352 



THE IRRIGATION AGL. 



streamihg upon my face thoroughly 

 aroused me. The outrage could 

 scarcely proceed from other than a 

 human being, though the predatory 

 instincts and marvellous digestion 

 of goats might have occasioned the 

 surprise. The hat had wholly dis- 

 appeared; so much was certain. I 

 could not but reflect upon the fu- 

 tility of years spent in acquiring 

 the dignity becoming my age and 

 pursuits, the period of pedagogical 

 state when, weilding my ferule as 

 an awful sceptre, I saw my tremb- 

 ling subjects cower in dismay. 

 Who dared in this unseemly levity 

 lay bare my pathetic scalp, reveal- 

 ing even to this Texan sunshine the 

 scattered locks that struggled to 

 protect a professor's cranium? It 

 was indeed very odd; it was no less 

 so when my ears were regaled with 

 one of the merriest peals of laugh- 

 ter to which it has ever been my 

 joy to listen. 



Soon a bunch of grass tumbled 

 from the thicket, striking me in 

 the face as I peered unawares 

 about the bushes. Over that same 

 barrier, I remembered, might have 

 been hurled a fatal lasso, as more 

 than one poor fellow who had trav- 

 ersed these solitudes had bitterly 

 learned. At all events, I had en- 

 dured less peaceful bombardments 

 than this, and balls of tender herb- 

 age were surely more welcome than 

 Whitworth shells. The mystery, 

 moreover, while it piqued my cur- 

 iosity, was not without allurement, 

 and, betraying no surprise, I re- 

 sumed my siesta and awaited devel- 

 opments. 



"Grirgo, Gringuito!" soon came 

 from the neighboring copse in 

 tones of playful mockery. I shaded 



my eyes with my handkerchief and 

 feigned sleep. The ruse answered 

 well, for in a few moments I per- 

 ceived by a slight rustle of the 

 twigs that my tormentor was in 

 motion, and divining that the 

 handkerchief would be the next ob- 

 ject of desire, I held the corner of 

 it fast and invited assault. Finally 

 came a swift attempt at capture, 

 but my hold was firm, and, as I 

 turned to seek the mysterious cul- 

 prit, I saw standing over me, a 

 lithe, laughing girl, apparently 

 somewhat subdued by defeat, yet 

 revealing a world of mischief in 

 her roguish eyes and in the dim- 

 ples of her sunburnt cheeks. 



I affected grave pleasure, and 

 silently gazed upon the child for 

 child she seemed, though her stat- 

 ure indicated young womanhood 

 intent upon awing her into re- 

 spectful submission, at least so far 

 as to remove the hat from her 

 glossy curls, up<^n which it rested 

 jauntily, being poised at an angle 

 I should never have dreamed of 

 adopting, so detrimental to all 

 moral equilibrium was its glaring 

 impertinence. 



I was at once struck with the 

 singular beauty of the girl's face, 

 the lines of which exhibited the 

 highbred contour visible every- 

 where among the Spanish Ameri- 

 cans; the delicate egg-shaped oval 

 of cheek and chin, the exquisite 

 mouth, and perfectly modeled 

 brow, betraying a refined sensibil- 

 ity, frequently at variance, to be 

 sure, with the character possessed 

 by the class among which these 

 outward attractions are apparent. 

 Her dress was recklessly forlorn, 

 indeed the commonest of girl 



