ng of
the fatted calf just alluded to. Had Don Felipe cherished a ray of hope
of reinstating himself in Chiquita's eyes, he would have done all in his
power to prevent her dancing, but, as matters stood, he welcomed it with
enthusiasm, for he knew that she would be irresistible--that Captain
Forest would be ravished by her enchanting creation and alluring beauty
as she glided through the intricate mazes of the dance in the moonlight.
He had felt that spell, and knew its irresistible charm.

The announcement that Chiquita was going to dance caused a stir among
the company. A large dark blue Indian rug which shone black in the
moonlight, was brought from the living-room of the house by the servants
and spread out upon the _patio's_ pavement. A murmur of approbation
arose from the Mexicans when the first bars of music announced the dance
she had chosen. It was the famous "Andalusia"--the most difficult and
intricate of all Spanish-Moorish dances; the one in which few dancers
have ever excelled for the reason that its beauty lies not so much in
its intricacy of form as in the poetic conception and free
interpretation of the artist. Besides, the dance called for two parts,
obliging her to execute the part of her supposed partner as well. The
dance opened with the song of a Torero who had repaired in the dusk to
the hills overlooking Granada where dwelt his sweetheart.

With a coquettish little laugh and toss of the head, she tossed her fan
to Captain Forest who caught it and held it in his hand as he would a
flower. Then, after some words of direction to the musicians, she
stepped upon the end of the rug nearest them, and to the amazement of
the Americans, lightly kicked off her slippers, displaying a pair of
small, slender, exquisitely formed feet and ankles. Only amateurs have
the courage to dance in shoes. Even that strict and stilted institution,
the ballet, was forced generations ago to break through its time-honored
traditions by abandoning heels as useless appendages. Had she been on
the stage, she would have danced in her bare feet as she had done on the
night of the _fiesta_ when Captain Forest had seen her.

A smile rested on her face and she nodded her head lightly to the time
of the music as she stood erect in the full flood of moonlight, tall and
slender as a lily.

"Thy face, Sweetheart, haunts me amid the dust and glare of the arena!"
she began in her deep rich contralto voice, at the first notes of which