e lads being kept well in the center, so as to
conceal them from the gaze of the public. Not a word was spoken,
till they had issued from the town. For another quarter of a mile
their hurried march continued; and then, without a word, the whole
of the escort, with the exception of one man, turned up a crossroad
and vanished into the darkness.

"Heaven be praised that I have saved you, senors!" said the Indian
who remained. "Do you not recognize me? I am Don Estevan, whose
life you saved at Arica. I feared that I might be too late to find
you unharmed; but it required time to get the necessary force
together.

"You recognized me, of course, on the pier when you landed. The
instant I heard of your arrest, I chartered a swift-sailing country
craft, and arrived here the day before you. I was the bearer of a
letter, signed by many of the soldiers in garrison at Arica, to
their comrades here; saying how bravely you had behaved, and that
you had become good comrades in the regiment, and urging them to do
anything in their power to save you from the Inquisition. This I
thought might be useful, as they would be sure to be called out, in
case of an attack upon the Inquisition; and I prayed them to be as
slow as possible in their movements, in case of any sudden alarm.
This will account for the fact that none of them arrived upon the
spot before we had finished our business, just now.

"But there is not a moment to delay. I have horses two miles away
in readiness, and we must make for there. They will be sure to put
on bloodhounds in pursuit, and we may have to ride for it."

The boys briefly expressed their intense gratitude to their
preserver, for his efforts in their behalf, Ned adding, "I fear,
Don Estevan, that your generous deed of tonight will involve you in
fearful danger."

"I have taken every precaution," the young Spaniard said. "I did
not charter the vessel in my own name, and came up in disguise. All
my friends believe me to be still at Arica, and no one, so far as I
know, has recognized me here. I was obliged to go to my estate,
which lies a hundred miles up the country. There I armed my peons
and vaqueros, and a number of Indians who were living near, to whom
I have always shown kindness. None of them knew that it was the
dungeon of the Inquisition which they were to attack, but believed
that it was merely a prison they were about to force; for the power
of superstition is very great in this country, and alth