tation, he heard the voice of that young
lady, mingled with others, approaching along the veranda. At the same
moment he experienced acute regret at the whim of fortune which had made
himself and that sprightly young lady fellow-passengers from Panama, and
at the idle impulse which had prompted him to flirt with her.

But the past was beyond remedy: it was his concern to deal with the
present. In a few seconds, Grace entered the curiosity-room, followed by
Professor Meschines, and by a dashing young Mexican senor, whom Freeman
had met the previous evening, and who was called Don Miguel de Mendoza.
The senor, to judge from his manner, had already fallen violently in
love with Grace, and was almost dislocating his organs of speech in the
effort to pay her romantic compliments in English. Freeman observed this
with unalloyed satisfaction. But the look which Grace bent upon him and
Miriam, on entering, and the ominous change which passed over her mobile
countenance, went far to counteract this agreeable impression.

One story is good until another is told. Freeman had really thought
Grace a fascinating girl, until he saw Miriam. There was no harm in
that: the trouble was, he had allowed Grace to perceive his admiration.
He had already remarked that she was a creature of violent extremes,
tempered, but not improved, by a thin polish of subtlety. She was now
about to give an illustration of the passion of jealousy. But it was not
her jealousy that Freeman minded: it was the prospect of Miriam's scorn
when she should surmise that he had given Grace cause to be jealous.
Miriam was not the sort of character to enter into a competition with
any other woman about a lover. He would lose her before he had a chance
to try to win her.

But fortune proved rather more favorable than Freeman expected, or,
perhaps, than he deserved. Grace's attack was too impetuous. She stopped
just inside the threshold, and said, in an imperious tone, "Come here,
Mr. Freeman: I wish to speak to you."

"Thank you," he replied, resolving at once to widen the breach to the
utmost extent possible, "I am otherwise engaged."

"Upon my word," observed the professor, with a chuckle, "you're
no diplomatist, Harvey! What are you two about here? Investigating
antiquities?"

"The remains of ancient Mexico are more interesting than some of her
recent products," returned Freeman, who wished to quarrel with somebody,
and had promptly decided that Senor Don Miguel