"Listen; in a week I shall be free from any engagement. Where will you give me a meeting?"
"At the Rio Claro," said the Indian chief.
"I will be there."
The two friends parted as in the happy days of their friendship, and then the captain joined his men, while the Indian put himself at the head of his army again.
"To horse!" Leon then said.
The smugglers obeyed; and then forming a close squadron, they left the hacienda at a canter, having the two veiled ladies in their midst. The Indian army made way for them to pass; and the twenty-nine men rode with head erect through the dense ranks of the Moluchos, who watched them pass without evincing the slightest impression. Six days after, Maria and Inez de Soto-Mayor were in safety behind the walls of the convent of the Purísima Concepción.