"Strange."
"Well, but what is it all about?"
"He told me it was a great secret; still, I did not believe him."
"But what is this great secret?"
"He is going off to Montenegro for a day or two, as he has to buy a cargo of castradina. Of course, he'll stay a week; and as soon as he comes back, he'll start at once on a long voyage."
"I don't believe it!"
"Yes, he is; and it's all my own doing. Now you can't say that I don't love you, Milena, can you?"
She did not give him any answer.
"You don't seem glad. Once you'd have been delighted to have a reprieve from his ill-treatment."
"Yes, but now he's only moody. He hasn't beaten me for some days."