o blindfold them, for he
had had a bandage round his eyes on a previous occasion, and knew from
experience that the suspense of waiting for the squad to fire, not
knowing what they were doing meanwhile, was worse than death itself
could possibly be.

At last the fatal moment came, and the unlucky men shook hands with one
another in sad farewell. The doomed men then stood to attention, and
the soldiers examined the breeches of their rifles to make sure that
they were properly loaded.

Then came the word "_Ready_!" and the twenty rifles came up to the
soldiers' hips as though by machinery. At the second word of command
the barrels glinted in the sun as the men planted the rifle-butts in the
hollow of their shoulders. Jim involuntarily cast his eyes skyward as
he waited for the final word, and his lips were seen to move slightly.

A painful pause--and then Garcia-y-Garcia's voice rang out, loud, clear,
and triumphant: "_Fire_!"

There was a simultaneous crash as the rifles were discharged, and Jim
felt a sharp, stinging sensation in his left side and in his arm as he
fell back upon the ground. A body fell a second after his own and lay
right across his face, and Jim had actually put up his hand to push away
the corpse before he realised that he was not at all severely hurt. He
was recalled to his senses by hearing the captain's voice commanding his
men to reload and fire again into the heap of corpses, to "make
assurance doubly sure," as he put it, and Jim had presence of mind
enough to abstain from making any further movement, though he suffered
agonies of suspense while waiting for the second discharge.

It came at last, and Douglas escaped yet a second time, although the
body lying above his own was riddled with bullets. The Englishman could
feel now that the bullet which struck him had passed between his left
side and his left arm, grazing both, but inflicting no injury worth
speaking of. But would he escape after all, or would he have his brains
blown out as he lay? The question was soon answered, for even as he was
thinking about it, the body was hauled off his face and a soldier
shouted: "Why, captain, here is a man who is still alive."

Garcia-y-Garcia ran up and stood over Jim, looking down at him with eyes
that glittered with savage menace. He half turned away to give the
order for Jim's death, when he checked himself. His expression
gradually changed, and presently he spoke:

"No; I don't think