"

"Not if there is such necessity," returned Lawrence, yawning, and
raising himself on one elbow.

"There _is_ such necessity, senhor. I have been down to the village
where my friend lives, and have got fresh horses. Manuela and Quashy
are already mounted. I let you sleep to the last moment, seeing you
were so tired. Don't forget your pistols; you may need them."

Without waiting for a reply, he rose and left the room. The young
doctor hesitated no longer. Regret at quitting the poor people around
him was overborne by the fear of being left behind, for he had by that
time begun to entertain a vague suspicion that the stern and peculiar
man by whom he was led would not permit any object whatever to stand in
the way of what he believed to be his duty.

In a few seconds he issued from the hut, armed with his pair of
double-barrelled pistols and the faithful cudgel. The cavalry sabre,
however, had been lost, not much to his regret.

The grey light of dawn was just sufficient to give a ghostly appearance
to what may be truly termed the ghastly ruins around them, and to reveal
in undefined solemnity the neighbouring mountains. Smoke still issued
from the half-smothered fires, and here and there a spectral figure
might be seen flitting silently to and fro. But all was profoundly
still and quiet, even the occasional tremors of the earth had ceased for
a time, when they issued from the enclosure of the hut.

Without speaking, Lawrence mounted the horse which stood ready for him,
and they all rode silently away, picking their steps with great care
through the upheaved and obstructed streets. It was a scene of absolute
and utter ruin, which Lawrence felt could never be effaced from his
memory, but must remain there burned in deeply, in its minutest details,
to the end of time.

When they had passed the suburbs, however, and reached the country
beyond, the depressing influences passed away, and, a certain degree of
cheerfulness returning with the sun, they began to chat and to explain
to each other their various experiences.

"Of course, when I felt the earthquake," said Pedro to Lawrence, "I knew
that, although little damage was done to the village to which I had gone
in search of my friends, it must have been very severe on the town with
its spires and public buildings; so I saddled up at once, and set off on
my return. I met Quashy just as I left the village, and we both spurred
back as fast as we could. Wh