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 LINEAR CONTROL
SYSTEM ANALYSIS
AND DESIGN
WITH MATLAE
Fifth Edition, Revised and Expanded

John J. D’Azzo and Constantine H. Houpis

Air Force Institute of Technology
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, U.S.A.

Stuart N. Sheldon
US.Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Lisle, Illinois, U.S.A.

MARCEL

9%DEKKER
MARCELDEKKER,
INC. NEWYORK BASEL

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 The fourth edition was published as Linear Control System Analysis and Design:
Conventional and Modern, by John J. D’Azzo and Constantine H. Houpis (McGraw-Hill,
1995).

Although great care has been taken to provide accurate and current information, neither
the author(s) nor the publisher, nor anyone else associated with this publication, shall be
liable for any loss, damage, or liability directly or indirectly caused or alleged to be caused
by this book. The material contained herein is not intended to provide specific advice or
recommendations for any specific situation.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade-

marks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 0-8247-4038-6
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Headquarters
Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, U.S.A.
tel: 212-696-9000; fax: 212-685-4540
Distribution and Customer Service
Marcel Dekker, Inc., Cimarron Road, Monticello, New York 12701, U.S.A.
tel: 800-228-1160; fax: 845-796-1772

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Marcel Dekker AG, Hutgasse 4, Postfach 812, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland
tel: 41-61-260-6300; fax: 41-61-260-6333
World Wide Web
http://www.dekker.com
The publisher offers discounts on this book when ordered in bulk quantities. For more
information, write to Special Sales/Professional Marketing at the headquarters address
above.
Copyright ß 2003 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. Ali Rights Reserved.
Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher.

Current printing (last digit):

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

PRINTED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 A Series of Reference Books and Textbooks

Editors
NEIL MUNRO, PH.D., D.Sc.
Professor
Applied Control Engineering
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
Manchester, United Kingdom

FRANK L. LEWIS, PH.D.

Moncrief-O'Donnell Endowed Chair
and Associate Director of Research
Automation & Robotics Research Institute
University of Texas, Arlington

I.Nonlinear Control of Electric Machinery, Damn M. Dawson, Jun Hu,

and Timothy C. Burg
2. Computational Intelligence in Control Engineering, Robert E. King
3. Quantitative Feedback Theory: Fundamentals and Applications, Con-
stantine H. Houpis and Steven J. Rasmussen
4. Self-Learning Control of Finite Markov Chains, A. S. Poznyak, K. Najim,
and E. Gomez-Ramirez
5. Robust Control and Filtering for Time-Delay Systems, Magdi S. Mah-
moud
6. Classical Feedback Control: With MATLAB, Boris J. Luhe and Paul J.
Enright
7. Optimal Control of Singularly Perturbed Linear Systems and
Applications: High-Accuracy Techniques, Zoran Gajic' and Myo-Taeg
Lim
a. Engineering System Dynamics: A Unified Graph-Centered Approach,
Forhes T. Brown
9. Advanced Process Identification and Control, Enso lkonen and
Kaddour Najim
10. Modem Control Engineering, P. N. Paraskevopoulos
11. Sliding Mode Control in Engineering, edited by Wilfrid Pwrugueffi and
Jean Pierre Barhot
12. Actuator Saturation Control, edited by Vikram Kapila and Karolos M.
Gngoriadis
13. Nonlinear Control Systems, Zoran VukiC, Ljubomir KuQaCa, Dali
DonlagiC, Sejid Tesnjak

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 14. Linear Control System Analysis and Design with MATLAB: Fifth Edition,
Revised and Expanded, John J. D’Azzo, Consfanfine H. Houpis, and
Sfuatt N. Sheldon

Additional Volumes in Preparation

Robot Manipulator Control: Theory and Practice, Second Edition, Re-

vised and Expanded, Frank L. Lewis, Damn M. Dawson, and Chaouki
T. Abdallah

Robust Control System Design: Advanced State Space Techniques,

Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, Chia-Chi Tsui

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 Series Introduction

Many textbooks have been written on control engineering, describing new

techniques for controlling systems, or new and better ways of mathematically
formulating existing methods to solve the ever-increasing complex problems
faced by practicing engineers. However, few of these books fully address the
applications aspects of control engineering. It is the intention of this new series
to redress this situation.
The series will stress applications issues, and not just the mathematics of
control engineering. It will provide texts that present not only both new and
well-established techniques, but also detailed examples of the application of
these methods to the solution of real-world problems. The authors will be drawn
from both the academic world and the relevant applications sectors.
There are already many exciting examples of the application of control
techniques in the established fields of electrical, mechanical (including aero-
space), and chemical engineering.We have only to look around in today’s highly
automated society to see the use of advanced robotics techniques in the
manufacturing industries; the use of automated control and navigation systems
in air and surface transport systems; the increasing use of intelligent control
systems in the many artifacts available to the domestic consumer market; and
the reliable supply of water, gas, and electrical power to the domestic consumer
and to industry. However, there are currently many challenging problems that
could benefit from wider exposure to the applicability of control methodolo-
gies, and the systematic systems-oriented basis inherent in the application of
control techniques.

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 This series presents books that draw on expertise from both the academic
world and the applications domains, and will be useful not only as academically
recommended course texts but also as handbooks for practitioners in many
applications domains. Linear Control System Analysis and Design with MATLAB
is another outstanding entry in Dekker’s Control Engineering series.

Neil Munro

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 Preface

The countless technological advances of the twentieth century require that

future engineering education emphasize bridging the gap between theory and the
real world. This edition has been prepared with particular attention to the needs
of undergraduates, especially those who seek a solid foundation in control
theory as well as an ability to bridge the gap between control theory and its real-
world applications. To help the reader achieve this goal, computer-aided design
accuracy checks (CADAC) are used throughout the text to encourage good
habits of computer literacy. Each CADAC uses fundamental concepts to ensure
the viability of a computer solution.
This edition has been enhanced as a solid undergraduate and first-year
graduate text; it emphasizes applying control theory fundamentals to both ana-
log and sampled-data single-input single-output (SISO) feedback control sys-
tems. At the same time, the coverage of digital control systems is greatly
expanded. Extensive reference is made to computer-aided design (CAD)
packages to simplify the design process. The result is a comprehensive pre-
sentation of control theory and design
one that has been thoroughly class-
tested, ensuring its value for classroom and self-study use.
This book features extensive use of explanations, diagrams, calculations,
tables, and symbols. Such mathematical rigor is necessary for design applica-
tions and advanced control work. A solid foundation is built on concepts of
modern control theory as well as those elements of conventional control theory
that are relevant in analysis and design of control systems. The presentation of
various techniques helps the reader understand what A. T. Fuller has called

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 ‘‘the enigmatic control system.’’ To provide a coherent development of the sub-
ject, we eschew formal proofs and lemmas, instead using an organization that
draws the perceptive student steadily and surely to the demanding theory of
multivariable control systems. Design examples are included throughout each
chapter to reinforce the student’s understanding of the material. A student who
has reached this point is fully equipped to undertake the challenges of more
advanced control theories, as presented in advanced control theory textbooks.
Chapter 2 sets forth the appropriate differential equations to describe the
performance of physical systems, networks, and devices. The block diagram, the
transfer function, and the state space (the essential concept of modern
control theory) are also introduced. The approach used for the state space is
the simultaneous derivation of the state-vector differential equation with the
SISO differential equation for a chosen physical system. The chapter also shows
how to derive the mathematical description of a physical system using
LaGrange equations.
Chapter 3 presents the classical method of solving differential equations.
Once the state-variable equation has been introduced, a careful explanation of
its solution is provided. The relationship of the transfer function to the state
equation of the system is presented in Chapter 14. The importance of the state
transition matrix is described, and the state transition equation is derived.
The idea of eigenvalues is explained next; this theory is used with the Cayley^
Hamilton and Sylvester theorems to evaluate the state transition matrix.
The early part of Chapter 4 presents a comprehensive description of
Laplace transform methods and pole-zero maps. Some further aspects of matrix
algebra are introduced as background for solving the state equation using
Laplace transforms. Finally, the evaluation of transfer matrices is clearly
explained.
Chapter 5 begins with system representation by the conventional block-
diagram approach. This is followed by a discussion of simulation diagrams and
the determination of the state transition equation using signal flow graphs. The
chapter also explains how to derive parallel state diagrams from system transfer
functions, establishing the advantages of having the state equation in uncoupled
form.
Chapter 6 introduces basic feedback system characteristics. This includes
the relationship between system type and the ability of the system to follow or
track polynomial inputs.
Chapter 7 presents the details of the root-locus method. Chapters 8 and 9
describe the frequency-response method using both log and polar plots. These
chapters address the following topics: the Nyquist stability criterion; the corre-
lation between the s-plane, frequency domain, and time domain; and gain set-
ting to achieve a desired output response peak value while tracking polynomial
command inputs. Chapters 10 and 11 describe the methods for improving

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 system performance, including examples of the techniques for applying cascade
and feedback compensators. Both the root-locus and frequency-response
methods of designing compensators are covered.
Chapter 12 develops the concept of modeling a desired control ratio with
figures of merit to satisfy system performance specifications. The system inputs
generally fall into two categories: (1) desired input that the system output is to
track (a tracking system) and (2) an external disturbance input for which the
system output is to be minimal (a disturbance-rejection system). For both types
of systems, the desired control ratio is synthesized by the proper placement
of its poles and inclusion of zeros, if required. Chapter 12 also introduces the
Guillemin-Truxal design procedure, which is used for designing a tracking
control system and a design procedure emphasizing disturbance rejection.
Chapter 13 explains how to achieve desired system characteristics using
complete state-variable feedback. Two important concepts of modern control
theory
controllability and observability
are treated in a simple and straight-
forward manner.
Chapter 14 presents the sensitivity concepts of Bode, as used in variation
of system parameters. Other tools include the method of using feedback transfer
functions to form estimates of inaccessible states for use in state feedback, and
a technique for linearizing a nonlinear system about its equilibrium points.
Chapter 15 presents the fundamentals of sampled data (S-D) control
systems. Chapter 16 describes the design of digital control systems, demonstrat-
ing, for example, the effectiveness of digital compensation. The concept of a
pseudo-continuous-time (PCT) model of a digital system permits the use of
continuous-time methods for the design of digital control systems.
The text has been prepared so that it can be used for self-study by
engineers in various areas of practice (electrical, aeronautical, mechanical,
etc.). To make it valuable to all engineers, we use various examples of feedback
control systems and unify the treatment of physical control systems by using
mathematical and block-diagram models common to all.
There are many computer-aided design (CAD) packages (e.g.,
MATLABÕ [see App. C], Simulink, and TOTAL-PC) available to help students
and practicing engineers analyze, design, and simulate control systems. The use
of MATLAB is emphasized throughout the book, and many MATLAB m-files
are presented as examples.
We thank the students who have used this book in its previous editions
and the instructors who have reviewed this edition for their helpful comments
and recommendations. We thank especially Dr. R. E. Fontana, Professor
Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, for the
encouragement he provided for the previous editions. This edition is dedicated
to the memory of Dr. T. J. Higgins, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineer-
ing, University of Wisconsin, for his thorough review of the earlier manuscripts.

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 We also express our appreciation to Professor Emeritus Donald McLean
of the University of Southampton, England, formerly a visiting professor at
the Air Force Institute of Technology. Our association with him has been an
enlightening and refreshing experience. The personal relationship with him
has been a source of inspiration and deep respect.

John J. D’Azzo
Constantine H. Houpis
Stuart N. Sheldon

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 Contents

Series Introduction iii

Preface v

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Introduction to Control Systems 2
1.3 Definitions 12
1.4 Historical Background 14
1.5 Digital Control Development 18
1.6 Mathematical Background 20
1.7 The Engineering Control Problem 22
1.8 Computer Literacy 25
1.9 Outline of Text 26

2 Writing System Equations 31

2.1 Introduction 31
2.2 Electric Circuits and Components 33
2.3 State Concepts 38
2.4 Transfer Function and Block Diagram 45
2.5 Mechanical Translation Systems 45
2.6 Analogous Circuits 52
2.7 Mechanical Rotational Systems 53

ix

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 2.8 Effective Moment of Inertia and Damping of a Gear Train 56
2.9 Thermal Systems 58
2.10 Hydraulic Linear Actuator 61
2.11 Liquid-Level System 66
2.12 Rotating Power Amplifiers 67
2.13 DC Servomotor 69
2.14 AC Servomotor 71
2.15 Lagrange’s Equation 73
2.16 Summary 77

3 Solution of Differential Equations 79

3.1 Introduction 79
3.2 Standard Inputs to Control Systems 80
3.3 Steady-State Response: Sinusoidal Input 81
3.4 Steady-State Response: Polynomial Input 83
3.5 Transient Response: Classical Method 85
3.6 Definition of Time Constant 89
3.7 Example: Second-Order System
Mechanical 90
3.8 Example: Second-Order System
Electrical 92
3.9 Second-Order Transients 94
3.10 Time-Response Specifications 98
3.11 CAD Accuracy Checks (CADAC) 99
3.12 State-Variable Equations 100
3.13 Characteristic Values 102
3.14 Evaluating the State Transition Matrix 103
3.15 Complete Solution of the State Equation 106
3.16 Summary 107

4 Laplace Transform 109

4.1 Introduction 109
4.2 Definition of the Laplace Transform 110
4.3 Derivation of Laplace Transforms of Simple Functions 110
4.4 Laplace Transform Theorems 112
4.5 CAD Accuracy Checks: CADAC 115
4.6 Application of the Laplace Transform to
Differential Equations 115
4.7 Inverse Transformation 117
4.8 Heaviside Partial-Fraction Expansion Theorems 118
4.9 MATLAB Partial-Fraction Example 126
4.10 Partial-Fraction Shortcuts 128
4.11 Graphical Interpretation of Partial-Fraction Coefficients 130

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 4.12 Frequency Response from the Pole-Zero Diagram 134
4.13 Location of Poles and Stability 137
4.14 Laplace Transform of the Impulse Function 138
4.15 Second-Order System with Impulse Excitation 141
4.16 Solution of State Equation 142
4.17 Evaluation of the Transfer-Function Matrix 144
4.18 MATLAB m-File for MIMO Systems 146
4.19 Summary 148

5 System Representation 151

5.1 Introduction 151
5.2 Block Diagrams 152
5.3 Determination of the Overall Transfer Function 156
5.4 Standard Block Diagram Terminology 160
5.5 Position Control System 163
5.6 Simulation Diagrams 167
5.7 Signal Flow Graphs 172
5.8 State Transition Signal Flow Graph 178
5.9 Parallel State Diagrams from Transfer Functions 182
5.10 Diagonalizing the A Matrix 185
5.11 Use of State Transformation for the State
Equation Solution 197
5.12 Transforming a Matrix with Complex Eigenvalues 198
5.13 Transforming an A Matrix into
Companion Form 201
5.14 Using MATLAB to Obtain the Companion
A Matrix 204
5.15 Summary 207

6 Control-System Characteristics 209

6.1 Introduction 209
6.2 Routh’s Stability Criterion 210
6.3 Mathematical and Physical Forms 216
6.4 Feedback System Types 218
6.5 Analysis of System Types 219
6.6 Example: Type 2 System 225
6.7 Steady-State Error Coefficients 227
6.8 CAD Accuracy Checks: CADAC 231
6.9 Use of Steady-State Error Coefficients 232
6.10 Nonunity-Feedback System 234
6.11 Summary 235

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 7 Root Locus 237
7.1 Introduction 237
7.2 Plotting Roots of a Characteristic Equation 238
7.3 Qualitative Analysis of the Root Locus 242
7.4 Procedure Outline 244
7.5 Open-Loop Transfer Function 246
7.6 Poles of the Control Ration C(s)/R(s) 247
7.7 Application of the Magnitude and Angle Conditions 249
7.8 Geometrical Properties (Construction Rules) 252
7.9 CAD Accuracy Checks (CADAC) 264
7.10 Root Locus Example 264
7.11 Example of Section 7.10: MATLAB Root Locus 268
7.12 Root Locus Example with an RH Plane Zero 272
7.13 Performance Characteristics 273
7.14 Transport Lag 279
7.15 Synthesis 280
7.16 Summary of Root-Locus Construction Rules
for Negative Feedback 282
7.17 Summary 284

8 Frequency Response 285

8.1 Introduction 285
8.2 Correlation of the Sinusoidal and Time Response 286
8.3 Frequency-Response Curves 287
8.4 Bode Plots (Logarithmic Plots) 289
8.5 General Frequency-Transfer-Function Relationships 291
8.6 Drawing the Bode Plots 292
8.7 Example of Drawing a Bode Plot 298
8.8 Generation of MATLAB Bode Plots 301
8.9 System Type and Gain as Related to Log
Magnitude Curves 302
8.10 CAD Accuracy Checks (CADAC) 305
8.11 Experimental Determination of Transfer Function 305
8.12 Direct Polar Plots 312
8.13 Summary: Direct Polar Plots 314
8.14 Nyquist’s Stability Criterion 315
8.15 Examples of Nyquist’s Criterion Using Direct
Polar Plot 323
8.16 Nyquist’s Stability Criterion Applied to System
Having Dead Time 327
8.17 Definitions of Phase Margin and Gain Margin and
Their Relation to Stability 328

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 8.18 Stability Characteristics of the Log Magnitude
and Phase Diagram 331
8.19 Stability from the Nichols Plot
(Log Magnitude^Angle Diagram) 332
8.20 Summary 335

9 Closed-Loop Tracking Performance Based on the

Frequency Response 339
9.1 Introduction 339
9.2 Direct Polar Plot 340
9.3 Determination of Mm and om for a Simple
Second-Order System 341
9.4 Correlation of Sinusoidal and Time Responses 345
9.5 Constant M(o) and
(o) Contours of C(jo)/R(jo) on
the Complex Plane (Direct Plot) 346
9.6 Constant 1/M and
Contours (Unity Feedback) in the
Inverse Polar Plane 353
9.7 Gain Adjustment of a Unity-Feedback System for a
Desired Mm: Direct Polar Plot 355
9.8 Constant M and
Curves on the Log Magnitude^Angle
Diagram (Nichols Chart) 358
9.9 Generation of MATLAB Bode and Nyquist Plots 361
9.10 Adjustment of Gain by Use of the Log Magnitude^Angle
Diagram (Nichols Chart) 363
9.11 Correlation of Pole-Zero Diagram with Frequency and
Time Responses 366
9.12 Summary 368

10 Root-Locus Compensation: Design 371

10.1 Introduction to Design 371
10.2 Transient Response: Dominant Complex Poles 374
10.3 Additional Significant Poles 379
10.4 Root-Locus Design Considerations 382
10.5 Reshaping the Root Locus 384
10.6 CAD Accuracy Checks (CADAC) 385
10.7 Ideal Integral Cascade Compensation (PI Controller) 385
10.8 Cascade Lag Compensation Design Using
Passive Elements 386
10.9 Ideal Derivative Cascade Compensation
(PD Controller) 391
10.10 Lead Compensation Design Using Passive Elements 393

