It is nothing but a sickening of the imagination 
 before; and if the man goes, the doctor soon comes." 
 
118 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "You may not have intended but you have taught 
 me to think for myself. And I have seen others besides 
 M. de Rezanov the flower of California and more than 
 one fine gentleman from Mexico. I will have none of 
 them. I will marry the man of my choice or no one. 
 It may be that I know naught of love. If you wish, 
 you may think that my choice of a husband is deter- 
 mined by ambition, that I am dazzled with the thought 
 of court life in St. Petersburg, of being the consort of 
 a great and wealthy noble. It matters not. Love or 
 ambition, I shall marry this Eussian or I shall never 
 marry at all." 
 
 ' ' Mother of God ! Mother of God ! ' ' Don Jose 's face 
 was purple. The veins swelled in his neck. He was 
 the more wroth because he recognized his own daughter 
 and his own handiwork, because he saw that he con- 
 fronted a Toledo blade, not a woman's brittle will. 
 Concha regarded him calmly. 
 
 "If you refuse your consent, you will lose me in an- 
 other way. I may not be able to marry as I wish, but I 
 will have no worldly alternative. I shall join the Third 
 Order of the Franciscans, and enter a convent as soon 
 as one is built in California. To that you cannot with- 
 hold your consent, or they no longer would call you 
 Elsanto." 
 
 Don Jose leaped from his chair. * * Go to your room ! ' ' 
 he thundered. "And do not dare to leave it without 
 my permission " 
 
 But Concha sprang forward and flung herself upon 
 his neck. She rubbed her warm elastic cheek against 
 his own in the manner he loved, and softened her voice. 
 * ' Papacito mio, papacito mio, ' ' she pleaded. i l Thou wilt 
 not refuse thy Concha the only thing she has ever begged 
 of thee. And I beg! I beg! Papa mio! I love him! 
 I love him!" And she broke into wild weeping and 
 kissed him frantically, while Rezanov, who had followed 
 her plan of attack and resistance in silent admiration, 
 did not know whether he should himself be moved to 
 tears or further admire. 
 
REZANOV 119 
 
 Don Jose pushed her from him with a heavy sob and 
 hastily left the room, oblivious in the confusion of his 
 faculties of the boon he conferred on the lovers. Concha 
 dried her eyes, but her face was deathly pale. It had 
 not been all acting, by any means, and she was beginning 
 to feel the tyranny of sleepless nights; and the joy and 
 wonder of the morning had left her with but a remnant 
 of endurance for the domestic battleground. 
 
 "Go," she whispered, as he took her in his arms. 
 "Return for the dance to-night as if nothing had hap- 
 pened I forgot, there is to be a bull-bear fight in 
 
 the square. So much the better, for it is in your honor, 
 and you could not well remain away. There is much 
 trouble to come, but in the end we shall win." 
 
XVII 
 
 THE muscles in Dona Ignacia 's cheeks fell an inch as she 
 listened, dumfounded, to the tale her husband poured 
 out. To her simple aristocratic soul Rezanov had loomed 
 too great a personage to dream of mating with a Cali- 
 fornian ; and as her sharp maternal instinct had recog- 
 nized his personal probity, even his gallantries had 
 seemed to her no more consequent than the more catholic 
 trifling of his officers. 
 
 "Holy Mary!" she whimpered, when her voice came 
 back. "Holy Mary! A heretic! And he would take 
 our Concha from us ! And she would go ! To St. Peters- 
 burg! Ten thousand miles! To the priests with her 
 now this very day!" 
 
 Concha had thrown herself on her bed in belated hope 
 of siesta, when Malia (Eosa had been sent to the house 
 of Don Mario Sal in the valley) entered with the mes- 
 sage that she was to accompany her parents to the Mis- 
 sion at once. She rose sullenly, but in the manifold es- 
 sentials of a girl's life she had always yielded the im- 
 plicit obedience exacted by the Californian parent. In a 
 few moments she was riding out of the Presidio beside 
 her father. Dona Ignacia jolted behind in her carreta, 
 a low and clumsy vehicle, on solid wheels and springless, 
 drawn by oxen, and driven by a stable-boy on a mus- 
 tang. The journey was made in complete silence save 
 for the maledictions addressed to the oxen by the boy, 
 and an occasional ' ( Ay yi ! ' ' " Madre de Dios I" " Saint- 
 ed Mary, but the sun bores a hole in the head," from 
 Dona Ignacia, whose increasing discomfort banished 
 wrath and apprehension for the hour. 
 
 Don Jose did not even look at his daughter, but his 
 face was ten years older than in the morning. He had 
 
 120 
 
REZANOV 121 
 
 begun dimly to appreciate that she was suffering, and 
 in a manner vastly different from the passionate resent- 
 ment he had seen her display when the contents of a 
 box from Mexico disappointed her, or she was denied a 
 visit to Monterey. That his best-beloved child should 
 suffer tore his own heart, but he merely cursed Rezanov 
 and resolved to do his best to persuade the Governor to 
 yield to his other demands, that California might be rid 
 of him the sooner. 
 
 Father Abella was walking down the long outer cor- 
 ridor of the Mission reading his breviary, and praying 
 he might not be diverted from righteousness by the com- 
 forting touch of his new habit, when he looked up and 
 saw the party from the presidio floundering over the 
 last of the sand hills. He shuffled off to order refresh- 
 ments, and returned in time to disburden the carreta 
 of Dona Ignacia no mean feat volubly delighted in 
 the visit and the gossip it portended. But as he offered 
 his arm to lead her into the sala, she pushed him aside 
 and pointed to Concha, who had sprung to the ground 
 unassisted. 
 
 1 ' She has come to confess, padre ! ' ' she exclaimed, her 
 mind, under the deep tiled roof of the corridor, read- 
 justing itself to tragedy. ( ' I beg that you will take her 
 at once. Padre Landaeta can give us chocolate and we 
 will tell our terrible news to him and receive advice and 
 consolation. ' ' 
 
 Father Abella, not without a glimmering of the truth, 
 for better than anyone he understood the girl he had 
 confessed many times, besides himself having succumbed 
 to the Russian, led the way to the confessional in some 
 perturbation of spirit. He walked slowly, hoping that 
 the long cool church, its narrow high windows admitting 
 so scant a meed of sunlight that no one of its worship- 
 pers had ever read the painted legends on the walls, 
 and even the stations were but deeper bits of shade, 
 would attune her mind to holy things, and throw a 
 mantle of unreality over those of the world. 
 
 He covered his face with his hand as she told her 
 
122 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 story. This she did in a few words, disjointed, for she 
 was both tired and seething. For a few moments after- 
 ward there was a silence; the good priest was increas- 
 ingly disturbed and by no means certain of his course. 
 He was astonished to feel a tug at his sleeve. Before 
 he could reprove this impenitent child for audacity she 
 had raised herself that she might approach her lips more 
 closely to his ear. 
 
 * ' Mi padre ! ' ' she whispered hoarsely, ' ' you will take 
 my part ! You will not condemn me to a life of misery ! 
 I am too proud to speak openly to others but I love 
 this man more than my soul more than my immortal 
 soul. Do you hear? I am in danger of mortal sin. 
 Perhaps I am already in that state. You cannot save 
 me if he goes. I will not pray. I will not come to the 
 church. I will be an outcast. If I marry him, I will be 
 a good Catholic to the end of my days. If I marry him, 
 I can think of other things besides of my church, my 
 father, my mother, my sisters, brothers. If he goes, I 
 shall pass my life thinking of nothing but him, and if it 
 be true that heretics are doomed to hell, then I will live 
 so that I may go to hell with him." 
 
 In spite of his horror the priest was thrilled by the 
 intense passion in the voice so close to his ear. More- 
 over, he knew women well, this good padre, for even in 
 California they differed little from those that played 
 ball with the world. So he dismissed the horror and 
 spoke soothingly. 
 
 ' ' What you have said would be mortal sin, my daugh- 
 ter, were it not that you are laboring under strong and 
 natural excitement ; and I shall absolve you freely when 
 you have done the penance I must impose. You have 
 always been such a good child that I am able to forgive 
 you even in this terrible moment. But, my daughter, 
 surely you know that this marriage can never take 
 place " 
 
 "It shall! It shall!" 
 
 "Control yourself, my daughter. You cannot bring 
 this man into the true church. His character is long 
 
REZANOV 123 
 
 since formed and cast it is iron. Even love will not 
 melt it. Were lie younger " 
 
 "I should hate him. All young men are insufferable 
 to me always have been. I have found my mate, and 
 have him I will if I have to hide in the hold of his ship. 
 Ah, padre mio, I know not what I say. But you will 
 help me. Only you can. My father thinks you as wise 
 as a saint. And there are other things my head turns 
 round I can hardly think but you dare not lose the 
 friendship of this Russian. And my marriage to him 
 would be as much for the good of the Missions as for 
 California herself. If you champion our cause, point 
 out that not only would it be a great match for me, but 
 that many ends would be lost by ruining my life. The 
 Governor will find himself in a position to grant your 
 prayers for the cargo, particularly if you first persuaded 
 my father so long they have been friends, the Governor 
 could not resist if he joined our forces. What is one 
 girl that she should be held of greater account than the 
 welfare of this country to which you are devoting your 
 life? The happier are your converts the more kindly 
 will they take to Christianity which they do not love 
 as yet! the more faithful and contented will they be, 
 in the prospect of the luxuries and the toys and the trin- 
 kets of the Russian north. What is one girl against the 
 friendship of Russia for Spain ? Who am I that I 
 should weigh a peseta in the scale?" 
 
 ' ' You are Concha Argiiello, the flower of all the maid- 
 ens in California, and the daughter of the best of our 
 men," replied Father Abella musingly. ''And until 
 to-day there has been no Catholic more devout " 
 
 "It lies with you, mi padre, whether I continue to be 
 the best of Catholics or become the most abandoned of 
 heretics. You know me better than anyone. You know 
 that I will not weaken and bend and submit, like a thou- 
 sand other women. I could be bad bad bad and I 
 will be! Do you hear?" And she shook his arm vio- 
 lently, while her hoarse voice filled the church. 
 
 ' ' My child ! My child ! I have always believed that 
 
124 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 you had it in you to become a saint. Yes, yes, I feel 
 the strength and maturity of your nature, I know the 
 lengths to which it might lead another; but you could 
 not be bad, Conchita. I have known many women. In 
 you alone have I perceived the capacity for spiritual ex- 
 altation. You are the stuff of which saints and martyrs 
 are made. The violent will, the transcendent passions 
 they have existed in the greatest of our saints, and 
 been conquered/' 
 
 "I will not conquer. I Oh, padre for the love 
 
 of heaven ' ' 
 
 He left the box hastily and lifted her where she had 
 fallen and carried her into the room adjoining the 
 church. He laid her on the floor, and ran for Dona Ig- 
 nacia, who, refreshed with wine and chocolate, came 
 swiftly. But when Concha, under practical administra- 
 tions and maternal endearments, finally opened her eyes, 
 she pushed her mother coldly aside, rose and steadied 
 herself against the wall for a moment, then returned 
 to the church, closing the door behind her. 
 
 When a woman has borne thirteen children in the lost 
 corners of the world, with scarce a thought in thirty 
 years for aught else save the husband and his comforts, 
 it is not to be expected that her wits should be rapiers 
 or her vocabulary distinguished. But Dona Ignacia's 
 unresting heart had an intelligence of its own, and no 
 inner convulsion could alter the superb dignity of mien 
 which Nature had granted her. As she rose and con- 
 fronted Father Abella he moved forward with the in- 
 stinct to kiss her hand, as he had seen Rezanov do. 
 
 "Mi padre," she said, "Concha is the first of my 
 children to push me aside, and it is like a blow on the 
 heart; but I have neither anger nor resentment, for it 
 was not the act of a child to its parent, but of one 
 woman to another. Alas! this Eussian, what has he 
 done, when her own mother can give her no comfort? 
 We all love when young, but this is more. I loved Jose 
 so much I thought I should die when they would have 
 compelled me to marry another. But this is more. She 
 
REZANOV 125 
 
 will not die, nor even go to bed and weep for days, but 
 it is more. I should not have died, I know that now, 
 and in time I should have married another, and been as 
 happy as a woman can be when the man is kind. Con- 
 cha will love but once, and she will suffer suffer She 
 may be more than I, but I bore her and I know. And 
 she cannot marry him. A heretic! I no longer think 
 of the terrible separation. Were he a Catholic I should 
 not think of myself again. But it cannot be. Oh, padre, 
 what shall we do?' 7 
 
 They talked for a long while, and after further con- 
 sultation with Don Jose and Father Landaeta, it was 
 decided that Concha should remain for the present in 
 the house of Juan Moraga, where she could receive the 
 daily counsels of the priests, and be beyond the reach 
 of Rezanov. Meanwhile, all influence would be brought 
 to bear upon the Governor that the Russian might be 
 placated even while made to realize that to loiter longer 
 in California waters would be but a waste of precious 
 time. 
 
XVIII 
 
 THERE was no performance after all in the Presidio 
 square that night, for the bear brought in from the hills 
 to do honor to the Russians died of exictement, and it 
 rained besides. Rezanov made the storm his excuse for 
 not dining and dancing as usual at the house of the 
 Commandante. But the relations between the Presidio 
 and the Juno during the next few days were by no 
 means strained. Davidov and Khostov were always with 
 the Spanish officers, drinking and card playing, or im- 
 proving their dancing and Spanish with the girls, whose 
 guitars were tuned for the waltz day and night. The 
 dignitaries met as usual and conversed on all topics 
 save those paramount in the minds of each. Neverthe- 
 less, there were three significant facts as well known to 
 Rezanov as had they been aired to his liking. 
 
 He had sought an interview with Father Abella, and 
 tactfully ignoring the question of his marriage, had per- 
 suaded that astute and influential priest to make the 
 proposition regarding his cargo that Concha had sug- 
 gested. The priest, backed by his three coadjutors, had 
 made it, and been repulsed with fury. From another 
 quarter Rezanov learned that during his absence little 
 else was discussed in the house of the Commandante 
 save his formidable matrimonial project, and the sup- 
 posed designs of his country. Troops had been ordered 
 from the south to reinforce the San Francisco garrisons, 
 and were even now massed at Santa Clara, within a day 's 
 march of the bay. 
 
 About a mile from the Presidio and almost opposite 
 the Juno's anchorage were six great stone tubs sunken 
 in the ground and filled by a spring of clear water. 
 Here, once a week, the linen, fine and heavy, of Fort 
 and Presidio was washed, the stoutest serving women of 
 
 126 
 
REZANOV 127 
 
 households and barracks meeting at dawn and scrubbing 
 for half a day. Rezanov had watched the bright picture 
 they made for they wore a bit of every hue they could 
 command with a lazy interest, which quickened to 
 thirst when he heard that they were the most reliable 
 newsmongers in the country. In every Presidial dis- 
 trict was a similar institution, and the four were known 
 as the "Wash Tub Mail." Many of the women were 
 selected by the tyrants of the tubs for their comeliness, 
 and each had a lover in the couriers that went regularly 
 with mail and official instructions from one end of the 
 Californias to the other. All important news was known 
 first by these women, and much was discussed over the 
 tubs that was long in reaching higher but no less inter- 
 ested circles; and domestic bulletins were as eagerly 
 prized. The sailor that brought this information to 
 Rezanov was a good-looking and susceptible youth, al- 
 ready the victim of an Indian maiden from the hand- 
 some tribe in the Santa Clara valley and sister of Dona 
 Ignacia 's Malia. Rezanov furnished him with beads and 
 other trinkets, and was at no disadvantage thereafter. 
 
 There was nothing Rezanov would have liked better 
 than to see a Russian fleet sail through the straits, but 
 he also knew that nothing was less likely, and that from 
 such rumors he should only derive further annoyance 
 and delay. Two of his sailors deserted at the prospect 
 of war, and his hosts, if neutral, were manifestly alert. 
 Luis and Santiago had been obliged to go to Monterey 
 for a few days, and there was no one at the Presidio in 
 whom Rezanov could confide either his impatience to 
 see Concha or at the adjournment of his more prosaic 
 but no less pressing interests. These two young men 
 had been with him almost constantly since his arrival, 
 and demonstrated their friendship and even affection 
 unfailingly; but there was no love lost between himself 
 and Gervasio. This young hidalgo had the hauteur and 
 intense family pride of Santiago without his younger 
 brother's frank intelligence and lingering ingenuous- 
 ness. With all the superiority of inferiority, he had 
 
128 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 made himself so unpopular that his real kindness of 
 heart atoned for his absurdities only with those that 
 knew him best. Rezanov was not of these nor aspired to 
 be. Like all highly seasoned men of the world, he had 
 no patience with the small vanities of the provincial, 
 and although diplomatically courteous to all, in his 
 present precarious position, he had taken too little trou- 
 ble to conciliate Gervasio to find him of use in the ab- 
 sence of his friends. 
 
 At the end of three days Rezanov had forgotten his 
 cargo, and would have sent the Juno to the bottom for 
 ten minutes alone with Concha. He had been on fire with 
 love of her since the moment of his actual surrender, and 
 he was determined to have her if there were no other 
 resource but elopement. All his old and intense love 
 of personal freedom had melted out of form in the cru- 
 cible of his lover's imagination. That he should have 
 doubted for a moment that Concha was the woman for 
 whom his soul had held itself aloof and unshackled 
 was a matter for contemptuous wonder, and the pride he 
 had taken in his keen and swift perceptive faculties suf- 
 fered an eclipse. Mind and soul and body he was a 
 lover, a union unknown before. 
 
 On the fourth morning, his patience at an end, he 
 was about to leave the Juno to demand a formal inter- 
 view with Don Jose when he saw Luis and Santiago 
 dismount at the beach and enter the canoe always in 
 waiting. A few moments later they had helped them- 
 selves to cigarettes from the gift of the Tsar and were 
 assuring Rezanov of their partisanship and approval. 
 
 ' ' We were somewhat taken aback at the first moment, ' ' 
 Luis admitted. "But well, we are both in love San- 
 tiago no less than I, although I have had these six long 
 years of waiting and am likely to have another. And 
 we love Concha as few men love their sisters, for there 
 is no one like her is it not so, Rezanov? And we quite 
 understand why she has chosen you, and why she stands 
 firm, for we know the strength of her character. We 
 would that you were a Catholic, but even so, we will 
 
REZANOV 129 
 
 not sit by and see her life ruined, and we have called to 
 assure you that we shall use all our influence, every 
 adroit argument, to bring our parents to a more reason- 
 able frame of mind. They have already risen above the 
 first natural impulse of selfishness, and would consent 
 to the inevitable separation were you only a Catholic. 
 I have also talked with the Governor we arrived at 
 midnight and he flew into a terrible temper the poor 
 man is already like a mad bull at bay but if my father 
 yielded, he would on all points. This morning I shall 
 ride over and talk with Father Abella, who, I fancy, 
 needs only a little extra pressure you may be sure 
 Concha has not been idle to yield; and for more rea- 
 sons than one. I shall enlist Father Uria and Father 
 de la Cueva as well. They also have great influence 
 with my parents, and as they return to San Jose in two 
 days to prepare for the visit of the most estimable Dr. 
 Langsdorff, there is no time to lose. I shall go this 
 morning. One more cigarito, seiior, and when that treaty 
 is drawn remember the conversion of your brother to 
 Russian tobacco." 
 
 Rezanov thanked him so warmly, assured him with 
 so convincing an emphasis that with his fate in such 
 competent hands his mind was at peace, that the ardent 
 heart of the Calif ornian exulted ; Rezanov, with his splen- 
 did appearance, and typical of the highest civilizations 
 of Europe, had descended upon his narrow sphere with 
 the authority of a demigod, and he not only thirsted to 
 serve him, but to fasten him to California with the 
 surest of human bonds. 
 
 As he dropped over the side of the ship, Rezanov 's 
 hand fell lightly on the shoulder of Santiago. 
 
 "I can wait no longer to see your sister," he whis- 
 pered, mindful of the sterner responsibilities of the older 
 brother. "Do you think you could " 
 
 Santiago nodded. "While Luis is at the Mission I 
 shall go to my cousin Juan Moraga's. You will dine 
 with us at the Presidio, and I shall escort you back to 
 the shiD ." 
 
XIX 
 
 IT was ten o'clock when Kezanov, who had supped on 
 the Juno, met Santiago in a sandy valley half a mile 
 from the Presidio and mounted the horse his young 
 friend himself had saddled and brought. The long ride 
 was a silent one. The youth was not talkative at any 
 time, and Rezanov was conscious of little else save an 
 overwhelming desire to see Concha again. One secret 
 of his success in life was his gift of yielding to one 
 energy at a time, oblivious at the moment to aught that 
 might distract or enfeeble the will. To-night, as he rode 
 toward the Mission on as romantic a quest as ever came 
 the way of a lover, the diplomat, the anxious director of 
 a great Company, the representative of one of the mighty 
 potentates of earth, were submerged, forgotten, in the 
 thrilling anticipation of his hour with the woman for 
 whom every fiber of his being yearned. 
 
 Nor ever was there more appropriate a setting for 
 one of those inaugural chapters in mating, half appre- 
 ciated at the time, that glimmer as a sort of morning 
 twilight on mountain tops over the mild undulations of 
 matrimony. The moon rode without a masking cloud 
 across the ambiguous night blue of the California sky, 
 a blue that looks like the fire of strange elements, where 
 the stars glow like silver coals, and out of whose depths 
 intense shadows of blue and black fall ; shadows in which 
 all the under world seems to float and recombine, where 
 houses are ghosts of ancient selves and men but the 
 eidola of forgotten dust. To-night the little estate of 
 Juan Moraga, the most isolated and eastern of the set- 
 tlement, surrounded by its high white wall, looked as 
 unreal and formless as the blue oval of water and black 
 trees behind it, but Kezanov knew that it enfolded warm 
 
 130 
 
REZANOV 131 
 
 and palpitating womanhood and was steeped in the 
 sweetness of Castilian roses. 
 
 The riders, who had taken a path far to the east of 
 the Mission, dismounted and tied their horses among 
 the willows, then, in their dark cloaks but a part of the 
 shadows, stole toward the wall designed to impress hos- 
 tile tribes rather than to resist an onslaught; at the 
 first warning the settlement invariably fled to the church 
 where walls were massive and windows high. 
 
 In three of Moraga 's four walls was a grille, or wicket 
 of slender iron bars, whence the open could be swept 
 with glass, or gun at a pinch ; and for the grille looking 
 eastward went Rezanov as swiftly as the uneven ground 
 would permit. As Concha watched him gather form 
 in the moonlight and saw him jerk his cloak off impa- 
 tiently, she flung her soft body against the wall and 
 shook the bars with her strong little hands. But when 
 he faced her she was erect and smiling; in a sudden 
 uprush of spirits, almost indifferent. She wore a white 
 gown and a rose in her hair. A rosebush as dense as an 
 arbor spread its prickly arms between herself and the 
 windows of the house. 
 
 ' ' Good-evening, ' ' she whispered. 
 
 Rezanov gave the grille an angry shake. (Santiago 
 had considerately retired.) "Come out," he said per- 
 emptorily, "or let me in." 
 
 "There is but one gate, sefior, and that is directly 
 in front of the house door, that stands open " 
 
 "Then I shall get over the wall " 
 
 "Madre de Dios! You would leave your fine clothes 
 and more on the thorns. My cousin planted those roses 
 not for ornament, but to let the blood of defiant lovers. 
 Not one has come twice " 
 
 "Do you think I came here to talk to you through a 
 grating? I am no serenading Spaniard." 
 
 His eyes were blazing. Adobe is not stone. Rezanov 
 took the light bars in both hands and wrenched them 
 out; then, as Concha, divided between laughter and a 
 sudden timidity, would have retreated, he dexterously 
 
132 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 clasped her neck and drew her head through the em- 
 brasure. As Santiago, who had watched Rezanov from 
 a distance with some curiosity, saw his sister's beautiful 
 face emerge from the wall to disappear at once behind 
 another rampart, he turned abruptly on his heel and 
 could have wept as he thought of Pilar Ortego of Santa 
 Barbara. But there was a hope that he would be a 
 cadet of the Southern Company before the year was 
 out, and his parents and hers were indulgent. Even 
 as he sighed, his own impending happiness infused him 
 with an almost patronizing sympathy for the twain with 
 the wall between, and he concealed himself among the 
 willows that they might feel to the full the blessed isola- 
 tion of lovers. His Pilar presented him with twenty- 
 two hostages, and he lived to enjoy an honorable and a 
 prosperous career, but he never forgot that night and the 
 part he had played in one of the poignant and happy 
 hours of his sister's life. 
 
 Day and night a great silence reigned in the Mission 
 valley, broken only by the hoot of the owl, the singing 
 of birds, the flight of horses across the plain. Even the 
 low huddle of Mission buildings and the few homes 
 beyond looked an anomaly in that vast quiet valley 
 asleep and unknown for so many centuries in the wide 
 embrace of the hills. Its jewel oasis alone made it 
 acceptable to the Spaniard, but to Rezanov the sandy 
 desert, with its close companionable silences, its cool 
 night air sweet with the light chaste fragrance of the 
 roses, the simple, almost primitive, conditions environ- 
 ing the girl, possessed a power to stir the depths of his 
 emotions as no artful reinforcement to passion had ever 
 done. He forgot the wall. His ego melted in a sense 
 of complete union and happiness. Even when they 
 returned to earth and discussed the dubious future, he 
 was conscious of an odd resignation, very alien in his 
 nature, not only to the barrier but to all the strange 
 conditions of his wooing. He had felt something of this 
 before, although less definitely, and to-night he con- 
 cluded that she had the gift of clothing the inevitable 
 
REZANOV 133 
 
 with the semblance and the sweetness of choice; and 
 wondered how long it would be able to skirt the arid 
 steppes of philosophy. 
 
 She told him that she had talked daily with Father 
 Abella. "He will say nothing to admit he is weaken- 
 ing, but I feel sure he has realized not only that our 
 marriage will be for the best interests of California, but 
 that to forbid it would wreck my life; and from this 
 responsibility he shrinks. I can see it in his kind, 
 shrewd, perplexed eyes, in the hesitating inflections of 
 his voice, to say nothing of the poor arguments he 
 advances to mine. What of my father and mother ? ' ' 
 
 "They look troubled, almost ill, but nothing could 
 exceed their kindness to me, although they have point- 
 edly given me no opportunity to introduce the subject 
 of our marriage again. The Governor makes no sign 
 that he knows of any aspiration of mine above corn, 
 but he informed me to-day that California is doomed 
 to abandonment, that the Indians are hopeless, that 
 Spain will withdraw troops before she will send others, 
 and that the country will either revert to savagery 
 or fall a prey to the first enterprising outsider. As 
 he was in comparison cheerful before, I fancy he ap- 
 prehends the irresistible appeal of your father's sur- 
 render. ' ' 
 
 Concha nodded. "If my father yields he will see 
 that you have everything else that you wish. He may 
 have advocated meeting your wishes in other respects 
 in order to leave you without excuse to linger, but that 
 argument is not strong enough for the Governor, whereas 
 if he made up his mind to accept you as a son he 
 would throw the whole force of his character and will 
 into the scale ; and when he reaches that pitch he wins 
 with men. I must, must bring you good fortune, " she 
 added anxiously. "Marriage with a little California 
 girl are you sure it will not ruin your career?" 
 
 "I can think of nothing that would advantage it 
 more. "What are you going to call me?" 
 
 "I cannot say Petrovich or Nicola'i my Spanish 
 
BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 tongue rebels. I shall call you Pedro. That is a very 
 pretty name with us. ' ' 
 
 "My own harsh names suit my battered self rather 
 better, but the more Californian you are and remain 
 the happier I shall be. When am I to see your ears? 
 Are they deformed, pointed and furry like a fawn's? 
 Do they stand out? Were all the women of California 
 tattooed in some Indian raid " 
 
 Concha glanced about apprehensively, but not even 
 Santiago was there to see the dreadful deed. With a 
 defiant sweep of her hands she lifted both loops of 
 hair, and two little ears, rosy even in the moonlight, 
 commanded amends and more from penitent lips. 
 
 "No man has ever seen them before since I was a 
 baby; not even my father and brothers," said Concha, 
 trembling between horror and rapture at the tremendous 
 surrender. "You will never remind me of it. Ay yi! 
 promise Pedro mio!" 
 
 "On condition that you promise not to confess it. 
 I should like to be sure that your mind belonged as 
 much to me and as little to others as possible. I do 
 not object to confession we have it in our church; 
 but remember that there are other things as sacred as 
 your religion." 
 
 She nodded. "I understand better than you under- 
 stand Romanism. I must confess that I met you to- 
 night, but Father Abella is too discreet to ask for more. 
 It is such blessed memories that feed the soul, and they 
 would fly away on a whisper." 
 
XX 
 
 THE next morning Father Abella rode over to the 
 Presidio and was closeted for an hour with the Com- 
 mandante and the Governor. Then the three rode down 
 to the beach, entered a canoe, and paddled out to the 
 Juno. Rezanov met them on deck with a gravity as 
 significant as their own, but led them at once to the 
 cabin where wine, and the cigarettes for which alone 
 they would have counselled the treaty, awaited them. 
 
 The quartette pledged each other in an embarrassed 
 silence, disposed of a moment more with obdurate 
 matches. Don Jose inhaled audibly, then lifted his eyes 
 and met the veiled and steady gaze of the Russian. 
 
 "Seiior," he said, "I have come to tell you that I 
 consent to your marriage with my daughter. " 
 
 ' ' Thank you, ' ' said Rezanov. And their hands clasped 
 across the table. 
 
 But this was far too simple for the taste of a Governor. 
 So important an occasion demanded official dignity and 
 many words. 
 
 "Your excellency," he said severely, sitting very 
 erect, with one white hand on the table and the other 
 on the hilt of his sword (yet full of courtesy, and 
 longing to enjoy the cheer and conversation of his host) ; 
 <r ttie peaceful monotony of our lives has been rudely 
 shaken by a demand upon three fallible human beings 
 to alter the course of history in two great nations. That 
 is a sufficient excuse for the suspense to which we have 
 been forced to subject you. The marriage of a Russian 
 and a Spaniard is of no great moment in itself, but 
 the marriage of the Plenipotentiary of the Tsar himself 
 with the daughter of Jose Dario Argiiello, not only one 
 of the most eminent, respected, and distinguished of His 
 
 135 
 
136 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Most Catholic Majesty's subjects in New Spain, but a 
 man so beloved and influential that he could create a rev- 
 olution were he so minded indeed, Jose, no one knows 
 better than I how incapable you are of treason" as 
 the Commandante gave a loud exclamation of horror 
 "I merely illustrate and emphasize. My sands are 
 nearly run, Excellency; it is to the estimable mind and 
 strong paternal hand of my friend that this miserable 
 colony must look before long, would she continue even 
 this hand to mouth existence a fact well known to our 
 king and natural lord. When he hears of this projected 
 alliance " 
 
 "Projected?" exclaimed Kezanov. "I wish to marry 
 at once." 
 
 Father Abella shook his head vigorously, but he 
 spoke with great kindness. "That, Excellency, alas, is 
 the one point upon which we are forced to disappoint 
 you. Indeed, our own submission to your wishes is con- 
 tingent. This marriage cannot take place without a 
 dispensation from Kome and the consent of the King." 
 
 Kezanov looked at Don Jose. "You too?" he asked 
 curtly. 
 
 The Commandante stirred uneasily, heaved a deep 
 sigh ; he thought of the long impatience of his Concha. 
 "It is true," he said. "Not only would it be impossible 
 for my conscience to resign itself to the marriage of 
 my daughter with a heretic pardon, Excellency 
 without the blessing of the Pope; not only would no 
 priest in California perform the ceremony until it ar- 
 rived, but it would mean the degradation of Governor 
 Arrillaga and myself, and the ruin of all your other 
 hopes. "We should be ordered summarily to Mexico, 
 perhaps worse, and no Russian would ever be permitted 
 to set foot in the Californias again. I would it were 
 otherwise. I know I know but it is inevitable. Your 
 excellency must see it. Even were you a Catholic, Gover- 
 nor Arrillaga and the President of the Missions, at least, 
 would not dare to countenance this marriage without 
 the consent of the King." 
 
REZANOV 137 
 
 Bezanov was silent for a few minutes. In spite of 
 the emotions of the past few days he was astonished 
 at the depth and keenness of his disappointment. But 
 never yet had he failed to realize when he was beaten, 
 nor to trim his sails without loss of precious time. 
 
 "Very well," he said. "I will go to St. Petersburg 
 at the earliest possible moment, obtain personal letters 
 from the Tsar and proceed post haste to Rome and 
 Madrid. At the same time I shall arrange for the 
 treaty with full authority from the Tsar. Then I shall 
 sail from Spain to Mexico and reach here as soon as 
 may be. It will take a long while, the best part of two 
 years; but I have your word " 
 
 "You have," the three asserted with solemn emphasis. 
 
 "Very well. But there is one thing more. I am not 
 in a diplomatic humor. My Sitkans are starving. I 
 must leave here with a shipload of breadstuff s." 
 
 Again the Governor drew up his slim soldierly figure ; 
 deposited his cigarette on the malachite ash tray. "You 
 may be sure that we have given that momentous ques- 
 tion our deepest consideration. Father Abella's sugges- 
 tion that we buy your commodities for cash, and that 
 with our Spanish dollars you buy again of us, did not 
 strike me favorably at first, for it savored of sophistry. 
 I may have failed in every attempt to benefit and ad- 
 vance this Godforsaken country, but at least I have been 
 the honest agent of my King. But the circumstances 
 are extraordinary. You are about to become one of us, 
 to do our unhappy colony the greatest service that is 
 in the power of any mortal, and personally you have 
 inspired us with affection and respect. I have there- 
 fore decided that the exchange shall be made on these 
 terms, but that your cargo shall be received by Don 
 Jose Argiiello, Commandante of the San Francisco Com- 
 pany, and held in trust until the formal consent of the 
 King to the purchase shall arrive." 
 
 Rezanov glowed to his finger tips. Not even the as- 
 surance of his union with the woman of his heart, which 
 after all had met but the skeleton of his desires, gave 
 
138 BEF.ORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 him the acute satisfaction of this sudden fulfilment of 
 his self-imposed mission. He dropped his own offi- 
 cial demeanor and throwing himself across the table 
 gripped the Governor's hand while he poured out his 
 thanks in a voice thick with feeling, his eyes glittering 
 with more than victory. He did not lose sight of his 
 ultimate designs and pledge himself to eternal friend- 
 ship, but he unwittingly conveyed the impression that 
 Spain had that day made a friend she ill could afford 
 to lose ; and his three visitors rose well pleased with the 
 culmination of the interview. 
 
 "You must stay here no longer, Rezanov," said Don 
 Jose, as they were taking leave. "My house is now 
 literally your own. It will be some weeks before the 
 large quantities of corn and flour and other stores you 
 wish can be got together for we must lay a requisition 
 on the fertile Mission ranchos in the valleys and you 
 will exchange these narrow quarters for such poor com- 
 fort as my house affords I take no denial. Concha will 
 remain at Juan Moraga's for the present. " 
 
XXI 
 
 CONCHA, after her father left her, sat for a long while 
 in an attitude of such complete repose that Sturgis, 
 watching her miserably from the veranda, remembered 
 the consolations of his sketch book; and he was able to 
 counterfeit the graceful proud figure, under the wall and 
 the roses, before she stirred. 
 
 Concha had sent her father away deeply puzzled. 
 "When, after embracing her with unusual emotion, he 
 had informed her of his consent to her marriage, she 
 had received the news as a matter of course, her hopes 
 and desires having mounted too high to contemplate a 
 fall. Then the Commandante, after dwelling at some 
 length upon his discussions with the Governor and the 
 priests, and admonishing her against conceiving herself 
 too important a factor in what might prove to be an 
 alliance of international moment (she had laughed mer- 
 rily and called him the most callous of parents and 
 subtlest of diplomats), had announced with some trepi- 
 dation and his most official manner that the consent of 
 the Pope and the King would be sought by Rezanov 
 in person, involving a delay and separation of not less 
 than two years. But to his surprise she did not fling 
 herself upon his neck with blandishments and tears. 
 She merely became quite still, her light high spirits re- 
 treating as a breeze might before one of Nature J s sudden 
 and portentous calms. Don Jose, after a fruitless at- 
 tempt to recapture her interest, mounted his horse and 
 rode away ; and Concha sat down on a bench under the 
 wall and thought for an hour without moving a finger. 
 
 Her first sensation was one of bitter anger and dis- 
 appointment with Rezanov. He had, apparently, in 
 
 139 
 
140 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the first brief interview with their tribunal, given his 
 consent to this long delay of their nuptials. 
 
 Her thoughts since his advent had flown on many 
 journeys and known little rest. She had been rudely 
 awakened and stripped of her girlish illusions in those 
 days and nights of battle between pride and her dazzled 
 womanhood when, in the new humility of love, she 
 believed herself to be but one of a hundred pretty girls 
 in the eyes of this accomplished and fortunate Russian. 
 The interval had been brief, but long enough for the 
 grandeur in her nature to awaken almost concurrently 
 with her passions, and she had planned a life, in which, 
 guided and uplifted by the star of fidelity, and delivered 
 from the frivolous and commonplace temptations of 
 other women, she should devote herself to the improve- 
 ment and instruction not only of the Indians but of the 
 youth of her own class. The schools founded by the 
 estimable and enterprising Borica had practically disap- 
 peared, and she was by far the best educated woman in 
 California. For such there was a manifest career and 
 an inexorable duty. She would live to be old, she sup- 
 posed, like all the Argiiellos and Moragas; but hidden 
 in her unspotted soul would be the flame of eternal 
 youth, fed by an ideal and a memory that would outlive 
 her weary insignificant body. And in it she would find 
 her courage and her inspiration as well as an unwasting 
 sympathy for those she taught. 
 
 Then had come the sudden and passionate wooing of 
 Rezanov. All other ideals and aspirations had fled. She 
 had alternated between the tragic extremes of bliss and 
 despair. So completely did the ardor of her nature 
 respond to his, so fierce and primitive was the cry of 
 her ego for its mate, that she cared nothing for the 
 distress of her parents nor the fate of California. There 
 is no love complete without this early and absolute 
 selfishness, which is merely the furious determination of 
 the race to accomplish its object before the spirit awakens 
 and the passions cool. 
 
 Last night life had seemed less serious; she had been 
 
REZANOV 141 
 
 girlishly, romantically happy. It is true that her heart 
 had thumped against the wall as he kissed her, and that 
 she had been full of a wild desire to sing, although she 
 could hardly shape and utter the words that danced in 
 her throbbing brain. But she had been conscious 
 through it all of the romantic circumstance, of the 
 lonely beauty of the night, of the delightful wicked- 
 ness of meeting her lover in the silence and the dark, 
 even with a wall ten feet high between them. For the 
 wall, indeed, she had been confusedly and deliciously 
 grateful. 
 
 And this was what a man's love came to: ardors 
 by night and expedience by day ! Or was it merely that 
 Rezanov was the man of affairs always, the lover inci- 
 dentally? But how could a man who had seemed the 
 very epitome of all the lovers of all the world but a 
 few hours before, contemplate, far less permit, a sepa- 
 ration of years ? Poor Concha groped toward the great 
 unacceptable fact of life the whole, lit by love its 
 chief incident; and had a fleeting vision of the waste 
 lands in the lives of women occupied only with matri- 
 mony. But she dropped her lashes upon this unalluring 
 vision, and as she did so, inevitably she began to excuse 
 the man. 
 
 None knew better than she every side of the great 
 question that was shaking not only her life but Cali- 
 fornia itself. Appeal from the dictum of state and 
 clergy would be a mere waste of time. The only alter- 
 native was flight. That would mean the wreck of Re- 
 zanov 's avowed purposes in coming to this quarter of 
 New Spain, and perhaps of others she dimly suspected. 
 It would mean the very acme of misery for his Sitkans, 
 and an indefensible blow to the Company. It might even 
 prove the fatal mistake in his career, for which his 
 enemies were ever on the alert. He was not communi- 
 cative about himself except when he had an object in 
 view, but he had told her something of his life, and his 
 officers and Langsdorff had told more. He was no silly 
 caballero warbling and thrumming at her grating when 
 
142 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 she longed for sleep, but a man in his forties whose 
 passions were in the leash of a remarkably acute and 
 ambitious brain. She even thrilled with pride in his 
 strength, for she knew how he loved her; and although 
 his part was action, her stimulated instincts taught her 
 that she would rarely be long from his mind. And what 
 was she to seek to roll stumbling blocks into the career 
 of a man like that ? In this very garden, for four long 
 days, she had dreamed exalted dreams of the manifold 
 gifts she should develop both for his solace at home and 
 his worldly advancement. She had once felt all a girl's 
 impatience when her mother's tears made her father's 
 departure on some distant mission more difficult than 
 need be, and although she knew now that her capacity 
 for tenderness was as great, she resolved to mould her- 
 self in a larger shape than that. 
 
 But she sighed and drooped a little. The burden of 
 woman 's waiting seemed already to have descended upon 
 her. Two years were long long. There might be other 
 delays. He might fall ill; he had been ill before in 
 that barbarous Russian north. And in all that time it 
 was doubtful if she received a line from him, a hint 
 of his welfare. The Boston and British skippers came 
 no more, and it was certain that no Russian ship would 
 visit California again until the treaty was signed and 
 official news of it had made its slow way to these utter- 
 most shores. She had resented, in her young ambition 
 and indocility, the chance that had stranded her, 
 equipped for civilization, on this rim of the world, but 
 never so much as in that moment, when she sat with 
 arrested breath and realized to the full the primitive 
 conditions of a country thousands of miles from, the 
 very outposts of Europe, and with never the sight of a 
 letter that did not come from Spain or one of her 
 colonies. 
 
 "Would that we lived a generation later/' she 
 thought with a heavy sigh. "Progress is almost auto- 
 matic, and to a land as fertile and desirable as this 
 
REZANOV 143 
 
 the stream must turn in due course. But not in my 
 time. Not in my time." 
 
 She rose and leaned her elbows in the embrasure of 
 the grille, where Santiago had restored the bars, and 
 looked out over the fields of grain planted by the padres, 
 the immense sand dunes beyond that shut the lovely bay 
 from sight ; the hills embracing the primitive scene in a 
 frowning arc. With all her imagination it was long 
 before she could picture a great city covering that 
 immense and almost desert space. A pueblo in time, 
 perhaps, for Rezanov had awakened her mind to the 
 importance of the harbor as a port of call. Many more 
 adobe homes where the sand was not hot and shifting, 
 a few ships in the bay when Spain had been compelled 
 to relax her jealous vigilance or who knew? per- 
 haps! a flourishing colony when the Russian bear had 
 devoured the Spanish lion. She knew something and 
 suspected more of the rottenness and inefficiency of 
 Spain, and, were Russia a nation of Rezanovs, what op- 
 position in California against the tide thundering down 
 from the north? Then, perhaps, the city that had 
 travelled from the brain of the Russian to hers when 
 the fog had rolled over the heights; the towers and 
 palaces and bazaars, the thousand little golden domes 
 with the slender cross atop; the forts on the crags and 
 the villas in the hollows, and on all the island and hills. 
 But when she and her lover were dust. When she and 
 her lover were dust. 
 
 But she was too young and too ardent to listen long 
 to the ravens of the spirit. Two years are not eternity, 
 and in happiness the past rolls together like a scroll 
 and is naught. She fell to dreaming. Her lips that 
 had been set with the gravity of stone relaxed in warm 
 curves. The color came back to her cheek, the light to 
 her eyes. She was a girl at her grating with the roses 
 poignant above her, and the world, radiant, alluring, 
 and all for her, swimming in the violet haze beyond. 
 
XXII 
 
 REZANOV in those days was literally lord and master 
 at the Presidio. If he did not burn the house of his 
 devoted host he ran it to suit himself. He turned one 
 of its rooms into an office, where he received the envoys 
 from the different Missions and examined the samples 
 of everything submitted to him, trusting little to his 
 commissary. His leisure he employed scouring the coun- 
 try or shooting deer and quail in the company of his 
 younger hosts. The literal mind of Don Jose accepted 
 him as an actual son and embryonic Californian, and, 
 his conscience at peace, revelled in his society as a sign 
 from propitiated heaven; rejoicing in the virtue of his 
 years. The Governor, testily remarking that as Califor- 
 nia was so well governed for the present he would retire 
 to Monterey and take a siesta, rode off one morning, 
 but not without an affectionate : ' i God preserve the life 
 of your excellency many years. " 
 
 But although Eezanov saw the most sanguine hopes 
 that had brought him to California fulfilled, and al- 
 though he looked from the mountain ridges of the east 
 over the great low valleys watered by rivers and shaded 
 by oaks, where enough grain could be raised to keep 
 the blood red in a thousand times the colonial popula- 
 tion of Eussia, although he felt himself in more and 
 more abundant health, more and more in love with life, 
 it is not to be supposed for a moment that he was satis- 
 fied. Concha he barely saw. She remained with the 
 Moragas, and although she came occasionally to the 
 afternoon dances at the Presidio, and he had dined once 
 at her cousin's house, where the formal betrothal had 
 taken place and the marriage contract had been signed 
 in the presence of her family and more intimate friends, 
 
REZANOV 145 
 
 the priests, his officers, and the Governor, he had not 
 spoken with her for a moment alone. Nor had her eyes 
 met his in a glance of understanding. At the dances 
 she showed him no favor; and as the engagement was 
 to be as secret as might be in that small community, 
 until his return with consent of Pope and King, he was 
 forced to concede that her conduct was irreproachable; 
 but when on the day of the betrothal she was oblivious 
 to his efforts to draw her into the garden, he mounted 
 his horse and rode off in a huff. 
 
 The truth was that Concha liked the present arrange- 
 ment no better than himself, and knowing that her own 
 appeal against the proprieties would result in a deeper 
 seclusion, she determined to goad him into using every 
 resource of address and subtlety to bring about a more 
 human state of affairs. And she accomplished her ob- 
 ject. Rezanov, at the end of a week, was not only 
 infuriated but alarmed. He knew the imagination of 
 woman, and guessed that Concha, in her brooding soli- 
 tude, distorted all that was unfortunate in the present 
 and dwelt morbidly on the future. He knew that she 
 must resent his part in the long separation, no doubt 
 his lack of impulsiveness in not proposing elopement. 
 There was a priest in his company who, although he ate 
 below the salt and found his associates among the sailors, 
 could have performed the ceremony of marriage when 
 the Juno, under full sail in the night, was scudding for 
 the Russian north. It is not to be denied that this 
 romantic alternative appealed to Rezanov, and had it 
 not been for the starving wretches so eagerly awaiting 
 his coming he might have been tempted to throw com- 
 mercial relations to the winds and flee with his bride 
 while San Francisco, secure in the knowledge of the 
 Juno's empty hold, was in its first heavy sleep. It is 
 doubtful if he would have advanced beyond impulse, 
 for Rezanov was not the man to lose sight of a purpose 
 to which he had set the full strength of his talents, 
 and life had tempered his impetuous nature with much 
 philosophy. Moreover, while his conscience might ignore 
 
146 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the double dealing necessary to the accomplishment of 
 patriotic or political acts, it revolted at the idea of 
 outwitting, possibly wrecking, his trusting and hospita- 
 ble host. But the mere fact that his imagination could 
 dwell upon such an issue as reckless flight, inflamed 
 his impatience, and his desire to see Concha daily during 
 these last few weeks of propinquity. Finally he sought 
 the co-operation of Father Abella, and that wise student 
 of maids and men gave him cheer. 
 
 On Thursday afternoon there was to take place the 
 long delayed Indian dance and bull-bear fight; not in 
 the Presidio, but at the Mission, the pride of the friars 
 inciting them to succeed where the military authorities 
 had failed. All the little world of San Francisco had 
 been invited, and it would be strange if in the con- 
 fusion between performance and supper a lover could 
 not find a moment alone with his lady. 
 
 The elements were kind to the padres. The after- 
 noon was not too hot, although the sun flooded the plain 
 and there was not a cloud on the dazzling blue of the 
 sky. Never had the Mission and the mansions looked 
 so white, their tiles so red. The trees were blossoming 
 pink and white in the orchards, the lightest breeze rip- 
 pled the green of the fields; and into this valley came 
 neither the winds nor the fogs of the ocean. 
 
 The priests and their guests of honor sat on the long 
 corridor beside the church; the soldiers, sailors, and 
 Indians of Presidio and Mission forming the other three 
 sides of a hollow square. The Indian women were a 
 blaze of color. The ladies on the corridor wore their 
 mantillas, jewels, and the gayest of artificial flowers. 
 There were as many fans as women. Eezanov sat be- 
 tween Father Abella and the Commandante, and not 
 being in the best of tempers had never looked more 
 imposing and remote. Concha, leaning against one of 
 the pillars, stole a glance at him and wondered miserably 
 if this haughty European had really sought her hand, 
 if it were not a girl's foolish dream. But Concha's 
 humble moments at this period of her life were rare, 
 
REZANOV 147 
 
 and she drew herself up proudly, the blood of the 
 proudest race in Europe shaking angrily in her veins. 
 A moment later, in response to a power greater than 
 any within herself, she turned again. The attention of 
 the hosts and guests was riveted upon the preliminary 
 antics of the Indian dancers, and Rezanov seized the 
 opportunity to lean forward unobserved and gaze at the 
 girl whom it seemed to him he saw for the first time in 
 the full splendor of her beauty. She wore a large 
 mantilla of white Spanish lace. In the fashion of the 
 day it rose at the back almost from the hem of her gown 
 to descend in a point over the high comb to her eyes. 
 The two points of the width were gathered at her 
 breast, defining the outlines of her superb figure, and 
 fastened with one large Castilian rose surrounded by its 
 mass of tiny sharp buds and dull green leaves. As the 
 familiar scent assailed Rezanov 's nostrils they tingled 
 and expanded. His lids were lifted and his eyes glow- 
 ing as he finally compelled her glance, and her own 
 eyes opened with an eager flash ; her lips parted and her 
 shoulders lost their haughty poise. For a moment their 
 gaze lingered in a perfect understanding; his ill-humor 
 vanished, and he leaned back with a complimentary 
 remark as Father Abella directed his attention to the 
 most agile of the Indians. 
 
 The swart natives of both sexes with their thick fea- 
 tures and long hair were even more hideous than usual 
 in bandeaux of bright feathers, scant garments made 
 from the breasts of water-fowls, rattling strings of 
 shells, and tattooing on arm and leg no longer concealed 
 by the decorous Mission smock. Rezanov had that day 
 sent them presents of glass beads and ribbons, and in 
 these they took such extravagant pride that for some 
 time their dancing was almost automatic. 
 
 But soon their blood warmed, and after the first dance, 
 which was merely a series of measured springs on the 
 part of the men and a beating of time by the women, 
 a large straw figure symbolizing an entire hostile tribe 
 was brought in, and about this pranced the men with 
 
148 BEFORE THE GRINGO .CAME 
 
 savage cries and gestures, advancing, attacking, retreat- 
 ing, finally piercing it with their arrows and marching 
 it off with sharp yells of triumph that reverberated 
 among the hills; the women never varying from a loud 
 monotonous chant. 
 
