The next thing I was conscious of was a broken foreign voice speaking; and I found myself covered up with a great coat lying on a sofa in the down-stairs _sala_; and there, strangely seen among its velvet and gilding, was father with his hair tossed on end and his clothes huddled upon him, and Mr. Dingley, very white and drawn, and the peon Perez, who was talking. I listened to his voice going on as if it were part of a dream. Yes, he said, it was true there had been bad blood between the two men. First it had been the young man's debts, and then it had been the Senora. The Senora had told the young man she would give up Rood; but of course that was impossible, Perez said, with a shrug, as where was the money to come from he should like to know? But she was constantly afraid lest young Montgomery might find it out. Therefore, Perez said, when he had seen Montgomery going into Rood's place at two o'clock on the morning of the shooting he went at once to his mistress and told her. Taking Perez with her, she had hurried to the gambling-house with the purpose of somehow separating the two, and there in the bar the quarrel had taken place. It seemed that the truth of Rood's position as "protector" to the Senora had reached Montgomery, and he had come to tax Rood with it, and Rood had told him. He told him even before the Senora's face, and Montgomery had said he was done with the whole crew of them. He was going to get out of it, he was going away. Then the Senora had clung to Montgomery, telling him she would do anything to keep him with her; and Rood had turned upon him. It was then that the Senora had shot Rood. He had been standing so near the swinging door that at the shot, to their horror, he had fallen backward through it. Before any one could think, the peon went on, Montgomery had snatched the revolver from her, saying: "I shot him," and had rushed out into the street, and after a moment's waiting the Senora had run out, and seeing the revolver picked it up. Yes, he said, she had worn a white dress and undoubtedly it was she and not the Senorita Fenwick that the woman who had looked out the window had seen. But she had not run down the street, as this witness had said, who, like all women, only remembered what she wished to believe, but back into the gambling-house, and through there into an alley at the rear, from which they entered a house the Senora was familiar with, and remained there until the afternoon when the excitement had somewhat subsided. Then they had gone quietly back to the Senora's house.