Rafael was tempted as he walked aimlessly about the streets, to look up the barber Cupido in his shop that very afternoon.

Fear of his mother was the only thing that had kept him from frequenting Cupido's shopthe rendezvous of the city's gayest set, a hotbed of gossip and practical jokes, a school of guitar playing and love songs that kept the whole neighborhood astir.

Besides, Cupido was the freak of the city, the sharp-tongued but irresponsible practical joker, who was forgiven everything in advance, and could enjoy his idiosyncrasies and speak his mind about people without starting a riot against him.

" Nothing too small for Cupido to notice ever happened in Alcira.

In a few moments Cupido would put in an appearance to learn all about it, give advice to those who might need it, arbitrate between disputants and afterward tell the whole story with a thousand embellishments.

Cupido paid them with music-lessons and mealsbetter or worse these latter, according to the day's receipts, which were divided fraternally among the three.

And if the "boss" sometimes astonished the city by going out for a walk in midwinter in a suit of white duck, they, not to be outdone, would shave off their hair and eyebrows and show heads as smooth as billiard-balls behind the shop windows, to the great commotion of the city, which would flock en masse to see "Cupido's Chinamen.

What do you say, Cupido?" "Down there!...

" "What the devil, Cupido!

" Cupido kept the rest to himself.

"Listen, Cupido; I have my boat right handy here; you know, the boat father had made to order in Valencia as a present for me.

Cupido was perspiring freely, under the hard work.

"It may be," Cupido agreed.

"Why, it's Cupido!

"I must repeat what I said to our friend Cupido.

Cupido jumped into the house and was followed by the young man, who took pains to make the climb gracefully and sprightly.

Cupido was trying vainly to cheer her with jokes about the inundation.

"Now, Cupido; off with those wet things of yours; you're not going to catch pneumonia on my account, and thus deprive the city of its one bright spot.

Cupido nearly fell off his chair.... Was he going to dress in top style for once in his life?

Only the swan is lacking ...unless you want to call Cupido a swan...." "And suppose you had been carried offdrowned!..."

If it weren't for that chatterbox of a Cupido, Alcira would never dream that I am a singer and that I'm somewhat well-knownexcept in my own country.

Cupido himself, with sudden gravity, advised him to go and meet those boats.

"Hop in, Rafael," said Cupido.

An indiscreet remark of Cupido had even brought her to the bottom of that mysterious and perilous night trip down the flooded rivernot to rescue a "poor family," but to call on that comicathat "chorus girl"as doña Bernarda called Leonora in a furious burst of scorn.

I learned through Cupido, who ferrets out everything, just what you were doing in Madrid.