ed wearers,
who were looking at our people with a kind of tolerant contempt.

As they drew near, I recognised two of them as being of the party who
had come before, and these two spoke to a broad-shouldered,
swarthy-looking man, who nodded from time to time as if receiving his
instructions. Then he stepped forward, looking from one to the other,
and said, bluntly--

"Which of you is captain?"

There was a pause, every one being surprised at hearing our language so
plainly spoken.

"You can address yourself to me," said the General, quietly.

"Oh, that's all right then. You see--"

"Stop a moment," said the General. "You are an Englishman?"

"I was," said the man; "but I've thrown in my lot here now, and I'm a
Spaniard."

"Indeed?"

"Yes; that's it. I'm settled among them, and they're not bad sort of
people, let me tell you. I just say this by way of advice to all of
you, who seem to be in a tidy pickle."

"Were you instructed to say this, sir?" said the General, coldly.

"Well, no, not exactly; only having once been an Englishman, and meeting
Englishmen, I wanted to do you a good turn if I could."

"Thank you. Now your message."

"Oh, that's short enough. The Don here says I'm to tell you that he is
glad he arrived in time to save your lives, all of you, for if he hadn't
come you'd all have been massacred."

"Go on," said the General.

"And that he supposes you see now what a mad trick it was to come and
settle down here among the Indians. Let me see; what was next?"
muttered the man; and he turned sharp round, and spoke to the Spanish
leader for a minute or so, and then came back and went on--

"That he came once before and gave you fair warning that you were
trespassing on the lands of his Majesty the King of Spain, and that he
wants to know how soon you are going."

"Is that all?"

"Yes," said the man, "I think that's about all. It isn't exactly what
he said, because Spanish lingo's awkward stuff to put into plain
English; but that's about what it all meant; and, speaking as a friend,
I should advise you to get a passage up north as soon as you can."

"Thank you."

"Shall I say you're going to sheer off?"

"Tell your leader or officer, sir," said the General, coldly, "that his
message is insulting."

"Oh, come, now," said the man, "it was as civil as could be."

"That we are here in the dominion of his Majesty the King of England,
upon our own lands, and that his demand is absu