st glance
of surprise and delight. I of course had no such inducement to look
straight ahead, and my glances therefore wandered carelessly here and
there to the right and left, noting the exquisite shapes and colours of
the flowers and fruit and the luxuriant foliage and delightful shade of
the trees.

Whilst thus engaged my wandering thoughts were suddenly arrested by the
appearance of several large and heavy footprints in the sandy soil of
the footpath; and whilst I was still idly wondering what visitors Don
Manuel could have so recently had and from whence they could possibly
have come, my eye lighted upon a single drop of blood; then another,
then quite a little line of blood-drops. They were, however, only such
as would result from a trifling cut or scratch; so I said nothing about
it. A little further on, up the pathway, a tall thorny shrub thrust its
branches somewhat obtrusively over the border of the path; and one of
the twigs--a good stout one--was broken and hung to its parent branch by
a scrap of bark only. Curiosity prompted me to pause for a moment to
examine the twig; and I then saw that one of the thorns was similarly
broken, its point being stained with blood still scarcely dry. This
solved the riddle. Someone passing hastily had evidently been caught by
the thorn and rather severely scratched. A few paces further on a shred
of white muslin hung from another bush; and I began to fear that Dona
Antonia had been the sufferer.

Beaching the house we walked unceremoniously in, delighted at the idea
of the surprise we should give our friends. Proceeding to the parlour,
or usual sitting-room, we found it empty, with, to our great surprise,
the table and one or two chairs capsized, a torn scarf lying on the
floor, and other evidences of a struggle of some sort. The sight
brought us abruptly to a stand-still on the threshold--Smellie and I
looking at each other inquiringly, as though each would ask the other
what could be the meaning of it all. Then with a quick stride my
companion passed in before me, glanced round the room, and uttered a low
exclamation of horror. I at once followed, glanced in the direction
indicated by Smellie's outstretched finger, and there, behind the door,
lay the body of poor Pedro, face downwards on the floor, a little pool
of coagulating blood being just visible on the matting beneath his
forehead.

Quickly stooping we turned him over on his back. He was quite dead,
t