ief, and a descendant of the Incas."

"A descendant of the Hottentots, sir!" exclaimed the colonel, becoming
furious, for he now thought the young man was attempting to jest; "the
fact that my daughter--my daughter, sir, was persuaded to assume that
useless and ridiculous disguise, and the fact that you rendered her
assistance when so disguised, gives you no right to--to insult her in
public, and--and--I have heard, sir, from Manuela herself, that--"

"Manuela!" interrupted the victim, in a soft, unbelieving voice, and
with an eager, wistful look at the exquisite landscape again,--"is it
possible?"

"Sir, you're a fool!" shouted the old soldier, unable to contain
himself. "Pedro told me much about you, but he did not say you were a
fool!"

"Impossible! I knew it must be a dream," murmured Lawrence, as if to
himself, "I was never called a fool before. No gentleman would have
done it--least of all an English gentleman."

This shot, although not aimed, hit the mark fairly.

"Forgive me, senhor," said the colonel, modifying his tone, though
evidently still much annoyed, "but your manners and language are so
strange that, really--"

He stopped, as a new light broke upon him.

"Surely," he said, "you cannot have been in ignorance all this time that
Manuela _is_ my daughter?"

"Tell me," cried Lawrence, suddenly shaking off the dream of unbelief,
advancing a step, and gazing so intensely into the colonel's eyes that
the man of war made a quick, involuntary, motion with his right hand
towards his sword,--"Tell me, Colonel Marchbanks--is Manuela, who, I
thought, was an Inca princess, _really_ your daughter!"

"I know nothing about the Inca princesses, senhor," replied the old man,
sternly, but with a perplexed air; "all I know is that the disguised
girl with whom you have been unfortunately travelling of late is _my_
daughter, and, although your ignorance of the fact accounts in some
degree--"

He got no further, for Lawrence gave a full, free, shout of joy, such as
he had not vented since he was a schoolboy, raised himself to his full
height, and threw up his arms, clearing off a very constellation of
crystal gimcracks from a chandelier in the mighty stretch, and
exclaimed--

"I'll have her: I'll have her! Yes, in spite of all--"

The door opened at that moment and he stood transfixed, for there was
Spotted Tiger--glaring horribly, and obviously charged with important
tidings.

"Come in," cried the colone