o inducement to keep close behind.

Garcia must have imagined that he was to be left to starve, for he did
not see me as I stood back listening to the pattering of the mules' feet
upon the hard rock, and the silence that fell directly after when they
touched sand; and, raising his voice, he gave so wild and despairing a
shriek that my uncle came hurrying back.

"Harry, my dear lad, surely you have not--"

"No, Uncle," I said contemptuously, "I had not even spoken. It was his
coward heart that smote him."

Loosening his legs, which of late we had slackened so as to guard
against numbness, we made him rise; and then forcing my arm under his, I
led him along till we overtook the last mule bearing my aunt; and then
our slow, dark journey was continued till, nearing the entrance, the
lights were extinguished and my uncle, taking Tom's place as leader, the
latter stole forward, and returned in half an hour to say that the sun
had set, and that though he had watched long and carefully from the very
mouth of the cave, there was nothing to be seen.

We went forward then, to rest for fully an hour in the cavern close now
to the barrier, for the darkness fell swiftly into the ravine, rolling,
as it were, down the mountain-sides; and then, with beating hearts, we
prepared to start, our course being along the little valley to the
entrance, and then, according to my uncle's plans, as nearly south-east
as we could travel until we could hit upon a stream.

The time for starting at length came, and after a little further
consultation Garcia was once more carefully secured and laid upon his
back in the mouth of the cave, that being the only plan we could adopt;
and then, panting with excitement, each man with all his weapons ready
for immediate action, we started in single file and began to move down
the ravine.

The darkness was intense, and but for the sagacity of the leading mule
our progress would have been slow indeed; but the patient brute went on
at a quiet, regular pace, and his fellows followed, the breathing of the
animals and the slight rustle through the herbage being all that smote
the ear.

I should think that we had gone about a quarter of a mile, straining our
eyes to catch sight of an enemy on either side as we made our way
through what was like a dense bank of darkness, when, loud and clear
upon the night air, rang out a wild, strange cry, which made us
instinctively stop to listen.

Twice more it rang out,