One day she had heard a man say, "If there is a drought we shall
have the devil to pay with our stock before winter is over." "Yes,"
said another; "and look at those damned Indians over there in
Saboba, with water running all the time in their village! It's a
shame they should have that spring!"
Not for worlds would Ramona have told this to Alessandro. She
kept it locked in her own breast, but it rankled there like a
ceaseless warning and prophecy. When she reached home that day
she went down to the spring in the centre of the village, and stood
a long time looking at the bubbling water. It was indeed a priceless
treasure; a long irrigating ditch led from it down into the bottom,
where lay the cultivated fields,-- many acres in wheat, barley, and
vegetables. Alessandro himself had fields there from which they
would harvest all they needed for the horses and their cow all
winter, in case pasturage failed. If the whites took away this water,
Saboba would be ruined. However, as the spring began in the very
heart of the village, they could not take it without destroying the
village.
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