isfied.

One morning the inmates of the house on the Boulevard Pereire saw the
arrival of three carriages, which discharged eight persons at the door.
A well-dressed gentleman rang the bell, marshaled his seven companions
in the hall, and desired to be shown up to the countess. She was
expecting him, and received him in the red salon. After a short
conversation, she went downstairs with him to the yellow salon, where
Wilhelm, at her request, followed them. The visitor was the Spanish
consul in Paris. He produced a casket ornamented with mother-o'-pearl,
broke a seal with which it was fastened, unlocked it with a small
silver key, and took out a document in a closed envelope, and handed it
to Pilar. He then opened the door, and permitted his followers to
enter. They came in in single file, and ranged themselves silently
along the wall. They were tall, lean men in great circular Spanish
cloaks of brown or bottle-green, defective in the matter of footgear,
and with shapeless greasy hats in their ungloved hands. Their
deportment was as dignified as if they had been the chapter of a
religious order, and every face was turned with an air of contemplative
solemnity toward the countess. With nervous haste she wrote a few lines
at the foot of the document, read it over three or four times and
altered a word here and there; she then folded the paper, returned it
to the envelope, and handed it back to the consul. She sealed it with
her seal and wrote something on it, the seven men then advanced one by
one to the table, and with extreme gravity and precision put their
signatures on the envelope. The casket was then relocked and resealed,
and the company withdrew with a ceremonious bow, not, however, without
leaving behind them such a piercing smell of garlic that the yellow
salon was still full of it next day.

When Pilar found herself alone with Wilhelm, she asked: "I suppose you
would like to know what all this means?"

"Well, yes."

"We have in Spain what we call mysterious wills, the contents of which
may be kept secret. A will of that kind is valid if an official person
and seven witnesses vouch for it by their signatures on the envelope
that it has been written or altered in their presence. To-day I have
added something to my secret will."

He made a movement, but she would not give him time to speak.

"Do not be afraid, I have not acted against your wishes nor wounded
your pride. On our Vega de Henares in Old Castile,