"What! Are you going to leave us at once?"
"I must, my dear Captain; for I have to give Don Gregorio an account of the mission he confided to me. Reflect what mortal anxiety he must feel at not seeing me return."
"That is true. In spite of the lively pleasure I should feel in keeping you by me, I am compelled to let you go. When do you start?"
"This moment."
"Already?"
"My horse has rested; there are still five or six hours of daylight left, and I will take advantage of them?" He made a movement to leave the room.
"You have not said good-bye to Don Ruiz and his sister," the Captain observed.
The hunter stopped, his brows contracted, and he seemed to be reflecting.
"No," he said, ere long, "it would make me lose precious time. You will make my apologies to them, Captain. Moreover," he added with a bitter smile, "our acquaintance is not sufficiently long, I fancy, for Don Ruiz and his sister to attach any great importance to my movements, so for the last time, good-bye."
"I will not press you," the Captain answered; "do as you please. Still, it would have perhaps been more polite to take leave."