nother shrug and wave, that
Derrick was free of the concern, walked off. Derrick strolled round the
antiquated engine and rusty pump and chaff-cutters, then took off his
coat, turned up his sleeves and proceeded to make a detailed
examination; wondering why the worn boiler had not burst and blown the
whole kit, and anyone who happened to be near, into smithereens.

It was some time since he had had the handling of machinery, and, for
several hours, he enjoyed himself thoroughly, emerging at lunch-time,
very hot, and as grimy and soot-laden as a chimney sweep. On his way
towards the house he looked up at the windows, and at one of them he
saw, or fancied he saw, through a partially-drawn curtain, the face of
Donna Elvira; but the curtain was drawn so swiftly that he could not be
sure that it was the Donna who had been looking down at him.

She did not appear that day, and Derrick went about his work with a
sense of satisfaction and enjoyment which he had not experienced during
the execution of his duties at the circus: to the engineer the handling
of machinery is as sweet as is the touch of a brush to an artist, the
pen to an author. He was interested not only in his work, but in the
strange and novel life going on around him. It was unlike anything with
which he had come in contact hitherto; not only was the place overrun
with servants, but, on every side, were evidences of a wealth and state
which were almost regal and yet barbaric; the magnificent mansion itself
was at some distance from the farm building, and the serenity of the
house and its surroundings was not intruded upon by the business of
which Donna Elvira was the head.

Derrick could not help being struck by the fact that his favourable
reception and appointment had aroused no surprise and very little
curiosity on the part of the household; and he concluded that Donna
Elvira's rule was so despotic that her law passed unquestioned, and that
no action of hers was received with astonishment. His position was
accepted by everyone without question or remark; the man who had brought
him his coffee had evidently been told off as his body-servant, and he
served Derrick's meals in a little room adjoining the bedroom, or on the
verandah; as the young fellow showed some intelligence, Derrick took him
on as an assistant, much to the peon's delight and pride, and initiated
him into the elementary mysteries of machinery.

Long before his examination had finished, Derri