And she hurriedly dragged Father Seraphin into the grotto.
"It is Heaven that inspires you," he said; "yes, this recognition would be too abrupt—it would kill you both."
"I was right, father, was I not? Oh, you will see—you will see. Hide me at some spot where I can see and hear everything unnoticed; make haste, here he is."
The cavern, as we have said, was divided into a number of cells, each communicating with the other; Father Seraphin concealed Madame Guillois in one of these, whose walls were formed of stalactites, that had assumed the strangest forms. After hobbling their horse, the hunters climbed the mountain. While coming up, they could be heard talking together; the sound of their voices distinctly reached the inhabitants of the grotto, who listened greedily to the words they uttered.
"That poor Father Seraphin," Valentine said; "I do not know if you are like myself, caballeros, but I am delighted at seeing him again. I feared lest he had left us forever."
"It is a great consolation for me in my grief," said Don Miguel, "to know him so near us; that man is a true apostle."
"What is the matter, Valentine?" General Ibañez suddenly asked; "Why do you stop?"
"I do not know," the latter replied, in a hesitating voice, "something is taking place in me which I cannot explain. When Spider told me today of the father's arrival, I felt a strange contraction of the heart; now it is affecting me again, though I cannot say for what reason."
"My friend, it is the joy you feel at seeing Father Seraphin again, that is all."
The hunter shook his head.