llo began to speak, clearly and distinctly, but with no note
of anger in his voice.

"Don Felipe Montilla," he said, "you are brought here by order of the
Society of the Silver Key." Don Felipe's lips curled as if in
amusement. "It is charged against you that you, having taken the oath
of loyalty to the government, have since been in traitorous
communication with the Royalist leaders. Do you deny or admit the
charge?"

Don Felipe shrugged his shoulders carelessly, saying, "A truce to your
mummery! Do you think I would plead for my life to a band of
cut-throats? What care I for your society?"

I thought this outburst would provoke his captors beyond measure, but,
as far as I could judge, it produced no effect at all. They sat quite
still, as if the remarks had been addressed to others.

"It is our custom," continued Sorillo, "to give those brought before us
every chance to defend themselves. We are not lawyers; we do not
juggle with words; our one desire is to get at the truth."

"By St. Philip," muttered Montilla, "this is the last place I should
have thought to find it in!"

"For this reason," continued the chief, ignoring the sarcastic
interruption, "the story shall be told plainly, and then you will
understand exactly what you are charged with. Three nights ago we
stopped a man returning from Lima. Many times he had gone to and fro
unmolested, protected by a pass from Riva-Aguero. At last he was
recognized by one of our men as Pardo Lurena, an utterly worthless man,
who had already changed sides several times during the war."

"He would have made a good recruit for you," remarked Montilla.

"Suspecting this man, we had him watched," continued the chief, again
passing over the interruption, "and found that always he went to your
house, senor, returning under the cover of night. We knew you to be an
excellent Patriot, yet the circumstance made us uneasy. At length we
decided to ignore the president's passport. Lurena was stopped and
searched, with this result," and he flourished a letter before the
prisoner.

Don Felipe must have known by now how helpless his case was; but he
only smiled. In truth, at this crisis of his life he showed no want of
pluck.

"There is much in this letter," said the chief mercilessly. "It
contains a full list of the troops just dispatched to the south, and of
those still remaining in Lima, with an exact statement as to the
quantity of their stores and ammunition.