"Indeed! Eggs and chocolate—chocolate and eggs!" angrily retorted the Señora, "just as though one didn't know what everybody takes for breakfast!" But without waiting for her to finish, Chiquita vanished through the doorway with her basket; her low laughter, followed by a snatch of song just audible from within, serving to increase the Señora's irritation.
"Holy God! I sometimes think the devil is inside of that girl!" she exclaimed, vexed beyond measure.
"Ah, but what a sweet one!" laughed Dick. "I wouldn't mind being possessed of the same myself."
"Bah, Señor! you talk like a fool!" she retorted. "I pray you, do not think too poorly of us, Señor Capitan," she continued in an apologetic tone, turning to Captain Forest. "I assure you, all the women in Santa Fé are not so bold as the Señorita Chiquita."
"No, most of them are a tame lot!" broke in Dick, secretly enjoying the Señora's discomfiture.
"Caramba! your speech grows more foolish as you talk, Señor!" returned the Señora in a tone of intense disgust. "I see, you too have fallen under her spell. They say she has the evil-eye, Señor Capitan," she went on, addressing the Captain again.
"Evil-eye—ha, ha! What next?" laughed Dick.
"Blood of the Saints! I'll no longer waste my time with you, Señor!" and with an angry swish of her skirt, she turned and disappeared in the house.
VII
"What does she mean by the evil-eye?" asked the Captain after the sounds of the Señora's footsteps had died away in the corridor within the house.