oses, when they arrived at the lake, smooth and placid as a great
mirror. At a distance they saw a gray mass, advancing little by little.

"It's the falua," said Elias under his breath. "Lie down, senor,
and I will cover you with these bags."

The outlines of the government boat grew more and more distinct.

"She's getting between us and the shore," said Elias, uneasily; and
very gradually he changed the direction of his bark. To his terror
he saw the falua make the same change, and heard a voice hailing
him. He stopped and thought. The shore was yet some distance away;
they would soon be within range of the ship's guns. He thought he would
go back to Pasig, his boat could escape the other in that direction;
but fate was against him. Another boat was coming from Pasig, and in
it glittered the helmets and bayonets of the Civil Guards.

"We are caught!" he said, and the color left his face. He looked at
his sturdy arms, and took the only resolution possible; he began to
row with all his might toward the island of Talim. The sun was coming
up. The bark shot rapidly over the water; on the falua, which changed
its tack, Elias saw men signalling.

"Do you know how to manage a bark?" he demanded of Ibarra.

"Yes. Why?"

"Because we are lost unless I take to the water to throw them off the
track. They will pursue me. I swim and dive well. That will turn them
away from you, and you must try to save yourself."

"No, stay, and let us sell our lives dear!"

"It is useless; we have no arms; they would shoot us down like birds."

As he spoke, they heard a hiss in the water, followed by a report.

"You see!" said Elias, laying down his oar. "We will meet, Christmas
night, at the tomb of your grandfather. Save yourself! God has drawn
me out of greater perils than this!"

He took off his shirt; a ball picked it out of his hands, and two
reports followed. Without showing alarm, he grasped the hand Ibarra
stretched up from the bottom of the boat, then stood upright and
leaped into the water, pushing off the little craft with his foot.

Outcries were heard from the falua. Promptly, and at some distance,
appeared the head of the young man, returning to the surface to
breathe, then disappearing immediately.

"There, there he is," cried several voices, and balls whistled.

The falua and the bark from Pasig set out in pursuit of the swimmer. A
slight wake showed his direction, more and more removed from Ibarra's
little bark, w