 There was a peaceful interlude, during which the 
 men, holding bow and arrow aloft, hopped up and down 
 on one spot, the women hopping beside them and snap- 
 ping thumb and forefinger on the body, still singing 
 in the same high measured voice. But while they danced 
 a great bonfire was laid and kindled. The gyrations 
 lasted a few moments longer, then the chief seized a 
 live ember and swallowed it. His example was imme- 
 diately followed by his tribe, and, whether to relieve 
 discomfort or with energies but quickened, they exe- 
 cuted a series of incredible handsprings and acrobatic 
 capers. When they finally whirled away on toes and 
 finger tips, another chief, in the horns and hide of a 
 deer, rushed in, pursued by a party of hunters. For 
 several moments he perfectly simulated a hunted ani- 
 mal lurking and dodging in high grass, behind trees, 
 venturing to the brink of a stream to drink, searching 
 eagerly for his mate; and when he finally escaped it 
 was amidst the most enthusiastic plaudits as yet evoked. 
 
 After an hour of this varied performance, the square 
 was enlarged by several mounted vaqueros galloping 
 about with warning cries and much flourishing of lassos. 
 They were the cattle herders of the Mission ranch just 
 over the hills, and were in gala attire of black glazed 
 sombrero with silver cord, white shirt open at the 
 throat, short black velvet trousers laced with silver, red 
 sash and high yellow boots. Four, pistol in hand, sta- 
 tioned themselves in front of the corridor, while the 
 others rode out and in again, dragging a bear and a 
 bull, with hind legs attached by two yards of rope. The 
 captors left the captives in the middle of the square, 
 and without more ado the serious sport of the day began. 
 The bull, with stomach empty and hide inflamed, rushed 
 at the bear, furious from captivity, with such a roar 
 
REZANOV 149 
 
 that the Indian women screamed and even the men shuf- 
 fled their feet uneasily. But neither combatant was 
 interested in aught but the other. The one sought to 
 gore, his enemy to strike or hug. The vaqueros teased 
 them with arrows and cries, the dust flew; for a few 
 moments there was but a heaving, panting, lashing bulk 
 in the middle of the arena, and then the bull, his tongue 
 torn out, rolled on his back, and another was driven in 
 before the victor could wreak his unsated vengeance 
 among the spectators. The bear, dragging the dead bull, 
 rushed at the living, who, unmartial at first, stiffened 
 to the defensive as he saw a bulk of wiry fur set with 
 eyes of fire, almost upon him. He sprung aside, lowered 
 his horns, and caught the bear in the chest. But the 
 victor was a compact mass of battle and momentum. His 
 onslaught flung the bear over backward, and quickly 
 disengaging himself he made another leap at his equally 
 agile enemy. This time the battle was longer and more 
 various, for the bull was smaller, more active and dex- 
 terous. Twice he almost had the bear on his horns, 
 but was rolled, only saving his neck and back from the 
 fury of the mountain beast, by such a kicking and leap- 
 ing that both combatants were indistinguishable from 
 the whirlwind of dust. Out of this they would emerge 
 to stand panting in front of each other with tongues 
 pendant and red eyes rolling. Finally the bear, nearly 
 exhausted, made a sudden charge, the bull leaped aside, 
 back again with incredible swiftness, caught the bear in 
 the belly, tossed him so high that he met the hard earth 
 with a loud cracking of bone. The vaqueros circled 
 about the maddened bull, set his hide thick with arrows, 
 tripped him with the lasso. A wiry little Mexican in 
 yellow, galloping in on his mustang, administered the 
 coup de grace amidst the wild applause of the specta- 
 tors, whose shouting and clapping and stamping might 
 have been heard by the envious guard at the Presidio 
 and Yerba Buena. 
 
 As the party on the corridor broke, Rezanov found no 
 difficulty in reaching Concha's side, for even Dona 
 
150 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Ignacia was chattering wildly with several other good 
 dames who renewed their youth briefly at the bull- 
 fight. 
 
 "Did you enjoy that?" he asked curiously. 
 
 "I did not look at it. I never do. But I know that 
 you were not affronted. You never took your eyes 
 from those dreadful beasts." 
 
 "I am exhilarated to know that you watched me. 
 Yes, at a bull-fight the primitive man in me has its 
 way, although I have the grace to be ashamed of myself 
 afterward. In that I am at least one degree more civ- 
 ilized than your race, which never repents. ' ' 
 
 The door of one of the smaller rooms stood open, 
 and as they took advantage of this oversight with a 
 singular concert of motive, he clasped both her hands 
 in his. ' ' Are you angry with me ? " he asked softly. He 
 dared not close the door, but his back was square against 
 it, and the other guests were moving down to the 
 refectory. 
 
 "For liking such horrid sport?" 
 
 ' l We have no time to waste in coquetry. ' ' 
 
 Her eyes melted, but she could not resist planting a 
 dart. ' ' Not now I quite understand : love could never 
 be first with you. And two years are not so long. They 
 quickly pass when one is busy. I shall find occupation, 
 and you will have no time for longings and regrets." 
 
 They were not yet alone, women were talking in their 
 light high voices not a yard away. The hindrance, and 
 her new loveliness in the soft mantilla, the pink of the 
 roses reflected in her throat, the provocative curl of her 
 mouth, sent the blood to his head. 
 
 "You have only to say the word," he said hoarsely, 
 "and the Juno will sail to-night." 
 
 Never before had she seen his face so unmasked. 
 Her voice shook in triumph and response. 
 
 ' ' Would you ? Would y ou 1 " 
 
 "Say the word!" 
 
 "You would sacrifice all the Company your career 
 your Sitkans?" 
 
REZANOV 151 
 
 "All everything/' His own voice shook with more 
 than passion, for even in that moment he counted the 
 cost, but he did not care. 
 
 But Concha detected that second break in his voice, 
 and turned her head sadly. 
 
 "You would not say that to-morrow. I hate myself 
 that I made you say it now. I love you enough to 
 wait forever, but I have not the courage to hand you 
 over to your enemies.' 1 
 
 "You are strangely far-sighted for a young girl." 
 And between admiration and pique, his ardor suffered 
 a chill. 
 
 "I am no longer a young girl. In these last days 
 it has seemed to me that secrets locked in my brain, 
 secrets of women long dead, but of whose essence I 
 am, have come forth to the light. I have suffered in 
 anticipation. My mind has flown flown I have lived 
 those two years until they are twenty, thirty, and I 
 have lived on into old age here by the sea, watching, 
 watching " 
 
 She had dropped all pretence of coquetry and was 
 speaking with a passionate forlornness. But before he 
 could interrupt her, take advantage of the retreating 
 voices that left them alone at last, she had drawn her- 
 self up and moved a step away. "Do not think, how- 
 ever," she said proudly, "that I am really as weak 
 and silly as that. It was only a mood. Should you 
 not return I should grieve, yes; and should I live as 
 long as is common with my race, still would my heart 
 remain young with your image, and with the fidelity 
 that would be no less a religion than that of my church. 
 But I should not live a selfish life, or I should be un- 
 worthy of my election to experience a great and eternal 
 passion. Memory and the life of the imagination would 
 be my solace, possibly in time my happiness, but my 
 days I should give to this poor little world of ours; 
 and all that one mortal, and that a woman, has to 
 bestow upon a stranded and benighted people. It may 
 
152 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 not be much, but I make you that promise, senor, that 
 you will not think me a foolish romantic girl unworthy 
 of the great responsibilities you have offered me." 
 
 "Concha!" He was deeply moved, and at the same 
 time her words chilled him with subtle prophecy, sank 
 into some unexplored depth of his consciousness, meet- 
 ing response as subtle, filling him with a rush of angry 
 impatience at the mortality of man. He glanced over 
 his shoulder, then took her recklessly in his arms. 
 
 "Is it possible you doubt I will come back?" he 
 demanded. "My faith?" 
 
 "No, not that. But such happiness seems to me too 
 great for this life." 
 
 He remembered how often he had been close to death ; 
 he knew that during the greater part of the next two 
 years he should see the glimmer of the scythe oftener 
 yet. For a moment it seemed to him that he felt the 
 dark waters rise in his soul, heard the jeers of the gods 
 at the vanity of mortal will. But the blood ran strong 
 and warm in his veins. He shook off the obsession, and 
 smiled a little cynically, even as he kissed her. 
 
 "This is the hour for romance, my dear. In the 
 years to come, when you are very prosaically my wife 
 with a thousand duties, and grumbling at my exactions, 
 your consolation will be the memory of some moment 
 like this, when you were able to feel romantic and sad. 
 I wish I could arrange for some such set of memories 
 for myself, but I am unequal to your divine melan- 
 choly. "When I cannot see you I am cross and sulky; 
 and just now I am, well philosophically happy. 
 Some day I shall be happier, but this is well enough. 
 And I can harbor no ugly presentiments. As I entered 
 California I was elated with a sense of coming happi- 
 ness, of future victories; and I prefer to dwell upon 
 that, the more particularly as in a measure the pro- 
 phetic hint has been fulfilled. So make the most of the 
 present. I shall see you daily during this last precious 
 fortnight, for I am determined this arrangement shall 
 
REZANOV 153 
 
 cease; and you must exorcise coquetry and abet me 
 whenever there is a chance of a word alone." 
 
 She nodded, but she noted with a sigh that he said 
 no more of sudden flight. She would never have con- 
 sented to jeopardize the least of his interests, but she 
 fain would have been besought. The experience she 
 had had of the vehemence and fire in Rezanov made her 
 long for his complete subjugation and the happiness 
 it must bring to herself. But as he smiled tenderly 
 above her she saw that his practical brain had silenced 
 the irresponsible demands of love, and although she 
 did not withdraw from his arms she stiffened her head. 
 
 "I fancy I shall return home to-morrow," she said. 
 "My mother tells me that she can live without me no 
 longer, and that Father Abella has reminded her that 
 if I stay in the house of Elena Castro I shall be as free 
 from gossip as here. I infer that he has rated my two 
 parents for making a martyr of me unnecessarily, and 
 told them it was a duty to enliven my life as much as 
 possible before I enter upon this long period of proba- 
 tion. The grating of my room at Elena's is above ai 
 little strip of garden, and faces the blank wall of the 
 next house. Sometimes who knows?" She shrugged 
 her shoulders and gave a gay little laugh, then stood 
 very erect and moved past him to the door. She had 
 recognized the shuffling step of Father Abella. 
 
 "Is supper ready, padre mio?" she asked sweetly. 
 "His excellency and I have talked so much that we are 
 very hungry." 
 
 ' ' There is no need to deceive me, ' ' said Father Abella 
 dryly. "You are not the first lovers I have known, 
 although I will admit you are by far the most interest- 
 ing, and for that reason I have had the wickedness to 
 abet you. But I fancy the good God will forgive me. 
 Come quickly. They are scattered now, but will go to 
 the refectory in a moment and miss you. Excellency, 
 will you give your arm to Dona Ignacia and take the 
 seat at the head of the table I .Concha, my child, I am 
 
154 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 afraid you must console our good Don "Weeliam. He 
 is having a wretched quarter of an hour, but has loyally 
 diverted the attention of your mother. " 
 
 "That is the vocation of certain men/' said Concha 
 lightly. 
 
XXIII 
 
 LITE was very gay for a fortnight. r An hour after the 
 Commandante 's surrender he had despatched invita- 
 tions to all the young folk of the gente de razon of 
 Monterey, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego, 
 and to such of the older as would brave the long jour- 
 neys. The Monterenos had arrived for the Mission enter- 
 tainment, and during the next few days the rest poured 
 over the hills: De la Guerras, Ximenos, Estudillos, 
 Carrillos, Estenegas, Morenos, Cofas, Estradas, Picos, 
 Pachecos, Lugos, Ortegas, Alvarados, Bandinis, Peraltas, 
 members of the Luis, Rodriguez, Lopez families, all of 
 gentle blood, that made up the society of Old California ; 
 as gay, arcadian, irresponsible, yet moral a society as 
 ever fluttered over this planet. Every house in the 
 Presidio and valley, every spare room at the Mission, 
 opened to them with the exuberant hospitality of the 
 country. The caballeros had their finest wardrobes of 
 colored silks and embroidered botas, sombreros laden 
 with silver, fine lawn and lace, jewel and sash, velvet 
 serape for the chill of the late afternoon. The matrons 
 brought their stiff robes of red and yellow satin, the 
 girls as many flowered silk and lawns, mantillas and 
 rebosos, as the family carretas would hold. The square 
 of the Presidio was crowded from morning until mid- 
 night with the spirited horses of the country, prancing 
 impatiently under the heavy Mexican saddle, heavier 
 with silver, made a trifle more endurable by the blanket 
 of velvet or cloth. No Californian walked a dozen rods 
 when he had a horse to carry him. 
 
 But the horses were not always champing in the 
 square. There was more than one bull-bear fight, and 
 twice a week at least they carried their owners to the 
 
 155 
 
156 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 hills of the Mission ranch, or the rocky cliffs and gorges 
 above Yerba Buena, the Indian servants following with 
 great baskets of luncheon, perhaps roasting an ox whole 
 in a trench. This the Californians called barbecue and 
 the picnic merienda. 
 
 There was dancing day and night, the tinkling of 
 guitars, flirting of fans. Rezanov vowed he would not 
 have believed there were so many fans and guitars in 
 the world, and suddenly remembered he had never seen 
 Concha with either. The lady of his choice reigned 
 supreme. Many had taken the long blistering journey 
 for no other purpose than to see the famous beauty 
 and her Russian ; the engagement was as well known as 
 if cried from the Mission top. The girls were surprised 
 and delighted to find Concha sweet rather than proud 
 and envied her with amiable enthusiasm. The caballeros, 
 fewer in number, for most of the men in California 
 at that period before a freer distribution of land were 
 on duty in the army, artfully ignored the unavowed 
 bond, but liked Rezanov when he took the trouble to 
 charm them. 
 
 Khostov and Davidov watched the loading of the 
 Juno with a lively regret. Never had they enjoyed 
 themselves more, nor seen so many pretty girls in one 
 place. Both had begun by falling in love with Concha, 
 and although they rebounded swiftly from the blow 
 to their hopes, it happily saved them from a more serious 
 dilemma; unwealthed and graceless as they were, they 
 would have been regarded with little favor by the prac- 
 tical California father. As it was, their pleasures were 
 unpoisoned by regrets or rebuffs. When they were not 
 flirting in the dance or in front of a lattice, receiving 
 a lesson in Spanish behind the portly back of a dueiia, 
 or clasping brown little fingers under cover of a fan 
 when all eyes were riveted on the death struggle of a 
 bull and a bear, they were playing cards and drinking 
 in the officers' quarters; which they liked almost as 
 well. It is true they sometimes paid the price in a 
 cutting rebuke from their chief, but the rebukes were 
 
REZANOV 157 
 
 not as frequent as in less toward circumstances, and 
 were generally followed by some fresh indulgence. 
 This, they uneasily guessed, was not only the result of 
 the equable state of his excellency 's temper, but because 
 he had a signal unpleasantness in store, and would not 
 hazard their resignation. They had taken advantage of 
 an imperial ukase to enter the service of the Russian- 
 American Company temporarily, and they knew that if 
 they evaded any behest of Rezanov's their adventurous 
 life in the Pacific would be over. Therefore, although 
 they resented his implacable will, they pulled with him 
 in outward amity; and indeed there were few of the 
 Juno's human freight that did not look back upon that 
 California springtime as the episode of their lives, com- 
 monly stormy or monotonous, in which the golden tide 
 flowed with least alloy. Even Langsdorff, although im- 
 pervious to female charms and with scientific thirst 
 unslaked, enjoyed the Spanish fare and the society of 
 the priests. The sailors received many privileges, at- 
 tended bull-fights and fandangos, loved and pledged; 
 and were only restrained from emigration to the interior 
 of this enchanted land of pretty girls and plentiful food 
 by the knowledge of the sure and merciless vengeance 
 of their chief. Had the rumor of war still held it 
 might have been otherwise, but that raven had flown 
 off to the limbo of its kind, and the Commandante let 
 it be known that deserters would be summarily captured 
 and sent in irons to the Juno. 
 
 In the mind of Concha Argiiello there was never a 
 lingering doubt of the quality of that fortnight between 
 the days of torturing doubts and acute emotional up- 
 heaval, and the sailing away of Eezanov. It was true 
 that what he banteringly termed her romantic sadness 
 possessed her at times, but it served as a shadow to 
 throw into sharper relief an almost incredible happiness. 
 If she seldom saw Rezanov alone there was the less to 
 disturb her, and at least he was never far from her side. 
 There were always the delight of unexpected moments 
 unseen, whispered words in the crowd, the sense of 
 
158 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 complete understanding, broken now and again by 
 poignant attacks of unreasoning jealousy, not only on 
 her part but his; quite worth the reconciliation at the 
 lattice, while Elena Castro, gentle duena, pitched her 
 voice high and amused her husband so well he sought 
 no opportunity for response. 
 
 Then there was more than one excursion about the 
 bay on the Juno, dinner on La Bellissima or Nuestra 
 Senora de los Angeles, a long return after sundown 
 that the southerners might appreciate the splendor of 
 the afterglow when the blue of the water was reflected 
 in the lower sky, to melt into the pink fire above, and 
 all the land swam in a pearly mist. 
 
 Once the Commandante took twenty of his guests, a 
 gay cavalcade, to his rancho, El Pilar, thirty miles to 
 the south: a long valley flanked by the bay and the 
 eastern mountains on the one hand, and a high range 
 dense with forests of tall thin trees on the other. But 
 the valley itself was less Californian than any part of 
 the country Rezanov had seen. Smooth and flat and 
 free of undergrowth and set with at least ten thousand 
 oaks, it looked more like a splendid English park, long 
 preserved, than the recent haunt of naked savages. 
 There were deer and quail in abundance, here and there 
 an open field of grain. Long beards of pale green 
 moss waved from the white oaks, wild flowers, golden 
 red and pale blue, burst underfoot. There were hedges 
 of sweet briar, acres of lupins, purple and yellow. Alto- 
 gether the ideal estate of a nobleman; and Rezanov, 
 who had liked nothing in California so well, gave his 
 imagination rein and saw the counterpart of the castle 
 of his ancestors rise in the deep shade of the trees. 
 
 Don Jose's house was a long rambling adobe, red 
 tiled, with many bedrooms and one immense hall. 
 Beyond were a chapel and a dozen outbuildings. Din- 
 ner was served in patriarchal style in the hall, the 
 Commandante or El padrone as he was known here 
 and his guests at the upper end of the table ; below the 
 salt, the vaqueros, their wives and children, and the 
 
REZANOV 159 
 
 humble friar who drove them to prayer night and 
 morning. The friar wore his brown robes, the vaqueros 
 their black and silver and red in honor of the company, 
 their women glaring handkerchiefs of green or red or 
 yellow about their necks, even pinned back and front 
 on their shapeless garments; and affording a fine vege- 
 table garden contrast to the delicate flower bed surround- 
 ing the padrone. 
 
 There was a race track on the ranch and many fine 
 horses. After siesta the company mounted fresh steeds 
 and rode off to applaud the feats of the vaqueros, who, 
 not content with climbing the greased pole, wrenching 
 the head of an unfortunate rooster from his buried 
 body as they galloped by, submitting the tail of an oiled 
 pig in full flight to the same indignity, gave when these 
 and other native diversions were exhausted, such exhibi- 
 tions of riding and racing as have never been seen out 
 of California. As lithe as willow wands, on' slender 
 horses as graceful as themselves, they looked like meteors 
 springing through space, and there was no trick of the 
 circus they did not know by instinct, and translate from 
 gymnastics into poetry. Even Rezanov shared the excite- 
 ment of the shouting clapping Californians, and Concha 
 laughed delightedly when his cap waved with the som- 
 breros. 
 
 "I think you will make a good Calif ornian in time," 
 she said as they rode homeward. 
 
 "Perhaps," said Rezanov musingly. His eyes roved 
 over the magnificent estate and at the moment they 
 entered a portion of it that deepened to woods, so dense 
 was the undergrowth, so thick the oak trees. Here 
 there was but a glimpse, now rnd again, of the moun- 
 tains swimming in the dark blue mist of the late after- 
 noon, the moss waved thickly from the ancient trees; 
 over even the higher branches of many rolled a cascade 
 of small brittle leaves, with the tempting opulence, _of 
 its poisonous sap. The path was very abrupt, cut where 
 the immense spreading trees permitted, and Rezanov 
 
160 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 and Concha had no difficulty in falling away from the 
 chattering excited company. 
 
 "Tell me your ultimate plans, Pedro mio," said 
 Concha softly. "You are dreaming of something this 
 moment beyond corn and treaties." 
 
 "Do you want that final proof?" he asked, smiling. 
 "Well, if I could not trust you that would be the end 
 of everything, and I know that I can. I have long 
 regarded California as an absolutely necessary field" of 
 supplies, and since I have come here I will frankly say 
 that could I, as the representative of the Tsar in all 
 this part of the world, make it practically my own, 
 I should be content in even a permanent exile from St. 
 Petersburg. I could attract an immense colony here 
 and in time import libraries and works of art, laying 
 the foundation of a great and important city on that 
 fine site about Yerba Buena. But now .that these kind 
 people have practically adopted me I cannot repay their 
 hospitality by any overt act of hostility. I must be 
 content either slowly to absorb the country, in which 
 case I shall see no great result in my lifetime, or and 
 for this I hope what with the mess Bonaparte is mak- 
 ing of Europe, every state may be at the others' throat 
 before long, including Kussia and Spain. At all events, 
 a cause for rupture would not be far to seek, and it 
 would need no instigation of mine to despatch a fleet 
 to these shores. In that case I should be sent with it 
 to take possession in the name of the Tsar, and to deal 
 with these simple, kind and inefficient people, my dear 
 girl as no other Russian could. They cannot hold this 
 country. Spain could not would not, at all events, for 
 she has not troops enough here to protect a territory 
 half its size hold it against even the l Americans/ 
 should they in time feel strong enough to push their 
 way across the western wilderness. It is the destiny of 
 this charming Arcadia to disappear; and did Eussia 
 forego an opportunity to appropriate a domain that 
 offers her literally everything except civilization, she 
 would be unworthy of her place among nations. More- 
 
REZANOV 161 
 
 over a beneficent triumph impossible to us otherwise 
 with a powerful and flourishing colony up and down this 
 coast, and sending breadstuffs regularly to our other 
 possessions in these waters until the natives, immigrants, 
 and exiles were healthy vitalized beings, it would be but 
 a question of a few years before we should force open 
 the doors of China and Japan.'' He caught Concha 
 from her horse and strained her to him in the mounting 
 ardor of his plunge down the future. "You must resent 
 nothing !" he cried. "You must cease to be a Spanish 
 woman when you become my wife, and help me as only 
 you can in those inevitable years I have mapped out; 
 and not so much for myself as for Russia. My enemies 
 have sought to persuade three sovereigns that I am a 
 visionary, but I have already accomplished much that 
 met with resentment and ridicule when I broached it. 
 And I know my powers ! I tingle with the knowledge 
 of my ability to carry to a conclusion every plan I have 
 thought worth the holding when the ardor of concep- 
 tion was over. I swear to you that death alone and 
 I believe that nothing is further aloof shall prevent 
 my giving this country to Russia before five years have 
 passed, and within another brief span the trade of China 
 and Japan. It is a glorious destiny for a man one 
 man ! to pass into history as the Russian of his century 
 who has done most to add to the extent and the wealth 
 and the power of his empire! Does that sound vain- 
 glorious, and do you resent it? You must not, I tell 
 you, you must not!" 
 
 Concha had never seen him in such a mood. Although 
 he held her so closely that the horses were angrily 
 biting each other, she felt that for once there was noth- 
 ing personal in his ardor. His eyes were blazing, but 
 they stared as if a great and prophetic panorama had 
 risen in this silent wood, where the long faded moss 
 hung as motionless as if by those quiet waters that 
 even the most ardent must cross in his time. She felt 
 his heart beat as she had felt it before against her soft 
 breast, but she knew that if he thought of her at all it 
 
162 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 was but as a part of himself, not as the woman he impa- 
 tiently desired. But she was sensible of no resentment, 
 either for herself or her race, which, indeed, she knew 
 to be but a wayfarer in the wilderness engaged in a 
 brief chimerical enterprise. For the first time she felt 
 her individuality melt into, commingle with his: and 
 when he lowered his gaze, still with that intensity of 
 vision piercing the future, her own eyes reflected the 
 impersonalities of his ; and in time he saw it. 
 
XXIV 
 
 " WE should all wear black for so mournful an occasion/' 
 said Rafaella Sal, spreading out her scarlet skirts. 
 
 ' ' Father Abella is right. The occasion is sad enough 
 without giving it the air of a funeral." 
 
 "Sad! Dios de ini ulma!< Will lie return?" 
 
 Elena Castro shook lier wise head. She was nearly 
 twenty, and four years of matrimony had made her 
 sceptical of man 'c capacity for romance. "Two years 
 are long, and he will see many girls, and become one 
 again of a life that is always more brilliant than our 
 sun in May. His eyes will be dazzled, his mind dis- 
 tracted, full to the brim. To sit at table with the Tsar, 
 to talk with him alone in his cabinet, to have for the 
 asking audience of the Pope of Rome and the King of 
 Spain! Ay yi! Ay yi! Perhaps he will be made a 
 prince when he returns to St. Petersburg and all the 
 beautiful princesses will want to marry him. Can he 
 remember this poor little California, and even our lovely 
 Concha? I doubt! Valgame Dios, I doubt!" 
 
 ' ' Concha has always been too fortunate, ' ' said Rafaella 
 with a touch of spite, for years of waiting had tried 
 her temper and the sun always freckled her nose. The 
 flower of California stood on the corridor of the Mission 
 and before the church awaiting the guest of honor and 
 his escort. A mass was to be said in behalf of the 
 departing guests ; the Juno would sail with the turn of 
 the afternoon tide. Men and women were in their gayest 
 finery, an exotic mass of color against the rough white- 
 washed walls, chattering as vivaciously as if the burden 
 of their conversation were not regret for the Chamber- 
 lain and his gay young lieutenants. Concha, alone, wore 
 no color ; her frock was white, her mantilla black. She 
 
 163 
 
164 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 stood somewhat apart, but although she was pale she 
 commanded her eyes to dwell absently on the shifting 
 sand far down the valley, her haughty Spanish profile 
 betraying nothing of the despair in her soul. 
 
 "Yes, Concha has always been too fortunate," re- 
 peated Rafaella. "Why should she be chosen for such 
 a destiny to go to the Russian court and wear a train 
 ten yards long of red velvet embroidered with gold, a 
 white veil spangled with gold, a head-dress a foot high 
 set so thick with jewels her head will ache for a week 
 Madre de Dios! And we stay here forever with white 
 walls, horsehair furniture, Baja California pearls and 
 three silk dresses a year!" 
 
 "No one in all Russia will look so grand in court 
 dress as our Conchita," said Elena loyally. "But I 
 doubt if it is the dress and the state she thinks of losing 
 
 to-day. She will not talk even to me of him Ay 
 
 yi! she grows more reserved every day, our Concha! 
 except to say she will wed him when he returns, and 
 that I know, for did not I witness the betrothal? She 
 only mocks me when I beg her to tell me if she loves 
 him, languishes, or sings a bar of some one of our 
 beautiful songs with ridiculous words. But she does. 
 She did not sleep last night. Her room is next to mine. 
 No, it is of Rezanov she thinks, and always. Those 
 proud silent girls, who jest when others would weep and 
 use many words and must die without sympathy 
 they have tragedy in their souls, ay yi ! And you think 
 she is fortunate? True she is beautiful, she is La Fa- 
 vorita, she receives many boxes from Mexico, and she 
 has won the love of this Russian. But I have not 
 dared to remind her I remembered it only yesterday 
 she came into this world on the thirteenth of a month, 
 and he into her life but one day before the thirteenth 
 of another new style ! True some might say that it was 
 an escape, but if he came on the twelfth, it was on the 
 thirteenth she began to love him on the night of the 
 ball; of that I am sure." 
 
 Rafaella shuddered and crossed herself. "Poor 
 
REZANOV 165 
 
 Concha ! Perhaps in the end she will always stand apart 
 like that. Truly she is not as others. I have always 
 said it. Thanks be to Mary it was Luis that wooed 
 me, not the Russian, for I might have been tempted. 
 True his eyes are blue, and only the black could win 
 my heart. But the court of St. Petersburg! Dios de 
 mi vida ! Did I lie awake at night and think of Concha 
 Argiiello in red velvet and jewels all over, I should hate 
 her. But no to-day I cannot. Two years! Have I 
 not waited six? It is eternity when one loves and is 
 young. ' ' 
 
 ' ' They come, ' ' said Elena. 
 
 The cavalcade was descending the sand hills on the 
 left, Eezanov in full uniform between the Comman- 
 dante and Luis Argiiello and followed by a picked escort 
 of officers from Presidio and Fort. The Californians 
 wore full-dress uniform of white and scarlet, Don Jose 
 a blue velvet serape, embroidered in gold with the arms 
 of Spain. 
 
 As they dismounted Kezanov bowed ceremoniously to 
 the party on the corridor, and they returned his salu- 
 tation gravely, suddenly silent. He walked directly 
 over to Concha. 
 
 "We will go in together," he said. "It matters noth- 
 ing what they think. I kneel beside no one else." 
 
 And Concha, with the air of leading an honored 
 guest to the banquet, turned and walked with him into 
 the dark little church. 
 
 "Why did you not wear a white mantilla?" he whis- 
 pered. "I do not like that black thing." 
 
 "I am not a bride. I knew we should kneel together 
 it would have been ridiculous. And I could not wear 
 a colored reboso to-day." 
 
 "I should have liked to fancy we were here for our 
 nuptials. Delusions pass but are none the less sweet 
 for that." 
 
 They knelt before the altar, the Commandante, Dona 
 Ignacia, Luis, Santiago, Rafaella Sal and Elena Castro 
 just behind ; the rest of the party, their bright garments 
 
166 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 shimmering vaguely in the gloom, as they listed; and 
 enough fervent prayers went up to insure the health 
 and safety of the departing guests for all their lives. 
 
 Kezanov, who had much on his mind, stared moodily 
 at the altar until Concha, who had bowed her head 
 almost to her knees, finished her supplication; then 
 their eyes turned and met simultaneously. For a mo- 
 ment their brains did swim in the delusion that the 
 priest with his uplifted hands pronounced benediction 
 upon their nuptials, that probation was over and union 
 nigh. But Father Abella dismissed all with the same 
 blessing, and they shivered as they rose and walked 
 slowly down the church. 
 
 Dona Ignacia took her husband's arm, and muttering 
 that she feared a chill, hurried the others before her. 
 The priests had gone to the sacristy. Before they 
 reached the door Kezanov and Concha were alone. 
 
 His hands fell heavily on her shoulders. 
 
 "Concha," he said. "I shall come back if I live. I 
 make no foolish vows, so idle between us. There is only 
 one power that can prevent our marriage in this church 
 not later than two years from to-day. And although I 
 am in the very fulness of my health and strength, with 
 my work but begun, and all my happiness in the future, 
 and even to a less sanguine man it would seem that his 
 course had many years to run, still have I seen as much 
 as any man of the inconsequence of life, of the insig- 
 nificance of the individual, his hopes, ambitions, happi- 
 ness, and even usefulness, in the complicated machinery 
 of natural laws. It may be that I shall not come back. 
 But I wish to take with me your promise that if I have 
 not returned at the end of two years or you have re- 
 ceived no reason for my detention, you will believe that 
 I am dead. There would be but one insupportable drop 
 in the bitterness of death, the doubt of your faith in 
 my word and my love. Are you too much of a woman 
 to curb your imagination in a long unbroken silence?" 
 
 "I have learned so much that one lesson more is no 
 tax on my faith. And I no longer live in a world of 
 
REZANOV 167 
 
 little things. I promise you that I shall never falter nor 
 doubt. " 
 
 He bent his head and kissed her for the first time 
 without passion, but solemnly, as had their nuptials 
 indeed been accomplished, and the greater mystery of 
 spiritual union isolated them for a moment in that twi- 
 light region where the mortal part did not enter. 
 
 As they left the church they saw that all the Indians 
 of the Mission and neighborhood, in a gala of color, 
 had gathered to cheer the Eussians as they rode away. 
 Concha was to return as she had come, beside the carreta 
 of her mother, and as Eezanov mounted his horse she 
 stood staring with unseeing eyes on the brilliant ani- 
 mated scene. Suddenly she heard a suppressed sob, and 
 felt a touch on her skirt. She looked round and saw 
 Eosa, kneeling close to the church. For a moment 
 she continued to stare, hardly comprehending, in the 
 intense concentration of her faculties, that tangible 
 beings, other than herself and Eezanov, still moved on 
 the earth. Then her mind relaxed. She was normal 
 in a normal world once more. She stooped and patted 
 the hands clasping her skirts. 
 
 "Poor Eosa!" she said. "Poor Eosa!" 
 
 Over the intense green of islands and hills were 
 long banners of yellow and purple mist, where the wild 
 flowers were lifting their heads. The whole quivering 
 bay was as green as the land, but far away the moun- 
 tains of the east were pink. Where there was a patch 
 of verdure on the sand hills the warm golden red of 
 the poppy flaunted in the sunshine. All nature was in 
 gala attire like the Californians themselves, as the Juno 
 under full sail sped through "The Mouth of the Gulf 
 of the Farallones." Fort San Joaquin saluted with 
 seven guns; the Juno returned the compliment with 
 nine. The Commandante, his family and guests, stood 
 on the hill above the fort, cheering, waving sombreros 
 and handkerchiefs. Wind and tide carried the ship 
 rapidly out the straits. Eezanov dropped the cocked 
 
168 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 hat he had been waving and raised his field-glass. 
 Concha, as ever, stood a little apart. As the ship grew 
 smaller and the company turned toward the Presidio, 
 she advanced to the edge of the bluff. The wind lifted 
 her loosened mantilla, billowing it out on one side, and 
 as she stood with her hands pressed against her heart, 
 she might, save for her empty arms, have been the 
 eidolon of the Madonna di San Sisto. In her eyes was 
 the same expression of vague arrested horror as she 
 looked out on that world of menacing imperfections the 
 blind forces of nature and man had created; her body 
 was instinct with the same nervous leashed impotent 
 energy. 
 
XXV 
 
 THE white rain clouds, rolling as ever like a nervous 
 intruder over the great snow peaks behind the steep 
 hills black with forest that rose like a wall back of the 
 little settlement of Sitka, parted for a moment, and the 
 sun, a coy disdainful guest, flung a glittering mist over 
 what Nature had intended to be one of the most enchant- 
 ing spots on earth, until, in a fit of ill-temper with one 
 of the gods, no doubt she gave it to Niobe as a per- 
 manent outlet for her discontent. When it does not 
 rain at Sitka it pours, and when once in a way she 
 draws a deep breath of respite and lifts her grand and 
 glorious face to the sun, in pathetic gratitude for dear 
 infrequent favor, comes a wild flurry of snow or a close 
 white fog from the inland waters; and, like a great 
 beauty condemned to wear a veil through life, she can 
 but stare in dumb resentment through the folds, con- 
 soling herself with the knowledge that could the world 
 but see it must surely worship. Perhaps, who knows? 
 she really is a frozen goddess, condemned to the veil for 
 infidelity to him imprisoned in the great volcano across 
 the sound who sends up a column of light once in a 
 way to dazzle her shrouded eyes, and failing that bat- 
 ters her with rock and stone like any lover of the slums. 
 One day he spat forth a rock like a small hill, and big 
 enough to dominate the strip of lowland at least, stand- 
 ing out on the edge of the island like a guard at the 
 gates, and never a part of the alien surface. Between 
 this lofty rock and the forest was the walled settlement 
 of New Archangel, that Baranhov, the dauntless, had 
 wrested from the bloodthirsty Kolosh but a short time 
 since and purposed to hold in the interest of the Russian- 
 American Company. His log hut, painted like the other 
 
 169 
 
170 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 buildings with a yellow ochre found in the soil, stood 
 on the rock, and his glass swept the forest as often as 
 the sea. 
 
 As Rezanov, on the second of July, thirty-one days 
 after leaving San Francisco, sailed into the harbor with 
 its hundred bits of volcanic woodland weeping as ever, 
 he gave a whimsical sigh in tribute to the gay and ever- 
 changing beauties of the southern land, but was in no 
 mood for sentimental reminiscence. Natives, paddling 
 eagerly out to sea in their bidarkas to be the first to 
 bring in good news or bad, had given him a report cover- 
 ing the period of his absence that filled him with dismay. 
 There had been deaths from scurvy; one of the largest 
 ships belonging to the Company had been wrecked and 
 the entire cargo lost; of a hunting party of three hun- 
 dred Aleuts in one hundred and forty bidarkas, which 
 had gone from Sitka to Kadiak in November of the pre- 
 ceding year, not one had arrived at its destination, and 
 there was reason to believe that all had been drowned 
 or massacred; and the Russians and Aleuts at Behring's 
 Bay settlement had been exterminated by one of the 
 native tribes. 
 
 But the Juno was received with salvos of artillery 
 from the fort, and cheered by the entire population 
 of the settlement, crowded on the beach. Baranhov, 
 looking like a monkey with a mummy's head in which 
 only a pair of incomparably shrewd eyes still lived, 
 his black wig fastened on his bald red-fringed pate with 
 a silk handkerchief tied under his chin, stood, hands 
 on hips, shaking with excitement and delight. The 
 bearded long-haired priests, in full canonicals of black 
 and gold, were beside the Chief-Manager, ready to escort 
 the Chamberlain to the chapel at the head of the solitary 
 street, where the bells were pealing and a mass of thanks- 
 giving was to be said for his safe return. 
 
 But it was some time before Rezanov could reach the 
 chapel or even exchange salutations with Baranhov. As 
 he stepped on shore he was surrounded, almost hustled 
 by the shouting crowd of Russians many of them con- 
 
REZANOV 171 
 
 victs Aleuts and Sitkans, who knelt at his feet, endeav- 
 ored to kiss his hand, his garments, in their hysterical 
 gratitude for the food he had brought them. For the 
 first time he felt reconciled to his departure from Cali- 
 fornia, and Concha's image faded as he looked at the 
 tearful faces of the diseased ill-nourished wretches who 
 gave their mite of life that he might live as became a 
 great noble of the Russian Empire. But although he 
 tingled with pleasure and was deeply moved, he by no 
 means swelled with vanity, for he was far too clear- 
 sighted to doubt he had done more than his duty, or 
 that his duty was more than begun. He made them a 
 little speech, giving his word they should be properly 
 fed hereafter, that he would make the improvement of 
 their condition as well as that of all the employees of 
 the Company throughout this vast chain of settlements 
 on the Pacific, the chief consideration of his life; and 
 they believed him and followed him to the chapel rejoic- 
 ing, reconciled for once to their lot. 
 
 After the service Rezanov went up to the hut of the 
 Chief -Manager, a habitation that leaked winter and sum- 
 mer, and was equally deficient in light, ventilation and 
 order. But Baranhov in the sixteen years of his exile 
 had forgotten the bare lineaments of comfort, and de- 
 voted his days to advancing the interests of the Com- 
 pany, his nights, save when sleep overcame him, to pota- 
 tions that would have buried an ordinary man under 
 Alaskan snows long before. But Baranhov had fourteen 
 years more of good service in him, and rescued the Com- 
 pany from insolvency again and again, nor ever played 
 into the hands of marauding foreigners; with brain on 
 fire he was shrewder than the soberest. 
 
 He listened with deep satisfaction to the Chamber- 
 lain's account of his success with the Calif ornians and 
 his glowing pictures of the country, nodding every few 
 moments with emphatic approval. But as the story 
 finished his wonderful eyes were two bubbling springs of 
 humor, and Rezanov, who knew him well, recrossed his 
 legs nervously. 
 
172 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "What is it?" lie asked. "What have I done now? 
 Remember that you have been in this business for six- 
 teen years, and I one " 
 
 "How many measures of corn did you say you had 
 brought, Excellency?" 
 
 "Two hundred and ninety-four," replied Rezanov 
 proudly. 
 
 "A provision that exceeds my most sanguine hopes. 
 The only thing that mitigates my satisfaction is that 
 there is not a mill in the settlement to grind it." 
 
 Eezanov sprang to his feet with a violent exclamation, 
 his face very red. There was no one whose good opinion 
 he valued as he did that of this brilliant, dissipated, 
 disinterested old genius; and he felt like a schoolboy. 
 But although he started for the door, he recovered 
 half-way, and reseating himself joined in the laughter 
 of the little man who was rocking back and forth on his 
 bench, his weazened leg clasped against his shrunken 
 chest. 
 
 "How on earth was I to know all your domestic 
 arrangements?" he said testily. "God knows I found 
 them limited enough last winter, but it never occurred 
 to me there was any mysterious process involved in con- 
 verting corn into meal. Is it quite useless, then?" 
 
 "Oh, no, we can boil or roast it. It will dispose of 
 what teeth we have left, but that will serve the good 
 purpose of reminding us always of your excellency's 
 interest in our welfare." 
 
 Rezanov shrugged his shoulders. "Give the corn to 
 the natives. It is farinaceous at all events. And you 
 can have nothing to say against the flour I have brought, 
 and the peas, beans, tallow, butter, barley, salt, and 
 salted meats in all to the value of twenty-four thousand 
 Spanish dollars." 
 
 The Chief-Manager's head nodded with the vigor and 
 rapidity of a mechanical toy. ' ' It is a God-send, a God- 
 send. If you did no more than that you would have 
 earned our everlasting gratitude. It will make us over, 
 
REZANOV 173 
 
 give us renewed courage in this cursed existence. Are 
 you not going to get me out of it?" 
 
 Kezanov shook his head with a smile. " Literally you 
 are the whole Company. As long as I live here you 
 stay although when I reach St. Petersburg I shall see 
 that you receive every possible reward and honor." 
 
 Baranhov lifted his shoulders to his ears in quizzical 
 .resignation. "I suppose it matters little where the last 
 few years left me are spent, and I can hang the medals 
 on the walls to console me when I have rheumatism, 
 and shout my titles from the top of the fort when the 
 Kolosh are yelling at the barricades." 
 
 "You must make yourself more comfortable," said 
 Eezanov emphatically. "You are wrong to carry your 
 honesty and enthusiasm to the point of living like the 
 promuschleniki. Take enough of their time to build 
 you a comfortable dwelling, and I will send you, on my 
 own account, far more substantial rewards than orders 
 and titles. Build a big house, for that matter. I shall 
 be here more or less when I am not in California." 
 And he told Baranhov of his proposed marriage with 
 the daughter of Don Jose Argiiello. 
 
 The Chief-Manager listened to this confidence with 
 an even livelier satisfaction than to the list of the Juno's 
 cargo. 
 
 "We shall have California yet!" he cried, his eyes 
 snapping like live coals under the black thatch of wig. 
 "Absorption or the bayonet. It matters little. Ten 
 years from now and we shall have a line of settlements 
 as far south as San Diego. My plan was to feel my way 
 down the northern coast of California with a colony, 
 which should buy a tract of land from the natives and 
 engage immediately in otter hunting somewhere be- 
 tween Cape Mendocino and Drake's Bay. The Spanish 
 have no settlements above San Francisco and are too 
 weak to drive us out. They would rage and bluster and 
 do nothing. Then quietly push forward, building forts 
 and ships. But you have taken hold in the grand man- 
 ner and will accomplish in ten years what would have 
 
174 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 taken me fifty. Marry this girl, use your advantage 
 over the entire family whose influence I well know 
 and that great personal power with which the Almighty 
 has been so lavish, and you will have the whole weakly 
 garrisoned country under your foot before they know 
 where they are, and the Russian settlers pouring in. 
 Spain cannot come to the rescue while this devil Bona- 
 parte is alive, and he is young, and like yourself a 
 favorite of destiny. Those damned Bostonians inherit 
 the grabbing instincts of the too paternal race they have 
 just rejected, but there are thousands of miles of desert 
 between California and their own western outposts, hun- 
 dreds of savage tribes to exterminate. By the time they 
 were in a position to attempt the occupation of Cali- 
 fornia we should be so securely entrenched they would 
 either let us alone or send troops that would be half 
 dead by the time they reached us. As to ships, we 
 could soon build enough at Okhotsk and Petropaulovsky 
 for our purpose. For the matter of that, if your gifted 
 tongue impressed the Tsar with the riches of California 
 there would always be war ships on her coast." He 
 leaned forward and caught the strong shoulders above 
 him in hands that looked like a tangle of baked nerves, 
 and shook them vigorously. "You are a great boy!" 
 he said with a sort of quizzical solemnity. "A great 
 boy. This damned, God-forsaken, pestilential, demoraliz- 
 ing, brutalizing factory for enriching a few with the 
 very life blood and vitals of thousands that will suffer 
 and starve and never be heard of" (all his language 
 cannot be recorded), "will make two or three reputa- 
 tions by the way. Mine will be one, although I'll get 
 nothing else. Shelikov is safe; but you will have a 
 monument. Well, God bless you. I grudge you nothing. 
 Not even the happiness you deserve and are bound to 
 have for when all is said and done, Rezanov, you are a 
 lucky dog, a lucky dog! Any man may see that, even 
 when these infernal snows have left him with but half 
 an eye. To quarrel with a destiny like yours would 
 be as great a waste of time as to protest that California 
 
REZANOV 175 
 
 is warm and fertile, while this infernal North is like liv- 
 ing in a refrigerator with the deluge to vary the monot- 
 ony. Now let us get drunk!" 
 
 But Rezanov laughingly extricated himself, and send- 
 ing a message to Davidov and Khostov to come to him 
 immediately, walked toward the tent he had ordered 
 erected on the edge of the settlement; only the worst 
 of weather drove him indoors in these half-civilized com- 
 munities. 
 
 As he was passing the chapel, followed again by the 
 employees of the Company, to whom he had granted a 
 holiday, he suddenly found his hand taken possession of, 
 and looked up to see himself confronted by a dissipated- 
 looking person in plain clothes. His hand became so 
 limp that it was dropped as if it had put forth a sting, 
 and he narrowed his eyes and demanded with a bend of 
 his mouth that brought the blood to the face of the 
 intruder : 
 
 ' * And who are you, may I ask ? ' ' 
 
 The man threw back his head defiantly. "I am 
 Lieutenant Sookin of the Imperial Navy of Russia/ 7 
 he said in a loud defiant tone. 
 
 "And I am Chamberlain of the Russian Court and 
 Commander of all America," replied Rezanov coolly. 
 "Now go to your quarters, dress yourself in your uni- 
 form, and present your report to me an hour hence. ' ' 
 
 The officer, concentrating in his injected eyes all the 
 lively hatred and jealousy of his service for the Russian- 
 American Company in this region where it reigned 
 supreme and cared no more for the Admiralty than for 
 some native chieftain covered with shells and warpaint, 
 glared at its plenipotentiary as if calling upon his deeper 
 resources of insolence; but the steady contemptuous 
 gaze of the man who had dealt with his kind often and 
 successfully overcame his sodden spirit, and he turned 
 sulkily and slouched off to his quarters to console him- 
 self with more brandy. Rezanov shrugged his shoulders 
 and went on to his tent. 
 
 There was no furniture in it as yet, and he was 
 
176 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 obliged to receive Davidov and Khostov standing, but 
 this he preferred. They followed him almost immedi- 
 ately, apprehensive and nervous, and before speaking 
 he looked at them for a moment with his strong pene- 
 trating gaze. He well knew the power of his own per- 
 sonality, and that it was immeasurably enhanced by the 
 fact that of all with whom he had to do in these be- 
 nighted regions his will alone was never weakened by 
 liquor. These young men, clever, high-bred, with an 
 honorable record not only in Russia, but in England and 
 America, looked upon a hilarious night as the just 
 reward of work well done by day. Brandy was debited 
 to their account by the "bucket" (a bucket being a 
 trifle less than two gallons), and they found little fault 
 with life. But it gave a commanding spirit like Re- 
 zanov's an advantage which they did not underestimate 
 for a moment; and they alternately hated and wor- 
 shiped him. 
 
 "I think you have an inkling of what I am going 
 to ask you to do." The Chamberlain brought out the 
 euphemism with the utmost suavity. "I have made up 
 my mind not to ignore the indignity to which Russia was 
 subjected last year by Japan, but to inflict upon it such 
 punishment as I find it in my power to compass. It was 
 my intention to build a flotilla here, but owing to the 
 diseased condition and reduced numbers of the em- 
 ployees, that was impossible, and I shall be obliged to 
 content myself with the Juno and the Avos, whose keel, 
 as you know, was laid in November, and is no doubt 
 finished long since. These I shall fit with armaments 
 in Okhotsk. I shall place the enterprise I have spoken 
 of in your charge, sailing with you from Sitka five 
 days hence. From Okhotsk I desire that you proceed to 
 the Japanese settlements in the lower Kurile Islands, 
 take possession of them and bring all stores and as 
 many of the inhabitants as the vessels will accommo- 
 date, to Sitka, where Baranhov will see that they are 
 comfortably established on that large island in the 
 harbor which we shall call Japonsky and converted 
 
REZANOV 177 
 
 into good servants of the Company. The excuse for this 
 enterprise is that those islands were formally taken pos- 
 session of by Shelikov; and although abandoned later, 
 the fact remains that the Russian flag was the first to 
 float over them. The stores captured may not be worth 
 much and the islands are of no particular use to us, 
 but it is wise that Japan should have a taste of Russian 
 power; and the consequences may be salutary in more 
 ways than one. I hope you will do me this great favor, 
 for there is no one of your tried probity and skill to 
 whom I can trust so delicate an enterprise. I am doing 
 it wholly upon my own responsibility, for although I 
 wrote tentatively to the Tsar on this subject before I 
 sailed for California, it is not yet time for a reply. 
 However, I take the consequences upon my own shoul- 
 ders. You shall not suffer in any way, for your orders 
 are to obey mine while you remain in these waters." 
 
 He paused a moment, and then suddenly smiled into 
 the unresponsive faces before him. He held out his 
 hand and shook their limp ones warmly. 
 
 "Let me thank you here for all your inestimable 
 services in the past, and particularly during our late 
 hazardous voyages. Be sure that whether you succeed 
 in this enterprise or not, your rewards shall be no less 
 for what you have already done. I shall make it a 
 personal matter with the Tsar. You shall have promo- 
 tion and a substantial increase in pay, besides the orders 
 and Imperial thanks you so richly deserve. Lest any- 
 thing happen to me on my homeward journey, I shall 
 write to St. Petersburg before I leave." 
 
 The lieutenants, overcome as ever when he chose to 
 put forth his full powers, assured him of their fidelity 
 and, if with misgivings, vowed to mete vengeance to 
 the Japanese. And although their misgivings were not 
 unfounded, and they paid a high price in suffering and 
 mortification, they accomplished their object and in due 
 course received the rewards the Chamberlain had 
 promised them. 
 
 They did not retire, and Rezanov, noting their sud- 
 
178 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 den hesitation and embarrassment, felt an instant thrill 
 of apprehension. 
 
 1 ' What is it ?" he demanded. ' ' What has happened ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' Life has moved slowly in Sitka during your absence, 
 Excellency," replied Davidov. "There has been little 
 work done on the Avos. It will not be finished for a 
 month or six weeks." 
 
 Then, had the young men been possessed by a not 
 infrequent mood, they would have glowed with a sense 
 of just satisfaction. Kezanov felt himself turn so white 
 that he wheeled about and left the tent. A month or six 
 weeks ! And the speed and safety of his journey across 
 Siberia depended upon his making the greater part of 
 it before the heavy autumn rains swelled the rivers and 
 flooded the swamps. Winter or summer the journey 
 from Okhotsk to St. Petersburg might be made in four 
 months ; with the wealth and influence at his command, 
 possibly in less ; but. in the deluge between he was liable 
 to detentions lasting nearly as long again, to say nothing 
 of illness caused by inevitable exposure. 
 
