"But who saved them, then? Whoever the man may be, I swear----" "This man," John Davis interrupted him, "is one of your dearest and most devoted friends." "His name? My friend, tell me his name." "Colonel Melendez." "Oh! I could have sworn it," the young man said impetuously; "why cannot I thank him?" "You will soon see him." "How so?" "At this moment he is busy seeking a safe retreat for the old hunter and his daughter. For the present we shall remain at this rancho, from which he will be able to keep the Mexican soldiers off; and so soon as he has found another shelter, he will himself come to tell us." "Always kind and devoted! I shall never be able to pay my debt to him." "Who knows?" the American said philosophically; "luck will, perhaps, turn for us, and then it will be our turn to protect our protectors of today." "You are right, my friend; may Heaven grant that it is so; but how did it all happen?" "The Colonel, who seemed, from what he said to me, to have foreboded the danger that Doña Carmela ran, arrived just at the moment, when attacked on all sides at once, and too weak to resist the enemies who overwhelmed us, we were preparing, as we had promised, to die at our post; you can guess the rest. By threats and entreaties, he drove back the soldiers who were attacking us: then, not satisfied with having freed us from our enemies, he desired to secure us against all danger, and accompanied us thus far, recommending us to wait for him here, which I believe we shall be wise in doing." "Certainly, acting otherwise would be ungrateful. Go, now, my friend, I will wait for you." John Davis, understanding the anxiety from which the young man was suffering, did not let the invitation be repeated, but entered the rancho. The Jaguar remained alone, and was not sorry for it, for he wished to restore some order in his ideas. He felt himself inundated with immense joy at finding again, safe and sound, those whom he had believed dead, and whom he so bitterly lamented; he could scarce dare believe in such happiness, and fancied he must be dreaming, so impossible did all this appear to him. In less than ten minutes John Davis returned. "Well?" the young man asked. "Come," he answered laconically. The American led him forward through a room in which were about a dozen Texans, among them being Fray Antonio, Lanzi, and Quoniam, who were sleeping on trusses of straw laid on the boards. He then pushed open a door and the two men entered a second room not quite so large, and lighted by a smoky candle, standing on a table, which diffused but a dim light. Tranquil was lying on a bed of furs piled on each other, while Doña Carmela was sitting on an equipal by his side. On seeing the young man, she rose quickly and ran to meet him.