"Who are you?" he asked.
"The Chief of the men who hold you imprisoned."
"Prisoners? I do not believe it; however, we shall see. Ah! you must be the Jaguar, whose name is held in execration on this border?"
"I am the Jaguar," the latter answered simply.
"Very good. What do you want with me? Speak, and before all be brief," the Captain said, as he leaned the point of his sword on the end of his boot.
"I wish to avoid bloodshed," the Jaguar said.
"That is very kind of you, but I fancy it is rather late to form so laudable a resolve," the officer said in his sarcastic voice.
"Listen, Captain, you are a brave officer, and I should be in despair if any misfortune happened to you; do not obstinately carry on an impossible struggle, surrounded as you are by an imposing force; any attempt at resistance would be an unpardonable act of madness, which could only result in a general massacre of the men you command, while you would not have the slightest hope of saving the conducta under your escort. Surrender, I repeat, for you have only that way of safety left open to you."
"Caballero," the Captain said, and this time seriously, "I thank you for the words you have spoken; I am a connoisseur in men, and see that you are speaking honourably at this moment."
"I am," said the Jaguar.