"The stranger invites evil. He would rob the señorita and us all. He has said he would horsewhip Pedro. He rides up and down the valley, taunting us with his laugh. Is he a god, and are we slaves?"
"He said he would horsewhip Pedro, did he?"
"Si señorita; when Pedro told him to take his life, since it was his."
"And this was after Pedro had been thrown?"
"Directly after. The American is a devil, doña. He rode that man-killer like Satan. Did he not already know that it was Pedro who shot at him? Is not Pedro a sure shot, and did he not miss twice? Twice, señorita; which makes it certain that this Señor Gordon is a devil."
"Don't talk nonsense, Juan. I want to know how he came to tell Pedro that he would whip him."
"He came up to the piazza when he had broken the heart of that other devil, the man-killer, and Pedro was sitting there. Then Pedro told him that he was the one who had shot at him, but he only laughed. He always laughs, this fiend. He knew it already, just as he knows everything. Then it was he said he had saved the boy to whip him."
"And that is all?"
"Por Dios—all" shrugged the lad.
"Are there others beside you that believe this nonsense about the American being in league with evil?"