Monsalvat saw that it was impossible to convince these people by any such methods as those he had tried, and went away. But he returned the next day, and every day; for he was determined to make friends with his tenants. He found work for some of those who needed it, and he was generous to those who could not pay their rent.
One day he talked with the girl who had taken his side in the courtyard scene. She was a short, sad-faced little thing, who behaved so properly in the house that no one could have guessed the nature of her trade. He listened with sympathy but with no particular interest to the story she was telling him of her experiences, until she began talking about Florinda. Then it occurred to him to ask if she knew Nacha. She replied that she did not; but a week or so later she announced to him with a smile that she had just met the girl he had asked her about.
"You called her Nacha, didn't you? A slender girl who lived awhile with Pampa Arnedo? Well, go to this address. The house belongs to a woman who is paralyzed and pushes herself about in a wheel chair. I go there quite often; and Nacha and I are getting to be good friends."
But Monsalvat was no longer listening. He could hear nothing now in the whole wide universe but the words ringing in his heart.... Nacha found! Nacha at this address! And he actually held the address on a slip of crumpled paper in his hand! Never had Nacha seemed so near as at this moment....
CHAPTER XV
That fifteenth of November was, for Nacha Regules, one of the unforgettable days of her life; for it brought her intense happiness and at the same time almost unbearable sorrow. She had not gone to the house of the paralytic the day before, as she was occupied in moving to another boarding house. Doña Lucía's had become distasteful to her since she had discovered that one of the men there was accustomed to spend the afternoon reading in one room while his wife received men in another. She had made inquiries of the other boarders, expressed her indignation, complained to Doña Lucía. The husband thereupon sought an interview with her. He was a vigorous blond, with a yellow mustache, prominent eyes, and a misshapen mouth.
"You have the wrong idea about me," he began. "I'm an honorable man; I never owed a cent to anybody, and what's more, I don't owe anybody a cent now; and what my wife does is her own business, a private matter...."
Nacha did not care to talk with him; so she told him he was quite right and put an end to the interview. However she left the house two days later. On account of an unpleasant incident at Juanita's she ceased going there also; and Julieta introduced her to her friend, the paralytic.