"Do as I do, señores," he said, as he sat down; "take seats, as this caballero refuses to offer them to us. As this friendly conversation may be prolonged for some time yet, it is unnecessary that you should fatigue yourselves by listening to it standing."
The officers bowed, and seated themselves comfortably on the butacas with which the apartment was furnished. The General continued, after a few moments of reflection, during which the young man looked at him carelessly, while rolling a husk cigarette:
"And in the first place, to proceed regularly, and prove to you that I am well-informed of all that concerns you," he said, purposely laying a stress on the words, "I will begin by telling you your name."
"In truth, General, you should have begun with that," the young man said, negligently.
"You are," the General went on, quietly, "the famous Chief whom the insurgents and Freebooters have christened the Jaguar."
"Ah, ah!" he remarked, ironically, "So you know that, Señor Governor?"
"And a good many more things, as you shall see."
"Go on," he said, as he threw himself back with the graceful negligence of a friend on a visit.
"After giving a powerful organization to your revolt on the Indian border by seizing the Larch-tree hacienda, and allying yourself with certain Comanche and Apache tribes, you understood that, to succeed, you must give up that guerilla warfare, which I confess you had carried on for some time with considerable success." "Thanks," said the Jaguar, with an ironical bow.
"You therefore entrust the temporary command of your bands to one of your comrades, and yourself come into the heart of Texas, with your most faithful associates, in order to revolutionize the coast, and deal a great blow by seizing a seaport. Galveston, by its position at the mouth of the Trinidad river, is a strategical point of the utmost importance for your plans. For two months past you have been concealed in this house, which you have made the headquarters of your insurrection, and where you are making all the preparations for the audacious enterprise you wish to attempt. You have at your disposal numerous emissaries and faithful conspirators; the government of the United States supply you with abundance of arms and ammunition, which you think you will soon have need of. Your measures have been so well taken, and your machinations carried on with such great skill; you fancy yourself so nearly on the point of success, that hardly an hour back you convened here the principal members of your party, in order to give them their final instructions. Is it so? Am I correctly informed? Answer me, Caballero."