Cambridge, Mass.
October, 1917.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
[I][A conversation on the train][9]
[II][O, oriental, romantic city!][25]
[III][Infancy: sombre vestibule of life][33]
[IV][Blue eyes, black eyes][43]
[V][Noble and ancient ancestral homes!][54]
[VI][Concerning an adventure of Quentin’s in the neighbourhood of El Potro][65]
[VII][In which is told the history of a tavern on Sierra Morena][82]
[VIII][A fight in an olive orchard][95]
[IX][In which Señor Sabadía abuses words and wine][105]
[X][Don Gil finishes his story][114]
[XI][More incomprehensible than the heart of a grown woman, is that of a girl-child][124]
[XII][In search of a jewel-case][132]
[XIII][A picnic and a ride][145]
[XIV][Spring][156]
[XV][Where his beautiful expectations went!][163]
[XVI][The man of action begins to make himself known][171]
[XVII][“I am a little Catiline”][182]
[XVIII][The tavern in the Calle del Bodegoncillo][193]
[XIX][The pleasant ironies of reality][207]
[XX][Philosophers without realizing the fact][211]
[XXI][Juan talks][222]
[XXII][Sticks, shots, and stones][227]
[XXIII][Pursuit and escape][233]
[XXIV][The victim of a feuilleton][245]
[XXV][An abduction is prepared][250]
[XXVI][Explanations][261]
[XXVII][In which a countess, a professional bandit, and a man of action have a talk][273]
[XXVIII][The mason’s message][285]
[XXIX][A conference][292]
[XXX][Projects][305]
[XXXI][Night and day][314]
[XXXII][The city of the discreet][322]
[XXXIII][The departure][332]
[XXXIV][The end][343]

THE CITY OF THE DISCREET

CHAPTER I
A CONVERSATION ON THE TRAIN

QUENTIN awoke, opened his eyes, looked about him, and exclaimed between his yawns:

“We must be in Andalusia now.”

The second-class coach was occupied by six persons. Opposite Quentin, a distinguished-looking Frenchman, corpulent, clean-shaven, and with a red ribbon in his buttonhole, was showing a magazine to a countryman in the garb of a wealthy cattle owner, and was graciously explaining the meanings of the illustrations to him.

The countryman listened to his explanations smiling mischievously, mumbling an occasional aside to himself in an undertone: