as trembling with eagerness. One by
one he watched the men crawl out of the low window and gather in the
shelter of the building.

And a moment later he himself dropped down; the instant he struck the
ground he started forward.

"To the woods!" he whispered. "And not a sound, for your lives."

And the men sprang softly forward, not even pausing to glance over their
shoulders to see if they were discovered.

Clif fancied at that instant that he was safe. The building was between
him and the Spaniards.

But he did not know that at that moment Ignacio had observed a footprint
in the damp ground that made him aware that they had gone into the
building; he rushed around to the other side just in time to see a blue
uniform vanish in the thicket.

The next moment a wild yell came from his throat.

"Mira!" he shrieked. "Forward! Here they are now!"

CHAPTER XI.

A RUNNING FIGHT.

That cry seemed the death knell of the Americans, and their hearts
leaped up in their throats when they heard it. For a moment Clif thought
of stopping and giving battle then and there.

But he realized the hopelessness of that; it was hopeless too, to run,
with no place to run to. But the sailors were already dashing away
through the woods. And the cadet soon caught up with them and urged them
on.

The Spaniards broke into a run the moment they heard Ignacio's cry; a
minute later they fired a volley into the bushes, probably in order to
alarm the country.

It would have been hard for those five fugitives to go any faster than
they did during the first few moments of that chase. They heard their
enemies banging away and yelling in their rear, and they fairly flew
over the ground.

"Keep together," panted Clif. "We may find some place to make a stand."

The ground over which they were traveling was ill adapted for speed, for
it was rough and the bushes were thick.

But it was as fair for one as the other, and the Americans tore their
way through and sped on.

The Spaniards in the rear apparently knew of other troops in the
neighborhood from the way they kept yelling; Clif groaned as he realized
the hopelessness of their flight.

For even if they succeeded in shaking off their pursuers the whole
country was alarmed and hunting for them. And they had no food and no
one to guide them.

But the present evil was great enough, for the furious Spaniards were
hot on the trail.

"Surrender! Surrender!" Clif heard the officer s