"Captain Basset," he
continued, "I will take two men with me. Take you the remainder and
secure every door giving access to the exterior of this building. No
man must on any account be allowed to leave it, for if that should
happen, they will raise the inhabitants of the town upon us, and there
will be bloodshed, which I wish to avoid, if possible. Now, sir," to
the friar, "lead the way."

While Basset marched off the remaining half-dozen of his men to execute
George's order, the latter, accompanied by two soldiers, followed his
unwilling guide into the main building and down a long corridor to a
door, at which the friar knocked with a trembling hand.

"Enter!" responded a voice in Spanish, whereupon George, gently pushing
his guide aside and beckoning the two soldiers to follow him, threw open
the door and passed into the apartment. It was a large and very
handsomely furnished room, containing a table, sofa, several lounging
chairs, and a large book-case, full of books, facing the two wide and
lofty windows which lighted the room and which looked out upon a
spacious, beautifully kept garden. On one wall hung a large crucifix,
the cross made of ebony while the exquisitely carved figure of the
crucified Christ was of ivory, fastened to the cross with golden nails,
while the crown of thorns which encircled the drooping head was also
made of gold. Two large pictures, one of which represented the Descent
from the Cross, and the other the Entombment, hung on either side of the
crucifix; and the opposite wall was occupied by a very large and
beautiful painting depicting the Apotheosis of the Virgin Mother.

At the entrance of the three armed men a tall and dignified figure clad
in priestly garments rose from the table and, with a ringer inserted
between the pages of a book which he had been reading, haughtily
demanded, in Spanish:

"Who are you, sir; and what is the meaning of this unseemly--this
audacious--intrusion upon my privacy?"

George replied to this question by asking another. "Am I right," he
demanded, "in supposing you to be the Right Reverend Father Superior of
this institution?"

"And if I am, what then?" demanded the other.

"Only that you are the man I happen to want," replied George. "I am an
Englishman," he continued, "and the captain of a ship which holds this
city at her mercy. I and my companions have come all the way from
England to avenge the most foul and treacherous attack made by you