"It's the
kind of work I like. Extermination! They have had their warning.
From now on we shall spare neither man, woman, nor child. The men
are traitors, the women breed, and the children grow up."
Cueto nodded his complete approval of this program. "Oh,
decidedly," said he. "This spirit of violence must be stamped out
or none of us will be safe. Let me tell you I myself live in
constant dread of that young villain, Varona. I--hope you haven't
forgotten him."
"Forgotten him?" Colonel Cobo fingered a lately healed scar which
further disfigured his ugly face, then he cursed frightfully.
"It's by God's mercy alone that I'm alive to-night. And I haven't
forgotten the girl, either. She'll have to come in, along with the
others. The boy may stay out, but she can't." He licked his lips.
"Wait until I have finished with this valley. I'll drive the
Yumuri next, as a hunter drives a thicket for his game, and
nothing will slip through."
His thoughts once turned upon Rosa, the colonel could talk of
little else, and Cueto realized that the girl had indeed made a
deep impression upon him. The overseer was well pleased, and when
Cobo finally took himself off to bed he followed in better spirits
than he had enjoyed for some time. For one thing, it was agreeable
to look forward to a night of undisturbed repose.
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