"But you did not know. The walls were unsealed. From the girls' dormitory I went into life—and such a life it has been! The soldier-lad's life was different."
Her bosom was heaving, her breath coming in quick catches. She crumpled into a chair, and covered her face with her hands.
"O, señora, señora!" moving a step nearer.
A storm of sobbing was the only reply.
He knelt by her side.
"O, señora! My dear señora!"
He put his hand on her shoulder.
"Look at me, my poor, crushed señorita of the window pane."
She let one hand drop to her side, the other reached to his. The velvet eyes brimming with tears looked piteously at him.
"I ask—I beg of you—O, señora——"