172 TRAVEL, AD VENTURE, AND SPORT. 



the heavy mantle of clouds which covered the sky. 

 The infantry soldier on sentry had reached the limit 

 of his walk, and was turning to retrace his steps. 

 When he arrived under the window, he allowed the 

 bayonet on the end of his musket to fall lightly 

 against the bars through which Marquinez was look- 

 ing, and in a voice which seemed familiar to the ears 

 of the latter, he asked in Spanish 



" Estas solo ? Are you alone 1 " 



" Villa verde is with me, and asleep," was the reply. 



" My bayonet is unfixed. Take it, and force the 

 grating." 



Marquinez seized the proffered weapon, which was 

 only stuck on the end of the ramrod, and using the 

 greatest possible care to avoid noise, he began to pick 

 out the cement and the small iron wedges by which 

 the bars were fastened into the wall. It was neces- 

 sary to take out all the three bars, for otherwise the 

 opening would be too small to allow the body of a 

 man to pass ; and with no better tool than a bayonet, 

 the task was not an easy one. At the end of half an 

 hour, however, two of the bars had given way, and 

 the prisoner had begun to work at the third, when 

 the sentry, who, during this time had continued his 

 walk without appearing to pay any attention to what 

 was going on in the prison, rapidly approached the 

 window, and, in the low hurried tone in which he 

 had before spoken, exclaimed 



" The relief is at hand ; hasten, or all is lost ! " At 



