In the valley of Santa Clara, which lies cradled easily between mountains and smiles up at the sun nearly the whole year through, Spring has a winter home, wherein she dwells contentedly while the northern land is locked in the chill embrace of the Snow King.  In February, unless the north wind sweeps down jealously and stays her hand, she flings a golden brocade of poppies over the green hillsides and the lower slopes which the forest has left her.  Time was when she spread a deep-piled carpet of mustard over the floor of the valley as well, and watched smiling while it grew thicker and higher and the lemon-yellow blossoms vied with the orange of the poppies, until the two set all the valley aglow.

Now it was March, and the hillsides were ablaze with the poppies, and the valley floor was soft green and yellow to the knees; with the great live oaks standing grouped in stately calm, like a herd of gigantic, green elephants scattered over their feeding-ground and finding the peace of repletion with the coming of the sun.

The cabin of Manuel squatted upon a little rise of ground at the head of the valley.  When Jack stood in the doorway and looked down upon the green sweep of grazing ground with the hills behind, and farther away another range facing him, he owned to himself that it was good to be there.  The squalidness of the town he had left so tumultuously struck upon his memory nauseatingly.

Spring was here in the valley, even though the mountains shone white beyond.  A wind had come out of the south and driven the fog back to the bay, and the sun shone warmly down upon the land.  Two robins sang exultantly in the higher branches of the oak, where they had breakfasted satisfyingly upon the first of the little, green worms that gave early promise of being a pest until such time as they stiffened and clung inertly, waiting for the dainty, gray wings to grow and set them aflutter over the tree upon which they had fed.  One of them dropped upon Jack’s arm while he stood there and crawled aimlessly from the barren buckskin to his wrist.  He flung it off mechanically.  Spring was here of a truth; in the town he had not noticed her coming.

“You’re right, Dade,” he declared suddenly, over his shoulder.  “This beats getting up at noon and going through the motions of living for twelve or fourteen hours in town.  I believe I’ll have Manuel get me a riding outfit, if he will.  Maybe I’ll take you up on that rodeo proposition.  Reckon your old don will give me a job?”

“Won’t cost a peso to find out,” said Dade, coming out and standing beside him in the sun.  “I’ve been talking to Manuel, and he thinks we’d better pull out right away.  Valencia’s got an extra saddle here, and Manuel says he’ll catch a horse for you.”

“I believe I’ll send a letter to Bill,” proposed Jack.  “He’ll give Manuel enough dust to buy what I need; and I ought to let him know how we made out, anyway.”