 He stood staring at the palisades for many minutes. 
 The separation must be long enough, the dangers numer- 
 ous enough if he started within the week, but at least he 
 had in a measure accustomed himself to the idea of not 
 seeing Concha again for "the best part of two years," 
 and the sanguineness of his temperament had led him to 
 hope that the time might be reduced to eighteen months. 
 If he delayed too long, only by means of an unprecedent- 
 ed run of good fortune would he reach St. Petersburg but 
 a month behind his calculations. And the chances were 
 in favor of four, or three at the best! Never since the 
 morning that the real nature of his feeling for Concha 
 had declared itself had he yearned toward her as at 
 that moment ; never since the dictum of what she called 
 their "tribunal" had he so rebelled against the long 
 delay. And yet he hesitated. To leave Japan unpun- 
 ished for the senseless humiliations to which it had 
 subjected Russia in his person was not to be thought 
 of, and yet did he leave without seeing the Avos finished, 
 
REZANOV 179 
 
 the two boats supplied with armaments at Ohkotsk, and 
 under way before he started across Siberia, he knew 
 it was doubtful if the expedition took place before his 
 return; in that case might never take place, for these 
 two young men might have drifted elsewhere, and he 
 knew no one else to whom he could entrust such a 
 commission. In spite of their idiosyncrasies he could 
 rely upon them implicitly up to a certain point. That 
 point involved keeping them in sight until exactly the 
 right moment and leaving nothing to their executive 
 which could be certainly accomplished by himself alone. 
 Did he sail five days hence on the Juno one of the offi- 
 cers would be exposed for an indeterminate time to the 
 temptations of Okhotsk, the ship, perhaps, at the mercy 
 of some sudden requirement of the Company. His 
 authority was absolute when enforced in person, but it 
 was a proverb west of the Ural: "God reigns and the 
 Tsar is far away." If the Juno were wanted the man- 
 ager at Okhotsk would argue that two years was a period 
 in which an ardent servant of the Company could find 
 many an excuse to justify its seizure. 
 
 And here in Sitka it was doubtful if the work on 
 the Av os proceeded at all. Baranhov was not in sym- 
 pathy with the enterprise against the Japanese, fear- 
 ing the consequences to himself in the event of the Tsar 's 
 disapproval, and resenting the impressment of the pro- 
 muschleniki into a service that deprived him of their 
 legitimate work. Moreover, although he loved Rezanov 
 personally, he had enjoyed supreme power in the wilder- 
 ness too long not to chafe under even the temporary 
 assumption of authority by his high-handed superior. 
 With the best of intentions Davidov could make little 
 headway against the passive resistance of the Chief- 
 Manager, and those intentions would be weakened by 
 the consolations the Company so generously afforded. 
 
 The result was hardly open to doubt. If he left 
 Sitka before the completion of the Avos, Russia would 
 go unavenged for the present. Or himself? Rezanov, 
 sanguine and imaginative as he was, even to the point 
 
180 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 of creating premises to rhyme with ends, was very honest 
 fundamentally. He turned abruptly on his heel, and 
 calling to the officers that he would announce his deci- 
 sion on the morrow, ordered the sentry to open the gate 
 and passed out of the enclosure. 
 
 He crossed the clearing and entered the forest. The 
 warlike tribes themselves had trodden paths through 
 the dense undergrowth of young trees and ferns. Re- 
 zanov, despite Baranhov's warning, had tramped the 
 forest many times. It was the one thing that recon- 
 ciled him to Sitka, for there are few woods more beau- 
 tiful. In spite or because of the incessant rains, it is 
 pervaded by a rich golden gloom, the result of the 
 constant rotting of the brown and yellow bark, not only 
 of the prostrate trees, but of the many killed by crowd- 
 ing and unable to seek the earth with the natural instinct 
 of death. And above, the green of hemlock and spruce 
 was perennially fresh and young, glistening and fra- 
 grant. Here and there was a small clearing where the 
 clans had erected their ingenious and hideous totem 
 poles, out of place in the ancient beauty of the wood. 
 
 The ferns brushed his waist, the roar of the river 
 came to his ears, the forest had never looked more pri- 
 meval, more wooing to a man burdened with civilization, 
 but Rezanov gave it less heed than usual, although he 
 had turned to it instinctively. He was occupied with a 
 question to which nature would turn an aloof disdain- 
 ful ear. Was his own wounded vanity at the root of his 
 desire to humiliate Japan? Russia was too powerful, 
 too occupied, for the present at least, greatly to care 
 that her overtures and presents had been scorned. Upon 
 her ambassador had fallen the full brunt of that weari- 
 some and incomparably mortifying experience, and un- 
 fortunately the ambassador happened to be one of the 
 proudest and most autocratic men in her empire. No 
 man of Rezanov 's caliber but accommodates that sort of 
 personal vanity that tenaciously resents a blow to the 
 pride of which it is a part, to the love of power it feeds. 
 As well expect a lover without passion, a state without 
 
KEZANOV 181 
 
 corruption. Rezanov finally shrugged his shoulders and 
 admitted the impeachment, but at the same time he rec- 
 ognized that the desire for vengeance still held, and that 
 the tenacity of his nature, a tenacity that had been no 
 mean factor in the remodeling of himself from a volup- 
 tuous young sprig of nobility into one of the most suc- 
 cessful business men and subjugator of other men that 
 the Russian Empire could show, was not likely to weaken 
 when its very roots had been stiff with purpose for fif- 
 teen months. Power had been Rezanov 's ruling passion 
 for many years before he met Concha Argiiello, and, 
 although it might mate very comfortably with love, it 
 was not to be expected that it would remain submerged 
 beyond the first enthusiasm, nor even assume the posi- 
 tion of the "party of the second part." Rezanov was 
 Rezanov. He was also in that interval between youth 
 and age when the brain rules if it is ever to rule at all. 
 That the ardor of his nature had awakened refreshed 
 after a long sleep was but just proved, as well as the 
 revival of his early ideals and capacity for genuine love ; 
 but the complexities, the manifold interests and desires 
 of the ego had been growing and developing these many 
 years ; and no mere mortal that has given up his life for 
 a considerable period to the thirst for dominance can 
 ever, save in a brief exaltation, sacrifice it to anything 
 so normal as the demands of sex and spirit. For good 
 or ill, the man who has burned with ambition, exulted 
 in the exercise of power, bitterly resented the tempo- 
 rary victories of rivals and enemies, fought with all the 
 resources of brain and character against failure, is in 
 a class apart from humanity in the mass. Rezanov 
 loved Concha Argiiello to the very depths of his soul, 
 but he had lived beyond the time when even she could 
 engage successfully with the ruthless forces that had 
 molded into immutable shape the Rezanov she knew. 
 Her place was second, and it is probable that she would 
 have loved him less had it been otherwise ; she, in spite 
 of her fine intellect and strong will, being all woman, 
 as he, despite his depth of intuition, was all man. Equal- 
 
182 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 ity is possible in no relation or condition of life. When 
 woman subjugates man the conquered will enjoy a 
 sense of revenge proportionate to the meanness of his 
 state. 
 
 It is possible that had Concha awaited Rezanov in St. 
 Petersburg her attraction would have focused his desires 
 irresistibly; but his mind had resigned itself to the 
 prospect of separation for a definite period, and while it 
 had not relegated her image to the background, her part 
 in his life had been settled there among many future 
 possibilities, and all the foreground was crowded with 
 the impatient symbols of the intervening time. More- 
 over, he well knew that the savor would be gone from 
 his happiness with the woman were the taste of another 
 failure acrid in his mouth. 
 
 As he realized that the die was cast, the sanguineness 
 of his temperament rushed to do battle against appre- 
 hension and self-accusing. After all, he was rarely 
 balked of his way, accustomed to ride down obstacles, 
 to the amiable cooperation of fate. He could arrive in 
 Okhotsk late in September or early in October. Captain 
 D 'Wolf , who had been detained at Sitka during his ab- 
 sence by the same indifference that had operated against 
 the completion of the Avos, would precede him and order 
 that all be in readiness at Okhotsk both for the ships 
 and his journey to Yakutsk. He could proceed at once ; 
 and, no doubt, with twice the number of horses needed, 
 would make the first and most difficult stage of the jour- 
 ney in the usual time, and with no great embarrassment 
 from the rains. From Yakutsk to Irkutsk the greater 
 part of the travel was by water in any case, and after 
 that the land was flat for the most part and bridges were 
 more numerous. The governor of every town in Siberia 
 would be his obsequious servant, the entire resources of 
 the country would be at his disposal. He was sound in 
 health again, as resistant against hardships as when he 
 had sailed from Kronstadt. And God knew, he thought 
 with a sigh, his will and purpose had never been 
 stronger. 
 
XXVI 
 
 REZANOV disembarked from the Juno at Okhotsk during 
 the first days of October. Had it not been for a touch 
 of fever that had returned in the filth and warm damp- 
 ness of Sitka, he would have felt almost as buoyant in 
 mind and body as in those days when California had 
 gone to his head. The Juno had touched at Kadiak, 
 Oonalaska, and others of the more important settle- 
 ments, and he had found his schools and libraries in 
 good condition, seals and otters rapidly increasing in 
 their immunity from indiscriminate slaughter, new and 
 stronger forts threatening the nefarious Bostonian and 
 Briton. At Okhotsk he learned that the embassy of 
 Count Golofkin to China had failed as signally as his 
 own, and this alone would have put him in the best of 
 tempers even had he not found his armament and cara- 
 van awaiting him, facilitating his immediate departure. 
 He wrote a gay letter to Concha, giving her the painful 
 story of the naturalist attached to the Golofkin embassy, 
 Dr. Kedovsky, who had remained in the East animated 
 by the same scientific enthusiasm as that of his col- 
 league, the good Langsdorff; parted some time since 
 from his too exacting master. Kezanov had written 
 Concha many letters during his detention in Sitka, and 
 left them with Baranhov to send at the first opportunity. 
 The Chief-Manager, deeply interested in the romance 
 of the mighty Chamberlain with whom he alone dared 
 to take a liberty, vowed to guard all that came to his 
 care and sooner or later to send them to California. 
 Kezanov had also written comprehensively to the Tsar 
 and the directors of the Russian- American Company, 
 adroitly placing his marriage in the light of a diplo- 
 matic maneuver, and painting California in colors the 
 
 183 
 
184 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 more vivid and enticing for the sullen clouds and roar- 
 ing winds, the dripping forests and eternal snows of that 
 derelict corner of Earth where he had been stranded 
 so long. He had also, when Langsdorff announced his 
 intention to start upon a difficult journey in the interest 
 of science, provided him not only with letters of rec- 
 ommendation, but with all the comforts procurable in 
 a land where the word comfort was the stock in trade 
 of the local satirist. But Langsdorff, although punctili- 
 ously acknowledging the favors, never quite forgave the 
 indifference of a mere ambassador and chamberlain, 
 rejoicing in the dignity of an honorary membership in 
 the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, to the supreme 
 division of natural history. 
 
 The first stage of the journey from Okhotsk to 
 Yakutsk was about six hundred and fifty English miles, 
 not as the crow flew, but over the Stanovoi mountains 
 in a southwesterly direction to the Maya, by this river's 
 wavering course to the Youdoma, then northwest to the 
 Aldan, and south beside the Lena. The beaten track lay 
 entirely alongside the rivers at this season, upon their 
 surface in winter ; and in addition to these great streams 
 there were many too unimportant for the map, but as 
 erratic in course and as irresistible in energy after the 
 first rains of autumn. 
 
 Captain D 'Wolf had proved himself capable and faith- 
 ful, and a caravan of forty horses had been in Okhotsk 
 a week; twenty for immediate use, twenty for relief, or 
 substitutes in almost certain emergency. As there were 
 but one or two stations of any importance between Ok- 
 hotsk and Yakutsk, and as a week might pass without 
 the shelter of so much as a hut, it was necessary to 
 take tents and bearskin beds for the Chamberlain, his 
 Cossack guard, valet-de-chambre, cook and other serv- 
 ants, one set of fine blankets and linen, cooking utensils, 
 axes, arms, tinder-boxes, provisions for the entire trip, 
 besides a great quantity of personal luggage. 
 
 Rezanov lost no time. He had changed his original 
 plan and dispatched Davidov on the Avos from Oon- 
 
REZANOV 185 
 
 alaska. Guns and provisions awaited the Juno at Ok- 
 hotsk, and in less than a week after his arrival Kezanov 
 was able to start on his long journey with a mind at rest. 
 Although the almost extravagant delight that his body 
 had taken in the comforts of his manager's home, after 
 ten weeks on the Juno, warned him that he might be in 
 a better condition to begin a journey of ten thousand 
 versts, he hearkened neither to the hint nor to the in- 
 sistence of his host. His impatient energy and stern 
 will, combined with the passionate wish to accomplish 
 the double object of his journey, returning in the least 
 possible time to California with his treaty and the con- 
 sent of the Pope and King to his marriage, would have 
 carried him out of Okhotsk in forty-eight hours had 
 disease declared itself. Nor were there any inducements 
 aside from a comfortable bed and refined fare, in 
 the flat unhealthy town with its everlasting rattle 
 of chains, and the hideous physiognomies of criminals 
 always at work to the rumbling accompaniment of Cos- 
 sack oaths. 
 
 For the first week the exercise he loved best and the 
 long days in the crisp open air renewed his vigor, and 
 he even looked forward to the four months of what was 
 then the severest traveling in the world, in a boyish 
 spirit of adventure. He reflected that he might as well 
 give his brain a relief from the constant revolving of 
 schemes and plans for the advancement of his country, 
 his company, and himself, and let his thoughts have 
 their carnival of anticipation with the unparalleled hap- 
 piness and success that awaited him in the future. There 
 was no possible doubt of the acquiescence and assist- 
 ance of the Tsar, and no man ever looked down a fairer 
 perspective than he, as he galloped over the ugly coun- 
 try, often far ahead of his caravan, splashing through 
 bogs and streams, fording rivers without ferries, camp- 
 ing at night in forests so dense the cold never escaped 
 their embrace, muffled to the eyes in furs as he made his 
 way past valleys whose eternal ice fields chilled the 
 country for miles about; sometimes able to procure a 
 
186 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 little fresh milk and butter, oftener not; occasionally 
 passing a caravan returning for furs, generally seeing 
 nothing but a stray reindeer for hours together, once 
 meeting the post and finding much for himself that in 
 nowise dampened his spirit. 
 
 But on the eighth day the rains began ; a fine steady 
 mist, then in torrents as endless. Wrapped in bear- 
 skins at night within the shelter of a tent or of some 
 wayside hut, and closely covered by day, Rezanov at 
 first merely cursed the inconvenience of the rain; but 
 while crossing the river Allach Juni, his guides without 
 consulting him having taken him miles out of his way 
 in order to avoid the hamlet of the same name where the 
 small-pox was raging, but where there was a government 
 ferry, his horse lost his footing in the rapid swollen 
 current and fell. Kezanov managed to retain his seat, 
 and pulled the frightened plunging beast to its feet 
 while his Cossacks were still shouting their consterna- 
 tion. But he was soaked to the skin, his personal lug- 
 gage was in the same condition, and they did not reach 
 a hut where a fire could be made until nine hours later. 
 It was then that the seeds of malaria, accumulated dur- 
 ing the last three years in unsanitary ports and sown 
 deep by exceptional hardships, but which he believed had 
 taken themselves off during his six weeks in California, 
 stirred more vigorously than in Sitka or Okhotsk. He 
 rode on the next day in a burning fever. Jon, minding 
 Langsdorff's instructions, doctored him not without 
 difficulty from the medicine chest, and for a day or 
 two the fever seemed broken. But Jon, sick with appre- 
 hension, implored him to turn back. He might as well 
 have implored the sky to turn blue. 
 
 "How do you think men accomplish things in this 
 world ? ' ' asked Kezanov angrily. ' * By turning back and 
 going to bed every time they have a migraine?" 
 
 * ' No, Excellency, ' ' said the man humbly. ' ' But health 
 is necessary to the accomplishment of everything, and if 
 the body is eaten up with fever " 
 
 "What are drugs for? Give me the whole damned 
 
REZANOV 187 
 
 pharmacopeia if you choose, but don't talk to me about 
 turning back." 
 
 "Very well, Excellency," said Jon, with a sigh. 
 
 The next day he and one of the Cossack guard caught 
 him as he fell from his horse unconscious. A Yakhut 
 hut, miserable as it was, offered in the persistent down- 
 pour a better shelter than the tent. They carried him 
 into it, and his bedding at least was almost as luxuri- 
 ous as had he been in St. Petersburg. Jon, at his wits' 
 end, remembered the practice of Langsdorff in similar 
 cases, and used the lancet, a heroic treatment he would 
 never have accomplished had his master been conscious. 
 The fever ebbed, and in a few days Rezanov was able 
 to continue the journey by shorter stages, although heavy 
 with an intolerable lassitude. But his will sustained him 
 until he reached Yakutsk, not at the end of twenty-two 
 days, but of thirty-three. Here he succumbed immedi- 
 ately, and although his sick-bed was in the comfortable 
 home of the agent of the Company, and he had medical 
 attendance of a sort, his fever and convalescence lasted 
 for eight weeks. Then, in spite of the supplications of 
 his friends, chief among whom was his faithful Jon, and 
 the prohibition of the doctor, he began the second stage 
 of his journey. 
 
 The road from Yakutsk to Irkutsk, some two thou- 
 sand six hundred versts, or fifteen hundred and fifty 
 English miles, lay for the most part alternately on and 
 along the river Lena in a southeasterly direction; there 
 being no attempt to cross Siberia at any point in a 
 straight line. By this time the river was frozen, and 
 the only concession Rezanov would make to his en- 
 feebled frame was an arrangement to cover the entire 
 journey by private sledge instead of employing the 
 swifter course of post sledge on the long stretches and 
 horseback on the shorter cuts. 
 
 The weather was now intensely cold, the river wind- 
 ing, the delays many, but there were adequate stations 
 for the benefit and accommodation of travelers every 
 hundred versts or less. Eezanov felt so invigorated by 
 
188 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the long hours in the open after the barbarous close- 
 ness of his sick room, that at the end of a fortnight he 
 was again possessed with all his old ardor of desire to 
 reach the end of his journey. He vowed he was well 
 again, abandoned his comfortable sledge, and pushed on 
 in the common manner. In the wretched post sledges 
 he was often exposed to the full violence of a Siberian 
 winter, and although the horseback exercise stirred his 
 blood and refreshed him for the moment, he suffered in 
 reaction and was several times forced to remain two 
 nights instead of one at a station. But he was muf- 
 fled in sables to his very eyes, and the road was divert- 
 ing, often beautiful, with its Gothic mountains, its white 
 plains set with villages and farms, the high thin crosses 
 above the open or swelling domes of the little churches. 
 Sometimes the Lena narrowed until its frozen surface 
 looked like a mass of ice that had ground its way be- 
 tween perpendicular walls or overhanging masses of 
 rock that awaited the next convulsion of nature to close 
 the pass altogether. Then the dogs trotted past caves 
 and grottos, left the abrupt and craggy banks, crossed 
 level plains once more; where herds of cattle grazed in 
 the summertime, now a vast uncheckered expanse of 
 white. The Government and Company agents fawned 
 upon him, the best of horses and beds, food and wine, 
 were eagerly placed at the disposal of the favorite of the 
 Tsar. Rezanov 's spirit, always of the finest temper, suf- 
 fered no eclipse for many days. He reveled in the be- 
 lief that his sorely tried body was regenerating its old 
 vigors. 
 
 From Wercholensk to Katschuk the journey was so 
 winding by river that it consumed more than twice the 
 time of the land route, which although only thirty versts 
 in extent was one of the most difficult in Siberia. Re- 
 zanov chose the latter without hesitation, and would 
 listen to no dissuasion from the Commissary of the little 
 town or from his distracted Jon: the journey from 
 Yakutsk had now lasted five weeks and the servant's 
 watchful eye noted signs of exhaustion. 
 
REZANOV 189 
 
 The hills were very high and very steep, the roads but 
 a name in summer. Had not the snow been soft and 
 thin, the horses could not have made the ascent at all; 
 and, as it was, the riders were forced to walk the greater 
 part of the way and drag their unwilling steeds behind 
 them. They were twelve hours covering the thirty 
 versts, and at Katschuk Rezanov succumbed for two 
 days, while Jon scoured the country in search of a 
 telega ; as sometimes happened there was a long stretch 
 of country without snow, and sledges, by far the most 
 comfortable method of travel in Siberia, could not be 
 used. The rest of the journey, but one hundred and 
 ninety-six versts, must be made by land. Rezanov ad- 
 mitted that he was too weary to ride, and refused to 
 travel in the post carriage. On the third day the serv- 
 ant managed to hire a telega from a superior farmer and 
 they started immediately, the heavy luggage having been 
 consigned to a merchant vessel at Yakutsk. 
 
 Rezanov stood the telega exactly half a day. Little 
 larger than an armchair and far lighter, it was drawn 
 by horses that galloped up and down hill and across the 
 intervening valleys with no change of gait, and over a 
 road so rough that the little vehicle seemed to be pro- 
 pelled by a succession of earthquakes. Rezanov, in a 
 fever which he attributed to rage, dismissed the telega 
 at a village and 'awaited the coming of Jon, who fol- 
 lowed on horseback wjth the personal luggage. 
 
 It was a village of wooden houses built in the Rus- 
 sian fashion, and inhabited by a dignified tribe wearing 
 long white garments bordered with fur. They spoke 
 Russian, a language little heard farther north and east 
 in Siberia, and when Rezanov declined their hospitality 
 they dispatched a courier at once to the Governor-Gen- 
 eral of Irkutsk acquainting him with the condition of 
 the Chamberlain and of his imminent arrival. In con- 
 sequence, when Rezanov drew rein two days later and 
 looked down upon the city of Irkutsk with its pleasant 
 squares and great stone buildings beside the shining 
 river, the gilded domes and crosses of its thirty churches 
 
190 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 and convents glittering in the sun, the whole picture 
 beckoning to the delirious brain of the traveler like 
 some mirage of the desert, his appearance was the signal 
 for a salute from the fort; and the Governor-General, 
 privy counselor and senator de Pestel, accompanied by 
 the civil governor, the commandant, and the archbishop, 
 and with a military escort, sallied forth and led the 
 guest, with the formality of officials and the compassion- 
 ate tenderness of men, into the capital. 
 
 For three weeks longer Rezanov lay in the palace of 
 the Governor. Between fever and lassitude, his iron will 
 seemed alternately to melt in the fiery furnace of his 
 body, then, a cooling but still viscous and formless mass, 
 sink to the utmost depths of his being. But here he had 
 the best of nursing and attendance, rallied finally and 
 insisted upon continuing his journey. His doctor made 
 the less demur as the traveling was far smoother now, 
 in the early days of March, than it would be a month 
 hence, when the snow was thinner and the sledges were 
 no longer possible. Nevertheless, he announced his in- 
 tention to accompany him as far as Krasnoiarsk, where 
 the Chamberlain could lodge in the house of the princi- 
 pal magistrate of the place, Counselor Keller, and, if 
 necessary, be able to command fair nursing and medical 
 attendance; and to this Eezanov indifferently assented. 
 
 The prospect of continuing his journey and the bustle 
 of preparation raised the spirits of the invalid and gave 
 him a fictitious energy. He had fought depression and 
 despair in all his conscious moments, never admitted that 
 the devastation in his body was mortal. With but a 
 remnant of his former superb strength, and emaciated 
 beyond recognition, he attended a banquet on the night 
 preceding his departure, and on the following morning 
 stood up in his sledge and acknowledged the God-speed 
 of the population of Irkutsk assembled in the square 
 before the palace of the Governor. All his life he had 
 excited interest wherever he went, but never to such a 
 degree as on that last journey when he made his desper- 
 ate fight for life and happiness. 
 
XXVII 
 
 THE snow rarely falls in Krasnoiarsk. It is a little 
 oasis in the great winter desert of Siberia. Rezanov, 
 his face turned to the window, could see the red banks 
 on the opposite side of the river. The sun transformed 
 the gilded cupolas and crosses into dazzling points of 
 light, and the sky above the spires and towers, the state- 
 ly square and narrow dirty streets of the bustling little 
 capital, was as blue and un flecked as that which arched 
 so high above a land where Castilian roses grew, and 
 one woman among a gay and thoughtless people dreamed, 
 with all the passion of her splendid youth, of the man 
 to whom she had pledged an eternal troth. Rezanov 's 
 mind was clear in those last moments, but something of 
 the serenity and the selfishness of death had already de- 
 scended upon him. He heard with indifference the sobs 
 of Jon, crouched at the foot of his bed. Tears and re- 
 grets were a part of the general futility of life, insig- 
 nificant enough at the grand threshold of death. 
 
 No doubt that his great schemes would die with him, 
 and were he remembered at all it would be as a dreamer ; 
 or as a failure because he had died before accomplishing 
 what his brain and energy and enthusiasm alone could 
 force to fruition. None realized better than he the 
 paucity of initiative and executive among the charac- 
 teristics of the Slav. What mattered it? He had had 
 glimpses more than once of the apparently illogical se- 
 quence of life, the vanity of human effort, the wanton 
 cruelty of Nature. He had known men struck down 
 before in the maturity of their usefulness, cities de- 
 stroyed by earthquake or hurricane in the fairest and 
 most promising of their days: public men, priests, par- 
 ents, children, wantons, criminals, blotted out with equal 
 
 191 
 
192 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 impartiality by a brutal force that would seem to have 
 but a casual use for the life she flung broadcast on her 
 planets. Man was the helpless victim of Nature, a calf 
 in a tiger's paws. If she overlooked him, or swept him 
 contemptuously into the class of her favorites, well and 
 good; otherwise he was her sport, the plaything of her 
 idler moments. Those that cried "But why?" "What 
 reason?" "What use?" were those that had never 
 looked over the walls of their ego at the great dramatic 
 moments in the career of Nature, when she made im- 
 mortal fame for herself at the expense of millions of 
 pigmies. 
 
 And if his energies, his talents, his usefulness, were 
 held of no account, at least he could look back upon a 
 past when he would have seemed to be one of the few 
 supreme favorites of the forces that shaped man's life 
 and destiny. Until he had started from Kronstadt four 
 years before on a voyage that had humiliated his proud 
 spirit more than once, and undermined as splendid a 
 physique as ever was granted to even a Eussian, he had 
 rolled the world under his foot. With an appearance 
 and a personal magnetism, gifts of mind and manner and 
 character that would have commanded attention amid 
 the general flaccidity of his race and conquered life with- 
 out the great social advantages he inherited, he had en- 
 joyed power and pleasure to a degree that would have 
 spoiled a coarser nature long since. True, the time had 
 come when he had cared little for any of his endow- 
 ments save as a means to great ends, when all his ener- 
 gies had concentrated in the determination to live a life 
 of the highest possible usefulness without which man's 
 span was but existence his ambitions had cohered and 
 been driven steadily toward a permanent niche in his- 
 tory ; then paled and dissolved for an hour in the glori- 
 ous vision of human happiness. 
 
 And wholly as he might realize man's insignificance 
 among the blind forces of nature, he could accept it 
 philosophically and die with his soul uncorroded by mis- 
 anthropy, that final and uncompromising admission of 
 
REZANOV 193 
 
 failure. The misanthrope was the supreme failure of 
 life because he had not the intelligence to realize, or 
 could not reconcile himself to, the incomplete condition 
 of human nature. Man was made up of little qualities, 
 and aspirations for great ones. Many yielded in the 
 struggle and sank into impotent discontent among the 
 small material things of life, instead of uplifting them- 
 selves with the picture of the inevitable future when 
 development had run its course, and indulgently pity- 
 ing the children of their own period who so often made 
 life hateful with their greed, selfishness, snobbery 
 most potent obstacle to human endeavor and injustice. 
 The bad judgment of the mass! How many careers it 
 had balked, if not ruined, with its poor ideals, its mean 
 heroes, its instinctive avoidance of superior qualities 
 foreign to itself, its contemptible desire to be identified 
 with a fashion. It was this low standard of the crowd 
 that induced misanthropy in many otherwise brave spir- 
 its who lacked the insight to discern the divine spark 
 underneath, the persistence, sure of reward, to fight 
 their way to this spark and reveal it to the gaze of as- 
 tonished and flattered humanity. Rezanov's very arro- 
 gance had led him to regard the mass of mankind as but 
 one degree removed from the nursery; his good nature 
 and philosophical spirit to treat them with an indul- 
 gence that kept sourness out of his cynicism and inevit- 
 ably recurring weariness and disgust ; his ardent imagi- 
 nation had consoled itself with the vision of a future 
 when man should live in a world made reasonable by 
 the triumph of ideals that now lurked half ashamed in 
 the high spaces of the human mind. 
 
 He looked back in wonder at the moment of wild 
 regret and protest the bitterer in its silence when they 
 had told him he must die ; when in the last rally of the 
 vital forces he had believed his will was still strong 
 enough to command his ravaged body, to propel his 
 brain, still teeming with a vast and complicated future, 
 his heart, still warm and insistent with the image it 
 cherished, on to the ultimates of ambition and love. 
 
194 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 How brief it had been, that last cry of mortality, with 
 its accompaniment of furious wonder at his unseemly 
 and senseless cutting off. In the adjustment and read- 
 justment of political and natural forces the world am- 
 bled on philosophically, fulfilling its inevitable destiny. 
 
 If he had not been beyond humor, he would have 
 smiled at the idea that in the face of all eternity it mat- 
 tered what nation on one little planet eventually pos- 
 sessed a fragment called California. To him that fair 
 land was empty and purposeless save for one figure, 
 and even of her he thought with the terrible calm of 
 dissolution. During these last months of illness and 
 isolation he had been less lonely than at any time of his 
 life save during those few weeks in California, for he 
 had lived with her incessantly in spirit; and in that 
 subtle imaginative communion had pressed close to a 
 profound and complex soul, revealed before only in 
 flashes to a vision astray in the confusion of the senses. 
 He had felt that her response to his passion was far 
 more vital and enduring than dwelt in the capacity of 
 most women; he had appreciated her gifts of mind, her 
 piquant variousness that scotched monotony, the ad- 
 mirable characteristics that would give a man repose 
 and content in his leisure, and subtly advance his career. 
 But in those long reveries, at the head of his forlorn 
 caravan or in the desolate months of convalescence, he 
 had arrived at an absolute understanding of what she 
 herself had divined while half comprehending. 
 
 Theirs was one of the few immortal loves that reveal 
 the rarely sounded deeps of the soul while in its frail 
 tenement on earth; and he harbored not a doubt that 
 their love was stronger than mortality and that their 
 ultimate union was decreed. Meanwhile, she would suf- 
 fer, no one but he could dream how completely, but her 
 strong soul would conquer, and she would live the life 
 she had visioned in moments of despair ; not of cloistered 
 selfishness, but of incomparable usefulness to her little 
 world; and far happier, in her eternal youthfulness of 
 
REZANOV 195 
 
 heart, in that divine life of the imagination where he 
 must always be with her as she had known him briefly 
 at his best, than in the blunt eommonplaceness of daily 
 existence, the routine and disillusionment of the world. 
 Perhaps who knew? he had, after all, given her the 
 best that man can offer to a woman of exalted nature; 
 instead of taking again with his left hand what his right 
 had bestowed ; completed the great gift of life with the 
 priceless beacon of death. 
 
 How unlike was life to the old Greek tragedies! He 
 recalled his prophetic sense of impending happiness, 
 success, triumph, as he entered California, the rejuve- 
 nescence of his spirit in the renewal of his wasted forces 
 even before he loved the woman. Every event of the 
 past year, in spite of the obstacles that mortal must ex- 
 pect, had marched with his ambitions and desires, and 
 straight toward a future that would have given him the 
 most coveted of all destinies, a station in history. There 
 had not been a hint that his brain, so meaningly and 
 consummately equipped, would perish in the ruins of 
 his body in less than a twelvemonth from that fragrant 
 morning when he had entered the home of Concha Ar- 
 giiello tingling with a pagan joy in mere existence, a 
 sudden rush of desire for the keen wild happiness of 
 youth 
 
 His eyes wandered from the bright cross above the 
 little cemetery where he was to lie, and contracted with 
 an expression of wonder. Where had Jon found Cas- 
 tilian roses in this barren land ? No man had ever been 
 
 more blest in a servant, but could even he here 
 
 With the last triumph of will over matter he raised his 
 head, his keen searching gaze noting every detail of the 
 room, bare and unlovely save for its altar and ikons, its 
 kneeling priests and nuns. His eyes expanded, his nos- 
 trils quivered. As he sank down in the embrace of that 
 final delusion, his unconquerably sanguine spirit flared 
 high before a vision of eternal and unthinkable happi- 
 ness. 
 
196 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 So died Rezanov ; and with him the hope of Kussians 
 and the hindrance of Americans in the west; and the 
 mortal happiness and earthly dross of the saintliest of 
 California 's women. 
 
AUTHORITIES 
 
 Bancroft's "History of California" 
 
 Bancroft's "History of Alaska" 
 
 Hittell's "History of California" 
 
 Tikhmenev's "Historical Review of the Origin of the 
 
 Russian- American Company ' ' 
 
 Rezanov-Zapiski Correspondence (Russian Archives) 
 Langsdorff's "Voyages and Travels" 
 Krusenstern's "Voyage Round the World" 
 Russian Encyclopedia 
 (And Private Sources) 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 
 
TO 
 STEPHEN FRANKLIN 
 
 [201] 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 IT was at Governor Alvarado's house in Monterey that 
 Chonita first knew of Diego Estenega. I had told him 
 much of her, but never had cared to mention the name 
 of Estenega in the presence of an Iturbi y Moncada. 
 
 Chonita came to Monterey to stand god-mother to the 
 child of Alvarado and of her friend Dona Martina, his 
 wife. She arrived the morning before the christening, 
 and no one thought to tell her that Estenega was to be 
 godfather. The house was full of girls, relatives of the 
 young mother, gathered for the ceremony and subse- 
 quent week of festivities. Benicia, my little one, was at 
 the rancho with Ysabel Herrera, and I was staying with 
 the Alvarados. So many were the guests that Chonita 
 and I slept together. We had not seen each other for a 
 year, and had so much to say that we did not sleep at 
 all. She was ten years younger than I, but we were as 
 close friends as she, with her alternate frankness and 
 reserve, would permit. But I had spent several months 
 of each year since childhood at her home in Santa Bar- 
 bara, and I knew her better than she knew herself; 
 when, later, I read her journal, I found little in it to 
 surprise me, but much to fill and cover with shapely 
 form the skeleton of the story which passed in greater 
 part before my eyes. 
 
 We were discussing the frivolous mysteries of dress, 
 if I remember aright, when she laid her hand on my 
 mouth suddenly. 
 
 "Hush!" she said. 
 
 203 
 
204 BEFORE THE GRINQO CAME 
 
 A caballero serenaded his lady at midnight in Mon- 
 terey. 
 
 The tinkle of a guitar, the jingling of spurs, fell 
 among the strong tones of a man's voice. 
 
 Chonita had been serenaded until she had fled to the 
 mountains for sleep, but she crept to the foot of the 
 bed and knelt there, her hand at her throat. A door 
 opened, and, one by one, out of the black beyond, five 
 white-robed forms flitted into the room. They looked 
 like puffs of smoke from a burning moon. The heavy 
 wooden shutters were open, and the room was filled with 
 a cold light. 
 
 The girls waltzed on the bare floor, grouped them- 
 selves in mock-dramatic postures, then, overcome by 
 the strange magnetism of the singer, fell into motionless 
 attitudes, listening intently. How well I remember that 
 picture, although I have almost forgotten the names of 
 the girls ! 
 
 In the middle of the room two slender figures embraced 
 each other, their black hair falling loosely over their 
 white gowns. On the window-step knelt a tall girl, her 
 head pensively supported by her hand, a black shawl 
 draped gracefully about her ; at her feet sat a girl with 
 head bowed to her knees. Between the two groups was 
 a solitary figure, kneeling with hand pressed to the wall 
 and face uplifted. 
 
 When the voice ceased I struck a match, and five pairs 
 of little hands applauded enthusiastically. He sang 
 them another song, then galloped away. 
 
 "It is Don Diego Estenega," said one of the girls. 
 "He rarely sings, but I have heard him before." 
 
 "An Estenega!" exclaimed Chonita. 
 
 "Yes ; of the North, you know. His Excellency thinks 
 there is no man in the Californias like him, so bold and 
 so clever. You remember the books that were burned 
 by the priests when the Governor was a boy, because he 
 had dared to read them ? No ? Well, when Diego Este- 
 nega heard of that, he made his father send to Boston 
 and Mexico for those books and many more, and took 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 205 
 
 them up to his redwood forests in the north, far away 
 from the priests. And they say he had read other hooks 
 before, although such a lad ; his father had brought them 
 from Spain, and never cared much for the priests.. And 
 he has been to Mexico and America and Europe ! God 
 of my soul ! it is said that he knows more than his Ex- 
 cellency himself, that his mind works faster. Ay! but 
 there was a time when he was wild, when the mescal 
 burnt his throat like hornets and the aguardiente was 
 like scorpions in his brain; but that was long ago, be- 
 fore he was twenty ; now he is thirty-four. He amuses 
 himself sometimes with the girls valgame Dios! he has 
 made hot tears flow; but I suppose we do not know 
 enough for him, for he marries none. Ay! but he has 
 a charm. " 
 
 "Like what does he look? A beautiful caballero, I 
 suppose, with eyes that melt and a mouth that trembles 
 like a woman in the palsy. ' ' 
 
 "Ay, no, my Chonita; you are wrong. He is not 
 beautiful at all. He is rather haggard, and wears no 
 mustache, and he has the profile of the great man, fine 
 and aquiline and severe, save when he smiles, and then 
 sometimes he looks kind and sometimes he looks like a 
 devil. He has not the beauty of color ; his hair is brown, 
 I think, and his eyes are gray, and set far back; but 
 how they flash ! I think they could burn if they looked 
 too long. He is tall and straight and very strong, not 
 so indolent as most of our men. They call him the 
 American because he moves so quickly and gets so cross 
 when people do not think fast enough. He thinks like 
 lightning strikes. Ay ! they all say that he will be Gov- 
 ernor in his time; that he would have been long ago, 
 but he has been away so much. It must be that he has 
 seen and admired you, my Chonita, and discovered your 
 grating. You are happy that you too have read the 
 books. You and he will be great friends, I know ! ' ' 
 
 "Yes!" exclaimed Chonita scornfully. "It is likely. 
 You have forgotten perhaps the enmity between the 
 
206 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Capulets and the Montagues was a sallow flame to the 
 bitter hatred, born of jealousy in love, politics, and 
 social precedence, which exists between the Estenegas 
 and the Iturbi y Moncadas ? ' ' 
 Ah ! We took our California seriously in those days. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 DELFINA, the first child of Alvarado, born in the purple 
 at the Governor's mansion in Monterey, in the year of 
 our Lord 1840, was about to be baptized with all the 
 pomp and ceremony of the Church and time. Dona 
 Martina, the wife of a year, was unable to go to the 
 church, but lay beneath her lace and satin coverlet, her 
 heavy black hair half covering the other side of the bed. 
 Beside her stood the nurse, a fat, brown, high-beaked old 
 crone, holding a mass of grunting lace. I stood at the 
 foot of the bed, admiring the picture. 
 
 "Be careful for the sun, T omasa," said the mother. 
 "Her eyes must be strong, like the Alvarados' black 
 and keen and strong. ' ' 
 
 "Si, senora." 
 
 "And let her not smother, nor yet take cold. She 
 must grow tall and strong like the Alvarados. ' ' 
 
 "Si, senora. " 
 
 "Where is his Excellency?" 
 
 "I am here." And Alvarado entered the room. He 
 looked amused, and probably had overheard the conver- 
 sation. He justified, however, the admiration of his 
 young wife. His tall military figure had the perfect 
 poise and suggestion of power natural to a man whose 
 genius had been recognized by the Mexican government 
 before he had entered his twenties. The clean-cut face, 
 with its calm profile and fiery eyes, was not that of the 
 Washington of his emulation, and I never understood 
 why he chose so tame a model. Perhaps because of the 
 meagerness of that early proscribed literature ; or did the 
 title, "Father of His Country/' appeal irresistibly to 
 that lofty and doomed ambition ? 
 
 207 
 
208 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 He passed his hand over his wife 's long white fingers, 
 but did not offer her any other caress in my presence. 
 
 11 How do you feel?" 
 
 "Well; but I shall be lonely. Do not stay long at 
 the church, no? How glad I am that Chonita came in 
 time for the christening! What a beautiful comadre 
 she will be ! I have just seen her. Ay, poor Diego ! he 
 will fall in love with her; and what then?" 
 
 "It would have been better had she come too late, I 
 think. To avoid asking Diego to stand for my first child 
 was impossible, for he is the man of men to me. To 
 avoid asking Dona Chonita was equally impossible, I 
 suppose, and it will be painful for both. He serenaded 
 her last night, not knowing who she was, but having seen 
 her at her grating; he only returned yesterday. I hope 
 she plants no thorns in his heart. ' ' 
 
 "Perhaps they will marry and bind the wounds," 
 suggested the woman. 
 
 "An Estenega and an Iturbi y Moncada will not 
 marry. He might forget, for he is passionate and of a 
 nature to break down barriers when a wish is dear ; but 
 she has all the wrongs of all the Iturbi y Moncadas on 
 her white shoulders, and all their pride in the carriage 
 of her head; to say nothing of that brother whom she 
 adores. She learned this morning that it was Diego's 
 determined opposition that kept Reinaldo out of the 
 Departmental Junta, and meets him in no tender frame 
 of mind " 
 
 Dona Martina raised her hand. Chonita stood in 
 the doorway. She was quite beautiful enough to plant 
 thorns where she listed. Her tall supple figure was 
 clothed in white, and over her gold hair warm and 
 bright, but without a tinge of red she wore a white 
 lace mantilla. Her straight narrow brows and heavy 
 lashes were black; but her skin was very white. Her 
 nose was finely cut, the arch almost indiscernible; and 
 she had the most sculptured mouth I have ever seen. 
 Her long eyes were green, dark, luminous. Sometimes 
 they had the look of a child, sometimes she allowed them 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 209 
 
 to flash with the fire of an animated spirit. But the ex- 
 pression she chose to cultivate was that associated with 
 crowned head and sceptered hand; and sure no queen 
 had ever looked so calm, so inexorable, so haughty, so 
 terribly clear of vision. She never posed for any one, 
 at least, but herself. For some reason a youthful rea- 
 son probably the iron in her nature was most admired 
 by her. Wherefore also, as she had the power, as twin, 
 to heal and curse I had named her The Doomswoman, 
 and by this name she was known far and wide. By the 
 lower class of Santa Barbara she was called The Golden 
 Senorita, on account of her hair and of her father's vast 
 wealth. 
 
 "Come," she said, " everyone is waiting. Do not you 
 hear the voices ? ' ' 
 
 The windows were closed, but through them came a 
 murmur like that of a pine forest. 
 
 The Governor motioned to the nurse to follow Chonita 
 and me, and she trotted after us, her ugly face 
 beaming with pride of position. Was not in her arms 
 the oldest-born of a new generation of Alvarados? the 
 daughter of the Governor of The Calif ornias? Her 
 smock, embroidered with silk, was new, and looked 
 whiter than sea spray against her bare brown arms and 
 face. Her short red satin skirt, a gift of her happy 
 lady's, was the finest ever worn by exultant nurse. 
 About her stringy old throat was a gold chain; bright 
 red roses were woven in her black reboso. I saw her 
 admire Chonita 's stately figure, with scornful reserve of 
 the colorless gown. 
 
 We were followed in a moment by the Governor, 
 adjusting his collar and smoothing his hair. As he 
 reached the doorway at the front of the house he was 
 greeted with a shout from assembled Monterey. The 
 plaza was gay with beaming faces and bright attire. 
 The men, women, and children of the people were on 
 foot, a mass of color on the opposite side of the plaza; 
 the women in gaudy cotton frocks girt with silken 
 sashes, tawdry jewels, and spotless camisas, the coquet- 
 
210 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 tish reboso draping with equal grace faces old and 
 brown, faces round and olive; the men in glazed som- 
 breros, short calico jackets and trousers; Indians wound 
 up in gala blankets. In the foreground, on prancing 
 silver-trapped horses, were caballeros and donas, laugh- 
 ing and coquetting, looking down in triumph upon the 
 duenas and parents who rode older and milder mus- 
 tangs and shook brown knotted fingers at heedless youth. 
 The young men had ribbons twisted in their long black 
 hair, and silver eagles on their soft gray sombreros. 
 Their velvet serapes were embroidered with gold; the 
 velvet knee-breeches were laced with gold or silver cord 
 over fine white linen ; long deerskin botas were gartered 
 with vivid ribbon; flaunting sashes bound their slender 
 waists, knotted over the hip. The girls and young mar- 
 ried women wore black or white mantillas, the silken lace 
 of Spain, regardless of the sun which might darken 
 their Castilian fairness. Their gowns were of flowered 
 silk or red or yellow satin, the waist long and pointed, 
 the skirt full; jeweled buckles of tiny slippers flashed 
 Beneath the hem. The old people were in rich dress of 
 sober color. A few Americans were there in the ugly 
 garb of their country, a blot on the picture. 
 
 At the door, just in front of the cavalcade, stood 
 General Vallejo's carriage, the only one in California, 
 sent from Sonoma for the occasion. Beside it were 
 three superbly trapped horses. 
 
 The Governor placed the swelling nurse in the car- 
 riage, then glanced about him. * ' Where is Estenega ? 
 and the Castros ? ' ' he asked. 
 
 " There are Don Jose and Dona Modeste Castro," said 
 Chonita. 
 
 The crowd had parted suddenly, and two men and a 
 woman rode toward the Governor. One of the men was 
 tall and dark, and his somber military attire became the 
 stern sadness of his face. Castro was not Comandante- 
 General of the army at that time, but his bearing was 
 as imperious in that year of 1840 as when six years later 
 the American Occupation closed forever the career of a 
 
THE DOOMS WOMAN 211 
 
 man made in derision for greatness. At his right rode 
 his wife, one of the most queenly beauties of her time, 
 small as she was in stature. Every woman's eye turned 
 to her at once; she was our leader of fashion, and we 
 all copied the gowns that came to her from the city of 
 Mexico. 
 
 But Chonita gave no heed to the Castros. She fixed 
 her cold direct regard on the man who rode with them, 
 and who, she knew, must be Diego Estenega, for he was 
 their guest. She was curious to see this enemy of her 
 house, the political rival of her brother, the owner of the 
 voice which had given her the first thrill of her life. He 
 was dressed as plainly as Castro, and had none of the 
 rich southern beauty of the caballeros. His hair was 
 cut short like Alvarado's, and his face was thin and 
 almost sallow. But the life that was in that face, the 
 passion, the intelligence, the kindness, the humor, the 
 grim determination ! And what splendid vitality was in 
 his tall thin figure, and nervous activity under the re- 
 pose of his carriage! I remember I used to think in 
 those days that Diego Estenega could conquer the world 
 if he wished, although I suspected that he lacked one 
 quality of the great rulers of men inexorable cruelty. 
 
 From the moment his horse carried him into the plaza 
 he did not remove his eyes from Chonita 's face. She 
 lowered hers angrily after a moment. As he reached 
 the house he sprang to the ground, and Alvarado pre- 
 sented the sponsors. He lifted his cap and bowed, but 
 not so low as the caballeros who were wont to prostrate 
 themselves before her. They murmured the usual form 
 of salutation : 
 
 "At your feet, senorita." 
 
 "I appreciate the honor of your acquaintance." 
 
 "It is my duty and pleasure to lift you to your horse." 
 And, still holding his cap in his hand, he led her to one 
 of the three horses which stood beside the carriage; 
 with little assistance she sprang to its back, and he 
 mounted the one reserved for him. 
 
 The cavalcade started. First the carriage, then Al- 
 
212 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 varado and myself, followed by the sponsors, the Cas- 
 tros, the members of the Departmental Junta and their 
 wives, then the caballeros and the donas, the old people 
 and the Americans; the populace trudging gaily in the 
 rear, keeping good pace with the riders, who were held 
 in check by a fragment of pulp too young to be jolted. 
 
 "You never have been in Monterey before, senorita, 
 I understand," said Estenega to Chonita. No situation 
 could embarrass him. 
 
 * ' No ; once they thought to send me to the convent here 
 to Dona Concha Argiiello but it was so far, and 
 my mother does not like to travel. So Dona Concha 
 came to us for a year, and, after, I studied with an in- 
 structor who came from Mexico to educate my brother 
 and me." She had no intention of being communica- 
 tive with Diego Estenega, but his keen reflective gaze 
 confused her, and she took refuge in words. 
 
 "Dona Eustaquia tells me that, unlike most of our 
 women, you have read many books. Few Californian 
 women care for anything but to look beautiful and to 
 marry not, however, being unique in that respect. 
 Would you not rather live in our capital? You are so 
 far away, down there, and there are but few of the 
 gent e de razon, no ? ' ' 
 
 "We are well satisfied, senor, and we are gay when 
 we wish. There are ten families in the town, and many 
 rancheros within a hundred leagues. They think noth- 
 ing of coming to our balls. And we have ground relig- 
 ious processions, and bull-fights, and races. We have 
 beautiful canons for meriendas ; and I could dance every 
 night if I wished. We are few, but we are quite as gay 
 and quite as happy as you in your capital. ' ' The pride 
 of the Iturbi y Moncadas and of the Barbarina flashed 
 in her eyes, then made way for anger under the amused 
 glance of Estenega. 
 
 ' ' Oh, of course ! " he said teasingly. ' ' But then you are 
 to Monterey what Monterey is to the city of Mexico. Par- 
 don me, senorita ; I would not anger you for all the gold 
 which is said to lie like rocks under our Californias, if 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 213 
 
 it be true that certain padres hold that mighty secret. 
 (God! how I should like to get one by the throat and 
 throttle it out of him!) Pardon me again, senorita; 
 I was going to say that you may be pleased to know 
 there is little magnificence where my ranches are 
 high on the coast, among the redwoods. I live in a 
 house made of big ugly logs, unpainted. There are no 
 cavalcades in the cold depths of those redwood forests, 
 and the ocean beats against ragged cliffs. Only at Fort 
 Boss, in her log palace, does the beautiful Russian 
 Princess Helene Rotschev strive occasionally to make 
 herself and others forget that the forest is not the Bois 
 of her beloved Paris, that in it the grizzly and the pan- 
 ther hunger for her, and that an Indian chieftain, mad 
 with love for the only fair-haired woman he has ever 
 seen, is determined to carry her off " 
 
 * ' Tell me ! tell me ! ' ' cried Chonita eagerly, forgetting 
 her role and her enemy. "What is that? I do not 
 know the princess, although she has sent me word many 
 times to visit her. Did an Indian try to carry her off ? " 
 
 "It happened only the other day. Prince Solano, 
 perhaps you have heard, is chief of all the tribes of 
 Sonoma, Valley of the Moon. He is a handsome animal, 
 with a strong will and remarkable organizing abilities. 
 One day I was entertaining the Rotschevs at dinner 
 when Solano suddenly flung the door open and strode 
 into the room; we are old friends, and my servants do 
 not stand on ceremony with him. As he caught sight of 
 the princess he halted abruptly, stared at her for a mo- 
 ment, much as the first man may have stared at the first 
 woman, then turned and left the house, sprang on his 
 mustang, and galloped away. The princess, you must 
 know, is as blonde as only a Russian can be, and an 
 extremely pretty woman, small and dainty. No wonder 
 the mighty prince of darkness took fire. She was much 
 amused. So was Rotschev, and he joked her the rest of 
 the evening. Before he left, however, I had a word 
 with him alone, and warned him not to let the princess 
 stray beyond the walls of the fortress. That same night 
 
214 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 I sent a courier to General Vallejo who, fortunately, 
 was at Sonoma bidding him watch Solano. And, sure 
 enough the day I left for Monterey the Princess Helene 
 was in hysterics, Kotschev was swearing like a mad- 
 man, and a soldier was at every carronade; word had 
 just come from General Vallejo that he had that morn- 
 ing intercepted Solano in his triumphant march, at the 
 head of six tribes, upon Fort Ross, and sent him flying 
 back to his mountain-top in disorder and bitterness of 
 spirit. ' ' 
 
 4 'That is very interesting !' ' cried Chonita. "I like 
 that. What an experience those Russians have had! 
 That terrible tragedy Ah, I remember, it was you who 
 were to have aided Natalie Ivanhov 1 in her escape " 
 
 "Ah!" said Estenega. "Do not speak of that. Here 
 we are. At your service, senorita." He sprang to the 
 whaleboned pavement in front of the little church facing 
 the blue bay and surrounded by the gray ruins of the 
 old Presidio, and lifted her down. 
 
