you fly?"

Russell shuddered more than ever. Fly? Not he! She might tear him to
pieces, but he would never fly with her. Fly? Why, it was impossible!
He might, indeed, fly from her; but as to flying _with_ her, that
could not be thought of.

He shrunk back, trembling in every limb.

"I can't," he said--"I can't; I'm too weak--I'm old--and weak and
worn out.

"But I say," continued Rita, impatiently, "that I sall take you to a
place where you sall restar."

"I can't," said Russell.

"Do you intendar to keep you promeese?"

"What promise?" said Russell, hesitatingly.

"To marry me," said Rita, coldly.

"Marry you! I never said that," replied Russell.

"You did."

"I did not. I have a wife living--you know that surely. She is in the
castle."

"She? Bah! She is dead. I know that," said Rita, triumphantly.

Russell shuddered more than ever. Dead! dead! he thought. What a
thought of horror! And how? Was it this woman that did the deed--this
fiend from the robbers' hold--to make room for herself? Russell felt
that she was capable of any enormity, and his soul sickened at the
thought. He groaned, and was silent.

"Dead, I tell you! dead! She is dead! Aha! you think me fool, simple,
aha! But I know, I know to take car' of the number one! Aha! how you
like that, meestaire?

"And now leest'n," continued Rita. "You not fly? Very well. You sall
come to the castle. You sall stay with the capitan. You sall tell him
all--I tell him all. He sall judge and decidar. Come! come! You sall
not stay here. You sall go and restar you old bone."

Rita motioned to him sternly to follow, and Russell obeyed. He was
not at all disinclined to move in this direction, since it led him to
the friendly protection of the castle. It was with uncommon vigor and
nimbleness that he followed his tormentor down the steep side, and
across the brook at the bottom, and up the other side. Rita noticed
this, and said, scornfully:

"You too weak to go one two mile on the level groun', but you strong
enough to descendar and ascendar these cliff. But wait, ola
man--remember if you falsami I sall haf my venganza. Now you go and
spik to the capitan, and you see what he sall do for you."

Rita said no more, but led Russell along until they reached the
castle. There Russell seated himself on the stone floor among the
soldiers, feeling safer here than anywhere, while Rita went away.
Russell supposed that she had gone in search of Lopez to tell her