d I should think that they
cannot have any great force in the Asturias. The worst of it is, we
have not got enough money to buy a boat; and if we had, the
soldiers could hardly bargain with a fisherman for one. Of course,
if we were free we might arrange with a man to go with us in his
boat, and pay him so much for its hire, for three or four days."

"We might make our way down the river, and steal one, Terence."

"Yes, we might do that, but it would be a heavy loss to some poor
fellow. Well, I shall look forward to the morning, when we can go
out and see all about the prison arrangements."

"Then you have given up the idea of waiting for two months before
you do anything, Terence?" Ryan remarked.

"Certainly. You see, these French convalescents may be marched back
again, in another month's time and, at present, our plans must be
formed upon the supposition that they are ready to help us. It
would never do to throw away such an opportunity as that. It would
be little short of madness to try and get out, unless we had
disguises of some sort. My staff officer's uniform, or your
scarlet, would lead to our arrest at the first village we came to.

"Besides, before this news one was willing to wait contentedly, for
a time, till some good opportunity presented itself. Now that we
have such an unexpected offer of assistance, the sooner we get out
of the place the better."

The next morning they went out into the courtyard of the prison.
The soldiers who had been captured with them were walking about in
groups; but the sentry who accompanied the two British officers led
them through these, and took them up to the top of the wall
surrounding the prison.

"Messieurs," he said, "when the others are shut up you can go where
you please, but my orders are that you are not to communicate with
your soldiers."

He then fell back some distance, and left them free to wander about
on the wall.

From this point they had a view over the city. Bayonne was a
strongly fortified place, standing on the junction of the Nive and
Adour, and on the south side of the latter river, two miles from
its mouth. The Nive ran through the town, and its waters supplied
the ditches of the encircling wall and bastions. The prison was
situated on the Nive, at some three or four hundred yards from the
spot where it entered the Adour.

"I should say this quite decides it," Terence said, when they had
made the circuit of the walls, upon which sentries w