Anita was a bit disappointed and perhaps a bit
pleased that he had not as yet seen her. As it was she could worship
from a distance that lent security to her tender embarrassment. The
tall one must, indeed, be a great caballero to be made welcome at the
patron's home. Assuredly he was not as the other vaqueros who visited
the patron. _He_ sat upon the veranda and smoked in a lordly way,
while they inevitably held forth in the less conspicuous latitude of
the bunk-house and its environs. Anita was happy.
Sundown, elated by the righteousness of his mission as harbinger of
peace, met Loring returning from one of the camps with gracious
indifference to the other's gruff welcome.
They sat at the table and ate in silence for a while. With the
refreshing coffee Sundown's embarrassment melted. His weird command of
language, enhanced by the opportunity for exercise in a good cause,
astonished and eventually interested his hearers. He did not approach
his subject directly, but mounted the metaphorical steps of his rostrum
leisurely. He discoursed on the opportunities afforded by the almost
limitless free range.
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