"That is what everybody said down there; it seems, too, that such is General Rubio's opinion, for the cause of all the disturbance I heard was the arrival of a large body of troops commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel, who had orders to shut himself up in the hacienda, and defend it to the last extremity." "In that case war is declared?" "Of course." "Civil war," Tranquil continued, mournfully, "that is to say, the most odious and horrible of all; a war in which fathers fight against sons, brothers against brothers, in which friend and foe speak the same tongue, issue from the same stem, have the same blood in their veins, and through that very reason are the more inveterate and rend each other with greater animosity and rage; civil war, the most horrible scourge that can crush a people! May God grant in his mercy that it be short; but, since divine patience is at length wearied, and the Omnipotent has permitted this fratricidal struggle, let us hope that right and justice may remain victorious, and that the oppressors, who are the cause of all these misfortunes, may be for ever expelled from a territory which they have too long sullied by their unworthy and odious presence." "May God grant it!" his hearers replied, in a deep voice. "But how did you succeed in escaping from the hacienda after the arrival of the troops, Quoniam?" Tranquil continued. "I saw that, if I amused myself by admiring the uniform and fine appearance of the troops, when order was slightly restored, the gates would be closed, and my hopes of escaping foiled for a long time. Without saying a word, I dismounted, and leading my horse by the bridle, glided through the mob so cleverly, that I at length found myself outside. I then leaped into the saddle, and pushed straight ahead. I was only just in time, I declare, for five minutes later all the gates were closed." "And then you came straight here?" Quoniam smiled cunningly. "Do you think so?" he said. "Hang it! I suppose so, at least." "Well, you are mistaken, gossip; I did not return straight here: and yet it was not my inclination that prevented it, I assure you." "What happened, then?" "You will see, for I have not finished yet." "Go on, then; but be brief, if that is possible." "Every man does what he can, and you have no right to ask more of him." "That is true, speak as you think proper."