Perceval Gibbon

“ I was telling you about this tyrant, this Captain de Sa. Even with us he played the tyrant as far as he could. He was always finding duties for his lieutenants which would keep them away from our patio, rough work in the hills, where a man can be killed without credit. But there was one of our visitors whom he had no power to daunt or oppress. Stewart was his name, and his friends addressed him as 'Jock'—a young, tall man, very serious, making no show of manners and pretending to no valor, but dangerous for all that. ”

“ To-night, while we dine, the gate will stand open, and men—soldiers—will come quietly into the patio. I have learned by chance'—she saw me smile at that—'by chance, that this is to happen; the Senhor Capitao de Sa has so ordered it. You will appear not to see it; you will make no sound; you will be passive while they do their business. See that you are obedient in this.'
"The girl Brigida, whose wits were like a tide of the sea, as heavy and as slow, spoke to me as we followed the Senhora down the stairs. 'Then Senhor Stewart is to be betrayed, after all!' she whispered. ”

“ Anna, by good fortune, had not heard. She had dipped into the pit of years before Domingos was born to sorrows. Her fingers closed absently but accurately on the cigarette he had put in their way, and she came back to the present as he offered her a light in his cupped hands.
"There was never another woman like our Doña Fé," she said; "and there can not have been many men like that Senhor Stewart. ”

“ Ah, pitiful saints promenading in glory, but I am a very old woman, and the juice is dry in my body. But through the mist of my eyes I can see them yet, glowing together, melted into one, with their love burning in them like a flame. ”

“ I looked to see Stewart go after him to have an explanation in the street of those words, but he waited till the captain had gone without a sign of having heard. Then he turned to Doña Fé and held out his arms.
"They had forgotten us girls, peering and nudging in the doorway; those high people who are served by such as we fall easily into a way of looking upon us as mere furniture. For them the patio was empty and blind; they were alone with the miracle of their love ”

“ Doña Fé leaned to him swiftly and whispered. He gave her a searching look; the fierce appeal of her face answered him; and he sat back in his chair, easy, unconcerned, as though nothing were happening.
"'Oh, quite easy,' crowed the captain. 'A trifle one blows out of one's way. Puff! and it is gone. You see? No? Then—obey your orders, corporal!'
"The corporal grinned afresh and came over the threshold, and after him crowded the shabby, dusty soldiers into that grave, ordered apartment, with its equivalent of luxury. Stewart and Doña Fé gave them no attention ”

“ Doña Fé's hand touched his where it lay on the table, and she caught his eye, reminding him of her promise to hold him safe, possibly. He sat back, smiling.
"The captain glanced past him again at the patio through the open window. A strip of light traversed it from the candles within the room, and as my eyes followed his I saw what he was waiting for. Out of the blackness a soldier in uniform crossed the light, going noiselessly on bare feet, and vanishing again into the farther darkness. At my ear a breath taken harshly showed that the fool Brigida had likewise seen ”

“ What does it matter?"
"But when one is ill," protested Domingos, "one desires to get well, not to have grave-diggers and bell-ringers spoiling one's chances."
Gil smiled, leaving the matter to Anna.
"One's chances! There are no chances," said the old woman. "In some hour a moment lies in wait for you. I have seen a man when his moment came ”