288 The Francis A. Drexel Family 
donkey, panier and all was floundering, a woman fell off his 
back, on her back a baby was tied in a shawl. All three rolled and 
splashed in the swift running stream. A boy accompanying them 
beat the donkey around the ears to encourage him to rise—in the 
midst we looked up, there was Martin urging his poor little 
white horse into the stream. Behind him sat the guide, in the 
guide's hand was the rope of the halter of Johanna's horse, then 
came the horse with Peggy jolting on top. The rope owing to the 
guide's care caught under the tail of Martin's horse. It squealed, 
then kicked; the other horse swayed sideways, wavered, was about 
to fall when Martin, with great presence of mind, slid out of his 
saddle, and jumped into the river, seized the halter of Johanna's 
horse. Everyone in the ford, donkey, woman, baby, Peggy, all got 
out safe. Queda had followed "Angel Gabriel" over, seeing that 
he kept to the shallowest part. It was for showing us thus provi­ 
dentially the way, that we gave him the title. Martin was wet to 
the waist. At the other end of the village we reached the posada. 
Martin was put to dry before a blazing bundle of faggots, the 
horses were meagerly fed, while all we could obtain was eggs 
and milk. The guide changed his stockings; how he wet them no 
one knew, perhaps by sweat, as Martin suggested. He had sent 
other men to try the depth of the water. 
No time was to be lost in starting if we would reach Gibraltar 
by night. The clouds, too, looked threatening as if a shower were 
impending, but this danger passed. In thirty minutes we were 
off, up and down more sierras till dark. Just as the sun set we 
reached the beach again. Off and on during the afternoon we had 
fallen over old Gabriel. We now saw him walking on by the 
ocean side. We had passed through several cork groves on the 
mountains. The guide had ceased to guide us and during the whole 
afternoon kept far ahead on his—no, Martin's horse, for Martin 
owing to his wet condition had to walk. How he got such speed 
out of the poor beast, I do not know, for with all our cries of 
anda and avanti our horses only crawled. One of the drivers got 
on the pack horse which had had a slight attack of colic before 
leaving the posada. The beach being struck we began wading 
though deep sand. No moon, but the stars shone bright and far 
in the distance could be seen the great rock seeming to recede as 
we approached. Even the faint lights seen seemed to grow smaller 
and smaller. Cosey jumped from her horse and fell into the stream