other's answer to this was to throw her arms impulsively around
the neck of her friend and to kiss her again and again, murmuring:

"Thank you and bless you! I can never be the angel that you are and I
would gladly die for you."

There were no tears in the eyes of either; they were too brave for
that. It was the American who spoke when they became more composed:

"We are agreed upon the one thing, and, therefore, must be right. But
you can aid me to clear up several points that trouble me. Why did
General Yozarro put us ashore and send us here?"

"I suspect his reason for that. You know he has spoken of sending us
to the Castle to spend a few days of the hot weather. He had the
preparations made and this room fitted for us. We should have come
here today, but for your change of mind. You demanded to go to
Zalapata and he could not refuse. His plan that you should come to the
Castle was not changed, but he had to seem to defer to your wishes. To
have come directly here would have been a plain disregard of them, so
he spent the day in planning this deception, and carried it out
without the least difficulty."

"Must he not have seen that when we went ashore and found the escort
waiting with ponies, we should see that the whole thing was
pre-arranged? In no other way could it have come about."

"True, but when we understood it all it would be too late to do us any
good."

"What of his story that General Bambos had sent a boat up the river to
attack Atlamalco?"

"It was pure invention."

"We certainly have heard no sounds of a battle between the boats."

"Because there has been none. He saw no more of a hostile fleet than
did we, for none exists; he has gone back to Atlamalco."

"I suppose he will be here tomorrow with some cunning falsehood to
explain why the conflict did not take place. He will say he gave
chase to the enemy, who fled without firing a shot, but how can I
pretend to believe him?"

"There is no call for any such pretense. If he tries further
deception, ask him to make clear how the two soldiers were waiting on
shore with horses. If he makes a reasonable explanation of that, he
has more ingenuity than I ever supposed."

"We can have no trouble in convicting him, but, Manuela, my dread is
that it will not help matters, but rather make them worse. I must
confess that his conduct is beyond my comprehension."

"It is not beyond mine."

"What is your theory?"

"It is not a theory but a fact.