ower, please. There, now it is right!" They proceeded. "I wonder what
Carlos will say to this. He will be surprised when we unmask. Until
then he will not know me--nor you either." She lowered her voice. "I
told him that my costume was to be that of a shepherdess."

They were close to the hall now. A turn brought them to a wider path
which led directly to the building. Up the steps and into the throng
of masks they passed, the girl now holding tight to the man's arm. The
orchestra was playing a waltz and the pair swung into the whirl,
dancing fast and gracefully. The music stopped; a man in the costume
of a Spanish sailor came up and asked for the next. The girl looked
down, then glanced quickly up and pointed silently to the tall
cavalier at her side. The sailor bowed and passed on. Then the music
started again.

"I cannot speak, you see," the girl panted as they swept around a
corner, "or they would know my voice. Of course--oh look, there is
Carlos. He must be looking everywhere for me."

A tall man, clad in the helmet and boots of a Spanish military
officer, stood in the center of the floor, intently watching each
couple as it passed. Adelita he followed closely with his eyes, as if
perplexed. Then he shook his head.

"He does not know me," she laughed.

But at the end of that dance he strode up to her and bowed.

"May I have the honor?"

She said nothing, but inclined her head. Then they waltzed off.
Henderson stood at the side watching the whirling crowd. The vivid
reds and yellows and greens of the costumes blended harmoniously in a
swirl of color that seemed a part of the music, the laughter, and the
splendor of the night. Just then the couple passed, the man talking
intently, the girl with her head bowed, saying nothing. As the dance
ended, Henderson was about to go up and accost an attractive looking
shepherdess, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around,
surprised. It was the tall officer whom Adelita had called Carlos.

"Stranger," he said in English, "why have you made my Adela, Senorita
de Marcelo, try to hide from me? Do you think, although she has not
spoken, that I could fail to know her? Do you think I would not
recognize her even if she came in a black cowl and robe? Who are you
that have dared speak to her as you have? I have watched her--and you.
Hear me, interloper, I will not have you dance with her or speak to
her again. The rest of the house is yours--and welcome." He was
a