第38章

“Theholyfathersusedsometimestoletmeridewiththemontheirmules，“saidConcha，leaningoverhersaddletowardstheschoolmaster。 “Eh，what，missy？“saidtheProtestantMr。Hoover，prickinguphisears。“NowyoujustlistentoMr。Brooks’sdoctrines，andnevermindthemPapists，“headdedasherodeaway，withthefirmconvictionthatthemasterhadalreadycommencedthetaskofherspiritualconversion。 Thenextdaythemasterawoketofindhislittleschoolfamous。 Whateverweretheexaggerationsorwhateverthefanciescarriedhometotheirparentsbythechildren，theresultwasanoverwhelminginterestintheproceedingsandpersonneloftheschoolbythewholedistrict。PeoplehadalreadycalledattheHooverranchtoseeMrs。Hoover’sprettyadopteddaughter。Themaster，onhiswaytotheschoolroomthatmorning，hadfoundafewwoodmenandcharcoalburnersloungingonthebridlepaththatledfromthemainroad。Twoorthreeparentsaccompaniedtheirchildrentoschool，assertingtheyhadjustdroppedintoseehow“Aramanta“or“Tommy“were“gettin’on。“Astheschoolbegantoassembleseveralunfamiliarfacespassedthewindowsorwereboldlyflattenedagainsttheglass。Thelittleschoolhousehadnotseensuchagatheringsinceithadbeenborrowedforapoliticalmeetinginthepreviousautumn。AndthemasternoticedwithsomeconcernthatmanyofthefaceswerethesamewhichhehadseenupliftedtotheglitteringperiodsofColonelStarbottle，“thewarhorseoftheDemocracy。“ Forhecouldnotshuthiseyestothefactthattheycamefromnomerecuriositytoseethenovelandbizarre；noappreciationofmerepicturesquenessorbeauty；andalas！fromnoenthusiasmfortheprogressionofeducation。Heknewthepeopleamongwhomhehadlived，andherealizedthefatalquestionof“color“hadbeenraisedinsomemysteriouswaybythoseSouthwesternemigrantswhohadcarriedintothis“freestate“theirinheritedprejudices。A fewwordsconvincedhimthattheunhappychildrenhadvariouslydescribedthecomplexionoftheirnewfellowpupil，anditwasbelievedthatthe“No’th’n“schoolmaster，aidedandabettedby“capital“inthepersonofHiramHoover，hadintroducedeithera“niggerwench，“a“Chinesegirl，“oran“Injinbaby“tothesameeducationalprivilegesasthe“purewhites，“andsocontaminatedthesonsoffreemenintheirverynests。HewasabletoreassuremanythatthechildwasofSpanishorigin，butamajoritypreferredtheevidenceoftheirownsenses，andlingeredforthatpurpose。 Asthehourforherappearancedrewnearandpassed，hewasseizedwithasuddenfearthatshemightnotcome，thatMr。Hooverhadbeenprevaileduponbyhiscompatriots，inviewoftheexcitement，towithdrawherfromtheschool。Butafaintcheerfromthebridlepathsatisfiedhim，andthenextmomentalittleretinuesweptbythewindow，andheunderstood。TheHoovershadevidentlydeterminedtoaccenttheSpanishcharacteroftheirlittlecharge。 Concha，withablackridingskirtoverherflounces，wasnowmountedonahandsomepintomustangglitteringwithsilvertrappings，accompaniedbyavaqueroinavelvetjacket，Mr。Hooverbringinguptherear。He，asheinformedthemaster，hadmerelycometoshowthewaytothevaquero，whohereafterwouldalwaysaccompanythechildtoandfromschool。Whetherornothehadbeeninducedtothisdisplaybytheexcitementdidnottranspire。 Enoughthattheeffectwasasuccess。Theridingskirtandhermustang’sfripperieshadaddedtoConcha’spiquancy，andifheroriginwasstilldoubtedbysome，thechildherselfwasacceptedwithenthusiasm。