n the
watch to spring upon straggling and unwary Christians, and when they do
surprise them--"

"Peace, fool, peace!" impatiently interrupted Gomez Arias, "This is not
the Alpujarras. Forgettest thou that when we left Guadix two days
since, we pursued quite a different route?"

"That I know, Don Lope, but I likewise know that during the night,
either by chance or on purpose, we lost our way. Besides I am not so
ignorant of the country as to mistake these places, and I would wager my
head against two _maravedis_[26] that we are actually ascending the
Alpujarras."

The young lady, who had till now observed a profound silence, with a
faultering voice exclaimed--"Oh, heavens! are we really in those
terrible mountains, and are we indeed in danger?"

"No, my love," answered Gomez Arias; "the danger is not so great as this
fool would make us believe."

"No, my lady," retorted Roque; "the danger is not so great, for after
all, the worst that can befall us is but to be hung upon a tree, there
to dance to the tune of the whistling midnight wind, and to afford a
luscious repast to the ravens, and other carnivorous gentry that hold
tenantry in these wild passes."

"Heavens!" cried Theodora alarmed.

"Nay, gentle lady," interposed Roque, "the hanging system will only be
followed up with respect to my valiant master and his humble servant. As
for yourself, the Moors are men celebrated for their gallantry, and
would place too great a value on your beauty, to subject it to such
rough treatment."

Gomez Arias, greatly exasperated at Roque's insinuations, suddenly
turned, and, riding up to him, interrupted the course of his oratory
with a smart blow.--"Now, rascal," he said, "if thou darest again to
give utterance to any of those ridiculous fears, by _Santiago_, the
Moors shall not be put to the trouble of hanging thee--So be cautious
what thou sayest."

"Say!" humbly muttered the valet, "Blessed Virgin! I have nothing else
to say; your arguments, Don Lope, are unanswerable. But I hope, my good
Senor, I may be allowed to recite my prayers, since singing and rational
conversation are interdicted."

"Pray as much as thou pleasest, sinner, provided thy orisons are
inaudible to us."

Gomez Arias now endeavoured to calm the fears of Theodora, who had been
greatly agitated by the imprudent remarks of Roque, which tended
considerably to increase the depression under which she laboured.

"My Theodora," he said, "is it possible t