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Volume 3 (1858-1859) (592 pages)
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Page: of 592
466 HUTCHINGS’ CALIFORNIA MAGAZINE,
“ilbana, your father is now among
the dead—do you wish to see him?”
“Dead! Mr, Bullard, did you say?”
“Yes, Elbana, he is now beyond the
harm of man; he was killed while fighting, last night.”
She was speechless. Taking her arm,
he led her gently to the side of her inanimate parent; she threw her arms over
his cold corpse, and falling upon her
trembling knees, exclaimed in heart-broken accents, ‘‘ My father! my erring father; why could I not die with you? Oh!
that the man who killed you would kill
me also.” McAdams could stand this
uno longer, and taking her in his arms he
carried her back to her couch.
A rude coffin was soon prepared, and
they buried Miramontes, leaving the
others to be buried by their own countrymen. A consultation was now held,
and as it was considered unsafe for Mr.
Bullard to remain, he determined to return with McAdams, who had abandoned
the idea for the present of buying any
more cattle. Elbana seemed unconscious
of all that was passing around her, and
Mr. Bullard was at a loss what to do concerning her. McAdams soon setiled this
question by ordering Isabel to prepare
her clothes, and secure all the ready money, for Elbana’s use, that could be found.
Handing McAdams a key, she said, “all
Miramontes’ money is in a box, near the
top of the cellar door ;” which, on examination was found to contain about ten
thousand dollars in coin, mostly gold.
Securing this in his saddle bags, he secreted them among hisown personal baggage.
It was late in the afternoon when all
was ready for a march. Mr. Bullard
sought Elbana and found her where McAdams had left her, apparently unconcious of all that was going on. He took
her kindly by the hand and asked her if
she was ready to ride with them, remarking, “this is now no place for you, Elbana, since your father is dead; and you
may meet Alfred in Monterey or San
Francisco; at any rate, you shall have
one friend as long as I live. You can
there dispose of your father’s cattle and
horses; and obtain sufficient to support
you well. Allis now ready, and we are
waiting for you to start.
“ Ah!” she replied, as she burst into
tears, “the ground covers all that is dear
to me in Montes Valley, and it matters
not where I am.”
With a heavy sigh, she tied on her hat
and fastened her long cloth riding dress.
A box of jewels and her gold watch, and
some gold coin, she thrust in her leathern satchel and prepared for her departure. McAdams held her pet horse, while
Mr. Bullard assisted her to mount. A
large dog, that appeared to be half wolf,
came up to her wagging his tail; she
wept as her father’s favorite jumped upon her horse. In the midst of this, the
voice of McAdams was heard, shouting
“ready?” ‘Aye—start!” answered all.
They set off at a gallop, to poor Mr. Bullara’s serious inconvenience.
All day and all night they kept their
horses going, until the sun again rose
high in the eastern sky. Fatigued, and
hungry, they halted, and after partaking
of a slight repast, the weary travelers
laid down to sleep. Elbana’s exhausted
strength now, uninyited, sought nature’s
best remedy. McAdams stood sentinel.
While all were fast asleep, as he walked
around, he was siruck with Elbana’s peculiarly lymphatic beauty ; he stooped to
steal a kiss, but a growl from the ugly
dog, that had followed her, caused him
to start back in alarm.
Mr. Bullard turned on his blanket
with an uneasy groan — “Can’t you
sleep, old man?” asked McAdams, half
ashamed of being so close to Hibana’s
lonely bed.
“Tam so much fatigued that my rest
is mixed with pain; and as it is getting