o the shop to inquire for his relic.
Sebastian was down upon the admission. "What did I tell you, my
friend? Is not that the precise action of our Englishman who said,
'Juanita will ride,' and went out and left her at the table? Precisely
the same! And Juanita rode--and I, by God, have wrought at the work he
gave me to do, and finished it. Vaya, Don Luis, it is not amiss."

It had to be confessed that it was not; and Manvers calling one morning
later was as warm in his praises as his Spanish and his temperament
would admit. He paid the bill without demur.

Sebastian, though he was curious, was discreet. Don Luis, however,
thought proper to remark upon the crucifix, when he chanced to meet its
owner in the Church of Las Angustias.

That church contains a famous statue of Juan de Juni's, a _Mater
dolorosa_ most tragic and memorable. Manvers, in his week's prowling
of the city, had come upon it by accident, and visited it more than
once. She sits, Our Lady of Sorrows, upon a rock, in her widow's
weeds, exhibiting a grief so intense that she may well have been made
larger than life, in order to support a misery which would crush a
mortal woman. It is so fine, this emblem of divine suffering, that it
obscures its tawdry surroundings, its pinchbeck tabernacle, gilding and
red paint. When she is carried in a _paso_, as whiles she is, no
spangled robe is put over her, no priest's vestment, no crown or veil.
Seven swords are driven into her bosom: she is unconscious of them.
Her wounds are within; but they call her in Valladolid Senora de los
Chuchillos.

It was in the presence of this august mourner that Manvers was found by
Don Luis Ramonez after mass. He had been present at the ceremony, but
not assisting, and had his crucifix open in the palm of his hand when
the other rose from his knees and saw him.

After a moment's hesitation the old gentleman stayed till the
worshippers had departed, and then drew near to Manvers, and bowed
ceremoniously.

"You will forgive me for remarking upon what you have in your hand,
senor caballero," he said, "when I tell you that I was present, not
only at the commissioning of the work, but at its daily progress to the
perfection it now bears. My friend, Don Sebastian, had every reason to
be contented with his masterpiece. I am glad to learn from him that
you were no less satisfied."

Manvers, who had immediately shut down his hand, now opened it. "Yes,"
he said, "it's a