“Then, to calm the anxious mother’s heart, I remarked, ‘His Majesty would not have the horns sounded in that way if he were taking the pious brothers a new companion,’ and Dona Magdalena’s wan cheeks again flushed slightly.
“The forest is cleared in front of the monastery, but it surrounds on all sides the open glade amid whose grass the meadow saffron was then growing thickly.
“I can still see Geronimo as he swung himself from the saddle to gather some of the flowers. His mother needed them as medicine for a poor woman in the village.
“We stopped behind the last trees, where we had a good view of the glade. Don Luis left the boy to himself for a time; but when the blast of horns and the baying of the hounds sounded nearer, he ordered him, in the commanding tone he used in teaching him to ride, to remount.
“Geronimo laughed, thrust the flowers hastily into his saddlebag, and with a bold leap vaulted on his horse’s back.
“A few minutes after, the King rode out of the forest.
“He was mounted on a noble bay hunting charber, and wore a huntsman’s dress.
“No rider can hold a slender figure more erect.
“His haughty head, with the fair, pointed beard, was carried slightly thrown back, which gave him an especially arrogant appearance.
“When he saw Quijada, he raised his riding-whip with a significant gesture to his lips. We, too, understood what it meant, and Don Luis knew him far better than we.