hy
then were they so anxious not to kill him in a fair fight if he were
now to be merely beheaded?

"What is your name?" asked Toza of his gaoler.

"I am called Paulo," was the answer.

"Do you know that I am to be beheaded on the fifteenth of the month?"

"I have heard so," answered the man.

"And do you attend me until that time?"

"I attend you while I am ordered to do so. If you talk much I may be
replaced."

"That, then, is a tip for silence, good Paulo," said the brigand. "I
always treat well those who serve me well; I regret, therefore, that I
have no money with me, and so cannot recompense you for good service."

"That is not necessary," answered Paulo. "I receive my recompense from
the steward."

"Ah, but the recompense of the steward and the recompense of a brigand
chief are two very different things. Are there so many pickings in your
position that you are rich, Paulo?"

"No; I am a poor man."

"Well, under certain circumstances, I could make you rich."

Paulo's eyes glistened, but he made no direct reply. Finally he said,
in a frightened whisper, "I have tarried too long, I am watched. By-
and-by the vigilance will be relaxed, and then we may perhaps talk of
riches."

With that the gaoler took his departure. The brigand laughed softly to
himself. "Evidently," he said, "Paulo is not above the reach of a
bribe. We will have further talk on the subject when the watchfulness
is relaxed."

And so it grew to be a question of which should trust the other. The
brigand asserted that hidden in the mountains he had gold and jewels,
and these he would give to Paulo if he could contrive his escape from
the castle.

"Once free of the castle, I can soon make my way out of the valley,"
said the brigand.

"I am not so sure of that," answered Paulo. "The castle is well
guarded, and when it is discovered that you have escaped, the alarm-
bell will be rung, and after that not a mouse can leave the valley
without the soldiers knowing it."

The brigand pondered on the situation for some time, and at last said,
"I know the mountains well."

"Yes;" said Paulo, "but you are one man, and the soldiers of the Prince
are many. Perhaps," he added, "if it were made worth my while, I could
show you that I know the mountains even better than you do."

"What do you mean?" asked the brigand, in an excited whisper.

"Do you know the tunnel?" inquired Paulo, with an anxious glance
towards the door.

"What tunnel? I