And yet, and yet I must! The crime horrifies me, but I have no alternative.

Only by the sacrifice of his life can my master escape the scaffold, and I the gallows.

Fate irresistibly pursues me; I am the slave of necessity--I must follow whither it leads!" With staggering step and in a blind frenzy, Julio ran down the passage, caught his dagger between his teeth, put the key in the lock, and turned the light so that it might fall upon his victim.
He stopped trembling in the middle of the cellar, and pity filled his soul as his eye rested on Geronimo.

He had indeed drawn his dagger to complete the horrible crime; but now, touched and moved by compassion, he considered the unfortunate young man, who extended to him his suppliant hands and begged for help.
Geronimo was kneeling on the side of the grave which had been dug to receive his corpse.

His face was partly covered with clotted blood; the portion visible was excessively pale, and his cheeks were so sunken that those few days of suffering had left only the skin to cover his bones.