heart of a
woman.

As a warrior and a hunter, the haciendado did not attempt to conceal the
interest with which the stranger's narrative was inspiring him.

Rosarita, on the contrary, endeavoured, under a mask of studied
coldness, to conceal the charm she experienced on listening to this
romance of heart and action, whose most stirring pages were so
considerately opened to her by the intelligent narrator.

But her heightened colour and the fire in her large dark eyes completely
belied her efforts.

"Ah!" cried Don Augustin, "if these three brave men had been under Don
Estevan's command, the fate of the expedition might have been far
different."

"I am of the same opinion," replied Gayferos, "but God had ordained it
otherwise. Meanwhile," he continued, "I felt a great longing again to
see my native land, but gratitude required that I should conceal it.
But the old warrior divined my thoughts, and one day addressed me on
this subject.

"Too generous to suffer me alone to brave the dangers of my homeward
journey, the giant hunter resolved to accompany me as far as Tubac. His
companion did not oppose his resolution, and we set out for the
frontier. The young man alone seemed, to follow us reluctantly in this
direction.

"I shall not describe our fatigues and the various difficulties we
surmounted, in the course of our long and perilous journey. I wish,
however, to speak of one of our last encounters with the Indians.

"In order to reach the Presidio we were obliged to cross the chain of
the Rocky Mountains. It was towards the approach of night that we found
ourselves amongst their gloomy solitudes, and we were obliged to halt.

"This is a spot much frequented by the Indians, and we could not encamp
without the greatest precaution.

"Nothing, as it seems to me, can better resemble the abode of condemned
souls than these mountains, where we spent the night. At every moment
strange sounds, which appeared to proceed from the cavities of the
rocks, broke upon our ears. At one time it was a volcano, which rumbled
with dull and heavy noise beneath us, or the distant roar of a cataract:
sometimes resembling the howling of wolves or plaintive cries; and from
time to time dreadful flashes of lightning tore aside the veil of mist
which eternally covers these mountains.

"For fear of a surprise we had encamped upon a rock which projected, in
the form of a table, above a wide open valley about fifty feet below us.