 Chonita, recalled, and angry with herself for having 
 been beguiled by her enemy, took the infant from the 
 nurse's arms and carried it fearfully up the aisle. Es- 
 tenega, walking beside her, regarded her meditatively. 
 
 ' ' What is she ? " he thought, ' ' this Calif ornian woman 
 with her hair of gold and her unmistakable intellect, her 
 marble face crossed now and again by the animation of 
 the clever American woman? What an anomaly to find 
 on the shores of the Pacific! All I had heard of The 
 Doomswoman, The Golden Senorita, gave me no idea of 
 this. What a pity that our houses are at war ! She is 
 not maternal, at all events; I never saw a baby held so 
 awkwardly. What a poise of head! She looks better 
 fitted for tragedy than for this little comedy of life in 
 the Californias. A sovereignty would suit her, were it 
 not for her eyes. They are not quite so calm and just 
 and inexorable as the rest of her face. She would not 
 even make a good household tyrant, like Dona Jacoba 
 
 1 People merely referred to in this book are characters in ' ' The 
 Splendid Idle Forties." 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 215 
 
 Duncan. Unquestionably she is religious, and swaddled 
 in all the traditions of her race ; but her eyes they are 
 at odds with all the rest of her. They are not lovely 
 eyes; they lack softness and languor and tractability ; 
 their expression changes too often, and they mirror too 
 much intelligence for loveliness, but they never will be 
 old eyes, and they never will cease to look. And they 
 are the eyes best worth looking into that I have ever 
 seen. No, a sovereignty would not suit her at all; a 
 salon might. But, like a few of us, she is some years 
 ahead of her sphere. Glory be to the Californias of the 
 future, when we are dust and our children have found 
 the gold!" 
 
 The baby was nearly baptized by the time he had fin- 
 ished his soliloquy. She had kicked alarmingly when 
 the salt was laid on her tongue, and squalled under 
 the deluge of water which gave her her name and also 
 wet Chonita's sleeve. The godmother longed for the 
 ceremony to be over; but it was more protracted than 
 usual, owing to the importance of the restless object on 
 the pillow in her weary arms. When the last word was 
 said, she handed pillow and baby to the nurse with a 
 fervent sigh of relief, which made her appear girlish 
 and natural. 
 
 After Estenega had lifted her to her horse, he dried 
 her sleeve with his handkerchief. He lingered over the 
 task ; the cavalcade and populace went on without them, 
 and when they started they were in the rearward of the 
 chattering crowd. 
 
 * ' Do you know what I thought as I stood beside you in 
 the church?" he asked. 
 
 * ' No, ' ' she said indifferently. ' 1 1 hope you prayed for 
 the fortune of the little one. ' ' 
 
 "I did not; nor did you. You were too afraid you 
 would drop it. I was thinking how unmotherly, I had 
 almost said unwomanly, you looked. You were made 
 for the great world the restless world, where people fly 
 faster from monotony than from a tidal wave. ' ' 
 
 She looked at him with cold dignity, but flushed a 
 
216 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 little. "I am not unwomanly, serior, although I con- 
 fess I do not understand babies, and do detest to sew. 
 But if I ever marry I shall be a good wife and mother. 
 No Spanish woman was ever otherwise, for every Span- 
 ish woman has had a good mother for example. " 
 
 "You have said exactly what you should have said, 
 prompted by the inborn principles and sentiments of 
 the Spanish woman. I should be interested to know 
 what your individual sentiments are. But you misun- 
 derstand me. I said that you were too good for the 
 average lot of woman. You are a woman, not a doll; 
 an intelligence, not a bundle of shallow emotions and 
 transient desires. You should have a larger destiny. ' ' 
 
 She gave him a swift sidelong flash from eyes that 
 suddenly looked childish and eager. 
 
 "It is true," she said frankly, "I have no desire to 
 marry and have many children. My father has never 
 said to me, "Thou must marry;' and I have sometimes 
 thought I should say 'No' when that time came. For the 
 present I am contented with my books and to ride about 
 the country on a wild horse; but perhaps I do not 
 know I may not always be contented with that. Some- 
 times when reading Shakespeare I have imagined my- 
 self each of those women in turn. But generally, of 
 course, I have thought little of being any one but my- 
 self. What else could I be here?" 
 
 * ' Nothing ; excepting a Jeanne d 'Arc when the Amer- 
 icans sweep down upon us. But that would be only 
 for a day ; we should be such easy prey. If I could put 
 you to sleep and awaken you fifty years hence, when 
 California is a modern civilization! God speed the 
 Americans! Therein lies our only chance." 
 
 "What!" she cried. "You you would have the 
 Americans ? You a Calif ornian ! But you are an Es- 
 tenega; that explains everything." 
 
 "I am a Calif ornian, " he said, "but I hope I have 
 acquired some common sense in roving about the world. 
 The women of California are admirable in every way 
 chaste, strong of character, industrious, devoted wives 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 217 
 
 and mothers, born with sufficient capacity for small 
 pleasures. But what are our men? Idle, thriftless, un- 
 ambitious, too lazy to walk across the street, but with a 
 horse for every step, sleeping all day in a hammock, 
 gambling and drinking all night. They are the natural 
 followers of a race of men who came here to force for- 
 tune out of an unbroken country with little to help 
 them but brains and will. The great effort produced 
 great results ; therefore there is nothing for their sons to 
 do, and they luxuriously do nothing. "What will the next 
 generation be? Our women will marry Americans 
 respect for men who are men will overcome prejudice 
 the crossed blood will fight for a generation or two, then 
 a race will be born worthy of California. Why are our 
 few great men so very great to us ? What have men of 
 exceptional talent to fight down in the Californias ex- 
 cept the barriers to its development? In England or 
 the United States they still would be great men Alva- 
 rado and Castro, at least but they would have to work 
 harder." 
 
 Chonita, in spite of her disapproval and her blood, 
 looked at him with interest. His ideas and language 
 were strikingly unlike the sentimental rhetoric of the 
 caballeros. 
 
 "It is as you say," she admitted; "but the Calif or- 
 nian's highest duty is loyalty to his country. Ours is a 
 double duty, isolated as we are on this far strip of land, 
 away from all other civilization. We should be more 
 contemptible than Indians if we were not true to our 
 flag." 
 
 "No wonder that you and that famous patriot of 
 ours, Dona Eustaquia Ortega, are bonded friends. I 
 doubt if you could hate as well as she. You have no 
 such violence in your nature; you could neither love 
 nor hate very hard. You would love (if you loved at 
 all) with majesty and serenity, and hate with chill sever- 
 ity. ' ' While he spoke he watched her intently. 
 
 She met his gaze unflinchingly. ' ' True, senor ; I am no 
 * bundle of shallow emotions, ' nor have I lion in me, like 
 
218 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Eustaquia. I am a creature of deliberation, not of im- 
 pulse : I love and hate as duty dictates. ' ' 
 
 "You are by nature the most impulsive woman I ever 
 saw," he said, much amused, "and Eustaquia 's lion is 
 a kitten to the one that sleeps in you. You have cold 
 deliberation enough, but it is manufactured, and the 
 result of pretty hard work at that. Like all edifices 
 reared without a foundation, it will fall with a crash 
 some day, and the fragments will be of very little use 
 to you." And there the conversation ended; they had 
 reached the plaza, and a babel of voices surrounded 
 them. Governor Alvarado stood on the upper corri- 
 dor (verandah) of his house, throwing handfuls of small 
 gold coins among the people, who were shrieking with 
 delight. The girl guests mingled with them, seeing that 
 no palm went home empty. Beside the Governor sat 
 Dona Martina, radiant with pride, and behind her stood 
 the nurse, holding the infant on its pillow. 
 
 "We had better go to the house as soon as possible," 
 said Estenega. "It is nearly time for the bull-bear 
 fight, and we must have good seats. ' ' 
 
 They forced their way through the crowd, dismounted 
 at the door, and went up to the corridor. The Castros 
 and I were already there, with a number of other in- 
 vited guests. The women sat in chairs, close to the cor- 
 ridor railing; several rows of men stood behind them. 
 
 The plaza was a jagged circle surrounded by dwelling- 
 houses, some one story in height, others with overhang- 
 ing balconies; from it radiated five streets. All corri- 
 dors were crowded with splendidly dressed men and 
 women of the aristocracy ; large black fans were waving ; 
 every eye was flashing expectantly; the people stood on 
 platforms which had been erected in four of the streets. 
 
 Amid the shouts of the spectators, two vaqueros, 
 dressed in black velvet short-clothes, dazzling linen, and 
 stiff black sombreros, tinkling bells attached to their 
 trappings, jingling spurs on their heels, galloped 
 into the plaza, driving a large aggressive bull. 
 They chased him about in a circle, swinging their reatas, 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 219 
 
 dodging his onslaughts, then rode out, and four others 
 entered, dragging an unwilling bear by a reata tied to 
 each of its legs. By means of a long chain and much 
 dexterity they fastened the two beasts together, freed 
 the legs of the bear, then retired to the entrance to 
 await events. But the bull and the bear would not fight. 
 The latter arose on his haunches and regarded his en- 
 emy warily. The bull appeared to disdain the bear as 
 too small game ; he but lowered his horns and pawed the 
 ground. The spectators grew impatient. The brave 
 caballeros and dainty donas wanted blood. They tapped 
 their feet and murmured ominously. As for the popu- 
 lace, it howled for slaughter. Governor Alvarado made 
 a sign to one of the vaqueros ; the man rushed abruptly 
 upon the bull and hit him a sharp blow across the nose 
 with the cruel quirto. The bull's dignity vanished. 
 With the quadrupedian capacity for measuring distance, 
 he inferred that the blow had been inflicted by the bear, 
 who sat some twenty feet away, mildly licking his paws. 
 He made a savage onset. The bear, with the dexterity 
 of a vaquero, leaped aside and sprang upon the assail- 
 ant's neck, his teeth meeting argumentatively in the 
 rope-like tendons. The bull roared with pain and rage, 
 and attempted to shake him off; but he hung on; both 
 lost their footing and rolled over and over amid clouds 
 of dust, a mighty noise, and enough blood to satisfy the 
 early thirst of the beholders. Then the bull wrenched 
 himself free ; before the mountain visitor could scramble 
 to his feet, he fixed him with his horns and tossed him 
 on high. As the bear came down on his back with a 
 thud and a snap, which would have satisfied a bull less 
 anxious to show what a bull could do, the victor rushed 
 upon the corpse, kicked and stamped and bit until the 
 blood spouted into his eyes, and pulp and dust were 
 indistinguishable. Then how the delighted spectators 
 clapped their hands and cried "Brava!" to the bull, 
 who pranced about the plaza, dragging the carcass of the 
 bear after him, his head high, his big eyes red and 
 rolling! The women tore off their rebosos and waved 
 
220 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 them like banners, smashed their fans, and stamped their 
 little feet ; the men whirled their sombreros with supple 
 wrists. But the bull was not satisfied; he pawed the 
 ground with demanding hoofs, and the vaqueros gal- 
 loped into the ring with another bear. Nor had they 
 time to detach their reatas before the bull was upon 
 the second antagonist, and they were obliged to retire 
 in haste. 
 
 Estenega, who stood between Chonita and myself, 
 watched The Doomswoman attentively. Her lips were 
 compressed fiercely; for a moment they bore a strange 
 resemblance to his own as I had seen them at times. Her 
 nostrils were expanded, her lids half covered her eyes. 
 "She has cruelty in her," he murmured to me as the 
 first battle finished; "and it was her imperious wish 
 that the bull should win, because he is the more lordly 
 animal. She has no sympathy for the poor bundle of 
 hair and quivering flesh that bounded on the mountain 
 yesterday. Has she brutality in her ? just enough " 
 
 "Brava! Brava!" The women were on their feet; 
 even Chonita for the moment forgot herself, and beat 
 the railing with her small fist. Another bear had been 
 impaled and tossed and trampled. The bull, panting 
 from his exertions, dashed about the plaza, still drag- 
 ging his first victim after him. Suddenly he stopped; 
 the blood gushed from his nostrils; he shivered like a 
 skeleton hanging in the wind, then fell in an ignominious 
 heap dead. 
 
 "A warning, Diego, " I said, rising and shaking my 
 fan at him. "Be not too ambitious, else wilt thou die 
 of thy victories. And do not love the polar star," I 
 murmured in his ear, "lest thou set fire to it and fall to 
 ashes thyself." 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 IN the long dining-room, opening upon the large high- 
 walled garden at the back of the Governor's house, a 
 feast was spread for fifty people. Dona Martina sat for 
 a little time at the head of the table, her yellow gown 
 almost hidden by the masses of hair which her small 
 head could not support. Castro was on one side of her, 
 Estenega on the other, Chonita by her arch-enemy. A 
 large bunch of artificial flowers was at each plate, and 
 the table was loaded with yellowed chickens sitting 
 proudly in scarlet gravy, tongues covered with walnut 
 sauce, grilled meats, tamales, mounds of tortillas, and 
 dulces. 
 
 Alvarado, at the lower end of the table, sat between 
 Dona Modeste Castro and myself; and between the ex- 
 tremes of the board were faces glowing, beautiful, ugly, 
 but without exception fresh and young. From all, the 
 mantilla and serape had been removed, jewels sparkle'd 
 in the lace shirts of the men, white throats were encir- 
 cled by the invariable necklace of Baja Calif ornian 
 pearls. Chonita alone wore a string of black pearls. I 
 never saw her without it. 
 
 Dona Martina took little part in the talk and laughter, 
 and after a time slipped away, motioning to Chonita to 
 take her place. The conversation turned upon war and 
 politics, and in its course Estenega, looking from Cho- 
 nita to Castro with a smile of good-natured irony, said : 
 
 "Dona Chonita is of your opinion, coronel, that Cali- 
 fornia was the direct gift of Heaven to the Spaniards, 
 and that the Americans cannot have us. ' ' 
 
 Castro raised his glass to the comadre. "Dona Cho- 
 nita has the loyal bosom of all Californian women. Our 
 men love better the olive of peace than the flavor of 
 
 221 
 
222 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 discord; but did the bandoleros dare to approach our 
 peaceful shores with dastardly intent to rob, then, thanks 
 be to God, I know that every man among them would 
 fight for this virgin land. You, too, Diego, you would 
 unsheathe your sword, in spite of your pretended ad- 
 miration of the Americans." 
 
 Estenega raised his shoulders. "Possibly. But in 
 American occupation lies the hope of California. What 
 have we done with it in our seventy years of possession f 
 Built a few missions, which are rotting, terrorized or 
 cajoled a few thousand worthless Indians into civilized 
 imbecility, and raised a respectable number of horses 
 and cattle. Our hide and tallow trade is only good ; the 
 Russians have monopolized the fur trade; we continue 
 to raise cattle and horses because it would be an exer- 
 tion to suppress them ; and meanwhile we dawdle away 
 our lives very pleasurably, while a magnificent terri- 
 tory, filled with gold and richer still in soil, lies idle 
 beneath our feet. Nature never works without a plan. 
 She compounded a wonderful country, and she created 
 a wonderful people to develop it. She has allowed us 
 to drone on it for a little time, but it was not made for 
 us ; and I am sufficiently interested in California to wish 
 to see her rise from her sleep and feel and live in every 
 part of her." He turned suddenly to Chonita. "If I 
 were a sculptor, ' ' he said, ' ' I should use you as a model 
 for a statue of California. I have the somewhat whimsi- 
 cal idea that you are the human embodiment of her. ' ' 
 
 Before she could muster her startled and angry facul- 
 ties for reply, before Estenega had finished speaking, 
 Castro brought his open palm down on the table, his 
 eyes blazing. 
 
 "Oh, execrable profanation!" he cried. "Oh, un- 
 heard-of perfidy ! Is it possible that a man calling him- 
 self a Californian could give utterance to such senti- 
 ments? Oh, abomination! You would invite, welcome, 
 uphold the American adventurer ? You would tear apart 
 the bosom of your country under pretence of doctoring 
 its evils ? You would cast this fair gift of Almighty God 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 223 
 
 at the feet of American swine? Oh, Diego! Diego! 
 This comes of the heretic books you have read. It is 
 better to have heart than brain." 
 
 ' l True ; the palpitations do not last as long. We have 
 had proof which I need not recapitulate that to preserve 
 California to herself she must be tied fast to Mexico, 
 otherwise would she die of anarchy or fall a prey to 
 the first invader. So far so good. But what has Mex- 
 ico done for California ? Nothing ; and she will do less. 
 She is a mother who has forgotten the child she put out 
 to nurse. England and France and Russia would do as 
 little. But the United States, young and ambitious, will 
 give her greedy attention, and out of their greed will 
 California 's good be wrought. And although they sweep 
 us from the earth, they will plant fruit where they found 
 weeds. ' ' 
 
 Don Jose pushed back his chair violently and left the 
 table. Estenega turned to Chonita and found her pallid, 
 her nostrils tense, her eyes flashing. 
 
 "Traitor!" she articulated. "I hate you! And it 
 was you you who kept my loyal brother from serving 
 his country in the Departmental Junta. He is as full 
 of fire and patriotism as Castro; and yet you, whose 
 blood is ice, could be a member of the Electoral College 
 and defeat the election of a man who is as much an honor 
 to his country as you are a shame." 
 
 He smiled a little cruelly, but without anger or shame 
 in his face. "Senorita," he said, "I defeated your 
 brother because I did not believe him to be of any use 
 to his country. He would only have been in the way as 
 a member of the Junta, and an older and wiser man 
 wanted the place. Your brother has Don Jose 's enthusi- 
 asm without his magnetism and remarkable executive 
 power. He is too young to have had experience, and has 
 done neither reading nor thinking. Therefore, I did my 
 best to defeat him. Pardon my rudeness, senorita; 
 ascribe it to revenge for calling me a traitor." 
 
 "You you " she stammered, then bent her head 
 
 over her plate, her Spanish dignity aghast at the threat- 
 
224 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 ening tears. Her hand hung clinched at her side. Diego 
 took it in spite of resistance, and, opening the rigid 
 fingers, bent his head beneath the board and kissed 
 them. 
 
 "I believe you are somewhat of a woman, after all," 
 he said. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE party deserted the table for the garden, there to 
 idle until evening should give them the dance. All of 
 the men, and most of the women, smoked cigaritos, the 
 women using the gold or silver holder, supporting it be- 
 tween the thumb and finger. The high walls of the gar- 
 den were covered with the delicate fragrant pink Cas- 
 tilian roses, and the girls plucked them and laid them 
 in their hair. 
 
 i l Does it look well, Don Diego ? ' ' asked one girl, hold- 
 ing her head coquettishly on one side. 
 
 "It looked better on its vine," he said absently. He 
 was looking for Chonita, who had disappeared. "Roses 
 are like women: they lose their subtler fragrance when 
 plucked; but, like women, their heads always droop in- 
 vitingly." 
 
 ' ' I do not understand you, Don Diego, ' ' said the girl, 
 fixing her wide innocent eyes on the young man's in- 
 scrutable face. "What do you mean?" 
 
 "That thou art sweeter than Castilian roses," he 
 said, and passed on. "And how is your little one?" he 
 asked a young matron whose lithe beauty had won his 
 admiration a year ago, but to whom maternity had been 
 too generous. She raised her soft brown eyes, out of 
 which the coquettish sparkle had gone. 
 
 1 ' Beautiful ! Beautiful ! ' ' she cried. ' ' And so clever, 
 Don Diego. He beats the air with his little fists, and 
 Holy Mary, I swear it ! he winks one eye when I tickle 
 him." 
 
 Estenega sauntered down the garden, endeavoring to 
 imagine Chonita fat and classified. He could not. He 
 paused beside a woman who did not raise her eyes at 
 once, but coquettishly pretended to be absorbed in the 
 
 225 
 
226 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 conversation of those about her. She, too, had been mar- 
 ried a year and more, but her figure had not lost its 
 elegance, and she was very handsome. Her coquetry 
 was partly fear. Estenega 's power was felt alike by 
 innocent girls and chaste matrons. There were few scan- 
 dals in those days; the women of the aristocracy were 
 virtuous by instinct and rigid social laws; but, how it 
 would be hard to tell, Estenega had acquired the repu- 
 tation of being a dangerous man. Perhaps it had fol- 
 lowed him back from the city of Mexico, where, at one 
 time, he had spent three years as diputado, and whence 
 returned with a brilliant and startling record of gal- 
 lantry. A woman had followed on the next ship, and, 
 unless I am much mistaken, Diego passed many uneasy 
 hours before he persuaded her to return to Mexico. Then 
 old Don Jose Briones' beautiful young wife was found 
 dead in her bed one morning, and the old women who 
 dressed the body swore that there were marks of hard 
 skinny fingers on her throat. Estenega had made no 
 secret of his admiration of her. At different times girls 
 of the people had left Monterey suddenly, and vague 
 rumors had floated down from the North that they had 
 been seen in the redwood forests where Estenega 's 
 ranches lay. I asked him, point-blank, one day, if 
 these stories were true, prepared to scold him as he de- 
 served ; and he remarked coolly that stories of that sort 
 were always exaggerated, as well as a man's success 
 with women. But one had only to look at that face, 
 with its expression of bitter-humorous knowledge, its 
 combination of strength and weakness, to feel sure that 
 there were chapters in his life that no woman outside of 
 them would ever read. I always felt, when with Diego 
 Estenega, that I was in the presence of a man who had 
 little left to learn of life's manifold phases and sensa- 
 tions. 
 
 "The sun will freckle your white neck," he said to 
 the matron who would not raise her eyes. "Shall I 
 bring your mantilla, Doiia Carmen ? ' ' 
 
 She looked up with a swift blush, then lowered her 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 227 
 
 soft black eyes suddenly before the penetrating gaze of 
 the man who was so different from the caballeros. 
 
 "It is not well to be too vain, senor. We must think 
 less of those things and more of of our Church. ' ' 
 
 "True; the Church may be a surer road to heaven 
 than a good complexion, if less of a talisman on earth. 
 Still I doubt if a freckled virgin would have commanded 
 the admiration of the centuries, or even of the Holy 
 Ghost. " 
 
 "Don Diego! Don Diego!" cried a dozen horrified 
 voices. 
 
 "Diego Estenega, if it were any man but you," I ex- 
 claimed, "I should have you excommunicated. You 
 blasphemer! How could you?" 
 
 Diego raised my threatening hand to his lips. "My 
 dear Eustaquia, it was merely a way of saying that 
 woman should be without blemish. And is not the 
 Virgin the model for all women ? ' ' 
 
 "Oh," I exclaimed impatiently, "you can plant an 
 idea in people's minds, then pluck it out before their 
 very eyes, and make them believe it never was there. 
 That is your power but not over me. I know you." 
 We were standing apart, and I had dropped my voice. 
 "But come and talk to me a while. I cannot stand those 
 babies," and I indicated with a sweep of my fan the 
 graceful richly dressed caballeros, whose soft drooping 
 eyes and sensuous mouths were more promising of com- 
 pliments than conversation. "Neither Alvarado nor 
 Castro is here. You, too, would have gone in a moment 
 had I not captured you." 
 
 * ' On the contrary, I should have captured you. If we 
 were not too old friends for flirting, I should say that 
 your handsome-ugly face is the most attractive in the 
 garden. It is a pretty picture, though," he went on 
 meditatively "those women in their gay soft gowns, 
 coquetting demurely with the caballeros. Their eyes and 
 mouths are like flowers; and their skin is so white, and 
 their hair so black ! The high wall, covered with green 
 leaves and Castilian roses, was purposely designed by 
 
228 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Nature for their background. Sometimes I have a pass- 
 ing regret that it is all doomed, and, half a century 
 hence, will have passed out of memory." 
 
 ' ' What do you mean ? " I asked sharply. 
 
 "Oh, we will not discuss the question of the future. 
 I sent Castro away from the table in a towering rage, 
 and it is too hot to excite you. Even the impassive 
 Doomswoman became so angry that she could not eat 
 her dinner." 
 
 "It is your old wish for American occupation the 
 bandoleros ! No ; I will not discuss it with you. I have 
 gone to bed with my head bursting when we have talked 
 of it before. You might have spared poor Jose. But 
 let us talk of something else Chonita. What do you 
 think of her?" 
 
 "A thousand things more than one usually thinks of 
 a woman after the first interview." 
 
 "But do you think her beautiful?" 
 
 "She is better than beautiful. She is original." 
 
 "I often wonder if she would be La Favorita of the 
 South if it were not for her father's great wealth and 
 position. The men who profess to be her slaves must 
 have absorbed the knowledge that she has the brains 
 they have not, although she conceals her superiority from 
 them admirably. Her pride and love of power demand 
 that she shall be La Favorita, although her caballeros 
 must weary her. If she made them feel their insignifi- 
 cance for a moment they would fly to the standard of 
 her rival, Valencia Menendez, and her regalities would 
 be gone forever. A few of her adorers have gambled all 
 night to dull the pangs of unrequited passion, but I 
 doubt if anyone has really loved her. Such women re- 
 ceive a surfeit of admiration, but little love. If she 
 were an unintellectual woman she would have an ex- 
 traordinary power over men, with he*r beauty and her 
 subtle charm ; but now she is isolated. What a pity that 
 your houses are at war ! ' ' 
 
 He had been looking away from me. As I finished 
 speaking he turned his face slowly toward me, first the 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 229 
 
 profile, which looked as if cut rapidly with a sharp knife 
 out of ivory, then the full face, with its eyes set so 
 deeply under the scraggy brows, its mouth grimly hu- 
 morous. He looked somewhat sardonic and decidedly 
 selfish. Well I knew what that expression meant. He 
 had the kindest heart I had ever known, but it never 
 interfered with a most self-indulgent nature. Many 
 times I had begged him to be considerate of some girl 
 who I knew charmed him for the moment only ; but one 
 secret of his success with women was his unfeigned if 
 brief enthusiasm. 
 
 "Let her alone !" I exclaimed. "You cannot marry 
 her. She would go into a convent before she would sac- 
 rifice the traditions of her house. And if you were not 
 at war, and she married you, you would only make her 
 miserably happy." 
 
 He merely smiled and continued to look me straight in 
 the eyes. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 I WENT upstairs, and found Chonita reading Lander's 
 "Imaginary Conversations. " (When Chonita was 
 eighteen she was now twenty-four 'Don Alfredo Rob- 
 inson, one of the American residents, had, at her father 's 
 request, sent to Boston for a library of several hundred 
 books, a birthday gift for the ambitious daughter of the 
 Iturbi y Moncadas. The selection was an admirable one, 
 and a rancho would have pleased her less. She read 
 English and French with ease, although she spoke both 
 languages brokenly.) As I entered, she laid down the 
 book and clasped her hands behind her head. She 
 looked tranquil, but less amiable than was her wont. 
 
 "You have been far away from the caballeros and the 
 donas of Monterey, ' ' I said. 
 
 "Not even among Spanish ghosts." 
 
 "I think you care at heart for nothing but your 
 books." 
 
 ' ' And a few people, and my religion. ' ' 
 
 "But they come second, although you will not ac- 
 knowledge it even to yourself. Suppose you had to sac- 
 rifice your religion or your books never to read another 
 which would you choose?" 
 
 "God of my soul! what a question! No Spanish 
 woman was ever a truer Catholic; but to read is my 
 happiness, the only happiness I want on earth. ' ' 
 
 "Are you sure that to train the intellect means hap- 
 piness ? ' ' 
 
 "Quite sure. Does it not give us the power to ab- 
 stract ourselves from life when we are .tired of it ? " 
 
 "True; but there is another result you have not 
 thought of. The more the intellect is developed, the 
 more acute and aggressive is the nervous system; the 
 
 230 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 231 
 
 more tenacious is the memory, the more has one to live 
 with, and the higher the ideals. When the time comes 
 for you to live you will suffer with double the intensity 
 and depth of the woman whose nerves are dull or 
 stunted.'' 
 
 "To suffer you must love, and I never shall love. 
 Whom is there to love ? Books always suffice me, and I 
 suppose there are enough in the world to make the time 
 pass as long as I live. ' ' 
 
 I did not continue the argument, knowing the placid 
 superiority of inexperience. 
 
 "But you have not yet told me which you would 
 give up." 
 
 "The books, of course. I hope I know my duty. I 
 would sacrifice all things to my religion. But the 
 priests do not interfere now as they did." 
 
 I was very religious in those days, and my heart beat 
 with approval. "I have always said that the Church 
 may let women read what they choose. The good prin- 
 ciples they are born with they will adhere to." 
 
 "We are by nature conservatives, that is all. And 
 we have need of religion. We must have something to 
 lean on, and men are poor props, as far as I have ob- 
 served. Sometimes after having read a long while in an 
 absorbing book, particularly one that seemed to put 
 something with a living hand into my brain and make it 
 feel larger, I find that I am miles away from the 
 Church; I have forgotten its existence. I always run 
 back." 
 
 "Dios! I should think so. Yes, it is well we do need 
 our religion. Men do not; for that reason they drop it 
 the moment the wings on their minds grow fast as they 
 would, when the warm sun came out, drop the thick 
 blanket of the Indian, borrowed and gratefully worn in 
 dark uncertain weather. I do not dare ask Diego Es- 
 tenega what he believes, lest he tell me he believes noth- 
 ing and I should have to hear it. How do you like my 
 friend, Chonita?" 
 
232 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "Are you asking me how I like the enemy of my 
 house ? I hate him ! ' ' 
 
 "If he goes to Santa Barbara with Alvarado this 
 summer, shall you ask him to be your guest ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' Of course. The enmity has always been veiled with 
 much courtesy ; and I would have him see that we know 
 how to entertain. ' ' 
 
 I watched her covertly; I could detect no sign of in- 
 terest. Presently she took up the volume of Landor and 
 read aloud to me, the stately English sounding oddly 
 with her Spanish accent. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 AT ten o'clock the large sala of the Governor's house 
 was thronged with guests, and the music of the flute, 
 harp, and guitar floated through the open windows ; the 
 musicians sat on the corridor. How harmonious was 
 the Monterey ballroom of that day! the women in 
 their white gowns of every rich material, the men in 
 white trousers, black silk jackets, and low morocco shoes ; 
 no color except in the jewels and the rich Southern 
 faces. The bare ugly sala, from which the uglier fur- 
 niture had been removed, needed no ornaments with that 
 moving beauty; and even the coffee-colored high-stom- 
 ached old people were picturesque. I wander through 
 those deserted salas sometimes, and, as the tears blister 
 my eyes, imagination and memory people the cold rooms, 
 and I forget that the dashing caballeros and lovely donas 
 who once called Monterey their own and made it a liv- 
 ing picture-book, are dust beneath the wild oats and 
 thistles of the deserted cemetery on the hill. The Amer- 
 icans hardly know that such a people once existed. 
 
 Chonita entered the sala at eleven o 'clock, looking like 
 a snow queen. Her gold hair, which always glittered like 
 metal, was arranged to simulate a crown; she wore a 
 gown of Spanish lace, and no jewels but the string of 
 black pearls. I never had seen her look so cold and so 
 regal. 
 
 Estenega stepped out upon the corridor. "Play El 
 Son," he said peremptorily. Then as the vivacious mu- 
 sic began he walked over to Chonita and clapped his 
 hands in front of her as authoritatively as he had bidden 
 the musicians. What he did was of frequent occurrence 
 in the Californian ballroom, but she looked haughtily 
 rebellious. He continued to strike his hands together, 
 
 233 
 
234 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 and looked down upon her with an amused smile which 
 brought the angry color to her face. Her hesitation 
 aroused the eagerness of the other men, and they cried 
 loudly : 
 
 1 ' El Son ! El Son ! senorita. ' ' 
 
 She could no longer refuse, and, passing Estenega 
 with head erect, she bent it slightly to the caballeros and 
 passed to the middle of the room, the other guests re- 
 treating to the wall. She stood for a moment, swaying 
 her body slightly; then, raising her gown high enough 
 for the lace to sweep the instep of her small arched feet, 
 she tapped the floor in exact time to the music for a few 
 moments, then glided dreamily along the sala, her wil- 
 lowy body falling in lovely lines, unfolding every detail 
 of El Son, unheeding the low ripple of approval. Then, 
 dropping her gown, she spun the length of the room like 
 a white cloud caught in a cyclone ; her garments whirred, 
 her heels clicked, her motion grew faster and swifter, 
 until the spectators panted for breath. Then, unmindful 
 of the lively melody, she drifted slowly down, swaying 
 languidly, her long round arms now lolling in the lace 
 of her gown, now lifted to graceful sweep and curve. 
 The caballeros shouted their appreciation, flinging gold 
 and silver at her feet ; never had El Son been given with 
 such variations before. Never did I see greater enthusi- 
 asm until the night which culminated the tragedy of 
 Ysabel Herrera. Estenega stood enraptured, watching 
 every motion of her body, every expression of her face. 
 The blood blazed in her cheeks, her eyes were like green 
 stars, and sparkled wickedly. The cold curves of her 
 statuesque mouth were warm and soft, her chin was 
 saucily uplifted, her heavy waving hair fell over her 
 shoulders to her knees, a glittering veil. Where had 
 The Doomswoman, the proud daughter of the Iturbi y 
 Moncadas, gone? 
 
 The girls were a little frightened; this was not the 
 dance to which they were accustomed. The young ma- 
 trons frowned. The old people exclaimed, "Caramba!" 
 ' ' Mother of God ! " " Holy Mary ! " I was aghast ; well 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 235 
 
 as I knew her, this was a piece of audacity for which I 
 was unprepared. 
 
 As the dance went on and she grew more and more 
 like an untamed wood-nymph, even the caballeros be- 
 came vaguely uneasy, hotly as they admired the beautiful 
 wild thing enchaining their gaze. I looked again at 
 Estenega, and knew that his heart beat in passionate 
 sympathy. 
 
 "I have found her," he murmured exultantly. "She 
 is California, magnificent, audacious, incomprehensible, 
 a creature of storms and convulsions and impregnable 
 calm ; the germs of all good and all bad in her ; woman 
 sublimated. Every husk of tradition has fallen from 
 her." 
 
 Once, as she passed Estenega, her eyes met his. They 
 lit with a glance of recognition, then the lids drooped, 
 and she floated on. He left the room, and when he re- 
 turned she sat on a window-seat, surrounded by cabal- 
 leros, as calm and as pale as when he had commanded 
 her to dance. He did not approach her, but joined me 
 at the upper end of the sala, where I stood with Alva- 
 rado, the Castros, Don Thomas Larkin the United 
 States Consul and half a dozen others. We were dis- 
 cussing Chonita's interpretation of El Son. 
 
 "That was a strange outbreak for a Spanish girl," 
 said Senor Larkin. 
 
 "She is Chonita Iturbi y Moncada," said Castro se- 
 verely. "She is like no other woman, and what she 
 does is right." 
 
 The consul bowed. "True, coronel. I have seen no 
 one here like Dona Chonita. There is a delicious uni- 
 formity about the Calif ornian women; so reserved, 
 shrinking yet dignified, ever on their guard. Dona Cho- 
 nita changed so swiftly from the typical woman of her 
 race to an houri, almost a bacchante only an extraordi- 
 nary refinement of nature kept her this side of the line 
 that an American would be tempted to call her ec- 
 centric." 
 
 Alvarado lifted his hand and pointed through the 
 
236 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 window to the stars. ' ' The golden coals in the blue fire 
 of heaven are not higher above censure/' he said. 
 
 Doiia Modeste raised her eyebrows. "Coals are 
 safest when burned on the domestic hearth and care- 
 fully watched; safer still when they have fallen to 
 ashes. ' ' 
 
 "What is this rumor of pirates on the coast?" de- 
 manded Alvarado abruptly. 
 
 I put my hand through Estenega 's arm and drew him 
 aside. The music of the contradanza was playing, and 
 we stood against the wall. 
 
 "Well, you know Chonita better since that dance," I 
 said to him. "Polar stars are not unlikely to have vol- 
 canoes. Better let the deeps alone, my friend ; the lava 
 might scorch you badly. Women of complex natures 
 are interesting studies, but dangerous to love. They 
 wear the nerves to a point, and the tired brain and heart 
 turn gratefully to the crystalline idle-minded woman. 
 She is too much like yourself, Diego. And you how 
 long could you love anybody? Love with you means 
 curiosity." 
 
 His face looked like chalk for a moment, an indica- 
 tion with him of suppressed and violent emotion. Then 
 he turned his head and regarded me with a slight smile. 
 "Not altogether. You forget that the most faithless 
 men have been the most faithful when they have found 
 the one woman. Curiosity and fickleness mean restless 
 seeking nothing more. ' ' 
 
 "I was sure you would acquit yourself with credit! 
 But you have an unholy charm, and you never hesitate 
 to exert it." 
 
 He laughed outright. "One would think I was a 
 rattlesnake. My unholy charm consists of a reasonable 
 amount of address born of a great weakness for women, 
 and some personal magnetism the latter the offspring 
 of the habit of mental concentration " 
 
 "And an inexorable will " 
 
 "Perhaps. As to the exercise of it why not? Vive 
 la lagatelle!" 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 237 
 
 "It is useless to argue with you. Are you going to 
 let that girl alone V 
 
 "She is the only girl in the Calif ornias whom I shall 
 not let alone. ' ' 
 
 I could have shaken him. "To what end? And her 
 brother? I have often wondered which would rule you 
 in a crisis, your head or your passions. ' ' 
 
 "It would depend upon the crisis. I am afraid you 
 are right that altiloquent Eeinaldo will give trouble." 
 
 "Is it true that he has been conspiring with Carillo, 
 and that an extraordinary and secret session of the 
 Departmental Junta has been called?" 
 
 He looked down upon me with his grimmest smile. 
 "You curious little woman! You must not put your 
 white fingers into the Departmental pie. If you had 
 been a man, with as good a brain as you have for a 
 woman, you would have been an ornament to our poli- 
 tics. But as it is pardon me the better for our bal- 
 ancing country the less you have to do with it. ' ' 
 
 I could feel my eyes snap. "You respect no woman's 
 mind, ' ' I said savagely ; ' ' nothing but the woman in her. 
 But I will not quarrel with you. Tell that baby over 
 there to come and waltz with me." 
 
 At dawn, as we entered our room, I seized Chonita 
 by the shoulders and shook her. "What did you mean 
 by such a performance ? " I demanded. ' * It was unprece- 
 dented!" 
 
 She threw back her head and laughed. "I could not 
 help it," she said. "First, I felt an irresistible desire 
 to show Monterey that I dared do anything I chose. 
 And then I have a wild something in me which has 
 often threatened to break loose before; and to-night it 
 did. It was that man. He made me." 
 
 "Ay, Dios!" I thought, "it has begun already." 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE festivities were to last a week, everyone taking part 
 but Alvarado and Dona Martina. She was not strong 
 enough; the Governor cared more for duty than for 
 pleasure. 
 
 The next day we had a merienda on the hills behind 
 the town. The green pine woods were gay with the 
 bright colors of the young people. Here and there a 
 caballero dashed up and down to show his horsemanship 
 and the silver and embroidered silk of his saddle. Sil- 
 ver, too, were his jingling spurs, the eagles on his som- 
 brero, the buttons on his colorous silken jacket. Horses, 
 without exception handsomely trapped, were tethered 
 everywhere, pawing the ground or nibbling the grass. 
 The girls wore white or flowered silk or muslin gowns, 
 and rebosos about their heads; the brown ugly duenas, 
 ever at their sides, were foils they would gladly have 
 dispensed with. The tinkle of the guitar never ceased, 
 and the sweet voices of the girls and the rich voices of 
 the men broke forth with the joyous spontaneity of the 
 birds' songs about them. 
 
 Chonita wore a white silk gown, I remember, flow- 
 ered with blue large blue lilies. The reboso matched 
 the gown. As soon as we arrived we were a little late 
 she was surrounded by caballeros, who hardly knew 
 whether to like her or not, but who adhered to the 
 knowledge that she was Chonita Iturbi y Moncada, the 
 most famous beauty of the South. 
 
 "Dios! but thou art beautiful/' murmured one, his 
 dreamy eyes dwelling on her shining hair. 
 
 "Gracias, senor!" She whispered it as bashfully as 
 the maidens to whom he was accustomed, her eyes fixed 
 upon a rose she held. 
 
 238 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 239 
 
 "Will you not stay with us here in Monterey?" 
 
 She raised her eyes slowly he could not but feel the 
 effort gave him one bewildering glance, half appealing, 
 half protesting, then dropped them suddenly. 
 
 "Wilt thou stay with me?" panted the caballero. 
 
 "Ay, senor! you must not speak like that. Someone 
 will hear you." 
 
 ' ' I care not ! God of my life ! I care not ! Wilt thou 
 marry me?" 
 
 * ' You must not speak to me of marriage, senor. It is 
 to my father you should speak. Would I, a Californian 
 maiden, betroth myself without his knowledge ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' Holy Heaven ! I will ! But give me one word that 
 thou lovest me one word!" 
 
 She lifted her chin saucily and turned to another 
 caballero, who, I doubt not, proposed also. Estenega, 
 who had watched her, laughed. 
 
 "She acts the part to perfection," he said to me. 
 "Either natural or acquired coquetry has more to do 
 with saving her from the solitary plane of the intellec- 
 tual woman than her beauty or her father 's wealth. I 
 am inclined to think that it is acquired. I do not be- 
 lieve that she is a coquette at heart, any more than that 
 she is the marble doomswoman she fondly believes her- 
 self." 
 
 "You will tell her that," I exclaimed angrily; "and 
 she will end by loving you because you understand her ; 
 all women want to be understood. Why don't you go 
 to Paris again? You have not been there for a long 
 time." 
 
 Not deeming this suggestion worthy of answer, he left 
 me and joined the little court about Chonita, who was 
 glancing over the top of her fan into the ardent eyes 
 of a third caballero. 
 
 "You will step on a bunch of nettles in a moment," 
 he said practically. "Your slippers are very thin; you 
 had better stand over here on the path." And he dex- 
 terously separated her from the other men, "Will you 
 
240 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 walk to that opening over there with me? I want to 
 show you a better view of Monterey. ' ' 
 
 His manner had not a touch of gallantry, and she 
 was tired of the cahalleros. 
 
 "Very well," she said. "I will look at the view." 
 
 As she followed him she noted that he led her where 
 the bushes were thinnest, and kicked the stones from her 
 path. She also remarked the nervous energy of his thin 
 figure. * t It comes from his love of the Americans, ' ' she 
 thought angrily. "He must even walk like them. The 
 Americans ! ' ' And she brought her teeth together with 
 a sharp click. 
 
 He turned, smiling. "You look very disapproving," 
 he said. "What have I done?" 
 
 "You look like an American! You even wear their 
 clothes, and they are the color of smoke ; and you wear 
 no lace. How cold and uninteresting a scene would this 
 be if all the men were dressed as you are ! ' ' 
 
 "We cannot all be made for decorative purposes. 
 And you are as unlike those girls, in all but your dress, 
 as I am unlike the men. I will not incur your wrath 
 by saying that you are American; but you are modern. 
 Our lovely compatriots were the same three hundred 
 years ago. Will Dona California be pleased to observe 
 that whale spouting in the bay? There is the tree be- 
 neath which Junipero Serra said his first mass in this 
 part of the country. Did you ever see bay bluer than 
 that? or sand whiter? or a more perfect semicircle of 
 hills than this? or a more straggling town? There is 
 the Custom-house on the rocks. You will go to a ball 
 there to-night, and hear the boom of the surf as you 
 dance." He turned with one of his sudden impatient 
 motions. ' ' Suppose we ride. The air is too sharp to lie 
 about under the trees. This white horse mates your 
 gown. Let us go over to Carmelo." 
 
 "I should like to go," she said doubtfully; his abrupt- 
 ness and energy were like a running fire of criticism on 
 the languid men of her race, and she resented it, but his 
 conversation interested her, and her free spirit ap- 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 241 
 
 proved of a ride over the hills unattended by duena. 
 "But you know I do not like you." 
 
 ' ' Oh, never mind that ; the ride will interest you just 
 the same." And he lifted her to the horse, sprang on 
 another, caught her bridle, lest she should rebel, and 
 galloped up the road. When they were on the other 
 side of the hill he slackened speed and looked at her 
 with a smile. She was inclined to be angry, but found 
 herself watching the varying expressions of his mouth, 
 which diverted her mind. It was a baffling mouth, even 
 to experienced women, and Chonita could make nothing 
 of it. It had neither sweetness nor softness, but she 
 had never felt impelled to study the mouth of a cabal- 
 lero. And then she wondered how a man with a mouth 
 like that could have manners so gentle. 
 
 "Are you aware," he said abruptly, "that your 
 brother is accused of conspiracy ? ' ' 
 
 "What?" She looked at him as if she inferred that 
 this was the order of badinage that an Iturbi y Mon- 
 cada might expect from an Estenega. 
 
 "I am not joking. It is quite true." 
 
 "It is not true! Keinaldo conspire against his gov- 
 ernment? Some one has lied. And you are ready to 
 believe!" 
 
 "I hope some one has lied. The news is very direct, 
 however. ' ' He looked at her speculatively. ' ' The more 
 obstacles the better, ' ' he thought ; l ' and we may as well 
 declare war on this question at once. It would be idle 
 to begin as a hypocrite, when every act would tell her 
 what I thought of him. Moreover, he will have more or 
 less influence over her until her eyes are opened to his 
 true worth. She will not believe me, of course, but she 
 is a woman who only needs an impetus to do a good 
 deal of thinking and noting." 
 
 "I am going to make you angry," he said. "I am 
 going to tell you that I do not share your admiration of 
 your brother. He has ten thousand words for every 
 idea, and although, God knows, we have more time than 
 anything else in this land of the poppy where only the 
 
242 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 horses run, still there are more profitable ways of em- 
 ploying it than to listen to meaningless and bombastic 
 words. Moreover, your brother is a dangerous man. 
 No man is so safe in seclusion as the one of large vani- 
 ties and small abilities. He is not big enough to con- 
 ceive a revolution, but is ready to be the tool of any 
 unscrupulous man who is, and, having too much egotism 
 to follow orders, will ruin a project at the last moment 
 by attempting to think for himself. I do not say these 
 things wantonly to insult you, senorita, only to let you 
 know at once how I regard your brother, that you may 
 not accuse me of treachery or hypocrisy later. ' ' 
 
 He had expected and hoped that she would turn upon 
 him with a burst of fury ; but she had drawn herself up 
 to her most stately height. Her mouth was as hard as 
 a pink jewel, her eyes glittered like ice. 
 
 "Sefior," she said, "it seems to me that you, too, 
 waste many words in speaking of my brother ; for what 
 you say of him cannot interest me. I have known him 
 for twenty-two years; you have seen him four or six 
 times. What can you tell me of him? Not only is he 
 my brother and the natural object of my love and devo- 
 tion, but he is Reinaldo Iturbi y Moncada, the last male 
 descendant of his house, and as such I hold him in a 
 regard only second to that which I bear to my father. 
 And with the blood in him he could not be otherwise 
 than a great and good man. ' ' 
 
 Estenega looked at her with the first stab of doubt he 
 had felt. ' ' She is Spanish in her marrow, ' ' he thought 
 "the steadfast unreasoning child of traditions. I could 
 not well be at greater disadvantage. But she is mag- 
 nificent. ' ' 
 
 "Another thing which was unnecessary," she added, 
 "was to defend yourself to me or to tell me how you 
 feel toward my brother, and why. We are enemies by 
 tradition and instinct. We shall rarely meet, and shall 
 probably never talk together again." 
 
 1 1 We shall talk together more times than you will care 
 to count. I have much to say to you, and you shall lis- 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 243 
 
 ten. But we will discuss the matter no further at 
 present. Shall we gallop ?" 
 
 He spurred his horse, and once more they fled through 
 the pine woods. Before long they entered the valley of 
 Carmelo. The mountains were massive and gloomy, the 
 little bay was blue and quiet, the surf of the ocean 
 roared about Point Lobos, Carmelo River crawled be- 
 neath its willows. In the middle of the valley stood the 
 impressive yellow church, with its Roman tower and 
 rose-window ; about it were the crumbling brown hovels 
 of the deserted Mission. Once as they rode Estenega 
 thought he heard voices, but could not be sure, so loud 
 was the clatter of the horses' hoofs. As they reached 
 the square they drew rein swiftly, the horses standing 
 upright at the sudden halt. Then strange sounds came 
 to them through the open doors of the church; ribald 
 shouts and loud laughter, curses and noise of smashing 
 glass, such songs as never were sung in Carmelo before ; 
 an infernal clash of sound which mingled incongruously 
 with the solemn mass of the surf. Chonita 's eyes flashed. 
 Even Estenega 's face darkened; the traditions planted 
 in plastic youth arose and rebelled at the desecration. 
 
 "Some drunken sailors," he said. "There do you 
 see that?" A craft rounded Point Lobos. "Pirates!" 
 
 "Holy Mary!" exclaimed Chonita. 
 
 "Let down your hair," he said peremptorily; "and 
 follow all that I suggest. We will drive them out." 
 
 She obeyed him without question, excited and inter- 
 ested. Then they rode to the doors and threw them 
 wide. 
 
 The upper end of the long church was swarming with 
 pirates; there was no mistaking those bold cruel faces, 
 blackened by sun and wind, half covered with ragged 
 hair. They stood on the benches, they bestrode the rail- 
 ing, they swarmed over the altar, shouting and carous- 
 ing in riotous wassail. Their coarse red shirts were 
 flung back from hairy chests ; their faces were distorted 
 with rum and sacrilegious delight. Every station, every 
 candlestick, had been hurled to the floor and trampled 
 
244 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 upon. The crucifix stood on its head. Sitting high on 
 the altar, reeling and waving a communion goblet, was 
 the drunken chief, singing a blasphemous song of the 
 pirate seas. The voices rumbled strangely down the 
 hollow body of the church ; to perfect the scene, flames 
 should, have leaped among the swinging arms and bound- 
 ing forms. 
 
