For several days the Cubans were almost invisible, appearing only for a
daily drive, a twilight saunter on the beach, or a brief visit to the
ballroom, there to enjoy the excitement of the pastime in which they
both excelled. Their apartments were in the quietest wing of the hotel,
and from the moment of their occupancy seemed to acquire all the charms
of home. The few guests admitted felt the atmosphere of poetry and peace
that pervaded the nest which Love, the worker of miracles, had built
himself even under that tumultuous roof. Strollers in the halls or along
the breezy verandas often paused to listen to the music of instrument or
voice which came floating out from these sequestered rooms. Frequent
laughter and the murmur of conversation proved that ennui was unknown,
and a touch of romance inevitably enhanced the interest wakened by the
beautiful young pair, always together, always happy, never weary of the
dolce far niente of this summer life.

In a balcony like a hanging garden, sheltered from the sun by blossoming
shrubs and vines that curtained the green nook with odorous shade,
Pauline lay indolently swinging in a gaily fringed hammock as she had
been wont to do in Cuba, then finding only pleasure in the luxury of
motion which now failed to quiet her unrest. Manuel had put down the
book to which she no longer listened and, leaning his head upon his
hand, sat watching her as she swayed to and fro with thoughtful eyes
intent upon the sea, whose murmurous voice possessed a charm more
powerful than his own. Suddenly he spoke:

"Pauline, I cannot understand you! For three weeks we hurried east and
west to find this man, yet when found you shun him and seem content to
make my life a heaven upon earth. I sometimes fancy that you have
resolved to let the past sleep, but the hope dies as soon as born, for
in moments like this I see that, though you devote yourself to me, the
old purpose is unchanged, and I marvel why you pause."

Her eyes came back from their long gaze and settled on him full of an
intelligence which deepened his perplexity. "You have not learned to
know me yet; death is not more inexorable or time more tireless than I.
This week has seemed one of indolent delight to you. To me it has been
one of constant vigilance and labor, for scarcely a look, act, or word
of mine has been without effect. At first I secluded myself that Gilbert
might contrast our life with his and, believing us all and all to one
another, find impotent regret his daily portion. Three days ago accident
placed an unexpected weapon in my hand which I have used in silence,
lest in spite of promises you should rebel and end his trial too soon.
Have you no suspicion of my meaning?"

"None. You are more mysterious than ever, and I shall, in truth, believe
you are the enchantress I have so often called you if your spells work
invisibly."

"They do not, and I use no supernatural arts, as I will prove to you.
Take my lorgnette that lies behind you, part the leaves where the green
grapes hang thickest, look up at the little window in the shadowy angle
of the low roof opposite, and tell me what you see."

"Nothing but a half-drawn curtain."

"Ah! I must try the ruse that first convinced me. Do not show yourself,
but watch, and if you speak, let it be in Spanish."

Leaving her airy cradle, Pauline bent over the balcony as if to gather
the climbing roses that waved their ruddy clusters in the wind. Before
the third stem was broken Manuel whispered, "I see the curtain move; now
comes the outline of a head, and now a hand, with some bright object in
it. Santo Pablo! It is a man staring at you as coolly as if you were a
lady in a balcony. What prying rascal is it?"

"Gilbert."

"Impossible! He is a gentleman."

"If gentlemen play the traitor and the spy, then he is one. I am not
mistaken; for since the glitter of his glass first arrested me I have
watched covertly, and several trials as successful as the present have
confirmed the suspicion which Babie’s innocent complaints of his long
absences aroused. Now do you comprehend why I remained in these rooms
with the curtains seldom drawn? Why I swung the hammock here and let you
sing and read to me while I played with your hair or leaned upon your
shoulder? Why I have been all devotion and made this balcony a little
stage for the performance of our version of the honeymoon for one
spectator?"

