Then he saw the vaquero.
A livid paleness covered his countenance; he felt that he was lost.
"Let me escape, Cornejo," he cried, choking with tears.
"No, no!" the crowd howled; "lasso him! lasso him!"
The populace took great interest in this manhunt; they feared to find themselves cheated of a spectacle which gave them much satisfaction.
"Surrender," the giant replied; "or else, I warn you, I will lasso you like a ciboto."
"I will not surrender," the boy said resolutely.
The two speakers still held on their way, the one on foot, the other on horseback.
The crowd followed, howling with pleasure. The masses are thus everywhere—barbarous and without pity.
"Leave me, I say," the boy resumed, "or I swear by the blessed souls of purgatory, that evil will befall you!"