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 10.11 General Lead-Compensator Design 398
10.12 Lag-Lead Cascade Compensation Design 400
10.13 Comparison of Cascade Compensators 402
10.14 PID Controller 405
10.15 Introduction to Feedback Compensation 407
10.16 Feedback Compensation: Design Procedures 409
10.17 Simplified Rate Feedback Compensation:
A Design Approach 410
10.18 Design of Rate Feedback 412
10.19 Design: Feedback of Second Derivative of Output 417
10.20 Results of Feedback Compensation Design 419
10.21 Rate Feedback: Plants with Dominant
Complex Poles 420
10.22 Summary 421

11 Frequency-Response Compensation Design 423

11.1 Introduction to Feedback Compensation Design 423
11.2 Selection of a Cascade Compensator 425
11.3 Cascade Lag Compensator 429
11.4 Design Example: Cascade Lag Compensation 432
11.5 Cascade Lead Compensator 436
11.6 Design Example: Cascade Lead Compensation 439
11.7 Cascade Lag-Lead Compensator 443
11.8 Design Example: Cascade Lag-Lead Compensation 445
11.9 Feedback Compensation Design Using Log Plots 446
11.10 Design Example: Feedback Compensation (Log Plots) 450
11.11 Application Guidelines: Basic Minor-Loop
Feedback Compensators 457
11.12 Summary 458

12 Control-Ratio Modeling 461

12.1 Introduction 461
12.2 Modeling a Desired Tracking Control Ratio 462
12.3 Guillemin-Truxal Design Procedure 467
12.4 Introduction to Disturbance Rejection 469
12.5 A Second-Order Disturbance-Rejection Model 470
12.6 Disturbance-Rejection Design Principles
for SISO Systems 472
12.7 Disturbance-Rejection Design Example 478
12.8 Disturbance-Rejection Models 481
12.9 Summary 485

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 13 Design: Closed-Loop Pole-Zero Assignment
(State-Variable Feedback) 487
13.1 Introduction 487
13.2 Controllability and Observability 488
13.3 State Feedback for SISO Systems 497
13.4 State-Feedback Design for SISO Systems Using
the Control Canonical (Phase-Variable) Form 500
13.5 State-Variable Feedback (Physical Variables) 503
13.6 General Properties of State Feedback
(Using Phase Variables) 507
13.7 State-Variable Feedback: Steady-State Error Analysis 510
13.8 Use of Steady-State Error Coefficients 513
13.9 State-Variable Feedback: All-Pole Plant 517
13.10 Plants with Complex Poles 520
13.11 Compensator Containing a Zero 522
13.12 State-Variable Feedback: Pole-Zero Plant 523
13.13 Observers 532
13.14 Control Systems Containing Observers 534
13.15 Summary 536

14 Parameter Sensitivity and State-Space Trajectories 539

14.1 Introduction 539
14.2 Sensitivity 539
14.3 Sensitivity Analysis 544
14.4 Sensitivity Analysis Examples 547
14.5 Parameter Sensitivity Examples 553
14.6 Inaccessible States 554
14.7 State-Space Trajectories 558
14.8 Linearization (Jacobian Matrix) 561
14.9 Summary 565

15 Sampled-Data Control Systems 567

15.1 Introduction 567
15.2 Sampling 568
15.3 Ideal Sampling 571
15.4 Z-Transform Theorems 576
15.5 Differentiation Process 576
15.6 Synthesis in the z Domain (Direct Method) 579
15.7 The Inverse Z Transform 585
15.8 Zero-Order Hold 586
15.9 Limitations 588

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 15.10 Steady-State Error Analysis for Stable Systems 589
15.11 Root-Locus Analysis for Sampled-Data
Control Systems 596
15.12 Summary 606

16 Digital Control Systems 609

16.1 Introduction 609
16.2 Complementary Spectra 610
16.3 Tustin Transformation: s to z Plane Transformation 611
16.4 z-Domain to the w- and w0-Domain Transformations 618
16.5 Digitization (DIG) Technique 619
16.6 Digitization (DIG) Design Technique 620
16.7 The Pseudo-Continuous-Time (PCT) Control System 622
16.8 Design of Digital Control System 636
16.9 Direct (DIR) Compensator 636
16.10 PCT Lead Cascade Compensation 637
16.11 PCT Lag Compensation 643
16.12 PCT Lag-Lead Compensation 648
16.13 Feedback Compensation: Tracking 655
16.14 Controlling Unwanted Disturbances 664
16.15 Extensive Digital Feedback Compensator Example 668
16.16 Controller Implementation 670
16.17 Summary 672
Appendix A Table of Laplace Transform Pairs 675
Appendix B Matrix Linear Algebra 679
Appendix C Introduction to MATLAB and Simulink 693
Appendix D TOTAL-PC CAD Package 711
Problems 719
Answers to Selected Problems 795

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 1
Introduction

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The technological explosion of the twentieth century, which was accelerated
by the advent of computers and control systems, has resulted in tremendous
advances in the field of science. Thus, automatic control systems and
computers permeate life in all advanced societies today. These systems and
computers have acted and are acting as catalysts in promoting progress
and development, propelling society into the twenty-first century.
Technological developments have made possible high-speed bullet trains;
exotic vehicles capable of exploration of other planets and outer space; the
establishment of the Alpha space station; safe, comfortable, and efficient
automobiles; sophisticated civilian and military [manual and
uninhabited (see Fig. 1.1)] aircraft; efficient robotic assembly lines; and
efficient environmentally friendly pollution controls for factories. The
successful operation of all of these systems depends on the proper function-
ing of the large number of control systems used in such ventures.

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 2 Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.1 An unmanned aircraft.

1.2 INTRODUCTION TO CONTROL SYSTEMS

Classical Examples
The toaster in Fig.1.2a can be set for the desired darkness of the toasted bread.
The setting of the ‘‘darkness’’ knob, or timer, represents the input quantity,
and the degree of darkness and crispness of the toast produced is the output
quantity. If the degree of darkness is not satisfactory, because of the condition
of the bread or some similar reason, this condition can in no way automati-
cally alter the length of time that heat is applied. Since the output quantity
has no influence on the input quantity, there is no feedback in this system.
The heater portion of the toaster represents the dynamic part of the overall
system, and the timer unit is the reference selector.
The dc shunt motor of Fig. 1.2b is another example. For a given value of
field current, a required value of voltage is applied to the armature to produce
the desired value of motor speed. In this case the motor is the dynamic part of
the system, the applied armature voltage is the input quantity, and the speed
of the shaft is the output quantity. A variation of the speed from the desired
value, due to a change of mechanical load on the shaft, can in no way cause
a change in the value of the applied armature voltage to maintain the desired
speed. Therefore, the output quantity has no influence on the input quantity.

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 Introduction 3

FIGURE 1.2 Open-loop control systems: (a) automatic toaster; (b) electric motor;
(c) functional block diagram.

Systems in which the output quantity has no effect upon the input
quantity are called open-loop control systems.The examples just cited are repre-
sented symbolically by a functional block diagram, as shown in Fig. 1.2c. In
this figure, (1) the desired darkness of the toast or the desired speed of the
motor is the command input, (2) the selection of the value of time on the

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 4 Chapter 1

toaster timer or the value of voltage applied to the motor armature is

represented by the reference-selector block, and (3) the output of this block is
identified as the reference input.The reference input is applied to the dynamic
unit that performs the desired control function, and the output of this block is
the desired output.
A person could be assigned the task of sensing the actual value of the
output and comparing it with the command input. If the output does not
have the desired value, the person can alter the reference-selector position to
achieve this value. Introducing the person provides a means through which
the output is fed back and is compared with the input. Any necessary change
is then made in order to cause the output to equal the desired value.
The feedback action therefore controls the input to the dynamic unit. Systems
in which the output has a direct effect upon the input quantity are called closed-
loop control systems.
To improve the performance of the closed-loop system so that the output
quantity is as close as possible to the desired quantity, the person can be
replaced by a mechanical, electrical, or other form of a comparison unit. The
functional block diagram of a single-input single-output (SISO) closed-loop con-
trol system is illustrated in Fig. 1.3. Comparison between the reference input
and the feedback signals results in an actuating signal that is the
difference between these two quantities.The actuating signal acts to maintain
the output at the desired value. This system is called a closed-loop control
system. The designation closed-loop implies the action resulting from the
comparison between the output and input quantities in order to maintain the
output at the desired value. Thus, the output is controlled in order to achieve
the desired value.
Examples of closed-loop control systems are illustrated in Figs. 1.4 and
1.5. In a home heating system the desired room temperature (command input)

FIGURE 1.3 Functional block diagram of a closed-loop system.

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 Introduction 5

FIGURE 1.4 Home heating control system.

is set on the thermostat in Fig.1.4. (reference selector). A bimetallic coil in the

thermostat is affected by both the actual room temperature (output) and the
reference-selector setting. If the room temperature is lower than the desired
temperature, the coil strip alters its shape and causes a mercury switch to
operate a relay, which turns on the furnace to produce heat in the room.
When the room temperature [1] reaches the desired temperature, the shape of
the coil strip is again altered so that the mercury switch opens.This deactivates
the relay and in turn shuts off the furnace. In this example, the bimetallic coil
performs the function of a comparator since the output (room temperature)
is fed back directly to the comparator. The switch, relay, and furnace are the
dynamic elements of this closed-loop control system.
A closed-loop control system of great importance to all multistory build-
ings is the automatic elevator of Fig. 1.5. A person in the elevator presses the
button corresponding to the desired floor. This produces an actuating signal
that indicates the desired floor and turns on the motor that raises or lowers the
elevator. As the elevator approaches the desired floor, the actuating signal
decreases in value and, with the proper switching sequences, the elevator
stops at the desired floor and the actuating signal is reset to zero. The closed-
loop control system for the express elevator in the Sears Tower building in
Chicago is designed so that it ascends or descends the 103 floors in just
under 1 min with maximum passenger comfort.

