ourselves at the stream, then stood there for half an hour watching
the dog. He seemed to be half-famished with thirst, and came towards
the stream to drink; but before he got half-way to it the vultures,
by twos and threes, began to advance, when back he flew and chased
them away, barking. After resting a few minutes beside the corpse, he
came again towards the stream, till, seeing the hungry birds advance
once more, he again flew back at them, barking furiously and foaming
at the mouth. This we saw repeated many times, and at last, when we
left, we tried once more to entice the dog to follow us, but he would
not. Two days after that we had occasion to pass by that spot again,
and there we saw the dog lying dead beside his dead master."

"Good God," I exclaimed, "how horrible must have been the feelings you
and your companions experienced at such a sight!"

"No, senor, not at all," replied the old man. "Why, senor, I myself
put the knife into that man's throat. For if a man did not grow
accustomed to shed blood in this world, his life would be a burden to
him."

What an inhuman old murderer! I thought. Then I asked him whether he
had ever in his life felt remorse for shedding blood.

"Yes," he answered; "when I was a very young man, and had never before
dipped weapon in human blood; that was when the siege began. I was
sent with half a dozen men in pursuit of a clever spy, who had passed
the lines with letters from the besieged. We came to a house where,
our officer had been informed, he had been lying concealed. The master
of the house was a young man about twenty-two years old. He would
confess nothing. Finding him so stubborn, our officer became enraged,