"What criminal! Why, the one who struck Padre Damaso in the road yesterday afternoon!"
"Struck Padre Damaso?" asked several voices.
The coadjutor seemed to smile, while Padre Salvi went on: "Yes, and Padre Damaso is now confined to his bed. It's thought that he may be the very same Elias who threw you into the mudhole, señor alferez."
Either from shame or wine the alferez's face became very red.
"Of course, I thought," continued Padre Salvi in a joking manner, "that you, the alferez of the Civil Guard, would be informed about the affair."
The soldier bit his lip and was murmuring some foolish excuse, when the meal was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a pale, thin, poorly-clad woman. No one had noticed her approach, for she had come so noiselessly that at night she might have been taken for a ghost.
"Give this poor woman something to eat," cried the old women. "_Oy_, come here!"
Still the strange woman kept on her way to the table where the curate was seated. As he turned his face and recognized her, his knife dropped from his hand.
"Give this woman something to eat," ordered Ibarra.
"The night is dark and the boys disappear," murmured the wandering woman, but at sight of the alferez, who spoke to her, she became frightened and ran away among the trees.
"An unfortunate woman who has become insane from fear and sorrow," answered Don Filipo. "For four days now she has been so."
"Is her name Sisa?" asked Ibarra with interest.
"Your soldiers arrested her," continued the teniente-mayor, rather bitterly, to the alferez. "They marched her through the town on account of something about her sons which isn't very clearly known."
"What!" exclaimed the alferez, turning to the curate, "she isn't the mother of your two sacristans?"
"They disappeared and nobody made any inquiries about them," added Don Filipo with a severe look at the gobernadorcillo, who dropped his eyes.
"Look for that woman," Crisostomo ordered the servants. "I promised to try to learn where her sons are."
"They disappeared, did you say?" asked the alferez. "Your sacristans disappeared, Padre?"
The friar emptied the glass of wine before him and again nodded.
"_Caramba_, Padre!" exclaimed the alferez with a sarcastic laugh, pleased at the thought of a little revenge. "A few pesos of your Reverence's disappear and my sergeant is routed out early to hunt for them--two sacristans disappear and your Reverence says nothing--and you, señor capitan--It's also true that you--"