He walked down the hill with her to Gallito’s cabin, but on their way they spoke little.  Her mind was full of Hanson’s coming, and of the revelation of dancing which she meant to show him and, incidentally, Saint Harry.  It was not until later in the day that she remembered how impersonal, according to her standards, her conversation with Seagreave had been.  Not once, either by word or look had he told her that she was beautiful and to be desired.  A new experience for her; never before had she encountered such an attitude in any man.  It must be, therefore, that there was some other woman in his life; but where?  Certainly not here in Colina or she would have heard of it, and he had been in the mountains two years without leaving them.  Surely he, too, must have known unhappiness in love.  At intervals during the day she built up various hypotheses explaining the circumstances of his grief, and she also let her imagination dwell upon the woman, picturing her appearance and wondering about her disposition.

That evening at supper she arranged with Hugh that she was to accept the standing invitation of the camp, and that she would dance for them the following Thursday evening, and with an entire return of enthusiasm talked music and different steps to him until Jose and Mrs. Thomas, rendered more expeditious even than usual by their interest in the topic, had cleared away all traces of the meal and moved the table back against the wall.  Then Hugh began to play.

“Wait a minute,” Pearl cried to him, “until I get my dancing slippers and my manton de Manila.”  She vanished through the doorway leading to her room and reappeared presently, a fan in her hand and a gorgeous fringed, silken shawl thrown about her; it was white and embroidered in flowers of all colors.  “Ready,” she called over her shoulder to Hugh.

Then she also began, but not at once to dance; instead, she executed a series of postures; almost without apparent transition she melted from one pose to another of plastic grace, her body the mere, boneless, obedient servant of her directing will.

These she followed with some wonderfully rapid exercises.  Sometimes she stood perfectly still and one saw only the marvelous play of her body muscles, plainly visible, as no corsets had ever fettered her unmatched lines.  Again, holding the body motionless, she moved only the arms, now with a slow and alluring rhythm, and again with incredible rapidity, showing to the full the flexibility and liquidity of the wrist movements for which she was later to be so famous.  Then holding the body and arms quite still she danced only with her legs, and then arms, legs, body married in a faultless rhythm, she whirled like a cyclone about the room.

Her father and Jose sat and smoked and watched her every movement with keen, critical eyes.  Were they not Spaniards who had danced all through their childhood and youth, as naturally as they breathed?  About Gallito’s mouth played the bleak smile which in him betokened content, while Jose could barely wait for her to finish her preliminary exercises before he besought her to let him join her.  Even Mrs. Nitschkan laid down some fishing tackle with which she was engrossed and Mrs. Thomas looked on admiringly and half jealously.