an escort of ten
troopers under an officer, to conduct you across the mountains.
Four of these will accompany you to Badajos, and remain with you
until you return to Toledo. Once in the valley of the Guadiana,
you should have little chance of falling in with any bands of
guerrillas, but an escort will add to your weight and importance
in the eyes of the Spaniards."

"I feel greatly honoured, Your Royal Highness, by your selecting
me for the mission, and will carry it out to the best of my
ability."

"In an hour the papers will be ready for you, and you can start at
daybreak tomorrow."

"We are going on a long trip this time, Mike."

"Back to France, your honour?"

"No; we are going to the western frontier, by Badajos."

"It makes no difference to me, sir, where we are going; but, in
truth, I shall be glad to go anywhere, for I am mightily sick of
this town, where the people have no great love for the French, and
the best part of them seem to look down upon us soldiers, as if we
were dirt under their feet. It is unsafe to go through the streets
alone at night. A score of men have, since we came here, been
found lying dead with a knife between their ribs."

"Yes; the population here is very much divided, Mike, and even those
who are favourable to Philip have no love for the foreign soldiers
whose bayonets keep him on the throne. The duke has, many times,
made formal complaints to the king and the city authorities. Philip
has given strict orders for the arrest of bad characters, but the
city civil authorities protest that they cannot lay hands upon them,
and I believe have never taken the slightest trouble to do so."

"How long shall we be away, your honour?"

"I should say, a month. I am to have temporary rank as major,
while engaged on this business. Anyone under that grade would
receive but little courtesy from the Spaniards."

"They are a mighty haughty lot," Mike grumbled. "I believe they
think that, when the flood came, the Spanish grandees had an ark
all to themselves, as they could not be expected to put up with a
conveyance full of animals."

Desmond laughed.

"They haven't yet taken in the fact that Spain is no longer the
great power she was when she was mistress of half of Europe. They
were fine fighters then, Mike. For my part, I own that I cannot
understand how it is they have fallen off in that respect; for
certainly, without our troops, they would make but a poor stand
against the Portugue