the day before our arrival at chihuahua, when lieutenant malgares despatched ahead a courier with letters to his wife's father and general salcedo, i was suddenly struck with the fact that this first of april, like that other day of all fools out of philadelphia, was bringing me to the señorita high in hopes yet none the less uncertain. then i had chilled with the dread that my journey's end would find her dear presence vanished beyond my reach; now i suffered the far more poignant fear that i might find her heart lost to another.

with such a thought lying like a torpid snake upon my breast, it is not strange that i slept ill that night. but i was astir in the morning no earlier than malgares, who betrayed the liveliest apprehension over his coming interview with the commandant-general. it was the first time that he had been permitted to come south to the seat of government since leaving it for his daring expedition into our territories, nearly a year past. pike and i were astonished to find that he was not beaming with expectation of the rewards his gallant exploit deserved. instead he rode along between us in silence, his fine castilian face creased with lines of anxiety, almost of dread.

we were now passing over the last few miles of the vast mountain-encircled plain which surrounds the city of chihuahua and upon which, as well as similar vast ranges in this province of nuevo viscaya, los haciendados pasture herds of thousands and tens of thousands of cattle. only in the most favored spots was the dreary landscape broken by trees, most of them the acacia-like mesquite, which here grows to a height of thirty or forty feet. there was little cultivation of the soil in this region, whose inhabitants depend upon cattle and the rich silver mines for their subsistence. a far from pleasant proof of this fact was to be seen in the great number of smoking ore furnaces and the enormous extent of the cinder heaps all about the city.

from the time we swung into our high-pommelled, high-cantled saddles, my gaze was fixed through the smoke haze of the furnaces upon the lofty towers of the parroquia—the magnificent parish church of chihuahua—and the older and lower structure of the jesuit church of the campañia. noticing my intentness, even in his distraction, malgares courteously told the story of how the parroquia had been paid for by a contribution from the silver produced by the great santa eulalia mine, in all something over a million dollars, estimated in our money.

aside from the parroquia and a few other imposing stone edifices, such as the royal treasury, the hospital, the military academy, and the three or four lesser churches, the city of chihuahua proved to be interesting but not magnificent. a few of the private buildings were of stone and of more than one story, but the greater part of the city was built of the ubiquitous unbaked mud brick.

passing within sight of the huge arches of the great aqueduct, or waterway, which bends around from the south to the east side of the city, we at last found ourselves in the neat, close outskirts of chihuahua. our course carried us toward the plaza through the better streets, and it was evident from the number of ladies who crowded out into their balconies to see us pass that the news of our coming had been announced.

that malgares was well and favorably known among these bright-eyed señoras and señoritas soon became apparent as we swept along at the head of our clattering, swashbuckling dragoons. fans were waved, rebozas and mantillas fluttered, and greetings called. despite the anxiety which damped his spirit, our companion responded with the most gallant of bows and compliments.

in the midst, a gay young señorita, more daring than her sisters, cried out: "viva, los americanos!"

our response, i trust, was as gallant in spirit if not in effect as the bows of malgares. i qualify because pike had to endure the mortification of riding beneath the gaze of all those sparkling eyes in a costume better fitting a backwoods farmer than a military gentleman. he was still in his scarlet cap and blanket cloak. yet, encouraged by our acknowledgment of the first greeting, others of the ladies caught up the cry, until we found ourselves being welcomed no less warmly and frequently than malgares himself.

this should have been fair enough augury to reassure the most despondent of travellers. but as we jingled past house after house, i found myself, between bows, scanning the gay groups on the balconies with a sinking heart. we were nearing the plaza. i could see the trees between the blank, bare walls of the dwellings which flanked the narrow street. in a little more we should pass the last of the balconies,—and i had seen no sign of my lady.

we neared the last balcony. upon it were only three ladies, one of whom held back behind the others, so much of her head and shoulders as showed being muffled in a silk reboza, the mexican head-drape or shawl. the other two leaned eagerly forward over the balustrade, and the younger, a plump beauty with the blackest and most brilliant of eyes, flashed at malgares a look that told me she was his wife, even before he called to her in terms of extravagant endearment. unlike so many of the spanish marriages, his had been a love match.

the señora and her yet plumper companion at the rail called down a welcome to los americanos. pike and i swept off our hats and bowed our handsomest. i straightened and looked up. malgares had not checked his horse for an instant, so that we were now opposite the balcony, and i, being on the right, was almost directly beneath it. my heart gave a great leap. smiling down upon me, over the rail, i saw the lovely face of my lady. i started to cry out her name: "al—"

but already her finger was on her scarlet lips. i checked myself so quickly that my exclamation sounded more like an "ah!"

my lady let fall her reboza over her face and drew back out of view. when at last i gave over craning my head about, malgares met me with a smile. "so you have discovered her already, don juan!" he remarked in french.

