"And that, my dear friend, is the one thing that troubles me; I do not understand it; do you?"
CHAPTER XVI.
Senorita Estacardo drew her chair beside the snowy couch and faced her friend, who did the same regarding her. Reaching out her hand, she lovingly inclosed that of Miss Starland, just as she used to do in the dear old days at the Seminary. The American young woman leaned forward and kissed the dark cheek, and for a minute they sat without speaking.
Then with the black eyes gazing into the blue ones, the owner of the former said in a voice, scarcely above a whisper:
"Warrenia, I do not understand it."
"And, Manuela, I"m afraid I do."
"Tell me, then."
"Surely you have a suspicion. Why should we mince matters? He has forgotten his pledge to you and is more resolute than before."
"I fear you are right. The thought has been growing upon me ever since we left the boat. Need I tell you that you are no more shocked and grieved than I?"
"No, nothing that mind can conceive will ever throw a shadow upon your loyalty and goodness. I have known you too long and too well for me to have room for such an injustice."
The other"s answer to this was to throw her arms impulsively around the neck of her friend and to kiss her again and again, murmuring:
"Thank you and bless you! I can never be the angel that you are and I would gladly die for you."
There were no tears in the eyes of either; they were too brave for that. It was the American who spoke when they became more composed:
"We are agreed upon the one thing, and, therefore, must be right. But you can aid me to clear up several points that trouble me. Why did General Yozarro put us ash.o.r.e and send us here?"
"I suspect his reason for that. You know he has spoken of sending us to the Castle to spend a few days of the hot weather. He had the preparations made and this room fitted for us. We should have come here today, but for your change of mind. You demanded to go to Zalapata and he could not refuse. His plan that you should come to the Castle was not changed, but he had to seem to defer to your wishes. To have come directly here would have been a plain disregard of them, so he spent the day in planning this deception, and carried it out without the least difficulty."
"Must he not have seen that when we went ash.o.r.e and found the escort waiting with ponies, we should see that the whole thing was pre-arranged? In no other way could it have come about."
"True, but when we understood it all it would be too late to do us any good."
"What of his story that General Bambos had sent a boat up the river to attack Atlamalco?"
"It was pure invention."
"We certainly have heard no sounds of a battle between the boats."
"Because there has been none. He saw no more of a hostile fleet than did we, for none exists; he has gone back to Atlamalco."
"I suppose he will be here tomorrow with some cunning falsehood to explain why the conflict did not take place. He will say he gave chase to the enemy, who fled without firing a shot, but how can I pretend to believe him?"
"There is no call for any such pretense. If he tries further deception, ask him to make clear how the two soldiers were waiting on sh.o.r.e with horses. If he makes a reasonable explanation of that, he has more ingenuity than I ever supposed."
"We can have no trouble in convicting him, but, Manuela, my dread is that it will not help matters, but rather make them worse. I must confess that his conduct is beyond my comprehension."
"It is not beyond mine."
"What is your theory?"
"It is not a theory but a fact. My uncle is so hopelessly in love with you that his ordinary common sense has left him."
"It may be as you say, but much remains that is unaccountable to me."
"I see little that is not made clear by what I have said. You and I know that when a man becomes as blindly infatuated as he, his conduct violates reason and the simplest prudence and he does things that would be absurd in a child. Frightened by the prospect of losing you, he gave all his thoughts and energies to preventing it. This was the only method that suggested itself, and we cannot deny, my dear friend, that it has been quite successful up to this point."
"But of what possible avail can it be to him? Idiot that he is, he must know that this situation can last but a short time. Jack will find it out within twenty-four hours, and General Yozarro must know what will happen _then_."
"Dearest Warrenia, you do not see as much in this as I. What stronger proof can I give of my love to you than to say that we must separate and you must leave this part of the world with the least possible delay? Your own loveliness is your peril. It ought to be your greatest protection, but it is not. I would that your yacht was in the river this very hour and that we could make haste to it, for you are in greater danger than you suspect."
CHAPTER XVII.
The cheek of the American blanched, and she looked earnestly at her friend, as if she did not take in the full meaning of her words. She spoke in a whisper:
"Tell me what you mean."
The other rose from her chair, walked across the room to the closed door, and turned the big key in the ma.s.sive lock. Then she lifted the ponderous bar and dropped it into place.
"It may not be necessary," she said, as she came back, sat down and took the hand which she had released; "for though some of the servants may be in the next room, or in the hall outside, none can hear what we say. It will do no harm, however, to be certain. If you could have your wish you would be in Zalapata tonight?"
"Most a.s.suredly I should."
"Because the Major is there, but if he chanced to be away, your situation would be no better than at Atlamalco."
"I am certain it would be a thousand-fold better."
"I am afraid, dear friend from the North, that I see some things clearer than you; General Bambos is just as much infatuated with your loveliness as General Yozarro."
"But he has a wife and family!" was the horrified exclamation of Miss Starland.
"That makes not the slightest difference to him."
An expression of unutterable scorn darkened the face of the American.
"Impossible as it seems, Manuela, I must believe you. How can you live here?" she asked with impulsive disgust; "you cannot trust _any_ man in this country."
"Ah, my dear Warrenia, they are not all alike; I certainly know _one_ who is different from the two we have been talking about."
And the dark countenance became delightfully darker, and was aglow with the radiance of perfect love and trust.