Miss Castro dropped the next lump of ice somewhat hastily, so that the liquid splashed over the table; but she smiled with apparent good humor, and the man grew more bold.
"You will sit here while I tell you something, is it not so? This scene is so charming that after I make one more journey I have resolved to cultivate the domestic virtue."
"That is commendable," said the girl, smiling. "Might one compliment you on such a piece of self-denial?"
She did not forget that the African's greatest weakness is vanity, as Rideau answered her with a deprecatory smile:
"It is not my fault if many women love me. Perhaps they are foolish and trust to the eye. But, me, I aspire, and am only content with the great mind and virtue."
Miss Castro, instead of meeting his glance, appeared to be looking out to sea, and Rideau continued, still far too complacently:
"Now I see all that I desire—the peace, the tranquillity, the night that speaks of love, and the company of the peerless Bonita."
The girl laughed as she turned upon him; but her sleepy aunt, who sat by the window, knew that the passion which called the color to her forehead and set a sparkle in her eyes was by no means love.
"Is that another empty compliment, monsieur?" she asked lightly.
"It is the ambition of my life," he declared in a deeper tone; "and a long time I dream of it. Now when I make one more journey I ask you to gratify it."