"A gentleman."
"Did he wait for an answer?"
"No, señora. He wanted to speak with the señor, and he went across by the main door to wait for him."
The unusualness of the incident, and the mysterious manner of the servant, increased our curiosity extraordinarily. We had not long to wait for its satisfaction. Martí presented himself in a few moments, and, putting his hat down on a chair, asked jocularly:
"Don't you all know whom I shall have the honor to present to you?"
We all looked eagerly at him.
"A gentleman whose name begins with an S."
"Sabas!" exclaimed Matilde.
Her next act was, with quivering face and violent gestures, to hurry her children out of their chairs, and, pushing them wildly before her, get them out of the room, herself following after.
We all stood up in our agitation. The nose of the deserting husband was promptly stuck in at the garden door, and behind it entered its interesting proprietor. A groan from Doña Amparo. A convulsive embrace next, tears in abundance.