"The province no longer recognizes the power of the Spanish government."
"Indeed," he said; "and pray what do you want with General Cárdenas?"
"I can only tell that to himself."
"Well, speak without further delay, for he is listening to you."
Don Aníbal bowed.
"I have orders," he said, "to summon you to surrender the town immediately to General Don Pelagio Sandoval, commander-in-chief of the Mexican forces of the province of Coahuila."
"Ah, ah!" said the general, biting his moustache.
"General Sandoval," Don Aníbal continued, "invites you to arrange an interview with him in order to discuss the terms of the capitulation."
General Cárdenas could not stand this any longer; the demands of the insurgents seemed to him so absurd, that he burst into a laugh, in which his officers joined. Don Aníbal was not at all affected by this unseasonable hilarity; he stood coldly with folded arms, waiting till the general thought proper to become serious again.
"Well, my good fellow," the latter said presently; "are you still there?"