e little patient no
good. The surgeon, who was an able man, having dressed the wound with
great care and skill, saw that it was not so deadly as he had at first
supposed. In the midst of the dressing, Luis came to his senses, and was
glad to see his relations, who asked him how he felt. "Pretty well," he
said, only his head and his body pained him a good deal. The surgeon
desired them not to talk to him, but leave him to repose. They did so,
and the grandfather then addressed himself to the master of the house,
thanking him for the kindness he had shown to his nephew. The gentleman
replied that there was nothing to thank him for; the fact being, that
when he saw the boy knocked down, his first thought was that he saw
under the horses' heels the face of a son of his own, whom he tenderly
loved. It was this that impelled him to take the boy up, and carry him
to his own house, where he should remain all the time he was in the
surgeon's hands, and be treated with all possible care. The lady of the
house spoke to the same effect, and with no less kindness and
cordiality.

The grandfather and grandmother were surprised at meeting with so much
sympathy on the part of strangers; but far greater was the surprise of
their daughter, who, on looking round her, after the surgeon's report
had somewhat allayed her agitation, plainly perceived that she was in
the very room to which she had been carried by her ravisher. The damask
hangings were no longer there; but she recognised it by other tokens.
She saw the grated window that opened on the garden: it was then closed
on account of the little patient; but she asked if there was a garden on
the outside, and was answered in the affirmative. The bed she too well
remembered was there; and, above all, the cabinet, on which had stood
the image she had taken away, was still on the same spot. Finally, to
corroborate all the other indications, and confirm the truth of her
discovery beyond all question, she counted the steps of the staircase
leading from the room to the street, and found the number exactly what
she had expected; for she had had the presence of mind to count them on
the former occasion, when she descended them blindfold. On her return
home, she imparted her discovery to her mother, who immediately made
inquiries as to whether the gentleman in whose house her grandson lay
ever had a son. She found he had one son, Rodolfo--as we call him--who
was then in Italy; and on comparing th