"All right," he said, briefly. "I will go. Adios!"
A little later, and only a cloud of dust marked the way in the south that he had gone; and the mist in his eyes, hidden so well from the sheriff, was dashed away by his hand, but came back again and again.
"It is your place to be here if she dies," he repeated, grimly,—"my Doña Espiritu—my beloved! The message was written to him, but fate sent it first to me, and I—I will be with you to-night. You will not be again alone with the heart-break."
CHAPTER XII
Toward evening Raquel grew more quiet, and Ana, seeing that the fever was abating, gave herself much blame for sending in such haste for Rafael; and what she had written to him only the good saints could tell, for she had been so frightened she had possibly told him unpleasant things!
However, all things could be endured if only Raquel would open her eyes in reason once more, and lift the load of self-blame from the heart of Ana.