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A means presented itself to his mind, by which his enterprise

might succeed. This was to call to his aid the assistance of a

man whose power could accomplish whatever he thought fit to

undertake, and for whom the difficulty of an enterprise would be

only an additional motive for engaging in it. But this project

had nevertheless its inconveniences and dangers, the consequences

of which it was impossible to calculate. No one could foresee the

termination of an affair, when they had once embarked in it with

this man; a powerful auxiliary, assuredly, but a guide not less

absolute than dangerous. Such reflections kept Don Roderick many

days in a state of painful irresolution: he received, in the

meanwhile, a letter from his cousin, informing him that the

intrigue was prospering. After the lightning came the thunder.

One fine morning he heard that Father Christopher had left the

convent of Pescarenico!