"The first of you that passes this boundary fixed by the church is a dead man. Courage! noble duke. To work again. There are but three of these miscreants. Your lordship's last wish shall be accomplished, were my life to be the forfeit. And you, wretches--woe to him who dares to lay his hand upon a bishop of his church! Accursed be he forever--cut off from the flock of the faithful in this world, to be a howling demon in the other! Down with your swords, and respect the anointed of the Lord!" Ruy Lopez continued, in a jargon of Spanish and Latin, to fulminate anathemas, maledictions, and threats of excommunication, which, at that time, had such influence upon the mass of the people. The effect of this interposition was immediate; for the assistants stood motionless, and Calavarez began to think that to kill a bishop without a special order from the king might expose him to great peril in this world, to say nothing of the next. "I will go to his majesty," said he. "Go to the devil!" replied the bishop, still standing on the defensive. The executioner did not know what to do. Did he go to announce this news to Philip, who was expecting the head of the traitor, he only exposed himself to the consequences of his fury. The odds were not enough in his favor to make him certain of the result of an attempt at force, for the strength of Ruy Lopez was by no means to be despised--and as to the duke, desperation would only add to his well-known prowess. He ended by adopting what appeared to him the wisest decision: he would wait. "Will you pledge your word to close the game in half an hour?" he demanded. "I pledge you my honor," replied the duke. "Agreed, then," said the executioner. "Play away." The truce thus concluded, the players resumed their places and their game. Calavarez, who was also a chess-player, became, in spite of himself, interested in the moves, and the attendants, keeping their eyes upon the duke, seemed to say--"You and the game must end together!" Don Guzman gave one glance around him, and then coolly said-- "Never before have I played in such noble company--but at least I shall not be without witnesses that once in my life I have beaten Don Lopez." And he turned to his game with a smile, but it was a smile of bitter sadness, as though he despised the triumph he had gained. As to the bishop, he kept firm grasp of the handle of the ax, muttering, "If I were sure that the duke and I could get out of this den of tigers, I would not be long breaking the heads of all three." A DISCOVERY. If the three hours had passed but slowly in the prisoner's cell, their flight had not been more rapid at the court of King Philip. The monarch had continued to play with his favorite, Don Ramirez de Biscay; and the nobles, obliged by the rules of etiquette to remain standing, and unable to leave under any pretext, appeared sinking under a fatigue, rendered still greater by the weight of their armor.