tentions) care to go farther."

Mrs. Spenser watched her husband's face, she was afraid he would not be
pleased. But under no circumstances was Lucian ever ill-natured. He now
made all manner of sport of their laziness, singling out Torres
especially as the target for his wit. Torres grinned--Lucian was the
only person who could bring out that grin; then he repressed his
unseemly mirth by passing his hand over his face, the thumb on one side,
all the fingers on the other, and letting them move downward and come
together at the chin, thus closing in the grin on the way. Restored to
his usual demeanor, he bowed and was ready for whatever should be the
ladies' pleasure. Their pleasure, after Lucian's departure, was simply
to recline under the large tree; Mr. Moore had already begun his search
in the neighboring thickets, and was winding in and out, now in sight,
now gone again, with alert step and hopeful eye.

The three ladies sat idly perforating the ground with the tips of their
closed parasols. "What are we going to do to amuse ourselves?" said
Garda.

"You think a good deal of your amusement, don't you, Miss Thorne?" said
Rosalie. She spoke in rather an acid tone; Lucian, too, thought a good
deal of his amusement.

But Garcia never noticed Rosalie's intonations; acid or not, they never
seemed to reach her. "Yes; I hate to be just dull, you know," she
answered, frankly. "I'd much rather be asleep."

Torres was standing at the edge of their circle of shade in his usual
taut attitude.

"Oh, Mr. Torres, do either sit down or lie down," urged Garda; "it tires
me to look at you! If you won't do either, then go and lean against a
tree."

Torres looked about him with serious eyes. There was a tree at a little
distance which had no low branches; he went over and placed himself
close to it, his back on a line with the trunk, but without touching it.

"You're not leaning," said Garda. "Lean back! Lean!"

Thus adjured, Torres stiffly put his head back far enough to graze the
bark. But the rest of his person stood clear.

"Oh, how _funny_ you always are!" said Garda, breaking into a peal of
laughter.

Torres did not stir. He was very happy to furnish amusement for the
senorita, inscrutable as the nature of it might be; it never occurred to
Torres that his attitudes were peculiar.

But Garda was now seized with another idea, which was that they should
lunch where they were, instead of at the shore; it was much pretti