But he added sadly:
"Are you looking for me, in order to betray me?"
"No, no, Mario!" she replied. "I want to run away from La Flèche. Save me, my Mario, for I am too unhappy with that accursed man!"
"But how can I save you, when I do not even know how to save myself?—Either go away from here, or else stay here without me, my poor Pilar; for those bandits, when they come to look for you, will find me too."
"No, no; La Flèche thinks that he left me over yonder with the dead man!"
"What dead man?"
"They called him D'Alvimar. He died the other night, and they buried him this morning."
"You are dreaming—or else I don't understand. No matter! You ran away?"
"Yes; I knew that they were coming here to take your château and your treasure; I climbed out of a little bit of a window, like a cat, and I followed them at a distance. I hoped they would kill La Flèche and those wicked villains, who have never had any pity on me."
"What villains?"