"Well, sir!" he demanded, his head high. "You are on your way to California," said Ward, "and you are stopping here over one night. The girl is pretty and graceful and with much charm, but uneducated, and quite empty headed." "I will thank you to leave all young ladies out of this discussion," broke in Johnny hotly. "This young lady is the whole of this discussion and cannot be left out." "Then we will abandon the discussion." "Also," said Talbot Ward irrelevantly, "did you notice how fat all their mothers are?" We were wandering forward slowly. Again Johnny stopped. "I must tell you, sir, that I consider my affairs none of your business, sir; and that I resent any interference with them," said he with heat. "All right, Johnny," replied Talbot sadly; "I am not going to try to advise you. Only I wanted to call your attention to all the elements of the situation, which you probably had forgotten. I will repeat--and then I am done--she is nothing to you, she is beneath you, you are stopping here but one day, she is charming but ignorant--and her mother is very fat. Now go have your fool fight--for that is what you are headed straight for--if you think it at all worth while." Johnny's generous heart must have been smiting him sorely, now that his heat and excitement had had time to cool a little. He followed us a few steps irresolutely. We came to the large tree by the wayside. The man with the fever still sat there miserably indifferent to his surroundings. "Here, this won't do!" cried Talbot. "He mustn't be allowed to sit there all night; he'll catch a chill sure. My friend, give us your arm. We'll find you some sort of a bunk." The man was dead. We carried him to the village and raised a number of our compatriots. Not one knew who the man might be, nor even where his belongings had been stored. He had no mark of identification on his person. After a diligent search, we were forced to give it up. The body we buried with all reverence at the edge of the jungle. I wanted to place the matter on an official footing by notifying the _alcalde_, but Talbot negatived this. "I know this people," said he. "Once let the news of a man's death get abroad, and it's good-bye to any chance of finding his effects to-morrow. And that's our only show to identify him. Best say nothing." We returned slowly to the _alcalde's_ house. The fandango was still in progress. Mercedes flashed her bright eyes at Johnny as we mounted the steps; the Spaniard scowled and muttered an imprecation. Johnny bowed gravely and passed into the house. We told Yank the circumstances. "Poor devil," said I. "Like the rest of us, he was so full of hope so short time ago." Ward nodded. "And his death was so unnecessary, so utterly and completely useless."