"Why, that you were in a hurry."
"And yet, in spite of all our diligence, my friend thinks that we have been too slow."
"Then I must say he is not reasonable. But are we going to leave the chief kicking his heels at the door?"
"Good gracious! I never thought of him," Valentine said as he rose.
And he walked toward the door.
At the same moment Curumilla appeared at one end of the room, while Don Louis came in at the other, at the head of several servants. Louis placed the candlesticks he held in his hand on the table, and turning to his friend,—
"Where are you going?" he asked him.
"To look for Curumilla, whom I left in charge of the horses; but there he is!"
"Do not trouble yourself about the horses; I have given orders as to them."
"To supper, then, for I am dying of hunger; my comrades and myself have eaten nothing for sixteen hours."