“Mal—dit—dit—o!” muttered the sleeper, concluding the exclamation with a hiccup. “Buen—buenos nove-dad-es! Good news, por sangre Chrees—Chreest—o! Si S’ñor Merican—cano! Nove—dad—es s’perbos! Los Indyos Co—co—manchees on the war-trail—el rastro de guerra. God bless the Co—co—manchees!”
“The brute’s drunk!” said his visitor, mechanically speaking aloud.
“H’la S’ñor!” exclaimed the owner of the jacalé, aroused to a state of semi-consciousness by the sound of a human voice. “Quien llama! Who has the honour—that is, have I the happiness—I, Miguel Diaz—el Co—coyoté, as the leperos call me. Ha, ha! coyo—coyot. Bah! what’s in a name? Yours, S’ñor? Mil demonios! who are you?”
Partially raising himself from his reed couch, the inebriate remained for a short time in a sitting attitude—glaring, half interrogatively, half unconsciously, at the individual whose voice had intruded itself into his drunken dreams.
The unsteady examination lasted only for a score of seconds. Then the owner of the jacalé, with an unintelligible speech, subsided into a recumbent position; when a savage grunt, succeeded by a prolonged snore, proved him to have become oblivious to the fact that his domicile contained a guest.
“Another chance lost!” said the latter, hissing the words through his teeth, as he turned disappointedly from the door.
“A sober fool and a drunken knave—two precious tools wherewith, to accomplish a purpose like mine! Curse the luck! All this night it’s been against me! It maybe three long hours before this pig sleeps off the swill that has stupefied him. Three long hours, and then what would be the use of him? ’Twould be too late—too late!”
As he said this, he caught the rein of his bridle, and stood by the head of his horse, as if uncertain what course to pursue.
“No use my staying here! It might be daybreak before the damned liquor gets out of his skull. I may as well go back to the hacienda and wait there; or else—or else—”
The alternative, that at this crisis presented itself, was nor, spoken aloud. Whatever it may have been, it had the effect of terminating the hesitancy that living over him, and stirring him to immediate action.