John Augustine Cull

“ The great gate of the courtyard swung open wide. Through the archway, on a palfrey white as milk, came the daughter of the de la Mendoza. Her mount, true to the strain of his forebears in far-away Arabia, caracoled to and fro, and ambled forward slowly, step by step, as if to show the perfection that California could breed in priceless horseflesh. His mane flowed into the trappings on his breast; his streaming tail almost touched the ground.
Carmelita, gowned in white, rode stately, as became the princess that she well might be. ”

“ Really, Captain, it would not surprise me if Señor Mendoza's ball brought about half a dozen weddings. The setting for love-making was exquisite. It might have been fashioned after some fairy scene, so delicately were light and color blended, with that delicious music of the natives permeating it all. Madrid would have gone wild over it! Even the most watchful mamma and dueña felt the spell and laughed and looked away while some fair one allowed the brave Don Juan to hold her hand and murmur nothings to her. ”

“ At the eastern end of the pass the sides became sheer declivities; while the roadway, a sharp incline, so narrowed that a part of Stanislaus's riflemen were forced to lead the procession, the remainder to go to the rear, as a wet sponge squeezed in the middle drips at both ends.
"Halt!" like a thunder-bolt in clear sky, came a stentorian shout from the western outlet. It was Enrico, and ranged by his side and Carmelita Mendoza's were three hundred men whose carbines were gleaming in the afternoon sun. ”

“ The hot north wind, which for days had been scorching the valley of Santa Clara, rolled into the room.
"It is little avail, dear father, to seek or avoid draughts when the San Joaquin fever possesses one. Its nature is to burn till the body seems a crisp, then to freeze till the flesh is like damp clay."
"Juan Antonio, you are right. Still, it is a satisfaction to feel the living air whether it touches one's ailment or not." ”

“ The doña blushed rosy red.
"What a papacito!" kissing him to cover her confusion. "How shall the señorita inside the embrasure prevent the music-inclined caballero on the outside from touching the strings of his guitar?"
Mendoza laughed while looking fondly at his daughter.
"You ask me how the doña may discourage the suitor? Ah, little one, how can I tell you? The claws show sharp and repelling, or presto! all is soft and smooth as velvet. What works the wonder, ask you? Ah, Carmelita mia! Lolita Hernandez is not the only minx in the world." ”

“ Into the harbor, up to the very eyes of the castle, they came.
With the sun's unveiling American marines rushed into boats, hurried ashore and took possession of the city. The Red, White and Blue snapped saucily over plaza and fort.
Signals fluttered on Admiral Fairbanks's flagship, whipping the air in persistent command. In reluctant obedience the warships, for the second time, wheeled slowly back to the ocean, the Vanguard in the rear, like a stern parent driving his half-rebellious brood before him. ”

“ Thus, from the valley came hundreds of horses and cattle to meet the homecomers. They had scented their fellows from afar, and flew madly to the foothills, to do them battle. The vaqueros were miles away, in the rear of the swarming, home-coming herds. In time they would make peace by clubbing the fighting leaders over nose or horn with their heavy whip-stocks.
Zelaya was within half a mile of the Mendoza corral when a drove of fifty or more horses, led by a splendid dapple-gray stallion, came thundering from a deep hollow directly in front of him. ”

“ CARMELITA DANCES EL SON
By custom the dance of El Son followed supper. Peons pared wax from candles and scattered the particles over the ballroom floor. Smooth as it had been before it must be made more so for the dance El Son. The Indian men and women worked the wax into the wood until the surface shone like the beams of a harvest moon.
"A little more wax by you there, Clotilda—not that side, the other!" ordered the peon in charge. "Now, be alive with your foot. Use judgment! Use judgment! Don't wear a hole in the floor. ”

“ The United States cares nothing for this territory. Two vessels only have they—worn and old—in their Pacific squadron. They even call their flagship 'the lumber wagon,' by way of jesting. California is the balance weight of Texas and Oregon. The province calls to you. Peace calls to you. Else the future sees dispute and war over province and empire treasure-trove.
"Admiral Fairbanks, this is the hour, and you are the man. If you fail, and, later, the shadows of war darken these shores, then must you answer at the bar of conscience and humanity. ”

