El Rayo, after passing through the whole detachment, of whom he killed seven, and hurled an eighth to the ground with his horse's chest, suddenly checked the rapid pace of his steed, and after halting for a few minutes a hundred yards off with an air of defiance, seeing that the dragoons did not pursue him--which the poor horrified fellows had no intention of doing, as they only thought of flying, and left their officer in the lurch--he pulled his horse round, and returned to the officer, who was still lying on the ground as if dead.
"Eh, commandant!" he said to him, as he dismounted, "Here is your horse; take it back, it will serve you to reform your soldiers; for my part I require it no longer. I am going to wait for you at the rancho, where, if you still have a desire to arrest me, and have me shot, you will find me ready to receive you until eight o'clock tomorrow morning; so good-bye for the present."
He then waved his hand to him, bestrode his mule, and proceeded to the rancho, which he at once entered.
We need not add that he slept peacefully till the morning, and that the officer and soldiers so eager in his pursuit did not dare come to disturb his rest; they had gone back to Veracruz, without once looking round.
Such was the man whose unexpected apparition among the escort of the berlin had caused such great terror to the soldiers, and entirely chilled their courage.
El Rayo stood for an instant calm, cold, and frowning in the face of the soldiers grouped in front of him, and then said, in a sharp, distinct voice--
"Señores, I fancy you have forgotten that no one but myself has the right to give orders on the high roads of the republic. Señor don Felipe Neri," he added, turning to the officer, who was standing motionless a few paces from him, "you can turn back with your men; the road is perfectly free as far as Puebla--you understand me, I suppose?"
"I do understand you, caballero; still, I fancy," the colonel replied, with some hesitation, "that my duty orders me to escort--"
"Not a word more," El Rayo interrupted him violently; "weigh my words carefully, and mind you profit by them; those whom you expected to meet a few paces further on are no longer there; the corpses of several of them are serving as food for the vultures. You have lost the game for today, so take my advice, and turn back."