In the corrals they found several hundred men gathered and there was much confusion and noise.
It was Sunday and therefore a holiday spirit pervaded everything, for Sunday is not observed in Argentina as a day of quiet and reverence; it is the day for sports, games and excursions. This sale had been set for Sunday to insure a large attendance.
First, breakfast was served. Under a long arbour, formed by tall eucalyptus trees, the table, fully a hundred feet in length, had been set. At each place was a bunch of flowers and a bottle of native wine.
Despite his aching body, Francisco did full justice to the soup, barbecued meats and fowls, vegetables and fruits that were served. But after he had eaten he crept under the shade of one of the trees to rest.
He fell asleep and slept until his uncle wakened him at _máte_ time.
"Hello, my boy! Slept through all of this noise? You were certainly exhausted, for such a clatter as there has been. One hundred thousand dollars and many pedigreed animals have changed hands, and it wasn't done quietly either. We will have our _máte_ and then ride home in the cool of the evening. Come." And the Colonel helped the stiff jointed, weary boy to his feet.
"WHAT is that you have, Manuel?" cried Francisco, to one of the _peons_, five days later, as he sat under an ombú tree in the garden on his uncle's _estancia_, playing with some tame _tierra_ birds, that kept the garden clean of worms.
Manuel was one of the house _peons_ and he had a queer looking machine with a long snout under his arm.
"Why, this is an ant destroyer, Señorito; would you care to watch me kill ants?"
For answer, Francisco ran eagerly to his side and the two walked toward the peach orchard. Francisco had had five days of rest from his tiresome ride the day of the sale, and he was now ready for any new adventure.
They had arrived at the Tres Arroyas ranch three days before and he had made friends with every one connected with the house and gardens. The heat had been too great to allow of any wider acquaintance, which would have included the gauchos, or cowboys; at least the nearer ones, for the Tres Arroyas ranch was very large, and Francisco never could have known them all. José had told him that one could ride all day from the centre and not reach its boundaries.
