He was made old before his time. He was carrying in
his heart burdens of which they knew nothing. So long as the
wheat fields came up well, and there was no drought, and the
horses and sheep had good pasture, in plenty, on the hills, the
Temecula people could be merry, go day by day to their easy work,
play games at sunset, and sleep sound all night. But Alessandro
and his father looked beyond. And this was the one great reason
why Alessandro had not yet thought about women, in way of love;
this, and .also the fact that even the little education he had
received was sufficient to raise a slight barrier, of which he was
unconsciously aware, between him and the maidens of the village.
If a quick, warm fancy for any one of them ever stirred in his
veins, he found himself soon, he knew not how, cured of it. For a
dance, or a game, or a friendly chat, for the trips into the
mountains after acorns, or to the marshes for grasses and reeds, he
was their good comrade, and they were his; but never had the
desire to take one of them for his wife, entered into Alessandro's
mind.
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