"my señorita!" i murmured. "she is the loveliest lady in the world!"

"the most beautiful—that is true, but i cannot admit that she is the loveliest," he returned, with the loyalty of a true gentleman.

"i trust soon to repeat that last to your señora!" i exclaimed. "she was the one to whom you called."

he bowed in confirmation of my surmise. "it is the house of señor vallois. that other was señora marguerite vallois, his wife. the house of my wife's father is on the cross-street. she came to the house of her friends to see me pass, for she knew i could not turn out of my direct way to the palacio."

"what! not a few moments to greet your lady after an absence of almost a year?" i cried.

"this is not a free republic as is your country. our ruler—" he checked himself, and looked from me to pike with an anxious glance. "friends, i have not darkened your journey with sombre anticipations. but now is the time for warning. do not be surprised if a few hours hence you find yourselves in the calabozo."

"no!" said pike, without raising his voice, but speaking in a tone of indomitable resolution. "your people may kill us, don faciendo, but they shall neither disarm nor imprison us so long as there is breath left in our bodies. my men have their orders."

malgares shook his head sadly. "you free-born americanos! you do not yet know what it means to stand before a despot!" he glanced back over his shoulder as if fearful of being overheard. the nearest of the escort was beyond earshot. he drew in a deep breath, and murmured bitterly: "you see what it means. i am not accounted a coward, yet i turn cold at the very thought of the man who can dishonor me."

"dishonor!" i repeated.

"death is a little thing! but who does not fear a life—or death—of disgrace?"

our looks assured him of our sympathy. we came into the alamo, or shaded ride, through the plaza. he pointed across at the fort-like mass of the governor's residence. "there lies the fate of all the northern provinces, from the borders of louisiana territory to the pacific, in the grasp of one man!"

"you have an appeal to his catholic majesty," remarked pike.

malgares shrugged his shoulders in the manner of a frenchman, a gesture of which we would have considered his haughty pride incapable. "it is a long journey to old spain to one who would oppose the commandant-general, and a far longer journey through the court to the hall of justice. no, amigos. be advised. discretion is sometimes the better part of valor. diplomacy wins many victories beyond reach of the sword."

"you have our thanks, don faciendo," replied my friend, soberly. "i shall not forget that i am here as an officer of the army of the republic. my first and only concern is the interests of my country, and i will use all means to conserve those interests."

we were by now approaching the great arched gateway which gaped in the centre of the palacio's stuccoed façade. the guard turned out with a smartness which i could see impressed pike not a little. there was a moment's halt, and then we all clattered through the tunnel-like archway into the brick-paved court enclosed by the building.

this was not the first patio we had entered, but it was by far the largest. here and there the court was ornamented with small trees and potted shrubs, some already in flower. a line of them screened off in the rear the view of the kitchens and stables. all around this court ran the arched entrances of the building's inner tiers of rooms, the gallery of the upper story being reached with outside stairways in opposite corners.

as the audience chamber was on the lower floor, we were ushered with malgares into the hall of the guards by one of the aides-de-camp, a heavy-set, dark-browed andalusian whom malgares introduced as lieutenant don jesus maria de gonzales y medina. our six privates were left outside in the care of the dragoons of the escort, with whom they had long since come to the best of terms.

word had at once been taken in to the captain-general that we were awaiting his pleasure. presently an aide appeared and bowed to malgares. this left pike and me seated alone on a stone bench, under the eyes of the guard and of a rabble of house and stable servants, who had pressed in to gape at those strange creatures, los anglo-americanos. it was no easy test for my temper to bear, nor, i judge, for pike's. added to this, we were by now fairly on needles and pins as to the manner in which this despotic ruler should choose to receive us.

lieutenant medina had withdrawn. in his place appeared a ferret-eyed little frenchman, who snuffled complaints of how he had been abused in this vile land, and sought to draw from us expressions of opinion regarding the spanish government. suspecting him to be a spy, pike pointed to the outer door, and gave him his congé in spanish: "vaya, carrejo!"

the scoundrel went, followed by a muffled yet none the less hearty laugh over his discomfiture from the rough, honest soldiers. after a time medina returned with a sandy, pale-eyed but well-built young officer whom he introduced as alferez don juan pedro walker. the newcomer hastened to explain, in english, that he was the same john peter walker of new orleans who in 1798 aided mr. ellicott in surveying the florida line.

