"O, indeed! My husband was an officer, and I am always much interested in soldiers, especially those injured on the field of battle. In San José yesterday I visited the improvised hospitals. I should like greatly to see the men you have here and express my appreciation of their good work."
"Why, certainly, señora. Will you excuse me for a few minutes now while I speak to the doctor?"
The señora listened to the sound of voices in the corridor. A demure look stole over her face. She arched her shoulders coquettishly.
"Yes, I'll tell the Señorita Mendoza that Captain Morando loves her deeply and meant no harm when he proposed to her. I'll do just as the gallant Captain asked me to do. The fool!"
A look of weariness possessed her almost immediately. "O, this life! this life! Political intrigue! and counter intrigue! all heartless and unfeeling as a surgeon's knife. God of my heart! why has destiny discovered such a groove for me? And yet—and yet—what would life be without it—without ambition? A body without a soul."
After a moment she arose, her hands clinching.
"The gallant Captain shall come to me and sue for my love, if for no other reason than because I have humbled myself before him. I will it! I will it! As for this puss—this wise puss—"
The señorita's steps came quickly along the corridor. She found the señora sitting in the chair, as she had left her, to all intents musing the time away.
"The Captain Morando still pursues Stanislaus, the elusive—so I heard this morning in San José. My brother-in-law, the Colonel Barcelo, has returned to Monterey in disgust, having given up the chase. You know the old saying, señorita, 'The braver in war, the keener in love.' The Captain is both a brave soldier and a keen lover." The señora's full-throated, musical laugh seemed out of place.
Carmelita was very quiet as she asked: "What do you mean, señora doña?"