“You name the very quality I cannot tolerate in the one whom I love; I care nothing for wealth, for I do not need it; I want no man to be my slave, and I shall never marry any one who is not an American like myself.”
“But many of your young women marry titles abroad.”
“And too often hate themselves afterward for doing so. Misery and wretchedness generally follow, for there is something unnatural in such a union, with nothing of love on either side. Then, too, your uncle is double my age, and it is impossible—utterly impossible for me to return any affection on his part, if it really exists.”
“There can be no doubt of that,” replied the impulsive Atlamalcan, throwing her arms around her friend and affectionately kissing her. “Be assured I shall never urge you to do anything contrary to your own pure nature. More than that, I shall take the first opportunity to impress upon General Yozarro the hopelessness of any love he may feel toward you.”
“That is just like your true self!” exclaimed the American, returning the ardent caresses of her friend; “my stay with you is to be too brief to allow any such cloud to come between us. Much as I hate to cause you distress, Manuela, I shall not stay another day if he persists in forcing his attentions upon me.”
“Have no fear of that. He is too good, too considerate, too honorable to bring pain to any one. He will be grieved when I tell him the truth, as I shall lose no time in doing, and will hasten to repair the injustice. So let us kiss again, and say and think no more about it.”
True to her promise, Señorita Estacardo took the first occasion to explain frankly the situation to her uncle. He listened thoughtfully, admitted his grief that his new-born hope should be crushed, but declared he would accept the facts like an honorable man and take every pains that their visitor should not be annoyed in any way by him.
Nothing could have been more delightful than the few days that followed. General Yozarro took his niece and her friend on several voyages down the Rio Rubio, and far enough westward to give her glimpses of the magnificent fauna and flora of that interesting region. There were times when the exuberance of vegetation and foliage, the sweep of the mighty waters, and the superabundance of animal life filled her with awe and a certain fear, but her wonder never abated. The guns on the craft were fired several times for her entertainment, but the General prudently refrained from pointing out the target until he had made sure where the missile had struck, when he found no difficulty in doing so.
No knight of the Crusades could have been more attentive to her slightest wish. Indeed he was so gracious and thoughtful that she felt at times a certain compunction. She wished she could give her affection to one who possessed so many admirable qualities, but compressing her lips, she shook her head and said again and again: “It can never be.”
Now and then spots showed on the sun. She caught glimpses of the volcano-like nature of the man, when some of the crew or his people displeased him. She was horrified to overhear some words which made known the shooting of the brother of Martella for a trifling fault, and she learned, too, of Yozarro’s ferocious cruelties to others, including some who had been taken prisoners in honorable warfare. Underneath that suave, smiling exterior lurked Satan himself.