"Ah!" he exclaimed with an air of savage exultation, "neither tigers nor men may laugh with impunity at Costal, the Zapoteque. As for these jaguars," he continued after a pause, "let them go for this night. There will be nothing lost by waiting till to-morrow. I can soon get upon their trail again; and a jaguar whose haunt is once known to me, is a dead animal. To-night we have other business. There will be a new moon; and that is the time when, in the foam of the cascade, and the surface of the solitary lake, the Siren shows herself--the Siren of the dishevelled hair." "The Siren of the dishevelled hair?" "Yes; she who points out to the gold-seeker the rich _placers_ of gold-- to the diver the pearls that lie sparkling within their shells at the bottom of the great ocean." "But who has told you this?" inquired Clara, with a look of incredulity. "My fathers--the Zapoteques," replied Costal, in a solemn tone of voice; "and why should _they_ not know? They have learnt these things from Tlaloc and Matlacuezc--gods they were, as powerful as the Christ of the pale faces. Why--" "Don't speak so loud!" interrupted Clara, in a voice that betokened alarm. "The priests of the Christians have their ears everywhere. They might call it blasphemy; and _carrambo_! the Inquisition has its dangers for blacks as well as whites!" On hearing the word Inquisition the Indian involuntarily lowered his voice; but continued speaking in a tone that his companion could still hear him. "My fathers," said he, "have told me that the Siren never appears to any one who is alone. It is necessary that two be present--two men of tried courage they must be--for the divinity is often wrathful at being invoked, and at such times her anger is terrible. As two men are required, I need another besides myself. Will you then be my companion?" "Hum!" said Clara. "I may boast that I am not afraid of a man; though I confess I cannot say the same about a tiger. As to your Siren, that appears to be the very devil--" "Man, tiger, or devil," cried Costal, "why fear any of the three? What need one care for them--one who has a stout heart--especially when the reward of his courage is gold, and enough of it to make a grand lord out of a poor Indian?" "And of a negro as well?" "Without doubt." "Say, rather," rejoined Clara, with an air of discouragement, "that gold could serve neither one nor the other. Black and Indian, both are slaves, and our masters would soon take it from us." "True enough what you say; but let me tell you, Clara, that the bondage of the Indian is approaching its end. Have you not heard that up in the north--in the _tierra adentro_--a priest has proclaimed the emancipation of all races, and equal liberty for all?" "No," replied the negro, betraying his total ignorance of the political affairs of the country, "I have heard nothing about it."