"It's nothing, Amadeo," she stammered. "Nothing, I tell you. Let me tell you! I—I fell—that's the living truth!"
But Zureda shook the truth out of her with threats, almost with violence.
"Manolo's been beating you, eh? He has, hasn't he?"
She began to sob, still trying to deny it, not wanting to accuse her heart's darling. The old engineer repeated, trembling with rage:
"He beat you, eh? What?"
Rafaela took a long time to answer. She was afraid to speak, but finally she confessed everything.
"Yes, yes, he did. Oh—it's terrible!"
"What did he beat you for?"
"Because he wanted money."
"God! The swine!"