, with the view of separating the living from the dead; with
the result that there was almost instantly a crowd of about a hundred
Spanish soldiers bunched together in the narrow path, some of them
performing ambulance work, but the majority simply waiting for an
opportunity to pass. This was altogether too good a chance to be
neglected; and, waiting only until the jostling crowd in the pathway was
at its thickest, Jack raised a whistle to his lips and blew a single,
shrill note.

The call was instantly answered by a crashing volley from the concealed
negroes, which took such murderous effect upon the crowd below that
scarcely a dozen men were left upon their feet; and those who were
untouched were so utterly demoralised that they incontinently turned
tail and retreated upon the main body, shouting: "Back! back! There is
an ambuscade round the bend of the road; and we shall be slaughtered to
a man if we go forward!" Whereupon the Spanish officer in charge of the
pursuit--who was prudently remaining with the main body, instead of
pushing forward with the vanguard--at once halted his men, and proceeded
to enquire what all the confusion was about. The truth was that,
finding himself on strange ground, following a narrow, winding, bush
path, with a deepening ravine on his right, and a precipitously steep
hillside on his left, overgrown with ferns and scrub thick enough to
give perfect cover to an unlimited number of men; and with a furious
thunderstorm raging, which promised to speedily develop into something
very considerably worse than what it already was, he had no stomach for
continuing the pursuit, and was only too glad of an excuse to call a
halt and allow the enemy to go upon his way without further molestation.
On the other hand, Jack, having satisfied himself that he had at least
checked the pursuit, gave the word to his men to move forward; and,
taking a short cut over the spur of the hill, they soon found themselves
once more in the path, and close upon the heels of their companions.

As Jack's party presently overtook what had originally been the rear-
guard, Carlos dropped into the rear and joined his friend, and the two
youths seized the opportunity to effect an exhaustive interchange of
news, and to relate to each other the most stirring episodes in the
defence of their respective positions. The young Cuban explained the
means adopted by the Spaniards to force a passage across the river, and
how he had