“What am I to do with you?” he asked. “These men must come in here. There is nowhere else I can talk with them. Must I tie you up and gag you?”

“No! No!” Skye cried. “I promise you, I give you my word of honour that I will stay in my bedroom and not make a sound.”

He went close to her and taking her chin between his fingers in his characteristic way, lifted her face to his.

“Can I believe you?”

“I swear it,” Skye answered. “Do you think I would trust myself to Alejo after all you have told me about him?”

He looked down at her, at the clearness of her eyes and at the warm softness of her lips and slowly he bent his head.

“I believe you,” he said as he kissed her.

Skye slipped away into her room.

She had only been there a minute when she heard footsteps crossing the floor.

“You may remove the bandages from your eyes, gentlemen.” she heard El Diablo say.

Very very softly, Skye tiptoed to the curtain that divided her bedroom from the outer cave.

There was a small hole in the leather – she had noticed it several days ago when it had caught the button of her dress as she brushed past it.

She bent her head and peeped through.

She could see quite clearly the three men standing facing El Diablo.

One was an elderly man, the other two were young. They were dressed in the blue and white uniform of the Mariposan Army, ornamented with an enormous amount of gold braid. All three sported a considerable number of medals and they wore over their shoulders black cloaks lined with crimson.

“Will you sit down, gentlemen?” El Diablo asked.

The Indians brought forward chairs as he spoke and then set wine on the table by the couch and carried in the hot maté.

“Your men will be well looked after,” El Diablo said, “but I regret that they will not be allowed to remove the bandages from their eyes. I am trusting you gentlemen that if by any chance you see a face while you are here, you will forget it when you leave.”

“Yes, yes,” the older man said testily, “our business is more important than a few fugitives from justice.”

“I was certain of that,” El Diablo replied.

The leader of the deputation cleared his throat.

“May I introduce myself?” he asked. “I am Colonel Don Pelayo and I have been entrusted by El Supremo to approach you on a matter of great importance.”

“Which is?” El Diablo enquired.

“El Supremo feels that the time has come when it is imperative that we throw away our differences and merge our interests. The country’s finances will not permit the present state of affairs to continue. A compromise must be reached. El Supremo has empowered me to present you with this paper in which he sets forth various suggestions.”