He besought Alaire to exercise
forbearance toward him, and, above all, to use the extremest
caution in regard to her own well-being, for if aught befell her,
if even a despicable rattlesnake should rise out of the grass to
sting her--caramba! The teniente, in that case, would better
destroy himself on the spot. Otherwise he would surely find
himself, in a short time, with his back to a stone wall and his
face to a firing-squad. That was the sort of man Longorio was.
The speaker wondered if Mrs. Austin really understood his chief's
nature; how determined he was; how relentless he could be. General
Longorio was a remarkable person. Opposition of any sort he could
not brook. His discipline was rigorous and his punishments were
severe; being utterly without fear himself, he insisted upon
implicit obedience in others at whatever cost. For instance,
during the battle of San Pedro, just south of here, a handful of
Rebels had taken refuge in a small, one-roomed adobe house, where
they resisted all efforts at dislodgment. Time and again the
Federals had charged, only to meet a fire too murderous to face.
The slaughter had been terrific. The lieutenant, veteran of many
revolutions, vowed he had never seen a street so full of dead and
wounded as the one in front of this house.
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