"That is true; besides, it is no business of mine. Let every man have his own secrets."
"Oh, I do not think there is any great secret in the matter: the captain is a near relation of the Marquis; they often write to each other, and the letter I am ordered to deliver will only refer, I expect, to family matters and private interests."
"That is probable; the more so, because it is said that the Marquis's affairs are in a very bad state at present."
"So it is said; but I have heard that they are about to be settled."
"¡Caray! I wish it with all my heart, for it is a pity to see one of the oldest families of the province reduced. Suppose we drink the health of the Marquis?"
"With pleasure."
The bottle was hugged for the second time by the two companions. A man may be an Opatas Indian, that is to say, of herculean stature, with a breast arched like a tortoiseshell; but he cannot swallow with impunity such a prodigious quantity of alcohol as Isidro had absorbed without beginning to feel intoxicated. The asistente, strong though he was, tottered on his horse: his eyes began to close, and his tongue to grow thick. But, excited as he was by liquor, the more difficulty he experienced in speaking the more he wanted to do so. The adventurer eagerly followed the progress of his comrade's intoxication, while careful not to let him see that he was aware of his condition.
"Yes, yes," the Indian continued, "the affairs of the Marquis might easily be arranged sooner than is supposed, comrade."
"With his name it cannot be difficult for him to procure money."
"Nonsense! That is not the point, and I know what I know."