attraction at Callao, and in fact am betrothed to a fair cousin, the
daughter of another uncle who is the chief naval authority at the port. My
uncle, that is the one here, is a strict disciplinarian, and as all leave
is stopped owing to the doings of your admiral's ships, I am kept here;
so, of course, directly I heard that you were to be sent to Callao I
applied to him to appoint me to command the escort, and as I was the first
applicant he had no excuse for refusing, although he was not in the most
pleasant of humours. However, that I did not care about as long as I got
my leave. He has gone down to the river with several of his officers to
inspect the goods, of which a large quantity has been cast ashore. If he
had been here I should not have ventured to effect this transformation in
your appearance until to-morrow. Are you a good rider, senor?"

"No, indeed," Stephen replied, "I have had no opportunities for practice."

"It does not matter much," Don Filippo said; "I daresay you will be a good
rider at the end of our journey, and your not being so at present will
afford me an excuse for not making fatiguing journeys; so all is for the
best, you see."

CHAPTER XV.

FRIENDS IN NEED.

Don Filippo did all in his power to make the journey a pleasant one for
Stephen. They travelled on an average about twenty-four miles a day,
twelve in the morning soon after sunrise and as much in the cool of the
evening. During the heat of the day they halted, sometimes in the shade of
a grove, sometimes at the hacienda where they breakfasted. The young
officer chatted freely to Stephen about himself and his life, and as they
lay in the shade during the long hours of the heat, Stephen related his
own adventures on his first cruise, and in reply to questions of the
Spaniard, repeated to him what he had heard from his father of Cochrane's
exploits. Don Filippo treated him in every way as a friend and an equal,
and no one who saw them together would have dreamt that he was a prisoner.
Even at night no guard was placed at the door of his chamber, the Spaniard
having absolute faith in the honour of an English officer. The journey
occupied nearly three weeks, by the end of which time Stephen was
perfectly at home on horseback. As they approached Callao Don Filippo's
gaiety deserted him.

"I do not conceal from you, Don Estevan, that I am anxious about you, very
anx