Still mindful of the eager eyes upon her, Pauline had been fastening the
roses in her bosom as she spoke, and ended with a silvery laugh that
made the silence musical with its heartsome sound. As she paused, Manuel
flung down the lorgnette and was striding past her with ireful
impetuosity, but the white arms took him captive, adding another figure
to the picture framed by the green arch as she whispered decisively, "No
farther! There must be no violence. You promised obedience and I exact
it. Do you think detection to a man so lost to honor would wound as
deeply as the sights which make his daily watch a torment? Or that a
blow would be as hard to bear as the knowledge that his own act has
placed you where you are and made him what he is? Silent contempt is the
law now, so let this insult pass, unclench your hand and turn that
defiant face to me, while I console you for submission with a kiss."

He yielded to the command enforced by the caress but drew her jealously
from sight, and still glanced rebelliously through the leaves, asking
with a frown, "Why show me this if I may not resent it? How long must I
bear with this man? Tell me your design, else I shall mar it in some
moment when hatred of him conquers love of you."

"I will, for it is tune, because though I have taken the first step you
must take the second. I showed you this that you might find action
pleasanter than rest, and you must bear with this man a little longer
for my sake, but I will give you an amusement to beguile the time. Long
ago you told me that Gilbert was a gambler. I would not believe it then,
now I can believe anything, and you can convince the world of this vice
of his as speedily as you will."

"Do you wish me to become a gambler that I may prove him one? I also
told you that he was suspected of dishonorable play – shall I load the
dice and mark the cards to catch him in his own snares?"

Manuel spoke bitterly, for his high spirit chafed at the task assigned
him; womanly wiles seemed more degrading than the masculine method of
retaliation, in which strength replaces subtlety and speedier vengeance
brings speedier satisfaction. But Pauline, fast learning to play upon
that mysterious instrument, the human heart, knew when to stimulate and
when to soothe.

"Do not reproach me that I point out a safer mode of operation than your
own. You would go to Gilbert and by a hot word, a rash act, put your
life and my happiness into his hands, for though dueling is forbidden
here, he would not hesitate to break all laws, human or divine, if by so
doing he could separate us. What would you gain by it? If you kill him
he is beyond our reach forever, and a crime remains to be atoned for. If
he kill you your blood will be upon my head, and where should I find
consolation for the loss of the one heart always true and tender?"

With the inexplicable prescience which sometimes foreshadows coming
ills, she clung to him as if a vision of the future dimly swept before
her, but he only saw the solicitude it was a sweet surprise to find he
had awakened, and in present pleasure forgot past pain.

"You shall not suffer from this man any grief that I can shield you
from, rest assured of that, my heart. I will be patient, though your
ways are not mine, for the wrong was yours, and the retribution shall be
such as you decree."

"Then hear your task and see the shape into which circumstances have
molded my design. I would have you exercise a self-restraint that shall
leave Gilbert no hold upon you, accept all invitations like that which
you refused when we passed him on the threshold of the billiard room an
hour ago, and seem to find in such amusements the same fascination as
himself. Your skill in games of chance excels his, as you proved at home
where these pastimes lose their disreputable aspect by being openly
enjoyed. Therefore I would have you whet this appetite of his by losing
freely at first – he will take a grim delight in lessening the fortune he
covets – then exert all your skill till he is deeply in your debt. He has
nothing but what is doled out to him by Babie’s father, I find; he dare
not ask help there for such a purpose; other resources have failed else
he would not have married; and if the sum be large enough, it lays him
under an obligation which will be a thorn in his flesh, the sharper for
your knowledge of his impotence to draw it out. When this is done, or
even while it is in progress, I would have you add the pain of a new
jealousy to the old. He neglects this young wife of his, and she is
eager to recover the affections she believes she once possessed. Help
her, and teach Gilbert the value of what he now despises. You are young,
comely, accomplished, and possessed of many graces more attractive than
you are conscious of; your southern birth and breeding gift you with a
winning warmth of manners in strong contrast to the colder natures
around you; and your love for me lends an almost tender deference to
your intercourse with all womankind. Amuse, console this poor girl, and
show her husband what he should be; I have no fear of losing your heart
nor need you fear for hers; she is one of those spaniel-like creatures
who love the hand that strikes them and fawn upon the foot that spurns
them."

