"¡Ave, María purísima! Las doce han dado y sereno!" ("Hail, purest Mary! Twelve o'clock, and a fine night!")
Then his heavy step was heard as he went on his rounds, until it gradually died away in the distance.
The two men shuddered, thus suddenly aroused from their preoccupation.
"Midnight already!" muttered Ribera in a tone of mingled regret and anxiety.
"Let us end this," resolutely exclaimed Don Bernardo. "Since nothing will convince you of the honesty of my intentions; since you exact from me revelations which concern myself alone—"
"And one other person," supplied Don Guzman.
"I will admit it," continued the colonel impatiently.
"Well, are you satisfied now? It is solely because I know I shall meet this person at the Hacienda del Pico, that I wish to accompany you. I must have an interview. Do you understand me now?"
"Yes; I understand you perfectly."
"Then what are your objections?"