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8 CHILDREN OF THE SOUTH

And then there were those who had unfortunately
been denied all these advantages. Those who were as
slaves, to those who control them. Only seeking in their
childish simplicity to live in happiness with their
families by toil, and falling an easy prey to those
renegades who are traitors to Mexico.
They are made to believe that Americans are accursed
'gringoes' and that America wishes to rule Mexico.
And so he talked. And so she loved. And the light
air around them seemed to end her world right there.
Only the sun and the sky were left, and as the sound of
his impassioned voice vibrated upon the harp-strings of
her nature she seemed to float off into them. She
could almost see her shadow upon the ground.
And then came the day when the earth owls were
flying home just before sunset, to disappear in their
nests which they shared with their prairie-dog compan-
ions under the ground.
And could they have talked, they would have told
of seeing riders by twos and threes, and eights and tens,
coming into the hills from every direction. Their
destination was a common meeting-place. The dilapi-
dated shack of Fernando Laynez.
Before the moon with its heartening power was two
hours old, full a hundred horses with winchesters in
gun boots were standing eight to a man outside its
door, while within the plans were made. They were to
ride to the Rio Grande six hours away. They were
to swim the river, and at three o'clock in the morn-
ing, when all were asleep, they were to attack and
pillage an American town, and return from whence
they came.
The five small rooms were packed with these swarthy
men who stood idly smoking their cigarettes as they
listened.
Roderigo it was who had been on American soil, and
made a rude plan of all the buildings that were supposed
to contain the spoils.