The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-14

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oh, never mind. A Ronda saddle
will do very WELL r said, little dream
| ing what Ronda saddle would prove
| to be.
| My travelling companions. a friend
and her husband and her daughter all
stood in the doorway and laughed
until they were fearful when set forth
| on that saddle. Antonio brought it on
! the back of the most sorry looking de-
| jected old hack horse you ever saw.
The saddle on his patient back looked
| like sort of cross between dwarf
| stepladder and saw horse. l mount
| ed from chair, as Antonio did not
| Know now to give my foot his hand,
| and L sat on that saddle as if in a
| swing, my feet side by side on the
swing board below, my back to the
| landscape on the other side Of my horse.
4 1t was certainly sidesaddle. I ex-
claimed in dismay that l could not
| reach my short bride.
There is no need OF that said
Anita. Antonio will lead the horse by
the halter. The senorita may rest
quite comfortable. I will get pillow
Anita ran for the pillows. My friends
dared me to ride that horse thus! And
was a horsewoman of acknowledged
valor to finch before a moral danger?
No! l let Anita cushion the side-sad-
die, only declining the second pillow
halter strap and 1 gave the order to
move on.
50 Wait, senorita' cried Anita. 1t is
not possible that you intended to go
without me? That would indeed have
looked curious to the people of Ronda
for you to ride out unattended. And
| then Anita climbed up on the back of
my horse, behind my equine rocking
chair, put one arm protectingly about
my waist, and smilingly gave the signal
to her husband.
Antonio had let the halter drag up
on the ground. but he picked it up and
moved valantly forward at the serene
pace of a snail due to arrive on the day
after manana My friends disappeared
within the fonda, and /, putting
on serious countenance, rode
across the plaza and through
street half a mile long into
the country attended to the last houses
by an inquiring but respectful throng
of boys and girls resident along the
route.
''Outside Ronda. about a mile, we ar
rived at the residence of one of Anita's
friends. 1t was the little house of Be
nita, who is watchWoman of the rail-
| road crossing This is a common oc-
currence for women in Andalusia; their
point of view indorses it somehow. Here
l got down, and directed Antonio to
unhuckle the side-saddle and leave it
in Benita's care. 1t was too back-break-
ing a continuance for an amateur OF
Ronda saddles. We left it with the
pillow in Benita's care, and journeyed
onward bareback, occasionally slipping
off, as I'm not very good at sideways,
| bareback: but Anita looked as if she
was going to cry when / suggested our
riding in American mountain (and some
paris) fashion. Anita wished me to see
trrA Tvs ne Al y, l,o yt.s.
that are one of the sights of the region.
incidentally she herself wished to call
upon friend who lived on farm near
the ruins. 1t was April, and the Iilacs
and apple trees in full bloom looked
very homelike. But the big olive Or
chards Antonio led us through seemed
| far and foreign enough to go with the
whole arrangement. I was glad we had
not gone into the direction of the red
and purple peaks. This humble jour
ney through the valley and back again
was much better suited to the condi-
| tons of the excursion"
Get her to tell you about the kid at
Toledo. She pronounces it Tolaydo, to
show it isn't in Ohio" said the man
| with the pipe.
TT was rainy that day in Toledo"
| she said, but / went out in an old
| gown to see what I could see. You
need guide in Toledo more than al
most anywhere except Boston, the
streets are SO intricate. But we had
| been there several days and I didn't
| wish to find any place in particular, so
l went alone. I walked across the
square where the cadets of the Toledo
military academy were standing about
| Frightening the scene with red and yell
low dabs of color as they lounged about
| under the porches in front of the stores
and looked at the rain. AS / entered a
| ma ct jrts
prettiest little boy you ever saw. with
big, beautiful. soft, black eyes and an
expression like a cherub. boboe1 up
beside me. l don't believe he was q
minute more than years cid. He
spoke lovely Spanish, not all - and SIS
as they do in Andalusa and Cuba, but
pure Castilian with the TIL always in
the right place
Will the sonora have the gracious
ness to accept me as a guide 10 the
| antiquities and celebrities If Toladco'
| inquired politely this extremely young
business man. I will take you both
to the cathedral and to The palace for 2
| cents
Il told him that 1t was really a great
| bargain, but that / had seen the cathe-
| dral and the palace the day before, and
l was not to-day in the mood for cathe-
| drals and palaces. He smiled sympa-
| thetically.
The sonora would prefer to visit
| the house of Don Quixote? he sug-
! gested. I will conduct you there for
cent
| To be conducted to the house of Don
! QuiXote for l cent by such a guide was
irresistible. Very well, we will CO.
assented cordially. Come along. you
dear little baby boy!' He instantly
slipped his dirty hand confldingly into
mine, to my surprise and then we
pressed forward to our goal. AS mat
ter of fact, Cervantes lived all over the
place in Spain. You may not escape
camping on his trail in Madrid or Sc
vile, Salamanca or Alcala, or any
where, of course, in La Mancha.
WHO told you that Cervantes ever
lived in this house of Don Quixote you
are going to show me?' I asked my
! guide. His little fingers twisted depre-
catingly about mine and he smiled.
He did not know what l meant by that
big word Cervantes. and that alone was
worth the cent. He repeated reassur-
| ingly: