Don Rufino continued, with a light laugh—
"And still, through this implacable fatality, the captain was not only informed of the arrival of this worthy Don Parfindo, but also of the reasons that brought him."
"How do you know that?" Kidd exclaimed, with pretended surprise.
"Oh, I guess it, that is all," the senator replied, with a slight shrug of his shoulders; "but go on, pray; what you tell me is beginning to become most interesting."
The bandit went on with imperturbable coolness.
"As you are aware, the captain is a relation of the Marquis de Moguer."
"Yes, and a very near relation."
"Hence he did not hesitate, but at once sent off a messenger to the Hacienda del Toro, carrying a letter in which he probably gave the most circumstantial details about the bailiff, and the mission he is charged with."
At this revelation, Don Rufino suddenly doffed the mask of indifference he had assumed, and smote the table fiercely with his fist.
"Ah, that letter!" he exclaimed, "That letter! I would give its weight in gold for it."