One
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It was not difficult to identify the virile Argentinian
gaucho Felipe Mintras from among the Texas vaqueros
surrounding him outside the corral at the Hacienda del
Halc6n--kfiown also as the Double H Ranch. Felipe was
tall， nearly as tall as his friend， John Cooper Baines， and
at thirty-three was wiry and possessed of enormous vitality.
i With his high-set cheekbones， sharply aquiline nose， enor-
mous mustache， and skin bronzed by the Argentinian
i pampas--where he had lived before coming to Texas--
Felipe stood out from the crowd of men watching him
whirl his bola--two stone balls attached to rawhide
t ~ ropes.
0; Ever since arriving at the Double H Ranch， Felipe
had been the center of attention among the vaqueros and
trabajadores alike. He had met John Cooper Baines earlier
in the year when the latter had traveled to Argentina to sell
cattle and horses to Felipe s employer， Raoul Maldones， a
wealthy rancher. After the tragic loss of his beloved first
wife， Catarina--who had been killed by a madman bent on
revenge--John Cooper had gradually fallen in love with
Raoul Maldones s daughter Dorot6a， and they had married.
When John Cooper and his young bride returned to the
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