Modern Examples
The examples in this section represent complex closed-loop control systems
that are at the forefront of the application of control theory to the control
system challenges of the twenty-first century.
The ultimate objective in robotic arm control research [2]* is to provide
human arm emulation. Payload invariance is a necessary component of

*References are indicated by numbers in brackets and are found at the end of the chapter.

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

 6 Chapter 1

FIGURE 1.5 Automatic elevator.

human arm emulation. Model-based controllers require accurate knowledge

of payload and drive system dynamics to provide good high-speed tracking
accuracy. A robust multivariable control system design technique is required
which solves the payload and dynamics uncertainty. Thus, the model-based
quantitative feedback theory (QFT) design technique [3] is applied which
results in controllers that are implemented by a series of simple backwards
difference equations. QFT high-speed tracking accuracy was experimentally
evaluated on the first three links of the PUMA-500 of Fig. 1.6. This robust
design technique increased tracking accuracy by up to a factor of 4 over the
model-based controller performance baseline. The QFT tracking perfor-
mance is robust for both unmodeled drive system dynamics and payload
uncertainty. The nonheuristic nature of the QFT design and tuning should
allow application to a wide range of manipulators.
The interest in improving the fuel efficiency of automobiles has spurred
the improvement of the idle speed control for the automotive fuel-injected
engine [4,5]. The following is the abstract from the paper entitled ‘‘Robust
Controller Design and Experimental Verification of I.C. Engine Speed
Control’’ by G.K. Hamilton and M.A. Franchek, School of Mechanical
Engineering, Purdue University [4].

Copyright © 2003 Marcel Dekker, Inc.

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
"Ah, very good! To tell you the truth, though, I, who am by no
means a bad shot, should not like to try the experiment."
"You are calumniating yourself."
"Very possibly."
"Poor Pepe, my tigrero, will lose by that a reward of ten piastres—all
the worse for him. Shall we return to the hacienda, and send
someone to bring the brute in?"
"With all my heart."
They went back.
"Hum!" the captain said to himself as they galloped on, "I must have
a definitive explanation with him this very evening."

CHAPTER VIII.

A MEXICAN'S PROGRESS.
The Hispano-Americans usually drink nothing with their meals: it is
only when the dulces, or cakes and sweetmeats, have been eaten,
and each guest has swallowed the glass of water intended to
facilitate digestion, that the liquors are put on the table, and the
Catalonian refino begins to circulate; then the puros and pajillos are
lighted, and the conversation, always rather stiff during the meal,
becomes more intimate and friendly, owing to the absence of the
inferior guests, who then retire, leaving the master of the house and
his guests at perfect liberty.
The captain had judiciously chosen this moment to commence his
attack. Not that he hoped to have a better chance with the young
man at the termination of the meal—for the sobriety of the Southern
Americans is proverbial—but because at that moment Don
Sebastian, being freed from all cares, must more easily yield to the
influence the captain fancied he could exercise over him.
The captain poured some refino into a large glass, which he filled
with water, lit a puro, leant his elbows on the table, and looked
fixedly at the young man.
"Muchacho," he said to him abruptly, "does the life you lead in the
desert possess a great charm for you?"
Surprised at this question, which he was far from expecting, Don
Sebastian hesitated ere he replied.
"Yes," the captain said, emptying his glass, "do you amuse yourself
greatly here? Answer me frankly."
"On my word, captain, as I never knew any other existence than
that I am leading at this moment, I cannot answer your question
thoroughly: it is certain that I feel myself hipped at times."
The captain struck his tongue against his palate with evident
satisfaction.
"Ah, ah!" he said, "I am glad to hear you speak so."
"Why?"
"Because I hope you will easily accept the proposition I am about to
make to you."
"You!"
"Who else, then, if not I?"
"Speak!" the young man said with a careless air; "I am listening."
The captain threw away his cigar, gave vent to two or three
sonorous hums, and at length said in a sharp voice,—
"Sebastian, my dear fellow! Do you think that, if your worthy father
could return to this world, he would be well pleased to see you thus
idly wasting the precious hours of your youth?"
"I do not at all understand your meaning, captain."
"That is possible. I never pretended to be a great orator, and today
less than at any other period of my long career. I will, however, try
to explain myself so clearly that, if you do not understand me, caray!
It is because you will not."
"Go on; I am listening."
"Your father, muchacho, whose history you probably do not know,
was at once a brave soldier and a good officer. He was one of the
founders of our liberty, and his name is a symbol of loyalty and
devotion to every Mexican. For ten years your father fought the
enemies of his country on every battlefield, enduring, though rich
and a gentleman, hunger and thirst, heat and cold, gaily and without
complaining; and yet, had he wished it, he might have led a
luxurious and thoroughly easy life. You loved your father?"
"Alas, captain! Can I ever be consoled for his loss?"
"You will be consoled. You have many things to learn yet, and that
among others. Poor boy! There is nothing eternal in the world—
neither joy, nor sorrow, nor pleasure. But let us return to what I was
saying. Were your father permitted to quit the abode of the just,
where he is doubtlessly sojourning, and return for a few moments to
earth, he would speak to you as I am now doing; he would ask an
account of the useless indolence in which you spend your youth,
thinking no more of your country, which you can and ought to serve,
than if you lived in the heart of a desert. Did your father endure so
many sacrifices in order to create such an existence—tell me,
muchacho?"
The worthy captain, who had probably never preached so much in
his life, stopped, awaiting a reply to the question he had asked; but
this reply did not come. The young man, with his arms crossed on
his chest, his body thrown back, and his eyes obstinately fixed on
the ground, seemed plunged in deep thought. The captain continued
after a lengthened delay,—
"We," he said, "demolished; you young men must rebuild. No one at
the present day has the right to deprive the Republic of his services.
Each must, under penalty of being considered a bad citizen, carry his
stone to the social edifice, and you more than anyone else,
muchacho—you, the son of one of the most celebrated heroes of the
War of Independence. Your country calls you—it claims you: you can
no longer remain deaf to its voice. What are you doing here among
your dogs and horses, wasting ingloriously your courage, dissipating
your energy without profit to anyone, and growing daily more
brutalised in a disgraceful solitude? Cuerpo de Cristo! I can
understand that a man may love his father, and even weep for him—
for that is the duty of a good son, and your father certainly deserves
the sacred recollection you give him—but to make of that grief a
pretext to caress and satisfy your egotism, that is worse than a bad
action—it is cowardice!"
At this word the young man's tawny eye flashed lightning.
"Captain!" he shouted, as he struck the table with his clenched fist.
"Rayo de Dios!" the old soldier continued boldly, "the word is
spoken, and I will not withdraw it: your father, if he hear me, must
approve me. Now, muchacho, I have emptied my heart; I have
spoken frankly and loyally, as it was my duty to do. I owed it to
myself to fulfil this painful duty. If you do not understand the feeling
that dictated the rough words I uttered, all the worse for you; it is
because your heart is dead to every generous impulse, and you are
incapable of feeling how much I must have loved you to find the
courage to speak to you in that way. Now do as you think proper; I
shall not have to reproach myself for having hidden the truth from
you. It is late. Good night, muchacho. I will go to bed, for I start
early tomorrow. Reflect on what I have said to you. The night is a
good counsellor, if you will listen in good faith to the voices that
chatter round your pillow in the darkness."
And the captain emptied his glass and rose. Don Sebastian imitated
him, took a step toward him, and laid his hand on his shoulder.
