"Manuel! Where are you going?"
There was his mother. Petra had meant to be severe; but at the sight of her son she forgot her severity and embraced him effusively.
"But—what happened?" Petra asked at once.
"Nothing."
"Then—why have you come?"
"They asked me whether I wanted to stay there or go to Madrid, and I said I'd rather go to Madrid."
"Nothing more?"
"Nothing more," replied Manuel simply.
"And Juan? Was he studying?"
"Yes. Much more than I was. Is the house far off, Mother?"