"And that gentleman who has a fierce air and gazes at everybody over
his shoulders?" inquired the novice, pointing to a man who nodded
haughtily.

But Tadeo did not answer. He was craning his neck to see Paulita
Gomez, who was approaching with a friend, Doña Victorina, and Juanito
Pelaez. The latter had presented her with a box and was more humped
than ever.

Carriage after carriage drove up; the actors and actresses arrived
and entered by a separate door, followed by their friends and admirers.

After Paulita had gone in, Tadeo resumed: "Those are the nieces of
the rich Captain D----, those coming up in a landau; you see how
pretty and healthy they are? Well, in a few years they'll be dead or
crazy. Captain D---- is opposed to their marrying, and the insanity
of the uncle is appearing in the nieces. That's the Señorita E----,
the rich heiress whom the world and the conventos are disputing
over. Hello, I know that fellow! It's Padre Irene, in disguise, with
a false mustache. I recognize him by his nose. And he was so greatly
opposed to this!"

The scandalized novice watched a neatly cut coat disappear behind a
group of ladies.

"The Three Fates!" went on Tadeo, watching the arrival of three
withered, bony, hollow-eyed, wide-mouthed, and shabbily dressed
women. "They're called--"

"Atropos?" ventured the novice, who wished to show that he also knew