"Were you with Don Juan Martin?" "Yes. I followed him right up to the English, but they confounded us with shot. Caramba! how the bullets went, phiz! phiz! I shall never forget it. I missed a stroke at one of them with my lance, and before I knew what had happened my horse reared and fell over with me, and caught my leg so that I could not get away. Dios! what moments those were! it appeared a century. Afterwards, when they were coming to finish me, there was a tall man, one of the city, who spoke to them in their own Castilian, so they let me go, and he gave me a horse, but I did not feel safe till I got back here. Dios mio! for days I did not know whether I was alive or dead. And you, where were you that day? You will excuse me the question." "I was in the quinta all the time." "Jesus!" exclaimed the wife. "Venceslao said they killed all that were there." "They killed some of us," replied Marcelino, "when we tried to keep them out, but when they got inside they let the rest of us go." "Look you, what an escape you made! You have never seen them again I feel sure," said Venceslao. "I did though. I went off to Las Conchas, and had my revenge at the Reconquest." "Also you found yourself in that affair? Already you had not enough of them?" "A patriot never has enough while an enemy treads the soil of his native country." "A patriot! what is that?" "A patriot is one who is ready to make every sacrifice for the good of his country, as you did when you risked your life for our country at Perdriel." "You are mistaken. They talked to us in the encampment about that; but excuse me, I am not a patriot, of that I understand nothing. I went to the war because Julian Sanchez was going, and asked me to go with him. You see he has done me many favours, he is my brother-in-law, and we were always great friends, so that I could not do less than go when he invited me." "And how did it go with him?" asked Don Gregorio. "Well. He did not find himself at the fight, he had gone the night before to visit some friends at San José de Flores." "And afterwards?" "He presented himself to Don Juan Martin at Las Conchas, but when he found I was not with them he came back to tell my family that I was killed, and here he found me alive." "The English are coming again," said Don Gregorio. "You don't say so!" "True. And there will come more of them this time." "And all will be to do over again. Look you what heretics they are, that they will not leave us in peace; for my part I abhor them; why did they come here at first?" "They are at war with the Spaniards," replied Marcelino. "Last year they had a great fight with the Spanish ships on the sea, and the English were the strongest; so now they go about in their ships where they like, and wherever they find Spaniards on the land where they can get near in their ships they come on shore and fight them." "And that is what they call war?" said Venceslao. "Look you that they are barbarians."