"Do you hear me, Sandoval?" she said to him.
The bandit suddenly quivered, as if he had received an electric shock. He turned toward the speaker, and partially opened his eyes.
"Who is near me?" he asked.
"I, Pedro. Do you not recognise me, old comrade?" Red Cedar said.
"Yes," the Pirate said, peevishly, "I recognise you; but it was not you I wished to see."
"Whom do you mean?"
"The Niña. Has she abandoned me too—she, for whom I am dying!"
"No, I have not abandoned you," the girl quickly interrupted him; "your reproach is unjust—for it was I who succoured you. Here I am, father."
"Ah," he said, with a sigh of satisfaction, "you are there, Niña; all the better. God, if there be a God, will reward you for what you have done."
"Do not speak of that, but tell me why you asked for me, father."