"Why seek to deceive me, my friend? Are not you too a prisoner of the monster in human shape who has kept me captive so long?" She rose; the colour returned to her cheeks. She extended her hand to Stoneheart, who, kneeling, clasped it in both his own, and covered it with kisses. "Now we shall no longer be alone; we shall suffer together," she said, fixing an earnest look upon him.
"Dearest Hermosa, your sufferings are at an end; I do indeed bring you good tidings."
"What is it you say, Don Fernando? Your words are incomprehensible. How can you talk of good tidings, while we are both in the power of the Tigercat."
"No, señorita; you are no longer in his power."
"Free!" she exclaimed in ecstasy; "Is it possible O my father! My father! I shall see you once more!"
"You shall see him very soon, Hermosa. Your father is not far hence, with all you love—Don Estevan and Ña Manuela."
Doña Hermosa fell on her knees, with an expression on her face impossible to describe. Lifting her clasped hands to heaven, she uttered a long, silent, and fervent prayer.
Stoneheart gazed upon her with reverential admiration. The sudden transition from sorrow and despair to this excess of joy excited him infinitely. He felt intensely happy—happier than he had ever known himself before.
When Doña Hermosa rose from her knees, she had regained her calmness. "And now, Don Fernando," she said in gentle accents, "as we are really free, let us sit down outside the cave. Tell me all that has happened since I was torn away from my father."
They left the cavern, and sat down, side by side, on the green turf, canopied by the night, which hung cool and odorous above them; and Stoneheart began his story. It lasted a long time; for Doña Hermosa frequently interrupted him, to make him repeat details concerning Don Pedro, and night had sped away before the recital ended. "It is your turn, señorita," said Stoneheart, as soon as he had finished. "You have now to relate what has happened to you."