"And once," Mary Lee added, "I got off and waited for the rest, because my burro behaved so badly I was afraid he would do something dreadful. Carter rode him home and I took his, which was not near so mean."
"Oh, there was lots to see," Nan went on, "so much besides the mountains and the towns and the orange groves. There are ever so many springs up that way, all kinds; some one told us there were a thousand hot springs in that part of California. We went to one of them. Aunt Helen would like to have gone to the Pala Mission where there are so many Indians but she thought she'd make another trip there in a less roundabout way. I hope she'll take us."
"Well, it was a great experience, wasn't it?" said Mr. Pinckney. "But I'm glad to see your cheerful countenances again, although the twinnies have kept us from being too lonely. Bless me! what shall we do when you are gone altogether? It isn't so hard to do without a thing when you haven't had it, you see."
The girls looked at each other. "We would like so much to get a granddaughter for you," said Nan, "and if we were not all so fond of one another you could have one of us, but we would be wicked to leave mother."
"I don't see anything but to keep you out here," replied Mr. Pinckney. "If the climate helps your mother why shouldn't you stay?"
"Oh, we'd like it," said Nan, "but I don't believe mother and Aunt Helen would want to stay forever."
"It's hard to suit everybody, isn't it?" said Mr. Pinckney. "I suppose the day will come when I shall want to go East again myself. Well, we won't bother about it yet awhile."
"We could keep the señorita if we stayed here," said Mary Lee thoughtfully. "She would rather not go East if she can get a good position out here."
"So there's a heavy balance on that side," said Mr. Pinckney. "I know which way you would vote."
"Speaking of the señorita, we want to tell you something," said Nan. "Mary Lee met a queer man up in the mountains and we think he may possibly be the señorita's father."