at this moment malgares appeared in the doorway of the audience chamber, and requested pike to enter. i started to follow, but he waved me back, with an anxious frown. this boded ill for us. to conceal my concern, i expressed to walker my surprise that an american should have entered the service of spain. he answered quickly that he was not my countryman, since his father was english and his mother french, and he had been born and reared in new orleans under spanish rule.

while he was explaining this, in rather an apologetic tone, medina was called away. there followed a summons to walker to attend upon the governor-general, and i found myself left quite alone in the midst of the gaping, muttering rabble. this was no throng of simple, hospitable rustics such as i had met and liked in the north province; but a stable and kitchen mob, the low scullions and hostlers and lackeys of a great man, puffed with reflected pride and saucy with second-hand arrogance.

soon i began to overhear jeers and scurrilous flings, of which the word "spy" was the least galling. before long all my apprehensions as to the governor-general were drowned in the swelling tide of my indignation and anger. it was unendurable to sit for what seemed an endless time before the insolent leers and coarse raillery of this scum. the soldiers looked on, without attempting either to join in their scoffs or to silence them.

at last, when i was about to seize the foremost two of the rascals by the scruff of the neck and crack their heads together, the aide-de-camp medina sauntered back from out in the court. i cried to him sharply in spanish: "señor lieutenant! do you not know whether it is time to take me in?"

such at least was what i intended to say. but, in my heat, i must have slipped on my spanish verb. the aide, mistaking me to mean that i had been summoned before the governor-general, immediately ushered me into the audience chamber.

my first glance gave me a general impression of a large apartment, severe in its furnishings; the second took in a table at which sat pike and walker and two or three others, all engaged in sorting books and papers which i ruefully recognized as the charts and journals of our expedition.

the sight of malgares, staring at me in open consternation, caused me to fix my gaze upon the gray-headed, irascible little man at the head of the table. we had expected a great show of regalia and the other trumpery of court display about the commandant-general. of this there was no sign to be seen anywhere in the room. yet the bearing of the man at the head of the table and the attitude of all others present in facing him, told me that this was none less than his excellency, don nimesio salcedo, the despotic ruler of provinces greater in total extent than the united states and all their possessions other than louisiana territory. yet by now i was so goaded to indignant anger that i held my head high and met his stern glance with the curtest of bows.

"caramba!" he swore, turning to malgares. "whom have we here?"

"señor juan robinson, your excellency," explained malgares—"that most excellent physician of whom i spoke, the surgeon attached to the expedition of lieutenant don montgomery pike."

it was only a fair example of malgares's noble courtesy and friendliness to seek thus to mollify in my favor the man whose single word could send me to the garrotte as a spy. i thanked him with a look.

salcedo flashed a fiery glance at the luckless medina. "why do you bring him in—imbecil? let him retire."

i turned on my heel, too heated now to care, whatever the tyrant might have in mind to do. but the moment the door closed behind me, i found lieutenant medina at my elbow, and he was as angry as myself.

"satanas!" he hissed, his little beady eyes snapping with fury. "i have lost standing with his excellency by this frightful blunder. explain! you told me i was to conduct you in! explain!"

"na-da!" i drawled. "i did not tell you."

"you said it!" he insisted.

i gave him the spanish equivalent for our adage not to cry over spilt milk, adding that i preferred his room to his company. at this he went off fairly boiling with rage, fearful, i take it, that if he stayed he would explode, and so draw upon himself the wrath of his lord and master. as by this time the rabble had dispersed, i was left to my own bitter reflections.

surely if salcedo had not scrupled to seize the records of the expedition, he would not scruple to treat me as an outright spy. the best i could forecast from that meant an indefinite confinement in the terrible spanish calabozo, compared with which the worst of our filthy flea-and-fever-infested seaboard gaols is a palace of comfort. yet the thought of alisanda spurred me to wild resolve. let them fling me into their dungeons. i would break through their bars and stone walls. i had not crossed the barrier to be daunted now. nothing should keep me from her!

in the midst of my angry scheming, the door opened to permit the exit of walker, pike, and malgares. walker bowed, and addressed me in french, out of courtesy to malgares: "if you please, dr. robinson, the general has expressed his wish that yourself and lieutenant pike should honor me by becoming my guests while you are in chihuahua. we go now to permit yourself and lieutenant pike to arrange your dress before returning to dine with his excellency."

this was decidedly different from being invited to descend into a dungeon. i bowed my acknowledgments.

malgares held out a hearty hand to pike and myself.

