"'I consent,' I said, 'but I presume you do not intend to do me a gratuitous service, whatever its nature may be?'
"'Why so?'
"'Because you do not know me, and the interest you take in me must be very slight.'
"'Perhaps so,' the rider answered; 'still, pledge yourself to nothing, I warn you, till you know the contents of that letter.'
"Then he made a signal to his comrade, and after bowing slightly, they started at a gallop, and left me considerably embarrassed at the way in which this singular interview had ended, and twisting in my fingers the letter I did not dare open."
"Well," the American muttered, "what did you, so soon as the men left you alone?"
"I looked after them a long time, and then, suddenly recalled to my duty by several carbine shots whose bullets whizzed past my ears, I bent down over my horse's neck and regained the bivouac at full gallop. On arriving, I opened the letter, for I was burning with impatience and curiosity."
"And it was?"
"From Carmela."
"By Heavens!" the American said, as he slapped his thigh; "I would have wagered it."