like the ones in the ruins, but their walls and roofs were neat and
intact. Small fields of what Rowena presumed to be American maize and scraggly wheat
stretched out behind the houses toward the stream. There were no fences, and no two-story
buildings. Rowena guessed that the inhabitants lived off this rugged land from day to day as
best they could, with little surplus for luxuries.
A spotted dog ran from the low doorway of one of the larger houses to bark at the strangers,
trailed by a middle-aged woman in a simple skirt and blouse. She shielded her plump face with
her hand, as if sunlight glared in her eyes, and broke out in a wide grin.
"El Lobo!" She clapped her hands together. "Silencio, Ruidoso." The dog sat down, panting.
"Juan, sal! El Lobo esta aqui!"
Once A Wolf – 19th Century Werewolf 02
Page 57 of 275
Tomás signaled a halt. He waved to the woman just as a boy in loose trousers and shirt darted
out of the house. The child made as if to run to Tomás, but the woman grabbed him by the arm.
"Visitando tarde! Ve a decirselo a los otros!"
With a visible pout the boy ran off, spotted dog at his heels.
"Ah," Tomás said, breathing deeply. "I can smell the frijoles. We'll eat well tonight." He
dismounted, handed the reins to one of his men, and came to stand beside Rowena's horse.
"Permit me to help you down."
She was just stiff enough to need his assistance. She stepped away and caught her balance as
before the woman came to greet them.
Her welcome was effusive, and Tomás returned it with a kiss on one of her plump cheeks. They
spoke to each other in Spanish far too rapid for Rowena to pick out more than one or two half-
familiar words.
Feeling very much the outsider, she occupied herself by studying the village. There certainly
wasn't much to see. An old man leaning on a cane was hobbling down the street as fast as his
twisted legs would allow; a pair of young women in similar dress but much slimmer than the
first hurried to the corner of a distant house, peeped around the edge, and giggled like
schoolgirls. Their eyes were all for Tomás.
"Rowena."
She turned belatedly back to him.
"Lady Rowena, this is señora Asuncion Valdez." He spoke again to the woman, who beamed at
Rowena and answered warmly. "She welcomes you to Rito Pequeño, and to her house."
It would have been impossible to misinterpret the woman's friendliness. That she and her
village were willing to shelter an outlaw like Tomás was equally clear—unless these people
were somehow unaware of his activities. In either case, , Rowena would not forgo common
courtesy.
"Please thank her for me," she said.
"You can thank her yourself. The word is gracias."
"Gracias, señora Valdez," Rowena pronounced carefully.
The woman burst into a renewed flood of Spanish. Tomás listened and nodded with half-closed
eyelids.
"She's very curious about you," he remarked when the woman hurried back to her house.
Once A Wolf – 19th Century Werewolf 02
Page 58 of 275
"And what did you tell her?"
"That all will be revealed tonight. Soon the men will come in from the fields. The village will
hold a baile for us— a dance, you would call it." He grinned. "The people will use any excuse for
a dance."
"You are very popular here."
"I'm fortunate to have many friends throughout the Rio Arriba. If you choose, you can make
them your friends as well."
"How can they be mine when they are yours?"
"You'll find," he said, easing closer, "that you and I are not such enemies, Rowena." He'd no
sooner come with a hairbreadth of brushing her lips with his than he was turning smoothly to
greet the old man with the cane, who seemed as delighted to see him as señora Valdez had
been. Rowena was left speechless.
There followed a steady stream of visitors, barefoot boys at first, and then men of various ages,
and shy girls and women who hung back while Tomás and his men found stabling for the
horses. Rowena was the subject of many curious
intact. Small fields of what Rowena presumed to be American maize and scraggly wheat
stretched out behind the houses toward the stream. There were no fences, and no two-story
buildings. Rowena guessed that the inhabitants lived off this rugged land from day to day as
best they could, with little surplus for luxuries.
A spotted dog ran from the low doorway of one of the larger houses to bark at the strangers,
trailed by a middle-aged woman in a simple skirt and blouse. She shielded her plump face with
her hand, as if sunlight glared in her eyes, and broke out in a wide grin.
"El Lobo!" She clapped her hands together. "Silencio, Ruidoso." The dog sat down, panting.
"Juan, sal! El Lobo esta aqui!"
Once A Wolf – 19th Century Werewolf 02
Page 57 of 275
Tomás signaled a halt. He waved to the woman just as a boy in loose trousers and shirt darted
out of the house. The child made as if to run to Tomás, but the woman grabbed him by the arm.
"Visitando tarde! Ve a decirselo a los otros!"
With a visible pout the boy ran off, spotted dog at his heels.
"Ah," Tomás said, breathing deeply. "I can smell the frijoles. We'll eat well tonight." He
dismounted, handed the reins to one of his men, and came to stand beside Rowena's horse.
"Permit me to help you down."
She was just stiff enough to need his assistance. She stepped away and caught her balance as
before the woman came to greet them.
Her welcome was effusive, and Tomás returned it with a kiss on one of her plump cheeks. They
spoke to each other in Spanish far too rapid for Rowena to pick out more than one or two half-
familiar words.
Feeling very much the outsider, she occupied herself by studying the village. There certainly
wasn't much to see. An old man leaning on a cane was hobbling down the street as fast as his
twisted legs would allow; a pair of young women in similar dress but much slimmer than the
first hurried to the corner of a distant house, peeped around the edge, and giggled like
schoolgirls. Their eyes were all for Tomás.
"Rowena."
She turned belatedly back to him.
"Lady Rowena, this is señora Asuncion Valdez." He spoke again to the woman, who beamed at
Rowena and answered warmly. "She welcomes you to Rito Pequeño, and to her house."
It would have been impossible to misinterpret the woman's friendliness. That she and her
village were willing to shelter an outlaw like Tomás was equally clear—unless these people
were somehow unaware of his activities. In either case, , Rowena would not forgo common
courtesy.
"Please thank her for me," she said.
"You can thank her yourself. The word is gracias."
"Gracias, señora Valdez," Rowena pronounced carefully.
The woman burst into a renewed flood of Spanish. Tomás listened and nodded with half-closed
eyelids.
"She's very curious about you," he remarked when the woman hurried back to her house.
Once A Wolf – 19th Century Werewolf 02
Page 58 of 275
"And what did you tell her?"
"That all will be revealed tonight. Soon the men will come in from the fields. The village will
hold a baile for us— a dance, you would call it." He grinned. "The people will use any excuse for
a dance."
"You are very popular here."
"I'm fortunate to have many friends throughout the Rio Arriba. If you choose, you can make
them your friends as well."
"How can they be mine when they are yours?"
"You'll find," he said, easing closer, "that you and I are not such enemies, Rowena." He'd no
sooner come with a hairbreadth of brushing her lips with his than he was turning smoothly to
greet the old man with the cane, who seemed as delighted to see him as señora Valdez had
been. Rowena was left speechless.
There followed a steady stream of visitors, barefoot boys at first, and then men of various ages,
and shy girls and women who hung back while Tomás and his men found stabling for the
horses. Rowena was the subject of many curious
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