ut
to the painful necessity of making a choice between two such gallant
men. I make it _quite_ clear, do I not? Two of you love one lady. The
lady cannot accept both. You fight. There remains but one. The lady is
in no difficulty! Do you both agree?"

"I agree most heartily," said Etienne, rubbing his hands cheerfully, and
practising feints in the air with his forefinger.

"But not I--not I!" cried Don Rafael, with sudden frenzy; "I do not
agree--far from it, indeed. I would have you know that I am a married
man. My wife is waiting for me at home at this moment. I must go. I
must, indeed. Besides, I am under age, and it is murder in the first
degree to shoot an unarmed man. I am not in love with any person. I make
claims to no lady's affection. I am a married man, I tell you,
gentlemen--I was never in love with anybody else. I told my wife so only
this morning!"

"Not with Dona Concha Cabezos of this village?" said Etienne, sternly.
"I am advised that you have been in the habit of making that claim."

"Never, never," cried the gallant, wringing his hands. "Saints, angels,
and martyrs--if this should come to my wife's ears! I swear to you I do
not know any Concha--I never heard of her. I will have nothing to do
with her! Gentlemen, you must excuse me. I have an engagement!"

And with this hurried adieu the little man in the Madrid suit fairly
bolted out of the _cafe_, and ran down the street at full speed.

And in the dusk of the gable arches the Gallegan sat with his head sunk
low in his hands.

"What a fool, Ramon Garcia! What a mortal fool you were--to have thought
for a moment that your little Dolores could have loved a thing like
that!"

CHAPTER XII

THE CRYING OF A YOUNG CHILD

"And now, gentlemen," said Monsieur Etienne grandly, "where is the young
gentleman who traduced in my hearing the fair fame of Dona Concha
Cabezos? _Ma foi_, I will transfer my cartel to him!"

Then, with great dignity, uprose the ancient valiant man of the octroi
of Sarria, for he felt that some one must vindicate the municipality.

"Cavalier," he said, with a sweeping bow which did honour at once to
himself and to the place in which they were assembled, "there may be
those amongst us who have spoken too freely, and on their behalf and my
own I convey to you an apology if we have unwittingly offended. In a
venta--I beg my nephew's pardon--in a _cafe_, like the Cafe de Madrid,
men's tongues wag fast without harm being