fficer rose from his seat upon the log; and, untying his horse,
leaped into the saddle. It was not with the intention of moving away
from the spot--for the moon was not visible as yet--but with the
knowledge that on horseback he would be the better prepared for any
event that might arise. Still further to provide against possible
danger, he unbuckled the strap of his carbine, and tried whether the
piece was primed and in order. Don Rafael, although young, had seen
some military service on the northern frontier of Mexico--where Indian
warfare had taught him the wisdom of keeping habitually upon his guard.

Again he heard the wild lugubrious scream rising above the roar of the
waters; and perceived that his horse, hearing it also, trembled between
his thighs!

Coupling the sound with the strange spectacle to which he had just been
a witness, the young officer could not help feeling a slight sensation
of fear. He was a Creole, brought up consequently in the midst of
ecclesiastical superstition, scarce less monstrous and absurd than that
of pure paganism itself. He had heard in his youth how animals in
presence of beings of the other world are seized with a shivering--such
as that exhibited at the moment by his own horse--and he could almost
fancy that the scene he had just witnessed was some evocation of the
Prince of Darkness, to which the lugubrious sounds now reaching him were
the response.

But Don Rafael was one of those bold spirits whom fear may visit but not
subdue; and he remained immobile in his saddle, without showing any
further symptoms of apprehension than by the twitching of his lips
against his cigar, the light of which at intervals gleamed like a meteor
through the darkness.

While thus patiently waiting the moonlight, the horseman fancied that he
heard other sounds, and of a different import. Human voices they
appeared to be; and it at once occurred to him, that it might be the two
men whom he had disturbed and driven from their incantations. The
voices were each moment more distinctly uttered; and it was evident that
the speakers were approaching him. He perceived that it was probable
they would come out somewhere near where he was stationed; and in order
to have the advantage of a preliminary survey, in case they might turn
out to be enemies, he drew his horse back under the darker shadow of the
trees--placing himself in such a position that he commanded a view of
the path.

The voices he