lifting her right hand as she spoke, "You
have been cruel; God will punish you!" and without waiting to see what
effect her words had produced, without looking again at Felipe, she
walked swiftly out of the room.

"You see," said the Senora, "you see she defies us."

"She is desperate," said Felipe. "I am sorry I sent Alessandro away."

"No, my son," replied the Senora, "you were wise, as you always are.
It may bring her to her senses, to have a few days' reflection in
solitude."

"You do not mean to keep her locked up, mother, do you?" cried Felipe.

The Senora turned a look of apparently undisguised amazement on him.
"You would not think that best, would you? Did you not say that all we
could do, was simply not to interfere with her in any way? To wash our
hands, so far as is possible, of all responsibility about her?"

"Yes, yes," said the baffled Felipe; "that was what I said. But,
mother--" He stopped. He did not know what he wanted to say.

The Senora looked tenderly at him, her face full of anxious inquiry.

"What is it, Felipe dear? Is there anything more you think I ought to
say or do?" she asked.

"What is it you are going to do, mother?" said Felipe. "I don't seem to
understand what you are going to do."

"Nothing, Felipe! You have entirely convinced me that all effort would
be thrown away. I shall do nothing," replied the Senora. "Nothing
whatever."

"Then as long as Ramona is here, everything will be just as it always
has been?" said Felipe.

The Senora smiled sadly. "Dear Felipe, do you think that possible? A
girl who has announced her determination to disobey not only you and
me, but Father Salvierderra, who is going to bring disgrace both on the
Moreno and the Ortegna name,--we can't feel exactly the same towards her
as we did before, can we?"

Felipe made an impatient gesture. "No, of course not. But I mean, is
everything to be just the same, outwardly, as it was before?"

"I supposed so," said the Senora. "Was not that your idea? We must try
to have it so, I think. Do not you?"

"Yes," groaned Felipe, "if we can!"

XIII

THE Senora Moreno had never before been so discomfited as in this matter
of Ramona and Alessandro. It chafed her to think over her conversation
with Felipe; to recall how far the thing she finally attained was from
the thing she had in view when she began. To have Ramona sent to the
convent, Alessandro kept as overseer of the place, and the Ortegna
jewels tu