"The Queen of the Savannah?"
"Yes."
"I have often heard the Indians speak of this strange creature, whom they imagine to be a species of malevolent genius, and about whom they recount the most fantastic and improbable stories; but I confess I was far from suspecting that the Queen of the Savannah and Doña Emilia de Saldibar were one and the same person."
"I do not say that they are, and I affirm nothing; I merely repeat to you what is said."
"How is it that you, a friend of Don Aníbal, are not better informed about the affair?"
"Because, I repeat once again, Don Aníbal maintains an obstinate silence on the subject; and if by any chance this mysterious being is alluded to in his presence he at once turns the conversation, so that no one exactly knows what to believe, and is forced to make conjectures more or less probable."
"Very good," the hunter answered, "I thank you for your information, caballero. But, ¡viva Dios! I swear to you that I will force Don Aníbal to tell me how matters really are; or, if he will not, I shall not hesitate to question his wife."
"I doubt greatly whether you will be able to obtain even the shortest interview with her. She is constantly shut up in her apartments with her daughter. No one sees her, and several of her domestics even do not know her."
"You excite my curiosity the more, señor."
"All the worse for you, caballero," the count continued; "for admitting that you succeeded in seeing Doña Emilia, I am convinced that she would not consent to answer any of the questions you thought proper to ask her."