"That is possible, but I shall be grateful to you on the word of a Carnero," he exclaimed, forgetting in his joy the hint he had given a short time previously, not to make use of names, and revealing his own incognito; "is the pícaro dead?"
"Very nearly so, I fancy; what shall we do with him?"
"Make a corpse of him," the capataz said bluntly. "We are only two paces from the deadhouse, and he can be carried there without difficulty. Though he is an utter scoundrel and tried to assassinate me, the police are so well managed in our unhappy country that if we committed the imprudence of letting him live, we should have interminable disputes with the magistrates."
Then, dismounting, he stooped over the bandit, stretched senseless at his feet, removed his lasso, and coolly dashed out his brains with a blow of his pistol butt. Immediately after this summary execution, the two men left the Paseo de Bucareli, but this time side by side, through fear of a new accident.
[CHAPTER XII.]
A CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION.
Directly on emerging from the Paseo, the two men separated, as had been agreed on between them; that is to say, the capataz went ahead, followed at a respectful distance by Martial the Tigrero, whom the reader has doubtless recognized.
All happened as the capataz had announced. The streets were deserted, the horsemen only met a few half sleeping serenos leaning against the walls, and were only crossed by a patrol of celadores walking with a hurried step, and who seemed more inclined to avoid them, than to try and discover the motives that caused them thus to ride about the streets of the capital at night, in defiance of the law.
The Tigrero entered the Callejón del Pájaro, and about the middle of the street saw the capataz's horse held by an ill-looking fellow, who gazed curiously at him. Don Martial, following the instructions given him, pulled his hat over his eyes to foil the mozo's curiosity, stopped before the door, dismounted, threw his bridle to the fellow, and, without saying a word to him, resolutely entered the house and carefully closed the door after him.