"Are you just from bed, fray?" Gonzales asked.
"Is it not a time of night for honest men to be abed?" Fray Felipe asked in turn.
"It is, fray—yet we find you out of it. How does it happen that you have not come from the house before? Did we not make enough noise to awaken you?"
"I heard sounds of combat—"
"And you may hear more, fray, else feel the sting of a whip again, unless you answer questions swiftly and to the point. Do you deny that Señor Zorro has been here?"
"I do not."
"Ha! Now we have it! You admit, then, that you are in league with this pretty highwayman, that you shield him upon occasion? You admit that, fray?"
"I admit nothing of the sort!" Fray Felipe replied. "I never set my eyes on this Señor Zorro, to my knowledge, until a very few minutes ago."
"That is a likely story! Tell it to the stupid natives! But do not try to tell it to a wise trooper, fray! What did this Señor Zorro wish?"