"Certainly!" echoed Velez, parrot-like, "he will yield. Carambo! He dare not defy Don Alonzo!"
"Do you think Xuarez is a second Montezuma, to yield in the presence of his army, Señores," cried Rafael, vehemently. "I tell you no! Were he alone, he would resist arrest. How much more so, then, when supported by the devotion of hundreds. I am a true subject of the Republic; I hate, dread, and scorn Don Hypolito. But I do not despise him. He will be the Napoleon of Cholacaca. Let the Republic beware!"
"Ah! bah!" said Colonel Garibay, while Don Alonzo snorted with indignation. "Xuarez may be a clever man; but he is no general. Why, he does not even make the first move!"
"No; he bides his time. When he does move, Tlatonac will hear of it."
"You mean, he will bombard the city?"
"Yes, and no! I will explain. Excuse me one moment, Señores. I go for a map of the country."
Don Rafael ran down to the cabin; and during his absence the Intendante and Captain Velez scoffed at the idea that Xuarez would be a dangerous enemy. They had a duet in a braggadocio vein.
"He will yield, Señores, when I read this decree."
"The troops of Tlatonac alone can crush him," added Velez, confidently.
"We will swallow these rebels at a mouthful. I, the Intendante, say so."