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Nunez looked sharply at them, and held out his hand without speaking. Tom gave him the little quill. The guerilla opened it, read the contents, and, saying briefly, "An answer to-morrow," strode on to his men, and in a few minutes they were defiling out at the end of the valley. "That hardly seems a strong enough body to attack a French convoy, Garcias," Tom remarked.
Sailing several days to the eastwards from thence with contrary winds, he arrived at a great cape or head-land, whence the coast trended to the southwards, and called this place Cabo de Garcias a Dios, or Cape thanks to God, because the east winds which had hitherto obstructed his voyage would now serve for navigating that part of the coast.
Food, his greatest need, supplied, his next was news, someone to tell him, or a newspaper. The people who stood in with him were scattered far. Up beyond Angels the Garcias were his friends, and over to the left, on the bend of the river near Pine Flat, Old Man Haley, reputed cracked and a survivor of the great days of the lode, had been his confederate from the start.
Tom and Peter then went up to them with the little girls. The lady was sobbing with joy and excitement at this unexpected relief. "Can you walk?" Tom asked her in English. "Yes," she said, getting up hastily, but almost falling again. "Garcias will go first, as guide. The priest will give you his arm," Tom went on, "these two young women will go with you and carry your child if necessary.
At the same time, the party which went by land began to fire off their muskets, and the people in the ships believed they were some friends of the viceroy who wished to embark. Vela Nunnez was sent accordingly in a boat to the shore, to learn what was meant by the firing, on which Diego Garcias pushed on his barks between Vela Nunnez and the ships, firing upon him and obliged him to surrender.
"The only man with whom I travelled for any length of time was a fellow whose soul seemed to lie in his portmanteau." "Then it was like the soul of the licentiate Pedro Garcias, which lay among the ducats in his leathern purse. That man has been robbed, and he has lodged an information against you, as connected with the violence done to him." "You jest, Miss Vernon!"
Our last skin of wine was emptied last night; we will bring some more up to-morrow; but if you had not come we should have had to start thirsty, and that's unlucky besides being unpleasant." "Where is Nunez!" Garcias asked. "Here he comes," was the reply; and the boys turning saw a figure approaching, which by no means answered to the expectation of the celebrated guerilla chief.
The Dean of the Assembly is Pedro Oropesa; next to him comes Ludovico Zapato; then, in regular order, Fernando Tellez, Garcias Moxica, Lorenzo Carvajal; Toribio Santiago sits next to the last-named, and after him come Juan Lopez, Palacios Rivas, and Ludovico Polanco.
It was a weary journey, for the French lady, exhausted by fatigue and excitement, was often obliged to stop and sit down to rest, and, indeed, could not have got on at all had not Garcias on one side and the padre on the other helped her on. At last, just as the sun was setting, they approached the village, and could see the French sentries at its entrance. When within a hundred yards they paused.
A hundred eager eyes examined him, and ere long it was declared as certain that it was the messenger. The boys' heart sank within them as they saw the fierce look cast by the Spaniards in the direction of the prisoners, for every one in the village was well aware of the meaning of this early return. The boys had arranged upon the course they would pursue, and they at once hurried to Garcias.
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