At the close of the service, at the _ite misa est_, Gabriel left promptly, so that when the faithful flocked out to the market-place, he was mounting his horse. On crossing the _plaza_, he met some _rancheros_, his friends, who invited him to drink a cup and then to eat at the ranch, which was not far distant. He accepted; it was necessary to distract himself. To leave the _plaza_, on the way to the house of his friends, it was necessary to pass along one side of the church; almost between the lines of vendors. The Cura, Doña Mercedes, Angelito and Carmen were in the graveyard. Gabriel did not wish nor dare to greet his love; he turned his face away, but could see and feel the gaze of those dark eyes fixed upon him, a gaze profoundly sad which pierced his heart. After dinner he returned to the town to take the road to Pluviosilla. His friends proposed to accompany him, but he refused their offer. He wished to be alone, alone, to meditate upon the thought which for hours had pursued him. She loves me--he was thinking as he entered the town.--She loves me! Poor child! I have been cruel to her.--I ought to forgive her.--Why not? I will be generous. I will forgive all. The energetic resolutions of the young man became a sentiment of tender compassion. His dignity and pride, of which he gave such grand examples a month before, yielded now to the impulses of his heart. He could resist no longer. Carmen triumphed; love triumphed. I will speak with her; yes, I will speak with her; I will tell her that I love her with all my soul; that I cannot forget her; that I cannot live without her! I will tell her that I pardon; that we shall again be happy. Poor child! She is pale, ill----. I do not wish to increase her unhappiness. At the end of the street, through which at the moment he was passing, the cabinet-maker saw two men on horseback, one on an English, the other on a Mexican saddle. Apparently, people of Pluviosilla. The riders stopped a square away from the Curacy. The one dressed in _charro_, dismounted and cautiously advanced along the hedge. A terrible suspicion flashed through the young man’s mind. He quickly recognized the cautious individual. While this person was going along on tiptoe, as if awaiting a signal to approach, Gabriel took the lane to the right, then turned to the left and passed slowly in front of the window of the Curacy, at the moment when Rosas was speaking with Carmen at the grating. His first idea was to kill his rival like a dog and then the infamous woman who was thus deceiving him--but--he was unarmed. He cursed his bad luck, hesitated a moment, between remaining and going, and, at last, whipping up his horse, went almost at a gallop, by the Pluviosilla road. FEDERICO GAMBOA. [Illustration]