____________________
____________________
to
____________________
a
king
and
queen
,
of
course
.
The
king
was
a
terrible
old
man
who
____________________
six
-
shooters
and
spurs
,
____________________
____________________
in
such
a
tremendous
voice
____________________
the
rattlers
on
the
prairie
would
____________________
into
their
holes
under
____________________
prickly
pear
.
Before
there
was
a
royal
family
they
called
the
____________________
"
Whispering
Ben
.
"
When
he
came
to
own
50
,
000
acres
of
land
and
____________________
cattle
than
he
____________________
count
,
____________________
called
____________________
O'Donnell
"
the
Cattle
King
.
"
The
queen
had
been
a
Mexican
____________________
from
Laredo
.
She
made
a
good
,
mild
,
____________________
-
claro
wife
,
and
____________________
succeeded
in
teaching
Ben
to
modify
his
voice
sufficiently
while
in
the
house
to
keep
the
dishes
from
being
broken
.
When
Ben
got
to
be
king
she
would
sit
on
the
gallery
____________________
Espinosa
Ranch
and
weave
rush
mats
.
When
wealth
became
so
____________________
and
oppressive
that
upholstered
chairs
and
a
____________________
table
were
brought
down
from
San
Antone
in
the
____________________
,
she
bowed
her
smooth
,
dark
head
,
and
shared
the
fate
of
the
Danae
.
To
avoid
lese
-
majeste
you
have
been
presented
first
to
____________________
king
and
queen
.
____________________
do
not
enter
the
story
,
which
might
be
____________________
"
The
Chronicle
of
the
Princess
,
the
Happy
Thought
,
and
the
____________________
that
Bungled
his
Job
.
"
Josefa
O'Donnell
____________________
the
surviving
daughter
,
the
princess
.
From
her
____________________
____________________
inherited
____________________
of
____________________
and
a
dusky
,
semi
-
tropic
beauty
.
From
Ben
O'Donnell
the
royal
she
acquired
a
store
____________________
intrepidity
,
common
sense
,
and
____________________
faculty
of
ruling
.
The
____________________
was
one
worth
going
miles
to
see
.
Josefa
while
riding
her
pony
at
a
____________________
could
put
five
out
of
six
bullets
through
a
tomato
-
can
swinging
at
the
end
of
a
string
.
She
could
play
for
hours
with
a
white
kitten
she
owned
,
dressing
it
in
all
manner
of
absurd
clothes
.
Scorning
a
pencil
,
she
could
tell
you
out
of
her
head
____________________
1545
two
-
year
-
olds
would
bring
on
the
hoof
,
at
$8
.
50
____________________
head
.
Roughly
speaking
,
the
Espinosa
Ranch
is
forty
____________________
____________________
and
thirty
broad
-
-
but
mostly
leased
land
.
____________________
,
on
her
pony
,
had
prospected
over
every
mile
of
it
.
Every
cow
-
puncher
on
the
range
knew
her
by
sight
and
was
a
loyal
vassal
.
Ripley
Givens
,
foreman
of
one
of
the
Espinosa
outfits
,
saw
her
one
day
,
and
made
up
his
mind
to
form
a
royal
matrimonial
alliance
.
Presumptuous
?
No
.
In
those
days
in
the
Nueces
country
a
man
was
a
man
.
And
,
after
all
,
the
title
of
cattle
king
does
not
presuppose
blood
royalty
.
Often
it
only
signifies
that
its
owner
wears
the
crown
in
token
of
his
magnificent
qualities
in
the
art
of
cattle
stealing
.
