e belt from which it depends. The consul
in turn exhibits a mighty scroll of parchment, which takes as long to
unroll as the officer's sabre takes to unsheath. Meanwhile I watch the
combatants in agonising suspense, till the chamber becomes suddenly
dark. But, after a painful pause, daylight appears, and to my
unspeakable relief I find that my formidable visitors have vanished, and
that I am alone with Nicasio.

My companion smiles and tells me that I have been talking in my sleep.
In other words, that I have been delirious.

Now that we are alone, I press my partner to reveal to me the true cause
of my complaint; for, in spite of his previous assertion, I am more than
ever convinced that the truth is being concealed from me. But Nicasio
cannot be persuaded, neither does he explain why he mentioned six days
as the period for my convalescence.

On the fifth day, I am considerably worse than I was before. A feeling
of utter prostration accompanied by an inordinate thirst comes over me.
This is followed by a sensation as of sea-sickness and overpowering
lassitude. I am parched with thirst, but I have neither strength to
express my want in words nor to indicate it by suitable gestures. Some
refreshing draught is, however, placed to my lips, which I swallow
greedily; at the same time my head is relieved by the application of
'vejicatorios,' or blisters, to the soles of my feet. More than half my
medical advisers prescribe bleeding, but Don Francisco will not hear of
it, and from first to last this expedient is never adopted.

My deplorable condition is not improved by a thought which suggests
itself from the hue of my hands, which I perceive for the first time are
saffron-coloured.

Santo Dios! Can this be the yellow fever?

The yellow fever it is; though for some mysterious reason the secret is
carefully kept from me to the last.

Yes: I have the 'fiebre amarilla:' but, thank God, not the 'vomito
negro,' or black vomit, which is the worst form of the yellow fever, and
in nine cases out of ten proves fatal. To-morrow my troubles will be
over, provided that the night is passed tranquilly; but should there be
the least indication of a relapse before daylight--well; the fact would
not be recorded by me!

To say that my beloved companion never for an instant leaves my bed-side
until the critical moment has passed; or that good old Don Benigno
provides for my wants, and consults at least six different doctors, who
come