"It was nothing," he smiled remotely; and went his way to find the
patron and deliver to him a message from a friend.
Behind Jack came the click of slipper-heels upon the hardwood; and he
turned from staring, puzzled, after the stiff-necked Manuel, and gave
the girl a smile such as a man reserves for the woman who has entered
into his dreams.
"Santa Maria, what elegance! Now will the senor ride in splendor
that will dazzle the eyes to look upon!" Teresita bantered, poking a
slipper-toe tentatively towards the saddle, and clasping her hands in
mock rapture. "On every corner, silver crescents; on the tapideros,
silver stars bigger than Venus; riding behind the cantle, a whole
milky way; Jose will surely go mad with rage when he sees. Stars has
Jose, but no moon to bear him company when he rides. Surely the cattle
will fall upon their knees when the senor draws near!"
"Shall we ride out and put them to the test?" he asked wishfully,
shaking out the bridle to show the beautiful design of silver inlaid
upon the leather cheek-piece, and stooping to adjust a big-roweled,
silver-incrusted spur upon his boot-heel. "Manuel does exactly as he
is told. I said he was to get the best he could find--"
"And so no vaquero in the valley will be so gorgeous--" She broke off
suddenly to sing in lilting Spanish a fragment of some old song that
told of the lilies of the field that "Toil not, neither do they spin.
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