parting cry, "O Juan, save
him!"

I asked myself impatiently what more could be done. I had tried my
best and failed, and there was an end of it. Besides, the words of the
chief rang in my ears in ominous warning: Don Felipe could not be
trusted! To set him free was like giving liberty to a venomous snake;
his hatred would now be all the more bitter in that he had struck and
failed.

Why should I add to my father's danger? The fellow had tried to slay
him once; the next time he would make no mistake. I would make no
further effort to help such a traitor; I would ride on. But again the
beseeching face of the girl stopped me, and again I was moved to think
how I could aid the miserable prisoner. Like a flash of lightning I
thought of the silver key. _That_ would unlock his prison door.
Although I fully believed in Don Felipe's guilt, I remembered he made
no effort to defend himself. He would not admit Sorillo's right to try
him. Before a lawful judge he might be able to vindicate his actions
in some way; at least he should have the chance to do so. Thus
thinking, I turned back in the direction of the ravine.

Half of the sentries, I knew, had been withdrawn to ride with their
chief, but the number on guard mattered little; the silver key was an
all-powerful talisman. I rode slowly, not wishing to tire the horses,
to whose speed and strength we might later be indebted for our lives.
I thought, too, it would serve my purpose better to reach the ravine in
the dead of night, when the men would be sleepy and less likely to ask
inconvenient questions.

I was stopped at the entrance to the pass, but not for long. The
Indians who had seen me ride out with their chief had no suspicion of
my object.

"Where is the chief?" asked the officer. "Have the Royalists got clear
of the mountains?"

"No; they are still in the defiles. But I am in a hurry; I have come
for the Spanish prisoner Montilla."

Fortunately this officer had not attended the trial of Don Felipe, and
Sorillo was not the man to give reasons for his orders. My main
difficulty would lie with the sentry at the door of the hut, but I did
not think he would disobey the authority of the Silver Key.

In any case, boldness was my best policy; so I clattered up the ravine,
stopping hardly a yard from the astonished sentry.

"Quick, man!" I cried, springing to the ground; "are you asleep? Open
the door. I have come back for the prisoner. Is he still