"Oh! as to the general," said the girl briskly, "he defended himself like a lion, and only fell after a heroic resistance." "Is he dead, then?" Loyal Heart asked, with great emotion. "Oh! no!" she said almost cheerfully, "he is only wounded. I saw the bandits pass as they carried him away; I even believe that his wounds are slight, so much did the ladrones spare him during the combat." "I am glad to hear it!" said the hunter; and he hung his head with a pensive air: then, after a pause of an instant, he added, hesitatingly, and with a slight tremor in his voice, "your young mistress, what has become of her?" "My mistress, Doña Luz?" "Yes, Doña Luz--for so I believe she is called; I would give much to know where she is, and to be certain she is in safety." "She is so, since she is near you," said a harmonious voice. And Doña, Luz appeared, still pale from the poignant emotions she had undergone, but calm; she had a smile on her lips, and her eyes sparkled brilliantly. No one present could repress a movement of extreme surprise at the unexpected apparition of the young lady. "Oh! God be praised!" the hunter cried; "our succour has not, then, been completely useless." "No," replied she, kindly; but she shortly added with sadness, whilst a shade of melancholy clouded her features, "now that I have lost him who was to me as a father, I come to ask your protection, Caballero." "It is yours, madam," he replied with warmth. "And as to your uncle, oh! depend upon me; I will restore him to you, if the enterprise costs me my life. You know," he added, "that before today I have proved my devotion to you and him." The first emotion over, it became a question how the young girl had succeeded in escaping the researches of the pirates. Doña Luz gave as simple an account as possible of what had passed. The young lady had thrown herself, with all her clothes on, upon the bed; but anxiety kept her awake, a secret presentiment warned her to be on her guard. At the cry uttered by the pirates, she started from her bed in terror and amazement, and at once perceived that flight was impossible. Whilst casting a terrified look around her, she perceived some clothes thrown in a disorderly manner into a hammock, and hanging over the sides of it. An idea, which appeared to come to her from Heaven, shot across her brain like a luminous flash. She glided under these clothes, and curling herself up into as little space as possible, she crouched at the bottom of the hammock, without altering the disordered state of the things. God had ordained it that the chief of the bandits, while searching, as he thought, everywhere, never dreamt of plunging his hand into what seemed an empty hammock. Saved by this chance, she remained thus huddled up for full an hour, a prey to fears of the most appalling nature.