IV.
''Well, Doctor of mine,' said I, addressing the disinterested Teresa, when after a delay of some twenty minutes she appeared with my dinner, 'what do you think of our last new arrival? Matters are beginning to grow a little complicated.'
''What do I think? Why, I think that she is marvelously beautiful; such a perfect beauty I never saw before. But yet, her eye displeases me.'
''That, allow me to remark, is not a very logical conclusion.'
''Oh! as for a logical conclusion, I don't know what that is; but I know just what I feel, though perhaps I can't tell you in words, why I do feel so; but I am candid, I am; and I tell you, I don't like her eye.'
'After Donna Teresa's departure, I sat with the book which usually served me as a companion at meal-times, wide open on the table, but it remained unread. My strange encounter with this beautiful stranger had taken entire possession of my mind. What could be the link between her and this Albert Pride, who had for three months been awaiting her arrival? Why should she be as anxious as he to avoid recognition? For every thing conspired to prove this—her emotion when I asked if she were French, her pallor and faintness when I claimed to be a fellow-citizen, her indignation at the thought of my playing the spy upon her, and her hesitation to speak in my presence to Donna Lopez—all tended to show she desired to preserve the strictest incognito.
'The convent-bells of all Mexico were ringing the Angelus, and I was still seated at the dinner-table, absorbed in deep thought. My imagination had been so racked that it passed from the domain of the real, and reveled in the most fantastic regions of the ideal, and it required a strong effort of the will to bring back my mind to the dull matter-of-fact aspects of actual life.
'As the evening promised to be magnificent, I determined to refresh my mind by taking a brisk walk.
'Passing down the Calle del Arco, I met an acquaintance, at whose solicitation I entered one of the most fashionably-frequented gambling-houses in the city; it was about nine o'clock, and quite a number of players were assembled.
'Soon after taking my stand at the board of green cloth, so as to have a good view of the game, and to watch the conflicting emotions depicted on the countenances of these devotees of the fickle goddess, I felt a gentle tap on the shoulder, and turning round, beheld at my side General Valiente.
''Would you, Señor Rideau, have the goodness to give me an ounce in exchange for sixteen dollars?'
''Certainly, General.' And I immediately handed it to him, placing the dollars he gave me in return, on the table immediately before me.
''You had better see if it is all right,' said he.
''It is not necessary, General.'
''Oh! I beg of you to count them, an error is so easily committed.'
'Accordingly I counted the pile, and found there were only fifteen.
''You see now, Señor, how necessary it is to be particular. I am delighted now that I pressed upon you to examine them; you see I owe you a dollar.' Saying which, he turned to the table and put down his stake.
'After two or three games, I suggested to my friend that it was about time to leave, but before retiring, I just put down five dollars as my one offering to chance. A very short suspense was all that I had to endure, for in a minute my card won.
'The croupier, after raking in his winnings and paying two or three of his losses, took up my stake, and after quietly glancing at each coin, held them out toward me, and said:
''I do not feel bound to pay.'
''Why not, I should like to know?'
''Because, Caballero, your dollars are spurious.'
''General Valiente,' said I, raising my voice, 'here is this croupier pretending that the money I received from you just now, is false.'
''The croupier is an impertinent rascal, whose ears I would crop off if I had him any where else than where we are,' said the General. 'As for your dollars, my dear Caballero, I really can not vouch for their purity, you know there are such gangs of counterfeiters throughout the country. You see how far I was right in begging you to examine them just now. This little accident now will impress it on your mind and make you more cautious in future.'
'I knew too much of Mexican life to be surprised at this cool reply. As for resenting the General's conduct, I did not for an instant dream of it. Military men in Mexico assume, and in fact enjoy such extensive privileges, that to have made a fuss about such a trifle would been looked on by all civilians as sheer madness. I therefore merely examined my pile very carefully, and congratulated myself at finding that three out of the fifteen were genuine. It was very evident that despite his very sound advice, my friend General Valiente had neglected to examine them with any great nicety.
'While thus engaged, the clocks struck ten, and at the sound the players arose to stretch their legs and take part in the interlude. Servants appeared with what passed for refreshments, that is to say, tumblers and decanters containing three or four different kinds of liquor, all of domestic manufacture, and which differed only in their colors. Glasses and decanters soon circulated freely, and each man helped himself without stint.
'Seated near the door, chatting to two or three Americans, my attention was attracted by the entrance of a ranchero, gayly dressed in the rich national costume of the country. His jaunty air amused me, and I moreover fancied I recognized his features. After running his eye over the assemblage, his countenance brightened up, and with an air of boldness he walked directly toward a window, where with his back to us, was standing my delectable friend, the General.
'I can scarcely define the feeling which prompted me, but instinctively I changed my seat for one not far distant from the window.