"Do not cry, Mamita," said Dolores, half crying herself, "God will protect him as he will Marcelino."
"Who has made you so wise about what God will do?" said Don Roderigo sharply. "No duty calls him away from us."
As they spoke a mulatta girl came running into the room.
"Oh! Patrona! the English! the English!!" cried she, wringing her hands.
Dolores and her mother clung to each other in terror.
"Where?" said Don Roderigo, putting himself in the way of the terrified mulatta, and stamping his foot to bring her to her senses.
"The English Señor, Patron, the English Señor, Don Alejandro, he has climbed up a tree, and he can see them on the highroad. They go straight for the city, he knows them. Oh! my God! what will become of us?"
"Silence, fool!" said Don Roderigo; "if they are going to the city they will not come here."
At frequent intervals all day long Lieutenant Gordon climbed up into his tree, giving an account of all the movements he saw in the open country round him. Three hours after the passing of this first body, which Gordon had calculated at about 2000 men, and which had marched by the highroad leading to the Puente Galvès, there came a much larger body, which left the road, and crossing camp about half-a-league to the south of the Quinta de Ponce, marched round the headwaters of the Arroyo Maciel and then turned northwards towards the Paso Zamorra on the Riachuelo.
Anxiously the day passed with them all. About noon the sound of cannon and musketry came to them from a direction far to the west of the Puente Galvès, but it soon ceased, and no more was heard till close upon sundown, when it commenced again, dying gradually away as darkness came on. Again Gordon climbed into his tree; over the tree-tops of the quintas about the Plaza Miserere there hung light clouds of white smoke, then night came on, all was again silent; what had happened?