Caneri, "Our surviving men are dispersed and
worn out by repeated misfortunes; most of our chiefs are dead, or have
passed over to Africa, and the only man who had the power of rallying
the straggling Moors, he who alone succeeded in imparting confidence to
his followers, El Feri de Benastepar, is now no more: fallen by the arm
of Aguilar, he shared the fate of those brave men who mingled their own
ashes with those of Alhacen."

"El Feri de Benastepar is not dead," cried the renegade.

Caneri and his men started from the ground with an instinctive impulse
of returning courage, and all, with one accord, sent up an exclamation
of joyful surprise.

"But where is the chief, then?" demanded Caneri.

"There!" replied Bermudo, pointing to the stranger.

"Yes," said he, throwing aside his disguise; "yes, Caneri, in this
humble garb, which necessity has compelled me to adopt, do you again
behold El Feri; conquered by Alonso de Aguilar, but miraculously rescued
from the grasp of death to redeem the tarnished glories of the Moorish
name; to close again in combat with the proud Christian chief, and, with
the assistance of the holy Prophet, to doom him to that untimely death
which he vainly imagines he has inflicted on me."

A simultaneous murmur of approbation ran through the surrounding party;
even Caneri, jealous as he was of the superior power and glory of El
Feri, hailed with real satisfaction his unexpected appearance amongst
them; for in the imagination of Caneri were revived those hopes of
asserting the station of fancied dignity from which he had been hurled
by the late overthrow of the Moors. He again clung to the fond idea that
the Moslem cause would ultimately triumph, and then he of necessity must
succeed to a conspicuous share of power, to which he conceived himself
entitled by his distinguished birth.

Thus the Moors, whom, but a moment before, we have seen in the lowest
state of dejection, now flew to the opposite extreme: they pictured to
their fancy the wonderful powers of El Feri, and the magic influence
which his name would possess in calling again his countrymen to arms,
while the desperate nature of such an undertaking, and the obstacles
with which it was on every side beset, vanished altogether before their
sanguine expectations.

The renegade beheld this general emotion with more signs of discontent
than satisfaction; he argued little advantage to be derived from men,
who could so easily pass from t