The mendicant would wax indignant at the tale and would pursue the
indiscreet maid with all the ardour of an old faun.
Of the four girls the ugliest was La Mella; with her big, deformed
head, her black eyes, her wide mouth and broken teeth, her dumpy
figure, she looked like the lady-jester of some ancient princess. She
had been on the point of becoming a chorus-girl; she was balked,
however, for despite her good voice and excellent ear for music, she
could not pronounce the words clearly because of her missing teeth.
La Mella was always in high spirits, singing and laughing at all hours
of the day and night. She carried in her apron-pocket a tiny
powder-puff with a mirror on the inside of the cover; she would stop
at every other step to gaze at herself by the light of a
street-lantern and powder her face.
She was affectionate and kind-hearted. Her excessive ugliness made
Manuel gag. The lass was eager to win him but Vidal advised his cousin
not to take up with her; La Goya suited him better, for she made more
money.
La Mella was not at all to Manuel's taste, despite her affectionate
caresses; but La Goya was compromised with El Soldadito, a man with a
position, as she said, for when he went to work he turned the crank of
an handorgan.
This organ-grinder took all the receipts of La Goya, who, as the
prettiest of the quartet, enjoyed the most numerous patronage; El
Soldadito watched her and when she went off with anybody, followed,
waiting for her to come out of the house of assignation so that he
could collect her earnings.
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