ad. No woman will read it. I
suspect it was something that could never have been written. But what a
farewell! And now I suppose we shall say good-bye without even a
handshake. But you are safe! Only I must ask you not to come out of
this room till I tell you you may."

I was extremely anxious that Senor Ortega should never even catch a
glimpse of Dona Rita, never guess how near he had been to her. I was
extremely anxious the fellow should depart for Tolosa and get shot in a
ravine; or go to the Devil in his own way, as long as he lost the track
of Dona Rita completely. He then, probably, would get mad and get shut
up, or else get cured, forget all about it, and devote himself to his
vocation, whatever it was--keep a shop and grow fat. All this flashed
through my mind in an instant and while I was still dazzled by those
comforting images, the voice of Dona Rita pulled me up with a jerk.

"You mean not out of the house?"

"No, I mean not out of this room," I said with some embarrassment.

"What do you mean? Is there something in the house then? This is most
extraordinary! Stay in this room? And you, too, it seems? Are you also
afraid for yourself?"

"I can't even give you an idea how afraid I was. I am not so much now.
But you know very well, Dona Rita, that I never carry any sort of weapon
in my pocket."

"Why don't you, then?" she asked in a flash of scorn which bewitched me
so completely for an instant that I couldn't even smile at it.

"Because if I am unconventionalized I am an old European," I murmured
gently. "No, _Excellentissima_, I shall go through life without as much
as a switch in my hand. It's no use you being angry. Adapting to this
great moment some words you've heard before: I am like that. Such is my
character!"

Dona Rita frankly stared at me--a most unusual expression for her to
have. Suddenly she sat up.

"Don George," she said with lovely animation, "I insist upon knowing who
is in my house."

"You insist! . . . But Therese says it is _her_ house."

Had there been anything handy, such as a cigarette box, for instance, it
would have gone sailing through the air spouting cigarettes as it went.
Rosy all over, cheeks, neck, shoulders, she seemed lighted up softly from
inside like a beautiful transparency. But she didn't raise her voice.

"You and Therese have sworn my ruin. If you don't tell me what you mean
I will go outside and shout up the stairs to make her come d