time she lifted her eyes to Rotil.

"Always I hated the German. I never carried a blade until after
his eyes followed me! He tried to play the prince, the great
gentleman, with me--a girl of the hills! Only once he touched my
hand, and I scoured it with sand afterwards while Jose laughed. But
the German did not laugh,--he only watched me! Once when Jose was
in a rage with me Conrad said he could make of me a great lady in his
own land if I would listen. Instead of listening I showed him my
knife. After that God only knows what he told against me, but Jose
became bitter--bitter, and jealous, and spies always at my back!

"So Lucita and Mariano and I made plans. They were to marry, and we
three would steal away in secret and cross the border. That was
happiness to plan, for my life--my life was hell, so I thought! But I
had not yet learned what hell could be," she confessed drearily.

"Tell me," he said very gently. Those who thought they knew "El
Gavilan," the merciless, would not have recognized his voice at that
moment.

"No, I had not learned," she went on drearily. "I thought that to
carry a knife for myself made all safe--I did not know! I told you
Juana Gonsalvo came for me very secretly to hear the last words of
Juan. But I did not tell you we lived in the _casita_, little Lucita
and I. It is across a garden from the hacienda, and was once a
priest's house; that was in the days of the mother of Jose. It is very
sweet there under the rose vines, and it was sanctuary for us. When
Jose and the German had their nights of carouse we went there and
locked ourselves in. There were iron bars on the high windows, and
shutters of wood inside, so we were never afraid. I heard Conrad tell
Jose he was a fool not to blow it up with dynamite some day of fiesta.
It was the night after their great quarrel, and it was a terrible
time. They were pledging friendship once more in much wine. Officers
from the town were at the hacienda with women who were--well, I would
not go in, and Jose was wild. He came to the _casita_ and called
threats at me. I thought the German was with him, for he said Conrad
was right, and the house would be blown up with the first dynamite he
could spare,--but threats were no new thing to us! I tried to soothe
little Lucita by talk of the wedding, and all the pretty bride things
were taken out of the chest and spread on the bed; one _rebosa_ of
white I put over her shoulders, and the child was dancing to