along after him. Suddenly a ragged rascal sprang out from the
bushes ahead with levelled gun. Roezl glanced back. Two others barred his
retreat.

Not unfamiliar with such incidents, he laughed and offered his
purse--never well filled. Good humour and wit had carried him through
several adventures of the kind without grave annoyance; once in Mexico,
when he had not one silver coin to ransom himself, a party of bandits kept
him twenty-four hours simply to enjoy his drolleries, and dismissed him
with ten dollars--which was a godsend, said Roezl. But these fellows only
spoke Quiche, and they were sullen dogs.

The purse did not satisfy them by any means. They made their prisoner
dismount and enter the forest, marching behind him. The camp was close by,
and here Roezl found his guide, hitched to a tree by the neck. The brigand
officer and some of the men talked Spanish, and they appreciated Roezl's
'chaff,' treating him with boisterous familiarity; but they would not hear
of letting him go until the Captain's arrival. He sat upon the ground,
exchanging jokes with the ruffians, drinking their aguardiente and smoking
their best cigars, like a jovial comrade.

Meantime the Indian members of the band were out of the fun, and they
attended to business. What they wanted of the lad Roezl did not
understand, but when he persisted in refusing they beat him savagely. At
length it went so far that Roezl could not bear to hear the poor fellow's
cries. Putting the matter humorously, he begged the lieutenant to
interfere, and that worthy commanded the Indians to desist.

After an hour or so the Captain appeared, and Roezl's case was put before
him; at the same moment, however, the scouts brought in a priest. He had
resisted probably, for they had bound and beaten him. Such treatment was
novel, doubtless. It had taken all spirit out of the holy man, who walked
as humbly as could be till he set eyes on the Captain. Then his courage
returned. They were old acquaintances, evidently, and the Padre claimed
satisfaction. He did not get it; but the Captain set him free, with
apologies. The boy proved to be his servant, and he also was released.
Roezl asserted a claim to equal consideration as defender of that youth,
and at length it was ungraciously allowed. Remembering, however, that his
precious orchids would soon arrive and fall into the brigands' hands, to
be smashed in spite probably, he ransomed them by a bill drawn on himself
at the ca