With a suddenness that was blinding he realized that he
was in love! Yes, that was it, beyond the shadow of a doubt. This
mischief-ridden, foreign-born little creature was the one and only
woman in the world for whom the fates had made him and brought him
across two oceans.
That evening he sat for a long time alone on the gallery of his
hotel, his spirit uplifted with the joy of it, a thousand
whispering voices in his ears. And when at last he fell asleep it
was to dream of an olive, oval face with eyes like black pansies.
XIV
THE PATH THAT LED NOWHERE
When "Senor Antonio" awoke the next morning he lay for an instant
striving to recall what it was that had haunted his sleeping
hours, what great event awaited him. Then, as it rushed through
his mind, he leaped out of bed and dashed headlong into the bath-
room. This was to-morrow! It had been ages in coming--he recalled
how even his slumbers had dragged--but it was here at last, and he
would see Chiquita.
He sang as he stepped under his shower, and whistled blithely as
he dressed himself. What a glorious country this Panama was,
anyhow! How good it was to be young and to be in love! He never
had been so happy. A man must be in love to sing before breakfast.
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