 "Come/' said Estenega. He spurred his horse, and 
 together they galloped down the stone pavement of the 
 edifice. The men turned at the loud sound of horses' 
 hoofs; "but the riders were in their midst, scattering 
 them right and left, before they realized what was hap- 
 pening. The horses were brought to a sudden halt. 
 Estenega rose in his stirrups, his fine bold face looking 
 down impassively upon the demoniacal gang, that could 
 have rent him apart, but that stood, silent and startled, 
 gazing from him to the beautiful woman, whose white 
 gown looked part of the white horse she rode. Estenega 
 raised his hand and pointed to Chonita. 
 
 ' ' The Virgin ! ' ' he said, in a hollow, impressive voice. 
 "The Mother of God! She has come to defend her 
 church. Go!" 
 
 Chonita 's face blanched to the lips, but she looked at 
 the sacrilegists sternly. Fortune favored the audacity 
 of Estenega. The sunlight, drifting through the star- 
 window above the doors at the lower end of the church, 
 smote the uplifted golden head of Chonita, wreathing 
 it with a halo, gifting the face with unearthly beauty. 
 
 "Go!" repeated Estenega, "lest she weep. With ev- 
 ery tear a heart will cease to beat. ' ' 
 
 The chief scrambled down from the altar and ran 
 like a rat past Chonita, his swollen mouth drooping. 
 The others crouched and followed, stumbling one over 
 the other, their dark evil faces bloodless, their knees 
 knocking together with superstitious terror. They fled 
 from the church and down to the bay, and swam to 
 their craft. Estenega and Chonita rode out. They 
 watched the ugly vessel scurry round Point Lobos. 
 Then Chonita spoke for the first time. 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 245 
 
 " Blasphemer!" she exclaimed. " Mother of God, wilt 
 thou ever forgive me ? " 
 
 1 1 Why not call me a Jesuit ? It was a case where mind 
 or matter must triumph. And you can confess your 
 enforced sin, say a hundred aves or so, and be whiter 
 than snow again ; whereas, had our Mission of Carmelo 
 been razed to the ground, as it was in a fair way to be, 
 California would have lost an historical monument. ' ' 
 
 "And Junipero Serra's bones are there, and it was 
 his favorite Mission," said the girl unwillingly. 
 
 "Exactly. And now that you are reasonably sure of 
 being forgiven, will not you forgive me? I shall ask 
 no priest's forgiveness." 
 
 She looked at him a moment, then shook her head. 
 " No ; I cannot forgive you for having made me commit 
 what may be a mortal sin. But, Holy Heaven ! I can- 
 not help saying it you are very quick!" 
 
 "For each idea is a moment born. Upon whether 
 we wed the two or think too late depends the success or 
 the failure of our lives. ' ' 
 
 "Suppose," she said suddenly, "suppose you had 
 failed, and those men had seized me and made me cap- 
 tive ; what then ? ' ' 
 
 "I should have killed you. Not one of them should 
 have touched you. But I had no doubts, or I should not 
 have made the attempt. I know the superstitious na- 
 ture of sailors, especially when they are drunk. Shall 
 we gallop back? They will have eaten all the dulces." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 MONTEREY danced every night, and all night, of that 
 week, either at Alvarado 's or at the Custom-house, and 
 every afternoon met at the races, the bull-fight, a meri- 
 enda, or to climb the greased pole, catch the greased pig 
 by its tail as it ran, or exhibit skill in horsemanship. 
 Chonita, at times an imperious coquette, at others in- 
 different, perverse, or coy, was La Favorita without ap- 
 peal, and the girls alternately worshiped her she was 
 abstractedly kind to them or heartily wished her back 
 in Santa Barbara. Estenega rarely attended the sociali- 
 ties, being closeted with Alvarado and Castro most of 
 the time, and when he did she avoided him if she could. 
 The pirates had fled and were seen no more; but their 
 abrupt retreat, as describd by Chonita, continued to be 
 an exciting topic of discussion. There were few of us 
 who did not openly or secretly approve of Estenega ? s 
 Jesuitism and admire the nimbleness of his mind. The 
 clergy did not express itself. 
 
 On the last night of the festivities, when the women, 
 weary with the unusually late hours of the past week, 
 had left the ballroom early and sought their beds, and 
 the men, being at loss for other amusement, had gone in 
 a body to a saloon, there to drink and gamble and set 
 fire to each other's curls and trouser-seats, the Depart- 
 mental Junta met in secret session. The night was warm, 
 the plaza deserted ; all who were not in the saloon at the 
 other end of the town were asleep ; after the preliminary 
 words in Alvarado 's office the Junta picked up their 
 chairs and went forth to hold conclave where bulls and 
 bears had fought and the large indulgent moon gave 
 clearer light than suet lamps. They drew close 
 together, and, after rolling the cigarito, solemnly re- 
 
 246 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 247 
 
 garded the sky for a few moments without speaking. 
 Their purpose was a grave one. They met to try Pio 
 Pico for contempt of government and annoying insist- 
 ence in behalf of his pet project to remove the capital 
 from Monterey to Los Angeles; Jose Antonio Carillo 
 and Reinaldo Iturbi y Moncada for conspiracy ; and Gen- 
 eral Vallejo for evil disposition and unwarrantable com- 
 ments upon the policy of the administration. None of 
 the offenders was present. 
 
 With the exception of Alvarado, Castro, and Estenega, 
 the members of the Junta were men of middle age and 
 represented the political talent of California Ximeno, 
 Gonzale|, Argiiello, Requena, Del Valle. Their dark 
 bearded faces, upturned to the stars, made a striking set 
 of profiles ; but, alas ! about each dome of wisdom a silk 
 handkerchief was knotted, the ends standing out straight. 
 
 Alvarado spoke, finally, and, after presenting the 
 charges in due form, continued : 
 
 1 ' The individual enemy to the government is like the 
 fly to the lion; it cannot harm, but it can annoy. We 
 must brush away the fly as a vindication of our dignity, 
 and take precaution that he does not return, even if we 
 have to bend our heads to tie his little legs. I do not 
 purpose to be annoyed by these blistering midgets we 
 are met to consider, nor to have my term of administra- 
 tion spotted with their gall. I leave it to you, my com- 
 patriots and friends, to advise me what is best to do. ' ' 
 
 Ximeno put his feet on the side rung of Castro 's chair, 
 puffed a large gray cloud, and half closed his eyes. He 
 then, for three quarters of an hour, in a low musical 
 voice, discoursed upon the dignity of the administration 
 and the depravity of the offenders. When his brethren 
 were beginning to drop their heads and breathe heavily, 
 Alvarado politely interrupted him and referred the mat- 
 ter to Castro. 
 
 " Imprison them!" exclaimed the impetuous General, 
 suddenly alert. "With such a Governor and such a 
 people, this should be a land white as the mountain- 
 tops, unblemished by the tracks of mean, ambitions and 
 
248 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 sinful revolutions. Let us be summary, although not 
 cruel; let no man's blood flow while there are prisons 
 in the Calif ornias; but we must pluck up the roots of 
 conspiracy and disquiet, lest a thousand suckers grow 
 about them, as about the half-cut trunks of our red- 
 wood trees, and our Californias be no better than any 
 degenerate country of the Old World. Let us cast them 
 into prison without further debate. ' ' 
 
 ' ' The law, my dear Jose, gives them a trial, ' ' drawled 
 Gonzales. And then for a half hour he quoted such law 
 as was known in the country. When he finished, the 
 impatient and suppressed members of the Junta deliv- 
 ered their opinions simultaneously; only Estenega had 
 nothing to say. They argued and suggested, cited evi- 
 dence, defended and denounced, lashing themselves into 
 a mighty excitement. At length they were all on their 
 feet, gesticulating and prancing. 
 
 " Mother of God!" cried Requena. "Let us give 
 Vallejo a taste of his own cruelty. Let us put him in a 
 temascal and set those of his Indian victims who are 
 still alive to roast him out " 
 
 "No! no! Vallejo is maligned. He had no hand in 
 that massacre. His heart is whiter than an angel's " 
 
 "It is his liver that is white. His heart is black as a 
 black snake's. To the devil with him!" 
 
 "Make a law that Pio Pico can never put foot out of 
 Los Angeles again, since he loves it so well " 
 
 "His ugly face would spoil the next generation " 
 
 "Death to Carillo and Iturbi y Moncada! Death to 
 all! Let the poison out of the veins of California!" 
 
 "No! no! As little blood in California as possible. 
 Put them in prison, and keep them on frijoles and water 
 for a year. That will cure rebellion; no chickens, no 
 dulces, no aguardiente " 
 
 Alvarado brought his staff of office down sharply upon 
 a board he had provided for the purpose. 
 
 "Gentlemen," he said, "will you not sit down and 
 smoke another cigarito ? We must be calm. ' ' 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 249 
 
 The Junta took to its chairs at once. Alvarado never 
 failed to command respect. 
 
 "Don Diego Estenega," said the Governor, "will you 
 tell us what you have thought while the others have 
 talked?" 
 
 Estenega, who had been star-gazing, turned to Al- 
 varado, ignoring the Junta. His keen brilliant eyes 
 gave the Governor a thrill of relief ; his mouth expressed 
 a mind made up and intolerant of argument. 
 
 "Vallejo," he said, "is like a horse that will neither 
 run nor back into his stall; he merely stands still and 
 kicks. His kicking makes a noise and raises a dust, but 
 does no harm. In other words, he will irritate, but 
 never take a responsibility. Send him an official notice 
 that if he does not keep quiet an armed force will march 
 upon Sonoma and imprison him in his own house, hu- 
 miliating him before the eyes of his soldiers and re- 
 tainers. 
 
 "As for Pio Pico, threaten to fine and punish him. 
 He will apologize at once, and be quiet for six months, 
 when you can call another secret session and issue an- 
 other threat. It would prolong the term of his submis- 
 sion to order him to appear before the Junta, and make 
 it an apology with due humility. 
 
 "Now for Carillo and Reinaldo Iturbi y Moncada." 
 He paused a moment and glanced at Chonita's grating. 
 He had the proofs of her brother's treason in his pocket ; 
 no one but himself had seen them. He hesitated the 
 fraction of another moment, then smiled grimly. "Oh, 
 Helen!" he thought, "the same old story." 
 
 "That Carillo is guilty," he said aloud, "is proven to 
 us beyond doubt. He has incited rebellion against the 
 government in behalf of Carlos Carillo. He is danger- 
 ous to the peace of the country. Iturbi y Moncada is 
 young and heedless, hardly to be considered seriously; 
 furthermore, it is impossible to obtain proof of his com- 
 plicity. His intimacy with Carillo gives him the appear- 
 ance of guilt. It would be well to frighten him a little 
 by a short term of imprisonment. He is restless and 
 
250 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 easily led; a lesson in time may save his honored house 
 from disaster. But to Carillo no quarter. " He rose 
 and stood over them. ' ' The best thing in Machiavelli 's 
 'Prince/ " he said, "is the author's advice to Caesar 
 Borgia to exterminate every member of the reigning 
 house of a conquered country, in order to avoid future 
 revolutions and their infinitely greater number of dead. 
 Do not let the water in your blood whimper for mercy. 
 You are not here to protect an individual, but a coun- 
 try." 
 
 "You are right," said Alvarado. 
 
 The others looked at the young man who had merely 
 given them the practical advice of statecraft as if he 
 had opened his chest and displayed the lamp of wisdom 
 burning. His freedom from excitement in all ordeals 
 which animated them to madness had long ago inspired 
 the suspicion that he was rather more than human. 
 They uttered not a protest. Alvarado 's one-eyed sec- 
 retary made notes of their approval; and the Junta, 
 after another friendly smoke, adjourned, well pleased 
 with itself. 
 
 ' ' Would I sacrifice my country for her a year hence ? ' ' 
 thought Estenega, as he sauntered home. "But, after 
 all, little harm is done. He is not worth killing, and 
 fright and discomfort will probably cure him." 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 CHONITA and Estenega faced each other among the Cas- 
 tilian roses of the garden behind the Governor's house. 
 The duena was nodding in a corner; the first-born of 
 the Alvarados, screaming within, absorbed the attention 
 of every member of the household, from the frantic 
 young mother to the practical nurse. 
 
 "My brother is to be arrested, you say ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 ' ' And at your suggestion ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And he may die?" 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 "Nothing would have been done if it had not been 
 for you ? ' ' 
 
 "Nothing." 
 
 "God of my life! Mother of God! how I hate you!" 
 
 "It is war, then?" 
 
 "I would kill you if I were not a Catholic." 
 
 "I will make you forget that you are a Catholic." 
 
 "You have made me remember it to my bitterest sor- 
 row. I hate you so mortally that I cannot go to con- 
 fession: I cannot forgive." 
 
 "I hope you will continue to hate for a time. Now 
 listen to me. You have several reasons for hating me. 
 My house is the enemy of yours. I am, to all intents 
 and purposes, an American; you can consider me as 
 such. I have that indifference for religious superstition 
 and intolerance for religion's thraldom which all minds 
 larger of circumference than a napkin-ring must come 
 to in time. I have endangered the life of your brother, 
 and I have opposed and shall oppose him in his political 
 aspirations; he has my unequivocal contempt. Neverthe- 
 
 251 
 
252 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 less, I tell you here that I should marry you were there 
 five hundred reasons for your hatred of me instead of 
 a paltry five. I shall take pleasure in demonstrating to 
 you that there is a force in the universe a good deal 
 stronger than traditions, religion, or even family ties." 
 
 His eyes were not those of a lover; they shone like 
 steel. His mouth was forbidding. She drew back from 
 him in terror, then struck her hands together passion- 
 ately. 
 
 * ' I marry you ! ' ' she cried. ' l An Estenega ! A rene- 
 gade ? May God cast me out of heaven if I do ! There ! 
 I have sworn ! I have sworn ! Do you think a Catholic 
 would break that vow ? I swear it by the Church and 
 I put the whole Church between us ! ' ' 
 
 "I told you just now that I would make you forget 
 your Church. ' ' He caught her hand and held it firmly. 
 "A last word," he said. "Your brother's life is safe; I 
 promise you that. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Let me go ! " she said. ' ' Let me go ! I fear you. ' ' 
 She was trembling; his warmth and magnetism had 
 sprung to her shoulder. 
 
 He gave her back her hand. ' ' Go ! " he said ; ' ' so ends 
 the first chapter." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 CASA GRANDE, 1 the mansion of the Iturbi y Moneadas in 
 Santa Barbara, stood at the right of the Presidio, fac- 
 ing the channel. A mile behind, under the shadow of 
 the gaunt rocky hills curving about the valley, was the 
 long white Mission, with its double towers, corridor of 
 many arches, and sloping roof covered with red tiles. 
 Between was the wild valley, where cattle grazed among 
 the trees and the massive bowlders. The red-tiled white 
 adobe houses of the Presidio and of the little town 
 clustered under its wing, the brown mud huts of the 
 Indians, were grouped in the foreground of the deep 
 valley. 
 
 The great house of the Iturbi y Moneadas, erected in 
 the first years of the century, was built about three sides 
 of a court, measuring one hundred feet each way. Like 
 most of the adobes of its time, it had but one story. A 
 wide-pillared corridor, protected by a sloping roof, 
 faced the court, which was as bare and hard as the floor 
 of a ballroom. Behind the dwelling were the manufac- 
 tories and huts of the Indian retainers. Don Guillermo 
 Iturbi y Moncada was the magnate of the South. His 
 ranches covered four hundred thousand acres ; his horses 
 and cattle were unnumbered. His Indians, carpenters, 
 coopers, saddlers, shoemakers, weavers, manufacturers 
 of household staples, supplied the garrison and town with 
 the necessaries of life ; he also did a large trading busi- 
 ness in hides and tallow. Kumor had it that in the 
 wooden tower built against the back of the house he 
 kept gold by the bushel-basketful; but no one called 
 
 1 In writing of Casa Grande and its inmates, no reference to the 
 distinguished De la Guerra family of Santa Barbara is intended, 
 beyond the description of their house and state, and of the general 
 characteristics of the founder of the family fortunes in California. 
 
 253 
 
254 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 him miser, for he gave the poor of the town all they ate 
 and wore, and kept a supply of drugs for their sick. 
 So beloved and revered was he that when earthquakes 
 shook the town, or fires threatened it from the hills, the 
 poor ran in a body to the court-yard of Casa Grande 
 and besought his protection. They never passed him 
 without saluting to the ground, nor his house without 
 bending their heads. And yet they feared him, for he 
 was an irascible old gentleman at times, and thumped 
 unmercifully when in a temper. Chonita, alone, could 
 manage him always. 
 
 When I returned to Santa Barbara with Chonita 
 after her visit to Monterey, the yellow fruit hung in the 
 padres 7 orchard, the grass was burning brown, sky and 
 water wore the hard blue of sapphire. 
 
 The afternoon of our arrival, Don Guillermo, Cho- 
 nita, and I were on the long middle corridor of the 
 house: in Santa Barbara one lived in the air. The old 
 don sat on the long green bench by the sala door. His 
 heavy flabby leathery face had no wrinkles but those 
 which curved from the corners of the mouth to the chin. 
 The thin upper lip was habitually pressed hard against 
 the small protruding under one, the mouth ending in 
 straight lines which seemed no part of the lips. His 
 small slanting eyes, usually stern, could snap with an- 
 ger, as they did to-day. The nose rose suddenly from 
 the middle of his face ; it might have been applied by a 
 child sculpturing with putty ; the flat bridge was crossed 
 by erratic lines. A fringe of grizzled hair escaped from 
 the black silk handkerchief wound as tightly as a tur- 
 ban about his head. He wore short clothes of dark brown 
 cloth, the jacket decorated with large silver buttons, a 
 red damask vest, shoes of embroidered deer-skin, and a 
 cravat of fine linen. 
 
 Chonita, in a white gown, a pale-green reboso about 
 her shoulders, her arms crossed, her head thoughtfully 
 bent forward, walked slowly up and down before him. 
 
 "Holy God!" cried the old man, pounding the floor 
 with his stick. "That they have dared to arrest my 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 255 
 
 son ! the son of Guillermo Iturbi y Moncada ! That Al- 
 varado, my friend and thy host, should have permitted 
 it!" 
 
 "Do not blame Alvarado, my father. Kemember, he 
 must listen to the Departmental Junta ; and this is their 
 work. Fool that I am!" she added to herself, "why do 
 I not tell who alone is to blame ? But I need no one to 
 help me hate him!" 
 
 "Is it true that this Estenega, of whom I hear so 
 much, is a member of the Junta ? ' ' 
 
 "It may be." 
 
 "If so, it is he, he alone, who has brought dishonor 
 upon my house. Again they have conquered ! ' ' 
 
 "This Estenega I met and who was compadre with 
 me for the baby lives little in California, my father. 
 If it be he who is a member of the Junta, he hardly could 
 rule such men as Alvarado, Ximeno, and Castro. I saw 
 no other Estenega. ' ' 
 
 ' ' True ! I must have other enemies in the North ; but 
 I had not known of it. But they shall learn of my 
 power in the South. Don Juan de la Borrasca went 
 to-day to Los Angeles with a bushel of gold to bail my 
 son, and both will be with us the day after to-morrow. 
 A curse upon Carillo but I will speak of it no more. 
 Tell me, my daughter God of my soul, but I am glad 
 to have thee back ! what thoughtest thou of this son of 
 the Estenegas? Is it Ramon, Esteban, or Diego? I 
 have seen none of them since they were little ones. I 
 remember Diego well. He had lightning in his little 
 tongue, and the devil in his brain. I liked him, although 
 he was the son of my enemy; and if he had been an 
 Iturbi y Moncada I should have made a great man of 
 him. Ay ! but he was quick. One day in Monterey, he 
 got under my feet and I fell flat, much imperiling my 
 dignity, for it was on Alvarado Street, and I was a 
 member of the Territorial Deputation. I could have 
 beaten him, I was so angry ; but he scrambled to his little 
 feet, and helping me to mine, he said, while dodging my 
 stick: 'Be not angry, senor. I gave my promise to the 
 
256 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 earth that thou shouldst kiss her, for all the world has 
 prayed that she should not embrace thee for ninety years 
 to come/ What could I do? I gave him a cake. Thou 
 smilest, my daughter; but thou wilt not commend the 
 enemy of thy house, no? Ah, well, we grow less bitter 
 as we grow old ; and although I hated his father I liked 
 Diego. Again, I remember, I was in Monterey, and he 
 was there; his father and I were both members of the 
 Deputation. Caramba ! what hot words passed between 
 us! But I was talking of Diego. I took a volume of 
 Shakespeare from him one day. 'Thou art too young 
 to read such books/ I said. 'A baby reading what the 
 good priests allow not men to read! I have not read 
 this heretic book of plays, and yet thou dost lie there 
 on thy stomach and drink in its wickedness.' 'It is 
 true,' he said, and how his steel eyes did flash; 'but 
 when I am as old as you, senor, my stomach will be flat 
 and my head will be big. You are the enemy of my 
 father, but, have you noticed, your stomach is bigger 
 than his, and he has conquered you in speech and in 
 politics more times than you have found vengeance for. 
 Ay! your ranches have richer soil and many more 
 cattle, but he has a library, Don Guillermo, and you have 
 not.' I spanked him then and there; but I never for- 
 got what he said, and thou hast read what thou listed. I 
 would not that the children of Alejandro Estenega 
 should know more than those pf Guillermo Iturbi y 
 Moncada. ' ' 
 
 "You have cause to be proud of Reinaldo, for he 
 sparkles like the spray of the fountain, and words are to 
 him like a shower of leaves in autumn. And yet, and 
 yet, ' ' she added, with angry candor, ' ' he has not a brain 
 like Diego Estenega. He is not a man, but a devil." 
 
 "A good brain has always a devil at the wheel; sharp 
 eyes have sharper nerves behind ; and lightning from a 
 big soul flashes fear into a little one. Diego is not a 
 devil I remember once I had a headache, and he bathed 
 my head, and the water ran down my neck and gave me 
 a cold which put me to bed for a week but he is the 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 257 
 
 devil's godson, and were he not the son of my enemy I 
 should love him. His father was cruel and vicious 
 but clever, Holy Mary ! Diego has his brain ; but he has, 
 too, the kind heart and gentle manner Ay ! Holy God ! 
 Come, come ; here are the horses. Call Prudencia, and 
 we will go to the bark and see what the good captain has 
 brought to tempt us." 
 
 Four horses led by vaqueros had entered the court- 
 yard. 
 
 "Prudeneia!" called Chonita. 
 
 A door opened, and a girl of small figure, with solemn 
 dark eyes and creamlike skin, her hair hanging in heavy 
 braids to her feet, stepped upon the corridor, draping a 
 pink reboso about her head. 
 
 "I am here, my cousin," she said, walking with all 
 the dignity of the Spanish woman, despite her plump 
 and inconsiderable person. "You are rested, Dona Eus- 
 taquia? Do we go to the ship, my uncle? and shall we 
 buy this afternoon? God of my life! I wonder has he 
 a high comb to make me look tall, and flesh-colored stock- 
 ings. My own are gone with holes. I do not like 
 white " 
 
 "Hush thy chatter," said her uncle. "How can I 
 tell what the captain has until I see? Come, my chil- 
 dren." 
 
 We sprang to our saddles, Don Guillermo mounted 
 heavily, and we cantered to the beach, followed by the 
 .ox-cart which would carry the fragile cargo home. A 
 boat took us to the bark, which sat motionless on the 
 placid channel. The captain greeted us with the lively 
 welcome due to eager and frequent purchasers. 
 
 "Now, curb your greed," cried Don Guillermo, as the 
 girls dropped down the companion-way, "for you have 
 more now than you can wear in five years. God of my 
 soul! if a bark came every day they would want every 
 shred on board. My daughter could tapestry the old. 
 house with the shawls she has." 
 
 "When I reached the cabin I found the table covered 
 with silks, satins, crepe shawls, combs, articles of lacquer- 
 
258 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 ware, jewels, silk stockings, slippers, spangled tulle, 
 handkerchiefs, fans, lace. The girls' eyes were sparkling. 
 Chonita clapped her hands and ran round the table, 
 pressing to her lips the beautiful white things she 
 quickly segregated, running her hand eagerly over the 
 little slippers, hanging the lace about her shoulders, 
 twisting a rope of garnets in her yellow hair. 
 
 ' ' Never have they been so beautiful, Eustaquia ! Is it 
 not so, my Prudencia?" she cried to the girl, who was 
 curled on one corner of the table, gloating over the treas- 
 ures she knew her uncle's generosity would make her 
 own. "Look how these little diamonds flash! And the 
 embroidery on this crepe! a dozen eyes went out, ay! 
 yi ! This satin is like a tile ! These fans were made in 
 Spain ! This is as big as a windmill. God of my soul ! ' ' 
 she threw a handful of yellow sewing-silk upon a piece 
 of white satin; "Ana shall embroider this gown the 
 golden poppies of California on a bank of mountain 
 snow. ' ' She suddenly seized a case of topaz and a piece 
 of scarlet silk, and ran over to me. I being a Monterena, 
 etiquette forbade me to purchase in Santa Barbara. 
 "You must have these, my Eustaquia. They will be- 
 come you well. And would you like any of my white 
 things ? Mary ! but I am selfish. Take what you will, 
 my friend." 
 
 To refuse would be to spoil her pleasure and insult 
 her hospitality, so I accepted the topaz of which I had 
 six sets already and the silk whose color prevailed in 
 my wardrobe and told her that I detested white, which 
 did not suit my weather-dark skin, and she was as blind 
 and as pleased as a child. 
 
 "But come, come!" she cried. "My father is not so 
 generous when he has to wait too long. ' ' 
 
 She gathered the mass of stuff in her arms and stag- 
 gered up the companionway. I followed, leaving Pru- 
 dencia raking the trove her short arms would not hold. 
 
 * ' Ay, my Chonita ! ' ' she wailed, * ' I cannot carry that 
 big piece of pink satin and that vase. And I have only 
 two pairs of slippers and one fan. Ay, Cho-n-i-i-ta, look 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 259 
 
 at those shawls ! Mother of God, suppose Valencia Men- 
 endez comes " 
 
 "Do not weep on the silk and spoil what you have/' 
 called down Chonita from the top step. "You shall 
 have all you can wear for a year. ' ' 
 
 She reached the deck, and stood, panting and imperi- 
 ous, before her father. "All! All! I must have all!" 
 she cried. "Never have they been so fine, so rich." 
 
 "Holy Mary!" shrieked Don Guillermo. "Do you 
 think I am made of doubloons that you would buy a 
 whole ship 's cargo ? You shall have a quarter ; no more 
 not a yard ! ' ' 
 
 "I shall have all!" And the stately daughter of the 
 Iturbi y Moncadas stamped her little foot upon the 
 deck. 
 
 "A third not a yard more. And diamonds! Holy 
 Heaven ! There is not gold enough in the Californias to 
 feed the extravagance of the Senorita Dona Chonita 
 Iturbi y Moncada." 
 
 She managed to bend her body in spite of her bur- 
 den, her eyes flashing saucily above the mass of tulle 
 which covered the rest of her face. 
 
 "And not fine raiment enough in the world to accord 
 with the state of the only daughter of the Senor Don 
 Guillermo Iturbi y Moncada, the delight and the pride 
 of his old age. Will you send these things to the North, 
 to be worn by an Estenega ? Your Chonita will cry her 
 eyes so red that she will be known as the ugly witch of 
 Santa Barbara, and Casa Grande will be like a tomb. ' ' 
 
 1 ' Oh, thou spoilt baby ! Thou wilt have thy way " 
 
 At this moment Prudencia appeared. Nothing whatever 
 could be seen of her small person but her feet; she- 
 looked like an exploded bale of goods. "What! what!" 
 gasped Don Guillermo. ' ' Thou little rat ! Thou wouldst 
 make a Christmas doll of thyself with satin that is too 
 heavy for thy grandmother, and eke out thy dumpy 
 inches with a train ? Oh, Mother of God ! ' ' He turned 
 to the captain, who was smoking complacently, assured 
 of the issue. ' * I will let them carry these things home ; 
 
260 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 but to-morrow, one-half, at least, comes back. ' ' And he 
 stamped wrathfully down the deck. 
 
 "Send the rest," said Chonita to the captain, "and 
 you shall have a bag of gold to-night. " 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE next morning Chonita, clad in a long gown of white 
 wool, a silver cross at her throat, her hair arranged like 
 a coronet, sat in a large chair in the dispensary. Her 
 father stood beside a table, parceling drugs. The sick- 
 poor of Santa Barbara passed them in a long line. 
 
 The Doomswoman exercised her power to heal, the 
 birthright of the twin. 
 
 "I wonder if I can," she said to me in English, lay- 
 ing her white fingers on a knotted arm, "or if it is my 
 father's medicines. I have no right to question this 
 beautiful faith of my country, but I really don't see 
 how I do it. Still, I suppose it is like many things in 
 our religion, not for mere human beings to understand. 
 This pleases my vanity, at least. I wonder if I shall 
 have cause to exercise my other endowment." 
 
 "To curse?" 
 
 "Yes; I think I might do that with something more 
 of sincerity." 
 
 The men, women, and children, native Californians 
 and Indians, scrubbed for the occasion, filed slowly past 
 her, and she touched all kindly and bade them be well. 
 They regarded her with adoring eyes and bent almost 
 to the ground. 
 
 "Perhaps they will help me out of purgatory," she 
 said ; ' t and it is something to be on a pedestal ; I should 
 not like to come down. It is a cheap victory, but so are 
 most of the victories that the world knows of." 
 
 When she had touched nearly a hundred, they gath- 
 ered about her, and she spoke a few words to them. 
 
 "My friends, go, and say, 'I shall be well/ Does not 
 the Bible say that faith shall make ye whole ? Cling to 
 your faith! Believe! Believe! Else will you feel as if 
 
 261 
 
262 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the world crumbled beneath your feet! And there is 
 nothing, nothing to take its place. What folly, what pre- 
 sumption, to suggest that anything can a mortal pas- 
 sion " She stopped suddenly, and continued coldly: 
 
 ' ' Go, my friends ; words do not come easily to me to-day. 
 Go, and God grant that you may be well and happy. " 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 WE sat in the sala the next evening, awaiting the return 
 of the prodigal and his deliverer. The night was cool, 
 and the doors were closed; coals burned in a roof-tile. 
 The room, unlike most Californian salas, boasted a car- 
 pet, and the furniture was covered with green rep, in- 
 stead of the usual black horse-hair. 
 
 Don Guillermo patted the table gently with his open 
 palm accompanying the tinkle of Prudencia 's guitar and 
 her light monotonous voice. She sat on the edge of a 
 chair, her solemn eyes fixed on a painting of Reinaldo 
 which hung on the wall. Dona Trinidad was sewing as 
 usual, and dressed as simply as if she looked to her 
 daughter to maintain the state of the Iturbi y Moncadas. 
 Above a black silk skirt she wore a black shawl, one end 
 thrown over her shoulder. About her head was a close 
 black silk turban, concealing, with the exception of two 
 soft gray locks on either side of her face, what little 
 hair she still may have possessed. Her white face was 
 delicately cut ; the lines of time indicated spiritual sweet- 
 ness rather than strength. 
 
 Chonita roved between the sala and an adjoining room 
 where four Indian girls embroidered the yellow poppies 
 on the white satin. I was reading one of her books 
 the "Vicar of Wakefield." 
 
 "Will you be glad to see Reinaldo, my Prudencia?" 
 asked Don Guillermo, as the song finished. 
 
 "Ay !" and the girl blushed. 
 
 ' ' Thou wouldst make a good wife for Reinaldo, and it 
 is well that he marry. It is true that he has a gay spirit 
 and loves company, but you shall live here in this house, 
 and if he is not a devoted husband he shall have no 
 money to spend. It is time he became a married man 
 
 263 
 
264 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 and learned that life was not made for dancing and flirt- 
 ing; then, too, would his restless spirit get him into 
 fewer broils. I have heard him speak twice of no other 
 women, save Valencia Menendez, and I would not have 
 her for a daughter. I think he loves thee." 
 
 "Surely!" said Dona Trinidad. 
 
 "That is love, I suppose," said Chonita, leaning back 
 in her chair and forgetting the poppies. "With her a 
 placid contented hope, with him a calm preference for 
 a malleable woman. If he left her for another she would 
 cry for a week, then serenely marry whom my father 
 bade her, and forget Reinaldo in the donas of the bride- 
 groom. The birds do almost as well. ' ' 
 
 Don Guillermo smiled indulgently. Prudencia did not 
 know whether to cry or not. Dona Trinidad, who never 
 thought of replying to her daughter, said: 
 
 1 ' Chonita mia, Liseta and Tomaso wish to marry, and 
 your father will give them the little house by the creek. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, mamacita?" said Chonita absently. She felt 
 no interest in the loves of the Indians. 
 
 "We have a new Father in the Mission," continued 
 her mother, remembering that she had not acquainted 
 her daughter with all the important events of her ab- 
 sence. "And Don Rafael Guzman's son was drafted. 
 That was a judgment for not marrying when his father 
 bade him. For that I shall be glad to have Reinaldo 
 marry. I would not have him go to the war to be killed. ' ' 
 
 1 1 No, ' ' said Don Guillermo. ' ' He must be a diputado 
 to Mexico. I would not lose my only son in battle. I 
 am ambitious for him ; and so art thou, Chonita, for thy 
 brother. Is it not so ? " 
 
 "Yes. I have it in me to stab the heart of any man 
 who rolls a stone in his way. ' ' 
 
 "My daughter," said Don Guillermo, with the accent 
 of duty rather than of reproof, "thou must love with- 
 out vengeance. Sustain thy brother, but harm not his 
 enemy. I would not have thee hate even an Estenega, 
 although I cannot love them myself. But we will not 
 talk of the Estenegas. Do you realize that our Reinaldo 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 265 
 
 will be with us this night? We must all go to confes- 
 sion to-morrow your mother and myself, Eustaquia, 
 Reinaldo, Prudencia, and yourself." 
 
 Chonita's face became rigid. "I cannot go to con- 
 fession/' she said. "It may be months before I can; 
 perhaps never. " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Can one go to confession with a hating and an un- 
 forgiving heart ! Ay ! that I never had gone to Monterey ! 
 At least I had the consolation of my religion before. 
 Now I fight the darkness by myself. Do not ask me 
 questions, for I shall not answer them. But taunt me 
 no more with confession. ' ' 
 
 Even Don Guillermo was dumb. In all the twenty- 
 four years of her life she never had betrayed violence of 
 spirit before ; even her hatred of the Estenegas had been 
 a religion rather than a personal feeling. It was the 
 first glimpse of her soul that she had accorded them, and 
 they were aghast. What what had happened to this 
 proud, reserved, careless daughter of the Iturbi y Mon- 
 cadas ? 
 
 Dona Trinidad drew down her mouth. Prudencia be- 
 gan to cry. Then, for the moment, Chonita was forgot- 
 ten. Two horses galloped into the courtyard. 
 
 " Reinaldo !" 
 
 The door had but an inside knob; Don Guillermo 
 threw it open as a young man sprang up the three steps 
 of the corridor, followed by a little man who carefully 
 picked his way. 
 
 "Yes, I am here, my father, my mother, my sister, 
 my Prudencia! Ay, Eustaquia, thou too." And the 
 pride of the house kissed each in turn, his dark eyes 
 wandering absently about the room. He was a dashing 
 caballero, and as handsome as any ever born in the 
 Californias. The dust of travel had been removed at a 
 saloon from his blue velvet gold-embroidered serape, 
 which he immediately flung on the floor. His short 
 jacket and trousers were also of dark-blue velvet, the 
 former decorated with buttons of silver filigree, the latter 
 
266 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 laced with silver cord over spotless linen. The front of 
 his shirt was covered with costly lace. His long botas 
 were of soft yellow leather stamped with designs in 
 silver and gartered with blue ribbon. The clanking 
 spurs were of silver inlaid with gold. The sash, knotted 
 gracefully over his hip, was of white silk. His curled 
 black hair was tied with a blue ribbon, and clung, clus- 
 tering and damp, about a low brow. He bore a strange 
 resemblance to Chonita, in spite of the difference of 
 color, but his eyes were merely large and brilliant ; they 
 had no stars in their shallows. His mouth was covered 
 by a heavy silken mustache, and his profile was bold. 
 At first glance he impressed one as a perfect type of 
 manly strength, aggressively decided of character. It 
 was only when he cast aside the wide sombrero which, 
 when worn a little back, most becomingly framed his 
 face that one saw the narrow insignificant head. 
 
 For a time there was no conversation, only a series of 
 exclamations. Chonita alone was calm, smiling a loving 
 welcome. In the excitement of the first moments little 
 notice was taken of the devoted bailer, who ardently re- 
 garded Chonita. 
 
 Don Juan de la Borrasca was flouting his sixties, 
 fighting for his youth as a parent fights for its young. 
 His withered little face wore the complacent smile of 
 vanity; his arched brows furnished him with a super- 
 cilious expression which atoned for his lack of inches; 
 he was barely five feet two. His large curved nose was 
 also a compensating gift from the god-mother of dig- 
 nity, and he carried himself so erectly that he looked 
 like a toy general. His small black eyes were bright as 
 glass beads, and his hair was ribboned as bravely as 
 Reinaldo's. He was clad in silk attire red silk em- 
 broidered with butterflies. His little hands were laden 
 with rings; carbuncles glowed in the lace of his shirt. 
 He was moderately wealthy, but a staunch retainer of 
 the house of Iturbi y Moncada, the devoted slave of 
 Chonita. 
 
 She was the first to remember him, and held out her 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 267 
 
 hand for him to kiss. "You have the gratitude of my 
 heart, dear friend/' she said, as the little dandy curved 
 over it. "I thank you a thousand times for bringing 
 my brother back to me." 
 
 "Ay, Dona Chonita, thanks be to God and Mary that 
 I was enabled so to do. Had my mission proved unsuc- 
 cessful, I should have committed a crime and gone to 
 prison with him. Never would I have returned here. 
 Dueno adorado, ever at thy feet." 
 
 Chonita smiled kindly, but she was listening to her 
 brother, who was now expatiating upon his wrongs to a 
 sympathetic audience. 
 
 "Holy Heaven!" he exclaimed, striding up and down 
 the room, ' ' that an Iturbi y Moncada, the descendant of 
 twenty generations, should be put to shame, to disgrace 
 and humiliation, by being cast into a common prison! 
 That an ardent patriot, a loyal subject of Mexico, should 
 be accused of conspiring against the judgment of an 
 Alvarado! Carillo was my friend, and had his cause 
 been a just one, I had gone with him to the gates of 
 death or the chair of state. But could I I conspire 
 against a wise and great man like Juan Bautista Alva- 
 rado? No! not even if Carillo had asked me so to do. 
 But, by the stars of heaven, he did not. I had been but 
 the guest of his bounty for a month ; the suspicious ras- 
 cals who spied upon us, the poor brains who compose the 
 Departmental Junta, took it for granted that an Iturbi 
 y Moncada could not be blind to Carillo 's plots and 
 plans and intrigues, that, having been the intimate of 
 his house and table, I must perforce aid and abet what- 
 ever schemes engrossed him. Ay, more often than fre- 
 quently did a dark surmise cross my mind, but I brushed 
 it aside as one does the prompting of evil desires. I 
 would not believe that a Carillo would plot, conspire, 
 and rise again, after the terrible lesson he had received 
 in 1838. Alvarado holds California to his heart ; Castro, 
 the Mars of the nineteenth century, hovers menacingly 
 on the horizon. Who, who, in sober reason, would defy 
 that brace of frowning gods ? ' ' 
 
268 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 His eloquence was cut short by respiratory interfer- 
 ence, but he continued to stride from one end of the 
 room to the other, his face flushed with excitement. Pru- 
 dencia's large eyes followed him, admiration paralyzing 
 her tongue. Dona Trinidad smiled upward with the 
 self-approval of the modest barn-yard lady who has 
 raised a magnificent bantam. Don Guillermo applauded 
 loudly. Only Chonita turned away, the truth smiting 
 her for the first time. 
 
 "Words! words !" she thought bitterly. "He would 
 have said all that in two sentences. Is it true ay, triste 
 de mi! what he said of my brother? I hate him, yet 
 his brain has cut mine and wedged there. My head 
 bows to him, even while all the Iturbi y Moncada in me 
 arises to curse him. But my brother! my brother! he 
 is so much younger. And if he had had the same ad- 
 vantages those years in Mexico and America and Eu- 
 rope would he not know as much as Diego Estenega? 
 Oh, surely! surely!" 
 
 "My son," Don Guillermo was saying, "God be 
 thanked that you did not merit your imprisonment. I 
 should have beaten you with my cane, and locked you 
 in your room for a month, had you disgraced my name. 
 But, as it happily is, you must have compensation for 
 unjust treatment. Prudencia, give me your hand." 
 
 The girl rose, trembling and blushing, but crossed the 
 room with stately step and stood beside her uncle. Don 
 Guillermo took her hand and placed it in Reinaldo's. 
 "Thou shalt have her, my son," he said. "I have di- 
 vined thy wishes." 
 
 Reinaldo kissed the small fingers fluttering in his, 
 making a great flourish. He was quite ready to marry, 
 and his pliant little cousin suited him better than any 
 one he knew. "Day-star of my eyes!" he exclaimed, 
 "consolation of my soul! Memories of injustice, dis- 
 comfort, and sadness fall into the waters of oblivion 
 rolling at thy feet. I see neither past nor future. The 
 rose-hued curtain of youth and hope falls behind and 
 before us." 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 269 
 
 "Yes, yes," assented Prudencia delightedly. "My 
 Reinaldo ! my Reinaldo ! ' ' 
 
 "We congratulated them severally and collectively, and, 
 when the ceremony was over, Reinaldo cried, with even 
 more enthusiasm than he had yet shown, "My mother, 
 for the love of Mary give me something to eat tamales, 
 salad, chicken, dulces. Don Juan and I are as empty as 
 hides. " 
 
 Dona Trinidad smiled with the pride of the Califor- 
 nian housewife. "It is ready, my son. Come to the 
 dining-room, no?" 
 
 She led the way, followed by the family, Reinaldo and 
 Prudencia lingering. As the others crossed the thresh- 
 old he drew her back. 
 
 "A lump of tallow, do you hear, my Prudencia?" he 
 whispered hurriedly. "Put it under the green bench. 
 I must have it to-night. ' ' 
 
 "Ay! Reinaldo " 
 
 "Do not refuse, my Prudencia, if you love me. Will 
 you do it?" 
 
 "Surely, my Reinaldo." 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE family retired early in its brief seasons of reclu- 
 sion, and at ten o 'clock Casa Grande was dark and quiet. 
 Reinaldo opened his door and listened cautiously, then 
 stepped softly to the green bench and felt beneath for 
 the lump of tallow. It was there. He returned to his 
 room and swung himself from his window into the yard, 
 about which were irregularly disposed the manufactories 
 of the Indians, a high wall protecting the small ' ' town. ' ' 
 All was quiet here, and had been for hours. He tiptoed 
 to the wooden tower and mounted a ladder, lifting it 
 from story to story until he reached the attic under the 
 pointed roof. Then he lit a candle, and, removing a 
 board from the floor, peered down into the room whose 
 door was always so securely locked. The stars shone 
 through the uncurtained windows, and were no yellower 
 than the gold coins heaped on the large table and over- 
 flowing the baskets. Eeinaldo took a long pole from a 
 corner, and applied to one end a piece of the soft tallow. 
 He lowered the pole and pressed it firmly into the pile 
 of gold on the table. The pole was withdrawn, and this 
 ingenious fisherman removed a large gold fish from the 
 bait. He fished patiently for an hour, then filled a bag 
 he had brought for the purpose, and returned as he had 
 come. Not to his bed, however. Once more he opened 
 his door and stole forth, this time to the town, to hold 
 high revel round the gaming-table, where he was wel- 
 comed hilariously by his boon companions. 
 
 A wild fandango in a neighboring booth provided re- 
 laxation for the gamblers. In an hour or two Reinaldo 
 found his way to this well-known haven. Black-eyed 
 dancing-girls in short skirts of tawdry satin trimmed 
 with cotton lace, mock jewels on their bare necks and 
 
 270 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 271 
 
 in their coarse black hair, flew about the room and 
 screamed with delight as Reinaldo flung gold pieces 
 among them. The excitement continued in all its vari- 
 ations until morning. Men bet and lost all the gold they 
 had brought with them, then sold horse, serape, and 
 sombrero to the men who neither drank nor gambled, 
 but came prepared for close and profitable bargains. 
 Reinaldo lost his purloins, won them again, stood upon 
 the table and spoke with torrential eloquence of his 
 wrongs and virtues, kissed all the girls, and when by 
 easy and rapid stages he had succeeded in converting 
 himself into a skin full of aguardiente, he was carried 
 home and put to bed by such of his companions as were 
 sober enough to make no noise. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 CHONITA, clad in a black gown, walked slowly up and 
 down the corridor of Casa Grande. The rain should 
 have dripped from the eaves, beaten with heavy monot- 
 ony upon the hard clay of the court-yard, to accompany 
 her mood, but it did not. The sky was blue without 
 fleck of cloud, the sun like the open mouth of a furnace 
 of boiling gold, the air as warm and sweet and drowsy 
 as if it never had come in shock with human care. Pru- 
 dencia sat on the green bench, drawing threads in a fine 
 linen camisa, her small face rosy with contentment. 
 
 "Why do you wear that black gown this beautiful 
 morning ? ' ' she demanded suddenly. ' ' And why do you 
 walk when you can sit down" 
 
 "I had a dream last night. Do you believe in 
 dreams?" She had as much regard for her cousin's 
 opinion as for the twittering of a bird, but she felt the 
 necessity of speech at times, and at least this child never 
 remembered what she said. 
 
 "Surely, my Chonita. Did not I dream that the good 
 captain would bring pink silk stockings? and are they 
 not my own this minute?" And she thrust a diminu- 
 tive foot from beneath the hem of her gown, regarding 
 it with admiration. ' ' And did not I dream that Tomaso 
 and Liseta would marry? What was your dream, my 
 Chonita?" 
 
 "I do not know what the first part was; something 
 very sad. All I remember is the roar of the ocean and 
 another roar like the wind through high trees. Then a 
 moment that shook and frightened me, but sweeter than 
 anything I know of, so I cannot define it. Then a swift 
 awful tragedy I cannot recall the details of that, 
 either. The whole dream was like a black mass of clouds, 
 
 272 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 273 
 
 cut now and again by a scythe of lightning. But then, 
 like a vision within a dream, I seemed to stand there 
 and see myself, clad in a black gown, walking up and 
 down this corridor, or one like it, up and down, up and 
 down, never resting, never daring to rest lest I should 
 hear the ceaseless clatter of a lonely fugitive's horse. 
 When I awoke I was as cold as if I had received the first 
 shock of the surf. I cannot say why I put on this black 
 gown to-day. I make no haste to feel as I did when I 
 wore it in that dream the desolation the endlessness; 
 but I did." 
 
 "That was a strange dream, my Chonita," said Pru- 
 dencia, threading her needle. "You must have eaten 
 too many dulces for supper, did you ? ' ' 
 
 "No," said Chonita shortly, "I did not." 
 
 She continued her aimless walk, wondering at her de- 
 pression of spirits. All her life she had felt a certain 
 mental loneliness, but a healthy body rarely harbors an 
 invalid soul, and she had only to spring on a horse and 
 gallop over the hills to feel as happy as a young animal. 
 Moreover, the world all the world she knew was at 
 her feet; nor had she ever known the novelty of an 
 ungratified wish. Once in a while her father arose in 
 an obdurate mood, but she had only to coax, or threaten 
 tears never had she been seen to shed one or stamp 
 her foot, to bring that doting parent to terms. It is 
 true that she had had her cankered moments, an abrupt, 
 impatient desire for something that was not all light and 
 pleasure and gold and adulation; but, being a girl of 
 will and sense, she had turned resolutely from the troub- 
 lous demands of her deeper soul, regarding them as coals 
 fallen from a mind that burned too hotly at times. 
 
 This morning, however, she let the black waters rise, 
 not so much because they were stronger than her will, 
 as because she wished to understand what was the matter 
 with her. She was filled with a dull dislike of every one 
 she had ever known, of every condition which had sur- 
 rounded her from birth. She felt a deep disgust of placid 
 contentment, of the mere enjoyment of sunshine and air. 
 
274 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 She recalled drearily the clock-like revolutions of the 
 year which brought bull-fights, races, rodeos, church 
 celebrations ; her mother 's anecdotes of the Indians ; her 
 father 's manifold interests, ever the theme of his tongue ; 
 Reinaldo's grandiloquent accounts of his exploits and 
 intentions; Prudencia's infinite nothings. She hated 
 the balls of which she was La Favorita, the everlasting 
 serenades, the whole life of pleasure which made that 
 period of California the one Arcadia the modern world 
 has known. Some time during the past few weeks the 
 girl had crossed her hands over her breast and lain down 
 in her eternal tomb. The woman had arisen and come 
 forth, blinded as yet by the light, her hands thrust out 
 gropingly. 
 
 "It is that man," she told herself, with angry frank- 
 ness. "I had not talked with him ten minutes before I 
 felt as I do when the scene changes suddenly in one of 
 Shakespeare's plays as if I had been flung like a me- 
 teor into a new world. I felt the necessity for mental 
 alertness for the first time in my life ; always, before, I 
 had striven to conceal what I knew. The natural con- 
 sequences, of course, were first the desire to feel that 
 stimulation again and again, then to realize the little- 
 ness of everything but mental companionship. I have 
 read that people who begin with hate sometimes end with 
 love ; and if I were a book woman I suppose I should in 
 time love this man whom I now so hate, even while I 
 admire. But I am no lump of wax in the hands of a 
 writer of dreams. I am Chonita Iturbi y Moncada, and 
 he is Diego Estenega. I could no more love him than 
 could the equator kiss the poles. Only, much as I hate 
 him, I wish I could see him again. He knows so much 
 more than any one else. I should like to talk to him, to 
 ask him many things. He has sworn to marry me." 
 Her lip curled scornfully, but a sudden glow rushed over 
 her. ' * Had he not been an Estenega yes, I could have 
 loved him that calm clear-sighted love that is born of 
 regard ; not a whirlwind and a collapse, like most love. 
 I should like to sit with my hands in my lap and hear 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 275 
 
 him talk for ever. And we cannot even be friends. It 
 is a pity." 
 
 The girl's mind was like a splendid castle only one 
 wing of which had ever been illuminated. By the light 
 of the books she had read, and of acute observation in 
 a little sphere, she strove to penetrate the thick walls 
 and carry the torch into broader halls and lofty towers. 
 But superstition, prejudice, bitter pride, inexperience 
 of life, conjoined their shoulders and barred the way. 
 As Diego Estenega had discerned, under the thick Old- 
 World shell of inherited impressions was a plastic being 
 of all womanly possibilities. But so little did she know 
 of herself, so futile was her struggle in the dark, with 
 only sudden flashes to blind her and distort all she saw, 
 that with nothing to shape that moulding kernel it would 
 shrink and wither, and in a few years she would be but 
 a polished shell, perfect of proportion, hollow at the core. 
 
 But if strong intellectual juices sank into that sweet 
 pliant kernel, developing it into the perfected form of 
 woman, establishing the current between the brain and 
 the passions, finishing the work, or leaving it half com- 
 pleted, as circumstance vouchsafed what then? 
 
