“Diego! Zorro!” she whispered. “To you I am not backward in confessing it—I am so afraid!”
“Then will I sing for you, beloved!”
“Zorro! Dare not to do it! They may hear!”
“Let them hear a decent song for once in their wicked lives!” Señor Zorro said. “Be of strong heart, señorita! And be not frightened at what you may hear or see. It is in my mind to terrorize these vermin who call themselves men, preparatory to rescuing you!”
“Brave words, Diego!” she said. “But you cannot fight against four score. If, at the end, you could do me one service—”
“And that?” he asked.
“Death is to be preferred to dishonor, Diego!”
“Why speak of dying? Do you forget that you are my affianced bride? You are to live, and I am to live, señorita, and have many happy years. Think always on that, and not on the other! And be of good cheer, for I am near you always!”
She heard a slight movement on the other side of the partition. He did not speak again, nor did she. Her heart was beating like angry waves against a rocky shore. Her face was flushed. It gave her courage just to know that he was near. Señor Zorro, she felt confident, would find a way.
There was silence for a moment, and then she heard the soft hiss again.