"Am I to be the sole actor in the drama of deceit? While I woo Babie,
what will you do, Pauline?"

"Let Gilbert woo me – have patience till you understand my meaning; he
still loves me and believes I still return that love. I shall not
undeceive him yet, but let silence seem to confess what I do not own in
words. He fed me with false promises, let me build my life’s happiness
on baseless hopes, and rudely woke me when he could delude no longer,
leaving me to find I had pursued a shadow. I will do the same. He shall
follow me undaunted, undeterred by all obstacles, all ties; shall stake
his last throw and lose it, for when the crowning moment comes I shall
show him that through me he is made bankrupt in love, honor, liberty,
and hope, tell him I am yours entirely and forever, then vanish like an
ignis-fatuus, leaving him to the darkness of despair and defeat. Is not
this a better retribution than the bullet that would give him peace at
once?"

Boy, lover, husband though he was, Manuel saw and stood aghast at the
baleful spirit which had enslaved this woman, crushing all generous
impulses, withering all gentle charities, and making her the saddest
spectacle this world can show – one human soul rebelling against
Providence, to become the nemesis of another. Involuntarily he recoiled
from her, exclaiming, "Pauline! Are you possessed of a devil?"

"Yes! One that will not be cast out till every sin, shame, and sorrow
mental ingenuity can conceive and inflict has been heaped on that man’s
head. I thought I should be satisfied with one accusing look, one bitter
word; I am not, for the evil genii once let loose cannot be recaptured.
Once I ruled it, now it rules me, and there is no turning back. I have
come under the law of fate, and henceforth the powers I possess will
ban, not bless, for I am driven to whet and wield them as weapons which
may win me success at the price of my salvation. It is not yet too late
for you to shun the spiritual contagion I bear about me. Choose now, and
abide by that choice without a shadow of turning, as I abide by mine.
Take me as I am; help me willingly and unwillingly; and in the end
receive the promised gift – years like the days you have called heaven
upon earth. Or retract the vows you plighted, receive again the heart
and name you gave me, and live unvexed by the stormy nature time alone
can tame. Here is the ring. Shall I restore or keep it, Manuel?"

Never had she looked more beautiful as she stood there, an image of
will, daring, defiant, and indomitable, with eyes darkened by intensity
of emotion, voice half sad, half stern, and outstretched hand on which
the wedding ring no longer shone. She felt her power, yet was wary
enough to assure it by one bold appeal to the strongest element of her
husband’s character: passions, not principles, were the allies she
desired, and before the answer came she knew that she had gained them at
the cost of innocence and self-respect.

As Manuel listened, an expression like a dark reflection of her own
settled on his face; a year of youth seemed to drop away; and with the
air of one who puts fear behind him, he took the hand, replaced the
ring, resolutely accepted the hard conditions, and gave all to love,
only saying as he had said before, "Soul and body, I belong to you; do
with me as you will."

A fortnight later Pauline sat alone, waiting for her husband. Under the
pretext of visiting a friend, she had absented herself a week, that
Manuel might give himself entirely to the distasteful task she set him.
He submitted to the separation, wrote daily, but sent no tidings of his
progress, told her nothing when they met that night, and had left her an
hour before asking her to have patience till he could show his finished
work. Now, with her eye upon the door, her ear alert to catch the coming
step, her mind disturbed by contending hopes and fears, she sat waiting
with the vigilant immobility of an Indian on the watch. She had not long
to look and listen. Manuel entered hastily, locked the door, closed the
windows, dropped the curtains, then paused in the middle of the room and
broke into a low, triumphant laugh as he eyed his wife with an
expression she had never seen in those dear eyes before. It startled
her, and, scarcely knowing what to desire or dread, she asked eagerly,
"You are come to tell me you have prospered."

"Beyond your hopes, for the powers of darkness seem to help us, and lead
the man to his destruction faster than any wiles of ours can do. I am
tired, let me lie here and rest. I have earned it, so when I have told
all say, ‘Love, you have done well,’ and I am satisfied."

