"Suddenly he jumped up. 'What am I doing here?' he cried; and opening
the door, he yelled out orders to saddle and mount. 'What is it?' he
stammered, coming up to me. 'The Pequena fort; a fort of palisades!
Nothing. I would get her back if she were hidden in the very heart of
the mountain.' He amazed me by adding, with an effort: 'I carried her
off in my two arms while the earth trembled. And the child at least is
mine. She at least is mine!'
"Those were bizarre words; but I had no time for wonder.
"'You shall go with me,' he said, violently. 'I may want to parley, and
any other messenger from Ruiz, the outlaw, would have his throat cut.'
"This was true enough. Between him and the rest of incensed mankind
there could be no communication, according to the customs of honourable
warfare.
"In less than half an hour we were in the saddle, flying wildly through
the night. He had only an escort of twenty men at his quarters, but
would not wait for more. He sent, however, messengers to Peneleo, the
Indian chief then ranging in the foothills, directing him to bring
his warriors to the uplands and meet him at the lake called the Eye of
Water, near whose shores the frontier fort of Pequena was built.
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