The Adventurers Read Online Free PDF Page B

appraisal, was glad he had stopped at a stream to make himself presentable.
    Senor Campos came to the head of the stairs as my father walked up them. "Bienvenido, senor," he called politely in the custom of the hills.
    "Mil gracias, senor," my father answered. "Have I the honor of addressing his excellency Don Rafael Campos?"
    The older man nodded.
    My father bowed. "Jaime Xenos, de la oficina del alcalde, asu servicio."
    Don Rafael smiled. "Come in," he said, extending his hand. "You are an honored guest in my house."
    "It is my honor, sir."
    Don Rafael clapped his hands. A servant came running. "A cool drink for our guest," he said. "See to his horse."
    He led my father back into the shade of the galena and bade him be seated. As my father sat down near the small table he caught a glimpse of the rifle and two pistols that were placed on the floor next to his host's chair.
    The older man caught the glance. "In the mountains one cannot be too careful."
    "I understand," my father said.
    The servant came with the drinks and the two men toasted each other, then my father made his apologies for the alcalde. But Senor Campos would hear no more of the apologies. He was more than satisfied with my father; he was certain that the entire matter would be concluded with satisfaction. Then they went inside to lunch and afterward Don Rafael bade my father go to his room and rest, for there was time enough tomorrow to discuss their business. Today his guest must rest and make himself at home. So it wasn't until dinner that night that my father actually met my mother.
    But from the window above the galena. Maria Elisabeth Campos had watched the rider come up to the portico. The sounds of conversation came clearly up to her through the still quiet of the afternoon.
    "He is very tall and handsome, no?" a voice asked from behind her.
    Maria Elisabeth turned. Dona Margaretha, her aunt, who had served as the duena of the household since the death of her sister, stood behind her.
    Maria Elisabeth blushed. "But he is very dark."
    "Tiene sangre negra," the aunt replied. "But it does not matter. It is said they make wonderful husbands and lovers." She leaned past her niece and looked out the open window. "Mucho hombre."
    The sound of Don Rafael's voice, suggesting that his guest rest until dinner, floated up to them.
    Dona Margaretha pulled her head back. She looked at her niece. "Now you must go to bed and rest all afternoon," she said. "It would never do to have our guest see you all flushed and tired from the heat of the day."
    Maria Elisabeth protested but did as she was told. She too had been very impressed with the tall dark stranger and wanted to look her best for him.
    At last the drapes were drawn and she lay stretched out alone in the cool dimness. She did not sleep. He was an attorney, she had heard him say. That meant he had polish and manners. Not like the sons of the farmers and plantation owners who lived around the hacienda. They were all so coarse and common, more interested in their guns and horses than in the polite conversations of society.
    Still, she would soon have to make her choice. She was past seventeen and her father was pressing her. Another year and she would be classified as an old maid, condemned to a life like Dona Margaretha's. And even this might be denied her, for she was an only child with no sisters or brothers whose children she could take care of.
    It would be nice to be married to an attorney, she thought vaguely as she drifted off into sleep, to live in the city where one met all kinds of interesting and different people.
    And my father was very much intrigued by the slim intense young girl who came down to dinner dressed in a flowing white dress that served to accentuate her huge dark eyes and red lips. He sensed rather than saw the wiry body and full breasts beneath her bodice.
    Maria Elisabeth, for her part, was mostly silent through dinner. She listened with half an ear to the familiar voice of her father