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"
Damn
his
looks
!
"
half
angrily
exclaimed
the
dragoon
.
"
We
do
n't
hold
commissions
in
Uncle
Sam
's
army
to
be
scared
by
looks
,
nor
bullies
either
.
If
he
comes
any
of
his
bullying
over
me
,
he
'll
find
I
'm
as
quick
with
a
trigger
as
he
.
"
At
that
moment
the
bugle
brayed
out
the
call
for
morning
parade
--
a
ceremony
observed
at
the
little
frontier
fort
as
regularly
as
if
a
whole
corps-d'armée
had
been
present
--
and
the
three
officers
separating
,
betook
themselves
to
their
quarters
to
prepare
their
several
companies
for
the
inspection
of
the
major
in
command
of
the
cantonment
.
The
estate
,
or
"
hacienda
,
"
known
as
Casa
del
Corvo
,
extended
along
the
wooded
bottom
of
the
Leona
River
for
more
than
a
league
,
and
twice
that
distance
southwards
across
the
contiguous
prairie
.
The
house
itself
--
usually
,
though
not
correctly
,
styled
the
hacienda
--
stood
within
long
cannon
range
of
Fort
Inge
;
from
which
its
white
walls
were
partially
visible
;
the
remaining
portion
being
shadowed
by
tall
forest
trees
that
skirted
the
banks
of
the
stream
.
Its
site
was
peculiar
,
and
no
doubt
chosen
with
a
view
to
defence
:
for
its
foundations
had
been
laid
at
a
time
when
Indian
assailants
might
be
expected
;
as
indeed
they
might
be
,
and
often
are
,
at
the
present
hour
.
There
was
a
curve
of
the
river
closing
upon
itself
,
like
the
shoe
of
a
racehorse
,
or
the
arc
of
a
circle
,
three
parts
complete
;
the
chord
of
which
,
or
a
parallelogram
traced
upon
it
,
might
be
taken
as
the
ground-plan
of
the
dwelling
.
Hence
the
name
--
Casa
del
Corvo
--
"
the
House
of
the
Curve
"
(
curved
river
)
.
The
façade
,
or
entrance
side
,
fronted
towards
the
prairie
--
the
latter
forming
a
noble
lawn
that
extended
to
the
edge
of
the
horizon
--
in
comparison
with
which
an
imperial
park
would
have
shrunk
into
the
dimensions
of
a
paddock
.
The
architecture
of
Casa
del
Corvo
,
like
that
of
other
large
country
mansions
in
Mexico
,
was
of
a
style
that
might
be
termed
Morisco-Mexican
:
being
a
single
story
in
height
,
with
a
flat
roof
--
azotea
--
spouted
and
parapeted
all
round
;
having
a
courtyard
inside
the
walls
,
termed
patio
,
open
to
the
sky
,
with
a
flagged
floor
,
a
fountain
,
and
a
stone
stairway
leading
up
to
the
roof
;
a
grand
entrance
gateway
--
the
saguan
--
with
a
massive
wooden
door
,
thickly
studded
with
bolt-heads
;
and
two
or
three
windows
on
each
side
,
defended
by
a
grille
of
strong
iron
bars
,
called
reja
.
These
are
the
chief
characteristics
of
a
Mexican
hacienda
;
and
Casa
del
Corvo
differed
but
little
from
the
type
almost
universal
throughout
the
vast
territories
of
Spanish
America
.
Such
was
the
homestead
that
adorned
the
newly
acquired
estate
of
the
Louisiana
planter
--
that
had
become
his
property
by
purchase
.
As
yet
no
change
had
taken
place
in
the
exterior
of
the
dwelling
;
nor
much
in
its
interior
,
if
we
except
the
personnel
of
its
occupants
.
A
physiognomy
,
half
Anglo-Saxon
,
half
Franco-American
,
presented
itself
in
courtyard
and
corridor
,
where
formerly
were
seen
only
faces
of
pure
Spanish
type
;
and
instead
of
the
rich
sonorous
language
of
Andalusia
,
was
now
heard
the
harsher
guttural
of
a
semi-Teutonic
tongue
--
occasionally
diversified
by
the
sweeter
accentuation
of
Creolian
French
.
