he house, which rose in an obtuse angle
above it. Its greatest elevation was about six feet, and that only in
the centre, whence the tiles slanted downwards on either side to the
beams by which the floor was supported. The entrance was by a
step-ladder, and through a trap-door, against which, when he reached it,
Paco gave two very slight but peculiar taps. Thereupon a bolt was
cautiously withdrawn, and the trap raised; the muleteer completed the
ascent of the steps, entered the loft, and found himself face to face
with Jaime the gipsy.

"Did no one see you?" said Paco, in a cautious whisper.

"No one," replied the esquilador, reseating himself upon Paco's bed,
from which he had risen to give admittance to the muleteer. The bed
consisted of a wooden _catre_, or frame, supporting a large square bag
of the coarsest sackcloth, half full of dried maize-leaves, and having a
rent in the centre, through which to introduce the arm, and shake up the
contents. The only other furniture of the room was a chair with a broken
back. On the floor lay the gipsy's wallet, and his abarcas, which he had
taken off to avoid noise during his clandestine entrance into the house.
The gipsy himself was busy tying slip-knot at the end of a stout rope
about seven or eight yards long. Another piece of cord, of similar
length and thickness, lay beside him, having much the appearance of a
halter, owing to the noose already made at one of its extremities. The
tiles and rafters covering the room were green with damp, and, through
various small apertures, allowed the wind and even the rain to enter
with a facility which would have rendered the abode untenable for a
human inhabitant during any but the summer season. In one of the slopes
of the roof was an opening in the tiles, at about four feet from the
floor, closed by a wooden door, and large enough to give egress to a
man. To this opening Paco now pointed.

"Through there," said he.

The gipsy nodded.

"The roof is strong," continued Paco, "and will bear us well. We creep
along the top till we get to the chimney at the further end, just above
the window of the prisoner's room. I have explained to you what is then
to be done."

"It is hazardous," said the gipsy. "If a tile slips under our feet, or
the sentries catch sight of us, we shall be picked off the house-top
like sparrows."

"Perfectly true," said Paco; "but the tiles will not slip, and the night
is too dark for the sentries to see us.