rmed, he took her in his arms, and said, "Be calm, my Violante; for
as the Almighty is my witness, Basilio is alive."

"Alive! alive!" she cried; "what does that mean? You are keeping
something back, my husband. I know your passionate nature too well--you
could not let him off so easily. Tell me the whole truth, Robert, or I
shall go mad!"

There was a frantic earnestness in this that would have made evasion
unwise.

"I will, Violante; I will. Listen--for upon my soul, this is the whole
truth: When I saw you drop the pistol and sink back upon the floor, I
knew that you had fainted. I ordered the vaqueros to secure the weapon
and make Basilio descend to the ground. Then I ran upstairs, placed you
on the bed, loosened your clothing, and did what I could to restore
you. But you remained unconscious----"

"Basilio! Basilio! tell me about him."

"I went to the window and sent one of the men to the hacienda for a
doctor for you, and told the other to bring Basilio to this room. He
came in very weak and trembling, for he had fallen from the vine and
was slightly stunned, but not much hurt. He expected me to kill him
here in this room, but I could not do that--I was afraid on your
account, Violante. He was very quiet and ill----"

"Hurry, Robert, hurry!"

"He said nothing. I spoke to him. He hung his head and asked me if I
would let him pray. I told him I would not kill him. A great light
broke over his face. He fell at my feet and clasped my knees and kissed
my boots and wept like a child. It was pitiful, Violante."

"Poor Basilio!"

"He begged me to punish him. He removed his shirt and implored me to
beat him. I told him I would not touch him. He said he would be your
slave and mine all his life; but he insisted that he must make some
physical atonement--he must be punished. 'Very well,' I said. Then I
turned to Nicolas and told him to give Basilio some light punishment,
as that would relieve his mind. Nicolas took him down and lashed him to
the back of a horse, and turned the animal into the horse-corral. Then
Nicolas came back and told me what he had done. I replied that it was
all right, and that as soon as I could leave you I would go and release
Basilio. And then I told Nicolas to go to the range and look up Alice
and bring her home, for she was too weak to come back with me."

"And Basilio is in the corral now?"

"Yes."

"How was he lashed to the horse?"

"I don't know--Nicolas didn't tell me; but you m