There was no fear of treachery in the heart of the caballero now. As quickly as possible he got his cloak, sword and guitar, and carried them into the teepee; he found grain and hay where the Indians had left them--near the fire--and carried a generous amount to his horse. Then he returned to the teepee, threw himself upon the blanket facing the fire, and slept. Slept--and awoke to find the bright sun beating down upon his face, that the creek had fallen until it was scarcely more than its normal size, that neophytes and frailes were at work again repairing the base of the abode wall, and that now and then one of them looked with wonder at the teepee that had been pitched during the night. “Curiosity will do them good,” the caballero mused. It was a royal meal he prepared that bright morning. Steaks of mutton, one of the rabbits he broiled over a bed of coals, cakes of wheat-paste were made, and, sitting out where all could see, the caballero ate his fill and washed down the food with wine so rich and rare that he knew no Indian had taken it from his own store. It was good mission wine such as no Indian possessed unless he had purloined it in a raid. He stretched a skin and poured half the water on it for the horse, for that in the creek was not yet fit for drinking. He gave the animal another measure of grain and wiped his coat smooth with a skin, and polished the silver on saddle and bridle, singing as he worked so that his voice carried to the plaza. At an early hour he observed a neophyte ride away in the direction of the presidio, to return within a short time with the _comandante_. In the plaza the officer held a consultation with a fray, looking often at the teepee down by the creek, and then the man in uniform stalked down the slope, swaggering and twirling his moustache. The caballero arose as the other approached. “It appears that you have a habitation, Captain Fly-by-Night,” the lieutenant said. “As a temporary refuge, it will do.” “The manner of your getting it is mysterious, to say the least. Teepees do not sprout overnight from the mud.” “Yet it came during the night, _señor_.” “From whom?” “That is a question concerning myself, officer.” “Perhaps it concerns others at San Diego de Alcalá. The frailes at the mission seem to know naught of it.” “There are many things the frailes of the mission do not know,” the caballero replied. “There are things, also, unknown to the soldiers of the presidio.” “You are over bold to say it, _señor_. Is your hand so strong that you can throw secrecy and pretence aside?” “When you speak of secrecy and pretence, officer, I do not know your meaning. It is my own business how I acquired a habitation and food. I am a man of resource, _señor_. And are you not afraid that you’ll be ostracized if you are observed speaking to me?” “It is a part of my business to investigate suspicious characters,” the lieutenant said.