ance in the
brilliantly lighted hall of the palace among the gay courtiers
resplendent in magnificent attire, blazing with jewels, threw a somber
note over the proceedings.

It was as a soldier he had won fame and the consideration of the
Viceroy; in no other capacity, so far as any man knew, had he the right
to enter that assemblage of the rich and well born. It was as a soldier
he would perform that hardest of all duties which had ever been laid
upon him by his friend and patron, the Governor.

Pale, stern, composed, he stood an iron figure of repression. So severe
was the constraint that he put upon himself that he had given no sign of
his emotion, even at the near approach of Donna Mercedes, and the hand
which signed his name beneath her father's as the principal witness was
as steady as if it held merely the sword in some deadly combat. He
endured passively the affectionate greetings of the happy de Tobar, who
was intoxicated at the assurance afforded by the betrothal of the coming
realization of all his hopes. He sustained with firmness the confidence
of the Viceroy and the admissions de Lara made to him in private, of his
pleasure in the suitable and fortunate marriage which was there
arranged. He even bore without breaking one long, piteous appeal which
had been shot at him from the black eyes of the unhappy Mercedes.

To her he seemed preternaturally cold and indifferent. He was so strong,
so brave, so successful. She had counted upon some interposition from
him, but the snow-capped Andes were no colder than he appeared, their
granite sides no more rigid and unsympathetic. It was with a feeling
almost of anger and resentment at last that she had signed the betrothal
contract.

But the restraint on the man was more than he could bear. The cumulative
force of the reproach of the woman he loved, the confidence of the
Viceroy, the rapturous happiness of his best friend, was not to be
endured longer. Pleading indisposition, he early begged leave to
withdraw from the festivities which succeeded the completion of the
betrothal ceremony and the retirement of the ladies. At the suggestion
of the Viceroy, who said he desired to consult with him later in the
evening, he went into the deserted cabinet of the latter.

The palace was built in the form of a quadrangle around an open patio. A
balcony ran along the second story passing the Viceroy's cabinet, beyond
which was his bedroom and beyond that the apartments of hi