her eyes,
and fit mate to the bitter disappointment of the loss that Don Pedro's
entrance had cost me, there had crept into my mind a maddening doubt
that I had seen clearly,--a fear that the glow in her eyes, the swaying
of her dear form nearer to me, had been only the fantasies of my
passion.

Unable to endure the torment of such doubt, I hastened back, to linger
in the shadow beneath my lady's balcony. After a time, so great was my
longing, I found courage to murmur the refrain of a song we had sung
together on the river. I dared not raise my voice for fear Don Pedro
would hear and divine my purpose, and my low notes seemed lost in the
drunken ditties and outcries of the carousers in the tavern taproom.

An hour dragged by its weary length, and no soft whisper floated down
to me from above, no graceful vision appeared at the vine-clad
balustrade. Despair settled heavily upon my heart. The cadenced Spanish
vowels died away upon my lips. I turned to go. A small white object
dropped lightly from above and fell at my feet.

In a trice my despair had given place to hope and joy no less
extravagant. I snatched up the message, and rushed in to open it before
the waxen taper, in the privacy of my room. The wrapping was a
lace-edged handkerchief of finest linen, in the corner of which was an
embroidered "A. V."--my lady's initials.

But when I opened it, thinking to find a written missive, there appeared
only a great, sweet-scented magnolia bloom. Yet was not this enough? Was
it not far more than I had expected--than had been my right to expect?

I held it close before my eyes, my thoughts upon the sender, whose
cheeks were still more delicate in texture than these creamy petals. I
turned the blossom around to view its perfections. She had held it in
her hand!

Upon one of the delicate petals faint lines had appeared. They darkened
into clear letters under my gaze, and those letters spelled "_Au
revoir_!"

CHAPTER XIII

AGAINST THE CURRENT

Had I been in funds, I should have preferred a horse for the up-river
trip. As it was, I was glad of the opportunity to make the passage by
boat with my friend the captain, and in so doing, to earn a pocketful of
wages. It is not, however, a proceeding I should advise to be undertaken
by one who lacks the strength and experience necessary for poling and
cordelling.

At times, to be sure, we were able to relieve our labors by an
occasional resort to the sails, when th