The two friends bid each other good-bye with a laugh, and Quentin went home.
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE DEPARTURE
QUENTIN returned to the inn and shut himself up in his room. He wrote a farewell article for La Víbora entitled “And this is the End.”
When night fell, he lit his lamp and sent for his supper. He ate in his room to avoid any unpleasant encounters in the dining-room.
With his supper, the waiter brought two letters. One, by the rudely scrawled envelope, he saw was from Pacheco’s brother. It read as follows:
If you do not return the pocketbook you found in my brother’s house, you will not leave Cordova alive. Don’t fool yourself; you will not escape. Every exit is watched. You can leave the money in El Cuervo’s tavern, where some one will go and get it.
A Friend.
“Very good,” said Quentin, “let’s see the other letter.” He opened it, and it was still more laconic than the first.
We know that you have money, and do not wish to pay. Be careful.
Various Creditors.