that this man of forms and ceremonies and fanatical royalism was
perfectly heartless. Perhaps he reflected on his motives; but it seemed
to me that his conscience could be nothing else but a monstrous thing
which very few actions could disturb appreciably. Yet for the credit of
Dona Rita I did not withhold from him my young sagacity. What he thought
of it I don't know, The matters we discussed were not of course of high
policy, though from the point of view of the war in the south they were
important enough. We agreed on certain things to be done, and finally,
always out of regard for Dona Rita's credit, I put myself generally at
his disposition or of any Carlist agent he would appoint in his place;
for I did not suppose that he would remain very long in Marseilles. He
got out of the chair laboriously, like a sick child might have done. The
audience was over but he noticed my eyes wandering to the portrait and he
said in his measured, breathed-out tones:

"I owe the pleasure of having this admirable work here to the gracious
attention of Madame de Lastaola, who, knowing my attachment to the royal
person of my Master, has sent it down from Paris to greet me in this
house which has been given up for my occupation also through her
generosity to the Royal Cause. Unfortunately she, too, is touched by the
infection of this irreverent and unfaithful age. But she is young yet.
She is young."

These last words were pronounced in a strange tone of menace as though he
were supernaturally aware of some suspended disasters. With his burning
eyes he was the image of an Inquisitor with an unconquerable soul in that
frail body. But suddenly he dropped his eyelids and the conversation
finished as characteristically as it had begun: with a slow, dismissing
inclination of the head and an "Adios, Senor--may God guard you from
sin."

CHAPTER III

I must say that for the next three months I threw myself into my unlawful
trade with a sort of desperation, dogged and hopeless, like a fairly
decent fellow who takes deliberately to drink. The business was getting
dangerous. The bands in the South were not very well organized, worked
with no very definite plan, and now were beginning to be pretty closely
hunted. The arrangements for the transport of supplies were going to
pieces; our friends ashore were getting scared; and it was no joke to
find after a day of skilful dodging that there was no one at the landing
place and