Part 35 (1/2)
The soldiers engrossed with their ga also become interested in it--none of the three either saw or heard him And the last he heard of thehtedly calling out--
”_Sota en la puerta,Perico!”
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
A SERIES OF SURPRISES
The _cochero_ had but a confused idea of what he was carrying aith him By the feel, watches, with chains and bracelets; besides some smaller articles wrapped in bits of paper The uncertainty of his getting safe up the cliff hindered hi the this till at sufficient distance froer of pursuit Then the teely and unexpectedly co down upon a ledge of rock, he drew theht of the old, and one with a jewelled case
”_Carrai_!” he exclaimed, as his eyes fell upon the latter, and became fixed in a stare of blank amazement, ”can it be! It is--the Condesa's watch--the very one she would have given me! But how came the hunchback to have it? Surely he s!”
He looked at the second watch, but as it had never been in his hands before, he was unable to identify it Still, it rese, and most likely was the same
The bracelets, chains, necklets, and brooches would be theirs, too; as also the rings and other bijouterie, which the dwarf had found time to do up in paper
”Stolen theatively, as he ran his eyes over the varied assortht, but the other things? Why bless rand pendants--I'm sure I saw them in the ears of the Condesa this very day He couldn't have taken the it _Santo Dios_! How ever has he come by the of apprehension began to creep over hio after his horses he had observed his young rounds And they went alone; Don Ignacio having repaired to a private apartment, where he was accustomed to shut himself up for the examination of State papers, what if the ladies _were_ still in the grounds, in so dead, where all these adornments had been stripped from their persons!
This horrible tableau did the faithful servant in i so very improbable He had some earlier acquaintance with the desperate character of the dwarf, which later experience confirmed Besides, there was the state of the country--thieves and robbers all round--ht of murder!
With a heaviness of heart--a painful fear that there had been athering all up again, and thrusting them back into his pocket, hurried on home
And when home he went not to his own quarters in the coachyard, but straight into the _patio_--the private court of the house There he encountered Pepita; soon as he set eyes on her, asking--
”Where are the _Senoritas_?”
”What's that to you?” saucily retorted the , if I only knew they were safe”
”Safe! Why what's theabout? Have you lost your senses, _ho Look here!”
He had plunged both his hands into his pockets, and drawn theht--watches and jewellery of different kinds, as she saw With a wo swiftly forward to exalance, a her countenance, as it lately had his
”_Ay detone ”What does it all mean, Jose?”
”Just what I want to knowafter the Senoritas But where are they?”
”In the garden, or the grounds soo, and haven't been in since”
”Pray God, they're still alive! Come with me, Pepita Let us look for theave ready assent; and side by side they hastened towards the rear of the house, behind which were the ornao before hearing sounds that set theirall anxiety--the voices of the ladies the!
To Jose and Pepita this see else--a perfect s; costly, too--worth hundreds of _doblones_! Withal, they were so; their lightness of heart due to the knowledge thus gained, that their own lovers were still living and safe; and so of merriment, added by that odd encounter with the _enano_, of which they were yet conversing