 "Ay, seiior!" exclaimed Prudencia, as two people, 
 mounted on horses glistening with silver, galloped into 
 the court-yard. ' ' Valencia and Adan ! ' ' 
 
 I came out of the sala at that moment and watched 
 them alight; Adan, that faithful dog-like adorer, of 
 whose kind every beautiful woman has a half dozen or 
 more, Valencia, the bitter-hearted rival of Chonita. She 
 was a tall dazzling creature, with flaming black eyes, 
 large and heavily lashed, and a figure so lithe that she 
 seemed to sweep downward from her horse rather than 
 spring to the ground. She had the dark rich skin of 
 Mexico another source of envy and hatred, for the 
 Iturbi y Moncadas, like most of the aristocracy of the 
 country, were of pure Castilian blood and as white as 
 porcelain in consequence and a red full mouth. 
 
 1 ' Welcome, my Chonita ! ' ' she cried. ' ' Valgame Dios ! 
 but I am glad to see you back ! ' ' She kissed Chonita ef - 
 
276 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 fusively. "Ay, my poor brother !" she whispered hur- 
 riedly. ' ' Tell him that you are glad to see him. ' ' And 
 then she welcomed me with words that fell as softly as 
 rose-leaves in a zephyr, and patted Prudencia's head. 
 
 Chonita, with a faint flush on her cheek, gave Adan 
 her hand to kiss. She had given this faithful suitor 
 little encouragement, but his unswerving and honest de- 
 votion had wrung from her a sort of careless affection ; 
 and she told me that first night in Monterey that if she 
 ever made up her mind to marry she thought she should 
 select Adan; he was more tolerable than any one she 
 knew. It is doubtful if he had crossed her mind since ; 
 and now, with all a woman's unreason, she conceived a 
 sudden and violent dislike for him because she had 
 treated him too kindly in her thoughts. I liked Adan 
 Menendez; there was something manly and sure about 
 him the latter a restful if not a fascinating quality. 
 And I liked his appearance. His clear brown eyes had 
 a kind direct regard. His chin was round, and his 
 profile a little thick ; but the gray hair brushed up and 
 away from his low forehead gave dignity to his face. 
 His figure was pervaded with the indolence of the Cali- 
 fornian. 
 
 "At your feet, senorita mia," he murmured, his voice 
 trembling. 
 
 "It gives me pleasure to see you again, Adan. Have 
 you been well and happy since I left ? ' ' 
 
 It was a careless question, and he looked at her re- 
 proachfully. 
 
 "I have been well, Chonita/' he said. 
 
 At this moment our attention was startled by a sharp 
 exclamation from Valencia. Prudencia had announced 
 her engagement. Valencia had refused many suitors, 
 but she had intended to marry Eeinaldo Iturbi y Mon- 
 cada. Not that she loved him ; he was the most brilliant 
 match in three hundred leagues. Within the last year he 
 had bent the knee to the famous coquette; but she had 
 lost her temper one day or, rather, it had found her 
 and after a violent quarrel he had galloped away, and 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 277 
 
 gone almost immediately to Los Angeles, there to remain 
 until Don Juan went after him with a bushel of gold. 
 She controlled herself in a moment, and swayed her 
 graceful body over Prudencia, kissing her lightly on the 
 cheek. 
 
 "You baby, to marry !" she said softly. "You took 
 away my breath. You look no more than fourteen years. 
 I had forgotten the grand merienda of your eighteenth 
 birthday. ' ' 
 
 Prudencia 's little bosom swelled with pride at the 
 discomfiture of the haughty beauty who had rarely re- 
 membered to notice her. Prudencia was not poor; she 
 owned a goodly rancho; but it was an hacienda to the 
 state of a Menendez. 
 
 "You will be one of my bridesmaids, no, Dona Valen- 
 cia ? ' ' she asked. 
 
 "That will be the proud day of my life," said Valen- 
 cia graciously. 
 
 1 ' We have a ball to-night, ' ' said Chonita. * ' You would 
 have had word to-day. You will stay now, no? and not 
 ride those five leagues twice again ? I will send for your 
 gown. ' ' 
 
 "Truly, I will stay, my Chonita. And you will tell 
 me all about your visit to Monterey, no?" 
 
 "All? Ay! surely!" 
 
 Adan kissed both Prudencia 's little hands in earnest 
 congratulation. As he did so, the door of Reinaldo's 
 room opened, and the heir of the Iturbi y Moncadas 
 stepped forth, gorgeous in black silk embroidered with 
 gold. He had slept off the effects of the night 's debauch, 
 and cold water had restored his freshness. He kissed 
 Prudencia 's hand, his own to us, then bent over Valen- 
 cia's with exaggerated homage. 
 
 "At thy feet, O loveliest of California's daughters! 
 In the immensity of thought, going to and coming from 
 Los Angeles, my imagination has spread its wings like 
 an eagle. Thou hast been a beautiful day-dream, posing 
 or reclining, dancing or swaying with grace superlative 
 on thy restive steed. I have not greeted my good friend 
 
278 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Adan. I can but look and look and keep on looking at 
 his incomparable sister, the rose of roses, the queen of 
 queens." 
 
 * ' Thy tongue carols as easily as a lark *s, ' ' said Valen- 
 cia, with but half-concealed bitterness. "Thou couldst 
 sing all day and the next forget. ' ' 
 
 ' ' I forget nothing, beautiful senorita neither the fair 
 days of, spring nor the ugly storms of winter. And I 
 love the sunshine and flee from the tempest. Adan, 
 
 brother of my heart, welcome as ever to Casa Grande 
 
 Ay ! here is my father. He looks like Sancho Panza. ' ' 
 
 Don Guillermo's sturdy little mustang bore him into 
 the court-yard, shaking his stout master not a little. 
 The old gentleman's black silk handkerchief had fallen 
 to his shoulders; his face was red, but covered with a 
 broad smile. 
 
 "I have letters from Monterey," he said, as Rein- 
 aldo and Adan ran down the steps to help him alight. 
 "Alvarado goes by sea to Los Angeles this month, but 
 returns by land in the next, and will honor us with a 
 visit of a week. I shall write to him to arrive in time 
 for the wedding. Several members of the Junta come 
 with him and of their number is Diego Estenega." 
 
 "Who?' 7 cried Reinaldo. "An Estenega? You will 
 not ask him to cross the threshold of Casa Grande ? ' ' 
 
 "I always liked Diego," said the old man, somewhat 
 confusedly. "And he is the friend of Alvarado. How 
 can I avoid to ask him, when he is of the party ? ' ' 
 
 1 ' Let him come, ' ' cried Eeinaldo. 1 1 God of my life ! 
 I am glad that he comes, this lord of redwood forests 
 and fog-bound cliffs. It is well that he shall see the splen- 
 dor of the Iturbi y Moncadas our pageants and our gay 
 diversions, our cavalcades of beauty and elegance under 
 a canopy of smiling blue. Glad I am that he comes. 
 Once for all shall he learn that, although his accursed 
 family has beaten ours in war and politics, he can never 
 hope to rival our pomp and state. ' ' 
 
 "Ah!" said Valencia to Chonita, "I have heard of 
 this Diego Estenega. I, too, am glad that he comes. I 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 279 
 
 have the advantage of you this time, my friend. You 
 and he must hate each other, and for once I am without 
 a rival. He shall be my slave. " And she tossed her 
 spirited head. 
 
 "He shall not!" cried Chonita, then checked herself 
 abruptly, the blood rushing to her hair. "I hate him 
 so, ' ' she continued hurriedly to the astonished Valencia, 
 "that I would see no woman show him favor. You will 
 not like him, Valencia. He is not handsome at all no 
 color in his skin, not even white, and eyes in the back of 
 his head. No mustache, no curls, and a mouth that looks 
 oh, that mouth, so grim, so hard ! no, it is not to be 
 described. No one could; it makes you hate him. And 
 he has no respect for women ; he thinks they were made 
 to please the eye, no more. I do not think he would 
 look ten seconds at an ugly woman. You will not like 
 him, Valencia ; it would be impossible. ' ' 
 
 "Ay, but I think I shall. What you have said makes 
 me wish to see him the more. God of my life! but he 
 must be different from the men of the South. And I 
 shall like that." 
 
 "Perhaps," said Chonita coldly. "At least, he will 
 not break your heart, for no woman could love him. 
 But come and take your siesta, no ? and refresh yourself 
 for the dance. I will send you a cup of chocolate. " And, 
 bending her head to Adan, she swept down the corridor, 
 followed by Valencia. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THOSE were two busy months before Prudencia's wed- 
 ding. Twenty girls, sharply watched and directed by 
 Dona Trinidad and the sometime mistress of Casa 
 Grande, worked upon the marriage wardrobe. Pru- 
 dencia would have no use for more house-linen; but 
 enough fine linen was made into underclothes to last 
 her a lifetime. Five keen-eyed girls did nothing but 
 draw the threads for deshalados, and so elaborate was 
 the openwork that the wonder was the bride did not 
 have bands and stripes of rheumatism. Others fash- 
 ioned crepes and flowered silks and heavy satins into 
 gowns, with long pointed waists and full flowing skirts, 
 some with sleeves of lace, and high to the base of the 
 throat, others cut to display the plump whiteness of the 
 owner. Twelve rebosos were made for her ; Dona Trini- 
 dad gave her one of her finest mantillas; Chonita, the 
 white satin embroidered with poppies, for which she 
 had conceived a capricious dislike. She also invited Pru- 
 dencia to take what she pleased from her wardrobe ; and 
 Prudencia, who was nothing if not practical, helped 
 herself to three gowns which had been made for Chonita 
 at great expense in the city of Mexico, four shawls of 
 Chinese crepe, a roll of pineapple silk, an American hat. 
 The house until within two weeks of the wedding was 
 full of visitors neighbors whose ranches lay ten leagues 
 away or nearer, and the people of the town ; all of them 
 come to offer congratulations, chatter on the corridor by 
 day and dance in the sala by night. The court was 
 never free of prancing horses pawing the ground for 
 eighteen hoars at a time under their heavy saddles. 
 Dona Trinidad's cooking-girls were as thick in the 
 kitchen as ants on an anthill. The good things of Casa 
 
 280 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 281 
 
 Grande were as famous as its hospitality and not the 
 least of the attractions to the merry visitors. When we 
 did not dance at home we danced at the ranches of the 
 neighbors or at the Presidio. During the last two weeks, 
 however, every one went home to rest and prepare for 
 the festivities to succeed the wedding, and the old house 
 was as quiet as a canon in the mountains. 
 
 Chonita took a lively concern in the preparations at 
 first, but her interest soon evaporated, and she spent 
 more and more time in the little library adjoining her 
 bedroom. She did less reading than thinking, however. 
 Once she came to me and tried for fifteen minutes to 
 draw from me something in Estenega's dispraise; and 
 when I finally admitted that he had a fault or two I 
 thought she would scalp me. Still, at this time she was 
 hardly more than fascinated, interested, tantalized by a 
 mind she could appreciate but not understand. If they 
 had never met again he gradually would have moved 
 backward to the horizon of her memory, growing dim 
 and more dim, hovered in a cloud-bank for a while, then 
 disappeared into that limbo which must exist some- 
 where for discarded impressions, and all would have 
 been well. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE evening before the wedding Prudencia covered her 
 demure self with black gown and reboso, and accom- 
 panied by Chonita went up to the Mission to make her 
 last maiden confession. Chonita did not go with her 
 into the church, but paced up and down the long cor- 
 ridor of the wing, gazing absently upon the deep wild 
 valley and peaceful ocean, seeing little beyond the im- 
 ages in her own mind. 
 
 That morning Alvarado and several members of the 
 Junta had arrived, but not Estenega. He had come as 
 far as the Rancho Temblor, Alvarado explained, and 
 there, meeting some old friends, had decided to remain 
 over night and accompany them the next day to the 
 ceremony. As Chonita had stood on the corridor and 
 watched the approach of the Governor's cavalcade, her 
 heart had beaten violently, and she had angrily ac- 
 knowledged that her nervousness was due to the fact 
 that she was about to meet Diego Estenega again. When 
 she discovered that he was not of the party, she turned 
 to me with pique, resentment, and disappointment in 
 her face. 
 
 "Even if I cannot ever like him/' she said, "at least 
 I might have the pleasure of hearing him talk. There 
 is no harm in that, even if he is an Estenega, a renegade, 
 and the enemy of my brother. I can hate him with my 
 heart and like him with my mind. And he must have 
 cared little to see us again, that he could linger for 
 another day." 
 
 "I am mad to see Don Diego Estenega," said Valen- 
 cia, her red lips pouting. "Why did he, of all others, 
 tarry?" 
 
 282 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 283 
 
 "He is fickle and perverse, " I said; "the most un- 
 certain man I know." 
 
 "Perhaps he thought to make us wish to see him the 
 more," suggested Valencia. 
 
 "No," I said; "he has no ridiculous vanities." 
 
 Chonita wandered back and forth behind the arches, 
 waiting for Prudencia's long confession of sinless errors 
 to conclude. 
 
 "What has a baby like that to confess?" she thought 
 impatiently. "She could not sin if she tried. She 
 knows nothing of the dark storms of rage and hatred 
 and revenge which can gather in the breasts of stronger 
 and weaker beings. I never knew, either, until lately; 
 but the storm is so black I dare not face it and carry it 
 to the priest. I am a sort of human chaos, and I wish I 
 were dead. I thought to forget him, and I see him as 
 plainly as on that morning when he told me that it was 
 he who would send my brother to prison 
 
 She stopped short with a little cry. Diego Estenega 
 stood before the Mission in the broad swath of moon- 
 light. She had heard a horse gallop up the valley, but 
 had paid no attention to the familiar sound. Estenega 
 had appeared as suddenly as if he had risen from the 
 earth. 
 
 "It is I, senorita." He ascended the Mission steps. 
 "Do not fear. May I kiss your hand?" 
 
 She gave him her hand, but withdrew it hurriedly. 
 Of the tremendous mystery of sex she knew almost noth- 
 ing. Girls were brought up in such ignorance in those 
 days that many a bride ran home to her mother on her 
 wedding night; and books teach innocence little. But 
 she was fully conscious that there was something in the 
 touch of Estenega 's lips and hand that startled while it 
 thrilled and enthralled. 
 
 "I thought you stayed with the Ortegas to-night?" 
 she said. Oh, blessed conventions ! 
 
 "I did for a few hours. Then I wanted to see you, 
 and I left them and came on. At Casa Grande I found 
 
284 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 no one but Eustaquia; every one else had gone to the 
 gardens; and she told me that you were here/' 
 
 Chonita's heart was beating as fast as it had beaten 
 that morning; even her hands shook a little. A glad 
 wave of warmth rushed over her. She turned to him 
 impetuously. "Tell me!" she exclaimed. "Why do I 
 feel like this for you? I hate you; you know that. 
 There are many reasons five ; you counted them. And 
 yet I feel excited, almost glad, at your coming. This 
 morning I was disappointed when you did not come. 
 Tell me you know everything, and I so little why 
 is it?" 
 
 Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes terrified and ap- 
 pealing. She looked very lovely and natural. Probably 
 for the first time in his life Estenega resisted a tempta- 
 tion. He passionately wished to take her in his arms 
 and tell her the truth. But he was too clever a man; 
 there was too much at stake; if he frightened her now 
 he might never even see her again. Moreover, she ap- 
 pealed to his chivalry. And it suddenly occurred to him 
 that so sweet a heart would be warped in its waking if 
 passion bewildered and controlled her first. 
 
 ' ' Dona Chonita, ' ' he said, ' ' like all women all beauti- 
 ful and spoiled women you demand variety. I happen 
 to be made of harder stuff than your caballeros, and you 
 have not seen me for two months; that is all." 
 
 "And if I saw you every day for two months would 
 I no longer care whether you came or went?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly." 
 
 " Is it sweet or terrible to feel this way ? ' ' thought the 
 girl. "Would I regret if he no longer made me trem- 
 ble, or would I go on my knees and thank the Blessed 
 Virgin ? ' ' Aloud she said : "It was strange for me to 
 ask you such questions ; but it is as if you had something 
 in your mind separate from yourself, and that it would 
 tell me, and you could not prevent its being truthful. I 
 do not believe in you; you look as if nothing were worth 
 the while to lie or tell the truth about j but your mind 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 285 
 
 is quite different. It seems to me that it knows all 
 things, that it is as cold and clear as ice." 
 
 ' * What a whimsical creature you are ! My mind, like 
 myself I feel as if I were twins is at your service. 
 Forget that I am Diego Estenega. Regard me as a sort 
 of archive of impressions which may amuse or serve 
 you as the poorest of your books do. That they are 
 catalogued under the general title of Diego Estenega is 
 a mere detail ; an accident, for that matter ; they might 
 be pigeon-holed in the skull of a Bandini or a Pico. I 
 happened to be the magnet, that is all." 
 
 "If I could forget that you were an Estenega just 
 for a week, while you are here," she said wistfully. 
 
 "You are a woman of will and imagination also of 
 variety. Make an experiment; it will interest you. Of 
 course, there will be times when you will be bitterly 
 conscious that I am the enemy of your house ; it would 
 be idle to expect otherwise; but when we happen to be 
 apart from disturbing influences, let us agree to forget 
 that we are anything but two human beings, deeply 
 congenial. As for what I said in the garden at Mon- 
 terey, the last time we spoke together I shall not 
 bother you." 
 
 u You no longer care?" she exclaimed. 
 
 * ' I did not say that. 'I said I should not bother you- 
 recognizing your hostility and your reasons. Be faith- 
 ful to your traditions, my beautiful Doomswoman. No 
 man is worth the sacrifice of those dear old comrades. 
 What presumption for a man to require you to abandon 
 the cause of your house, give up your brother, sacrifice 
 your religious principles; one, too, who would open his 
 doors to the Americans you hate ! No man is worth such 
 a sacrifice as that." 
 
 ' * No, ' ' she said ; " no man. ' ' But she said it without 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 "A man is but one; traditions are fivefold, and multi- 
 plied by duty. Poor grain of sand what can he give, 
 comparable to the cold serene happiness of fidelity to 
 self? Love is sweet horribly sweet but so common a 
 
286 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 madness can give but a tithe of the satisfaction of duty 
 to pure and lofty ideals. ' ' 
 
 "I do not believe that." The woman in her arose in 
 resentment. "A life of duty must be empty, cold, and 
 wrong. It was not that we were made for." 
 
 ' * Let us talk little of love, senorita ; it is a dangerous 
 subject." 
 
 "But it interests me, and I should like to under- 
 stand it." 
 
 "I will explain the subject to you fully, some day. I 
 have a fancy to do that on my own territory up in the 
 red-woods ' ' 
 
 * ' Here is Prudencia. ' ' 
 
 A small black figure swept down the steps of the 
 church. She bowed low to Estenega when he was pre- 
 sented, but mutely. The Indian servants brought the 
 horses to the corridor, and they rode down the valley to 
 Casa Grande. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE guests of Casa Grande there were many besides 
 Alvarado and his party ; the house was full again were 
 gathered with the family on the corridor, as Estenega, 
 Chonita, and Prudencia dismounted at the extreme end 
 of the court-yard. As Reinaldo saw the enemy of his 
 house approach he ran down the step, advanced rapidly, 
 and bowed low before him. 
 
 "Welcome, Senor Don Diego Estenega," he said 
 "welcome to Casa Grande. The house is yours. Burn 
 it if you will. The servants are yours ; I myself am your 
 servant. This is the supreme moment of my life, su- 
 premer even than when I learned of my acquittal of the 
 foul charges laid to my door by scheming and jealous 
 enemies. It is long alas! since an Estenega and an 
 Iturbi y Moncada have met in the court-yard of the one 
 or the other. Let this moment be the seal of peace, the 
 death of feud, the unification of the North and the 
 South. " 
 
 "You have the hospitality of the true Calif ornian, Don 
 Reinaldo. It gives me pleasure to accept it." 
 
 "Would, then, your pleasure could equal mine!" 
 
 "Curse him!" he added to Chonita, as Estenega went 
 up the steps to greet Don Guillenno and Dona Trinidad, 
 "I have just received positive information that it was 
 he who kept me from distinguishing myself and my 
 house in the Departmental Junta, he who cast me in a 
 dungeon. It poisons my happiness to sleep under the 
 same roof with him. ' ' 
 
 "Ay!" exclaimed Chonita. "Why can you not be 
 more sincere, my brother? Hospitality did not compel 
 you to say so much to your enemy. Could you not have 
 
 287 
 
288 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 spoken a few simple words like himself, and not black- 
 ened your soul ? ' ' 
 
 ' ' My sister ! you never spoke to me so harshly before. 
 And on my marriage eve!" 
 
 "Forgive me, my most beloved brother. You know I 
 love you. But it grieves me to think that even hospital- 
 ity could make you false. ' ' 
 
 When they ascended the steps, not a woman was to be 
 seen ; all had followed Prudencia to her chamber to see 
 the donas of the groom, which had arrived that day from 
 Mexico. Chonita tarried long enough to see that her 
 father had forgotten the family grievance in his revived 
 susceptibility to Estenega, then went to Prudencia 's 
 room. There women, young and old, crowded each other, 
 jabbering like monkeys. The little iron bed, the chairs 
 and tables, every article of furniture, in fact, but the 
 altar in the corner, displayed to advantage exquisite 
 materials for gowns, a mass of elaborate underclothing, 
 a white lace mantilla to be worn at the bridal, lace 
 flounces fine and deep, crepe shawls, sashes from Rome, 
 silk stockings by the dozen. On a large table were the 
 more delicate and valuable gifts; a rosary of topaz, the 
 cross a fine piece of carving ; a jeweled comb ; a string of 
 pearls ; diamond hoops for the ears ; a large pin painted 
 with a head of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Cali- 
 fornia; and several fragile fans. Quite apart, on a 
 little table, was the crown and pride of the donas six 
 white cobweb-like camisas, embroidered, hemstitched, and 
 deshaladoed. Did any Californian bridegroom forget 
 that dainty item he would be repudiated on his wedding- 
 eve. 
 
 "God of my life!" murmured Valencia, "he has taste 
 as well as gold. And all to go on that round white 
 doll!" 
 
 There was little envy among the other girls. Their 
 eyes sparkled with good-nature as they kissed Prudencia 
 and congratulated her. The older women patted the 
 things approvingly j and, between religion, a donas to 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 289 
 
 satisfy an angel, and prospective bliss, Prudeneia was 
 the happiest little bride-elect in all the Californias. 
 
 11 Never were such camisas!" cried one of the girls. 
 "Ay! he will make a good husband. That sign never 
 fails." 
 
 "You must wear long long trains now, my Pruden- 
 eia, and be as stately as Chonita. ' ' 
 
 "Ay!" exclaimed Prudeneia. Did not every gown 
 already made have a train longer than herself? 
 
 "You need never wear a mended stocking with all 
 these to last for years," said another; never had silk 
 stockings been brought to the Californias in sufficient 
 plenty for the dancing feet of its daughters. 
 
 "I shall always mend my stockings," said Pruden- 
 eia, "I myself." 
 
 "Yes," said one of the older women, "you will be a 
 good wife and waste nothing." 
 
 Valencia laid her arm about Chonita 's waist. "I 
 wish to meet Don Diego Estenega, ' ' she said. * ' Will you 
 not present him to me ? " 
 
 "You are very forward," said Chonita coldly. "Can 
 you not wait until he comes your way ? ' ' 
 
 "No, my Chonita; I wish to meet him now. My 
 curiosity devours me." 
 
 "Very well; come with me and you shall know him. 
 Will you come, too, Eustaquia ? There are only men on 
 the corridor. ' ' 
 
 We found Diego and Don Guillermo talking politics 
 in a corner, both deeply interested. Estenega rose at 
 once. 
 
 "Don Diego Estenega," said Chonita, "I would pre- 
 sent you to the Senorita Dona Valencia Menendez, of 
 the Rancho del Fuego." 
 
 Esteuega bowed. ' ' I have heard much of Dona Valen- 
 cia, and am delighted to meet her. ' ' 
 
 Valencia was nonplussed for a moment; he had not 
 given her the customary salutation, and she could hardly 
 murmur the customary reply. She merely smiled, and 
 
290 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 looked so handsome that she could afford to dispense 
 with words. 
 
 "A superb type," said Estenega to me, as Don Guil- 
 lermo claimed the beauty 's attention for a moment. ' * But 
 only a type; nothing distinctive." 
 
 Nevertheless, ten minutes later, Valencia, with the 
 maneuvering of the general of many a battle, had guided 
 him to a seat in the sala under Dona Trinidad's sleepy 
 wing, and her eyes were flashing the language of Spain 
 to his. I saw Chonita watch them for a moment, in min- 
 gled surprise and doubt, then saw a sudden look of fear 
 spring to her eyes as she turned hastily and walked 
 away. 
 
 Again I shared her room the thirty rooms and many 
 in the out-buildings were overflowing with guests who 
 had come a hundred leagues or less and after we had 
 been in bed a half hour, Chonita, overcome by the in- 
 sinuating power of that time-honored confessional, told 
 me of her meeting with Estenega at the Mission. I made 
 few comments, but sighed; I knew him so well. "It 
 will be strange even to seem to be friends with him," 
 she added, "to hate him in my heart and yet delight to 
 talk with him, and perhaps to regret when he leaves. ' ' 
 
 "Are you sure that you still hate him?" 
 
 She sat up in bed. The solid wooden shutters were 
 closed, but over the door was a small square aperture, 
 and through this a stray moonbeam drifted and fell on 
 her. Her hair was tumbling about her shoulders, and 
 she looked decidedly less statuesque than usual. 
 
 "Eustaquia," she said solemnly, "I believe I can go 
 to confession." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 AT sunrise the next morning the guests of Casa Grande 
 were horsed and ready to start for the Mission. The 
 valley between the house and the Mission was alive with 
 the immediate rancheros and their families, and the 
 people of the town, aristocrats and populace. 
 
 At Estenega's suggestion, I climbed with him to the 
 attic of the tower, much to the detriment of my frock. 
 But I made no complaint after Diego had removed the 
 dusty little windows on both sides, and I looked through 
 the apertures at the charming scene. The rising sun 
 gave added fire to the bright red tiles of the long white 
 Mission, threw a pink glow on its noble arches and tow- 
 ers, and on the white massive aqueduct. The bells were 
 crashing their welcome to the bride. The deep valley, 
 wooded and rocky, was pervaded by the soft glow of 
 the awakening, but was as lively as mid-day. There 
 were horses of every color the Lord has decreed that 
 horses shall wear. The saddles upon them were of em- 
 bossed leather or rich embroidered silk heavily mounted 
 with silver. Above all this gorgeousness sat the cabal- 
 leros and the donas, in velvet and silk, gold lace and 
 Spanish, jewels and mantillas, and silver-weighted som- 
 breros; a confused mass of color and motion; a living 
 picture, shifting like a kaleidoscope. Nor was this all; 
 brown, soberly dressed old men and women in satin- 
 padded carretas heavy ox-carts on wheels made from 
 solid sections of trees, and driven by a ganan seated on 
 one of the animals; the populace in cheap finery, some 
 on foot, others astride old mules or broken-winded 
 horses, two or three on one lame old hack; all chatter- 
 ing, shouting, eager, interested, impatiently awaiting the 
 bride and a week of pleasure. 
 
 291 
 
292 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 In the court-yard and plaza before it, the guests of 
 the house were mounted on a caponera of palominas 
 horses peculiar to the country: beautiful creatures, 
 golden-bronze and burnished, with luxuriant manes and 
 tails, which waved and shone like the sparkling silver of 
 a waterfall. A number were riderless, awaiting the 
 pleasure of the bridal party. One alone was white as a 
 Californian fog. He lifted his head and pranced as if 
 aware of his proud distinction. The aquera and saddle 
 which embellished his graceful beauty were of pink silk, 
 worked with delicate leaves in gold and silver thread. 
 The stirrups, cut from blocks of wood, were elaborately 
 carved. The glistening reins were made from the long 
 crystal hairs of his mane, and linked with silver. A 
 strip of pink silk, joined at the ends with a huge rosette, 
 was hung from the high silver pommel of the saddle, 
 depending on the left side a stirrup for my lady 's foot. 
 
 A deeper murmur, a sudden lifting of sombreros and 
 waving of little hands, proclaimed that the bridal party 
 had appeared, and we hastened down. 
 
 Prudencia, the mantilla of the donas depending from 
 a comb six inches high, was attired in a white satin gown 
 with a train of portentous length, and looked like a 
 kitten with a long tail. Reinaldo was dazzling. He 
 wore white velvet embroidered with gold ; his linen and 
 lace were more fragile than cobwebs; his white satin 
 slippers were clasped with diamond buckles, the same 
 in which his father had married; his jacket was but- 
 toned with diamonds. His white velvet sombrero was 
 covered with plumes. Never have I seen so splendid a 
 bridegroom. I saw Estenega grin ; but I maintain that, 
 whatever Reinaldo 's deficiencies, he was a picture to be 
 thankful for that morning. 
 
 Dona Trinidad wore a quiet gown of gray satin, but 
 Don Guillermo was as picturesque in his way as his son. 
 His black silk handkerchief had been knotted hurriedly 
 about his head, and the four corners hung upon his 
 neck. His short breeches were of red velvet, his jacket 
 of blue cloth was trimmed with large silver buttons and 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 293 
 
 gold lace; his vest was of yellow damask, his linen em- 
 broidered. Attached to his slippers were enormous sil- 
 ver spurs inlaid with gold, the rowels so long that they 
 scratched more trains than one that day. 
 
 The bridesmaids stood in a group apart, a large bou- 
 quet; each wore a gown of a different color. Valencia 
 blazed forth in yellow, and flashed triumphant glances 
 at Estenega, now and again one of irrepressible envy 
 and resentment at Eeinaldo. Chonita looked like a 
 water- witch in pale green covered with lace that stirred 
 with every breath of air; her mantilla was as delicate 
 as sea-spray. About her was something subtle, awak- 
 ened, restive, that I noticed for the first time. Once 
 she intercepted one of Valencia's lavish glances, and 
 her own eyes were extremely wicked and dangerous for a 
 moment. I looked at Estenega. He was regarding her 
 with a fierce intensity which made him oblivious for the 
 moment of his surroundings. I looked at Valencia. 
 Thunder-clouds were those heavy brows, lowered to the 
 lightning which sprang from depths below. I looked 
 again at Chonita. The pink color was in her marble 
 face ; pinker were her carven lips. 
 
 ' ' God of my soul ! ' ' I said to Estenega. ' ' Go home. ' ' 
 
 ' c My Prudencia ! ' ' said Don Guillermo. He lifted her 
 to the pink saddle, adjusted her foot in the pink ribbon, 
 climbed up behind her, placed one arm aboat her waist, 
 took the bridle in his other hand, and cantered out of 
 the court-yard. Reinaldo sprang to his horse, lifted 
 his mother in front of him, and followed. Then went 
 the bridesmaids; and the rest of us fell into line as we 
 listed. As we rode up the valley, those awaiting us 
 joined the cavalcade, the populace closing it, spreading 
 out like a fan attached to the tail of a snake. The bells 
 rang out a joyful discordant peal; the long undulating 
 line of many colors wound through the trees, passed 
 the long corridor of the Mission, to the stone steps of 
 the church. 
 
 The ceremony was a long one, for communion was 
 given the bride and groom ; and during the greater part 
 
294 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 of it I do not think Estenega removed his gaze from 
 Chonita. I could not help observing her too, although 
 I was deeply impressed with the solemnity of the oc- 
 casion. Her round womanly figure had never appeared 
 to greater advantage than in that close-fitting gown ; her 
 hips being rather wide, she wore fewer gathers than was 
 the fashion. Her faultless arms had a warmth in their 
 whiteness; the filmy lace of her mantilla caressed a 
 throat so full and round and white and firm that it 
 seemed to invite other caresses; even the black pearls 
 clung lovingly about it. Her graceful head was bent 
 forward a little, and the soft black lashes brushed her 
 cheeks. The pink flush was still in her face, like the 
 first tinge of color on the chill desolation of dawn. 
 
 "Is she not beautiful?" whispered Estenega eagerly. 
 ' ' Is not that a woman to make known to herself ? Think 
 of the infinite possibilities, the sublimation of every " 
 
 Here I ordered him to keep quiet, reminding him that 
 he was in church, a fact he had quite forgotten. I in- 
 ferred that he remembered it later, for he moved rest- 
 lessly more than once and looked longingly toward the 
 door. 
 
 It was over at last, and as the bride and groom ap- 
 peared in the door of the church and descended the 
 steps, a salute was fired from the Presidio. On the long 
 corridor a table had been built from end to end, and a 
 goodly banquet provided by the padres. We took our 
 seats at once, the populace gathering about a feast spread 
 for them on the grass. 
 
 Padre Ximeno, the priest who had officiated at the 
 ceremony, sat at the head of the table ; the other priests 
 were scattered among us, and good company all of them 
 were. We were a very lively party. Prudencia was 
 toasted until her calm important head whirled. Bein- 
 aldo made a speech as full of flowers as the occasion de- 
 manded. Alvarado made one also, five sentences of 
 plain well-chosen words, to which the bridegroom lis- 
 tened with scorn. Now and again a girl swept the 
 strings of a guitar or a caballero sang. The delighted 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 295 
 
 shrieks of the people came over to us ; at regular inter- 
 vals cannons were fired. 
 
 Estenega found himself seated between Chonita and 
 Valencia. I was opposite, and beginning to feel pro- 
 foundly fascinated by this drama developing before my 
 eyes. I saw that he was amused by the situation and 
 not in the least disconcerted. Valencia was nervous and 
 eager. Chonita, whose pride never failed her, had 
 drawn herself up and looked coldly indifferent. 
 
 "Senor," murmured Valencia, "you will tarry with 
 us long, no ? We have much to show you in Santa Bar- 
 bara, and on our ranches. " 
 
 "I fear that I can stay but a week, senorita. I must 
 return to Los Angeles." 
 
 "Would nothing tempt you to stay, Dan Diego ?" 
 
 He looked into her rich Southern face and approved 
 of it; when had he ever failed to approve of a pretty 
 woman? "Thine eyes, senorita, would tempt a man to 
 forget more than duty." 
 
 "And thou wilt stay?" 
 
 * i When I leave Santa Barbara, what I take of myself 
 will not be worth leaving." 
 
 "Ay! and what thou leavest thou never shalt have 
 again. ' ' 
 
 * ' There is my hope of heaven, senorita. ' ' 
 
 He turned from this glittering conversation to Cho- 
 nita. 
 
 "You are a little tired," he said, in a low voice. 
 "Your color has gone, and the shadows are coming 
 about your eyes." 
 
 The suspicion was borne home to her that he must 
 have observed her closely to detect those shades of dif- 
 ference which no one else had noted. 
 
 "A little, seiior. I went to bed late and rose early. 
 Such times as these tax the endurance. But after a 
 siesta I shall be refreshed." 
 
 "You look strong and very healthy." 
 
 "Ay, but I am! I am not delicate at all. I can ride 
 all day, and swim which few of our women do. I even 
 
296 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 like to walk; and I can dance every night for a week. 
 Only, this is an unusual time. ' ' 
 
 Her supple elastic figure and healthy whiteness of 
 skin betokened endurance and vitality, and he looked at 
 her with pleasure. "Yes, you are strong," he said. 
 ' * You look as if you would last as if you never would 
 grow brown or stout. ' ' 
 
 "What difference, if the next generation be beauti- 
 ful?" she said lightly. "Look at Don Juan de la Bor- 
 rasca. See him gaze upon Panchita Lopez, who is just 
 sixteen. What does he care that the women of his day 
 are coffee-colored and stringy, or fat? You will care 
 as little when you too are brown and dried up, afraid 
 to eat dulces, and each month seeking a new parting for 
 your hair. ' ' 
 
 "You are a hopeful seer! But you are you re- 
 signed to the time when even the withered old beau will 
 not look at you you who are the loveliest woman in the 
 Calif ornias?" 
 
 It was the first compliment he had paid her, and she 
 looked up with a swift blush, then lowered her eyes 
 again. "With truth, I never in.gine myself except as 
 I am now; but I should have always my books, and no 
 husband to teach me that there were other women more 
 fair." 
 
 * * And books will suffice, then ? ' ' 
 
 "Surely." She said it a little wistfully. Then she 
 added abruptly: "I shall go to confession this week." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 "Yes; for although I hate you still that is, I do not 
 like you I have forgiven you. I believe you to be kind 
 and generous, although the enemy of my brother; that 
 if you did oppose him and cast him into prison, you did 
 so from a loyal motive. You cannot help making mis- 
 takes, for you are but human. And I do not forget that 
 if it were not for you he would not be a bridegroom 
 to-day. Also, you are not responsible for being an Este- 
 nega; so, although I do not forgive the blood in you 
 how could I, and be worthy to bear the name of Iturbi 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 297 
 
 y Moncada? I forgive you, yourself, for being what 
 you cannot help and for what you have unwittingly 
 and mistakenly done. Do you understand?" 
 
 "I understand. Your subtleties are magnificent. " 
 
 "You must not laugh at me. Tell me how do you 
 like my friend Valencia ? ' ' 
 
 "Well enough. I want to hear more about your con- 
 fession. You fall back into the bosom of your Church 
 with joy, I suppose?" 
 
 "Ay!" 
 
 "And you would never disobey one of her man- 
 dates?" 
 
 "Holy God! No!" 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Why? Because I am a Catholic." 
 
 "That is not what I asked you. Why are you a Cath- 
 olic? if I must make myself more plain. Why are you 
 afraid to disobey? Why do you cling to the Church 
 with your back braced against your intelligence? It is 
 hope of future reward, I suppose or fear?" 
 
 "Assuredly. I want to go to the heaven of the good 
 Catholic." 
 
 "Do not waste this life, particularly the youth of it, 
 preparing for a legendary hereafter. Granting, for 
 the sake of argument, that this existence is supplemented 
 by another: you have no knowledge of what elements 
 you will be composed when you lay aside your mortal 
 part to enter there. Your power of enjoyment may be 
 very thin indeed, like the music of a band without 
 brass; the sort of happiness one can imagine a human 
 being to experience out of whose anatomy the nervous 
 system has by some surgical triumph been removed, and 
 in whom love of the arts alone exists, abnormally culti- 
 vated. But one thing we of earth do know ; you do not, 
 but I will tell you : we have a slight capacity for happi- 
 ness and a large capacity for enjoyment. There is not 
 much in life, God knows, but there is something. One 
 can get a reasonable amount out of it with a due exercise 
 
298 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 of philosophy. Of that we are sure. Of what comes 
 after we are absolutely unsure. " 
 
 She had endeavored to interrupt him once or twice, 
 and did so now, her eyes flashing. "Are you an athe- 
 ist?" she demanded. ' ' Are you not a Catholic ? ' ' 
 
 "I am neither an atheist nor a Catholic. The ques- 
 tion of religion has no interest for me whatever. I 
 wish it had none for you. ' ' 
 
 She looked at him sternly. For a moment I thought 
 the Doomswoman would annihilate the renegade. But 
 her face softened suddenly. "I will pray for you," she 
 said, and turned to the man at her right. 
 
 Estenega 's face turned the chalky hue I always dread- 
 ed, and he bent his lips to her ear. ' ' Pray for me many 
 times a day; and at other times recall what I said about 
 the relative value of possible and improbable heavens. 
 You are a woman who thinks." 
 
 "Don Diego," exclaimed Valencia, unable to control 
 her impatience longer, and turning sharply from the 
 caballero who was talking to her in a fiery undertone, 
 "you have not spoken to me for ten minutes." 
 
 "For ten hours, senorita. You have treated me with 
 the scorn and indifference of one weary of homage." 
 
 She blushed with gratification. "It is you who have 
 forgotten me. ' ' 
 
 "Would that I could!" 
 
 " Dost thou wish to?" 
 
 1 1 When I am away from thee, or thou talkest to other 
 men surely. ' ' 
 
 "It is thy fault if I talk to other men." 
 
 "You make me feel the Good Samaritan." 
 
 "But I care not to talk to them." 
 
 "Thy heart is a comb of honey, senorita. On my 
 knees I accept the little morsel the queen bee thy swift 
 messenger brings me. Truly, never was sweet so sweet- 
 ly sweet. ' * 
 
 "It is thou who hast the honey on thy tongue, al- 
 though I fear there may be a stone in thy heart." 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 299 
 
 "Ah? Why? No stone could sit so lightly in my 
 breast as my heart when those red lips smile to me. ' ' 
 
 Chonita listened to this conversation with mingled 
 amazement and anger. She did not doubt Estenega's 
 sincerity to herself ; neither did Valencia appear to doubt 
 him. But his present levity was manifest to her. Why 
 should he care to talk so to another woman? How 
 strange were men ! She gave up the problem. 
 
 After the long banquet concluded, the cavalcade 
 formed once more, and we returned to the town. Pru- 
 dencia rode her white horse alone this time, her hus- 
 band beside her. Leading the cavalcade was the Pre- 
 sidio band. Its members wore red jackets trimmed with 
 yellow cord, Turkish trousers of white wool, and red 
 Polish caps. With their music mingled the regular 
 detonations of the Presidio cannon. After we had wound 
 the length of the valley we made a progress through the 
 town for the benefit of the populace, who mounted the 
 corridors to watch us, and shouted with delight. But 
 the sun was hot, and we were all glad to be between the 
 thick adobe walls once more. 
 
 We took a long siesta that day, but hours before dark 
 the populace was crowded in the court-yard under the 
 booth which had been erected during the afternoon. 
 After the early supper the guests of Casa Grande and 
 our neighbors of the town filled the sala, the large bare 
 rooms adjoining, and the corridors. The old people of 
 both degrees seated themselves in rows again the wall, 
 the fiddles scraped, the guitars twanged, the flutes cooed, 
 and the dancing began. 
 
 In the court-yard a small space was cleared, and 
 changing couples danced El Jarabe and La Jota two 
 stately jigs while the spectators applauded with wild 
 and impartial enthusiasm, and Don Guillermo from the 
 corridor threw silver coins at the dancers' feet. Now 
 and again a pretty girl would d^nce alone, her gay skirt 
 lifted with the tips of her fingers, her eyes fixed upon 
 the ground. A man would approach from behind and 
 place his hat on her head. Perhaps she would toss it 
 
300 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 saucily aside, perhaps let it rest on her coquettish braids 
 a token that its owner was her accepted gallant for 
 the evening. 
 
 Above, the slender men and women of the aristocracy, 
 the former in black and white, the latter in rich and 
 vivid gowns, danced the contradanza, the most graceful 
 dance I have ever seen ; and since those Californian days 
 I have lived in almost every capital of Europe. The 
 music is so monotonous and sweet, the figures so melting 
 and harmonious, that to both spectator and dancer comes 
 a dreaming languid contentment, as were the senses 
 swimming on the brink of sleep. Chonita and Valencia 
 were famous rivals in its rendering, always the sala- 
 stars to those not dancing. Valencia was the perfection 
 of grace, but it was the grace now of the snake, again of 
 the cat. She suggested fangs and claws, a repressed 
 propensity to sudden leaps. Chonita 's grace was that 
 of rhythmical music imprisoned in a woman's form of 
 proportions so perfect that she seemed to dissolve from 
 one figure into another, swaying, bending, gliding. The 
 soul of grace emanated from her, too evanescent to be 
 seen, but felt as one feels perfume, or the something that 
 is not color in the heart of a rose. Her star-like eyes 
 were open, but the brain behind them was half asleep; 
 she danced by instinct. 
 
 I was watching the dancing of these two the poetry 
 of promise and the poetry of death when suddenly 
 Don Guillermo entered the room, stamped his foot, 
 pulled out his rosary, and instantly we all went down on 
 our knees. It was eight of the clock, and this ceremony 
 was never omitted in Casa Grande, be the occasion fes- 
 tive or domestic. When we had told our beads, Don 
 Guillermo rose, put his rosary in his pocket, trotted out, 
 and the dancing was resumed. 
 
 As the contradanza and its ensuing waltz finished, 
 Estenega went up to Chonita. "You are too tired to 
 dance any more to-night/' he said. "Let us sit here 
 and talk. Besides, I do not like to see you whirling 
 about the room in men's arms." 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 301 
 
 "It is nothing to you if I dance with other men," she 
 said rehelliously, although she took the seat he indi- 
 cated. "And to dance is not wrong." 
 
 ' ' Nothing is wrong. In some countries the biggest liar 
 is king. We know as little of ethics except, to be sure, 
 the ethics of civilization as one sex knows of another. 
 So we fall back on instinct. I have not a prejudice, but 
 I feel it disgusting to see a woman who is somewhat more 
 to me than other women, embraced by another man. It 
 would infuriate me if done in private; why should it 
 not at least disgust me in public? I care as little for 
 the approving seal of the conventions as I care whether 
 other women including my own sisters waltz or not. ' ' 
 
 And, alas! from that night Chonita never waltzed 
 again. "It is not that I care for his opinion," she as- 
 sured me later; "only he made me feel that I never 
 wanted a man to touch me again. ' ' 
 
 Valencia used every art of flashing eyes and pouting 
 lips and gay sally there was nothing subtle in her 
 methods to win Estenega to her side ; but the sofa on 
 which he sat with Chonita might have been the remotest 
 star in the firmament. Then, prompted by pique and 
 determination to find ointment for her wounded vanity, 
 she suddenly opened her batteries upon Eeinaldo. That 
 beautiful young bridegroom was bored to the verge of 
 dissolution by his solemn and sleepy Prudencia, who 
 kept her wide eyes upon him with an expression of rapt 
 adoration, exactly as she regarded the Stations in the 
 Mission when performing the Via Crucis. Valencia, to 
 his mind, was the handsomest woman in the room, and 
 he felt the flattery of her assault. Besides, he was safely 
 married. So he drifted to her side, danced with her, 
 flirted with her, devoted himself to her caprices, until 
 everyone was noting and I thought that Prudencia would 
 bawl outright. Just at the moment, however, when our 
 nerves were humming, Don Guillermo thumped on the 
 door with his stick and ordered us all to go to bed. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE next morning we started at an early hour for the 
 Rancho de las Rocas, three leagues from Santa Bar- 
 bara. The populace remained in the booth, but we were 
 joined by all our friends of the town, and once more 
 were a large party. We were bound for a merienda and 
 a carnesada, where bullocks would be roasted whole on 
 spits over a bed of coals in a deep excavation. It took a 
 Californian only a few hours to sleep off fatigue, and 
 we were as fresh and gay as if we had gone to bed at 
 eight the night before. 
 
 Valencia managed to ride beside Estenega, and I 
 wondered if she would win him. Woman's persistence, 
 allied to man's vanity, so often accomplishes the result 
 intended by the woman. It seemed to me the simplest 
 climax for the unfolding drama, although I should have 
 been sorry for Diego. 
 
 It was Reinaldo's turn to look black, but he devoted 
 himself ostentatiously to Prudencia, who beamed like a 
 child with a stick of candy. Chonita rode between Don 
 Juan de la Borrasca and Adan. Her face was calm, but 
 it occurred to me that she was growing careless of her 
 sovereignty, for her manner was abstracted and indif- 
 ferent; she seemed to have discarded those little co- 
 quetries that had sat so gracefully upon her. Still, as 
 long as she concealed the light of her mind under a 
 bushel, her beauty and Loreleian fascination would draw 
 men to her feet and keep them there. Every man but 
 Estenega and Alvarado was as gay of color as the wild 
 flowers had been, and the girls, as they cantered, looked 
 like full-blown roses. Chonita wore a dark-blue gown 
 and reboso of thin silk, which became her fairness mar- 
 velously well. 
 
 302 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 303 
 
 "Dona Chonita, light of my eyes," said Don Juan, 
 "thou art not wont to be so quiet when I am by thee." 
 
 "You usually have enough to say for two." 
 
 "Ay, thou canst appreciate the art of speech. Hast 
 thou ever known any one who could converse with lighter 
 ease than I and thy brother?" 
 
 "I never have heard any one use more words." 
 
 ' ' Ay ! they roll from my tongue and from Reinaldo 's 
 like wheels downhill." 
 
 She turned to Adan : ' ' They will be happy, you think 
 Eeinaldo and Prudencia ? ' ' 
 
 "Ay!" 
 
 "What a beautiful wedding, no?" 
 
 "Ay!" 
 
 "Life is always the same with you, I suppose smok- 
 ing, riding, swinging in the hammock ? ' ' 
 
 "Ay!" 
 
 ' ' You would not exchange your life for another ? You 
 do not wish to travel ? ' ' 
 
 "No surely." 
 
 She wheeled suddenly and galloped over to her father 
 and Alvarado, her caballeros staring helplessly after her. 
 
 When we arrived at the rancho the bullocks were 
 already swinging in the pits, the smell of roast meat was 
 in the air. We dismounted, throwing our bridles to the 
 vaqueros in waiting; and while Indian servants spread 
 the table, the girls joined hands and danced about the 
 pit, throwing flowers upon the bullocks, singing and 
 laughing. The men watched them, or amused them- 
 selves in various ways some with cockfights and im- 
 promptu races; others began at once to gamble on a 
 large flat stone ; a group stood about a greased pole and 
 jeered at two rival vaqueros endeavoring to mount it for 
 the sake of the gold piece on the top. One buried a 
 rooster in the ground, leaving its head alone exposed; 
 others, mounting their horses, dashed by at full speed, 
 snatching at the head as they passed. Reinaldo dis- 
 tinguished himself by twisting it off with facile wrist 
 while urging his horse to the swiftness of the east wind. 
 
804 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "I am going to dare more than Calif ornian has ever 
 dared before," said Estenega to me, as we gathered at 
 length about the table-cloth. "I am going to get Dona 
 Chonita off by herself in that little canon, and have a 
 talk with her. Now, do you stand guard/' 
 
 "I shall not!" I exclaimed. "It is understood that 
 when Dona Trinidad stays at home Chonita is in my 
 charge. I shall not permit such a thing." 
 
 "You shall, my Eustaquia. Dona Chonita is no 
 pudding-brained girl. She needs no duena." 
 
 "I know that; but it is not that I am thinking of. 
 Suppose some one sees you ; you know the inflexibility of 
 our conventions." 
 
 "You forget that we are comadre and compadre. 
 Our privileges are many." 
 
 * ' True ; I had forgotten. But whither is all this tend- 
 ing, Diego? She neither will nor can marry you." 
 
 "She both can and will. Will you help me, or not? 
 Because if not I shall proceed without you. Only you 
 can make it easier. ' ' 
 
 I always gave way to him ; everybody did. 
 
 He was as good as his word. How he managed, Cho- 
 nita never knew, but not a half hour after dinner she 
 found herself alone in the canon with him, seated among 
 the huge stones cataclysms had hurled there. 
 
 "Why have you brought me here?" she asked. 
 
 "To talk with you." 
 
 "But this would be most severely censured." 
 
 "Do you care?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 She looked at him with a curious feeling she had had 
 before ; there was something inside of his head that she 
 wanted to get at something that baffled and teased and 
 allured her. She wanted to understand him, and she 
 was oppressed by the weight of her ignorance ; she had 
 no key to unlock a man like that. With one of her 
 swift impulses she told him of what she was thinking. 
 
 He smiled, his eyes lighting. "I am more than will- 
 ing you should know all that you would be curious 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 305 
 
 about, " he said. "Ask me a hundred questions; I will 
 answer them. ' ' 
 
 She meditated a moment. She never had taken suffi- 
 cient interest in a man before to desire to fathom him, 
 and the arts of the Californian belle were not those of 
 the tactfully and impartially interested woman of to- 
 day. She did not know how to begin. 
 
 "What have you read?" she asked, at length. 
 
