oked fixedly at me for several minutes without a word. At
last, in a voice of deep feeling, she said, "Do you remember the pledge
with which we parted? Do you recollect the oath by which you bound
yourself?'

"Perfectly, Senhora!" said I; "nor was I aware yesterday, till the very
moment of our meeting, in whose presence I was standing."

"But you had heard of me here?"

"Only as the Marchesa de la Norada, not as the Senhora."

"Hush! let that name never escape your lips; I believe you and trust
you. The commission I gave you was well and faithfully executed: were it
otherwise, and did I deem you false, it would not be difficult for me to
rid myself of the embarrassment. We live in a city where such things are
well understood." My blood ran cold at this threat, for I remembered the
accusation which hung over her, in Mexico. She saw what was passing in
my mind, and added, "You have nothing to fear; we shall be good friends
while you remain here; but that time must be brief. I cannot, I will
not, live a life of terror; a moment of impatience, an unguarded word, a
hasty expression of yours, might compromise me, and then--When can you
leave Naples?"

"To-morrow--to-day, if you desire it."

"That would be too hurried," she said thoughtfully. "We must not
encourage suspicion. Why are you here?"

I gave the restoration of my health as the reason, and then alluded to
the circumstances of my Spanish claim, which I had hoped Naples would
have proved a suitable place for pressing.

"Who knows of this transaction? What evidence have you of its truth?"
said she, hurriedly.

"The minister by whose order I was imprisoned, the Governor of Malaga,
his official underlings, all know of it."

"Enough. Now, by whom was the information given on which you were
arrested?"

"A man who called himself the Consul at Campecho, and to whose
early history I am disposed to suspect I have the clew, but to whom,
unfortunately, in a hasty moment, I betrayed that secret knowledge."

"And thus he dreads and hates you," said she, fixing her dark eyes
sternly on me.

"He rather fears me without reason," said I.

"But still you would have traded on that fear, had it served your
purpose?" reiterated she, with a pointedness that showed how the
application to her own case was uppermost in her thoughts.

"You are less than just to me, Senhora!" said I, proudly. "A variety of
circumstances led me to connect this man with a very unhappy
incident