for fruits.  He was an enterprising fellow and took a marked interest in our comfort and welfare.  But on nearing San Antonio after midnight, he attempted to sell us our choice of three books, between the leaves of one of which he had placed a five-dollar bill and in another a ten, and offered us our choice for two dollars, and June Deweese became suddenly interested.  Coming over to where we were sitting, he knocked the books on the floor, kicked them under a seat, and threatened to bend a gun over the butcher’s head unless he made himself very scarce.  Then reminding us that “there were tricks in all trades but ours,” he kept an eye over us until we reached the city.

We were delayed another day in San Antonio, settling with the commission firm and banking the money.  The next morning we took stage for Oakville, where we arrived late at night.  When a short distance out of San Antonio I inquired of our driver who would relieve him beyond Pleasanton, and was gratified to hear that his name was not Jack Martin.  Not that I had anything particular against Martin, but I had no love for his wife, and had no desire to press the acquaintance any further with her or her husband.  On reaching Oakville, we were within forty miles of Las Palomas.  We had our saddles with us, and early the next morning tried to hire horses; but as the stage company domineered the village we were unable to hire saddle stock, and on appealing to the only livery in town we were informed that Bethel & Oxenford had the first claim on their conveyances.  Accordingly Deweese and I visited the offices of the stage company, where, to our surprise, we came face to face with Jack Oxenford.  I do not think he knew us, though we both knew him at a glance.  Deweese made known his wants, but only asked for a conveyance as far as Shepherd’s.  Yankeelike, Oxenford had to know who we were, where we had been, and where we were going.  Our segundo gave him rather a short answer, but finally admitted that we belonged at Las Palomas.  Then the junior member of the mail contractors became arrogant, claiming that the only conveyance capable of carrying our party was being held for a sheriff with some witnesses.  On second thought he offered to send us to the ferry by two lighter vehicles in consideration of five dollars apiece, insolently remarking that we could either pay it or walk.  I will not repeat Deweese’s reply, which I silently endorsed.

With the soil of the Nueces valley once more under our feet we felt independent.  On returning to the vaqueros, we found a stranger among them, Bernabe Cruze by name, who was a muy amigo of Santiago Ortez, one of our Mexicans.  He belonged at the Mission, and when he learned of our predicament offered to lend us his horse, as he expected to be in town a few days.  The offer was gratefully accepted, and within a quarter of an hour Manuel Flores had started for Shepherd’s with an order to the merchant to send in seven horses for us.  It was