When Joaquin arrived in front of the mansion, he found the young and lovely lady standing in the portico. She was attired in the rich garb of a Mexican cavalier. But neither the large topped boots, nor the ample poncho could disguise the matchless symmetry of that perfect form: rich in every grace that renders woman resistless. Her rounded bosom heaved wildly beneath the folds of her poncho as Joaquin lifted his hat before her, at the same moment reining in his foaming steed with such a sudden and powerful effort, that the spirited animal was forced down almost on his haunches. ‘_Buenos noches_, Donna Inez,’ said the robber, for such he was, respectfully. ‘Thank you—thank you, Joaquin, for your promptness. You are indeed grateful,’ said Donna Inez. ‘My dear lady,’ replied Joaquin, ‘give me I beg of you, an opportunity to prove my gratitude in some more difficult shape than in riding a short distance on a fine evening.’ ‘I will Joaquin. I desire this night, to have your aid in an enterprise full of difficulty; nay, of absolute danger,’ said Inez. ‘Danger!’ cried the robber, and his bright black eyes dilated and sparkled like those of a war-horse when the clangor of trumpets smites his ear. ‘Let the enterprise be full of danger and I will execute it for the danger’s sake—much more willingly however, if I also serve you, my dear, my noble young lady. Oh, never can be effaced from my heart your kindness to my poor, darling Carmencitto, after those fiends had—’ the robber paused, his swarthy visage became of ashy hue, and his strong frame trembled with some violent emotion. ‘Enough of this—I live but for two purposes—gratitude to you, and revenge on them hell-born villains—then welcome death in any shape; for what have I more to do in this world, when my poor Carmencitto lies in her cold grave?’ Inez, who knew how cruelly this man had been treated, waited ere she again addressed him. When he became somewhat calmer, she said: ‘Joaquin, some villains have seized the brave young man who saved my life, and carried him to the lone hut over among the sand-hills. I am determined to rescue him, and need your aid, and that of some of your friends.’ ‘Most willingly,’ replied Joaquin, and placing a small silver bugle to his lips he blew two notes, so sharp and loud that their echoes could be heard reverberating from the distant hills. But awakening the echoes were not the only effect. In a few moments, coming from different directions, nearly a dozen horsemen could be seen drawing towards the spot where the sounds proceeded.