Early on the ensuing morning, ere
the day fairly broke, Alfonzo opened the
door of the hut and walked forth. He had
passed a sleepless night. The wrongs
of his country, his sympathy for Luis, the
edicts of Abdelasis, all pressed upon his
thoughts and kept him waking. The most
of the night he passed in pacing his room
and devising a thousand schemes of exalted
patriotism; but each of which he
rejected as visionary. Conscious of his
own weakness and that of Spain, compared
with the power of Abdelasis, he
he felt that all he could do was to weep
and pray for his country. He felt—so
reasoned he—that it was for God's honor
that the crescent should be overthrown
and the cross replaced, and he trusted
that God would open a way to have it
done. He trembled too for the safety of
Xariffa. Ignorant that Abdelasis had
seen and spoken with her, he nevertheless
feared for her lest she might be taken
away during his absence, as Agata
had been borne off. He could not, however,
place her where she could be safer.
His hut was his only castle, and no place
he could command was safer than that.
To be there always was impossible; yet
he hoped that the retired bamlet would
escape the marauding parties of the
Moors. At any rate, he resotved that
either he or Gaspar would always remain
at home; and he determined to arm all
in the hamlet, and keep up a watch upon
the path down to the valley. The ab
sence of Genilla also, to Cordova, with
her father, now for two days, deeply occupied
his mind. His thoughts were tortured
with the imaginations of a thousand
evils which might have befallen her. At
one moment he felt it his duty to go and
seek her and ascertain her fate, and at the
next he felt that a duty equally sacred
called upon him to remain for the protection
of Xariffa. He could not divide
himself. He was, therefore, in a state of
the most painful anxiety and suspense.

Gladly, therefore, did he hail the first
note of the cock which proclaimed the
night departed and day at hand.

It was still dark when he came out of
doors. The stars were glittering like
diamonds, and scarce a change in the
deep blue of the sky, told which was the
eastern horizon.

The air was still, and silence and
peace reigned everywhere about him,
save in his bosom. He walked on a few
paces, and he then thought he saw some
object move in the darkness before him.
He looked intently, and listening, he was
sure he heard a small stone move, as if
it had struck against another, as a footstep
would disturb it. He thought of his
fold of gazelles on the north side of his
hut, and of the prowling wolf, and whistled
low for his dog, while he stepped
back into the door for his wolf-spear. He
came out instantly, followed by Gaspar,
whom he had called up. Both were armed
and advancing cautiously towards the
deep shadows under the woody rock,
where he had heard the movemenls; he
could discover nothing. They walked
around the fold, and all was quiet. Ban
the wolf-dog came towards them and
rubbed his nose against them, and seemed
to suspect something.

`It must have been your fancy, boy,'
said Gaspar.

`I am sure I saw some object moving,
but so indistinctly, I could not tell

[figure description] Page 028.[end figure description]

whether man or beast. The next moment I
heard the noise under that date-rock.'

`It may have been the dog himself.'

`It is likely, since we discover nothing.
If it had been a wolf, he would
have left his scent on the air, and Ban
would have snuffed it! Do you go to
the hills this morning, father?'

`Why do you ask that? Have I not
four score goats to feed on the mountains?
Must I not watch them and show
them where to browse, and pick up their
scanty forage? I am not rich enough to
stay in the valley a day while the Moor
is in the land. I might ask you if
you were going to keep your sixty gazelles
and kids in their folds to-day!—
Come, let us rake our breakfasts in our
scrips and off!'

With these words, Gaspar, who this
morning was in a worse humor than
usual, removed the oaken bar from the
gate of his fold, and going in sullenly,
drove out his herd and turned them up
the mountain. He then entered his cabin,
where Xariffa was already stirring,
took his bag or scrip containing his
breakfast, and fastened it to his rough
and hairy girdle.

`Now the good angels keep thee on
the hills to-day, father!' said the maiden,
as she kissed, as her custom was, his
cheek before he went out. `Thy face
is heavy! I hope thou art not ill!'

`I am sick for poor Spain, daughter,'
was his answer. `Keep close within today.
Thou knowest enemies are abroad.
I shall not wander out of sight of the cabin,
so that if the Moor be seen in the
valley, coming this way, I may be here
to do battle for thee!'

`Father, the Holy Virgin will protect
all who trust in her!'

`I hope so, child, I hope so! Let me
kiss thee again! There! Now take care
of thyself. I feel sad to-day, very sad
and heavy. But it will pass off when I
get upon the hills where the fresh air
blows!'

At this moment entered Alfonzo, who
had also turned his gazelles from the
fold and sent them with Ban up the hill-side.

`Boy,' said Gaspar, `we have a kid
here to guard against worse wolves than
menances our folds. If thou canst keep
in sight of the hamlet through the day,
and also have a sharp eye upon the roads
in the valley. If thou seest any parties
prowling about our glen, hasten home,
sounding thy goat-horn with the fierce
war notes that used to ring in the ears of
El Zegris!'

`I will do so, father. I feel that we
have in Xariffa a most sacred charge.—
At any hour the Moor may be in our
hamlet!'

`Fear not, brother,' said the matden,
smiling, though in truth she felt sorrowful
at heart; for since she knew that the
youthful Moor who had declared his passion
fer her was the same Abdelasis, now
become Caliph, she trembled at a power
which, prompted by his mad love, might
make her its victim. `Fear not, brother.
The fearless are ever secure!'

