For the Indians,
silly things, had a terror of the upper heights of San Jacinto; they
believed the Devil lived there, and money would not hire one of
the Saboba Indians to go so high as this valley which Alessandro
had discovered. Fiercely he gloated over each one of these features
of safety in their hiding-place. "The first time I saw it, Majella,-- I
believe the saints led me there,-- I said, it is a hiding-place. And
then I never thought I would be in want of such,-- of a place to
keep my Majella safe! safe! Oh, my Majel!" And he clasped her to
his breast with a terrifying passion.
For an Indian to sell a horse and wagon in the San Jacinto valley
was not an easy thing, unless he would give them away.
Alessandro had hard work to give civil answers to the men who
wished to buy Benito and the wagon for quarter of their value. He
knew they would not have dared to so much as name such prices to
a white man. Finally Ramona, who had felt unconquerable
misgivings as to the wisdom of thus irrevocably parting from their
most valuable possessions, persuaded him to take both horses and
wagon to San Bernardino, and offer them to the Hyers to use for
the winter.
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