ot deny that Carmen had an
admirable temperament. If she had been a Moslem, it might be predicted
that she would walk the wire 'El Serat' without a tremor. In these days
she was busy with the plans of her new house. The project suited her
ambition and her taste. The structure grew in her mind into barbaric
splendor, but a barbaric splendor refined, which reveled in the
exquisite adornment of the Alhambra itself. She was in daily conferences
with her architect and her artists, she constantly consulted Jack about
it, and Mavick whenever he was in town, and occasionally she
awakened the interest of Henderson himself, who put no check upon her
proceedings, although his mind was concerned with a vaster structure of
his own. She talked of little else, until in her small world there grew
up a vast expectation of magnificence, of which hints appeared from time
to time in the newspapers, mysterious allusions to Roman luxury, to Nero
and his Golden House. Henderson read these paragraphs, as he read the
paragraphs about his own fortune, with a grim smile.

"Your house is getting a lot of free advertising," he said to Carmen one
evening after dinner in the library, throwing the newspaper on the table
as he spoke.

"They all seem to like the idea," replied Carmen. "Did you see what one
of the papers said about the use of wealth in adorning the city? That's
my notion."

"I suppose," said Henderson, with a smile, "that you put that notion
into the reporter's head."

"But he thought he suggested it to me."

"Let's look over the last drawing." Henderson half rose from his chair
to pull the sheet towards him, but instantly sank back, and put his hand
to his heart. Carmen saw that he was very pale, and ran round to his
chair.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he said, taking a long breath. "Just a stitch. Indigestion.
It must have been the coffee."

Carmen ran to the dining-room, and returned with a wineglass of brandy.

"There, take that."

He drank it. "Yes, that's better. I'm all right now." And he sat still,
slowly recovering color and control of himself.

"I'm going to send for the doctor."

"No, no; nonsense. It has all passed," and he stretched out his arms
and threw them back vigorously. "It was only a moment's faintness. It's
quite gone."

He rose from his chair and took a turn or two about the room. Yes, he
was quite himself, and he patted Carmen's head as he passed and took his
seat again. For a moment or two there w