word, his consolation and your torture."

With a bound, Juancho stood beside Militona, whose arm he rudely
grasped.

"Do not repeat it," he exclaimed, "or I throw you, with my knife in your
heart, upon the body of your minion."

"What care I!" cried the courageous girl. "Think you I will live, if he
dies?"

Andres made a desperate effort to raise himself. He endeavoured to call
out; a reddish foam rose to his lips--his wound had opened. He fell back
senseless upon his pillow.

"If you do not depart," cried Militona to the torero, "I hold you vile,
base, and a coward. I believe all that has been said of you; I believe
that you could have saved Domingues when the bull knelt upon his breast,
and that you would not, because you were meanly jealous of him."

"Militona! Militona! you have a right to hate me, although never did man
love woman as I love you; but you have no right to despise me. No human
power could save Domingues."

"If you would not have me think you an assassin, depart!"

"Yes, I will wait till he is cured," replied Juancho, in a gloomy
tone.--"Take good care of him. I have sworn, that whilst I live, no man
shall call you his."

During this stormy scene, old Aldonsa had slipped out to sound an alarm
in the neighbourhood. Five or six men now rushed into the room, seized
Juancho and dragged him out with them. But on the landing-place he shook
them from him, as a bull shakes off a pack of dogs, and forcing his way
through all opposition, reached the street and was lost to view in the
maze of buildings that surrounds the Plaza de Lavapies.

The friends of Don Andres de Salcedo, uneasy at his disappearance, had
already applied to the police to obtain news of his fate. Researches
were made, and Argamasilla and Covachuelo, two of the most wily
alguazils of the secret police, at last succeeded in ferreting out
traces of the missing cavalier. Orders were given to arrest Juancho the
bull-fighter, on a charge of assassination. But the Madrid police are
not very celebrated for courage and decision, and the two thief-catchers
above named, to whom the execution of the warrant was intrusted,
proceeded on their mission with infinite delicacy, awed by the notorious
strength and fierceness of the torero. Evil tongues were ready to assert
that they took considerable pains not to meet with the man for whose
capture they affected to be anxious. At last, however, a clumsy spy
reported to them that the object of their