Theparentswhowerespectatorswereproudofthisdistinguishedaccessiontotheirchildren’splaymates，andwhenshedismountedamidtheacclaimofherlittlecompanions，itwaswiththeaplombofaqueen。 Themasteraloneforesawtroubleinthisencouragementofherprecociousmanner。Hereceivedherquietly，andwhenshehadremovedherridingskirt，glancingatherfeet，saidapprovingly，“Iamgladtoseeyouhavechangedyourslippers；Ihopetheyfityoumorefirmlythantheothers。“ Thechildshruggedhershoulders。“Quiensabe。ButPedro(thevaquero)willhelpmenowonmyhorsewhenhecomesforme。“ Themasterunderstoodthecharacteristicnonsequiturasanallusiontohiswantofgallantryonthepreviousday，buttooknonoticeofit。Nevertheless，hewaspleasedtoseeduringthedaythatshewaspayingmoreattentiontoherstudies，althoughtheyweregenerallyrehearsedwiththelanguidindifferencetoallmentalaccomplishmentwhichbelongedtoherrace。Oncehethoughttostimulateheractivitythroughherpersonalvanity。 “WhycanyounotlearnasquicklyasMatildaBromly？Sheisonlytwoyearsolderthanyou，“hesuggested。 “Ah！MotherofGod！——whydoesshethentrytowearroseslikeme？ Andwiththathair。Itbecomeshernot。“ ThemasterbecamethusawareforthefirsttimethattheelderBromlygirl，in“thesincerestformofflattery“toheridol，waswearingayellowroseinhertawnylocks，and，further，thatMasterBromlywithexquisitehumorhadburlesquedhissister’simitationwithaverysmallcarrotstuckabovehisleftear。Thisthemasterpromptlyremoved，addinganadditionalsumtothehumorist’salreadyoverflowingslatebywayofpenance，andreturnedtoConcha。“Butwouldn’tyouliketobeascleverasshe？——youcanifyouwillonlylearn。“ “WhatforshouldI？Lookyou；shehasadevotionforthetallone—— theboyBrown！Ah！Iwanthimnot。“ Yet，notwithstandingthislackofnobleambition，Conchaseemedtohaveabsorbedthe“devotion“oftheboys，bigandlittle，andasthemasterpresentlydiscoveredeventhatofmanyoftheadultpopulation。Therewerealwaysloungersonthebridlepathattheopeningandclosingofschool，andthevaquero，whonowalwaysaccompaniedher，becameanobjectofenvy。Possiblythiscausedthemastertoobservehimclosely。Hewastallandthin，withasmoothcomplexionlessface，buttothemaster’sastonishmenthehadthebluegrayeyeofthehigherorCastiliantypeofnativeCalifornian。FurtherinquiryprovedthathewasasonofoneoftheoldimpoverishedSpanishgrantholderswhoseleaguesandcattlehadbeenmortgagedtotheHoovers，whonowretainedthesontocontrolthelivestock“onshares。““Itlookskinderezefhemighthevaneyeonthatpoortylittlegalwhenshe’sanagetomarry，“suggestedajealousswain。Forseveraldaysthegirlsubmittedtoherschooltaskswithherusuallanguidindifferenceanddidnotagaintransgresstheordinaryrules。NordidMr。 Brooksagainrefertotheirhopelessconversation。Butoneafternoonhenoticedthatinthesilenceandpreoccupationoftheclassshehadsubstitutedanothervolumeforhertext-bookandwasperusingitwiththearticulatinglipsoftheunpracticedreader。 Hedemandeditfromher。Withblazingeyesandbothhandsthrustintoherdesksherefusedanddefiedhim。Mr。Brooksslippedhisarmsaroundherwaist，quietlyliftedherfromthebench——feelingherlittleteethpiercethebackofhishandashedidso，butsecuredthebook。Twooftheelderboysandgirlshadrisenwithexcitedfaces。 “Sitdown！“saidthemastersternly。 Theyresumedtheirplaceswithawedlooks。Themasterexaminedthebook。ItwasalittleSpanishprayerbook。“Youwerereadingthis？“hesaidinherowntongue。 “Yes。