He threw himself along the couch where she still sat and laid his head
in her silken lap, her cool hand on his hot forehead, and continued in a
muffled voice.

"You know how eagerly Gilbert took advantage of my willingness to play,
and soon how recklessly he pursued it, seeming to find the satisfaction
you foretold, till, obeying your commands, I ceased losing and won sums
which surprised me. Then you went, but I was not idle, and in the effort
to extricate himself, Gilbert plunged deeper into debt; for my desire to
please you seemed to gift me with redoubled skill. Two days ago I
refused to continue the unequal conflict, telling him to give himself no
uneasiness, for I could wait. You were right in thinking it would
oppress him to be under any obligation to me, but wrong in believing he
would endure, and will hardly be prepared for the desperate step he took
to free himself. That night he played falsely, was detected, and though
his opponent generously promised silence for Babie’s sake, the affair
stole out – he is shunned and this resource has failed. I thought he had
no other, but yesterday he came to me with a strange expression of
relief, discharged the debt to the last farthing, then hinted that my
friendship with his wife was not approved by him and must cease. This
proves that I have obeyed you in all things, though the comforting of
Babie was an easy task, for, both loving you, our bond of sympathy and
constant theme has been Pauline and her perfections."

"Hush! No praise – it is a mockery. I am what one man’s perfidy has made;
I may yet learn to be worthy of another man’s devotion. What more,
Manuel?"

"I thought I should have only a defeat to show you, but today has given
me a strange success. At noon a gentleman arrived and asked for Gilbert.
He was absent, but upon offering information relative to the time of his
return, which proved my intimacy with him, this Seguin entered into
conversation with me. His evident desire to avoid Mrs. Redmond and
waylay her husband interested me, and when he questioned me somewhat
closely concerning Gilbert’s habits and movements of late, my suspicions
were roused; and on mentioning the debt so promptly discharged, I
received a confidence that startled me. In a moment of despair Gilbert
had forged the name of his former friend, whom he believed abroad, had
drawn the money and freed himself from my power, but not for long. The
good fortune which has led him safely through many crooked ways seems to
have deserted him in this strait. For the forgery was badly executed,
inspection raised doubts, and Seguin, just returned, was at his banker’s
an hour after Gilbert, to prove the fraud; he came hither at once to
accuse him of it and made me his confidant. What would you have had me
do, Pauline? Time was short, and I could not wait for you."

"How can I tell at once? Why pause to ask? What did you do?"

"Took a leaf from your book and kept accusation, punishment, and power
in my own hands, to be used in your behalf. I returned the money,
secured the forged check, and prevailed on Seguin to leave the matter in
my hands, while he departed as quietly as he had come. Babie’s presence
when we met tonight prevented my taking you into my counsels. I had
prepared this surprise for you and felt a secret pride in working it out
alone. An hour ago I went to watch for Gilbert. He came, I took him to
his rooms, told him what I had done, added that compassion for his wife
had actuated me. I left him saying the possession of the check was a
full equivalent for the money, which I now declined to receive from such
dishonorable hands. Are you satisfied, Pauline?"

With countenance and gestures full of exultation she sprang up to pace
the room, exclaiming, as she seized the forged paper, "Yes, that stroke
was superb! How strangely the plot thickens. Surely the powers of
darkness are working with us and have put this weapon in our hands when
that I forged proved useless. By means of this we have a hold upon him
which nothing can destroy unless he escape by death. Will he, Manuel?"

"No; there was more wrath than shame in his demeanor when I accused him.
He hates me too much to die yet, and had I been the only possessor of
this fatal fact, I fancy it might have gone hard with me; for if ever
there was murder in a man’s heart it was in his when I showed him that
paper and then replaced it next the little poniard you smile at me for
wearing. This is over. What next, my queen?"

