ion and foliage were so intricate that, instead of taking
the shorter distance, the native loped back over the trail to the
forking, and then went down the other to the river's edge. As he
expected, he found the tug lying against the shore. In a country where
wood is superabundant and coal almost unknown, the former was used
exclusively on the craft. A large quantity was always piled at the
front, some of the kinds belonging to the most valuable exports, with
such a close grain that it gave out as fervid heat as the mineral
itself. Instead of maintaining a high pressure of steam, the engineer
allowed it to sink. The return of General Yozarro was not looked for
under several hours, and with so much resinous wood at hand, the
furnace could be quickly fired up. It was a saving all round to let
the steam moderate, which explains why our friends heard nothing of
the craft sleeping less than thirty rods away.

Despite the confidence of Martella, he knew his venture was not wholly
free from risk, and in the face of his comradeship with the crew, it
was not unlikely that they would seek to win the good will of the
Dictator by delivering the deserter to him. If there were others
beside the engineer and firemen on board, it would be imprudent to the
last degree to entrust himself to them. He therefore spent
considerable time in reconnoitering.

Moving stealthily here and there, and peering out from the shadows, he
soon made out the form of a man seated on the gunwale at the front,
doubtless in quest of coolness. He was smoking a cigarette and
something in his appearance was so familiar that the deserter called,
in a guarded voice:

"Valentin, is that you?"

The man looked sharply around and removed the cigarette from between
his lips.

"Martella!" he replied in the same careful voice.

"Who else is on the boat?"

"Only Juarez and Dominguez."

He had mentioned the names of the two firemen.

"Is it safe for me to join you in a smoke?"

"For a little while only."

Martella came out in the moonlight, moved softly up the plank which
connected the boat with the shore, and seating himself beside his old
acquaintance, lit a cigarette. They talked for some minutes, as if no
cloud had come between them, and then the visitor, heeding the warning
of the engineer, bade him good bye and hurried back to his friends,
who were becoming impatient over his absence.

Major Starland and the others noted that the deserter was in high