"Who are you, and by what right do you detain us?" demanded Espérance, haughtily.
"Who I am," replied the brigand, in a stern voice, "does not concern you. The right by which I detain you is the right of the strongest!"
"We cannot oppose your will, however unreasonable and unjust," returned Espérance; "my friend is wounded and my pistol is discharged. We can only throw ourselves upon your mercy; but we are gentlemen in spite of our dress, and demand to be treated as such!"
"How came your friend to be wounded and your pistol discharged?" asked the bandit, suspiciously.
"My friend was attacked and I went to his assistance," answered Espérance.
"You were in a fight, then," resumed the leader. Turning suddenly to his men, he asked: "Where is Ludovico?"
"He went up the road half an hour since, and has not yet returned," answered a short, thick-set young fellow, who seemed to be the leader's lieutenant.
"Just like him," said the leader. "Always rash, always seeking adventures alone. I heard a pistol-shot some time back," he continued, looking menacingly at Espérance. "Perhaps Ludovico has been assassinated! If so, it shall go hard with his murderers! Let him be searched for."
The short, thick-set lieutenant, accompanied by several of the band, immediately departed to obey the order.