Youshallnotpreventme！“sheburstout。“MotherofGod！ THEYwillnotletmereaditattheranch。Theywouldtakeitfromme。AndnowYOU！“ “Youmayreaditwhenandwhereyoulike，exceptwhenyoushouldbestudyingyourlessons，“returnedthemasterquietly。“Youmaykeepithereinyourdeskandperuseitatrecess。Cometomeforitthen。Youarenotfittoreaditnow。“ Thegirllookedupwithastoundedeyes，whichinthecapriciousnessofherpassionatenaturethenextmomentfilledwithtears。Thendroppingonherkneesshecaughtthemaster’sbittenhandandcovereditwithtearsandkisses。Buthequietlydisengageditandliftedhertoherseat。Therewasasnifflingsoundamongthebenches，which，however，quicklysubsidedasheglancedaroundtheroom，andtheincidentended。 Regularlythereaftershetookherprayerbookbackatrecessanddisappearedwiththechildren，finding，asheafterwardslearned，aseatunderasecludedbuckeyetree，whereshewasnotdisturbedbythemuntilherorisonswereconcluded。Thechildrenmusthaveremainedloyaltosomecommandofhers，fortheincidentandthiscustomwerenevertoldoutofschool，andthemasterdidnotconsiderithisdutytoinformMr。orMrs。Hoover。Ifthechildcouldrecognizesomecheck——evenifitweredeemedbysomeasuperstitiousone——overhercapriciousandprecociousnature，whyshouldheinterfere？ Onedayatrecesshepresentlybecameconsciousoftheceasingofthosesmallvoicesinthewoodsaroundtheschoolhouse，whichwerealwaysasfamiliarandpleasanttohiminhisseclusionasthesongoftheirplayfellows——thebirdsthemselves。Thecontinuedsilenceatlastawakenedhisconcernandcuriosity。Hehadseldomintrudeduponorparticipatedintheirgamesoramusements，rememberingwhenaboyhimselftheheavyincompatibilityofthebestintentionedadultintrudertoeventhemosthypocriticallypolitechildatsuchamoment。Asenseofduty，however，impelledhimtostepbeyondtheschoolhouse，wheretohisastonishmenthefoundtheadjacentwoodsemptyandsoundless。Hewasrelieved，however，afterpenetratingitsrecesses，tohearthedistantsoundofsmallapplauseandtheunmistakablechokinggaspsofJohnnyStidger’spocketaccordion。Followingthesoundhecameatlastuponalittlehollowamongthesycamores，wherethechildrenweredisposedinaring，inthecentreofwhich，withahandkerchiefineachhand，Conchathemelancholy！——Conchathedevout！——wasdancingthatmostextravagantfeatofthefandango——theaudacioussembicuaca！ Yet，inspiteofherrudeanduncertainaccompaniment，shewasdancingitwithagrace，precision，andlightnessthatwaswonderful；inspiteofitsdoubtfulposesandseductivelanguorsshewasdancingitwiththeartlessgayetyandinnocence——perhapsfromthesuggestionofhertinyfigure——ofamerechildamonganaudienceofchildren。Dancingitalonesheassumedthepartsofthemanandwoman；advancing，retreating，coquetting，rejecting，coylybewitching，andatlastyieldingaslightlyandasimmateriallyastheflickeringshadowsthatfelluponthemfromthewavingtreesoverhead。Themasterwasfascinatedyettroubled。 Whatiftherehadbeenolderspectators？Wouldtheparentstaketheperformanceasinnocentlyastheperformerandherlittleaudience？Hethoughtitnecessarylatertosuggestthisdelicatelytothechild。Hertemperrose，hereyesflashed。 “Ah，theslipper，sheisforbidden。Theprayerbook——shemustnot。 Thedance，itisnotgood。Truly，thereisnothing。“ Forseveraldaysshesulked。Onemorningshedidnotcometoschool，northenext。AtthecloseofthethirddaythemastercalledattheHoovers’ranch。