"I have no mother."
"Then I beseech you in the name of the being you love most upon earth, whoever that may be."
"I love no one."
"No one?" repeated the stranger, shuddering; "Then I pity you, for you must be most unhappy."
The unknown trembled; a feverish glow stole over his face; but soon recovering himself, he exclaimed:
"Now let me go."
"No; not before I learn who you are."
"Who I am! Have I not already told you? A wild beast; a being with only the semblance of humanity, with a hatred towards all men which nothing can ever appease. Pray to God you may never again encounter me on your path. I am like the raven—the sight of me foretells evil. Adieu!"
"Adieu!" murmured the stranger; "And may God have mercy on you, and not visit your cruelty upon you!"
Just at this moment a voice, feeble, but in its sad modulations sweet and melodious as the notes of the centzontle, the American nightingale, rose through the stillness.