"One moment," he said to him.
"What do you want?"
"Listen to me in your turn," the young man said in a gloomy voice.
"You have been harsh with me, captain. Those truths you have told
me you might perhaps have expressed in milder language, in
consideration of my age, and the solitude and isolation in which I
have hitherto lived. Still I am not angry at your rude frankness; on
the contrary, I am grateful to you for it, for I know that you love me,
and the interest you take in me alone urged you to be so severe.
You say that you depart tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Where do you intend going?"
"To Mexico."
"Very good, captain; you will not go alone. I shall accompany you."
The old soldier looked at the young man for a moment tenderly;
then pressing with feverish energy the hand held out to him,—
"It is well, muchacho," he said to him with great emotion. "I was not
mistaken in you; you are a brave lad, and, caray! I am satisfied with
you."
The two men left Palmar together the next morning, and rode
toward Mexico, which city they reached after a ten days' journey.
But during those ten days, spent tête-à-tête with the captain, the
young man's ideas were completely modified, and a perfect change
came over his aspirations.
General Guerrero's son belonged unconsciously to that numerous
class of men who are utterly ignorant of themselves, and pass their
lives in indolence until the moment when, an object being suddenly
offered them, their imagination is inflamed, their ambition is
aroused, and they become as eager in the chase as they had been
previously negligent and indifferent as to their future.
Captain Don Isidro Vargas heartily praised the intelligence with
which the young man he emphatically called his pupil understood
the lessons he gave him as to his behaviour in the world.
Don Sebastian experienced no difficulty—thanks to his name, and
the reputation his father so justly enjoyed—in obtaining his grade as
lieutenant in the army. This step was, for the young man, the first
rung of the ladder, which he prepared to climb as rapidly as possible.
It was fine work at that day, in Mexico, for an intelligent man to fish
in troubled waters; and, unfortunately, we are obliged to confess
that, in spite of the long years that have passed since the
proclamation of its independence, nothing is as yet changed in that
unhappy country, where anarchy has been systematised.
If ever a country could do without an army, it was Mexico after the
recognition of her liberty and the entire expulsion of the Spaniards,
owing to her isolation in the midst of peaceful nations, and the
security of her frontiers, which no enemy menaced. Unhappily, the
war of independence had lasted ten years. During that long period
the peaceful and gentle population of that country, held in
guardianship by its oppressors, had become transformed. A warlike
ardour had seized on all classes of society, and a species of martial
fever had aroused in every brain a love of arms.
Hence that naturally came about which all sensible people expected;
that is to say, when the army had no longer enemies before it to
combat, the troops turned their arms against their fellow citizens,
vexing and tyrannising over them at their pleasure.
The government, instead of disbanding this turbulent army, or at any
rate reducing it to a minimum by only keeping up the depôts of the
various corps, considered it far more advantageous to lean on it, and
organise a military oligarchy, which pressed heavily on the country.
This deplorable system has plunged this unhappy country into
disastrous complications, against which it struggles in vain, and has
dug the abyss in which its nationality will sooner or later be
swallowed up.
The army, then, after the war, assumed an influence which it has
ever since retained, and which increased in proportion as the men
placed at the head of the government more fully understood that it
alone could maintain them in power or overthrow them at its good
pleasure. The army, therefore, made revolutions that its leaders
might become powerful. From the lowest alférez up to the general of
division, all the officers look to troubles for promotion—the alférez to
become lieutenant, the colonel to exchange his red scarf for the
green one of the brigadier general, and the general of division to
become President of the Republic.
Hence pronunciamientos are continual; for every officer wearied of a
subaltern grade, and who aspires to a higher rank, pronounces
himself; that is to say, aided by a nucleus of malcontents like
himself, which is never wanting, he revolts by refusing obedience to
the government, and that the more easily because, whether
conqueror or conquered, the rank he has thus appropriated always
remains his.
The military career is, therefore, a perfect steeplechase. We know a
certain general, whose name we could write here in full if we
wished, who attained the presidency by stepping from
pronunciamiento to pronunciamiento without ever having smelt fire,
or knowing the first movement of platoon drill—an ignorance which
is not at all extraordinary in a country where one of our sergeant
conductors would be superior to the most renowned generals.
Don Sebastian judged his position with the infallible eye of an
ambitious man; and suddenly attacked by a fever of immense
activity, he resolved to profit cleverly by the general anarchy to gain
a position. He clambered up the first steps at full speed and became
a full colonel with startling rapidity. On reaching that position he
married, in order to secure himself, and to give him that solidity he
desired for the great game he intended to play, and which, in his
mind, only ended with the presidential chair.
Already very rich, his marriage increased his fortune, which he
sought to augment, however, by every possible scheme; for he was
aware what the cost of a successful pronunciamiento was, and he
did not mean to suffer a defeat.
As if everything was destined to favour this man in all he undertook,
his wife, a dear and charming woman, whose love and devotion he
never comprehended, died after a short illness, and left him father
of a girl as charming and amiable as herself—that lovely Angela
whom we have already met several times in the course of our
narrative.
Don Sebastian could have married again if he liked; but by his first
marriage he had obtained what he wanted, and preferred to remain
free. At the period we have now reached he had attained general's
rank, and secured the appointment of political governor of the state
of Sonora, the first stepping-stone for his ambitious projects.
Colossally rich, he was interested in all the great industrial
enterprises, and a shareholder in most of the mining operations. It
was for the object of watching these operations more closely, that he
had asked for the government of Sonora, a new country, almost
unknown, where he hoped to fish more easily in troubled waters,
owing to its distance from the capital, and the slight surveillance he
had to fear from the government, in which he had, moreover, all-
powerful influences.
In a word, General Guerrero was one of those gloomy personages
who, under a most fascinating exterior, the most affable manners,
and most seductive smiles, conceal the most perverse instincts, the
coldest ferocity, and the most rotten soul.
Still this man had in his heart one feeling which, by its intensity,
expiated many faults.
He loved his daughter.
He loved her passionately, without calculation or afterthought; yet
this paternal love had something terrible about it: he loved his
daughter as the jaguar or the panther loves its cubs, with fury and
jealousy.
Doña Angela, though she had never tried to sound her father's
impenetrable heart, had still divined the uncontrolled power she
exercised over this haughty nature which crushed everything, but
became suddenly weak and almost timid in her presence. The
charming maid employed her power despotically, but ever with the
intention of doing a good deed, as, for instance, to commute the
sentence of a prisoner or succour the unfortunate; in a word, to
render lighter the yoke of iron under which the general, with his
feline manners, crushed his subordinates.
Thus the girl was as much adored by all those who approached her
as the general was feared and hated. God had doubtlessly wished, in
His ineffable goodness, to place an angel by the side of a demon, so
that the wounds inflicted by the latter might be cured by the former.
Now that we have described these two persons to the best of our
ability, whose characters will be more fully developed in the course
of our story, we will resume our narrative at the point where we
interrupted it.

