t have taken. Rodman was haggard and distrait. His plans were
all in ruins, and, unless an amnesty were declared, he must be once
more the refugee. His belief that Saxon was really Carter led him into
two false conclusions. First, he inferred from this premise that
Saxon's life would be as greatly imperiled as his own, and it followed
that he, being in his own words "no quitter," must see Saxon out of
the city, if the man were alive. He presumed that in the effort to
reach the legation Saxon had taken, as would anyone familiar with the
streets, a circuitous course which would bring him to the "_Club
Nacional_," from which point he could reach the house he sought over
the roofs. He had no doubt that the American had failed in his
mission, because, by any route, he must make his way through streets
where he would encounter fighting.

Rodman's search became feverish. There was little time to lose. The
conference might be brief--and, after that, chaos! But fortune favored
him. Chance led him into the right street, and he found the body.
Being alone, he stood for a moment indecisive. He was too light a man
to carry bodily the wounded friend who lay at his feet. He could
certainly not leave the man, for his ear at the chest, his finger on
the pulse, assured him that Saxon was alive. He had been struck by a
falling timber from a balcony above, and the skull seemed badly hurt,
probably fractured.

As Rodman stood debating the dilemma, a shadow fell across the
pavement. He turned with a nervous start to recognize at his back a
newcomer, palpably a foreigner and presumably a Frenchman, though his
excellent English, when he spoke, was only slightly touched with
accent. The stranger dropped to his knee, and made a rapid
examination, as Rodman had done. It did not occur to him at the moment
that the man standing near him was an acquaintance of the other who
lay unconscious at their feet.

"The gentleman is evidently a non-combatant--and he is badly hurt,
monsieur," he volunteered. "We most assuredly cannot leave him here to
die."

Rodman answered with some eagerness:

"Will you help me to carry him to a place where he'll be safe?"

"Gladly." The Frenchman looked about. "Surely, he can be cared for
near here."

But Rodman laid a persuasive hand on the other's arm.

"He must be taken to the water front," he declared, earnestly. "After
the conference, he would not be safe here."

The stranger drew back, and stood for a mome