"Since she have came，sun ees more bright，air ees more good，tamale ees more sweet.Will Inez bring Mees Jane to see us to—day，Meest Weld？""Perhaps so，"laughed Arthur；and then，as he turned tolead them to the olive trees，Louise，blushing prettily at the praise bestowed upon her darling，pressed a piece of shining silver into old Miguel's hand—which he grasped with alacrityand another low bow.
"No doubt he's right about little Jane，"remarked the major，when they had passed beyond earshot，"but I've a faint suspicion the old bandit praised her in order to get the money.""Oh，no！"cried Louise；"he's really sincere.It is quitewonderful how completely all our Mexicans are wrapped up in baby.If Inez doesn't wheel the baby—cab over to the quarters every day，they come to the house in droves to inquire if 'Mees Jane'is well.Their love for her is almost pathetic.""Don't the fellows ever work？"inquired Uncle John.
"Yes，indeed，"said Arthur."Have you any fault to ？nd with the condition of this ranch？As compared with many others it is a model of perfection.At daybreak the mules are cultivating the earth around the trees；when the sun gets low the irrigating begins.We keep the harrows and the pumps busy every day.But during the hours when the sun shines brightest the Mexicans do not love to work，and it is policy—so long as they accomplish their tasks—to allow them to choose their own hours for labor.""They seem a shiftless lot，"said the major.
"They're as good as their average type.But some—old Miguel，for instance—are better than the ordinary.Miguel is really a clever and industrious fellow.He has lived here practically all his life and knows intimately every tree on the place.""Did he serve the old Spanish don—Cristoval？"askedBeth.
"Yes；and his father before him.I've often wondered how old Miguel is.According to his own story he must be nearly a hundred；but that's absurd.Anyhow，he's a faithful，capable fellow，and rules the others with the rigor of an autocrat.I don't know what I should do without him.""You seem to have purchased a lot of things with this ranch，"observed Uncle John."A capital old mansion，a band of trained servants，and—a ghost.""Oh，yes！"exclaimed Louise."Major，did the ghost bother you last night？""Not to my knowledge，"said the old soldier."I was too tired to keep awake，you know；therefore his ghostship could not have disturbed me without being unusually energetic.""Have you ever seen the ghost，Louise？"inquired Patsy.
"No，dear，nor even heard it.But Arthur has.It's in the blue room，you know，near Arthur's study—one of the prettiest rooms in the house.""That's why we gave it to the major，"added Arthur.
"Once or twice，when I've been sitting in the study，at about midnight，reading and smoking my pipe，I've heard some queer noises coming from the blue room；but I attribute them to rats.These old houses are full of the pests and we can't manage to get rid of them.""I imagine the walls are not all solid，"explained Louise，"for some of those on the outside are from six to eight feet inthickness，and it would be folly to make them of solid adobe.""As for that，adobe costs nothing，"said Arthur，"and it would be far cheaper to make a solid wall than a hollow one.But between the blocks are a lot of spaces favored as residences by our enemies the rats，and there they are safe from ourreach.""But the ghost？"demanded Patsy.
"Oh，the ghost exists merely in the minds of the simple Mexicans，over there at the quarters.Most of them were here when that rascallya old Cristoval died，and no money would hire one of them to sleep in the house.You see，they feared and hated the old fellow，who doubtless treated them cruelly.That is why we had to get our house servants from a distance，and even then we had some difficulty in quieting their fears when they heard the ghost tales.Little Inez，"added Louise，"is especially superstitious，and I'm sure if she were not so devoted to baby she would have left us weeks ago.""Inez told me this morning，"said Beth，"that the major must be a very brave man and possessed some charm that protected him from ghosts，or he would never dare sleep in the blue room.""I have a charm，"declared the major，gravely，"and it'sjust common sense."But now they were among the graceful，broad—spreading olives，at this season barren of fruit but very attractive intheir gray—green foliagea.Arthur had to explain all about olive culture to the ignorant Easterners and he did this with much satisfaction because he had so recently acquired the knowledge himself.
"I can see，"said Uncle John，"that your ranch is to be agreat gamble.In good years，you win；a crop failure will cost you a fortune.""True，"admitted the young man；"but an absolute cropfailure is unknown in this section.Some years are better than others，but all are good years."It was quite a long tramp，but a very pleasant one，and by the time they returned to the house everyone was ready for luncheon，which awaited them in the shady court，beside the splashing fountain.Patsy and Beth demanded the baby，so presently Inez came with little Jane，and Mildred Travers followed after.The two nurses did not seem on very friendly terms，for the Mexican girl glared fiercely at her rival and Mildred returned a basilisk stare that would have confounded anyone less de？ant.
This evident hostility amused Patsy，annoyed Beth andworried Louise；but the baby was impartial.From her seat on Inez'lap little Jane stretched out her tiny hands to Mildred，smiling divinely，and the nurse took the child in spite of Inez'weak resistance，fondlingb the little one lovingly.There was a sharp contrast between Mildred's expert and adroit handlinga of the child and Inez'tender awkwardness，and this was so evident that all present noticed it.
