Well, did he fight? I asked. "Si, Senor." Well, what
happened? "Yo lo mate" (I killed him), he said, with a shrug of his
shoulders, and that's all I could get out of Juan regarding his
adventure.'
'But you haven't done your share, you lazy boy,' objected Bell. 'You
must tell us more.'
'What do you want to hear? I am up on all the animal and vegetable
life of Southern California, full of interesting information
concerning its old customs, can give you Spanish names for all the
things that come up in ordinary conversation, and am the only man
present who can make a raw-hide reata,' said Jack, modestly.
'Go on and tell us how, O great and wise reatero,' said Bell.
'I'll tell you that myself,' said Elsie, 'for I've seen him do it
dozens of times, when he should have been studying his little
lessons. He takes a big piece of raw hide, cuts a circle right out
of the middle, and then cuts round and round this until he has one
long continuous string, half an inch wide. He then stretches it and
scrapes the hair off with a knife or a piece of glass, gets it into
four strands, and braids it "round."'
'Perhaps you think braiding "round" is easy to do,' retorted Jack, in
an injured tone; 'but I know it took me six months to learn to do it
well.'
'I fail to see,' said his mother, 'how a knowledge of "braiding
round" and lassoing of wild cattle is going to serve you in your
university life and future career.'
'Oh yes, it will.
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