232 CALIFORNIA DESERT TRAILS 



miles In distance, had been equal to forty on the 

 level, and I had not ridden any part of the way. 

 When I made bold to ask If we might share the 

 family supper — "Sure you may," came the reply 

 from the gloom where Mary Jane hovered with fork 

 and lantern over a crackling fire. 



It was an excellent meal. Eggs fried to a charm, 

 frijoles at their best, wild honey fresh out of the 

 rocks, coffee at perfection, and such biscuit as one 

 seldom meets on this mortal plane. There was 

 tasaje too, but not for me. I have had experiences 

 with "jerky" that after lapse of years remain a 

 solemnizing memory. The household consisted of 

 our hostess, her mother (who carried her years so 

 lightly that I took her for a sister), and two cousins, 

 Jose and Dionysio, the latter a boy. A good deal of 

 laughter went with remarks, in their own language, 

 of which we were plainly the object. It might well 

 have been our appetites that were the joke. 



I was able to bring Mary Jane items of news of 

 her relations on the desert. This made us doubly 

 welcome, and it was altogether a pleasant evening 

 that I spent in the smoky adobe. The room Itself 

 was worth observing, festooned with ropes of chile 

 and tasaje, adorned with chromos of religious sub- 

 jects, and hallowed by a tiny shrine with candle and 

 crucifix. 



As there seemed a prospect of rain we elected to 

 sleep In the barn with the rats. My companion again 

 attributed every disturbance to snakes, and twice 

 during the night made a tour of the premises with 

 lantern and revolver. As it happened, I killed a 



