When they arrived home they found that Doña Josefa had received a telegram from Gabriel, sent the night before, saying that he, Lizzie and the baby would spend Christmas and New Year's Day at the rancho. This was glad news, indeed, and most unexpected, for inasmuch as Lizzie had just been down on a visit and hurried back, so that Gabriel would not be all alone on Christmas, they did not think that Lizzie would want to take the trip so soon again. But Lizzie would travel many more miles to be with her family. And the reason that Gabriel had for coming was, moreover, a most powerful one.
He had one day casually met the doctor who attended his father, and after inquiring whether Don Mariano was better, added:
“I tell you frankly, Don Gabriel, your father may yet live many years, but he is in danger, too, of dying very suddenly.”
“How? Why so?” Gabriel asked, pale with alarm.
“Because his heart may give out if his lungs don't work well, and as he is not very careful of himself, you see he might task his heart with heavier work than it can perform. If he is kept from excitement and gets rid of all that phlegm which has accumulated in his lungs, he will be well enough. So write to him to be careful in avoiding colds,” said the doctor.
“I will go and tell him so myself,” Gabriel said.
“That is right. The case is serious, I assure you.”
This short dialogue brought Gabriel home.
From the time he had entered the bank he had never been absent from it one minute during office hours, so a three weeks' vacation was readily granted to him.
All the Mechlins would come to Alamar to pass the holidays. George told his father that they might as well go back to their home again since his lameness did not require daily medical attendance.