The cottages appeared brighter and there were
gardens among them that seemed unlike the others we had passed. No
hotel or public house of any kind was to be seen.
"I wonder what this place is," said Henderson. "It doesn't look
especially alluring."
I looked up from the task of rubbing my ankle.
"No," I commented, "it doesn't seem alluring, and I suppose
ninety-nine hundredths of the people that pass through here look at it
the same way. But to you, Fred, I'm pretty sure it would be rather
attractive, and I know that it would be to me with this beastly foot."
"What! Stay here all night? I guess not."
"If you only knew what it was," I ventured.
"Probably another of Washington's headquarters, or the site of the
Battle of--."
"Wait a minute before you explode, and give me a chance. This is the
Spanish colony."
"What?"
"The Spanish colony."
"What Spanish colony?"
"Of all things, do you mean to tell me that you never heard of it?"
"I do."
"Well," I said, "it's wonderful how much New Yorkers don't know about
themselves. This place was settled a long time ago by the few
Spaniards there were in this part of the country, and they've stuck
together ever since.
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