entioned that he was a very different sort
of person to Don Eduardo. He was a stern, morose man, none of the
kindlier sympathies of human nature finding a place in his bosom. He
was sitting on a rock, under the shade of a tree, with his secretary,
with paper and a pen in his hand, kneeling by his side, and making a
table of the rock, ready to take notes of what we might say. He
questioned us narrowly, and all we said was put down. I gave him the
same account that I had to Don Eduardo.

"And so you have been living among the Indians, and encouraging them in
their rebellion against their rightful sovereign, I doubt not," he
observed, fixing his piercing eyes on us. "Young man, your name is not
unfamiliar to me."

I felt no little alarm on hearing these words, which was increased when
he desired his secretary to turn to some notes he had in his portfolio.

"I thought so," he exclaimed. "You are the son of an Englishman who is
accused of conspiring with the Indians to overthrow the government of
the country. Your father has met with his deserts, for I see that he
and all his family were murdered by the wretched people he had
encouraged to revolt; but you, let me assure you, will not escape the
punishment which is your due. You have been treated with too much
leniency by us; you and your companion are now prisoners. Guard lead
them off, and take care that they do not escape."

The information so brutally given me, confirmatory of my worst fears,
almost overcame me, and I believe that I should have sunk to the ground,
had not the soldiers who were ordered to take charge of us supported me
as they led me away. I was far too much absorbed by the dreadful news,
the truth of which I could not doubt, to be able to contemplate the very
dangerous position in which I was placed. I did not attempt to answer
the colonel, nor to exculpate myself; indeed, any appeal to him would
have been of no avail. Pedro and I were marched off, and placed by
ourselves under the shade of a rock, where several men were stationed as
sentries over us. The officers with whom we had before been associating
on friendly terms seemed to regard us with looks of pity, but they dared
not speak to us. When the troops again marched we were guarded by two
soldiers, who rode by our sides with drawn swords, while we were not
allowed to address each other. The time occupied by that journey was
the most miserable portion of my life. Hope had almost de