CHAPTER IX.

THE NEXT DAY.

The sky was just beginning to be tinted with shades of opal—a few
stars still shone feebly here and there in the gloomy depths of the
sky. It was about half past three in the morning.
Within the locanda men and animals were sleeping that calm sleep
which precedes sunrise. Not a sound, save at intervals the barking of
a dog baying at the moon, broke the silence that brooded over the
pueblo of San José.
The door of the cuarto in which the foster brothers rested was
cautiously opened, a thin thread of light found its way through the
orifice, and Valentine and the count came out. Don Louis had no
reason for departing unseen; he had no motives for hiding himself. If
he took so many precautions, it was only through a fear of
disturbing the sleep of the other lodgers, who had not such good
reasons as himself for rising so early, and whom, consequently, it
was unnecessary to arouse.
On arriving in the patio Don Louis prepared his horse's trappings,
while Valentine led the animal from the corral, carefully rubbed it
down, and gave it water. When all was in order Valentine opened the
gate, the two men shook hands for the last time, and Don Louis
entered the gloom of the only street of the pueblo, where he soon
disappeared, amid the barking of the masterless dogs aroused by his
passing, and who rushed after him howling furiously, and snapping
at his horse's legs.
Valentino remained for a moment motionless and thoughtful,
listening mechanically to the decreasing sound of the hoofs on the
hardened ground.
"Perhaps I ought not to have put him on that path," he muttered.
"Who knows what awaits him at the other end?" A stifled sigh broke
from his bosom. "Bah!" he added a moment after, "all roads do not
lead to the same point—death! Why let such foolish forebodings
have any effect over me? Live and learn."
The worthy hunter, somewhat comforted by these philosophic
reflections, re-entered the patio, and set to work shutting the outer
door, before throwing himself for an hour or two on his cuadro.
While engaged in this occupation, he heard the sound of
approaching footsteps behind him: he turned his head, and
recognised Don Cornelio.
"Ah, ah, my dear friend!" he said gaily, offering him his hand, which
the other pressed affectionately; "You are up very early."
"Eh?" the Spaniard answered with a laugh. "I think it a good joke for
you to make that remark to me."
"Why so?"
"Because, if I have risen so early, it appears as if you had not been
to bed at all."
Valentine began laughing.
"By Jove! You are right. The fact is that, with the exception of
yourself and myself, it is certain that everybody is asleep in the
pueblo; and now that this door is closed again, with your permission,
I will go and do the same for an hour or two."
"What! You are going to bed again?"
"Certainly."
"What to do?"
"Why, to sleep, I suppose."
"Pardon me, but I did not mean that."
"I suppose not."
"And you know what I wish to say to you?"
"I! Not the least in the world. But, as you are a man far too
intelligent to spend in walking about the time you might pass far
more agreeably in sleeping, I presume that you have certain weighty
reasons for being here now."
"That is true, on my word."
"You see!"
"Yes; but I did not wish exactly to speak with you."
"Whom with, then?"
"With Don Louis."
"Hum! And you cannot tell it to me?"
"O yes, I can; but I think it would be better to speak with him
myself."
"Confuse the thing!"
Don Cornelio gave that shrug of the shoulders which in all countries
and languages signifies the same thing; that is, that the shrugger
declines all responsibility.
"And," Valentine continued, "what you have to communicate to Don
Louis is probably very important?"
"Very."
"Hang it all, that is annoying; for it is impossible for you to speak
with him."
"Bah! How so?"
"Because there is an obstacle."
"For me?"
"For you and for everybody else."
"Oh, oh! And what is that obstacle, Don Valentine, if you please?"
"Oh, I do not want to make any mystery of it; I am more vexed than
yourself at what has happened; but the obstacle is very simply that
Don Louis has gone away."
"Gone! Don Louis!" the other said in amazement.
"Yes."
"How was that—without speaking to anybody? Gone off at a
venture?"
"Not exactly. There were urgent reasons to speed his departure; and
see, I was engaged in shutting the gate after him when you arrived.
A moment earlier and you would have met him."
"How unlucky!"
"It is; but what would you do? After all, the misfortune is not so
great as it may seem to you at the first blush. We shall see him
again in a few days."
"You are sure of it?"
"Quite; for it is arranged between us. So soon as I have succeeded
in selling the herd, we shall go and join our friend again. So take
patience, Don Cornelio; the separation will not be long. Console
yourself with that thought, and good night."
Valentine turned and walked a few steps, but the Spaniard stopped
him.
"What do you want now?"
"Only one word."
"Make haste, for I am dropping with sleep."
"Pardon me, but you made a remark this moment which struck me
greatly."
"Ah! What was it?"
"You said that Don Louis had commissioned you to sell the herd."
"Yes, I did. What then?"
"That was the very subject I wished to speak with him about."
"Bah!"
"Yes, I have found a purchaser."
"What! For the whole herd?"
"Yes, in a lump."
"Stay, stay!" Valentine said, fixing his piercing eyes upon him; "that
would singularly simplify matters."
"Would it not?"
"Where on earth have you dug up this strange purchaser since last
night?"
"There is nothing at all strange about him, I assure you. I found him
here."
"Here, in this locanda?"
"On my word, yes."
"I really beg your pardon," Valentine said. "I am too well acquainted
with the gravity of your character to suppose that you have any
intention of deceiving me—"
"Oh!"
"But all this is so extraordinary—"
"I am as much astonished as yourself at it."
"Really!"
"The more so because I did not know that Don Louis wished to sell
the herd here, and consequently the proposition does not emanate
from me."
"That is true. So you have been offered—"
"To take the whole herd off my hands this very day—yes."
"That is strange. Tell me all about it, my dear friend. What a pity
that Don Louis has started!"
"Is it not?"
"Well, you said, then—"
"Permit me, if you have no objection, we will proceed to your cuarto,
where we can converse much more agreeably than here."
"You are right, especially as people are beginning to get up in the
house."
In fact, the servants of the hostelry and the muleteers were already
stirring, and walking round our two friends, whom they examined
curiously, while attending to their own business. Valentine and Don
Cornelio left the patio, and proceeded to the hunter's cuarto. So
soon as they had installed themselves Valentine said,—
"Now I am all attention. Speak, my good fellow. I confess I am
anxious to hear the solution of this riddle."
Don Cornelio was aware of the friendship existing between Don
Louis and Valentine; hence he had not the slightest difficulty in
telling the hunter what had happened to him that night in the
minutest details.
"Is that all?" Valentine said, who had listened with the greatest
attention.
"Yes; and now what do you think of it?"
"Hum!" the hunter said thoughtfully, "if I must give you my opinion,
it appears to me rather less clear now than an hour ago."
"Nonsense!"
"That is my opinion. Still we must not neglect this opportunity which
presents itself so famously to get rid of our cattle advantageously."
"That is what I think."
"Very good; then do not stir. Above all, do not say a syllable about
Don Louis' departure."
"Do you think so?"
"That is important."
"As you please."
"Then supposing you are summoned?"
"I will go."
"No, we will both go; that will be more proper. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly."
"Then good night; I am going to sleep a little. If there is anything
new wake me up."
"All right."
And Don Cornelio withdrew.
Valentine was not at all inclined to sleep; but he wished to be alone,
that he might reflect on what he had just heard. He perfectly
understood that the young lady had been playing with the Spaniard
like a cat with a mouse, feigning an interest in him which she did not
at all feel. But what was her object in all this? Did she love Don
Louis? Had the maiden retained in her heart the remembrance of
what had happened to the child? Had gratitude unconsciously
changed in her into love with growing years?
This was what the hunter could not fathom. Valentine had never
been very expert in the matter of women; their hearts were to him
as a dead letter, an unknown tongue, in which he could not read a
word. The life he had constantly led in the desert, ever contending
either with Indians or with wild beasts, had not been at all
favourable to the study of the feminine heart; and besides, the deep
love of his early youth—a love the memory of which still palpitated in
his heart—had prevented him paying the slightest attention to the
few women chance had at times thrown in his way, and who had
only appeared to him weak, defenceless creatures, whom it was his
duty to defend.
Thus the worthy hunter was now considerably bothered, and knew
not what to do in order to read the young lady's intentions. It was
evident to him that Doña Angela had a secret object she desired to
gain, and that the purchase of the novillos was only a pretext to
draw nearer to Don Louis. But what was that object? Why did she
wish to see his friend? That was what he vainly sought, and was
unable to discover.
"After all," he muttered to himself, while going over the chaos of
thoughts that jostled each other in his brain, "it is perhaps better
that she should not see Louis. Who knows what might be the result
of such an interview? The lady's father is governor of Sonora, and
we must be most careful not to get into any trouble with him. Who
knows whether we may not need him hereafter? It is strange, I do
not know where I have heard his name before; but I am certain I do
not hear it today for the first time. Guerrero—Don Sebastian
Guerrero. Under what circumstances can that name have been
pronounced in my presence?"
The hunter had reached this point in his monologue when the door
opened gently, and a man entered. It was Curumilla. Valentine
started with joy on seeing him.
"You are welcome, chief," he said.
The Araucanian pressed his hand, and sat down silently by his side.
"Well, chief," Valentine continued, "you are awake. Have you been
taking a turn in the pueblo?"
The Indian smiled disdainfully.
"No," he said.
An idea crossed the hunter's mind.
"My brother should go down into the patio," he said. "It seems there
are other travellers beside us: he should see them."
"Curumilla has seen them."
"Ah!"
"He knows them."
Valentine made a sign of astonishment.
"What! You know them?" he exclaimed.
"Only the man. Curumilla is a chief: his memory is long."
"Ah, ah!" the hunter went on. "Is it possible that I shall obtain in this
way the information I have been racking my brains to find?"
The Indian smiled and shook his head.
"Who is the man, chief? Is he a friend?"
"He is an enemy."
"An enemy, by Jupiter! I was certain I had heard his name before."
"Let my brother listen," the chief went on. "Curumilla has seen the
paleface: he will kill him."
"Hum! Do not go to work so fast, chief. In the first place tell me who
he is; then we shall see what we have to do. Unfortunately we are
not here on the prairies: the death of that individual, whoever he
may be, might cost us dear."
"The palefaces are women," the Indian replied disdainfully.
"That is possible, chief; but prudent. Tomorrow is not passed, as you
gentlemen say, and every man gains his point who knows how to
wait. For the present let us be shy; we are not the stronger."
Curumilla shrugged his shoulders. It was plain that the worthy
Indian was not a friend to temporising measures; still he did not
raise the slightest objection.
"Come, chief, tell me who he is, and under what circumstances we
had a quarrel with him."
The Indian rose and stood right in front of Valentine.
"Does not my brother remember?" he asked.
"No."
"Wah! The conspiracy of the Paso del Norte, when Curumilla killed
Dog-face."
"Oh!" Valentine exclaimed, striking his forehead, "I have it; it is the
general who commanded the Mexican troops, and to whom Don
Miguel de Zarate surrendered."
"Yes."
"Well, he was a brave and honest soldier in those days; he kept his
word to our friend nobly. I cannot be angry with him."
"He is a traitor."
"From your point of view, chief, possibly so, but not from mine. It is
true; I perfectly remember him now. Poor General Ibañez often
spoke to me about him: he was not fond of him either. It is a
strange coincidence. Good! Fear nothing, chief; I will watch.
Whether friend or foe, this man has never seen me—he knows not
who I am; hence I have a great advantage over him. Thanks, chief!"
"Is my brother satisfied?"
"You have rendered me an immense service, chief; so you can judge
whether I am satisfied."
Curumilla smiled.
"Wah!" he said, "all the better."
"Yes, chief, all the better, and let us breakfast. I feel a ferocious
appetite ever since, thanks to you, I have been able to see my way a
little more clearly."
Curumilla and Don Cornelio had prepared their frugal meal in their
cuarto, consisting of red haricot beans with pepper, a few varas of
dried meat, and maize tortillas, the whole washed down with aloe
pulque of the first quality, and a few tragos of excellent Catalonian
refino.
The three friends ate with good appetite, and were preparing to light
their cigars, the obligato termination of every American meal, when
they heard a discreet tap at the door, which was only leaned to.
"Come in," Valentine said.
A criado appeared, and after bowing courteously to all present, said,
—
"My master, his Excellency General Don Sebastian Guerrero, presents
his civilities to the caballeros here assembled, and desires that Señor
Don Cornelio and Señor Don Louis will favour him with a moment's
interview, if their occupations will permit of it."
"Tell his Excellency," Valentine answered, "that we shall have the
honour of obeying his orders."
The servant bowed and retired.
"Why, you know, señor," Don Cornelio then said, "that Don Louis is
absent."
"No matter: am I not here?"
"That is true, but—"
"Leave me alone," the hunter quickly interrupted him; "I will answer
for everything."
"Very good; do as you think proper."
"Trust to me. How can it concern this man whether he deals with
Don Louis or anyone else, so long as the ganado is young, vigorous,
and cheap?"
"That is true; it must be a matter of indifference to him."
"Come on: you will see that I shall settle this affair satisfactorily."
And he went out, followed by Don Cornelio, who, however, did not
seem completely satisfied.

CHAPTER X.

