ough a great
many of the men may lead wild and godless lives, they tremble at
the thought of lifting their hands against that mysterious and
awful body, the Inquisition.

"News travels slowly, indeed, in this country; and it is not likely
that the fact that the prison of the Inquisition has been broken
open will ever reach the men on my estate. The priest of the
village is a worthy man; and he has, I know, no sympathy with
bigotry and cruelty. Consequently, if any of them should, in their
confession, tell him that they have been engaged in breaking a
prison, he will perchance guess what prison it was, and may imagine
that I had a hand in it. But I feel sure that the knowledge so
gained would go no further.

"I might, had I chosen, have had the horses brought to the point
where we separated from my men. But in that case the hounds might
have followed upon the main body, and so some clue would have been
gained as to the direction from which they came. As it is, they
will follow us up, at any rate until we take horses. We will make
our track visible, for some distance, so that the pursuit may be
carried on. Before it is over, they will have lost all track of the
rest of their assailants; and will not, indeed, be able to trace
the direction in which they went. They, too, have horses at a short
distance, and will speedily regain the estate."

"How did you know in which cell we were confined?"

"Through the jailor. The man who attended you was once employed by
my father. I met him, the day I arrived from Arica, and bribed him
to convey the arms to you; with which I thought that, should they
bring you to trial and torture before I could collect my force, you
might make a resistance; for I judged that you would rather die
than suffer mutilation and agony. When you disclosed your arms,
today, he slipped at once from the building, as he knew that he
would be suspected. Changing his clothes in a house near, he
mounted his horse and rode to meet us, conveying the news that the
crisis had arrived. How it ended he could not tell; but he hoped
that some delay might occur, in resuming proceedings against you."

By this time they had reached their horses, which were tied in a
clump of trees, at a short distance from the road.

"They are fine animals," Don Estevan said, "and we may reckon upon
showing our heels to any of those who pursue us; for I can assure
you that the chase is likely to be a hot one."

"Whither do you intend