“No, nothing that mind can conceive will ever throw a shadow upon your loyalty and goodness. I have known you too long and too well for me to have room for such an injustice.”
The other’s answer to this was to throw her arms impulsively around the neck of her friend and to kiss her again and again, murmuring:
“Thank you and bless you! I can never be the angel that you are and I would gladly die for you.”
There were no tears in the eyes of either; they were too brave for that. It was the American who spoke when they became more composed:
“We are agreed upon the one thing, and, therefore, must be right. But you can aid me to clear up several points that trouble me. Why did General Yozarro put us ashore and send us here?”
“I suspect his reason for that. You know he has spoken of sending us to the Castle to spend a few days of the hot weather. He had the preparations made and this room fitted for us. We should have come here today, but for your change of mind. You demanded to go to Zalapata and he could not refuse. His plan that you should come to the Castle was not changed, but he had to seem to defer to your wishes. To have come directly here would have been a plain disregard of them, so he spent the day in planning this deception, and carried it out without the least difficulty.”
“Must he not have seen that when we went ashore and found the escort waiting with ponies, we should see that the whole thing was pre-arranged? In no other way could it have come about.”
“True, but when we understood it all it would be too late to do us any good.”
“What of his story that General Bambos had sent a boat up the river to attack Atlamalco?”