querida!"

Clara lost not a moment in seeking her father, and in communicating to
him her important intelligence. Cool action was indispensably necessary:
for the first and the last time in their lives, there was a secret
between the sisters. After dinner, Don Alonzo expressed a wish to ride,
to see if any changes had taken place in the neighborhood, and his
daughters declining to accompany him, as had been agreed between them,
he invited his secretary, with the castellan and his wife, to accompany
him--an honor which they gladly accepted. Soon after their departure,
Clara sent a note Don Alonzo had written, by the hands of their trusty
Anselmo, to the village of Alcantra, requiring the immediate attendance
of the band of soldiers stationed there; and before the return of the
carriage, they were admitted by Maria, and conducted to a room adjoining
Clara's, the weak-minded Sebastiano being easily kept out of the way.

At night, a change of apartments took place: Clara and Magdalena slept,
or rather waked, in their father's room, and he quietly awaited in
theirs the progress of events. At twelve o'clock, he heard the slight
sound described by his daughter, as proceeding from the opening of the
panel. He waited a few moments, to allow the intruders to enter, and
then, beholding forms arrayed in flames and white winding-sheets before
him, he raised the pistol he held in his hand, pulled the trigger, and
the foremost fell groaning to the ground. Instantly the soldiers and
servants stationed in the adjoining chamber rushed into the room with
lights, and before the rest of the villains could recover from their
surprise, they were all captured. Upon raising the wounded man, they
beheld, gnashing his teeth with fury, Senor Baptista himself, the leader
of the band! ten men were they in all, and as they subsequently
discovered, this comprised the whole of the banditti. Entirely under the
control of the artful Baptista, their object was not to injure, but to
alarm the Conde's family, hoping thus to drive them away from a place
filled with supernatural horror; whereas any harm done to them would
have infallibly brought down upon their heads the vengeance of
government.

Francisca, also, was secured, and the whole band was sent off to the
nearest prison, to await their trial. The attempt was made to work upon
the woman's fears of Francisca, to induce her to make confession, and to
implicate her companions. Iron can be fashioned int