"god with you!" he exclaimed. "pardon my haste. but i will see you again at dinner. now i fly to my dolores!"

"vaya usted con dios!" we replied, waving him not to linger.

it would have been cruel to delay his departure an instant, seeing that he had been separated from his señora for the greater part of a year. i saw pike heave a sigh, and knew he was thinking of the beloved wife and children whom he had not seen for so many months, and might not see for many other weary months to come, possibly never.

my own thoughts, however, turned back to alisanda. as walker conducted us across the plaza to the house where, in company with other young bachelor officers, he had his quarters, a question or two set him to gossiping upon the ladies, and, inevitably, to singing the praises of señorita vallois. that was music to which i could have listened unwearying for hours.

but time pressed. walker insisted upon loaning both of us neckcloths, and pike various other articles of dress suitable to the occasion. he would have been as insistent upon sharing his wardrobe with myself had not my size prevented. i had to content myself with the neckcloth and a pair of silk stockings which i had in my saddlebags. in our prinking we enjoyed the officious services of walker's quaint old negro servant cæsar, who had been taken in texas with other members of captain nolan's party, and was said by walker to be the only man of his race in all this region.

washed and dressed, we returned to the palacio still escorted by walker, who had seen to it that we should not for an instant find opportunity to speak a word in private. arriving at our destination, we found malgares there before us, his fine eyes still beaming from the meeting with his loving señora.

this time we were shown in without delay to the sala, or salon, where salcedo received us with a formal bow, and then directed his attentions to pike and malgares with an urbanity which belied the gash-like crease between his shaggy gray brows. i was introduced to señor trujillo, the treasurer, who, however, paired off with walker. this left me to go into table with the portly padre father rocus, who was the only other member of the party. our seats proved to be at the far end of the longish board, and as the padre at once contrived to divert and hold my attention, i heard and saw little of what took place among the others.

unlike the native-born priests i had met in the north, father rocus was a man of profound learning and ability. without allowing the conversation to interfere in the least with his enjoyment of our elegant french-cooked repast and the very superior wines, he quickly sounded the none too profound depths of my learning in the sciences. he then touched adroitly upon politics and religion. the thought flashed upon me that he was seeking to lead me into some snare, yet i stated my convictions candidly. if salcedo wished to condemn me, he would condemn me, and that was all there was in it.

at the end father rocus sat for some moments sipping his wine, holding the glass as daintily and caressingly between his plump white fingers as i would have held my lady's hand. he set it down to be refilled by the assiduous lackey at his elbow, and addressed me in english: "republican, heretic, and anglo-american—it is unfortunate. none are popular in the domains of his most catholic majesty."

"i did not come here to curry favor with your people, padre," i replied.

"not with all, perhaps, but—" again he raised his glass and sipped for several moments. yet i observed that his half-shut eyes were fixed upon me in a penetrating gaze. "you are acquainted in chihuahua?" he remarked, in a tone as much of statement as inquiry.

"lieutenant malgares has honored us with his friendship."

"are there not others?" he queried.

"if so, i am not at liberty to mention their names," i said.

"good!" he commented. "discretion is the one quality in which i thought you lacking. i now feel justified in returning to you an article which i have reason to believe is your property."

"an article—my property?" i repeated, not a little puzzled.

he smiled, and, unobserved by the attendants, handed me my lady's handkerchief. i gazed at it, first astounded, then dismayed. it was all too clear that my message had been intercepted, probably by don pedro, and intrusted to this priest, to be returned as a courteous hint that my suit for the niece's hand was not acceptable. but as, greatly downcast, i thrust the handkerchief into my bosom, the padre raised his brows, and spoke in evident surprise: "you do not appear pleased, señor doctor. from what she said, i was led to infer—"

"what she said?" i broke in. "she? you mean—"

"a certain señorita who voyaged down a long river in company with her uncle and a certain gallant young heretic," he answered over his glass.

"she—my alisanda! then it is from her you bring the kerchief! you are our friend!"

"i am her confessor, and, i trust, her best friend," he replied. "as for yourself, god grant i may also become your friend and confessor."

"friend—yes!" i assented eagerly.

"and confessor!" he urged. "remember, you are now in the kingdom of new spain. it is in point to remark that a heretic was burned at the city of mexico within the last three years."

my head sank forward in gloomy meditation. i had crossed the barrier, it is true; but now i saw yawning before me the abyss of the gulf.