Some twenty-five minutes later Don Luis returned; and so colourless were his lips, so wild his eyes, so dreadfully agitated his entire appearance that I saw in a moment something had gone very radically wrong somewhere. Doña Inez saw it too, and approaching, laid her hand soothingly upon his arm as she anxiously asked:
“What is it, Luis? What is the matter, mi querido? Tell me; I can bear it.”
“I could never have believed it!” ejaculated Don Luis, clasping his hands in front of him and wringing them, in his distress and disappointment. “I have always believed every one of my negroes to be absolutely faithful to me; yet now, upon the news that the outlaws are out, more than half of them have left me, and quite possibly will, an hour or two hence, be joining in the attack upon this house. The ungrateful wretches, the—!”
“Precisely,” I cut in; “they are all that and more. But what about those who remain? Are any of them trustworthy enough to be permitted to assist us; or must we do the best we can without them?”
“Oh no,” answered Don Luis emphatically. “Thank God, I can trust every one of those who remain. And, as for the forty-nine whom I have chosen to come into the house to help us—well, I am going to demonstrate the extent of my faith in them by placing all our lives at their mercy. Oh yes; I have no shadow of doubt, so far as they are concerned.”
“Very well, then,” said I; “in that case they had better be admitted at once, for all our defences have still to be made. What are you going to do with those who are not wanted?”
“I have given them instructions to go away and conceal themselves in the woods until we have beaten off the attack,” answered Don Luis. “Then they will return and help us to put right whatever damage may have been done during the fight.”
“Will they?” thought I. “I very much doubt it!” But I kept my doubts to myself, and turned instead to another matter.
“The next thing that we have to consider is the safety of the ladies,” said I. “What is to be done with them during the fight?”
Don Luis looked at me rather blankly.