"Then you are—?"
"An officer, like yourself, colonel, and, in addition, aide-de-camp to General Rosas."
"It is prodigious," Don Antonio remarked.
"Why so? nothing is more simple, on the contrary."
A strange suspicion had entered the major's mind at Don Torribio's unexpected arrival, a suspicion which only disappeared after he made the following remark:—
"Yes," he continued, "I am a colonel. In addition, the President of the Republic has intrusted me with a message, which I feel sure will please you."
And he took from the breast of his uniform a large despatch, sealed with the Argentine arms. The colonel, with the permission of the two officers, opened and perused the mission, and unbounded delight was depicted on his face.
"Oh, oh!" he exclaimed, "two hundred and fifty men! I did not expect such a reinforcement."
"The president is very anxious about the colony," Don Torribio said, "and will spare no sacrifice to preserve it."
"¡Viva Dios! Thanks to that succour. Don Torribio, I care no more for the Indians than a wisp of straw."