There was energy in the speaker’s tone but none in attitude or aspect,
as, still lying where she had left him, he pillowed his head upon his
arm and turned toward her a face already worn and haggard with the
feverish weariness that had usurped the blithe serenity which had been
his chiefest charm a month ago. Pausing in her rapid walk, as if
arrested by the change that seemed to strike her suddenly, she recalled
her thoughts from the dominant idea of her life and, remembering the
youth she was robbing of its innocent delights, answered the wistful
look which betrayed the hunger of a heart she had never truly fed, as
she knelt beside her husband and, laying her soft cheek to his,
whispered in her tenderest accents, "I am not wholly selfish or
ungrateful, Manuel. You shall rest now while I sing to you, and tomorrow
we will go away among the hills and leave behind us for a time the dark
temptation which harms you through me."

"No! Finish what you have begun. I will have all or nothing, for if we
pause now you will bring me a divided mind, and I shall possess only the
shadow of a wife. Take Gilbert and Babie with us, and end this devil’s
work without delay. Hark! What is that?"

Steps came flying down the long hall, a hand tried the lock, then beat
impetuously upon the door, and a low voice whispered with shrill
importunity, "Let me in! Oh, let me in!"

Manuel obeyed the urgent summons, and Mrs. Redmond, half dressed, with
streaming hair and terror-stricken face, fled into Pauline’s arms,
crying incoherently, "Save me! Keep me! I never can go back to him; he
said I was a burden and a curse, and wished I never had been born!"

"What has happened, Babie? We are your friends. Tell us, and let us
comfort and protect you if we can."

But for a time speech was impossible, and the poor girl wept with a
despairing vehemence sad to see, till their gentle efforts soothed her;
and, sitting by Pauline, she told her trouble, looking oftenest at
Manuel, who stood before them, as if sure of redress from him.

"When I left here an hour or more ago I found my rooms still empty, and,
though I had not seen my husband since morning, I knew he would be
displeased to find me waiting, so I cried myself to sleep and dreamed of
the happy time when he was kind, till the sound of voices woke me. I
heard Gilbert say, ‘Babie is with your wife, her maid tells me;
therefore we are alone here. What is this mysterious affair, Laroche?’
That tempted me to listen, and then, Manuel, I learned all the shame and
misery you so generously tried to spare me. How can I ever repay you,
ever love and honor you enough for such care of one so helpless and
forlorn as I?"

"I am repaid already. Let that pass, and tell what brings you here with
such an air of fright and fear?"

"When you were gone he came straight to the inner room in search of
something, saw me, and knew I must have heard all he had concealed from
me so carefully. If you have ever seen him when that fierce temper of
his grows ungovernable, you can guess what I endured. He said such cruel
things I could not bear it, and cried out that I would come to you, for
I was quite wild with terror, grief, and shame, that seemed like oil to
fire. He swore I should not, and oh, Pauline, he struck me! See, if I do
not tell the living truth!"

Trembling with excitement, Mrs. Redmond pushed back the wide sleeve of
her wrapper and showed the red outline of a heavy hand. Manuel set his
teeth and stamped his foot into the carpet with an indignant exclamation
and the brief question, "Then you left him, Babie?"

"Yes, although he locked me in my room, saying the law gave him the
right to teach obedience. I flung on these clothes, crept noiselessly
along the balcony till the hall window let me in, and then I ran to you.
He will come for me. Can he take me away? Must I go back to suffer any
more?"

In the very act of uttering the words, Mrs. Redmond clung to Manuel with
a cry of fear, for on the threshold stood her husband. A comprehensive
glance seemed to stimulate his wrath and lend the hardihood wherewith to
confront the three, saying sternly as he beckoned, "Babie, I am waiting
for you."

She did not speak, but still clung to Manuel as if he were her only
hope. A glance from Pauline checked the fiery words trembling on his
lips, and he too stood silent while she answered with a calmness that
amazed him:

"Your wife has chosen us her guardians, and I think you will scarcely
venture to use force again with two such witnesses as these to prove
that you have forfeited your right to her obedience and justify the step
she has taken."

