l with six other prisoners convicted of murder, and a
more ugly, villainous and desperate-looking lot of characters would
have been hard to find anywhere. No attention had been paid to my
remonstrance, when an hour later a gentleman, whom I had favored,
presented himself. After I told him the circumstances of our detention
he said he would send a lawyer to defend us. In the meantime he
arranged with a hotel keeper to send us regular meals, also mattresses
and blankets.

The day following I had many visitors, some drawn by curiosity and
others by sympathy and good will. The latter were profuse in their
attentions. When a lawyer appeared, I related to him the details of
our arrest. I did the talking, as Thompson could not speak the
language, while I was becoming quite proficient in it. Upon leaving,
the lawyer promised to have us free in eight days at most.

I passed away the dreary time pacing that prison cell. It was about
twenty feet long and twelve feet wide, and contained nothing but stone
walls and floor, with a heavy iron-grated window which looked out on
the plaza. A bottle of wine came with each meal, instead of coffee,
and I shared it with the criminals in our cell. In this way I soon won
their good will, and as they had all been convicted of murder, they
did not hesitate to tell me of their horrible crimes.

There is no capital punishment in Peru. Sentence for life, in that
country, means about fifteen years, and seldom do they serve that
length of time. Usually a revolution releases them. At such times
insurgents invariably break open the prisons and liberate the
convicts, which happened to these prisoners a few months later. We
were visited daily by my lawyer and finally were told that four
hundred dollars would be required for our liberation.

"Liberate us and I will give you the money," was my answer.

Next day I bid adieu to my undesirable residence and companions;
Thompson had no money and I paid all. After purchasing new clothes and
receiving the congratulations of friends, we boarded the train for
Ilo. Mr. Hill returned from Lima that day and after learning of the
indignities inflicted upon me, told his officials that they should
have notified the British consul and compelled the Peruvian
authorities to pay, instead of taking my money.

I returned to work in the shops, and three weeks afterward one of the
office clerks came in breathless and told me I was to be arrested
again along with Thompson.