IN WHICH THE SALE OF THE HERD IS

DISCUSSED.
What Doña Angela had told Don Cornelio was true: her father was
really expecting his mayordomo that morning, in order to consult
with him about certain improvements he wished to introduce at one
of his haciendas, and also about buying cattle to re-stock his
prairies, which had been devastated during the last periodical
incursion which the Apache and Comanche Indians are in the habit
of making upon the Mexican territory.
Still, Doña Angela, like the true Creole she was, had never hitherto
troubled herself about her father's domestic affairs, having too much
to do in thinking of her toilet and pleasures. Hence she did not know
how to bring the conversation gently round to that point, without
allowing the interest she took in it to be suspected. But the most
simple-minded woman becomes crafty when her interest is at stake.
After the Spaniard had withdrawn the girl remained pensive for a
few moments; but then a smile played on her rosy lips, she patted
her dainty little hands gleefully together, and fell asleep murmuring
softly,—
"I have found it."
The Mexicans are early risers, that they may enjoy the freshness of
the morning hours. At half past seven Doña Angela opened her eyes,
and devoutly paid her matin orisons to the Virgin; then, aided by
Violanta, her clever camarista, she proceeded to the charming
mystery of her toilet.
Her sleep had been as peaceful as that of a bird: hence she was
calm, and gloriously lovely. At the moment that Violanta put in the
last pin, intended to hold the long and thick tresses of her
magnificent hair, a knock was heard at the door. It was the general.
Don Sebastian was dressed in the rich costume of the Sonorian
country gentry; but his masculine and sharply-cut features, his
haughty glance, his long moustaches, but, above all, his decided
walk, allowed him to be recognised for a soldier at the first glance,
in spite of the dress he had assumed. It had been the general's
custom for many long years to come thus every morning, and wish
his daughter good day: his child's frank and simple smile sent a
gentle ray of sunshine into his heart, whose reflection aided him
during the rest of the day in supporting the inseparable cares of
power.
Violanta hastened to open, and the general walked in. Doña Angela
cunningly watched the expression of his face, and she bounded with
delight on fancying she saw that he was pleased in spite of the
severe appearance he sought to give his features. Don Sebastian
kissed his daughter affectionately, and sat down on a butaca which
Violanta drew forward for him.
"Oh, my child!" he said, "how fresh and radiant you are this
morning! It is easy to see that you have passed an excellent night."
"At any rate, papa," she said with a little pout, "if it was not so, it
was not my fault, I assure you; for I was greatly inclined to sleep
when I retired last night."
"What do you mean? Was your sleep disturbed?"
"Yes, several times."
"Caramba! Dear little one, it was the same with me. Some scamp
persisted in strumming the most melancholy airs on the guitar, that
would have frightened the cats themselves, and kept me awake all
night Deuce take the musician and his silly instrument!"
"It was not that, papa. I scarcely heard the man of whom you are
speaking."
"What was it, then? I was not aware of any other noises last night
but that."
"I cannot explain to you positively what I heard; but Violanta was
also aroused several times like myself."
"Is that true, little one?" the general asked, turning to the camarista,
apparently busy at the moment in arranging the cuarto.
"Oh, señor general," she exclaimed, clasping her hands, "it was a
fearful noise—a noise to wake the dead!"
"What the deuce could it be?"
"I do not know," she replied, assuming her most innocent air.
"Did it last long?"
"All the night," she said, trumping what her mistress had alleged.
"Hum! But it must have resembled something, I suppose?"
"Certainly, papa; but I do not know with what to compare it."
"And you, little wench, cannot you make a guess?"
"I fancy I know."
"Ah! Well, then, tell us at once, instead of leaving us in the dark."
"I will, Excellency. This morning, taking advantage of my lady's
sleeping, I went down very gently to try and discover the cause of
the noise that kept us awake all night."
"And you found it?"
"I think I did."
"Very good: go on."
"It seems that hunters arrived here yesterday with a large herd of
novillos, toros, &c., which they are taking, I believe, to California. It
was these animals which, by stamping and roaring, prevented us
sleeping, for their corral adjoins this house."
"And how did you learn all this?"
"Oh! Very easily, Excellency. Accident willed it that I should address
one of the owners of the herd."
"Listen to that! Accident was very kind."
Violanta blushed. The general did not notice it, but continued, "Are
you sure they were not vaqueros belonging to some hacienda?"
"O no, Excellency; they are hunters."
"Good; and they want to sell their ganado?"
"The man I spoke with said so."
"I suppose he asks a high price?"
"I do not know."
"That is true. Well, my child," he added, rising and turning to his
daughter, "so soon as you are ready we will breakfast, and perhaps I
will deliver you from the horrible noise of these animals."
The general kissed his daughter once again, and left the room. So
soon as he was gone the two girls began laughing like little
madcaps.
We must allow that both had played their part to perfection, and
though he little suspected it, had, in a few moments, led the general
to do exactly what they wanted, while leaving him persuaded that
he was merely acting from his own impulse.
A few minutes later Doña Angela joined her father in the cuarto,
which was employed as dining room. The mayordomo had arrived,
and the general only awaited his daughter's presence to begin the
meal. This mayordomo, already known to the reader, was no other
than Don Isidro Vargas, who had accepted this situation as a retiring
pension.
The Mexican haciendas, especially in Sonora, are often eight to ten
leagues in extent. To watch so large a tract of country, on which
immense bands of wild horses and numerous herds of cattle pasture
at liberty, a young, robust, and active man is generally selected, who
is called in that country a hombre de a caballo. In truth, the
profession of a mayordomo is excessively severe: he must constantly
be on horseback, galloping day and night, in heat or cold, doing
everything and looking after everything himself, and obliging the
peons to work, who are the idlest fellows in existence, and the
biggest thieves imaginable.
Don Isidro was no longer young. At the period when we bring him
again on the stage he was nearly seventy; but this long, thin man,
on whose bones a yellow skin, dry as parchment, seemed to be
glued, was as upright and vigorous as if he were but thirty: age had
gained no power over his body, which was solely composed of
muscles and nerves. Thus, by his continual vigilance, his
indefatigable ardour, and his uncommon energy, he was the terror of
the poor fellows whom their evil destiny had placed under his
orders, and who fully believed that their mayordomo had made a
compact with the demon, so closely did he watch them, and so
thoroughly was he acquainted with their slightest actions.
The mayordomo had retained his botas vaqueras, and his spurs with
enormous rowels, which compel the wearer to walk tiptoe. His
zarapé and hat of vicuna skin were negligently thrown on a butaca
in a corner, and at his left side hung a sheathless machete, passed
through an iron ring.
So soon as he perceived the young lady he walked up to her, wished
her good day, and embraced her affectionately. The captain knew
Doña Angela from the day of her birth, and loved her as his
daughter. She, for her part, entertained a great friendship for the old
soldier, with whom she had played when a child, and whom she still
liked to tease, to which the worthy mayordomo lent himself with the
best grace in the world.
They sat down to table; but that expression is somewhat pretentious
when applied to a Mexican breakfast.
We have already frequently remarked that the Spanish Americans
are the most sober people in the world. The least thing suffices
them. Thus the breakfast in question was only composed of a small
cup of that excellent chocolate which the Spaniards alone know how
to make, of a few maize tortillas, and a large glass of water. This
meal, if it be one, is common to all classes of society in Mexico.
The party sat down to table, then, Doña Angela said the benedicite
and the chocolate was served. The conversation, at the outset, was
completely in the hands of the general and the captain, and turned
exclusively on what had happened at the hacienda since the
general's last visit; then it gradually veered round to the subject of
the ganado.
"By the way," Don Sebastian said, "have you recovered any of the
cattle those demons of Apaches took from us in their last attack?"
"Not a head, general, Válgame Dios! You might as well pursue the
wind and the tempest as try to catch up those red devils."
"Then we have lost—"
"All that was within their reach; that is to say, about 2500 head."
"That is hard; and how have you repaired the loss?"
"Up to the present I have only succeeded in collecting 1500 head;
and if you remember, it was on this very subject that you gave me
the meeting here."
"I remember the fact perfectly; still I do not exactly see what we can
do, except buy other cattle."
"Hang it! That is the only way we have of completing our herds."
"Have you any in view?"
"At this moment?"
"Yes."
"No, indeed, I have not, for the ganado is growing beyond all price.
The discovery of gold in California has caused an enormous number
of adventurers from every country to flock there. You know what the
gringos are; they must have meat. These miserable heretics are
such gluttons that they could not do without it; and thus they have
devoured all the ganado they could find in their neighbourhood, and
are now obliged to fetch it for nearly two hundred leagues. You can
understand that such a thing sends prices up enormously."
"That is annoying."
"And yet, general, only an instant agone, while placing my horse in
the corral. I saw the most magnificent herd of novillos that can be
imagined. It is evident that the poor animals have travelled at least
one hundred leagues, for they appear so fatigued."
Doña Angela gave a sly glance at her camarista, who was standing
behind her.
"I have heard of them," the general said carelessly; "they are on the
road to San Francisco, I believe."
"What did I say not a moment ago?" the captain exclaimed, striking
his fist on the table. "Caray! If those confounded gringos are let
alone, they will have devoured all our cattle before ten years have
passed."
"Can we not try to purchase these?"
"It would be an excellent business for us, even if we paid dearly; but
their owners will not be inclined to sell."
"Who knows? I fancy, on the contrary, that they are willing to get rid
of them."
"Rayo de Dios! Buy them, then."
"Yes; but at what price?"
"It is certain that cattle are growing scarcer and scarcer: offer them
for each head bought here the price it would fetch at San Francisco."
"Hum! And how is the market down there?"
"About eighteen piastres."
"Oh, oh! That is to say, for six hundred head—"
"Ten thousand eight hundred piastres: offer the even money."
"That is dear."
"What would you have? You will have to do it."
"That is true; but it is hard."
The general reflected for a moment, and then turned to his
daughter.
"Angela," he said, "what is the name of the hunter who owns the
herd?"
The young lady started.
"Why do you ask me, papa?" she replied, with feigned astonishment;
"I really do not know what you mean. I am entirely ignorant whether
there is a herd in this hostelry."
"That is true," the general said, recollecting. "Where the deuce is my
head gone? It was your camarista, I believe, who spoke to one of
the fellows."
"Yes, papa."
"Pardon me. Come, Violanta, my child, can you tell me this man's
name?"
The girl approached with downcast eyes, and twisting the hem of
her fine muslin apron between her fingers with an embarrassed air.
It was evident she was trying all she knew to blush. The general
awaited her answer for several minutes, but then lost patience.
"Come, you little fool," he exclaimed, "will you make up your mind to
speak, yes or no? People would fancy I was asking you a question
unfit for a maiden to answer."
"I do not say that, general," she replied hesitatingly.
"Enough of that mock modesty. What is the name of the owner of
this ganado?"
"There are two, general."
"What are their names, then?"
"One is a Spaniard, the other a Frenchman, Excellency."
"What do I care what country the scamps belong to? I only want to
know their names."
"One is called Don Cornelio."
"And the other?"
"Don Louis."
"But they have other names beside those?"
Violanta exchanged a rapid glance with her mistress.
"I do not know them," she said.
"Hum!" the general remarked sarcastically, "you only know people, it
appears, by their baptismal names. That's worth knowing."
This time the girl really blushed, and retired in great confusion. Don
Sebastian made a sign to a peon who was standing respectfully a
few paces off.
"Gregorio," he said, "go and present the compliments of General
Don Sebastian Guerrero to the Señores Don Louis and Don Cornelio,
and beg them to honour him with a visit. You understand me?"
The peon bowed and went out.
"We must be polite with these people," the general observed. "Now
that the discovery of the Californian placers has overthrown all
classes of society, who knows with whom we may have to deal?"
And he accompanied this remark by a sarcastic laugh, in which the
captain, as the worthy Mexican he was, noisily joined.
We will observe parenthetically that General Guerrero, like the
majority of his countrymen, professed the most inveterate hatred for
Europeans, a hatred which nothing justified, unless it was that
superiority which the Creoles are obliged to recognise in the
Europeans—a superiority which they submit to unwillingly, but
before which they are forced to bow their heads.
Several minutes elapsed, and then the peon returned.
"Well?" the general asked him.
"Excellency," the peon answered respectfully, "the caballeros will
have the honour of waiting on you. They are following me."
"Very good. Put a bottle of Catalonian refino and glasses on the
table. I know from experience that these gentry have no partiality
for pure water."
After this new jest the general rolled a papelito, lighted it, and
waited. Within five minutes the sound of footsteps was heard in the
corridor; the door opened, and two men appeared.
"It is not he!" Doña Angela murmured in a low voice, for her eyes
were anxiously fixed on the door.
The two men were Valentine and Don Cornelio.