With one hand she uncovered the discolored arm, with the other held the
forgery before him. For a moment Gilbert stood daunted by these mute
accusations, but just then his ire burned hottest against Manuel; and
believing that he could deal a double blow by wounding Pauline through
her husband, he ignored her presence and, turning to the young man,
asked significantly, "Am I to understand that you refuse me my wife, and
prefer to abide by the consequences of such an act?"

Calmed by Pauline’s calmness, Manuel only drew the trembling creature
closer, and answered with his haughtiest mien, "I do; spare yourself the
labor of insulting me, for having placed yourself beyond the reach of a
gentleman’s weapon, I shall accept no challenge from a – "

A soft hand at his lips checked the opprobrious word, as Babie, true
woman through it all, whispered with a broken sob, "Spare him, for I
loved him once."

Gilbert Redmond had a heart, and, sinful though it was, this generous
forbearance wrung it with a momentary pang of genuine remorse, too
swiftly followed by a selfish hope that all was not lost if through his
wife he could retain a hold upon the pair which now possessed for him
the strong attraction of both love and hate. In that brief pause this
thought came, was accepted and obeyed, for, as if yielding to an
uncontrollable impulse of penitent despair, he stretched his arms to his
wife, saying humbly, imploringly, "Babie, come back to me, and teach me
how I may retrieve the past. I freely confess I bitterly repent my
manifold transgressions, and submit to your decree alone; but in
executing justice, oh, remember mercy! Remember that I was too early
left fatherless, motherless, and went astray for want of some kind heart
to guide and cherish me. There is still time. Be compassionate and save
me from myself. Am I not punished enough? Must death be my only
comforter? Babie, when all others cast me off, will you too forsake me?"

"No, I will not! Only love me, and I can forgive, forget, and still be
happy!"

Pauline was right. The spaniel-like nature still loved the hand that
struck it, and Mrs. Redmond joyfully returned to the arms from which she
had so lately fled. The tenderest welcome she had ever received from him
welcomed the loving soul whose faith was not yet dead, for Gilbert felt
the value this once neglected possession had suddenly acquired, and he
held it close; yet as he soothed with gentle touch and tone, could not
forbear a glance of triumph at the spectators of the scene.

Pauline met it with that inscrutable smile of hers, and a look of
intelligence toward her husband, as she said, "Did I not prophesy truly,
Manuel? Be kind to her, Gilbert, and when next we meet show us a happier
wife than the one now sobbing on your shoulder. Babie, good night and
farewell, for we are off to the mountains in the morning."

"Oh, let us go with you as you promised! You know our secret, you pity
me and will help Gilbert to be what he should. I cannot live at home,
and places like this will seem so desolate when you and Manuel are gone.
May we, can we be with you a little longer?"

"If Gilbert wishes it and Manuel consents, we will bear and forbear much
for your sake, my poor child."

Pauline’s eye said, "Dare you go?" and Gilbert’s answered, "Yes," as the
two met with a somber fire in each; but his lips replied, "Anywhere with
you, Babie," and Manuel took Mrs. Redmond’s hand with a graceful warmth
that touched her deeper than his words.

"Your example teaches me the beauty of compassion, and Pauline’s friends
are mine."

"Always so kind to me! Dear Manuel, I never can forget it, though I have
nothing to return but this," and, like a grateful child, she lifted up
her innocent face so wistfully he could only bend his tall head to
receive the kiss she offered.

Gilbert’s black brows lowered ominously at the sight, but he never
spoke; and, when her good-nights were over, bowed silently and carried
his little wife away, nestling to him as if all griefs and pains were
banished by returning love.

"Poor little heart! She should have a smoother path to tread. Heaven
grant she may hereafter; and this sudden penitence prove no sham."
Manuel paused suddenly, for as if obeying an unconquerable impulse,
Pauline laid a hand on either shoulder and searched his face with an
expression which baffled his comprehension, though he bore it steadily
till her eyes fell before his own, when he asked smilingly:

"Is the doubt destroyed, cariña?"

"No; it is laid asleep."

Then as he drew her nearer, as if to make his peace for his unknown
offense, she turned her cheek away and left him silently. Did she fear
to find Babie’s kiss upon his lips?