 He gave her some account of his library a large one 
 and mentioned many books of many nations, of which 
 she had never heard. 
 
 "You have read all those books?" 
 
 ' ' There are many long winter nights and days in the 
 redwood forests of the northern coast. ' ' 
 
 "That does not tell me much what you have read. 
 I feel that it is but one of the many items which went 
 to the making up of you. You have traveled every- 
 where, no? Was it like living over again the books of 
 travel?" 
 
 * ' Not in the least. Each man travels for himself. ' ' 
 
 "Madame de Stael said that traveling was sad. Is it 
 so?" 
 
 ' ' To the lover of history, it is like food without salt. 
 Imagination has painted an historical city with the pan- 
 orama of a great time; it has been to us a stage for 
 great events. We find it a stage with familiar parapher- 
 nalia, and actors as commonplace as ourselves. ' ' 
 
 "It is more satisfactory to stay at home and read 
 about it?" 
 
 "Infinitely, though less expanding." 
 
 ''Then is anything worth while except reading?" 
 
 "Several things; the pursuit of glory, for one thing, 
 and the active occupied life necessary for its achieve- 
 ment." 
 
 She leaned forward a little; she felt that she had 
 stumbled nearer to him. "Are you ambitious?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "For what it compels life to yield; abstractly, not. 
 Ambition is the looting of hell in chase of biting flames 
 
306 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 swirling above a desert of ashes. As for posthumous 
 fame, it must be about as satisfactory as a draught of 
 ice-water poured down the throat of a man who has died 
 on Sahara. And yet, even if in the end it all means 
 nothing, if from hour to hour we ripe and ripe, and 
 then from hour to hour we rot and rot, still for a quar- 
 ter century or so the nettle of ambition flagellating our 
 brain may serve to make life less torpid and more satis- 
 factory. The turmoil of and absorption in the fight, the 
 stinging fear of rivals, the murmur of acknowledgment, 
 the shout of compelled applause they fill the blanks." 
 
 * ' Tell me, ' ' she said imperiously, ' ' what do you want. ' ' 
 
 "Shall I tell you? I never have spoken of it to a 
 living soul but Alvarado. Shall I tell it to a woman 
 and an Iturbi y Moncada ? Could the folly of man fur- 
 ther go?" 
 
 " If I am a woman, I am an Iturbi y Moncada, and 
 if I am an Iturbi y Moncada, I have the honor of its 
 generations in my veins." 
 
 1 1 Very good. I believe you would not betray me, even 
 in the interest of your house. Would you ? ' ' 
 
 "No." 
 
 "And I love to talk to you, to tell you what I would 
 tell no other. Listen, then. An envoy goes to Mexico 
 next week with letters from Alvarado, desiring that I 
 be the next Governor of the Californias, and containing 
 the assurance that the Departmental Junta will endorse 
 me. I shall follow next month to see Santa Ana per- 
 sonally; I know him well, and he was a friend of my 
 father's. I wish to be invested with peculiar powers; 
 that is to say, I wish California to be practically over- 
 looked while I am Governor, and I wish it understood 
 that I shall be Governor as long as I please. Alvarado 
 will hold no office under the Americans, and is as ready 
 to retire now as a few years later. Of course my predi- 
 lection for the Americans must be carefully concealed 
 both from the Mexican government and the mass of the 
 people here; Santa Ana and Alvarado know what is 
 bound to come; the Mexicans, generally, retain enough 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 807 
 
 interest in the Californias to wish to keep them. I shall 
 be the last Governor of the Department, and I shall em- 
 ploy that period so to amalgamate the native population 
 that they will make a strong contingent in the new order 
 of things, and be completely under my domination. I 
 shall establish a college with American professors, so 
 that our youth will be taught to think, and to think in 
 English. Alvarado has done something for education, 
 but not enough ; he has not enforced it, and the methods 
 are very primitive. I intend to be virtually dictator. 
 With as little delay as possible I shall establish a news- 
 paper a powerful weapon in the hands of a ruler, as 
 well as a factor of development. Then I shall organize 
 a superior court for the punishment of capital crimes. 
 There can be no subservience to authority in a country 
 where murder is practically licensed. American immi- 
 gration will be more than encouraged, and it shall be dis- 
 tinctly understood by the Americans that I encourage it. 
 Everything, of course, will be done to promote good-will 
 between the Californians and the new-comers. Then, 
 when the United States make up their mind to take pos- 
 session of us, I shall waste no blood, but hand over a 
 country worthy of capture. In the meantime it will have 
 been carefully drilled into the Californian mind that 
 American occupation will be for their ultimate good, and 
 that I shall go to Washington to protect their interests. 
 There will then be no foolish insurrections. Do you 
 care to hear more ? ' ' 
 
 Her face was flushed, her chest was rising rapidly. 
 
 "I hardly know what to think how I feel. You in- 
 terest me so much as you talk that I wish you to suc- 
 ceed ; I picture your success. And yet it maddens me to 
 hear you talk of the Americans in that way also to 
 know that your house will be greater than ours that we 
 will be forgotten. But yes, tell me all. What will you 
 do then?" 
 
 "I shall have California, in the first place, scratched 
 for the gold that I believe lies somewhere within her. 
 When that great resource is located and developed I 
 
308 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 shall publish in every American newspaper the extraor- 
 dinary agricultural resources of the country. In a word, 
 my object is to make California a great State, and its 
 name synonymous with my own. As I told you before, 
 for fame as fame I care nothing; I do not care if I am 
 forgotten on my death-bed ; but with my blood biting my 
 veins I must have action while living. Shall I say that 
 I have a worthier motive in wishing to aid in the devel- 
 opment of civilization? But why worthier? Merely a 
 higher form of selfishness. The best and the worst of 
 motives are prompted by the same instinct." 
 
 "I should advise you," she said slowly, "never to 
 marry. Your wife would be very unhappy." 
 
 "But no one has greater scorn than you for the man 
 who spends his life with his lips at the chalice of the 
 poppy." 
 
 "True; I had forgotten them." She rose abruptly. 
 "Let us go back," she said. "It is better not to stay 
 too long. ' ' 
 
 As they walked down the canon she looked at him fur- 
 tively. The men of her race were almost all tall and 
 finely proportioned, but they did not suggest strength 
 as this man did. And his face it was so grimly de- 
 termined at times that she shrank from it, then drew 
 near, fascinated. It had no beauty at all according to 
 Calif ornian standards; she could not know that it rep- 
 resented all that intellect, refinement, and civilization 
 generally, would do for the human race for a century to 
 come but it had a subtle power, an absolute audacity, 
 an almost contemptuous fearlessness in its bold fine out- 
 line, a dominating intelligence in the keen deeply set 
 eyes, and a hint of weakness, where and what she could 
 not determine, that mystified and magnetized her. 
 
 "I know you a little better," she said, "just a little 
 enough to make my curiosity ache and jump. At the 
 same time, I know now what I did not before that I 
 might climb, and mine, and study, and watch, and you 
 would always be beyond me. There is something subtle 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 309 
 
 and evasive about you something I seem to be close to 
 always, yet never can see nor grasp. ' ' 
 
 "It is merely the barrier of sex. A man can know a 
 woman fairly well, because her life, consequently the 
 interests which mold her mind and conceive her 
 thoughts, are more or less simple. A man's life is so 
 complex, his nature so inevitably the sum and work of 
 it much of it lies so far outside of woman's sphere : his 
 mind spiked with a thousand magnets, each pointing to 
 a different possibility that she would need divine wis- 
 dom to comprehend him in his entirety, even if he made 
 her a diagram of every cell in his brain which he 
 never would, out of consideration for both her and his 
 own vanity. But within certain restrictions there can 
 be a magnificent sense of comradeship." 
 
 "But a woman, I think, would never be happy with 
 that something in the mam always beyond her grasp 
 that something to which she could be nothing. She 
 would be more jealous of that independence of her in 
 man than of another woman." 
 
 "That was pure insight," he said. "You could not 
 know that." 
 
 "No," she said, "I had not thought of it before." 
 
 I had made a martyr of myself on a three-cornered 
 stone at the entrance of the canon, waiting to duena 
 them out. "Never will I do this again!" I exclaimed, 
 with that virtue born of discomfort, as they came in 
 sight. 
 
 "My dearest Eustaquia," said Diego, kissing my hand 
 gallantly, "thou hast given me pleasure so often, most 
 charming and clever of women, thou hast but added one 
 new art to thy overflowing store." 
 
 We mounted almost immediately upon returning, and 
 I was alone with Chonita for a moment. "Do you real- 
 ize that you are playing with fire?" I said warningly. 
 ' ' Estenega is a dangerous man ; the most successful man 
 with women I have ever known." 
 
 " I do not deny his power, ' ' she said. ' ' But I am safe 
 for the many reasons you know of. And, being safe, 
 
310 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 why should I deny myself the pleasure of talking to him ? 
 I shall never meet his like again. Let me live for a 
 little while. " 
 
 "Ay, but do not live too hard! It hurts down into 
 the core and marrow. " 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 WHILE we were eating supper, a dozen Indian girls were 
 gathered about a table in one of the large rooms behind 
 the house, busily engaged in blowing out the contents 
 of several hundred eggs and filling the hollowed shells 
 with cologne, flour, tinsel, bright scraps of paper. Each 
 egg was then sealed with white wax, and ready for the 
 cascaron frolic of the evening. 
 
 We had been dancing, singing, and talking for an hour 
 after rosario, when the eggs were brought in. In an in- 
 stant every girl's hair was unbound, a wild dive was 
 made for the great trays, and eggs flew in every direc- 
 tion. Dancing was forgotten. The girls and men chased 
 one another about the room, the air was filled with 
 perfume and glittering particles, the latter looking very 
 pretty on black floating hair. Etiquette demanded that 
 only one egg should be thrown by the same hand at a 
 time, but quick turns of supple wrists followed one an- 
 other very rapidly. Really to accomplish a feat the egg 
 must crash on the back of the head, and each occupied 
 in attack was easy prey. 
 
 Chonita was like a child. Two priests were of our 
 party, and she made a target of their shaven crowns, 
 shrieking with delight. They vowed revenge, and chased 
 her all over the house ; but not an egg had broken on that 
 golden mane. She was surrounded at one time by cabal- 
 leros, but she whirled and doubled so swiftly that every 
 cascaron flew afield. 
 
 The pelting grew faster and more furious ; every room 
 was invaded; we chased one another up and down the 
 corridors. The people in the court had their cascarones 
 also, and the noise must have been heard at the Mission. 
 Don Guillermo hobbled about delightedly, covered with 
 
 311 
 
312 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 tinsel and flour. Estenega had tried a dozen times to 
 hit Chonita, but as if by instinct she faced him each 
 time before the egg could leave his hand. Finally he 
 pursued her down the corridor to her library, where I, 
 fortunately, happened to be resting, and both threw 
 themselves into chairs, breathless. 
 
 "Let us stay here/' he said. "We have had enough 
 of this.' ' 
 
 "Very well/' she said. She bent her head to lift a 
 book which had fallen from a shelf, and felt the soft blow 
 of the cascaron. 
 
 "At last!" said Estenega contentedly. "I was de- 
 termined to conquer, if I waited until morning. ' ' 
 
 Chonita looked vexed for a moment she did not like 
 to be vanquished then shrugged her shoulders and 
 leaned back in her chair. The little room was plainly 
 furnished. Shelves covered three sides, and the window- 
 seat and the table were littered with books. There were 
 no curtains, no ornaments ; but Chonita 's hair, billowing 
 to the floor, her slender voluptuous form, her white skin 
 and green irradiating eyes, the candlelight half reveal- 
 ing, half concealing, made a picture requiring no back- 
 ground. I caught the expression of Estenega 's face 
 and determined to remain if he murdered me. 
 
 Peals of laughter, joyous shrieks, screams of mock 
 terror, floated in to us. I broke a silence which was 
 growing awkward: 
 
 "How happy they are! Creatures of air and sun- 
 shine! Life in this Arcadia is an idyl." 
 
 "They are not happy," said Estenega contemptuous- 
 ly; "they are gay. They are light of heart through 
 endless sources of enjoyment and absence of material 
 cares, which in turn have bred a careless order of mind. 
 But did each pause long enough to look into his own 
 heart, would he not find a stone somewhere in its depths ? 
 perhaps a skull graven on the stone who knows?" 
 
 "Oh, Diego!" I exclaimed impatiently, "this is a 
 party, not a funeral." 
 
 "Then is no one happy?" asked Chonita wistfully. 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 313 
 
 "How can lie be, when in each moment of attainment 
 he is pricked by the knowledge that it must soon be 
 over? The youth is not happy, because the shadow of 
 the future is on him. The man is not happy, because 
 the knowledge of life's incompleteness is with him." 
 
 "Then of what use to live at all?" 
 
 "No use. It is no use to die either, so we live. I will 
 grant that there may be ten completely happy moments 
 in life the ten conscious moments preceding certain 
 death and oblivion." 
 
 "I will not discuss the beautiful hope of our religion 
 with you, because you do not believe, and I should only 
 get angry. But what are we to do with this life ? You 
 say nothing is wrong nor right. What would you have 
 the stumbling and unanchored do with what has been 
 thrust upon him?" 
 
 "Man, in his gropings down through the centuries, 
 has concocted, shivered, and patched certain social con- 
 ditions well enough calculated to develop the best and 
 the worst that is in us, making it easier for us to be bad 
 than good, that good might be the standard. "We feel a 
 deeper satisfaction if we have conquered an evil im- 
 pulse and done what is accepted as right, because we 
 have groaned and stumbled in the doing that is all. 
 Temptation is sweet only because the impulse comes 
 from the depths of our being, not because it is difficult 
 to be tempted. If we overcome, the satisfaction is deep 
 and enduring which only goes to show that man is but 
 a petty egoist, always drawing pictures of himself on a 
 pedestal. The man who emancipates himself from tra- 
 ditions and yields to his impulses is debarred from hap- 
 piness by the blunders of the blindfolded generations 
 preceding him, which arranged that to yield was easy 
 and to resist difficult. Had they reversed the conditions 
 and conclusions, the majority of the human race would 
 have fought each other to death, but the selected rem- 
 nant would have had a better time of it." 
 
 "Let us suppose a case as conditions now exist," he 
 continued after a moment, as Chonita made no reply. 
 
314 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "Assume, for the sake of argument, that you loved me 
 and that you plucked from your nature your religion, 
 your fidelity to your house, your love for your brother, 
 and gave yourself to me. You would stand appalled at 
 the sacrifice until you realized that you had come to me 
 only because it would have been more difficult to stay 
 away. You conquer the passionate cry of love the 
 mightiest in the human compound and you are miser- 
 ably happy for the rest of your life, no attitude being 
 so pleasing to the soul as the attitude of martyrdom. 
 Many a man and woman looks with some impatience for 
 the last good-bye to be said, so sweet is the prospect of 
 sadness, of suffering, of resignation. ' ' 
 
 I was aghast at his audacity, but I saw that Chonita 
 was fascinated. Her egoism was caressed, and her 
 womanhood thrilled. "Are we all such shams as that?" 
 was what she said. "You make me despise myself." 
 
 "Not yourself, but a great structure of which you 
 are but a grain with a faulty foundation. Don't de- 
 spise yourself. Curse the builders that shoveled those 
 stones together." 
 
 He left her then, and she told me to go to bed; she 
 wanted to sit a while and think. 
 
 "He makes you think too much," I said. "Better 
 forget what he says as soon as you can. He is a very 
 disturbing influence. ' ' 
 
 But she made no reply, and sat there staring at the 
 floor. She began to feel a sense of helplessness, like a 
 creature caught in a net. It was more the man's per- 
 sonality than his words which made her feel as if he 
 were pouring himself throughout her, taking possession 
 of brain and every sense, as though he were a sort of 
 intellectual drug. 
 
 "I believe I was made from his rib," she thought 
 angrily, ' t else why can he have this extraordinary power 
 over me ? I do not love him. I have read somewhat of 
 love, and seen more. This is different, quite. I only feel 
 that there is something in him that I want. Sometimes 
 I feel that I must dig my nails into him and tear him 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 315 
 
 apart until I find what I want something that belongs 
 to me. Sometimes it is as if he promised it, at others as 
 if he were unconscious of its existence; always it is 
 evanescent. Is he going to make my mind his own? 
 And yet he always seems to leave mine free. He never 
 has snubbed me. He makes me think ; there is the dan- 
 ger/' 
 
 An hour later there was a tap on her door. Casa 
 Grande was asleep. She sat upright, her heart beating 
 rapidly. Estenega was audacious enough for anything. 
 But it was her brother who entered. 
 
 "Beinaldo!" she exclaimed, horrified to feel an un- 
 mistakable stab of disappointment. 
 
 t ' Yes, it is I. Are you alone ? ' ' 
 
 "Surely." 
 
 ' ' I have something to say to you. ' ' 
 
 He drew a chair close to her and sat down. 
 
 "You know, my sister," he began haltingly, "how I 
 hate the house of Estenega. My hatred is as loyal as 
 yours; every drop of blood in my veins is true to the 
 honor of the house of Iturbi y Moncada. But, my sister, 
 is it not so that one can sacrifice himself, his mere per- 
 sonal feelings, upon the altar of his country ? Is it not 
 so, my sister V 
 
 "What is it you wish me to understand, Reinaldo?" 
 
 "Do not look so stern, my Chonita. You have not 
 yet heard me; and, although you may be angry then, 
 you will reason later. You are devoted to your house, 
 no?" 
 
 "You have come here in the night to ask me such a 
 question as that?" 
 
 "And thou lovest thy brother?" 
 
 "Keinaldo, you have drunken more mescal than An- 
 gelica. Go back to your bride. ' ' But although she spoke 
 lightly, she was uneasy. 
 
 * ' My sister, I never drank a drop of mescal in my life ! 
 Listen. It is our father's wish, thy wish, my wish, that 
 I become a great and distinguished man, an ornament to 
 the house of Iturbi y Moncada, a star on the brow of 
 
316 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 California. How can I accomplish this great and de- 
 sirable end ? By the medium of politics only ; our wars 
 are so insignificant. I have been debarred from the De- 
 partmental Junta by the enemy of our house, else would 
 it have rung with my eloquence, and Mexico have known 
 me to-day. Yet I care little for the Junta. I wish to 
 go as diputado to Mexico ; it is a grander arena. More- 
 over, in that great capital I shall become a man of the 
 world which is necessary to control men. That is his 
 power curse him ! And he he will not let me go there. 
 Even Alvarado listens to him. The Departmental Junta 
 is under his thumb. I will never be anything but a 
 caballero of Santa Barbara I, an Iturbi y Moncada, the 
 last scion of a line illustrious in war, in diplomacy, in 
 politics until he is either dead do not jump, my sister ; 
 it is not my intention to murder him and ruin my career 
 or becomes my friend. ' ' 
 
 1 1 Can you not put your meaning in fewer words ? ' ' 
 
 "My sister, he loves thee, and thou lovest thy brother 
 and thy house." 
 
 Chonita rose to her full height, and although he rose 
 too, and was taller, she seemed to look down upon him. 
 
 1 1 You would have me marry him ? Is that your mean- 
 ing?" 
 
 "Ay." His voice trembled. Under his swagger he 
 was always a little afraid of the Doomswoman. 
 
 "You ask perjury and disloyalty and dishonor of an 
 Iturbi y Moncada. ' ' 
 
 "An Iturbi y Moncada asks it of an Iturbi y Mon- 
 cada. If the man is ready to bend his neck in sacrifice 
 to the glory of his house is it for the woman to think ? ' ' 
 
 Chonita stood grasping the back of her chair convul- 
 sively; it was the only sign of emotion she betrayed. 
 She knew that what he said was true; that Estenega, 
 for public and personal reasons, never would let him go 
 to Mexico; he would permit no enemy at court. But 
 this knowledge drifted through her mind and out of it 
 at the moment; she was struggling to hold down a hot 
 wave of contempt rushing upward within her. She 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 317 
 
 clung to her traditions as frantically as she clung to her 
 religion. 
 
 ' ' Go ! ' ' she said, after a moment. 
 
 ''Thou wilt think of what I have said?" 
 
 "I shall pray to forget it." 
 
 "Chonita !" his voice rang out so loud that she placed 
 her hand on his mouth. He dashed it away. "Thou 
 wilt!" he cried, like a spoiled child. "Thou wilt! I 
 shall go to the city of Mexico, and only thou canst send 
 me there. All my father's gold and leagues will not 
 buy me a seat in the Mexican Congress, unless this ac- 
 cursed Estenega lifts his hand and says, 'You may.' 
 Holy God! how I hate him! Would that I had the 
 chance to murder him! I would cut his heart out to- 
 morrow. And my father likes him, and has outlived ran- 
 cor. And thou thou are not indifferent." 
 
 "Go!" 
 
 He threw his arms about her, kissing and caressing 
 her. ' ' My sister ! My sister ! Thou wilt ! Say that thou 
 wilt ! ' ' But she flung him off as if he were a snake. 
 
 "Will you go?" she asked. 
 
 "Ay! I go. But he shall suffer. I swear it! I 
 swear it ! " And he rushed from the room. 
 
 Chonita sat there, staring more fixedly at the floor 
 than when Estenega had left her. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 REINALDO did not go to his Prudencia. He went down 
 to the booths in the town and joined the late revelers. 
 Don Guillermo, rising before dawn, and walking up and 
 down the corridor to combat the pangs of Dona Trini- 
 dad 's dulces, noticed that the door of his son 's room, was 
 ajar. He paused before it, and heard slow, regular, 
 patient sobs. He opened the door and went in. Pru- 
 dencia, alone, curled up in a far corner of her bed, the 
 clothes over her head, was bemoaning many things inci- 
 dental to matrimony. As she heard the sound of heavy 
 steps she gave a little shriek. 
 
 " It is I, Prudencia, ' ' said her uncle. 1 1 Where is Rein- 
 aldo?" 
 
 ' ' I do not know. ' ' 
 
 "Did he not come from the ballroom with thee?" 
 
 "N-o-o-o-o." 
 
 "Dost thou know where he has gone? 7 ' 
 
 "N-o-o-o, senor." 
 
 "Art thou afraid?" 
 
 "Ay! God of my life! " 
 
 "Never mind," said the old gentleman. "Go to sleep. 
 Thy uncle will protect thee, and this shall not happen 
 again. ' ' 
 
 He seated himself by the bedside. Prudencia 's sobs 
 ceased gradually, and she fell asleep. An hour later the 
 door opened softly, and Reinaldo entered. In spite of 
 the mescal in him, his knees shook as he saw the indul- 
 gent but stern arbiter of the Iturbi y Moncada desti- 
 nies sitting in judgment at the bedside of his wife. 
 
 ""Where have you been, sir?" 
 
 "To take a walk to see to " 
 
 "No lying! It makes no difference where you have 
 
 318 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 319 
 
 been. What I want to know is this : Is it your duty to 
 gallivant about town? or is your place at this hour be- 
 side your wife?'* 
 
 "Here, sefior." 
 
 The old man rose, and, seizing the bridegroom by the 
 shoulders, shook him until his teeth clattered together. 
 "Then see that you stay here with her in future, or 
 you shall no longer be a married man. ' ' And he stamped 
 out and slammed the door behind him. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 spent the next day at the race-field. Many of the 
 caballeros had brought their finest horses, and Reinaldo 's 
 were famous. The vaqueros threw off their black glazed 
 sombreros and black velvet jackets, wearing only the 
 short black trousers laced with silver, a shirt of dazzling 
 whiteness, a silk handkerchief twisted about the head, 
 and huge spurs on their bare brown heels. Some of us 
 stood on a platform, others remained on their horses; 
 all were wild with excitement, and screamed themselves 
 hoarse. The great dark eyes of the girls flashed, their 
 red mouths trembled with the flood of eager exclama- 
 tions; the lace mantilla or flowered reboso fluttered 
 against hot cheeks, to be torn off, perhaps, and waved in 
 the enthusiasm of the moment. They forgot the men, 
 and the men forgot them. Even Chonita was oblivious 
 to all else for the hour. She was a famous horsewoman, 
 and keenly alive to the enchantment of the race-field. 
 The men bet their ranches, whole caponeras of their 
 finest horses, herds of cattle, their saddles and their 
 jewels. Estenega won largely, and, as it happened, from 
 Reinaldo particularly. Don Guillermo was rather pleased 
 than otherwise, holding his son to be in need of further 
 punishment; but Reinaldo was obliged to call upon all 
 the courtesy of the Spaniard and all the falseness of his 
 nature to help him remember that his enemy was his 
 guest. 
 
 We went home to siesta and a long gay supper, where 
 the races were the only topic of conversation; then to 
 dance and sing and flirt until midnight, the people in 
 the booths as tireless as ourselves. Valencia's attentions 
 to Estenega were as conspicuous as usual, but he man- 
 aged to devote most of his time to Chonita. 
 
 320 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 321 
 
 That night Chonita had a dream. She dreamed that 
 she awoke without a soul. The sense of vacancy was aw- 
 ful, yet there was a singular undercurrent of conscious- 
 ness that no soul ever had been within her that it ex- 
 isted, but was yet to be found. 
 
 She arose, trembling, and opened her door. Santa 
 Barbara was as quiet as all the world is in the chill last 
 hours of night. She half expected to see something hover 
 before her, a will-o '-the-wisp, alluring her over the rocky 
 valleys and towering mountains until death gave her 
 weary feet rest. She remembered vaguely that she had 
 read legends of that purport. 
 
 But there was nothing not even the glow of a late 
 cigarito nor the flash of a falling star. Still she seemed 
 to know where the soul awaited her. She closed her door 
 softly and walked swiftly down the corridor, her bare 
 feet making no sound on the boards. At a door on the 
 opposite side she paused, shaking violently, but unable 
 to pass it. She opened the door and went in. The room, 
 like all the others in that time of festivity, had more 
 occupants than was its wont; a bed was in each corner. 
 The shutters and windows were open, the moonlight 
 streamed in, and she saw that all were asleep. She 
 crossed the room and looked down upon Diego Estenega. 
 His night garment, low about the throat, made his head, 
 with his sharply cut profile, look like the heads on old 
 Roman medallions. The pallor of night, the extreme re- 
 finement of his face, the deep repose, gave him an un- 
 mortal appearance. Chonita bent over him fearfully. 
 "Was he dead? His breathing was regular, but very 
 quiet. She stood gazing down upon him, the instinct of 
 seeking vanished. What did it mean? Was this her 
 soul? A man? How could it be? Even in poetry she 
 never had read of a man being a woman's soul a man 
 with all his frailties and sins, for the most part unre- 
 pented. She felt, rather than knew, that Estenega had 
 trampled many laws, and that he cared too little for any 
 law but his own will to repent. And yet, there he lay, 
 looking, in the gray light and the impersonality of sleep, 
 
322 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 as sinless as if he had been created within the hour. He 
 looked, not like a man, but a spirit a soul ; and the soul 
 was hers. 
 
 Again she asked herself, what did it mean ? Was the 
 soul but brain? She and he were so alike in elements, 
 yet he so immeasurably beyond her in experience and 
 knowledge and the stronger fiber of a man 's mind 
 
 He awoke suddenly and saw her. For a moment he 
 stared incredulously, then raised himself on his hand. 
 
 "Chonita!" he whispered. 
 
 But Chonita, with the long glide of the Californian 
 woman, vanished from the room. 
 
 When she awoke the next morning she was assailed by 
 a distressing fear. Had she been to Estenega's room 
 the night before? The memory was too vivid, the de- 
 tails too practical, for a sleep-vagary. At breakfast she 
 hardly dared to raise her eyes. She felt that he was 
 watching her; but he often watched her. After break- 
 fast they were alone at one end of the corridor for a 
 moment, and she compelled herself to raise her eyes and 
 look at him steadily. He was regarding her searchingly. 
 
 She was not a woman to endure uncertainty. 
 
 1 i Tell me, ' ' she cried, trembling from head to foot, the 
 blood flying over her face, "did I go to your room last 
 night ?" 
 
 "Dona Chonita!" he exclaimed. "What an extraor- 
 dinary question! You have been dreaming. " 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 WE went to a bull-fight that day, danced that night, 
 meriendaed and danced again ; a siesta in the afternoon, 
 a few hours ' sleep in the night refreshing us all. Chonita 
 alone looked pale, but I knew that her pallor was not 
 due to weariness. And I knew that she was beginning 
 to fear Estenega; the time was almost come when she 
 would fear herself more. Estenega had several talks 
 apart with her. He managed it without any apparent 
 maneuvering; but he always had the devil's methods. 
 Valencia avenged herself by flirting desperately with 
 Reinaldo, and Prudencia 's honeymoon was seasoned with 
 gall. 
 
 On Saturday night Chonita stole from her guests, 
 donned a black gown and reboso, and, attended by two 
 Indian servants, went up to the Mission to confession. 
 As she left the church half an hour later, and came down 
 the steps, Estenega rose from a bench beneath the arches 
 of the corridor and joined her. 
 
 "How did you know that I came?" she asked; and it 
 was not the stars that lit her face. 
 
 "You do little that I do not know. Have you been to 
 confession ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 They walked slowly down the valley. 
 
 "And you forgave and were forgiven?" 
 
 "Yes. Ay! but my penance is heavy!" 
 
 "But when it is done you will be at rest, I sup- 
 pose. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, I hope! I hope!" 
 
 "Have you begun to realize that your Church cannot 
 satisfy you?" 
 
 "No! I will not say that." 
 
 323 
 
324 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "But you know it. Your intelligence has opened a 
 window somewhere, and the truth has crept through it." 
 
 ' * Do not take my religion from me, senor ! ' ' Her eyes 
 and voice appealed to him, and he accepted her first con- 
 fession of weakness with a throb of exulting tenderness. 
 
 "My love!" he said, "I would give you more than I 
 took from you." 
 
 "No! never! Even if we were not enemies, and 
 
 I had not made that terrible vow, my religion has been 
 all in all to me. Just now I have many things that tor- 
 ment me ; and I have asked so little of religion before 
 my life has been so calm that now I hardly know how 
 to ask for so much more. I shall learn. Leave me 
 peace. ' ' 
 
 ' l Do you want me to go ?" he asked. ' ' If you did if 
 I troubled you by staying here I believe I would go. 
 Only I know it would do no good ; I should come back. ' ' 
 
 " No ! no ! I do not want you to go. I should feel 
 I will admit to you like a house without its founda- 
 tion. And yet sometimes I pray that you will go. Ay ! 
 I do not like life. I used to have pride in my intelli- 
 gence. Where is my pride now? What good has the 
 wisdom in my books done me, when I confess my de- 
 pendence upon a man, and that man my enemy and 
 the acquaintance of a few weeks?" She was speaking 
 incoherently, and Estenega chafed at the restraint of the 
 servants so close behind them. "Tell me," she ex- 
 claimed, ' ' what is it in you that I want ? that I need ? 
 It is something that belongs to me. Give it to me, and 
 go away." 
 
 "Chonita, I give it to you gladly, God knows. But 
 you must take me, too. You want in me what is akin 
 to you and what you will find nowhere else. But I can- 
 not tear my soul out of my body. You must take both 
 or neither." 
 
 "Ay! I cannot! You know that I cannot!" 
 
 ' ' I ignore your reasons. ' ' 
 
 "But I do not." 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 325 
 
 "You shall, my beloved. Or if you do not ignore you 
 shall forget them." 
 
 "When I am dead would that I were!" She was 
 excited and trembling. The confession had been an or- 
 deal, and Estenega was never tranquilizing. She wished 
 to cling to him, but was still mistress of herself. He 
 divined her impulse, and drew her arm through his and 
 across his breast. He opened her hand and pressed his 
 lips to the palm. Then he bent his face above hers. 
 She was trembling violently; her face was wild and 
 white. His own was ashen, and the heart beneath her 
 arm beat rapidly. 
 
 "I love you devotedly," he said. "You believe that, 
 Chonita?" 
 
 " Ah ! Mother of God ! do not ! I cannot listen. ' ' 
 
 "But you shall listen. Throw off your superstitions 
 and come to me. Keep the part of your religion that is 
 not superstition ; I would be the last to take it from you ; 
 but I will not permit its barnacles to stand between us. 
 As for your traditions, you have not even the excuse of 
 filial duty ; your father would not forbid you to become 
 my wife. And I love you very earnestly and passion- 
 ately. Just how much, I might convey to you if we 
 were alone." 
 
 He was obliged to exercise great self-restraint, but 
 there was no mistaking his seriousness. When such sci- 
 entific triflers do find a woman worth loving, they are 
 too deeply sensible of the fact not to be stirred to their 
 depths; and their depths are likely to be in large dis- 
 proportion to the lightness of their ordinary mood. 
 ' ' Come to me, ' ' he continued. ' ' I need you ; and I will 
 be as tender and thoughtful a husband as I will be ardent 
 as a lover. You love me ; don 't blind yourself any longer. 
 Do you picture, in a life of solitude and cold devotion 
 to phantoms, any happiness equal to what you would 
 find here in my arms ? ' ' 
 
 * ' Oh, hush ! hush ! You could make me do what you 
 wished. I have no will. I feel no longer myself. WTiat 
 is this terrible power?" 
 
326 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 "It is the magnetism of love; that is all. I am not 
 exercising any diabolical power over you. Listen; I 
 will not trouble you any more now. I am obliged to go 
 to Los Angeles the day after to-morrow. On my way 
 back to Monterey in about two weeks I shall come 
 here again. Then we will talk together ; but I warn you, 
 I shall accept only one answer. You are mine, and I 
 shall have you." 
 
 They reached Casa Grande a moment later, and she 
 escaped from him and ran to her room. But she dared 
 not remain alone. Hastily changing her black gown for 
 the first her hand touched it happened to be vivid red, 
 and made her look as white as wax she returned to 
 the sala, not to dance even the square contradanza, but 
 to stand surrounded by worshiping caballeros with curl- 
 ing hair tied with gay ribbons, and jewels in their laces. 
 Valencia regarded her with a bitter jealousy that was 
 rising from red heat to white. How dared a woman with 
 hair of gold wear the color of the brunette? It was a 
 theft. It was the last indignity. And once more she 
 chained Reinaldo, in default of Estenega, to her side. 
 And deep in Prudencia's heart wove a scheme of venge- 
 ance ; the loom and warp had been presented unwittingly 
 by her chivalrous father-in-law. 
 
 Estenega remained in the sala a few moments after 
 Chonita's reappearance, then left the house and wan- 
 dered through the booth in the court, where the people 
 were dancing and singing and eating and gambling as if 
 with the morrow an eternal Lent would come, and thence 
 through the silent town to the pleasure-grounds of Casa 
 Grande, which lay about half a mile from the house. He 
 had been there but a short while when he heard a rustle, 
 a light footfall. Turning, he saw Chonita, unattended, 
 her bare neck and gold hair gleaming against the dark, 
 her train dragging. She was advancing swiftly toward 
 him. His pulses bounded, and he sprang toward her, his 
 arms outstretched ; but she waved him back. 
 
 ' ' Have mercy, ' ' she said. " I am alone. I brought no 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 327 
 
 one, because I have that to tell you which no one else 
 must hear. ' ' 
 
 He stepped hack and looked at the ground. 
 
 "Listen," she said. "I could not wait until to-mor- 
 row, because a moment lost might mean might mean 
 the ruin of your career, and you say your envoy has not 
 gone yet. Just now I will tell you the other first. 
 Mother of God ! that I should betray my brother to my 
 enemy! But it seems to me right, because you placed 
 your confidence in me, and I should feel that I betrayed 
 you if I did not warn you. I do not know oh, Mary ! 
 I do not know but this seems to me right. The other 
 night my brother came to me and asked me ay ! do not 
 look at me to marry you, that you would balk his am- 
 bition no further. He wishes to go as diputado to Mex- 
 ico, and he knows that you will not let him. I thought 
 my brain would crack an Iturbi y Moncada! I made 
 him no answer there was no answer to a demand like 
 that and he went from me in a fury, vowing venge- 
 ance upon you. To-night, a few moments ago, he whis- 
 pered to me that he knew of your plans, your intentions 
 regarding the Americans ; he had overheard a conversa- 
 tion between you and Alvarado. He says that he will 
 send letters to Mexico to-morrow, warning the govern- 
 ment against you. Then their suspicions will be roused, 
 and they will inquire Ay, Mary!" 
 
 Estenega brought his teeth together. ' ' God ! " he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 She saw that he had forgotten her. She turned and 
 went back more swiftly than she had come. 
 
 Estenega was a man whose resources never failed him. 
 He returned to the house and asked Reinaldo to smoke 
 a cigarito and drink a bottle of wine with him in his 
 room. Then, without a promise or a compromising word, 
 he so flattered that shallow youth, so allured his ambi- 
 tion and pampered his vanity and watered his hopes, 
 that fear and hatred wondered at their existence, closed 
 their eyes, and went to sleep. Reinaldo poured forth 
 his aspirations, which under the influence of the truth- 
 
328 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 provoking vine proved to be an honest yearning for the 
 pleasures of Mexico. As he rose to go he toew his 
 arm about Estenega's neck. 
 
 "Ay ! my friend ! my friend!' 7 he cried, "thou art all- 
 powerful. Thou alone canst give me what I want. ' ' 
 
 "Why did you never ask me for what you wanted?" 
 asked Estenega. And he thought, "If it were not for 
 Her, you would be on your way to Los Angeles to-night 
 under charge of high treason. I would not have taken 
 this much trouble with you." 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A RODEO was held the next day the last of the festivi- 
 ties Don Guillermo taking advantage of the gathering 
 of the rancheros. It was to take place on the Cerros 
 Eancho, which adjoined the Rancho de las Rocas. We 
 went early, most of us dismounting and taking to the 
 platform on one side of the circular rodeo-ground. The 
 vaqueros were already galloping over the hills, shouting 
 and screaming to the cattle, that ran to them like dogs ; 
 soon a herd came rushing down into the circle, where 
 they were thrown down and branded, the stray cattle 
 belonging to neighbors separated and corralled. This 
 happened again and again, the interest and excitement 
 growing with each round-up. 
 
 Once a bull, seeing his chance, darted from his herd 
 and down the valley. A vaquero started after him ; but 
 Reinaldo, anxious to display his skill in horsemanship, 
 and being still mounted, called to the vaquero to stop, 
 dashed after the animal, caught it by its tail, spurred 
 his horse ahead, let go the tail at the right moment, and, 
 amid shouts of ' ' Coliar ! " ' ' Coliar ! " the bull was igno- 
 miniously rolled in the dust, then meekly preceded Rein- 
 aldo back to the rodeo-ground. 
 
 After the dinner under the trees most of the party re- 
 turned to the platform; but Estenega, Adan, Chonita, 
 Valencia, and myself strolled about the rancho. Adan 
 walked at Chonita 's side, more faithful than her shadow. 
 Valencia's black eyes flashed their language so plainly 
 to Estenega '& that he could not have deserted her with- 
 out rudeness; and Estenega never was rude. 
 
 "Adan," said Chonita abruptly, "I am tired of you. 
 Sit down under that tree until I come back. I wish to 
 walk alone with Eustaquia for a while." 
 
 329 
 
330 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Adan sighed and did as he was bidden, consoling him- 
 self with a cigarito. Taking a different path from the 
 one the others followed, we walked some distance, talk- 
 ing of ordinary matters, both avoiding the subject of 
 Diego Estenega by common consent. And yet I was 
 convinced that she. carried on a substratum of thought 
 of which he was the object, even while she talked coher- 
 ently to me. On our way back the conversation died for 
 want of bone and muscle, and, as it happened, we were 
 both silent as he approached a small adobe hut. As we 
 turned the corner we came upon Estenega and Valencia. 
 He had just bent his head and kissed her. 
 
 Valencia fled like a hare. Estenega turned the hue of 
 chalk, and I knew that blue lightning was flashing in 
 his disconcerted brain. I could feel the chill of Chonita 
 as she lifted herself to the rigidity of a statue and swept 
 slowly down the path. 
 
 " Diego, you are a fool!" I exclaimed, when she was 
 out of hearing. 
 
 1 1 You need not tell me that, ' ' he said savagely. ' * But 
 
 what in Heaven's name Well, never mind. For 
 
 God's sake, straighten it out with her. Tell her ex- 
 plain to her what men are. Tell her that the present 
 woman is omnipresent no, don 't tell her that. Tell her 
 that history is full of instances of men who have given 
 one woman the devoted love of a lifetime and been un- 
 faithful to her every week in the year. Explain to her 
 that a man to love one woman must love all women. Tell 
 her that a man often marries a woman out of politeness, 
 or absent-mindedly, when he is thinking of another 
 woman. And she has sufficient proof that I love her and 
 no other woman; I want to marry her, not Valencia 
 Menendez. Heaven knows I will be true to her when I 
 have her. I could not be otherwise. But I need not 
 explain to you. Set it right with her. She has brain; 
 she can be made to understand." 
 
 I shook my head. "You cannot reason with inex- 
 perience; and when it is allied to jealousy God of my 
 soul! Her ideal, of course, is perfection, and does not 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAIST 331 
 
 take human weakness into account. You have fallen 
 short of it to-day. I fear your cause is lost. ' ' 
 
 11 It is not! Do you think I will give her up for a 
 trifle like that?" 
 
 ' ' But why not accept this break ? You cannot marry 
 her " 
 
 "Oh, do not return to that nonsense!" he exclaimed 
 harshly. "I shall peel off her traditions when the time 
 comes, as I would strip off the outer hulls of a nut. Go ! 
 Go, Eustaquia!" 
 
 Of course I went. Chonita was not at the rodeo : 
 ground, but, escorted by her father, had gone home. I 
 followed immediately, and when I reached Casa Grande 
 I found her sitting in her library. I never saw a statue 
 look more like marble. Her face was locked; only the 
 eyes betrayed the soul in torment. But she looked as 
 immutable as a fate. 
 
 "Chonita," I exclaimed, hardly knowing where to 
 begin, "be reasonable. Men of Estenega's brain and 
 passionate affectionate nature are always weak with 
 women, but it means nothing. He cares nothing for 
 Valencia Menendez. He is madly in love with you. And 
 his weakness, my dear, springs from the same source as 
 his charm. He would not be the man he is without it. 
 His heart would be less kindly, his impulses less gener- 
 ous, his brain less virile, his sympathies less instinctive 
 and true. The strong impregnable man, the man whom 
 no vice tempts, no weakness assails, who is loyal without 
 effort such a man lacks breadth and magnetism and 
 the power to read the human heart and sympathize 
 with both its noble impulses and its terrible weaknesses. 
 Such men I never have known it to fail are full of 
 petty vanities and egoisms and contemptible weaknesses, 
 the like of which Estenega could not be capable of. No 
 man can be perfect, and it is the man of great strength 
 and great weakness who alone understands and sym- 
 pathizes with human nature, who is lovable and mag- 
 netic, and who has the power to rouse the highest as 
 well as the most passionate love of a woman. Such men 
 
332 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 cause infinite suffering, but they can give a happiness 
 that makes the suffering worth while. You will never 
 meet another man like Diego Estenega. Do not cast him 
 lightly aside. " 
 
 "Do I understand," said Chonita, in a perfectly un- 
 moved voice, "that you are counseling me to marry an 
 Estenega and the man who would send me to hell here- 
 after? Do you forget my vow?" 
 
 I came to myself with a shock. In the enthusiasm of 
 my defense I had forgotten the situation. 
 
 "At least forgive him," I said rather lamely. 
 
 "I have nothing to forgive," she said. "He is noth- 
 ing to me. ' ' 
 
 I knew that it was useless to argue with her. 
 
 "I have a favor to ask of you," she said. "Most of 
 our guests leave this afternoon; will you let me sleep 
 alone to-night?" 
 
 I should have liked to put my arm about her and give 
 her a woman 's sympathy, but I did not dare. All I could 
 do was to leave her alone. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 CASA GRANDE held three jealous women. The drama 
 had its comic interpolations, but was tragic enough to 
 the actors. 
 
 In the evening the lingering guests of the house and 
 the neighbors of the town assembled as usual for the 
 dance. Only Estenega absented himself. Valencia stood 
 her ground; she would not go while Estenega remained 
 in Santa Barbara. Chonita moved proudly among her 
 guests, and never had been more gracious. ' Valencia 
 dared not meet her eyes nor mine, but, seeing that Pru- 
 dencia was watching her, avenged her own disquiet by 
 enhancing that of the bride. Never did she flirt so im- 
 periously with Reinaldo, as she did that fateful night, 
 and Reinaldo, wlio was man's vanity collected and com- 
 pounded, devoted himself to the dashing beauty. Her 
 cheeks burned "with excitement, her eyes were restless 
 and flashing. 
 
 The music stopped. The women were eating the dulces 
 passed by the Indian servants. The men had not yet 
 gone into the dining-room. Valencia dropped her hand- 
 kerchief; Reinaldo, kneeling to recover it, kissed her 
 hand behind its flimsy shelter. 
 
 Then Prudencia arose. She trailed her long gown 
 down the room between the two rows of people staring 
 at her grim eyes and pressed lips; her little head, with 
 its high comb, stiffly erect. She walked straight up to 
 Reinaldo, and boxed his ears before the assembled com- 
 pany. 
 
 ' ' Thou wilt flirt no more with other women, ' ' she said, 
 in a loud clear voice. * ' Thou art my husband, and thou 
 wilt not forget it again. Come with me. ' ' 
 
 And, amid the silence of mountain-tops in a snow- 
 
 333 
 
334 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 storm, he stumbled to his feet and followed her from 
 the room. 
 
 I could not sleep that night. In spite of the amuse- 
 ment I had felt at Prudencia's coup-d'etat, I was op- 
 pressed by the chill and foreboding which seemed to 
 emanate from Chonita and pervade the house. I knew 
 that terrible calm was like the menacing stillness of the 
 hours before an earthquake. What would she do in 
 the coming convulsion ? I shuddered and tormented my- 
 self with many imaginings. 
 
 I became so nervous that I rose and dressed, and went 
 out upon the corridor and walked up and down. It was 
 very late, and the moon was risen, but the corners were 
 dark. Figures seemed to start from them, but my 
 nerves were strong ; I never had given way to fear. 
 
 My thoughts wandered to Estenega. Who shall judge 
 the complex heart of a man ? the deep intense lasting de- 
 votion he may have for the one woman he recognizes as 
 his soul's own, and yet the strange wayward wanderings 
 of his fancy, the nomadic assertion of the animal; the 
 passionate love he may feel for this woman of all women, 
 yet the reserve in which he always holds her, never know- 
 ing her quite as well as he has known other women ; the 
 last test of highest love, passion without sensuality ? And 
 yet the regret that she does not gratify every side of 
 his nature, even while he would not have her; regret 
 for the terrible incongruity of human nature, the min- 
 gling of the beast and the divine, which cannot find satis- 
 faction in the same woman ; whatever the fire in her, she 
 cannot gratify the instincts which rage below passion in 
 man without losing the purity of mind that he adores 
 in her. She, too, feels a vague regret that some part 
 of his nature is a sealed book to her, for ever beyond her 
 ken. But her regret is nothing to his; he knows, and 
 she does not. 
 
 My meditations were interrupted suddenly. I heard 
 a door stealthily opened. I knew before turning 
 that the door was Chonita 's, the last at the end of 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 335 
 
 the right wing. It opened, and she came out. It was 
 as if a face alone came out. She was shrouded from 
 head to foot in black, and her face was as white as the 
 moon. Possessed by a nameless but overwhelming fear, 
 I turned the knob of the door nearest me and almost fell 
 into the room. I closed the door behind me, but there 
 was no key. By the strip of white light which entered 
 through the crevice between the half-open shutters I 
 saw that I was in the room of Valencia Menendez ; but 
 she slept soundly and had not heard me. 
 
 I stood still, listening for many minutes. At first 
 there was no sound; I evidently had startled her, and 
 she was waiting for the house to be still again. At last 
 I heard some one gliding down the corridor. Then, sud- 
 denly, I knew that she was coming to this room, and, 
 possessed by a horrible curiosity and growing terror, I 
 sank on my knees in a corner. 
 
 The door opened noiselessly, and Chonita entered. 
 Again I saw only her white face, rigid as death, but the 
 eyes flamed with the terrible passions that her 'soul had 
 flung up from its depths at last. Then I saw another 
 white object her hand. But there was no knife in it. 
 Had there been, I think I should have shaken off the 
 spell that controlled me; I never would see murder 
 done. It was the awe of the unknown that paralyzed 
 my muscles. She bent over Valencia, who moved un- 
 easily and cast her arms above her head. I saw her 
 touch her finger to the sleeping woman's mouth, insert- 
 ing it between the lips. Then she moved backward and 
 stood by the head of the bed, facing the window. She 
 raised herself to her full height, and extended her arms 
 horizontally. The position gave her the form of a cross 
 a black cross, topped and pointed with malevolent 
 white; one hand was spread above Valencia's face. She 
 was the most awful sight I ever beheld. She uttered no 
 sound ; she scarcely breathed. Suddenly, with the curve 
 of a panther, her figure glided above the unconscious 
 woman, her open hand describing a strange motion ; then 
 she melted from the room. 
 
336 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Valencia awoke, shrieking. 
 
 "Some one has cursed me!" she cried. "Mother of 
 God ! Some one has cursed me ! ' ' 
 I fled from the room, to faint upon my own bed. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 THE next morning Casa Grande was thrown into con- 
 sternation. Valencia Menendez was in a raging fever, 
 and had to be held in her bed. 
 
 After breakfast I sent for Estenega and told him of 
 what I had seen. In the first place I had to tell some 
 one, and in the second I thought to end his infatua- 
 tion and avert further trouble. "You firebrand!" I ex- 
 claimed, in conclusion. "You see the mischief you have 
 worked! You will go, now, thank heaven and go 
 cured. ' ' 
 
 1 ' I will go for a time, ' ' he said. ' ' This mood of hers 
 must wear itself out. But, if I loved her before, I wor- 
 ship her now. She is magnificent! a woman with the 
 passions of hell and the sweetness of an angel. She is 
 the woman I have waited for all my life the only 
 woman I have ever known. Some day I will take her 
 in my arms and tell her that I understand her." 
 
 "Diego," I said, divided between despair and curi- 
 osity, "you have fancied many women; wherein does 
 your feeling for Chonita differ? How can you be sure 
 that this is love? What is your idea of love?" 
 
 He sat down and was silent for a moment, then spoke 
 thoughtfully: "Love is not passion, for one may feel 
 that for many women; not affection, for friendship de- 
 mands that. Not even sympathy and comradeship ; one 
 can find either with men. Nor all, for I have felt all, 
 yet something was lacking. Love is the mysterious turn- 
 ing of one heart to another with the promise of a mag- 
 netic harmony, a strange original delight, a deep satis- 
 faction, a surety of permanence, which did either heart 
 roam the world it never would find again. It is the 
 knowledge that did the living body turn to corruption, 
 
 337 
 
338 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the spirit within would still hold and sway the steel that 
 had rushed unerringly to its magnet. It is the knowl- 
 edge that weakness will only arouse tenderness, never 
 disgust, as when the fancy reigns and the heart sleeps; 
 that faults will clothe themselves in the individuality of 
 the owner and become treasures to the loving mind that 
 sees, but worships. It is the development of the high- 
 est form of selfishness, the passionate and abiding desire 
 to sacrifice one's self to the happiness of one beloved. 
 Above all, it is the impossibility to cease to love, no mat- 
 ter what reason, or prudence, or jealousy, or disapproval, 
 or terrible discoveries may dictate. Let the mind sit on 
 high and argue the soul's mate out of doors, it will 
 rebound, when all is said and done, like a rubber ball 
 when the pressure of the finger is removed. As for Cho- 
 nita, she is the lost part of me." 
 
