I was inclined to be angry, but ended by laughing.

"There will be no rivalry between us, at least," I said.

"Rivalry!" exclaimed Nick. "Heaven forbid that I should aspire to such
abject slavery. When I marry, it will be to command."

"All the more honor in such a conquest," I suggested.

"Davy," said he, "I have long been looking for some such flaw in your
insuperable wisdom. But I vow I can keep my eyes open no longer. Benjy!"

A smothered response came from the other side of the wall, and Benjy
duly appeared in the doorway, blinking at the candlelight, to put his
master to bed.

We slept that night with no bed covering save the mosquito bar, as was
the custom in New Orleans. Indeed, the heat was most oppressive, but we
had become to some extent inured to it on the boat, and we were both
in such sound health that our slumbers were not disturbed. Early in the
morning, however, I was awakened by a negro song from the court-yard,
and I lay pleasantly for some minutes listening to the early sounds,
breathing in the aroma of coffee which mingled with the odor of the
flowers of the court, until Zoey herself appeared in the doorway,
holding a cup in her hand. I arose, and taking the miniature from the
table, gazed at it in the yellow morning light; and then, having dressed
myself, I put it carefully in my pocket and sat down at my portfolio to
compose a letter to Polly Ann, knowing that a description of what I
had seen in New Orleans would amuse her. This done, I went out into the
gallery, where Madame was already seated at her knitting, in the shade
of the great tree that stood in the corner of the court and spread its
branches over the eaves. She arose and courtesied, with a questioning
smile.

"Madame," I asked, "is it too early to present myself to Monsieur de
Saint-Gre?"

"Pardieu, no, Monsieur, we are early risers in the South for we have our
siesta. You are going to return the portrait, Monsieur?"

I nodded.

"God bless you for the deed," said she. "Tenez, Monsieur," she added,
stepping closer to me, "you will tell his father that you bought it from
Monsieur Auguste?"

I saw that she had a soft spot in her heart for the rogue.

"I will make no promises, Madame," I answered.

She looked at me timidly, appealingly, but I bowed and departed. The sun
was riding up into the sky, the walls already glowing with his heat, and
a midsummer languor seemed to pervade the streets as I walked along. The
shadows no