You are right, my son," the priest said frankly. "Young as you are, you
have seen more of the world than I, who, since I left the University of
Salamanca, have never been ten miles from my native village. I will do
what I can to put a stop to this matter. But I am not solely in command
here. I lead my own village, but there are the men of a score of
villages lying on these hills. But I will summon all the chiefs to a
council now."

The priest called half a dozen of the peasants to him, and dispatched
them with orders to bring all the other leaders to take part in a
council with an English officer who had arrived from the great Earl of
Peterborough.

In half an hour some twenty men were assembled in a little hollow on the
hillside, where they were sheltered from the fire of the French. Four
or five of these were priests. There were two or three innkeepers. The
remainder were small landed proprietors. Father Ignacio first addressed
them. He stated that the English officer had come on a mission from the
earl, and had arrived accidentally while the fight was going on, and
that he was of opinion that the French offer of surrender should be
accepted. A murmur of dissent went round the circle.

"I was at first of your opinion," the priest said, "but the reasons
which this English officer has given me in support of his advice have
brought me round to his way of thinking. I will leave him to state them
to you."

Jack now rose to his feet, and repeated the arguments which he had used
to the priest. He gathered from the faces of his hearers that, although
some were convinced that mercy would be the best policy, others were
still bent upon revenge. Father Ignacio then, in language which he
thought best suited to touch his hearers, repeated Jack's arguments,
urging very strongly the vengeance which the French marshal would be
sure to take upon the Spanish population of the country through which he
was passing when he heard the news.

"Besides," Jack said, when he had finished, "you must remember you have
not conquered the enemy yet. I see the officer has withdrawn all his men
among the wagons, where their shelter will be nearly as good as yours.
They have, doubtless, abundant stores of ammunition in those wagons,
together with food and wine, and if you force them to fight to the last
man they can hold out for a very long time, and will inflict a heavy
loss upon your men before they are overcome."

"But why should they take th