n, father; I meant that you have misunderstood. I do not choose
to be shut up in a barrack against my will, but I am ready to fight;
and, although I am not yet sixteen, you shall see that I can help you
protect your Mission. And Adan too."

"I am sure of it. I did but tease you. And your part shall begin
to-night. You are rested, no?"

"I feel as if I wanted no more sleep for a week."

"Very well. Tell brother Antonio--whom you met on the corridor just
now--to let you in the church by the side door and give you the key,
with which you will lock yourself in. Then go up into the belfry and
watch. It is the full of the moon and clear. If you merely see a dozen
or more figures gliding about the rancheria, that will mean that they
are plotting, and intend no action to-night. If you see several
hundred, run down and bring me word. But if you see a mass of men rise
at once and descend upon the west gate, ring the bells. I shall go and
warn the soldiers, and every priest and brother will sleep on his
pistol to-night. But I don't think they are organised as yet. Before
dawn I shall send a messenger to the nearest town for reinforcements.
Go, my son. You are a brave and clever lad."

Roldan ran down the corridor and secured admission to the church. When
he had locked the door behind him, the vast dark building, beneath
whose tiles priests lay buried, shook his spirit as night and the
plains had not done, and he wished that he had brought Adan. Then he
jerked his shoulders, reflected that cowards did not carry off the
prizes of the world, and determined that his first should be the
admiration and approval of the priests and soldiers of this great
Mission. He walked rapidly down the nave, trying not to hear the hollow
echo of his footsteps, then opened several doors before he found the
one behind which was the spiral stair leading to the belfry. His supple
legs carried him swiftly up the steep ascent, and in a moment he was
straining his eyes in the direction of the rancheria.

The belfry was about ten feet square. The massive walls contained three
large apertures, through which the clear sonorous notes of the great
bells carried far. Just beneath the arch Roldan had selected as
observatory, and on the side opposite the plaza was the private garden
of the padres, surrounded by cloisters. An aged figure, cowled, his
arms folded, was pacing slowly.

Roldan, glancing over his shoulder, saw Padre Flores return from the
soldiers'