List of Illustrations
| PAGE | |
| "They sat down almost under the shadow of the high statue of San Martín" (see [page 33]) | [Frontispiece] |
| "He permitted Francisco to take a ride on the tame llama" | [24] |
| "'Did you ever see such glorious blue eyes!'" | [67] |
| "Soon after his eager question they passed a group of them" | [100] |
| "Blazed the lines of the Tres Arroyas on its hip" | [106] |
| "Elena and Francisco were dressed and ready" | [147] |
Francisco
Our Little Argentine Cousin
CHAPTER I
FRANCISCO'S HOME
Francisco sat crosslegged in one corner of the patio under the shade of a small pomegranate tree which grew in a tub. He had moved halfway around the patio since morning, trying to keep out of the sun. Just after café he had started out under the shade of the east wall, where wistaria vines and jasmine grew in a dense mass of purple, yellow and green; then he had gone from one tubbed shelter to another as the sun mounted higher, until now only the heavy foliage of the pomegranate offered protection from the hot rays. All of the long varnished blinds at the doors of the rooms opening upon this central, stone-paved courtyard, had long since been closed securely, for it was middle December and the house must be sealed early against the noon heat of midsummer.
Francisco might have gone inside, where the darkened rooms furnished some relief, but he chose to sit crosslegged on the red and white square stones of the patio, with his back to the main part of the house, so that the mother and sisters could not see what occupied his busy hands.