Two days after this, Don Carlos Evaña and Colonel Don Gregorio Lopez sat talking together in the plainly-furnished sala of a house in the frontier town of Ranchos, which is situated about ten leagues to the north-east of the Guardia Chascomus. For more than an hour they had talked together, and it was now near sundown. The Colonel sat leaning back in an arm-chair, with his legs stretched out before him, his hat, loosely set on, completely concealed his forehead, his eyes being just visible under the wide flap. He was smoking, and was apparently more intent upon watching the white rings of smoke, which he now and then succeeded in puffing into the air, than upon the conversation of the Senor Evaña. Everything in his demeanour and attitude denoted careless ease, yet now and then there was a hurried, anxious glance in his eye, which showed that the ease was more apparent than real. Don Carlos Evaña was not at all at his ease, and made no attempt to appear so. He had laid aside his cloak and hat, and walked up and down the room, nervously rolling a cigar between his fingers. "All that you say to me is in vain, Carlos," said Don Gregorio. "Mauricia is a pearl among women, the more I know of her the more precious she is to me." "Then marry her, and make her yours for life," replied Evaña. "And break for ever with my father! no!" "I gave you your father's message, word for word, as he gave it to me; he insists upon your severing all connection with that family, as I told you." "With the family with pleasure; I have done that most decisively already by robbing a daughter from them," replied the colonel, with a hollow laugh. "And never did you do anything more contrary to your own interests." "Why do you so insist upon my interests? Granted that I do lose my influence with the paisanage, and that I cease to be comandante, what matters that to you?" "To me! what can it matter to me? But to you it matters more than you think. The day is not far distant when the comandantes will have the destinies of our country in their hands." "Ah! always at that old idea of yours--America for the Americans. It seems to me that we fought the English for Spain and not for America. I raised a regiment and worked like a slave for months, because it was my father's wish that I should do so. How have they rewarded my father?" As Don Gregorio said this all his carelessness disappeared, he thrust his hat back from his forehead, and stamping angrily with one foot on the tiled floor he fiercely repeated his question, "How have they rewarded my father?" "They despise him, and kick him out from amongst them as though he were a dog," replied Evaña. "Pues! why then should I be comandante, to drill troops and run upon the fire, if need be, for them?" "You speak well. But answer me one question. How many Spaniards are there in your regiment?" "None. What do I want with Spaniards?" "In the Partido of Chascomus, how many Spaniards are there who have houses and land?"