"I have not yet told you the second reason."
"What do I care?"
"More than you fancy; do you not wish me to tell you the name of the man who protected and eventually saved Doña Carmela?"
"I do not understand you, my friend. I entrusted the guardianship of Tranquil and Doña Carmela to you."
"You did so."
"Then, was it not you who saved them?"
The American shook his head in denial.
"No," he said, "it was not I, I could only have died with them."
"But who saved them, then? Whoever the man may be, I swear——"
"This man," John Davis interrupted him, "is one of your dearest and most devoted friends."