"No, no, I will go with you," the monk exclaimed, with a look of terror; "_caspita!_ I want to take advantage of your escort." "Then make haste, for I shall give orders to start within five minutes." The officer, after looking round the plain, gave his _asistente_ orders to bring up his horse, and mounted with that grace peculiar to Mexican riders. The monk stifled a sigh of regret, probably thinking of the savoury hospitality he was leaving, to run the risk of a long journey, and, aided by the arrieros, he contrived to lift himself on to a mule, whose loins gave way beneath the enormous load. "Ouf!" he muttered, "Here I am." "To horse!" the officer commanded. The dragoons obeyed at once, and for a few seconds the clash of steel could be heard. The maiden, to whom we have alluded, had hitherto stood silent and motionless in the doorway, apparently suffering from some secret agitation, and looking now and then anxiously at two or three Campesinos, who, leaning negligently against the wall of the venta, listlessly followed the movements of the party; but at the moment when the Captain was about to give the order to start, she resolutely went up to him and offered him a mechero. "Your cigarette is not lighted, sir," she said, in a soft and melodious voice. "On my honour, 'tis true," he replied, and bending gallantly down to her, he returned her the mechero, saying, "thanks, my pretty child." The girl profited by this movement, which brought his face close to hers, to whisper hurriedly-- "Take care!" "What?" he said, as he looked fixedly at her. Without replying, she laid her finger on her rosy lips, and turning quickly away, ran back into the venta. The Captain drew himself up, frowned savagely, and bent a threatening glance on the two or three fellows leaning against the wall, but he soon shook his head. "Bah!" he muttered, disdainfully, "they would not dare." He then drew his sabre, whose blade glistened dazzlingly in the sunbeams, and placed himself at the head of the troop. "Forward!" he shouted. They started at once. The mules followed the bell of the Néna, and the dragoons collected round the _recua_ enclosed it in their midst. For a few minutes the Campesinos, who had been watching the departure of the troop, looked after it along the winding road, then re-entered the venta one by one. The girl was seated alone on an _equipal_, apparently busily engaged in sewing; still, through the almost imperceptible tremor that agitated her body, the flush on her brow, and the timid look she shot through her long eyelashes on the entrance of the Campesinos, it was easy to read that the calmness she affected was far from her heart, and that, on the contrary, a secret fear tormented her. These Campesinos were three in number; they were men in the full vigour of life, with harshly marked features, firm glances, and brusque and brutal manners. They wore the Mexican border costume, and were well armed.