On coming to his senses again, he found himself seated against the bank of the causeway, his head badly bruised, and above all without his mule. The animal, profiting by the opportunity when the three horsemen had alighted to look after her spilt rider, had headed about, and taken the back track at full gallop! Of the three horsemen, one appeared to be the master, and the other two his attendants. "My son!" said the first, addressing the student, "your situation, without being dangerous, is nevertheless sufficiently serious. You will stand in need of that which you cannot obtain in the poor village of Caracuaro, which is, moreover, nearly two leagues distant. The best thing you can do is to mount behind one of my attendants, and ride back with us to the hacienda of San Diego, which we shall reach in an hour. Your mule has taken that direction; and I shall have her caught for you by the _vaqueros_ of the hacienda. You will need a day or two of repose, which you can there obtain. Afterwards you can resume your route. Where were you going?" "To Valladolid," replied Lantejas. "I was on my way to the University, to enter into holy orders." "Indeed! then we are of the same robe," rejoined the horseman with a smile. "I myself am the unworthy curate of Caracuaro--Don Jose Maria Morelos--a name, I presume, you have never heard before." In truth the afterwards illustrious Morelos was at this time entirely unknown to fame, and of course Don Cornelio had never heard his name. The student was no little astonished at the appearance of the man who had thus announced himself as the _cura_ of Caracuaro. For one of the clerical calling his costume was altogether singular--to say nothing of its being rather shabby. A double-barrelled gun, with one barrel broken, hung from his saddle-bow, and an old rusty sabre in a common leathern scabbard dangled against his horse's side. The two domestics were still more plainly attired; and each carried in his hand a huge brass blunderbuss! "And you, Senor padre?" inquired the student in turn. "Where are you going, may I ask?" "I? Well," replied the _cura_, smiling as he spoke, "just as I have told you--to the hacienda of San Diego. After that to Acapulco--to capture the town and citadel in obedience to an order I have received." Such were at this time the equipment and warlike resources of the general, whose name afterwards obtained such heroic renown! His response caused the candidate for holy orders to open his eyes to the widest. He fancied that in the confusion of his head he had not clearly comprehended the meaning of the _cura's_ speech; and he preferred this fancy to the alternative of supposing that the worthy priest of Caracuaro was himself suffering from mental aberration. "What! you an insurgent?" inquired Lantejas, not without some apprehension. "Very true. I am, and have been for a long time."