feed a horse better than you feed a horse -- and
I'm _cleanin'_ the horse once in a while, too!"
Which was a lie, both as to the feeding and the
cleaning, as he well knew, and as, indeed, he well
knew Pedro knew, who, nevertheless, nodded
grave assent.

"_Si_," admitted Pedro. "_Pero_ustede_--__"

"A horse!" thundered Felipe, interrupting, his
neck cords dangerously distended. "You give me
a horse -- you hear? I want a horse -- a horse!
I don' coom here for thee talk!"

Pedro rose hastily from the keg. Also, he
grunted quick consent. Then he stepped inside
the store, followed by Felipe, who made several
needed purchases, and, since he had his enemy
cowed, and was troubled with thirst created by
the protracted harangue, to say nothing of the
strong inclination within him to celebrate the
coming of the colt, he made a purchase that was
not needed -- a bottle of _vino_, cool and dry from
Pedro's cellar. With these tucked securely under
his arm, he then calmly informed Pedro of the
true state of his finances, and left the store, returning
across the settlement, which lay wrapped
in pulsating noonday quiet. In the shade of his
adobe he sat upon the ground, with his back
comfortably against the wall. Directly the quiet was
broken by two distinct sounds -- the pop of a cork
out of the neck of a bottle, and the gurgle of liquid
into the mouth of a man.

Thus Felipe set out upon a protracted debauch.
In this debauch he did nothing worth while. He

[[19]]

p018 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p019w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p020

v?