“You mustn’t say Mr. Don Rafael,” explained Pedro. “Don means Mr. If you want to, you can call him Don Rafael; but as for me I shall think of him always as Jose the traitor.
“But here we are at my uncle’s house and he will be more than glad to see you.”
As the little cavalcade drew up in front of the great white house, a peon opened the big gate and the quartette rode into the patio. Other servants quickly took their horses and led them to the stable, while Pedro escorted the boys up a broad flight of stairs to the second floor, on which were located the parlors, library and dining room. It was a beautiful home and our boys felt just a little bit awkward on coming into such a sumptuous house dressed in their travel-stained riding garments.
But if they had any sense of being out of place, they were quickly put at their ease by a kindly faced gentleman of middle age, who advanced to the head of the stairs and greeted them pleasantly.
“These are the brave Americans who gave me such unexpected assistance yesterday,” said Pedro by way of introduction.
“I guessed as much,” replied his uncle.
“And this is my uncle, Don Antonio Sanchez,” said Pedro to the boys, “he is just as glad to see you and to have you here as I am. And uncle,” he continued without stopping to catch his breath, “they are going to stay with me several days, aren’t you?” to the boys.
“I don’t think we promised, did we?” replied Donald, “but we will stay today, anyway. We shall be pleased to see something of the Concho valley.”
Don Antonio lead the way to the dining room, where the boys were introduced to Pedro’s aunt and to his sister, Guadalupe.
If the boys had been embarrassed upon meeting Don Antonio, they were more so upon meeting Guadalupe, who was something different from any girl they had ever met. When she was introduced to Billie and called him Don Guillermo, he turned as red as a turkey gobbler and wished he was somewhere else; but, after a few minutes, he forgot his embarrassment in his morning meal—for when it