e refusal of his heroic sacrifice.

"Ah!" sighed the generous old man, "I could have arranged it all; now it
is too late."

The moon had gone down; the sound of distant firing had ceased, and the
darkness made the three friends feel still more forcibly how easy it
would have been to gain the opposite bank, carrying in their arms the
wounded man. He, insensible to all that was passing, still slept
heavily.

"Thus," said Pepe, first breaking silence, "we have fifteen days to
live; it is true we have not much provision, but carramba! we shall fish
for food and for amusement."

"Let us think," said Bois-Rose, "of employing usefully the hours before
daylight."

"In what?"

"Parbleu! in escaping!"

"But how?"

"That is the question. You can swim, Fabian?"

"How else should. I have escaped from the Salto de Agua?"

"True! I believe that fear confuses my brain. Well! it would not be
impossible, perhaps, to dig a hole in the middle of this island, and to
slip through this opening into the water. The night is so dark, that if
the Indians do not see us throw ourselves into the water, we might gain
a place some way off with safety. Stay, I shall try an experiment." So
saying, he detached, with some trouble, one of the trunks from the
little island; and its knotty end looked not unlike a human head. This
he placed carefully on the water, and soon it floated gently down the
stream. The three friends followed its course anxiously; then, when it
had disappeared, Bois-Rose said:

"You see, a prudent swimmer might pass in the same manner; not an Indian
has noticed it."

"That is true; but who knows that their eyes cannot distinguish a man
from a piece of wood?" said Pepe. "Besides, we have with with us a man
who cannot swim."

"Whom?"

The Spaniard pointed to the wounded man; who groaned in his sleep, as
though his guardian angel warned him that there was a question of
abandoning him to his enemies.

"What matter?" said Bois-Rose; "is his life worth that of the last of
the Medianas?"

"No," replied the Spaniard; "and I, who half wanted a short time ago to
abandon the poor wretch, think now I would be cowardly."

"Perhaps," added Fabian, "he has children, who would weep for their
father."

"It would be a bad action, and would bring us ill luck," added Pepe.

All the superstitious tenderness of the Canadian awoke at these words,
and he said--

"Well, then, Fabian, you are a good swimmer, follow this