It was a gay scene. Representatives from all parts of the world joined in the crowd which watched the bathers. Nurse-maids with their charges, Spanish girls wearing mantillas, vendors of all sorts, newsboys, American tourists, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Moors, matadors, Spanish dons, fat old ladies puffing along with waddling poodles, fat old men with the visible expression of having sacrificed normal proportions to good living, wicked looking cavaliers with black moustachios, and in their eyes the smouldering flames of burnt-out fires, prattling children, innocent school-girls with their governesses, romping school-boys passed and repassed in endless parade. It was, as Patty said, a corner of the universe where the world, the flesh and the devil met. “And what did you learn from Tomás?” asked Don Juan when they had returned. “I learned that _una señorita es maravillosa_.” “And he?” “Oh, he learned, ‘the aith of a ’orse.’” “Now, Patty,” put in her sister. “Truly, Tina, he did.” “And nothing more?” “Ask him,” said Patty, walking away. Her sister followed. “Patty, I warned you that he has not a penny, not a _perrono_.” “Did I say I wanted his _perronos_ or even _pesetas_?” “No, but--” “What?” “You mustn’t try to ensnare him.” “Do you care more for him than for me?” “Of course not, but I want to protect him.” “I thought you meant to be my chaperon. How do you know but that I am the one who needs protection?” “I know you better than I do him.” “Then, my dear, wait till you know him better before you take him under your sheltering wing. He may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I an innocent lamb for all you know.” “He is a single-hearted, unspoiled boy, as I told you, not one of those blasé creatures you might find in Madrid or Paris, and you are not to make him unhappy.” “Don’t you want me to have a good time?” “Not at the expense of someone else. I didn’t think you were hard-hearted, Patty.” “And all this because I taught him to say ‘the aith of a ’orse.’” Patty spoke in an injured tone. “If I could be sure that were all.” “Oh, my dear, would you have me confine his English to that sentence only? When he really wants to learn must he stop there? and must I let him teach me nice things in Spanish while he learns only Ollendorf English? I certainly would be hard-hearted if I tried to be as mean as that. Trust the young man to take care of himself. As for me, like the pussy cat in the nursery rhyme, ‘if you don’t hurt her she’ll do you no harm.’ Now, Tina, dear, don’t get into agonies over me. I’m not as dreadful as I appear upon first sight, and your dear little red-headed Tomás shall not break his nice warm Spanish heart. I’ll be a good girl, Tina, truly and--No I won’t tell you that, it would be too great a blow to my self-esteem if you should agree with me. I’ll tell Polly. Where is she?”