ON THE TRAMP. 221 



our indebtedness. " Oh," said she, " I guess I wont charge you 

 more than seventy-five cents." Taken aback by this extortion 

 we paid the amount, " Scottie " regretting we had not lied and 

 said we had no money. My monetary thermometer now 

 registered twenty cents in the shade, considerably below freez- 

 ing. I was now as well off as when I debarked from the 

 " Senator," except that I had no watch to hypothecate. 



Leaving this ranch which had so raided our funds we trudged 

 through the ever verdant range of hills and descended to a 

 plain bordering a sluggish stream flowing into Suisun Bay. 

 About 4 o'clock we came to the village of Pacheco. On the way 

 we met a man who said there was a fence-builder living there 

 who wanted hands, and him we found at the "grocery," which 

 means a combination of grog-shop and store. He told us if 

 he got a contract he was expecting he would give us work. 

 " Scottie" went with him to see about it, I being too footsore to 

 go along. So I seated myself down on the porch till they got 

 back. The village was mainly Mexican, one of that race keeping 

 the " grocery," or tienda. I sat there watching the swarthy 

 customers coming and going on their tough " bronchos," or 

 while they stopped to drink, buy groceries or play cards. The 

 latter, with a gambling attachment, seemed to be their delight. 

 The cards were peculiarly pictured. When ofl" their horses 

 these Mexicans were common looking enough, but when 

 mounted, with ornamented saddles and bridles and jingling 

 spurs, they made a very picturesque appearance. 



In an hour " Scottie " and the contractor came back, but with 

 no good news, so we moved on in the direction of Martinez. 

 Just after dark we overtook a man who lived in the latter 

 place. He knew of no work, was poor himself, and if he had 

 room in his little house said he would keep us. Hearing we 

 had no money to pay for lodgings he took us to an empty school 

 house, on the edge of the village, where we could stay all night. 

 He then left us to ourselves in the thickening gloaming 



