Page:The Valley of Adventure (1926).pdf/84

 "Juan Molinero himself," Padre Mateo said, beaming in the discovery of his thought.

"You have advanced well with him, to learn so much, Brother Mateo."

"He has fought the savage Indians in the forests of Kentucky, where one Indian is equal to twenty of our poor simpletons. He is a man who has dared much and suffered much, even the menace of death bound to the fiery stake. In a few words he told me of his escape, crediting it to his peculiar providence, which may be, when all is reduced, even the same providence as our own."

"But poor Juan would find Spanish soldiers far different from the naked savages of Kentucky, and let him be sufficient, even so, to the task in hand, he dare not quit the bounds of the mission lands. I suspect that Del Valle has men posted in waiting to seize him."

"Give him two pistols," said Padre Mateo, building his plan as if no breath had disturbed it, "and the beautiful long rifle that he carried when he came, and I would trust him to deliver both maiden and gold safely beneath this roof. And there is Cristóbal—see him how he stands with admiration in his eyes, looking up into Juan Molinero's face. Ha! there is a friendship already beginning there—see how our tall Juan smiles."

"See him, he gives his hand to the lad, and seems to make himself understood, although there are no words between them," Padre Ignacio marveled. "Yet there is a way of understanding when man