 He left that day, and without seeing Chonita again. 
 Valencia was in wildest delirium for a week ; at the end 
 of the second every hair on her head, her brows, and 
 her eyelashes had fallen. She looked like a white mum- 
 my, a ghastly pitiful caricature of the beautiful woman 
 whose arrows quivered in so many hearts. They rolled 
 her in a blanket and took her home ; and then I sought 
 Chonita, who had barely left her room and never gone 
 to Valencia 's. I told her that I had witnessed the curse, 
 and described the result. 
 
 ' ' Have you no remorse ? " I asked. 
 
 "None." 
 
 "You have ruined the beauty, the happiness, the for- 
 tune, of another woman. ' ' 
 
 "I have done what I intended." 
 
 "Do you realize that again you have raised a barrier 
 between yourself and your religion? You do not look 
 very repentant." 
 
 ' ' Revenge is sweeter than religion. ' ' 
 
 Then in a burst of anger I confessed that I had told 
 Estenega. For a moment I thought her terrible hatred 
 was about to hurl its vengeance at me; but she only 
 asked : 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 339 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 Unwillingly, I repeated it, but word for word. And 
 as I spoke, her face softened, the austerity left her fea- 
 tures, an expression of passionate gratitude came into 
 her eyes. 
 
 "Did he say that, Eustaquia?" 
 
 "He did." 
 
 ' ' Say it again, please. ' ' 
 
 I did so. And then she put her hands to her face, 
 and cried, and cried, and cried. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 AT the end of the week Doiia Trinidad died suddenly. 
 She was sitting on the green bench, dispensing charities, 
 when her head fell back gently, and the light went out. 
 No death ever had been more peaceful, no soul ever had 
 been better prepared; but wailing grief went after her. 
 Poor Don Guillermo sank in a heap as if some one had 
 felled him, Eeinaldo wept loudly, and Prudencia was 
 not to be consoled. Chonita was away on her horse when 
 it happened, galloping over the hills. Servants were sent 
 for her immediately, and met her when she was within 
 an hour or two of home. As she entered the sala, Don 
 Guillermo, Reinaldo, and Prudencia literally flung them- 
 selves upon her ; and she stood like a rock and supported 
 them. She had loved her mother, but it had always been 
 her lot to prop other people ; she never had had a chance 
 to lean. 
 
 All that night and next day she was closely engaged 
 with the members of the agonized household, even visit- 
 ing the grif -stricken Indians at times. On the second 
 night she went to the room where her mother lay with 
 all the pomp of candles and crosses, and bade the Indian 
 watchers, crouching like buzzards about the corpse, to 
 go for a time. She sank into a chair beside the dead, and 
 wondered at the calmness of her heart. She was not 
 conscious of any feeling stronger than regret. She tried 
 to realize the irrevocableness of death that the mother 
 who had been so kindly an influence in her life had gone 
 out of it. But the knowledge brought no grief. She 
 felt only the necessity for alleviating the grief of others ; 
 that was her part. 
 
 The door opened. She drew her breath suddenly. She 
 knew that it was Estenega. He sat down beside her and 
 
 340 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 341 
 
 took her hand and held it, without a word, for hours. 
 Gradually she leaned toward him, although without 
 touching him. And after a time her own tears came. 
 
 He went his way the next morning, but he wrote to 
 her before he left, and again from Monterey, and then 
 from the North. She answered only once, and then with 
 but a line. 
 
 But the line was this : 
 
 "Write to me until you have forgotten me." 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 BEFORE going to Mexico, Estenega remained for some 
 weeks at his ranches in the North, overlooking the slaugh- 
 tering of his cattle ; an important yearly event, for the 
 trade in hides and tallow with foreign shippers was the 
 chief source of the Calif ornian 's income. He also was 
 associated with the Russians at Fort Ross and Bodega 
 in the fur- trade. But he was far from being sat- 
 isfied with these desultory gains. They sufficed his 
 private wants, but with the great schemes he had in mind 
 he needed gold by the bushel. How to obtain it was a 
 problem which sat on the throne of his mind side by 
 side with Chonita Iturbi y Moncada. He had reason to 
 believe that gold lay under California ; but where ? He 
 determined that upon his return from Mexico he would 
 take measures to discover, although he objected to the 
 methods which alone could be employed. But, like all 
 born rulers of men, he had an impatient scorn for means 
 with a great end in view. There was no intermediate 
 way to make the money. It would be a hundred years 
 before the country would be populous enough to give 
 his vast ranches a reasonable value; and although he 
 had twenty thousand head of cattle, the market for their 
 disposal was limited, and barter was the principle of 
 trade, rather than coin. 
 
 Toward the end of the month he hurried to Monterey 
 to catch a bark about to sail for Mexico. The impor- 
 tant preliminaries of the future he had planned could 
 no longer be delayed ; the treacherous revengeful nature 
 of Reinaldo might at any moment awake from the spell 
 in which he had locked it; had a ship sailed before, he 
 would have left his commercial interests with his major- 
 domo and gone to the seat of government at once. 
 
 342 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 343 
 
 He arrived in Monterey one evening after hard riding. 
 The city was singularly quiet. It was the hour when 
 the indefatigable dancers of that gay town should have 
 flitted past the open windows of the salas, when the 
 air should have been vocal with the flute and guitar, 
 song and light laughter. But the city might have been 
 a living tomb. The white rayless houses were heavy and 
 silent as sepulchres. He rode slowly down Alvarado 
 Street, and saw the advancing glow of a cigar. When 
 the cigar was abreast of him he recognized Mr. Larkin. 
 
 ' ' What is the matter ? " he asked. 
 
 " Small-pox/ ' replied the consul succinctly. "Better 
 get on board at once. And steer clear of the lower quar- 
 ter. Your vaquero arrived yesterday, and I instructed 
 him to put your baggage in the custom-house. He 
 dropped it and fled to the country. ' ' 
 
 Estenega thanked him and proceeded on his way. 
 He made a circuit to avoid the lower quarter, but saw 
 that it was not abandoned ; lights moved here and there. 
 "Poor creatures!" he thought, "they are probably dy- 
 ing like poisoned rats." 
 
 On the side of the hill by the road was a solitary hut. 
 He was obliged to pass it. A candle burned beyond the 
 open window, and he set his lips and turned his head ; 
 not from fear of contagion, however. His eyes were 
 drawn to the window in spite of his resolute will. He 
 looked once, and looked again, then checked his horse. 
 On the bed lay a girl in the middle stages of the disease, 
 her eyes glittering with delirium, her black hair matted 
 and wet. She was evidently alone. Estenega spurred 
 his horse and galloped round to the back of the hut. In 
 the kitchen, the only other room, huddled an old crone, 
 brown and gnarled like an old apple. She was sleeping; 
 by her side was a bottle of aguardiente. Estenega called 
 loudly to her : 
 
 "Susana!" 
 
 The creature stirred, but did not open her eyes. He 
 called twice again, and awakened her. She stared 
 
344 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 through the open door, her lower jaw falling, showing 
 the yellow stumps. 
 
 " Who is?" 
 
 ' ' Is Anita alone with you ? ' ' 
 
 "Ay, yi! Don Diego! Yes, yes. All run from the 
 house like rats from a ship that burns. Ay, yi ! Ay, yi ! 
 
 and she so pretty before ! A-y, y-i ! " Her head fell 
 
 forward ; she relapsed into stupor. 
 
 Estenega rode round to the window again. The girl 
 was sitting on the edge of the bed, mechanically pulling 
 the long matted strands of her hair. 
 
 "Water! water!" she cried faintly. "Ay, Mary!" 
 She strove to rise, but fell back, clutching at the bed- 
 clothing. 
 
 Estenega rode to a deserted hut near by, concealed his 
 saddle in a corner under a heap of rubbish, and turned 
 his horse loose. He returned to the hut where the sick 
 girl lay, and entered the room. She recognized him in 
 spite of her fever. 
 
 "Don Diego! Is it you? you?" she said, half rais- 
 ing herself. * ' Ay, Mary ! is it the delirium ? ' ' 
 
 "It is I," he said. "I will take care of you. Do you 
 want water ? ' ' 
 
 ' * Ay, water. Ay, thou wert always kind, even though 
 thy love did last so little a while." 
 
 He brought the water, and did what he could to re- 
 lieve her sufferings. Like all the rancheros, he had some 
 knowledge of medicine. He held the old crone under 
 the pump, gave her an emetic, broke her bottle, and 
 ordered her to help him care for the girl. Between awe 
 of him and promise of gold, she gave him some assist- 
 ance. 
 
 Estenega watched the vessel sail the next morning, and 
 battled with the impulse to leap from the window, hire 
 a boat, and overtake it. The delay of a month might 
 mean the death of his hopes. For all he knew, the bark 
 carried the letters of his undoing; Reinaldo himself 
 might be on it. He set his lips with an expression of 
 bitter contempt tke expression directed at his own im- 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 345 
 
 potenee in the hands of circumstance and went to the 
 bedside of the girl. She was hopelessly ill ; even medical 
 skill, were there such a thing in the country, could not 
 save her; but he could not leave to die like a dog a 
 woman who had been his mistress, even if only the fancy 
 of a few months, as this poor girl had been. She had 
 loved him, and never annoyed him ; they had maintained 
 friendly relations, and he had helped her whenever she 
 had appealed to him. But in this hour of her extremity 
 she had further rights, and he recognized them. He 
 had cut her hair close to her head, and she looked more 
 comfortable, although an unpleasant sight. As he re- 
 garded her, he thought of Chonita, and the tide of love 
 rose in him as it had not done before. In the beginning 
 he had been hardly more than infatuated with her orig- 
 inality and her curious beauty; at Santa Barbara her 
 sweetness and kinship had stolen into him, and the mo- 
 mentous fusion of passion and spiritual love had given 
 new birth to a torpid soul, and stirred and shaken his 
 manhood as lust had never done ; now in her absence and 
 exaltation above common mortals he reverenced her as 
 an ideal. Even in the bitterness of the knowledge that 
 months must elapse before he could see her again, the 
 tenderness she had drawn to herself from the serious 
 depths of his nature throbbed throughout him, and made 
 him more than gentle to the poor creature whose igno- 
 rance could not have comprehended the least of what he 
 felt for Chonita. 
 
 She died within three days. The good priest, who 
 stood to his post and made each of his afflicted poor a 
 brief daily visit, prayed by her as she fell into stupor, 
 but she was incapable of receiving extreme unction. 
 Estenega was alone with her when she died. The priest 
 returned a few moments later. 
 
 "Don Thomas Larkin wishes me to say to you, Don 
 Diego Estenega," said the Father, "that he would be 
 glad to have you stay with him until the next vessel 
 arrives. As two members of his family have the disease, 
 
346 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 he has nothing to fear from you. I will care for the 
 body/' 
 
 Estenega handed him money for the burial, and looked 
 at him speculatively. The priest must have heard the 
 girl's confessions, and he wondered why he did not em- 
 brace the opportunity to reprove a man whose indiffer- 
 ence to the Church was a matter of indignant comment 
 among the clergy. The priest appeared to divine his 
 thoughts, for he said : 
 
 "You have done more than your duty, Don Diego. 
 And to the frailties of men I think the good God is 
 merciful. He made them. Go in peace." 
 
 Estenega accepted Mr. Larkin's invitation, but, in 
 spite of the genial society of the consul, he spent in his 
 house the most wretched three weeks of his life. He 
 dared not leave Monterey until he had passed the time 
 of incubation, having no desire to spread the disease ; he 
 dared not write to Chonita, for the same reason. What 
 must she think? She supposed him to have sailed, of 
 course, but he had promised to write her from Mon- 
 terey, and again from San Diego. And the uncertainty 
 regarding his Mexican affairs was intolerable to a man 
 of his active impatient mind. His only comfort lay in 
 Mr. Larkin's assurance that the national bark, Joven 
 Guipuzcoana, was due within the month and would re- 
 turn at once. Early in the fourth week the assurance 
 was fulfilled, and by the time he was ready to sail again 
 his danger from contagion was over. But he embarked 
 without writing to Chonita. 
 
 The voyage lasted a month, tedious and monotonous, 
 more trying than his delay on land, for there, at 
 least, he could recover some serenity by violent exercise. 
 He divided his time between pacing the deck, when the 
 weather permitted, and writing to Chonita: long, inti- 
 mate, possessing letters, which would reveal her to her- 
 self as nothing else, short of his own dominant contact, 
 could do. At San Bias he posted his letters, and wel- 
 comed the rough journey overland to the capital; but 
 under a calm exterior he was possessed of the spirit of 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 347 
 
 disquiet. As so often happens, however, his fears proved 
 to have been vagaries of a morbid state of mind, and of 
 that habit of thought which would associate with every 
 cause an effect of similar magnitude. Santa Ana wel- 
 comed him with friendly enthusiasm, and was ready to 
 listen to his plans. That wily and astute politician, who 
 was always abreast of progress and never in its lead, 
 recognized in Estenega the coming man, and, knowing 
 that the seizure of Alta California by the United States 
 was only a question of time, was keenly desirous to make 
 an ally of the man who, he foresaw, would control it as 
 long as he chose, both at home and in "Washington. For 
 the matter of that, he recognized the impotence of Mex- 
 ico to interfere, beyond bluster, with plans any resolute 
 Calif ornian might choose to pursue ; but it was important 
 to Estenega 's purpose that the Governorship should be 
 assured to him by the central government, and the eyes 
 of the Mexican Congress directed elsewhere. He knew 
 the value of the moral effect which its apparent sanc- 
 tion would have upon rebellious Southerners. 
 
 "I am at your service," said Santa Ana; "and the 
 Governorship is yours. But take heed that no rumor of 
 your ultimate intentions reaches the ears of Congress 
 until you are firmly established. If it opposed you re- 
 lentlessly and it keeps its teeth on California like a 
 dog on a bone bigger than himself I should have to 
 yield; I have too much at stake myself. I will look out 
 that any communications from enemies, including Iturbi 
 y Moncada, are opened first by me. ' ' 
 
 Estenega wrote to Chonita again by the ship that left 
 during his brief stay in the capital, and it was his in- 
 tention to go directly to Santa Barbara upon arriving in 
 California. But when he landed in Monterey disin- 
 fected and careless as of old he learned that she was 
 about to start, perhaps already had started, for Fort 
 Ross, to pay a visit to the Eotschevs. The news gave 
 him pleasure ; it had been his wish to say what he had 
 yet to say in his own forests. 
 
 And then the plan which had been stirring restlessly 
 
848 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 in his mind for many months took imperative shape : he 
 determined that if there was gold in California he would 
 wring the secret out of its keeper, by gentle means or 
 violent, and that within the next twenty-four hours. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 ESTENEGA drew rein the next night before the neglected 
 Mission of San Rafael. The valley, surrounded by hills 
 dark with the silent redwoods, bore not a trace of the 
 populous life of the days before secularization. The 
 padre lived alone, lodge-keeper of a valley of shadows. 
 
 He opened the door of his room on the corridor as 
 he heard the approach of the traveler, squinting his 
 bleared yellow-spotted eyes. He was surly by nature, 
 but he bowed low to the man whose power was so great 
 in California, and whose generosity had sent him many 
 a bullock. He cooked him supper from his frugal store, 
 piled the logs in the open fireplace November was come 
 and, after a bottle of wine, produced from Estenega's 
 saddle-bag, expanded into a hermit's pale imitation of 
 good fellowship. Late in the night they still sat on 
 either side of the table in the dusty desolate room. The 
 Forgotten had been entertained with vivid and shifting 
 pictures of the great capital in which he had passed 
 his boyhood. He smiled occasionally ; now and again he 
 gave a quick impatient sigh. Suddenly Estenega leaned 
 forward and fixed him with his powerful gaze. 
 
 "Is there gold in these mountains?" he asked 
 abruptly. 
 
 The priest was thrown off his guard for a moment ; a 
 look of meaning flashed into his eyes, then one of cun- 
 ning displaced it. 
 
 "It may be, Senor Don Diego; gold is often in the 
 earth. But had I the unholy knowledge, I would lock it 
 in my breast. Gold is the canker in the heart of the 
 world. It is not for the Church to scatter the evil broad- 
 cast" 
 
 349 
 
350 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Estenega shut his teeth. Fanaticism was a more pow- 
 erful combatant than avarice. 
 
 "True, my father. But think of the good that gold 
 has wrought. Could these Missions have been built 
 without gold? these thousands of Indians Christian- 
 ized?" 
 
 ' ' What you say is not untrue ; but for one good, ten 
 thousand evils are wrought with the metal which the 
 devil mixed in hell and poured through the veins of the 
 earth. " 
 
 Estenega spent a half hour representing in concrete 
 and forcible images the debt which civilization owed to 
 the fact and circulation of gold. The priest replied that 
 California was a proof that commerce could exist by 
 barter; the money in the country was not worth speak- 
 ing of. 
 
 "And no progress to speak of in a hundred years," 
 retorted Estenega. Then he expatiated upon the unique 
 future of California did she have gold to develop her 
 wonderful resources. The priest said that to cut Cali- 
 fornia from her Arcadian simplicity would be to start 
 her on her journey to the devil along with the corrupt 
 nations of the Old World. Estenega demonstrated that 
 if there was vice in the older civilizations there was also 
 a higher state of mental development, and that Religion 
 held her own. He might as well have addressed the 
 dark forest without. He tempted with the bait of one 
 of the more central Missions. The priest had only the 
 dust of ambition in the cellar of his brain. 
 
 He lost his patience at last. * * I must have gold, ' ' he 
 said shortly; "and you shall show me where to find it. 
 You once betrayed to my father that you knew of its 
 existence in these hills ; and you shall give me the key. ' ' 
 
 The priest looked into the eyes of steel and at the 
 contemptuously determined face, and shut his lips. He 
 was alone with a desperate man ; he had not even a serv- 
 ant ; he could be murdered, and his murderer go unsus- 
 pected. But the heart of the fanatic was in him. He 
 made no reply. 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 351 
 
 "You know me," said Estenega. "I owe half my 
 power in California to the fact that I do not make a 
 threat to-day and forget it to-morrow. You will show 
 me where that gold is, or I shall kill you." 
 
 "The servant of God dies when his hour comes. If 
 I am to die by the hand of the assassin, so be it." 
 
 Estenega leaned forward and placed his strong hand 
 about the priest's baggy throat, pushing the table against 
 his chest. He pressed his thumb against the throttle, 
 his second finger hard against the jugular, and the 
 tongue rolled over the teeth, the congested eyes bulged. 
 
 "It may be that you scorn death, but will not fancy 
 the mode of it. I have no desire to kill you. Alive or 
 dead, your life is of no more value than that of a worm. 
 But you shall die, and die with much discomfort, unless 
 you do as I wish. ' ' His hand relaxed its grasp, but still 
 pressed the rough dirty throat. 
 
 ' ' Accursed heretic ! ' ' said the priest. 
 
 "Spare your curses for the superstitious." 
 
 He saw a gleam of cunning come into the priest's 
 eyes. 
 
 "Very well; if I must, I must. Let me rise, and I 
 will conduct you." 
 
 Estenega took a piece of rope from his saddle-bag and 
 tied it about the priest's waist and his own. 
 
 "If you have any holy pitfall in view for me, I shall 
 have the pleasure of your company. And if I am led 
 into labyrinths to die of starvation, you at least will 
 have a meal; I could not eat you." 
 
 If the priest was disconcerted, he did not show it. 
 He took a lantern from a shelf, lit the fragment of 
 candle, and, opening a door at the back, walked through 
 the long line of inner rooms. All were heaped with 
 rubbish. In one he found a trap-door with his foot, and 
 descended rough steps cut out of the earth. The air 
 rose chill and damp, and Estenega knew that the tunnel 
 of the Mission was below, the secret exit to the hills 
 which the early Fathers built as a last recourse hi case 
 of defeat by savage tribes. When they reached the bot- 
 
352 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 torn of the steps the tallow dip illumined but a narrow 
 circle; Estenega could form no idea of the workman- 
 ship of the tunnel, except that it was not more than six 
 feet and a few inches high, for his hat brushed the top, 
 and that the floor and sides appeared to be of pressed, 
 clay. There was ventilation somewhere, but no light. 
 They walked a mile or more, and then Estenega had a 
 sense of stepping into a wider and higher excavation. 
 
 "We are no longer in the tunnel," said the priest. 
 He lifted the lantern and swung it above his head. Es- 
 tenega saw that they were in a circular room, hollowed 
 probably out of the heart of a hill. He also saw some- 
 thing else. 
 
 ' ' What is that ? ' ' he exclaimed sharply. 
 
 The priest handed him the lantern. "Look for your- 
 self/' he said. 
 
 Estenega took the lantern, and, holding it just above 
 his head and close to the walls, slowly traversed the 
 room. It was belted with three strata of crystal-like 
 quartz, sown thick with glittering yellow specks and nug- 
 gets. Each stratum was about three feet wide. 
 
 "There is a fortune here," he said. He felt none of 
 the greed of gold, merely a recognition of its power. 
 
 "Yes, senor; enough to pay the debt of a nation." 
 
 "Where are we? Under what hill? I am sorry I 
 had not a compass with me. It was impossible to make 
 any accurate guess of direction in that slanting tunnel. 
 Where is the outlet?" 
 
 The priest made no reply. 
 
 Estenega turned to him peremptorily. "Answer me. 
 How can I find this place from without ? ' ' 
 
 "You never will find it from without. When the dan- 
 ger from Indians was over, a pious Father closed the 
 opening. This gold is not for you. You could not find 
 even the trap-door by yourself. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Then why have you brought me here ? ' ' 
 
 "To tantalize you. To punish you for your insult to 
 the Church through me. Kill me now, if you wish. Bet- 
 ter death than hell." 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 353 
 
 Estenega made a rapid circuit of the room. There 
 was no mode of egress other than that by which they had 
 entered, and no sign of any previously existing. He 
 sprang upon the priest and shook him until the worn 
 stumps rattled in their gums. 
 
 1 1 You dog ! ' ' he said, * ' to balk me with your ignorant 
 superstition! Take me out of this place by its other 
 entrance at once, that I may remain on the hill until 
 morning. I would not trust your word. You shall tell 
 me, if I have to torture you." 
 
 The priest made a sudden spring and closed with 
 Estenega, hugging him like a bear. The lantern fell 
 and went out. The two men stumbled blindly in the 
 blackness, striking the walls, wrestling desperately, the 
 priest using his teeth and panting like a beast. But he 
 was no match for the virility and science of his young 
 opponent. Estenega threw him in a moment and bound 
 him with the rope. Then he found the lantern and lit 
 the candle again. He returned to the priest and stood 
 over him. The latter was conquered physically, but the 
 dogged light of bigotry still burned in his eyes, although 
 Estenega 's were not agreeable to face. 
 
 Estenega was furious. He had twisted Santa Ana, 
 one of the most subtle and self-seeking men of his time, 
 round his finger as if he had been a yard of ribbon; 
 Alvarado, the wisest man ever born in the Californias, 
 was swayed by his judgment; yet all the arts of which 
 his intellect was master fell blunt and useless before 
 this clay-brained priest. He had more respect for the 
 dogs in his kennels, but unless he resorted to extreme 
 measures the creature would defeat him through sheer 
 brute ignorance. Estenega was not a man to stop in 
 sight of victory or to give his sword to an enemy he 
 despised. 
 
 "You are at my mercy. You realize that now, I sup- 
 pose. Will you show me the other way out?" 
 
 The priest drew down his under-lip like a snarling 
 dog, revealing the discolored stumps. But he made no 
 other reply. 
 
354 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 Estenega lit a match, and, kneeling beside the priest, 
 held it to his stubbled beard. As the flame licked the 
 flesh the man uttered a yell like a kicked brute. Este- 
 nega sprang to his feet with an oath. ' ' I can 't do it ! " 
 he exclaimed, with bitter disgust. * ' I haven 't the iron of 
 cruelty in me. I am not fit to be a ruler of men. ' ' He 
 untied the rope about the prisoner's feet. "Get up/' 
 he said, "and conduct me back as we came/' 
 
 The priest scrambled to his feet and hobbled down 
 the long tunnel. They ascended the steps beneath the 
 Mission and emerged into the room. 
 
 Estenega turned swiftly to prevent the clesing of 
 the trap-door, but only in time to hear it shut with a 
 spring and the priest kick rubbish above it. He cut the 
 rope which bound the other's hands. 
 
 " Go ! " he said, ' ' I have no further use for you. And 
 if you report this, I need not explain to you that it will 
 fare worse with you than it will with me. ' ' 
 
 The priest fled, and Estenega, hanging the lantern on a 
 nail, pushed aside the rubbish with his feet, purposing 
 to pace the room until dawn. In a few moments, how- 
 ever, he discovered that the despised hermit was not 
 without his allies; ten thousand fleas, the pest of the 
 country, assaulted every part of his body they could 
 reach. They swarmed down the legs of his riding- 
 boots, up his trousers, up his sleeves, down his neck. 
 ' ' There is no such thing in life as tragedy, ' ' he thought. 
 He hung the lantern outside the door to mark the room, 
 and paced the yard until morning. But there were dark 
 hours yet before the dawn, and during one of them a 
 figure, when his back was turned, crept to the lantern 
 and hung it before another room. When light came 
 and the fog came first all Estenega 's efforts to find 
 the trap-door were unavailing, although the yard was 
 littered with the rubbish he flung into it from the room. 
 He suspected the trick, but there were ten rooms exactly 
 alike, and although he cleared most of them he could 
 discover no trace of the trap-door. He looked at the 
 hills surrounding the Mission. They were many, and 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 355 
 
 beyond there were others. He mounted his horse and 
 rode round the buildings, listening carefully for hollow 
 reverberations. The tunnel was too far below ; he heard 
 nothing. 
 
 He was defeated. For the first time in his life he 
 was without resource, overwhelmed by a force stronger 
 than his own will ; and his spirit was savage within him. 
 He had no authority to dig the floors of the Mission, 
 for the Mission and several acres about it were the prop- 
 erty of the Church. The priest never would take him on 
 that underground journey again, for he had learned the 
 weak spot in his armor, nor had he fear of death. Un- 
 less accident favored him, or some one more fortunate, 
 the golden heart of the San Kafael hill would pulse un- 
 rifled for ever. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 HE turned his back upon the Mission and rode toward 
 his home, sixty miles in a howling November wind. At 
 Bodega Bay he learned that Governor Rotschev had 
 passed there two days before with a party of guests that 
 he had gone down to Sausalito to meet. Chonita await- 
 ed him in the North. A softer mood pressed through 
 the somberness of his spirit, and the candle of hope 
 burned again. Gold must exist elsewhere in California, 
 and he swore anew that it should yield itself to him. 
 The last miles of his ride lay along the cliffs. Some- 
 times the steep hills covered with redwoods rose so 
 abruptly from the trail that the undergrowth brushed 
 him as he passed; on the other side but a few inches 
 stood between himself and death amid the surf pound- 
 ing on the rocks five hundred feet below. The sea-gulls 
 screamed about his head, the sea-lions barked with the 
 hollow note of consumptives on the outlying rocks. On 
 the horizon was a bank of fog, outlined with the crests 
 and slopes and gulches of the mountain beside him. It 
 sent an advance wrack scudding gracefully across the 
 ocean to puff among the redwoods, capriciously clinging 
 to some, ignoring others. Then came the vast white 
 mountain, rushing over the roaring ocean, up the cliffs 
 and into the gloomy forests, blotting the lonely horseman 
 from sight. 
 
 He arrived at his house a big structure of logs late 
 in the night. His servants came out to meet him, and 
 in a moment a fire leaped in the great fireplace in his 
 library. He lived alone ; his parents and brothers were 
 dead, and his sisters married ; but the fire made the low 
 long room, covered with bear-skins and lined with books, 
 as cheerful as a bachelor could expect. He found a note 
 
 356 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 357 
 
 from the Princess Helene Rotschev, the famous wife of 
 the Governor, asking him to spend the following week 
 at Fort Ross; but he was so tired that even the image 
 of Chonita was dim; the note barely caused a throb of 
 anticipation. After supper he flung himself on a couch 
 before the fire and slept until morning, then went to bed 
 and slept until afternoon. By that time he was himself 
 again. He sent a vaquero ahead with his evening 
 clothes, and an hour or two later started for Fort Ross, 
 spurring his horse with a lighter heart over the cliffs. 
 His rarichos adjoined the Russian settlement; the jour- 
 ney from his house to the military enclosure was not a 
 long one. He soon rounded the point of a sloping hill 
 and entered the spreading cove formed by the moun- 
 tains receding in a semicircle above the cliffs, and in 
 whose shelter lay Fort Ross. The fort was surrounded 
 by a stockade of redwood beams, bastions in the shape 
 of hexagonal towers at diagonal corners. Cannon, 
 mounted on carriages, were at each of the four entrances, 
 in the middle of the enclosure, and in the bastions. Sen- 
 tries paced the ramparts with unremitting vigilance. 
 
 Within were the long low buildings occupied by the 
 Governor and officers, the barracks, and the Russian 
 church, with its belfry and cupola. Beyond was the 
 "town," a collection of huts accommodating about 
 eight hundred Indians and Siberian convicts, the work- 
 ing-men of the company. All the buildings were of red- 
 wood logs or planed boards, and made a very different 
 picture from the white towns of the South. The curv- 
 ing mountains were sombre with redwoods, the ocean 
 growled unceasingly. 
 
 Estenega threw his bridle to a soldier and went di- 
 rectly to the house. A servant met him on the veran- 
 dah and conducted him to his room; it was late, and 
 everyone else was dressing for dinner. He changed his 
 riding-clothes for the evening dress of modern civiliza- 
 tion, and went at once to the drawing-room. Here all 
 was luxury, nothing to suggest the privations of a new 
 country. A thick red carpet covered the floor, red arras 
 
358 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the walls; the music of Mozart and Beethoven was on 
 the grand piano. The furniture was rich and comfort- 
 able; the large carved tahle was covered with French 
 novels and European periodicals. 
 
 The candles had not been brought in, but logs blazed 
 in the open fireplace. As Estenega crossed the room, a 
 woman, dressed in black, rose from a deep chair, and 
 he recognized Chonita. He sprang forward impetuous- 
 ly and held out his arms, but she waved him back. 
 
 "No, no," she said hurriedly. "I want to explain 
 why I am here. I came for two reasons : First, I could 
 refuse the Princess Helene no longer; she goes so soon. 
 And then I wanted to see you once more before I leave 
 the world." 
 
 "Before you do what?" 
 
 "I am not going into a convent; I cannot leave my 
 father. I am going to retire to the most secluded of our 
 ranches, to see no more of the world or its people. I 
 shall take my father with me. Reinaldo and Prudencia 
 will remain at Casa Grande. ' ' 
 
 1 ( Nonsense ! " he exclaimed impatiently. ' ' Do you sup- 
 pose I shall let you do anything of the sort ? How little 
 you know me, my love ! But we will discuss that ques- 
 tion later. We shall be alone only a few moments now. 
 Tell me of yourself. How are you?" 
 
 "I will tell you that, also, at another time." 
 
 And at the moment a door opened, and the Governor 
 and his wife entered and greeted Estenega with cordial 
 hospitality. The Governor was a big red-bearded Rus- 
 sian, with a spontaneous warmth of manner; the prin- 
 cess a woman who possessed both elegance and vivacity, 
 both coquetry and dignity; she could sparkle and chill, 
 allure and suppress in the same moment. Even here, 
 rough and wild as her surroundings were, she gave much 
 thought to her dress; to-night her blonde harmonious 
 loveliness was properly framed in a toilette of mignon- 
 ette greens fresh from Paris. A moment later Reinaldo 
 and Prudencia appeared, the former as splendid a cab- 
 allero as ever, albeit wearing the chastened air of matri- 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 359 
 
 mony, the latter pre-maternally consequential. Then 
 came the officers and their wives, all brilliant in evening 
 dress ; and a moment later dinner was announced. 
 
 Estenega sat at the right of his hostess, and that 
 trained daughter of the salon kept the table in a light 
 ripple of conversation, sparkling herself, without strik- 
 ing terror to the hearts of her guests. She and Es- 
 tenega were old friends, and usually indulged in lively 
 sallies, ending sometimes in a sharp war of words, for 
 she was a very clever woman ; but to-night he gave her 
 absent attention; he watched Chonita furtively, and 
 thought of little else. 
 
 Her eyes had darker shadows beneath them than those 
 cast by her lashes; her face was pale and slightly hol- 
 lowed. She had suffered, and not for her mother. * ' She 
 shall suffer no more/' he thought. 
 
 ' * We hunt bear to-night, ' ' he heard the Governor say, 
 at length. 
 
 1 ' I should like to go, ' ' said Chonita quickly. ' ' I should 
 like to go out to-night." 
 
 Immediately there was a chorus from all the other 
 women, save the Princess Helene and Prudencia; they 
 would go too. Kotschev, who would much rather have 
 left them at home, consented with good grace, and Es- 
 tenega 's spirits rose at once. He would have a talk with 
 Chonita that night, something he had not dared to hope 
 for, and he suspected that she had promoted the oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 The men remained in the dining-room after the ladies 
 had withdrawn, and Estenega, restored to his normal 
 condition, and in his natural element among these peo- 
 ple of the world, expanded into the high spirits and 
 convivial interest in masculine society, which made him 
 as popular with men as he was fascinating, through the 
 exercise of more subtle faculties, to women. Reinaldo 
 watched him with jealous impatience; no one cared to 
 hearken to his eloquence when Estenega talked ; and he 
 had come to Fort Koss only to have a conversation with 
 his one-time enemy. As he listened to Estenega, shorn, 
 
360 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 for the time being, of his air of dictator and watchful 
 ambition, a man of the world taking an enthusiastic part 
 in the hilarity of the hour, but never sacrificing his dig- 
 nity by assuming the role of chief entertainer, there grew 
 within him a dull sense of inferiority ; he felt, rather than 
 knew, that neither the city of Mexico nor gratified am- 
 bitions would give him that assured ease, that perfec- 
 tion of breeding, that calm sense of power, concealing 
 so gracefully the relentless will and the infinite resource, 
 which made this most un-Californian of Californians 
 seem to his Arcadian eyes a being of a higher star. And 
 hatred blazed forth anew. 
 
 As the men rose, finally, to go to the drawing-room, 
 he asked Estenega to remain for a moment. ' ' Thou wilt 
 keep thy promise soon, no?" he said, when they were 
 alone. 
 
 "What promise?" 
 
 "Thy promise to send me as diputado to the next 
 Mexican Congress." 
 
 Estenega looked at him reflectively. He had little 
 toleration- for the man of inferior brain, and, although 
 he did not underrate his power for mischief, he relied 
 upon his own wit to circumvent him. He had disposed 
 of this one by warning Santa Ana, and he concluded to 
 be annoyed by him no farther. Besides, as a brother-in- 
 law, he would be insupportable except at the long range 
 of mutual unamiability. 
 
 "I made you no promise," he said deliberately; "and 
 I shall make you. none. I do not wish you in the city of 
 Mexico. ' ' 
 
 Reinaldo's face grew livid. "You dare to say that to 
 me, and yet would marry my sister?" 
 
 "I would, and I shall." 
 
 "And yet you would not help her brother?" 
 
 "Her brother is less to me than any man with whom 
 I have sat to-night. Build no hope on that. You will 
 stay at Santa Barbara and play the grand seigneur, 
 which suits you very well, or become a prisoner in your 
 own house." And he left the room. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 AN hour later they assembled in the plaza to start for 
 the bear hunt. Reinaldo was not of the party. 
 
 Estenega lifted Chonita to her horse and stood beside 
 her for a moment while the others mounted. He touched 
 her hand with his: 
 
 "We could not have a more beautiful night," he said 
 significantly. ' ' And I have often wished that my father 
 had included this spot when he applied for his grant. 
 I should like to live with you here. Even when the 
 winds rage and hurl the rain through the very window 
 pane, I know of no more enchanting spot than Fort 
 Ross. The Russians are going; some day I will buy it 
 for you." 
 
 She made no reply, but she did not withdraw her hand, 
 and he held it closely and glanced slowly about him. 
 Always, despite his bitter intimacy with life, in kinship 
 with nature, perhaps in that moment it had a deeper 
 meaning, for he saw with double vision. She was there : 
 and, with him, sensible not only of the beauty of the 
 night, but of the indefinable mystery which broods over 
 California the moment the sun falls. Perhaps, too, he 
 was troubled by a vague foreboding, such as comes to 
 mortals sometimes in spite of their limitations. He 
 never saw Fort Ross again. 
 
 On the horizon the fog crouched and moved ; marched 
 like a battalion of ocean 's ghosts ; suddenly cohered and 
 sent out light puffs of smoke, as from the crater of a 
 spectral volcano. The moon, full and bright and cold, 
 hung low in the dark sky; one hardly noted the stars. 
 The vast sweep of water was as calm as a lake, dark 
 and metallic like the sky, barely reflecting the silver 
 
 361 
 
362 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 light between. But although calm it was not quiet. It 
 greeted the forbidding rocks beyond the shore, the long 
 irregular line of stark storm-beaten cliffs, with ominous 
 mutter, now and again throwing a cloud of spray high 
 in the air, as if in derisive proof that even in sleep it 
 was sensible of its power. Occasionally it moaned, as 
 if sounding a dirge along the mass of stones which 
 storms had hurled or waves had wrenched from the 
 crags above a dirge for beheaded Russians, for him 
 who had walked the plank, or for the lover of Natalie 
 Ivanhov. 
 
 Here and there the cliffs were intersected by deep 
 straggling gulches, out of whose sides grew low woods 
 of brush; but the three tables rising successively from 
 the ocean to the forest on the mountain were almost 
 bare. On the highest, between two gulches, en a knoll 
 so bare and black and isolated that its destiny was surely 
 taken into account at creation, were a tall rude cross and 
 half a hundred neglected graves. The forest seemed 
 blacker just behind it, the shadows thicker in the gorges 
 that embraced it, the ocean grayer and more illimitable 
 before it. 
 
 "Natalie Ivanhov is there in her copper coffin," said 
 Estenega, "forgotten already." 
 
 The curve of the mountain was so perfect that it 
 seemed to reach down a long arm on either side and 
 grasp the cliffs. The redwoods on its crown and upper 
 slopes were a mass of rigid shadows, the points, only, 
 sharply etched on the night sky. They might have been 
 a wall about an undiscovered country. 
 
 "Come," cried Rotschev, "we are ready to start." 
 And Estenega sprang to his horse. 
 
 "I don't envy you," said the Princess Helene from 
 the verandah, her blonde head barely visible above the 
 furs that enveloped her. "I prefer the fire." 
 
 ' * You are warmly clad ? ' ' asked Estenega of Chonita. 
 "But you have the blood of the South in your veins." 
 
 They climbed the steep road between the levels, slow- 
 ly, the women chattering and asking questions, the men 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 363 
 
 explaining and advising. Estenega and Chonita, having 
 much to say, said nothing. 
 
 A cold volume of air, the muffled roar of a mountain 
 torrent, rushed out of the forest, startling with the sud- 
 denness of its impact. Once a panther uttered its hu- 
 man cry. 
 
 They entered the forest. It was so dark here that 
 the horses wandered from the trail and into the brush 
 again and again. Conversation ceased ; save for the muf- 
 fled footfalls of the horses and the speech of the waters 
 there was no sound. Chonita had never known a still- 
 ness so profound; the giant trees crowding together 
 seemed to resent intrusion, to menace an eternal silence. 
 She moved her horse close to Estenega 's and he took her 
 hand. Occasionally there was an opening, a well of 
 blackness, for the moon had not yet come to the forest. 
 
 They reached the summit, and descended. Halfway 
 down the mountain they rode into a farm in a valley 
 formed by one of the many basins. 
 
 The Indians were waiting, and killed a bullock at 
 once, placing the carcass in a conspicuous place. Then 
 all retired to the shade of the trees. In less than half 
 an hour a bear came prowling out of the forest and be- 
 gan upon the meal so considerately provided for him. 
 When his attention was fully engaged, Rotschev and 
 the officers, mounted, dashed down upon him, swinging 
 their lassos. The bear showed fight and stood his ground, 
 but this was an occasion when the bear always got the 
 worst of it. One lasso caught his neck, another his hind 
 foot, and he was speedily strained and strangled to 
 death. No sooner was he dispatched than another ap- 
 peared, then another, and the sport grew very exciting, 
 absorbing the attention of the women as well as the 
 energies of the men. Bancroft Library 
 
 Estenega lifted Chonita from her horse, ^jet us 
 walk," he said. "They will not miss us. A few yards 
 farther, and you will be on my territory. I want you 
 there." 
 
 She made no protest, and they entered the forest. The 
 
364 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 moon shone down through the lofty redwoods that 
 seemed to scrape its crystal ; the monotone of the distant 
 sea blended with a faint roar in the tree-tops. The 
 vast gloomy aisles were unbroken by other sound. 
 
 He took her hand and held it a moment, then drew it 
 through his arm. ''Now tell me all," he said. "They 
 will be occupied for a long while. The night is ours." 
 
 "I have come here to tell you that I love you," she 
 said. "Ah, can / make you tremble? It was impos- 
 sible for me not to tell you this ; I could not rest in my 
 retreat without having the last word with you, without 
 having you know me. And I want to tell you that I 
 have suffered horribly; you may care to know that, for 
 no one else in the world could have made me, no one else 
 ever can. Only your fingers could twist in among my 
 heart-strings and tear my heart of my body. I suf- 
 fered first because I doubted you, then because I loved 
 you, then the torture of jealousy and the pangs of part- 
 ing, then those dreadful three months when I heard no 
 word. I could not stay at Casa Grande ; everything as- 
 sociated with you made my heart shake my body. Oh, 
 I have gone through all varieties! But the last was 
 the worst, after I heard from you again, and all other 
 causes were removed, and I knew that you were well 
 and still loved me : the knowledge that I never could be 
 anything to you and I could be so much ! The torment 
 of this knowledge was so bitter that there was but one 
 refuge imagination. I shut my eyes to my little world 
 and lived with you ; and it seemed to me that I grew into 
 absolute knowledge of you. Let me tell you what I 
 divined. You may tell me that I am wrong, but I do 
 not believe that you will. I think that in the little time 
 we were together I absorbed you. 
 
 "It seemed to me that your soul reached always for 
 something just above the attainable, restless in the mo- 
 ments which would satisfy another, fretted with a per- 
 verse desire for something different when an ardent wish 
 was granted, steeped, under all wanton determined en- 
 joyment of life, with the bitter knowing of life's sure 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 365 
 
 impotence to satisfy. Could the dissatisfied darting 
 mind loiter long enough to give a woman more than the 
 promise of happiness? but never mind that. 
 
 ''With this knowledge of you my own restless desire 
 for variety left me; my nature concentrated into one 
 paramount wish to be all things to you. What I had 
 felt vaguely before and stifled the nothingness of life, 
 the inevitableness of satiety I repudiated utterly, now 
 that they were personified in you; I would not recog- 
 nize the fact of their existence. I could make you happy. 
 How could imagination shape such scenes, such perfec- 
 tion of union, of companionship, if reality were not? 
 I might exaggerate; but, even stripped of its halo, the 
 substance must be sweeter and more fulfilling than any- 
 thing else on this earth at least. And I knew that you 
 loved me. Oh, I had felt that ! And the variousness of 
 your nature and desires, although they might madden 
 me at times, would give an extraordinary zest to life. 
 I was the Doomswoman no longer. I was a supplemen- 
 tary being who could meet you in every mood and com- 
 plete it; who would so understand that I could be man 
 and woman and friend to you. A delusion? But so 
 long as I shall never know, let me believe. An extraor- 
 dinary tumultuous desire that rose in me like a wave 
 and shook me often at first, had, in those last sad weeks, 
 less part in my musings. It seemed to me that that was 
 the expression, the poignant essence, of love; but there 
 was so much else! I do not understand that, however, 
 and never shall. But I wanted to tell you all. I could 
 not rest until you knew me as I am and as you had 
 made me. And I will tell you this too," she cried, 
 breaking suddenly, "I wanted you so! Oh, I needed 
 you so ! It was not I, only, who could give. And it is 
 so terrible for a woman to stand alone ! ' ' 
 
 He made no reply for a moment. But he forgot every 
 other interest and scheme and idea stored in his impa- 
 tient brain. He was thrilled to his soul, and filled with 
 the exultant sense that he was about to take to his heart 
 
366 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 the woman compounded for him out of his own elements. 
 
 11 Speak to me," she said. 
 
 "My love, I have so much to say to you that it will 
 take all the years we shall spend together to say it in." 
 
 "No, no! Do not speak of that. There I am firm. 
 Although the misery of the past months were to be mul- 
 tiplied ten hundred times in the future, I would not 
 marry you." 
 
 Estenega, knowing that their hour of destiny was 
 come, and that upon him alone depended its issues, was 
 not the man to hesitate between such happiness as this 
 woman alone could give him, and the gray existence 
 which she in her blindness would have meted to both; 
 his bold will had already taken the future in its relent- 
 less grasp. But, knowing the mental habit of women, 
 he thought it best to let Chonita free her mind, that there 
 might be the less in it to protest for hearing when his 
 heart and passion spoke to hers. 
 
 ' ' It seems absurd to argue the matter, ' ' he said, ' ' but 
 tell me the reasons again, if you choose, and we will 
 dispose of them once for all. Do not think for a mo- 
 ment, my darling, that I do not respect your reasons; 
 but I respect them only because they are yours; in 
 themselves they are not worthy of consideration." 
 
 ' ' Ay, but they are. It has been an unwritten law for 
 three generations that an Estenega and an Iturbi y 
 Moncada should not marry; the enmity began, as you 
 should know, when a member of each family was an 
 officer in a detachment of troops sent to protect the 
 Missions in their building. And my father he told me 
 lately loved your father's sister for many years that 
 was the reason he married so late in life and would not 
 ask her because of her blood, and of cruel wrongs her 
 father had done his. Shall his daughter be weak where 
 he was strong ? You cast aside traditions as if they were 
 the seeds of an apple ; but remember that they are blood 
 of my blood. And the vow I made do you forget that ? 
 And the words of it ? The Church stands between us. I 
 will tell you all. The priest has forbidden me to marry 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 367 
 
 you; he forbade it every time I confessed; not only be- 
 cause of my vow, but because you had aroused in me a 
 love so terrible that I almost took the life of another 
 woman. Could I bring you back to the Church, it might 
 be different; but you rule others; no one could remold 
 you. You see, it is hopeless. It is no use to argue. " 
 
 1 ' I have no intention of arguing. Words are too good 
 to waste on such an absurd proposition that because our 
 fathers hated, we, who are independent and intelligent 
 beings, should not marry when every drop of our heart's 
 blood demands its rights. As for your vow what is a 
 vow? Hysterical egotism, nothing more. Were it the 
 promise of man to man, the subject would be worth dis- 
 cussing. But we will settle the matter in our own way. ' ' 
 He took her suddenly in his arms and kissed her. She 
 put her arms about him and clung to him, trembling, 
 her lips pressed to his. In that supreme moment he felt 
 not happiness, but a bitter desire to bear her out of the 
 world into some higher sphere where the conditions of 
 happiness might possibly exist. "On the highest pin- 
 nacle we reach," he thought, "we are granted the tor- 
 menting and chastening glimpse of what might be, had 
 God, when He compounded His victims, been in a gen- 
 erous mood and completed them." 
 
 And she? she was a woman. 
 
 "You will resist no longer," he said, in a few mo- 
 ments. 
 
 "Ay, more surely than ever now." Her voice was 
 faint, but crossed by a note of terror. "In that mo- 
 ment I forgot my religion and my duty. And what is 
 so sweet it cannot be right." 
 
 "Do you so despise your womanhood, the most per- 
 fect thing about you ? ' ' 
 
 "Oh, let us return! I wanted to kiss you once. I 
 
 meant to do that. But I should not Let us go! 
 
 Oh, I love you so ! I love you so ! " 
 
 He drew her closer and kissed her until her head fell 
 forward and her body grew heavy. "I shall think and 
 act now, for both," he said unsteadily, although there 
 
368 BEFORE THE GRINGO CAME 
 
 was no lack of decision in his voice. "You are mine. 
 I claim you, and I shall run no further risk of losing 
 you. Oh, you will forgive me my love " 
 
 Neither saw a man walking rapidly up the trail. 
 Suddenly the man gave a bound and ran toward them. 
 It was Beinaldo. 
 
 "Ah, I have found you!" he cried. "Listen, Don 
 Diego Estenega, lord of the North, American, and 
 would-be dictator of the Californias. Two hours ago I 
 dispatched a vaquero with a circular letter to the priests 
 of the Department of the Californias, warning them 
 each and all to write at once to the Archbishop of Mex- 
 ico, and protest that the success of your ambitions would 
 mean the downfall of the Catholic Church in California, 
 and telling them your schemes. You are mighty, O Don 
 Diego Estenega, but you are powerless against the en- 
 mity of the Church. They are mightier than you, and 
 you will never rule in California. Unhand my sister! 
 You shall not have her, either. You shall have noth- 
 ing. Will you unhand her?" he cried, enraged at 
 Estenega 's cold reception of his damnatory news. 
 "You should not have her if I tore your heart from 
 your body." 
 
 Estenega looked contemptuously across Chonita's 
 shoulder, although his heart was lead within him. ' ' The 
 last resource of the mean and down-trodden is revenge, ' ' 
 he said. " Go ! To-morrow I shall horsewhip you in the 
 court-yard of Fort Koss." 
 
 Keinaldo, hot with excitement and thirst for further 
 vengeance, uttered a shriek of rage and sprang upon 
 him. Estenega saw the gleam of a knife, and flung Cho- 
 nita aside, catching the driving arm, the fury of his 
 heart in his muscles. Reinaldo had the soft muscles of 
 the caballero, and panted and writhed in the iron grasp 
 of the man who forgot that he grappled with the brother 
 of a woman passionately loved, remembered only that 
 he rejoiced to fight to the death the man who had ruined 
 his life. Keinaldo tried to thrust the knife into his 
 back; Estenega suddenly threw his weight on the arm 
 
THE DOOMSWOMAN 369 
 
 that held it, nearly wrenching it from its socket, snatched 
 the knife, and drove it to the heart of his enemy. 
 
 Then the hot blood in his body turned cold. He stood 
 like a stone regarding Chonita, whose eyes, fixed upon 
 him, were expanded with horror. Between them lay the 
 dead body of her brother. 
 
 He turned with a groan and sat down on a fallen log, 
 supporting his chin with his hand. His profile looked 
 grim and worn and old. He stared unseeingly at the 
 ground. Chonita stood, still looking at him. The last 
 act of her brother's life had been to lay the foundation 
 of her lover 's ruin ; his death had completed it ; all the 
 South would rise did the slayer of an Iturbi y Moncada 
 seek to rule it. She felt vaguely sorry for Reinaldo; 
 but death was peace ; this was hell in living veins. The 
 memory of the world beyond the forest grew indistinct. 
 She recalled her dream and turned in loathing from 
 the bloodless selfishness of which it was the allegory. 
 Superstition and tradition slipped into some inner pocket 
 of her memory, there to rattle their dry bones together 
 and fall to dust. She saw only the figure, relaxed for 
 the first time, the profile of a man with his head on the 
 block. She stepped across the body of her brother, and, 
 kneeling beside Estenega, drew his head to her breast. 
 
 THE END