from
Texas.'

'I have had very little talk with him,' Mrs. Sarrasin said; 'but I never
noticed any Spanish peculiarity in his accent.'

'But you wouldn't; you are not Spanish; and, anyhow, it's only a mere
little shade--just barely suggests. Do you think there is anything in
all this? I may be mistaken, but--no--no--I am not mistaken. That man
knows Spanish as surely as I know English.'

'Then it is a matter of the very highest importance,' said Mrs. Sarrasin
decidedly. 'If a man comes here professing not to speak Spanish, and yet
does speak Spanish, it is as clear as light that he has some motive for
concealing the fact that he is a Spaniard--or a South American. Of
course he is not a Spaniard--Spain does not come into this business. He
is a South American, and he is either a spy----'

'Yes--either a spy----.' Dolores waited anxiously.

'Or an assassin.'

'Yes--I thought so;' and Dolores shuddered. 'But a spy,' she whispered,
'has nothing to find out. Everything about--about his Excellency--is
known to all the world here.'

'You are quite right, dear young lady,' Mrs. Sarrasin said. 'We are
driven to the other conclusion. If you are right--and I am sure you are
right--that that man knows Spanish and professes not to know it, we are
face to face with a plot for an assassination. Hush!--the gentlemen are
coming. Don't lose your head, my dear--whatever may happen. You may be
sure I shall not lose mine. Go and talk to Mr. Hamilton--you might find
a chance of giving him a word, or a great many words, of warning. I must
have a talk with Sarrasin as soon as I can. But no outward show of
commotion, mind!'

'It may be a question of a day,' Dolores whispered.

'If the man thinks he is half-discovered, it may be a question of an
hour,' Mrs. Sarrasin replied, as composedly as if she were thinking of
the possible spoiling of a dinner. Dolores shuddered. Mrs. Sarrasin felt
none the less, but she had been in so many a crisis that danger for
those she loved came to her as a matter of course.

Then the door was thrown open, and the gentlemen came in. Sir Rupert
made for Dolores. He was anxious to pay her all the attention in his
power, because he feared, in his chivalrous way, that if she were not
followed with even a marked attention, she might think that as the
daughter of Paulo's Hotel she was not regarded as quite the equal of all
the other guests. The Dictator thought he was bound to address himself
to the Duchess of