An American

ruary sixteenth, 1898, the news spread like wild-fire that the Un

wn domicile during the balance of the night preceding the general acceptance of the the salient facts concerned in t

enzo was dead, he was an acknowledged leader; the soldiers, knowing nothing of what action would be taken by their own government, much less of how far the resentment of the powerful nation involved in the disaster would carry them, thought that discretion was, by all means, the better part of valor, in this instance, and, accordingly, had no private conversation

taken advantage of the confusion in the prison at the time of the liberation of the political offenders to vent his own jealous spite upon the natural leader of them all, little dreaming that he had cut off in his prime the husband of the lady of the mansion on the hill, but only congratulating himself on having removed from his own path a dangerous rival in the affections, not only of Estrella, but also of all of those with whom h

of little Tessa; he found that small, dark young woman standing quietly beside a window watching his ap

e for this crime? I wondered, right away, what you would think about it all and am so glad you have come over early. Is dear Estrella as well as we could expect under her distressing circumstances? Will the body of her

mong his associates and was very particular as to his appearance, being proud of his straight, strong figure and broad shoulders which towered above many of the hea

before he answered her; diplomacy had become so much a part of his acquired habit that, even when it

make no difference as to that, for when human beings die they have to be buried somehow, no matter what happens." It was with secret satisfaction that he explained this last matter, for, so far as he was concerned, the sooner the body of his victim was under the ground the better he, himself, would feel, "and as to Estrella, as soon as she recovers from the loss of her handsome lover, I think she will listen to reason again and be the same nice girl she was before she ever met this stranger who came among us like a whirlwind and who has left us as suddenly as he appeared among us. Now, little Tessa," he ended, "I think that I have answered all of your questions ... suppose you

d make her so, and I see no reason why a girl could not be happy as your wife, Manuello, then I will do what I can to further your cause with her. I know she is in deep sorrow, today, and I intend to do all that I can to help h

oman; the very fact that Estrella was, very evidently, not of his own race had a powerful attraction for his untutored imagination and, in secret, he often dwelt upon her difference from all the other women of his acquaintance, while he assumed toward herself an air of superiority, hoping thereby to attract her to himself as being above all of the others of their acquaintance; now that his successful rival was out o

ager face to a level with his own; her lips were very near to his and were trembling for that v

with those of his build, and, like many uneducated human beings, the animal side of his nature was more fully developed than any other part of it

uild up a barrier around Manuello that separated him from all the rest of the young men known to the simple-minded girl with whom he was only playing at

e small maiden in an almost wheedling tone, for he thought that he could, now

me on account of her crazy notions about Victorio Colenzo has not affected you with regard to me, has it? I c

e figure, in many ways, he was as handsome as anyone upon whom Tessa's eyes had ever rested, for, to her simple mind, Victorio had been too much inclined toward intellectual pursuits to

prefer to all the other women whom you know ... Estrella," she said this firmly as if to convince even herself of the truth of the statement. "Estrella is superior to the rest of us girls a

sses, for Manuello had not been chary of their number while he had the opportunity to bestow them, of the man whom she almost worshiped as earthly women ador

f some stanch friend, in case he should have need of one, for he realized, dimly, that he might easily be in danger, at any time, for various good reasons, for he had been implicated in many of the plots of the revolutionists as well as having secrets of his own to cover up

l he cared to do in that line, at present.... Later on, in case Estrella still remained obdurate ... why ... that would be a far different matter; he had now arranged fo

man she had secretly loved for almost as long as she could remember anything, for they had grown up in San Domingo together and he had always been identified with her daily life; the beauty of her personal dream regarding the tall Cuban had been her motive in assisting in the liberation of the prisoners, mentioned in the beginning