nner of the priest was so earnest that Jack repressed a smile with
difficulty.

"I did notice among the mules in one of the wagons one marked somewhat
similarly to your description, and, if I mistake not, it, with another,
fell to the share of the good priest; but I cannot say that it had much
flesh upon its bones; indeed, it was in very poor case. Nor did I notice
that its eyes were particularly soft, or that there was any peculiarity
in the twitching of its tail."

"It may be Margaretta," the priest said with some excitement; "the poor
beast would naturally lose flesh in the hands of the French, while as to
the switch in the tail, it was a sign of welcome which she gave me when
I took an apple or a piece of bread into her stable, and she would
not be likely so to greet strangers. I will lose no time in writing to
Ignacio to inquire further into the matter. Verily, it seems to me as if
the saint had sent you specially here as a bearer of this good news."

Jack spent a pleasant evening with the priest, and learned much as
to the state of things upon the frontier. The priest represented the
Castilians as bitterly opposed to the claims of Charles; they had no
grievances against the French, who had behaved with strict discipline in
that province, and had only commenced their excesses upon crossing
the frontier into Arragon. This they regarded, though wrongfully, as a
hostile country; for, previous to their arrival, the people there had
taken no part either way in the struggle, but the overbearing manner
of Tesse, and the lax discipline of his troops, had speedily caused an
intense feeling of irritation. Resistance had been offered to foraging
parties of the French army, and the terrible vengeance which had been
taken by Tesse for these acts had roused the whole province in a flame
of insurrection.

"There are several bodies of French cavalry across the frontier," the
priest said; "occasionally they make flying raids into Arragon, but, as
you see, the people are armed, and prepared, and ready to give them a
hot reception. The Castilians are like ourselves; if at any time an army
should march in this direction against Madrid, the Miquelets will oppose
them just as we should oppose the French, but they will not leave their
homes to interfere with us, for they know well enough that did they
do so we also should cross the line, and fire and destruction would
be carried through all the villages on both sides of the border. So