"I am not more careful of my life than other men," answered Evaña angrily, "but I am not fool enough to——"
"Say you will go, Evaña," interrupted Marcelino; "I believe you may possibly do some good, and you can bring us information upon which we can rely. To-morrow I leave this for Ensenada, come with me, and I will manage somehow to get you put across the river."
"Be it so. At what hour do you leave?"
"Probably not before noon, but I will send you word."
"Then adios, Don Gregorio," said Evaña, shaking hands with the old gentleman. "If the English hang me as a spy they will do me less injustice than these friends of yours, who would shoot me as a traitor."
"Neither spy nor traitor are you, Carlos," replied Don Gregorio. "Whether you succeed in averting this war from us or not, I know that you will regard as nothing the danger to yourself. Go, and may God have you in his keeping."
It was nearly midnight when Marcelino reached his father's house. To his surprise he found the whole household astir, busily employed dismantling the rooms and packing up clothes, house-linen, and crockery. In the sala he found his sister, assisted by Evaristo and Gordon, collecting the thousand and one articles of ornament and luxury with which the room was adorned and carefully stowing them away in a large packing-case.
"Lola!" said he, going behind her and seizing her by the two elbows, "what is all this about? Are you going to fly away?"
"Ahi!" screamed Dolores, springing away from him. "Marcelino, how you frightened me! I thought that they had come already and that I was a prisoner."