"Find Leon"—the lover must set out on a quest for another man—who was Leon, what relation did he bear the belle of San Juan, and where had he become lost since he needed a voyage of discovery made in his behalf—Jason, starting with his bold Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece might not have had half the trouble that would come of looking for a lost man in the world wilderness of to-day, since traveling facilities were limited in those times, whereas one may now readily fling thousands of leagues behind him in a fortnight.
"Find Leon—for me!"
Evidently Leon was of considerable importance to the speaker—her voice seemed to dwell upon the sound with much tenderness.
But Roderic did not appear to be amazed on account of the name—it was something else that gave him cause for astonishment.
"Senorita, I declared my readiness to go to the ends of the earth to serve you, but now you ask me to seek the shades beyond, the world of spirits. How then could I claim the reward even if success attended my endeavor?"
"No, no, not that—you do not understand—it is Leon, my brother you are to find," breathlessly.
"Exactly, and as he is dead it would necessitate my becoming a disembodied spirit—"
"Ah! yes, but he is not dead."
"Pardon, you told me so many times, and I mourned with you on account of your loss."
"It was all a terrible mistake."