亚瑟带领约翰等人来到埃斯孔迪多，向他们介绍了他的邻居鲁道夫·哈恩先生和布尔沃·鲁尼恩先生，并同两位邻居一起用餐……
Escondido，the nearest town and post of？ce to El Cajon Ranch，is a quaint little place with a decided Mexican atmosphere.Those California inhabitants whom we call，for convenience，"Mexicans，"are not all natives of Mexico，by any means.Most of them are a mixed breed derived from the early Spanish settlers and the native Indian tribes—both alike practically extinct in this locality—and have never steppedfoot in Mexican territory，although the boundary line is not far distant.Because the true Mexican is generally a similar admixture of Indian and Spaniard，it is customary to call these Californians by the same appellationa.The early Spaniardsb left a strong impress upon this state，and even in the newly settled districts the Spanish architecture appropriately prevails，as typical of a semi—tropical country which owed its ？rst civilizing in？uences to old Spain.
The houses of Escondido are a queer mingling of modern bungalowsc and antique adobe dwellings.Even the business street shows many adobe structures.A quiet，dreamy littletown，with a comfortable hotel and excellent stores，it ismuch frequented by the wealthy ranchers in its neighborhood.
After stopping at the post office，Arthur drove down a little side street to a weather—beaten，unprepossessing building which bore the word "Restaurant"painted in dim white letters upon its one window.Here he halted the machine.
"Oh，"said Beth，drawing a long breath."Is this one of your little jokes，Arthur？""A joke？Didn't we come for luncheon，then？""We did，and I'm ravenousa，"said Patsy."But you informed us that there is a good hotel here，on the main street.""So there is，"admitted Arthur；"but it's like all hotels.
Now，this is—different.If you're hungry；if you want a treat—something out of the ordinary—just follow me."Louise was laughing at their doubting expressions and this care—free levityb led them to obey their host's injunction.Then the dingyc door opened and out stepped a young fellow whom the girls decided must be either a cowboy or a clever imitation of one.
He seemed very young—a mere boy—for all his stoutlittle form.He was bareheaded and a shock of light，tow—coloredd hair was in picturesque disarray.A blue ？annel shirt，rolled up at the sleeves，a pair of drab corduroye trousers and rough shoes completed his attire.Pausing awkwardly in the doorway，he ？rst ？ushed red and then advanced boldly to shake Arthur's hand.
"Why，Weldon，this is an unexpected pleasure，"heexclaimed in a pleasant voice that belieda his rude costume，for its tones were well modulatedb and cultured."I've been trying to call you up for three days，but something is wrong with the line.How's baby？"This last question was addressed to Louise，who shookthe youth's hand cordially.
"Baby is thriving ？nely，"she reported，and then introduced her friends to Mr.Rudolph Hahn，who，she explained，was one of their nearest neighbors.
"We almost crowd the Weldons，"he said，"for our houseis only five miles distant from theirs；so we've been getting quite chummy since they moved to El Cajon.Helen—that's my wife，you know—is an humble worshiper at the shrine of Miss Jane Weldon，as we all are，in fact.""Your wife！"cried Patsy in surprise.He laughed.
"You think I'm an infant，only fit to play with Jane，"said he；"but I assure you I could vote，if I wanted to—which I don't.I think，sir，"turning to Uncle John，"that my father knows you quite well.""Why，surely you're not the son of Andy Hahn，the steelking？""I believe they do give him that royal title；but Dad is only a monarch in ？nance，and when he visits my ranch he's as much a boy as his son.""It scarcely seems possible，"declared Mr.Merrick，eyeing the rough costume wonderingly but also with approval."How long have you lived out here？""Six years，sir.I'm an old inhabitant.Weldon，here，hasonly been alive for six months.""Alive？""Of course.One breathes，back east，but only lives in California."During the laughter that followed this enthusiastic epigrama Arthur ushered the party into the quaint Spanish restaurant.The room was clean and neat，despite the fact that the ？oor was strewn with sawdust and the tables covered with white oilcloth.An anxious—eyed，dapperb little man with a foreign face and manner greeted them effusivelyc and asked in broken Englishd their commands.
Arthur ordered the specialties of the house."These friends，Castro，are from the far East，and I've told them of your famous cuisine.Don't disappoint them.""May I join you ？"asked Rudolph Hahn."I wish I'dbrought Nell over to—day；she'd have been delighted with this meeting.But we didn't know you were coming.That confounded telephone doesn't reach you at all.""I'm going over to the of？ce to see about that telephone，"saidArthur."I believe I'll do the errand while Castro is preparing his compounds.I'm always uneasy when the telephone is out of order.""You ought to be，"said Rudolph，"with that blessedbaby in the house.It might save you thirty precious minutes in getting a doctor.""Does your line work？"asked Louise.
"Yes；it seems to get all connections but yours.So I imagine something is wrong with your phone，or near the house.""I'll have them send a repair man out at once，"saidArthur，and departed for the telephone office，accompanied by his fellow rancher.
