A Texas Matchmaker | Page 8

a
show-down between them.
We reached the Arroyo Seco by high noon, and found the ambulance in
camp and the coffee pot boiling. Under the direction of Miss Jean,
Tiburcio had removed the seats from the conveyance, so as to afford
seating capacity for over half our number. The lunch was spread under
an old live-oak on the bank of the Nueces, making a cosy camp. Miss
Jean had the happy knack of a good hostess, our twenty-mile ride had
whetted our appetites, and we did ample justice to her tempting spread.
After luncheon was over and while the team was being harnessed in, I
noticed Miss Jean enticing Deweese off on one side, where the two
held a whispered conversation, seated on an old fallen tree. As they
returned, June was promising something which she had asked of him.
And if there was ever a woman lived who could exact a promise that
would be respected, Jean Lovelace was that woman; for she was like an
elder sister to us all.
In starting, the ambulance took the lead as before, and near the middle
of the afternoon we reached the ferry. The merry-makers were
assembling from every quarter, and on our arrival possibly a hundred
had come, which number was doubled by the time the festivities began.
We turned our saddle and work stock into a small pasture, and gave
ourselves over to the fast-gathering crowd. I was delighted to see that
Miss Jean and Uncle Lance were accorded a warm welcome by every
one, for I was somewhat of a stray on this new range. But when it
became known that I was a recent addition to Las Palomas, the

welcome was extended to me, which I duly appreciated.
The store and hostelry did a rushing business during the evening hours,
for the dance did not begin until seven. A Mexican orchestra,
consisting of a violin, an Italian harp, and two guitars, had come up
from Oakville to furnish the music for the occasion. Just before the
dance commenced, I noticed Uncle Lance greet a late arrival, and on
my inquiring of June who he might be, I learned that the man was
Captain Frank Byler from Lagarto, the drover Uncle Lance had been
teasing Miss Jean about in the morning, and a man, as I learned later,
who drove herds of horses north on the trail during the summer and
during the winter drove mules and horses to Louisiana, for sale among
the planters. Captain Byler was a good-looking, middle-aged fellow,
and I made up my mind at once that he was due to rank as the lion of
the evening among the ladies.
It is useless to describe this night of innocent revelry. It was a rustic
community, and the people assembled were, with few exceptions,
purely pastoral. There may have been earnest vows spoken under those
spreading oaks--who knows? But if there were, the retentive ear which
listened, and the cautious tongue which spake the vows, had no
intention of having their confidences profaned on this page. Yet it was
a night long to be remembered. Timid lovers sat apart, oblivious to the
gaze of the merry revelers. Matrons and maidens vied with each other
in affability to the sterner sex. I had a most enjoyable time.
I spoke Spanish well, and made it a point to cultivate the acquaintance
of the leader of the orchestra. On his learning that I also played the
violin, he promptly invited me to play a certain new waltz which he
was desirous of learning. But I had no sooner taken the violin in my
hand than the lazy rascal lighted a cigarette and strolled away,
absenting himself for nearly an hour. But I was familiar with the simple
dance music of the country, and played everything that was called for.
My talent was quite a revelation to the boys of our ranch, and
especially to the owner and mistress of Las Palomas. The latter had me
play several old Colorado River favorites of hers, and I noticed that
when she had the dashing Captain Byler for her partner, my waltzes

seemed never long enough to suit her.
After I had been relieved, Miss Jean introduced me to a number of nice
girls, and for the remainder of the evening I had no lack of partners.
But there was one girl there whom I had not been introduced to, who
always avoided my glance when I looked at her, but who, when we
were in the same set and I squeezed her hand, had blushed just too
lovely. When that dance was over, I went to Miss Jean for an
introduction, but she did not know her, so I appealed to Uncle Lance,
for I knew he could give the birth