reveal the malefactor, whose crime remained
unpunished, thanks to the charity of the victim, who was too closely
following the words of the Great Martyr: _Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do._ These and other things Ben-Zayb said in
print, while by mouth he was inquiring whether there was any truth in
the rumor that the opulent jeweler was going to give a grand fiesta,
a banquet such as had never before been seen, in part to celebrate
his recovery and in part as a farewell to the country in which he had
increased his fortune. It was whispered as certain that Simoun, who
would have to leave with the Captain-General, whose command expired
in May, was making every effort to secure from Madrid an extension,
and that he was advising his Excellency to start a campaign in order to
have an excuse for remaining, but it was further reported that for the
first time his Excellency had disregarded the advice of his favorite,
making it a point of honor not to retain for a single additional day
the power that had been conferred upon him, a rumor which encouraged
belief that the fiesta announced would take place; very soon. For
the rest, Simoun remained unfathomable, since he had become very
uncommunicative, showed himself seldom, and smiled mysteriously when
the rumored fiesta was mentioned.

"Come, Senor Sindbad," Ben-Zayb had once rallied him, "dazzle us with
something Yankee! You owe something to this country."

"Doubtless!" was Simoun's response, with a dry smile.

"You'll throw the house wide open, eh?"

"Maybe, but as I have no house--"

"You ought to have secured Capitan Tiago's, which Senor Pelaez got
for nothing."

Simoun became silent, and from that time on he was often seen in the
store of Don Timoteo Pelaez, with whom it was said he had entered
into partnership. Some weeks afterward, in the month of April, it was
rumored that Juanito Pelaez, Don Timoteo's son, was going to marry
Paulita Gomez, the girl coveted by Spaniards and foreigners.

"Some men are lucky!" exclaimed other envious merchants. "To buy a
house for nothing, sell his consignment of galvanized iron well,
get into partnership with a Simoun, and marry his son to a rich
heiress--just say if those aren't strokes of luck that all honorable
men don't have!"

"If you only knew whence came that luck of Senor Pelaez's!" another
responded, in a tone which indicated that the speaker did know. "It's
also assured that there'll be a fiesta and o