"And what shall I do during that time?"
"Whatever you like."
"Mil rayos! since I am here, I will remain; but I shall quit this encampment at daybreak, and after leaving a party to beat up the country, I will join the general at Ures."
"Then he is at Ures at this moment?"
"Yes, temporarily."
"Very good; then you will see me there with my prisoners."
"Agreed."
"And now make haste; I must start at once."
The captain rose, and while Don Cornelio was drawing his horse's girths tighter, he gave orders to ten of his men to prepare for an expedition. Within five minutes the little party left the clearing under the orders of the Spaniard, and took up the missionary's trail. The reader knows already what took place in the pass, which was not more than two leagues from the spot where the bandits lay in ambush. We will, therefore, leave Don Cornelio, and confine our attention to Captain Vargas.
"On my word," the captain said to himself when the Spaniard had left him, "I prefer that matters should end thus. There are only blows to be gained from those confounded Frenchmen, deuce take them! Now we shall be quiet for the whole night, so we will go to sleep."