"Because I preferred to stay at San Lucar."
"Yes; civilized life is sure to attract you; I can understand that this double part you are playing, at your own risk and peril, has charms for you. Don Fernando Carril is received with open arms in the circles of the highest Mexican society. But believe me, boy, you had better take heed lest your adventurous spirit lead you into some false steps, from which not all the courage of Stoneheart could save you."
"I did not come here to listen to sermons."
"True; but it is my duty to read you the sermons you did not come to hear. As long as I remain in the desert, I will not lose sight of you for a moment. I know all your doings; I am ignorant of nothing regarding you."
"And why have you surrounded me with spies?" said Don Fernando haughtily.
"In order to know if I could still repose the same confidence in you."
"And what have you learned from your spies?"
"Nothing but what is satisfactory; only I insist on knowing how we stand towards each other."
"Do not your spies make you aware of my slightest doings?"
"Yes, of all that concerns you personally: thus I know you have not yet ventured to present yourself to Don Pedro de Luna;" and he sneered.