"Oh!" the Marquis exclaimed, "I cannot accept such an act of generosity."
"From a stranger, certainly not," Don Rufino remarked, in an insinuating voice; "but I flattered myself that I was not such to you, my dear sir."
There was a silence.
"What is going on at this moment is so strange; I feel taken so unawares," the Marquis presently continued; "my thoughts are so confused, that I must beg you, Don Rufino, to defer till tomorrow the remainder of this conversation. By that time I shall have been able to regain my coolness, and then, believe me, I will answer you in the way that I ought to do."
"My dear sir, I understand the delicacy of your remarks, and will wait as long as you think proper," the senator replied, with a bow, and an impassioned glance at Doña Marianna, who was pale and trembling.
"Yes," said the colonel, "let us put off serious matters till tomorrow; the shock we have suffered has been too rough for us to be fit for any discussion just at present."
"What has happened to you? The pagans have not seized the Mineral de Quitovar? Or at least I hope not."
"Yes, they have, cousin; the pueblo has been captured by the Redskins, sacked, and burnt. We had great difficulty in making our escape, and passed through extraordinary dangers ere we were so lucky as to reach your hacienda."
"That is disastrous news, cousin; I had been told of it, but was unwilling to believe it."
"It is unhappily but too true."