“ Señora Valentino rode slowly along the way leading from Santa Clara to Pueblo San José. Willow trees lined the edge of the road, lifting their featherly foliage in greeting to the morning sun. Yellow light filtered through and marked the interlacing plumes with myriad fairy figures in golden tints. The branches nodded and undulated in low-toned rhythm. Tempered breezes from the bay, sweet with the breath of virgin meadow, hung light-winged over this shaded alameda. Peons, men and women, worked in the vegetable gardens by the wayside, singing as they labored. ”

“ On this Pacific shore I had built another Castle Altamira, laying the foundation and rearing the walls in love. It embodied my devotion to you. In the shadow of those oaks, as I rode away, my heart was gone from me, for the castle in Castile was become but building stone, the doña of the hearth mine no longer. The new home in this western world, lacking the cement of love, was worthless, and must fall in ruins. ”

“ It is a double pleasure to receive such rare insignia from hands the fairest in the land."
"A good word, Captain! A good word!" exclaimed Abelardo Peralta. "Not all your vigils are spent at the shrine of war."
Señor Mendoza entered. "The musicians are idle. Motionless the feet of señorita and caballero. Why no dancing?"
"The goddess of wealth has listened to Captain Morando," informed Pedro Zelaya. "The sweet odor of his gratefulness floats around. The rest of us wonder and envy."
"Captain, turn the tables," from Mendoza. "Let not the señoritas bear all before them." ”

“ Peons touched fitting music from stringed instruments; others sang in the melodious voice of the aborigine.
"Señorita Mendoza, heard you not that the great spring merienda comes early this year by reason of the drought?" asked Captain Morando.
"Does a picnic so interest you, Comandante Morando?"
"Never have I seen such a picnic as must be the spring merienda in the valley of Calaveras. Everywhere I hear people speak of it."
"Soon you may judge of its excellence for yourself. Now begins to sing my peona, Modesta. Her voice equals in sweetness the notes of the thrush. ”

“ Mendoza told her again of the home prepared for her near the shores of the sunny Pacific, of the beauty and luxuriance well-nigh Oriental, of the wealth of the land, of the promise of the future.
"Peons, slaves, señorita, numbering hundreds, await your pleasure there. A princess will you be, and I will be your lover-husband. Say you will come with me."
The Lady Romalda smiled coldly. "You may become a self-styled prince among a barbarous and rebellious people. Be assured I shall never be a princess of such dishonor." ”

“ Everywhere the odor of growing things loaded the air with sweet messages. Myriad flower-breaths floated through open doors and windows, dropping fragrant tribute in hacienda house and cloistered corridor.
People in throngs, eager with expectancy, held the street fronting on the Mendoza hacienda house. Masters of ceremony opened a wide lane from mansion to church. The Spanish gentry fringed either side; detachments of soldiers, in serried rank, stood next; back of them, overflowing to the very limits of the village, crowded other residents of the valley. ”

“ The other day some one, in speaking of Captain Morando, said that it is easy for young men to fall in love; and, indeed, to fall out of it—but, away! those threadbare sayings! The heart of Don Alfredo is loving and warm. Do I not know it? Had it not been for the dashing Colonel Valentino—" Then suddenly, "O, señorita, a man cannot forgive everything even in a woman he loves. If you do not listen to his suit it may be too late, and you will live to regret, even as I—" She stopped, apparently absorbed in thought of the past.
The girl arose. "Señora Valentino—" she began. ”

“ The Indian riflemen stood around, sombreros in hand, their weapons lying on the turf, to do homage to death, the final conqueror. Señor Mendoza still held in his arms the clay of his friend, still his tears were falling. 'The Peralta and Mendoza friendship shall live on in our children,' he said in broken voice. 'The living and the dead make this consecration.'"
Morando's horse reared to perpendicular line. Unconsciously the Captain had gripped him with the spurs. The animal sprang from the beaten road through dense masses of underbrush, to the grassy field beyond. ”

“ Quick, women, the padre's need is urgent!"
A sigh came from the priest. Then all was still. He seemed to sink lower into his couch.
Even Juan Antonio thought that now life was gone. Instincts of forgotten generations stirred the old man's heart. He began to intone the death praises of the friar, as, for untold years, had his forbears done for the great ones of their tribe.
"The mighty heart is still. The strong hand bends not the bow. The ready feet run not. The king elk walks boldly in the open. The timid deer fears not the arrow, because the chief man of his people hunts no more." ”

