"Shall I see you again then, Mario?"
"Yes, to-morrow. Can you receive me in the parlor?"
"Yes, at ten o'clock."
"Do you swear that you will not go out?"
"I swear it."
This time Mario was overjoyed to see the gate of the cloister close between Lauriane and himself. He considered that she was safe there if Pilar did not discover her. He carefully explored the immediate neighborhood of the convent, to satisfy himself that he had not been followed and watched by her. He knew that she was capable of sacrificing the whole community in order to reach her rival.
He returned to his apartments and did not find her there. Clindor had not seen her since his master went out.
All Mario's anxiety revived. He was going down to the street when he heard an uproar which made him quicken his pace. He saw Pilar being taken to prison by a party of archers. She uttered piercing shrieks, at once heart-rending and savage; and when she saw Mario, she held out her hands to him imploringly with a despairing expression which shook his resolution for a moment.
"Ah! cruel!" she cried, "it is you who cause me to be cast into a dungeon as the reward of my love and my care! Infamous wretch! you wish to be rid of me. Curse you!"
Mario, without replying, questioned the leader of the squad in whose custody she was.