soner?"

"The King, Ferdinand."

Pen had never heard of any Ferdinand except one that he had read of in
Shakespeare; but he said softly, "I am glad."

"Yes," said the smuggler, "and I and my friends are glad--glad that,
poor smugglers though we are, and no soldiers, we can be of service to
his Majesty. He has escaped from the French prison and is on his way to
the Pyrenees, where we can help him onward to Madrid. For we as
_contrabandistas_ know all the passes through the frontier; and I and my
followers are waiting till he reaches the appointed spot, where some of
our brothers will bring him on to meet us, who will be ready to guide
him and his friends farther on their way to the capital, or place them
in safety in one of our hiding-places, our stores, of which we have many
here in the mountains. He is long in coming, but he is on his way, and
the last news I heard is that he is hidden by my friends at one of our
_caches_ a score or so of leagues away. He may be here to-night if the
pass seems clear. It may be many nights; but he will come, and if the
French arrive--well, they will have to fight," said the smuggler, with a
smile; and he lightly tapped the butt of one of his pistols. "It is
hard for a king to have to steal away and hide; but every league he
passes through the mountains here he will find more friends; and we
shall try, some of us, to guide your English generals to where they can
strike at our French foes. Yes, my young friend," continued the
captain, rolling up a fresh cigarette, "and we shall serve our King well
in all this, and if some of us fall--well, it will be in a good cause,
and better than spending our lives in carrying smuggled goods--silks and
laces, _eau de vie_, cigars and tobacco duty free across these hills.
There, we are _contrabandistas_, and we are used to risking our lives,
for on either side of the mountains the Governments shoot us down. But
we are patriots all the same, and we are risking our lives for our King
just as if we were of the best. So get well, you two brave soldier
lads. I see you have your guns, and maybe, as we have helped you, we
may ask you to help us. You need not mind, for you will be fighting
against your enemies the French. Come, light up your cigarette again.
You must be tired of my long story."

"Tired! No," said Pen. "I am glad to hear it, for I have often thought
and wondered why we English had come here to fight, and all I knew was
that Nap