“ Is it not on us, the sons and daughters of Castile?"
"Most unquestionably, señora."
"Then, let us exert ourselves. Political unrest is agitating the people. It is as yet formless, but soon it must flow in settled stream, for men's thoughts, like water, always seek their level. Señor Soldier, the part of every lover of Castile is plain."
"Please say further, señora."
"Mexico and California soon go their separate ways. Is it not so?"
"I think it is."
"The world moves, Captain Morando, and California must move with it. Whither do we go?" ”

“ Farquharson, white with suppressed rage, paced the battlement.
The consuls were gathered in knots of twos and threes.
Barcelo, grim and aloof, stood with folded arms and watched the departing fleet until the last speck dropped from sight.
On the way home, an hour later, Señora Valentino volunteered to the Colonel: "Well, the British ships have come—and gone."
"Yes—and I am still comandante," bluster reasserting itself. Then, to his wife: "That peon valet laid out my new uniform all right, but he gave me my old sword belt. There's simply no depending on the fellow." ”

“ A heavy boulder whirling in the flood was flung against Morando's horse. As it fell caballeros close by grasped bridle-rein and stirrup-strap and drew the animal to its feet. Panic-stricken it dashed wildly forward.
The lightning ceased. The dense blackness but increased the confusion.
The carretas floundered in the water. Finally, all save one fought their way to higher ground. A projecting tree-limb had struck the dueña's postilion. His horse slipped beneath him and turned with the turbulent current. Man, horses, carreta, and occupants were washed down the declivity. ”

“ Again her gesture left his sentence incomplete.
"Captain Morando, forgive me if I say such words mock me."
"Señora, the world is at your feet. The bravest and the proudest court your smiles. At that ball in Madrid I saw our commander lead you to the king, and together they bowed over your hand, while the multitude applauded. Can you not even now hear them? 'Viva! Viva! the fairest and gentlest in the kingdom! Viva! Señora Valentino!'"
"Not that, Captain; not that," deprecatingly. "Praise from the lips fills not the heart. Five years ago a prima donna thrilled all Europe. ”

“ No one spoke.
"I will go," suddenly from Carmelita, her form straightening, her face paling. "Who will go with me?" she challenged. "I am only a woman, yet will I handle a rifle in such a cause as this. Who will go with me?"
A grizzled Indian stepped haltingly up to the girl. "I am only old Enrico," he said. "I used to be one of the fighting men of the señor, your father, but a bullet from Yoscolo's band smashed my hip years ago and left me fit only to hoe potatoes. Señorita doña, I will go with you and harry Stanislaus with what strength I have. I can never die in a better cause." ”

“ They entered the large plaza around which were many of the important buildings of the capital. Here ran in full stream the life of early California. Indian women, gay in colored shawl and gown, edged their way among the fiery steeds drawing the carreta of the grandee's family. The Mexican smoking his corn-paper cigarito touched elbows with the hidalgo's son who was clad in velvet and fine linen, with inlaid gold on his hat-band and gold spur on his heels.
Skins brown, skins red, skins white intermingled. Wealth and lack of it walked side by side. ”

“ They trouble my sleep at night; they walk with me in the day. And, O, my Captain, the future!" She closed her eyes with a little shudder, as if to blot out unpleasant sights.
"My dear lady, you forget what you are in the lives of others. Even that embryo soldier, the cadet of San Sebastian's, welcomed his colonelcy the more because the girl-face in the little diamond pane would brighten when she saw the uniform. The inspiration to win honors came in no small degree from that topmost spot of grim old Pilar Convent." ”

“ Captain mine, bearest thou a word for beauty as well as for prowess in athletics?" questioned Moraga.
"The queen has appointed no judge of beauty. Even the wisest would find bewilderment here where all are so fair," replied the gallant Morando.
"Our Captain is a diplomat," smiled the señora. She bowed to the gentleman in question; he yet lower to her.
A messenger advanced, saying with much ceremony: "Señora Valentino, the queen requests you to crown the winners from the dais. Captain Morando, you are commanded before the throne there to read your reports." ”

“ On the other hand, the estate of womanhood now present with you seems to have grown overnight."
Carmelita arose, curtsied to her father, then resumed her seat.
"But my philosophy touches not any abstract principle. It deals only with powers that move the human heart."
"Vast political forces are astir in this old world of ours. The theory that God appoints kings is rapidly dissipating. The sun of democracy, long mantled by the fog of tyranny, shines soon in unobscured ray. In the to-morrow of to-morrow shall the people rule, as their right divine." ”