"Perhaps I did. But enough of this. Here, take my rifle. Tell your friend, the barrel of whose rifle I see gleaming through the branches, to come from behind his bush. Perchance you will not be afraid to follow me now, when I am unarmed, and you two to one."
Stoneheart reflected for a moment, and then said: "Come forth, Estevan!"
"Keep your rifle," said Stoneheart to the Tigercat; "no one must travel in the wilderness without weapons."
"Thanks, Fernando," replied the old chief; "I see you have not forgotten the old rule: a backwoodsman never quits his rifle."
The Tigercat turned and led the way to his camp, the two others following exactly in his footsteps. In about an hour they reached it, pitched halfway up the Voladero, in a spacious cavern. The chief had told the truth--only four out of all his men survived.
"Before going farther," he said, when they got there, "I have a condition to exact."
"To exact!" said Stoneheart ironically, emphasizing the words.
The Tigercat shrugged his shoulders. "At a sign from me, those men will stab Doña Hermosa to the heart without hesitation; you see, I have the power to exact."
"Speak, then," said Stoneheart, trembling for her sake.
"I will leave you here alone with Doña Hermosa. I, your friend, and my four comrades, will leave the Voladero at once. In two days, and not before, you will quit the mountain, and come to your camp, where you will find me."
"You have nothing to do with that: is it so hard, that you will not submit to it? But, briefly, I do not choose to explain; answer--yes or no. Except on this condition you shall not see Doña Hermosa."
"How do I know whether she is still alive?"
"What good would it have done me to kill her?"
Stoneheart hesitated for a moment. "I accept the conditions," said he at last; "I will stay here two days."
"Good! Now go to her; as for us we will leave you."
"One instant longer! My friend--will you be answerable for his safety? I know I can trust your word."
"I swear to you, I will look upon him as my own friend as long as he remains with me, and you shall find him safe and sound in the camp."
"Enough. Farewell, Estevan; console Don Pedro, and tell him on what conditions his daughter has been restored."
"I will tell them to him myself," said the Tigercat, his mouth contorted with a strange expression.