“It say we must ask Pedro,” declared Rafaela, as they stepped into the cool patio. She clapped her hands and a swarthy, stolid-faced woman appeared at whom she shot a volley of Spanish, whereupon the woman turned and went back under the colonnade in the direction of the servant’s quarters.
“She will call Pedro, and likewise bring us limeade,” said Rafaela. “Sit down.”
A sound between exclamation and snort came from behind Jack and he whirled around, in the act of slipping into a big comfortable wicker chair. Donna Ana, all in black, was staring at him severely from the depths of another wicker chair in the shade of a pineapple palm. He made her a low bow, while Mr. Hampton walked up and bent over her hand with that touch of Continental gallantry which always flattered the duenna. Then he pulled his chair close to her and began a conversation.
“That’s nice of Dad,” said Jack, in an undertone.
Rafaela glanced at him archly.
“You are learning, Jack,” she said. “That was a pretty speech.”
At that moment Pedro appeared, bowing, in front of Rafaela. Mr. Hampton and Donna Ana moved closer.
“My father,” said Rafaela, tapping the note, “writes only that he is well, and that I should ask you for details.” She addressed him in Spanish, but as both Jack and his father understood the language, they experienced no difficulty in following the conversation.
“Four day ago I send a message to Don Ferdinand,” said Pedro. “It informed him that devil Ramirez had lured away my last man from the mine and asked for instructions. Soon—the next day—Don Ferdinand appears. I am astonished. ‘Your messenger came at night, Pedro,’ said he. ‘I left at once.’ So I say to him, ‘Let us make talk.’ But he answers that he is fatigued and will sleep first. All day he sleeps. That night we talk. The next day he remembers suddenly that he has left you alone, with no knowledge of what had become of him. He does not want you to be alarmed. So he sends you a message. There is none to take it but Pedro. Here I am.”
With a bow as graceful as a cavalier’s Pedro ceased.