"Why so?"
"Because I owe you my life."
"I dispense you from all gratitude."
"That is possible. You are at liberty to do so; but I cannot forget the service you rendered me."
"It is of little consequence."
"Much more than you fancy, caballero. I may be, through my character, habits, and the mode of life I lead, beyond the law of civilised beings; but I am not the less a man, and if of the worst sort, perhaps, I no more forget a kindness than I do an insult."
"Prove it, then, by going away as quickly as you can, and then we shall be quits."
The squatter shook his head.
"Listen to me, Don Miguel," he said. "You have in this country the reputation of being the providence of the unfortunate. I know from myself the extent of your kindness and courage. It is said that you possess an immense fortune, of which you do not yourself know the extent."
"Well, what then?" the hacendero impatiently interrupted him.