148 THE DESERT AND THE ROSE 



shrill adjurations she would slip past the boy open- 

 ing the gate for the buggy to pass through and insist 

 on trotting alongside Jeff, the mean buggy horse, 

 who hated her yet more bitterly than he hated every 

 living thing; her adoration of this unpleasant beast 

 was incomprehensible, for if he could bite or kick 

 her he would. Anyway, if she could accompany 

 the buggy she would trip along by his side, pay- 

 ing no heed to nips and laid back ears. Our outfit 

 often afforded amusement, although the public soon 

 became acquainted with Nina and her wilful ways. 

 Once she was repaid in her own coin — stolen — but 

 contrived to outwit her captors and flew like a hom- 

 ing pigeon straight to the place of her birth. 

 Neighbors who had assisted in the search for the 

 missing one declared that she must have covered 

 many miles as she was thick with dust and sweat, 

 and the broken rope dangling from her neck told 

 its own tale. 



Debarred from entering the house a second time, 

 she yet seemed to feel that some entering wedge 

 of her own had been inserted in life's common day, 

 and to keep her in her place became a problem. The 

 kitchen was her favorite stamping ground. Should 

 the screen door be left unwisely ajar Nina pushed 

 in. To tear open a sack of meal or flour and freely 

 scatter the contents afforded her joy unspeakable. 

 When I went into the outside store room to collect 

 food for the chickens all Ricardo's strength and per- 

 suasion was necessary to prevent her from follow- 

 ing me, and when, as I fondly hoped, I was safely 

 on my road to the corrals she would get ahead of me 



