Mrs. Sebastian spoke quickly to the Don and his wife in Spanish. Then she turned to the girls.
“Come,” she said, “remove your hats and stay.”
“It is impossible,” replied Mabel.
“We would be glad to if we could,” said Shirley, “but we must hurry now, or we shall be too late, and the ship will go without us.”
The girls turned toward the door.
“One moment,” said Mrs. Sebastian, raising a hand.
The girls halted in their tracks.
“We must insist upon your staying over with us,” said the woman quietly.
“But—” began Shirley.
“I said we must insist,” repeated Mrs. Sebastian. “You may as well remove your hats.”