The Beautiful Eyes of Ysidria | Page 7

us Carlos," she said, when she had enough recovered from her fit
of laughter to speak, "or perhaps thou art afraid of the old witch."
In as few words as possible the accident was explained to Madre
Moreno, and I again lifted her niece and placed her on a lounge in the
house. "The Madre can bring you out all right, if anyone can," I said as
I left the room, "I will take the liberty of inquiring for you in the

morning."
As I walked down the path to the gate, I spoke aloud, "What beautiful,
beautiful eyes!"
"Yes, that they are, Master Carlos!" said a voice seemingly beside me. I
turned, the voice sounded like that of the Madre, but no one was to be
seen, however, the large black cat which had followed me, put up her
back to be stroked and purred and rubbed against my leg. As I closed
the gate the same voice sounded again but more faintly. "Beautiful eyes
hath Ysidria; beautiful eyes!"

IV.
When I returned home, Catalina had a hot supper ready, and I sat down,
forgetting, for the moment, the events of the day, in the odour of the
good things on the table.
"What success, Don Carlos, have you found the flowers you were
searching for?"
"Yes, Catalina, I found the plants just where I expected to find them,
and I also found at the old adobe what I did not look for." I then gave
an account of the day, however, making as modest enumeration of the
charms of Madre Moreno's niece, as I was able, for fear of exciting
Catalina's suspicions.
I began to feel that I was much interested in the beautiful Ysidria, and
hated to have old Catalina discover it, for the girls relationship to the
Madre would, I knew, be the cause of much disquiet to the good
woman.
I sat before the door long after supper, building air castles, in all of
which the fair stranger held a place. Her brilliant eyes were always
before my mind, as I had first seen them that afternoon, sometimes of a
deep blue colour, and then in a moment black as jet, when the dilated
pupil covered the iris, and then her pretty smile and graceful form each

had a great and wonderful charm for me.
The only thing that troubled me, and I tried to laugh it out of my
thoughts, was the connection with the reputed witch, but foolish as I
knew such notions to be, I was, however, unable to banish them, and I
often wished that the beautiful Ysidria was any one in the world but the
niece of Ambrosia Moreno. Not that I had any dislike for the Madre, or
that I bore her any ill will for the various misfortunes which had come
to my family through her agency, as the country people believed, but it
was unpleasant to me to think of this young creature living under the
same roof with and under the influence of such a woman as I knew the
Moreno to be, aside from her connection with el bueno Diablo, at
which I could only laugh, and a story which I knew to be encouraged
by the Madre herself, simply for the notoriety it gave her, and the
power she was enabled through this belief to exercise over the people.
Ysidria, I had already learned, was as skeptical as myself in regard to
Madre Moreno's spells, for the laughing manner in which she had
spoken of her aunt's charms and witcheries, when we were on the hill
and even in the presence of the Madre herself, convinced me of her
intelligence and education. It was not this that troubled me concerning
Ysidria, but knowing Madre Moreno as I did, and what an
unscrupulous, scheming and heartless woman she was, I felt that she
had brought this lovely niece to her home for some purpose known
only to herself. Of what that purpose could be I had not the faintest idea,
but I knew the Madre never did anything without an object.
I laughed at myself for the great interest I so suddenly felt in a person
whom I had never seen before, and then only for a few hours. But laugh
as I would, I had to own that I was something more than interested in
the stranger, and the pleasure with which I looked forward to the
promised call in the morning, and my anxiety for her recovery, plainly
showed me that my heart was fast being lost, if indeed it were not
already gone from me.
Catalina sat at the door with me after her work was done, but I was so
deep in my own thoughts, and often did not hear her remarks,