The woman addressed him in Spanish, which Paul did not understand, but, as he went to and from a large closet, and began spreading the table, he would turn his curious squinting eyes upon the child with looks of compassion.
In a short time all was ready; and what a delicious lunch it might have been to the child, but for the great fear that overshadowed him! Delicate cakes and confections, cold chicken, eggs, and all kinds of fruits that children are so fond of, with many nice-looking things that Paul had never seen before.
There was a great pyramid of ice-cream. “How I should like to eat it with the dear mother!” thought Paul.
Oh! that was a delicious lunch, to be sure!
“Come, let us sit down,” said the old woman.
“I am not hungry,” answered Paul, timidly; for he longed so greatly to be at home, that even these unaccustomed delicacies, and the promised crimson tuft, were as nothing compared with the sweet comfort at the dear mother’s side.
“You silly child! You have walked all this distance, carrying that great basket, and are not hungry? Well, you are thirsty, and for your nectar of the gods, I will return you the sherbet of an eastern prince.”
The woman filled a glass with a clear, rosy liquid, that bubbled up and sparkled so temptingly, that little Paul, who was quite overcome with fatigue and thirst, grasped it eagerly, and did not take the glass from his lips till he had drained it to the bottom.
Then he wished to start for home, but he felt so drowsy that he could not move. He thought of the mother, but felt no emotion, and looked at the hideous old woman, who was grinning horribly, without fear. In a few moments he sunk down upon the couch, in a heavy sleep.
The woman stood over him, chuckling in great glee. “I have you now, my pretty cup-bearer, and will make you of great use to me. I will teach you a thousand things you would be glad not to know! You shall have a crimson tuft, ha! ha! ha! I will teach you to be impertinent to me! My hooked nose! to be sure. Ah! I am old! old! and nothing can make me young and fair. If I could only take for myself your young beauty! But, no! one day I must die, and that will be the end.”