"And after you passed out, what happened?"
Rafael was going to answer and I was hanging on his every word as if it were a matter of life and death when the tram halted.
"Ah, here we are already at Consejos. Let's get off here," said
Rafael.
What a nuisance! They were getting off and I would not know how the story ended.
"Sir, sir, a word," I said on seeing them get off. The young man stopped and looked at me.
"And the Countess? What became of her?" I asked eagerly.
Loud laughter was my only response. The two young men laughed too and left without saying a word. The only living being to keep her sphinx-like calm at such a comic scene was the English woman who, indignant at my outlandish behaviour, turned to the other passengers saying: "Oh! A lunatic fellow!"
VI
The tram continued on its way and I was burning with curiosity to know what had happened to the unfortunate Countess. Had her husband killed her? I understood how that villain's mind worked. Desirous of enjoying his revenge, like all cruel souls, he wanted his wife to be present, without pause in playing, at the death of that unwary young man brought there by a spiteful trick on the part of Mudarra. But the lady could not continue making desperate efforts to keep calm, knowing that Rafael had swallowed the poison. A tragic and horrifying scene I thought, more convinced than ever of the reality of that event—and now you'll say that such things only happen in novels!
On passing in front of Palacio the tram halted and a woman got on who was carrying a small dog in her arms. I immediately recognized the dog I had seen reclining at the feet of the Countess. This was the same dog with the same white and fine fur, the same black patch on one of his ears. As luck would have it the woman sat down next to me. Unable to resist being curious, I put the following question to her: