ill--"

"I see!" I said, curtly, cutting her explanations short.

Within myself I thought how much more sweet and valuable was the dog's
life than hers. Brave Wyvis--good Wyvis! He had done his best--he had
tried to tear her dainty flesh; his honest instincts had led him to
attempt rough vengeance on the woman he had felt was his master's foe.
And he had met his fate, and died in the performance of duty. But I
said no more on the subject. The dog's death was not alluded to again
by either Nina or myself. He lay in his mossy grave under the cypress
boughs--his memory untainted by any lie, and his fidelity enshrined in
my heart as a thing good and gracious, far exceeding the
self-interested friendship of so-called Christian humanity.

The days passed slowly on. To the revelers who chased the flying steps
of carnival with shouting and laughter, no doubt the hours were brief,
being so brimful of merriment; but to me, who heard nothing save the
measured ticking of my own timepiece of revenge, and who saw naught
save its hands, that every second drew nearer to the last and fatal
figure on the dial, the very moments seemed long and laden with
weariness. I roamed the streets of the city aimlessly, feeling more
like a deserted stranger than a well-known envied nobleman, whose
wealth made him the cynosure of all eyes. The riotous glee, the music,
the color that whirled and reeled through the great street of Toledo at
this season bewildered and pained me. Though I knew and was accustomed
to the wild vagaries of carnival, yet this year they seemed to be out
of place, distracting, senseless, and all unfamiliar.

Sometimes I escaped from the city tumult and wandered out to the
cemetery. There I would stand, dreamily looking at the freshly turned
sods above Guido Ferrari's grave. No stone marked the spot as yet, but
it was close to the Romani vault--not more than a couple of yards away
from the iron grating that barred the entrance to that dim and fatal
charnel-house. I had a drear fascination for the place, and more than
once I went to the opening of that secret passage made by the brigands
to ascertain if all was safe and undisturbed. Everything was as I had
left it, save that the tangle of brush-wood had become thicker, and
weeds and brambles had sprung up, making it less visible than before,
and probably rendering it more impassable. By a fortunate accident I
had secured the key of the vault. I knew that for family burial-place