"And at one time his jailer," interrupted Santiago. "That ought to make him feel grateful."
"Oh," exclaimed José, "you are the captain Jack has often talked about! Well, I'm glad we have been able to do a little for you."
"This morning while we were waiting for your precious doctor," I continued, "he told me a very startling piece of news."
"Yes?" said José.
"About my father."
José sprang to his feet, demanding fiercely, "What do you know of Señor Crawford, major? Don Eduardo came to his end by foul means: he was not slain by the government, but by some one who hoped to profit by his death."
"According to the major's information, he was not slain at all," I said, and proceeded to relate the story.
José listened attentively to every word, and then asked Santiago innumerable questions. Like myself, he displayed great excitement, but I judged from his expression that he entertained little hope of my father being still alive.
"The truth is," said he, "Don Eduardo had made numerous powerful enemies both in public and private life; and as we all know, any stick is good enough to beat a dog with. Besides, he owned vast estates, and—"
"Go on!" laughed Santiago as José hesitated; "the king's party put him to death in order to seize them!"