"It has touched her hair."
And rushing from the thicket, he crossed the garden and disappeared. He had heard footsteps approaching. In fact, a few seconds after his departure, Don Miguel, in his turn, entered the copse.
"Come, come," he said gaily, as he shook the hammock, "sleeper, will you not have finished your siesta soon?"
Doña Clara opened her eyes, with a smile.
"I am no longer asleep, father," she said.
"Very good. That is the answer I like."
And he stepped forward to kiss her; but, with sudden movement, the maiden drew herself back as if she had seen some frightful vision, and her face was covered with a livid pallor.
"What is the matter with you?" the hacendero exclaimed with terror.
The girl showed him the orange flower.
"Well," her father continued, "what is there so terrific in that flower? It must have fallen from the tree during your sleep."