"I did say so," he replied.
"Let us know that suspicion."
"It was suggested to me by the conduct of the pagans, and by the clumsy snare they laid for you; it is evident to me that the Apache Chief hopes, if you consent to grant the interview he asks, to profit by your absence to carry off Doña Carmela."
"Carry me off!" the maiden exclaimed, with a start of horror, surprised and alarmed at once by this conclusion, which she was far from anticipating.
"The Redskins are very fond of white women," the monk continued, coolly; "most of the incursions they make into our territory are undertaken for the purpose of carrying off captives of that colour."
"Oh!" Carmela exclaimed, with an accent of indomitable resolution, "I would sooner die than become the slave of one of those ferocious demons."
Tranquil shook his head sadly. "The monk's supposition appears to me correct," he said.
"The more so," Fray Antonio confirmed him, "because the Apaches who made me prisoner are the same that attacked the Venta del Potrero."
"Oh, oh," said Lanzi, "in that case I know their Chief, and his name; he is one of the most implacable enemies of the white men. It is very unlucky that I did not succeed in burying him under the ruins of the venta, for Heaven is my witness that such was my intention."
"What is the fellow's name?" the hunter asked, sharply, evidently annoyed at his verbiage.