The Count examined him for a moment attentively, and then made the valet a sign to withdraw.
"Very good," he then said, "I trust to you, Don Antonio de la Ronda. Await my orders, I shall soon have need of you."
"I shall not go away far, my lord."
And after bowing respectfully, he took his leave, and withdrew.
The Count, when left alone, gave way for some minutes to all the violence of a rage so long restrained, but he gradually regained his coolness and the power of reflection.
"Oh! I will avenge myself!" he exclaimed.
Then he gave, with feverish activity, the necessary orders that numerous bodies of troops should be sent off to different points, so as to completely invest the hatto del Rincón, to which spot two Fifties were sent, commanded by experienced and resolute officers.
These measures taken, the Count, wrapped in a large cloak, mounted his horse an hour after sunset, and followed by Don Antonio de la Ronda, who had not the slightest desire to leave him, and a few confidential officers, he left his palace incognito, rode through the town unrecognized, and reached the open country.
"Now, caballeros," he said in a hollow voice, "gallop your hardest, and do not be afraid of foundering your horses. Relays are prepared at regular distances along the road."
He dug his spurs into the flanks of his horse, which snorted with pain, and the party set out with the headlong speed of a whirlwind.