ord, "Hush!"

To his great satisfaction the girl now approached till her shadow fell
across the bed, and, supporting herself by one hand, she peered in.

"I'd give something if I could speak Spanish now," thought Pen. "What
can I do to make her understand that he is wounded? She ought to be
able to see. Ah, I know!"

He pointed quickly to his rifle, which was leaning against the bed, and
then downward at where the last-applied bandage displayed one end.
Then, pointing to poor Punch's face, he looked at the girl sadly and
shook his head.

It was growing quite dusk inside the hut, but Pen was able to see the
girl's face light up as, without a moment's hesitation now she stepped
quickly through the rough portal and bent down so that she could lightly
touch the sleeper's hand, which she took in hers as she bent lower and
then rose slowly, to meet Pen's inquiring look; and as she shook her
head at him sadly he saw that her eyes were filling with tears.

"Sick," he whispered; "dying. _El pano, el pano_;" and his next
movement was telling though grotesque, for he opened his mouth and made
signs of eating, before pointing downward at the boy.

"_Si, si_," cried the girl quickly, and, turning to the door again, she
passed through, signing to him to follow, but only to turn back, point
to the little pail that stood upon the floor by the bed's head, and
indicate that she wanted it.

Pen grasped her meaning, caught up the pail, handed it to her, and quite
simply and naturally sank upon one knee and bent over to lightly kiss
the girl's extended hand, which closed upon the edge of the little
vessel.

She shrank quickly, and a look of half-dread, half-annoyance came upon
her countenance; but, as Pen drew back, her face smoothed and she nodded
quickly, pointed in the direction of the big fall, made two or three
significant gestures that might or might not have meant, "I'll soon be
back," and then whispered, "_El pano, el pano_;" and ran off over the
rugged stones as swiftly as one of her own mountain goats.

"Ha!" said Pen softly, as he sighed with satisfaction, "_el pano_ means
bread, plain enough, and she must have understood that. Gone," he
added, as the girl disappeared. "Then there must be another cottage
somewhere in that direction, and I am going to hope that she will come
back soon with something to eat. Who could have thought it?--But
suppose she has gone to join some of the French who are about here, and
com