“If those squatters could be kept away, Darrell would come to his senses much sooner,” Mr. Mechlin said.
“That's it exactly,” Gabriel added; “they make the mischief.”
“But why does he allow it?” Doña Josefa said.
“Because he loves the smell of gunpowder, and they are full of it,” Tano explained.
“I think Mrs. Darrell ought to prevent those horrible creatures from invading her house,” Carlota said.
“They only go to the ‘colony.’ The old buster wants them there. He would smash the furniture if his pets were not allowed to come to lick his boots,” Victoriano asserted, positively.
“You don't speak very respectfully of your future father-in-law,” George said to Victoriano, laughing.
“Not at present. Not when I have just seen him running away like a chicken thief, just caught with a turkey under each arm,” Tano replied, lapsing into another fit of laughter.
“Oh, Tano! if you care for Alice, how can you so ridicule her father?” Mercedes exclaimed, speaking for the first time. And without waiting for a reply, she turned away and went to her room.
There she remained inconsolable, her lovely face often bathed in tears. She did not go to bed; she hoped that Clarence might possibly have finished his business in town and hurried back. She watched for the faintest sound all night.