be seen--and the devil himself would never have guessed what was
in those cars. Of course he succeeded. No one suspected the truth until
his infamous army was in Espinal. Then it was too late. The carnage was
terrible. But do you call that a nice action? It was nothing but the
lowest deceit. It was enough to make our soldiers furious."

Dolores giggled. "They say he went to his officers and told them:
'Compadres, we are now going into Espinal. I will meet you at the
Plaza, and I will shoot the last man who arrives there.' Dios! There
ensued a foot-race."

"It is well for him to train his men how to run fast," said Jose,
frowning sternly, "for some day they will meet Luis Longorio, and
then--you will see some of the swiftest running in all the world."

"Yes! Truly!" Dolores was trembling with excitement, her voice was
shrill. "God will need to lend them speed to catch this army of
Longorio's. Otherwise no human legs could accomplish it."

"Bah! Who can argue with a woman?" sneered Jose.

Alaire, who had listened smilingly, now intervened to avert a serious
quarrel.

"When the train arrives," she told her horse-breaker, "I want you to
find General Longorio and ask him to come here."

"But, senora!" Jose was dumfounded, shocked. "He is a great general--"

"Give him this note." Quickly writing a few lines on a page from her
note-book, she gave him the scrap of paper, which he carefully placed
in his hat; then, shaking his head doubtfully, he left the car.

Flushed with triumph, Dolores took the first occasion to enlarge upon
her theme.

"You will see what a monster this Longorio is," she declared. "It was
like him to steal your beautiful cattle; he would steal a crucifix.
Once there was a fine ranch owned by a man who had two lovely
daughters--girls of great respectability and refinement. But the man
was a Candelerista. Longorio killed him--he and his men killed
everybody on the hacienda except the daughters, and those he captured.
He took them with him, and for no good purpose, either, as you can
imagine. Naturally the poor creatures were nearly dead with fright, but
as they rode along the elder one began talking with Longorio's
soldiers. She made friends with them. She pretended to care nothing
about her fate; she behaved like a lost person, and the soldiers
laughed. They liked her spirit, God pity them! Finally she declared she
was a famous shot with a pistol, and she continued to boast until one
of her guard