"Very good, captain," Hernandez again said; "but are you going to encamp here till we come?"
"No. Harrison alone will be here, and lead you to the spot which I shall inform him of."
"All right."
Hernandez, Joaquin, and Enrique took leave of the party, and soon found themselves on the road that led to Valparaíso, while the three men told off to serve as an escort to the generals only awaited an order from the latter to place themselves at their disposal.
All at once General Soto-Mayor addressed Leon, who was watching all that went on.
"We are going," the old gentleman said, as he took a parting glance at his wife's tomb; "and I bear with me the assurance which you have given me that you will start at once in search of my daughters."
"You can reckon on it, general; all that it is humanly possible to do I will do, and I hope to have succeeded within two months."
"May Heaven hear you! For my part, so soon as I arrive at Valdivia, I will obtain, with the help of General Don Pedro, all the information that may serve to discover the spot where they are; for I suspect that the Indians are concentrated in the vicinity of that town, the capture of which would be of such great utility to them."
"I told you, general, that I not only have the means to learn where they are, but also to bring them back."
"But, in that case, and if Heaven permit you to find them, how shall I be informed of it, and whither will you take them?"