"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, holding out her hands to him as if in supplication.
"Forgive me, my dear, but I think it would be better if you leave us," the President replied. "I shall be very happy to give you full particulars later."
"No, no," she cried. "Señor Hermaños, you helped to bring this trouble upon us, and—ah! I see it all. Why are you here at this hour, and what is the meaning of the Guard?" Then turning to the President she continued, "Oh, sir, are we never to be free from this sort of thing? Is it impossible for us all to be friends?"
"It certainly seems difficult," Fernandez replied. "Thanks to Señor Hermaños and his friends, I have passed through an extremely dangerous and unpleasant crisis. Had matters gone as they intended they should do, by this time I should have been in my grave. Fortune favoured me, however, and now I have returned to my own. Who can blame me if I repay those who would have worked my ruin?"
Turning to the captain of the Guard, he bade him remove his prisoners. On hearing this the Señorita completely broke down. She fell on her knees at the President's feet and implored him to forgive. Whether it was a mere matter of acting and had all been previously arranged, as I am sometimes tempted to believe, or whether it was genuine, I am not in a position to say. Whatever else it may have been, however, it was at least effective. Then I saw my opportunity and took advantage of it.
"Your Excellency must forgive me if I interfere," I said. "There seems one point, however, that has escaped your attention. If Señor Hermaños and his companions are to be held guilty for your abduction, it is only fit and proper that I, who was the leading spirit in it, should take my place with them. If they are to be shot then I must share their fate."
My decision seemed to stagger them. He looked from me to them and then back again. Then he laughed outright, but I could not help thinking that his merriment lacked sincerity.
"You are certainly an extraordinary man, my dear Trevelyan. You abduct me and then save my life. You rejoice at being friends with me again and then ask me to shoot you. It seems to me, Hermaños, that you are fortunate in your advocates. The Señorita, to whom I can deny nothing, pleads for you; Señor Trevelyan, to whom I owe my life, refuses to let you die unless he dies too. I should be more than human to resist!" Then, waving his hand to the captain of the Guard, who had been watching us with a puzzled expression upon his face, he continued, "Well, well, since it must be, let it be so! You can leave us."
The captain retired with his men, and a somewhat awkward silence fell upon us. There was still a look of pleading upon the Señorita's face. The President, however, seemed thoughtful. It was evident that he had no desire to forego his vengeance. He paced the room for a few minutes, while we watched him with anxious faces. Heaven alone knows what Hermaños and his friends were thinking of, but I know very well what I thought, and I can assure you, my dear reader, I was far from happy. At last he stopped, and, after a momentary pause, faced Hermaños.
"Hermaños," he said, "you threw in your lot with my enemies, and you could not blame me if I made you answer for so doing. I certainly intended to do so; but I suppose we are none of us infallible, and with such pleading in your favour, I have nothing left me but to surrender. From this moment you are free. I give you your lives, gentlemen! Is it possible, since Silvestre is dead, for you to give me your allegiance? Now, shall we shake hands, endeavour to forget the past, and live only to promote the happiness of the country, for which we have risked so much?"