fered as much as, if not more than, ourselves, as occasionally we
came upon a dead horse or a dead man, killed by sheer fatigue.

On the third night after leaving lea we had ample proof of their
desperate straits. We had left the sandy deserts behind, and were
toiling along painfully, sustained only by Castro's assurance that he
knew of a capital camping-ground.

"A fine wooded place," said he, "with grass for the horses, and a clear
stream of water. You will be tempted to stay there all night, captain."

"Three hours," replied Plaza, "not a moment more. We must be close on
their heels now, and I don't mean Santalla to escape if I can help it."

Santalla was a Royalist colonel of whose cruelty I had heard many
times. He was a gigantic fellow, of enormous strength; but, according
to all accounts, a pitiful coward in spite of his boasting. Indeed,
any leader of average bravery would have turned and struck a blow at
the handful of tired riders which now pursued him.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Castro presently, and I saw with satisfaction
the trees on our left hand to which he pointed. Every bone in my body
was racked with pain, my lips were parched, my eyes ached, and for the
last hour I had scarcely been able to keep my seat.

Halting his men, Plaza sent me on with the guide to investigate.
Leaving our horses, we moved forward swiftly but quietly; there was
just the possibility of a trap. The place was almost like an enclosure
on a large hacienda, but the fence was composed of trees, and we could
hear the plashing waters of a stream.

Inside the ring was an open space, and there, to our astonishment, we
beheld some twenty men lying on the grass in all manner of attitudes.
Not one made the slightest movement, and at first I thought they must
be dead.

"Don't be too sure," whispered Castro, and stooping down he glided
noiselessly to the nearest man, while I waited with breathless
eagerness.

"Poor beggars!" said he pityingly; "we must have pushed them hard. I
don't believe they would waken if a cannon were fired at them!"

This was an exaggeration, but indeed they slept so soundly that our
men, surrounding them, took away most of their weapons before they
understood what was going on. Binding their arms, we pushed and
dragged them close together, and then the captain placed his men round
them in a circle. Sentries were stationed at various places on the
outer ring, and, much to my disgust, I was told off