`Heaven grant that no danger come
nigh thee, my sister. I go now upon the
hills, but as no Moor can come near the
hamlet without being seen in the valley,
I shall be here as soon as a foe can be.
But I trust our little humble home will
escape the eye of the destroyer!'

Xariffa now prepared her brother's
breakfast as she had her father's, and in
a few minutes afterwards he was slowly
winding his way up the side of the mountain
after his gazelles. The dawn was
just silvering the east as he reached the
rock by the old date tree where he had
first heheld Abdelasis, when haughtily
advancing he commanded him and the
hermit to give way and let him pass.—
The valley of the Guadalquiver still lay

[figure description] Page 029.[end figure description]

in darkness and the repose of night. A
he ascended, the light increased, and
when about six hundred feet up the
mountain, he paused, and by a signal
dispersed his gazelles to forage. He
then watched the opening day. Gradually
the sky brightened, changing its
pale, silvery hue to a mellow rose, and
the rose deepened into a purple, which
rapidly catching the glories of the advancing
sun, became a rich deep hue of
gold.

The valley threw off its veil of darkness,
and the forest stood boldly forth
from the plains, and then the vineyards
became distinct, then the villas upon
them and the gardens; and soon the Guadalquiver,
catching the golden radiance of
the moon, shone like a burnished spear;
and suddenly the crescents of the Mosques
in Cordova flashed back the first
beams of the sun which had already
some minutes before kindled the peaks
of the Sierras.

The position from which Alfonzo beheld
the day advancing hid from his
sight the hamlet; as he intended to go
higher up the mountain still, where it
would once more be in view beneath him,
as well also the Emir's tower. He,
therefore, now began slowly to drive his
flock before him to the higher region of
the mountain. He had proceeded but a
short distance, when he beheld Gaspar,
who was standing upon a bold rock on
the opposite side of a vast cleft in the
hill, and waving his bernish towards him
and at the same time pointing down the
mountain in the direction of the valley.
Alfonzo could also hear him shout, but
could not understand what he said, for
he was a third of a mile distant. But
suspecting from his manner, and seeing
him begin rapidly to descend the rocks
with great leaps, that some enemy was
in sight, he hastened forward to a bold
promontory which commanded a full view
of the hamlet and the family. As he
ran he heard the sound of a horn blown
in the direction of the gorge. Loud
voices came to his ears from the hamlet.
He thought he heard a female shriek.
He bounded onward—he flew! he out-stripped
the wind. He reached the
promontory and glanced down the sleep
mountain side. The roofs of the eight
or nine cabins composing the hamlet
were directly beneath his feet. Could
his eyes be believed. But his ears confirmed
their vision. There was a party
of not less then three score Moorish
horsemen—the fierce Zenetan cavalry
by their red sashes and long lances, in
possession of the hamlet. The door of
the hut was thronged with them. Two
or three mountaineers were seen flying
up the glen with terror, and Pablo was
visible ascending the mountain, blowing
the horn he had heard.

A glance showed all this to the startled
eyes of Alfonzo. He comprehended all
his sister's danger. It was with an effort
he resisted the impulse to fling himself
from the lofty height on which he
stood among his enemies. He saw one
bring his sister forth shrieking, and leap
into his saddle with her in his arms. He
staid but a second to wind a war blast
upon his horn, and then, with rage and
grief burning his breast, he flew to her
rescue, not calculating the numbers
against him. The strange conduct of
Gaspar was now explained to him. He
saw that he had first discovered the Moors
in the hamlet.

As he descended, Gaspar met him at
the intersection of the paths. Neither
spoke a word, but, grasping hands, bounded
down the steep path towards the
hamlet. As they descended they could
see the Moors galloping out of the hamlet,
and beheld them going at a slow pace
carefully down the rocky way by the
cascade. They could see Xariffa

[figure description] Page 030.[end figure description]

clasped in the arms of the foremost, borne
farther and farther from their eyes
Who can picture their grief and bitterness
of soul? At length they reached
the hamlet. They stopped not to go into
their now deserted cabin. They knew
that she, so loved, was no longer there.
Pablo and two of the herdsmen of the
hamlet joined them. The five pursued
with the speed of hounds. But horse
were fleeter even than the feet of love or
the wings of vcngeance. When they
got into the plain and could see before
them a mile through the forest, the party
of horse were just visible disappearing
in a slight depression of the road, and
evidently moving at a very rapid rate.

`Stay, Alfonzo! We may as well
stay and leave her to her fate. We can
do nothing. God has cursed us! Let
us lie down and die!' and Gaspar, the
strong stout Gaspar, with his iron frame
and courageous heart, sank upon the
green sward beneath a forest tree, and
buried his head between his knees.

Alfonzo could not gainsay his father's
words. He well knew that pursuit would
be in vain. That to attempt, even if he
came up with the party, to rescue her,
would be attended with the sacrifice of
his own and his father's life without benefit
to her. He stopped, therefore, following
the waving plumes of the Zenetan
horse until they were out of sight, and
then striking his forehead in the anguish
of his soul, he cried, as he gazed upon
his prostrate father,

`You are right, we can do nothing,
you and I and these three; but the time
has come when these shall become three
thousand! From this hour I swear, and
hear me Heaven! I swear that I will
live only for vengeance and the freedom
of Spain! This hour I dedicate myself
to my country! If there be no Prince to
lead, let men follow a peasant, so he lead
them to liberty and revenge!'