The speaker suddenly turned so that he could look fairly into Frank's face, smiling a little, and said:
"It's not likely this interests you, sir."
"On the contrary," Merry smiled back, "I find it quite interesting. To me Spain is a land of romance. Being a plain American, the tales of those deadly feuds are fascinating to me. I presume the Costolas must have possessed large estates in Spain?"
"And the one you speak of--the one who was compelled to flee from the country--was he wealthy?"
"I believe he was reckoned so at one time."
"And now," said Frank, "if this feud were ended, if any offense of his were pardoned, could he not claim his property?"
"That I don't know," declared Dulzura, shaking his head.
"Well, then, if he has any descendants, surely they must be the rightful heirs to his estate."
"I doubt, sir, if they could ever possess it. It must eventually be divided among his living relatives."
"Ah!" cried Merry. "I understand, Mr. Dulzura, why you must have a particular interest in visiting Spain. It seems probable that you, being distantly related to this exiled nobleman, may finally come into possession of a portion of his property."
"It's not impossible," was the confession, as the man in advance rolled a fresh cigarette. "But I am not counting on such uncertainties. Although my grandfather and my father both died poor, I am not a pauper myself. To be sure, I am not immensely rich, but my vineyards support me well. I have lived in this country and in Mexico all my life. In fact, I feel that I am more American than anything else. My father could not understand the democracy of the Americans. He could not understand their disregard of title and royalty."
"Had he lived in these days," he said, "and associated with a certain class of degenerate Americans, he would have discovered that they are the greatest worshipers of titles and royal blood in the whole world."
"I think that may be true," agreed the Spaniard, puffing at his cigarette. "I have seen some of it. I know that many of your rich American girls sell themselves for the sake of titles to broken-down and rakish noblemen of other countries. I think most Americans are ashamed of this."
"Indeed they are," seriously agreed Merry. "It makes them blush when a rich American girl is led to the altar by some broken-down old _roué_ with a title, who has spent his manhood and wrecked his constitution in dissipation and licentiousness. Almost every week we read in the papers of some titled foreigner who is coming to America in search of a rich wife. We don't hear of the scores and scores of American girls with wealthy parents who go abroad in search of titles. But we have forgotten the Costolas. Can you tell me anything more of them?"