CHAPTER XI.

A COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION.
We have mentioned in a previous chapter the object for which
Valentine presented himself in his friend's place. He wished to try
and discover for what reason Doña Angela desired so ardently to see
Louis again. As for Don Cornelio, he was intimately persuaded that
his personal merits had done it all, and that the young lady's sole
wish was to have another interview with himself.
On the other hand, the hunter, warned by Curumilla, was not sorry
to see the man with whom he had been indirectly connected at
another period of his life—a connection which might at any moment
become more intimate, owing to the general's new position and Don
Louis' projects.
The two strangers presented themselves boldly; their manner was
respectful, without arrogance or excessive humility; such, in a word,
as might be expected from men long tried by the innumerable
hazards of an adventurous life.
The general probably expected to see men of low habits and vulgar
features. At the sight of the two men, whose masculine and honest
faces struck him, he started imperceptibly, rose, saluted them
courteously, and invited them to sit down on chairs he ordered to be
placed for them.
Doña Angela knew not what to think after Don Cornelio's positive
statement. The absence of Don Louis, and the substitution for him of
a man she did not know, appeared inexplicable. Still, without exactly
understanding her feelings, she guessed, under this substitution, a
mystery which she sought in vain to fathom. Violanta was as
confused and astonished as her mistress: the captain alone
remained indifferent to what passed. The old soldier, profiting
cleverly by the fact of the bottle of refino having been placed on the
table, had poured out a large glass of aguardiente, which he
swallowed in small doses, while patiently waiting till the general
thought proper to open the ball.
When the hunters had at length taken their seats, after repeated
pressing, the general took the word.
"You will pardon me, gentlemen, for having disturbed you by
compelling you to come here, when it should have been my place to
go to your cuarto, as it is I who wish to speak with you."
"General," Valentine answered with a respectful bow, "my friend and
myself would have been in despair had we caused you the least
annoyance. Pray believe that we shall always be happy to obey your
orders, whatever they may be."
After this mutual interchange of compliments the speakers bowed
again. No people in the world carry to such an extent as the Mexican
the feline gentleness of manner, if we may be permitted to employ
the expression.
"Which of you two gentlemen," the general continued gracefully, "is
Señor Don Cornelio?"
"It is I, caballero," the Spaniard answered with a bow.
"In that case," Don Sebastian went on, turning to the hunter with an
amiable smile, "this caballero is Don Louis?"
"Pardon me, general," the Frenchman answered distinctly, "my name
is Valentine."
The general started.
"What?" he said in surprise. "And where, then, is Señor Don Louis?"
"It is impossible for him to obey your orders."
"Why so?"
"Because," Valentine continued, casting a side glance at the young
lady, who, though she appeared to be very busily talking with her
camarista, did not lose a word that was said, "because, general, Don
Louis, unaware that he should have the honour of being received by
your Excellency this morning, started at sunrise for San Francisco."
Doña Angela turned pale as death, and was on the point of fainting
at this news; still she overcame the emotion she experienced, and
became apparently calm. She wished to learn all. This emotion,
though so transitory, had not escaped Valentine's observation. The
general nearly turned his back on his daughter: hence it was
impossible for him to see anything that passed.
"That is annoying," he answered.
"I am in despair, general."
"His absence will doubtlessly be of short duration?"
"He will not return."
Valentine pronounced these words dryly. The emotion Doña Angela
experienced was so lively that she could not check a slight cry of
pain.
"What is the matter, niña?" her father asked her, turning sharply.
"What is the meaning of that cry?"
"I cut myself," she answered with the most innocent air possible.
"Oh, oh!" her father said in alarm; "it is not dangerous?"
"No; a mere scratch. I was a goose to be frightened. Forgive me,
papa."
The general asked no further questions, but continued his
conversation with the Frenchman.
"I am vexed at this contretemps," he said, "for I wished to consult
with your friend on very important business."
"No matter; I am here. My friend, on starting, gave me full power to
act in his name. You can speak, general; that is to say, if you do not
consider me unworthy of your confidence."
"Such a supposition would be an insult, sir."
Valentine bowed.
"Well, caballero," the general continued, "the affair I wished to
discuss with your friend is certainly important; but if your full powers
extend to commercial transactions, I do not see why I should not
treat with you as well as with him."
"Speak openly, then, general, for I am Don Louis' partner."
"This is the affair in two words—"
"Pardon me," Doña Angela suddenly said, with a little air of
resolution, which even imposed on the general himself; "before you
begin talking about trade, I should like to ask this gentleman a few
questions."
The general turned in surprise, and bent an inquiring glance on his
daughter.
"What can you have to ask this caballero?" he said.
"You will soon know, my dear papa," she replied with a slight tone of
sarcasm, "if you will permit me to ask him two or three questions."
"Speak, then, you little madcap," the general exclaimed with a shrug
of his shoulders; "speak, and make a finish as soon as you can."
"Thank you, papa. Your permission is, perhaps, not very graciously
granted, but I shall not bear you malice on that account."
"As you permit it, general, I am at the lady's orders."
"In the first place, sir, promise me one thing."
"What is it, señorita?"
"That you will answer frankly and honestly all the questions I may
ask you."
"What is the meaning of this folly, Angela?" the general said
impatiently. "Is this the moment or the place? Is it befitting for—?"
"Papa," the young lady boldly interrupted him, "you gave me
permission to speak."
"Granted; but not in the way you seemed inclined to do so."
"Have a little patience, papa."
"Bah!" the captain said, interposing, "let her speak as she likes. Go
on, my child—go on."
"I am waiting this gentleman's answer," she said.
"I make you the promise you ask, señorita," Valentine answered.
"I hold your word. What is your friend's name, sir?"
"Which one, señorita?".
"The one whose place you have taken."
"His name is Count Louis de Prébois Crancé."
"He is a Frenchman?"
"Born at Paris."
"You have known him a long time?"
"Since his birth, señorita. My mother was his nurse."
"Ah!" she said with pleasure; "then you are really his friend?"
"I am his foster brother."
"He has no secrets from you?"
"None, I fancy."
"Good!"
"Come, come," the general exclaimed, "this is becoming intolerable.
What is the meaning of this interrogatory to which you subject the
caballero, and to which he has the goodness to yield so
complacently? Confound it, niña! I beg the señor's pardon in your
name; for your conduct toward him is most improper."
"What is there improper in it, papa? My intentions are good, and I
am certain that you will agree with me when you learn why I asked
the caballero these simple questions, which, however, appear to you
so extraordinary."
"Well, go on. What is the reason?"
"This. Three years back, during your journey from Guadalajara to
Tepic, were you not attacked by salteadores at the spot called the
Mal Paso?"
"Yes; but what has that in common, I ask—?"
"Wait," she said gaily. "Two men came to your assistance?"
"Yes, and I am not ashamed to confess that, without them, I should
probably have not only been robbed, but murdered by the bandits.
Unfortunately these men obstinately refused to tell me their names.
All my researches up to the present have been fruitless. I have been
unable to find them again, and show them my gratitude, which I
assure you vexes me extremely."
"Yes, papa, I know that you have often in my presence regretted
your inability to find the courageous man to whom you owe your life,
as well as I do, who was but a child at the time."
The young lady uttered these words with an emotion that affected
all her hearers.
"Unfortunately," the general said a moment later, "three years have
elapsed since that adventure. Who knows what has become of that
man?"
"I do, papa."
"You, Angela!" he exclaimed in surprise. "It is impossible."
"My father, the questions I addressed to the gentleman, and which
he answered so kindly, had only one object; to acquire a certainty by
corroborating through the answers I received certain information I
had obtained elsewhere."
"So that—?"
"The man who saved your life is the Count Don Louis, who started
this very morning for San Francisco."
"Oh!" the general said in great agitation, "it is impossible. You are
mistaken, my child."
"Pardon me, general, but my friend has frequently told me the story
in its amplest details," Valentine observed. "Why seek to hide longer
a thing you now know?"
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