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.

"Who is she?" he asked.

"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?"

The curate nodded in affirmation.

"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, senor capitan--It's also true that you--"

Here he broke off with another laugh as he buried his spoon in the
red meat of a wild papaya.

The curate, confused, and not over-intent upon what he was saying,
replied, "That's because I have to answer for the money--"

"A good answer, reverend shepherd of souls!" interrupted the alferez
with his mouth full of food. "A splendid answer, holy man!"

Ibarra wished to intervene, but Padre Salvi controlled himself by
an effort and said with a forced smile, "Then you don't know, sir,
what is said about the disappearance of those boys? No? Then ask
your soldiers!"

"What!" exclaimed the alferez, all his mirth gone.

"It's said that on the night they disappeared several shots were
heard."

"Several shots?" echoed the alferez, looking around at the other
guests, who nodded their heads i