making their way to the mountains.

"Yes, senor; many and good cause they had to run, for the Godos put to
death all they caught. We ourselves got away just in time from our
cottage, which the cruel barbarians burned. They would have killed us
had we remained."

I then asked if they had seen Don Ricardo--who was, I thought, probably
known to them--with a party of ladies, either on foot or horseback.

One of two men to whom I more particularly addressed myself answered
that they had, about daybreak, seen a party who had got some way up the
mountains, but they were too far off to enable them to distinguish who
they were. More definite information they could not give us.

They were fine tall fellows, dressed in the universal broad-brimmed hat,
ponchos over their shoulders, and loose trousers--with, of course, bare
feet; while they were smoking in the most unconcerned manner, as if they
took their misfortunes lightly.

"Are you not disposed to punish those, who have destroyed your farm?" I
asked.

I then told them of the corps which were being raised, and invited them
to join. Their eyes brightened when I spoke of the possibility of
driving the Spaniards for ever from the country. A woman who was with
them, and who had remained seated beside a basket of provisions, started
to her feet.

"Yes," she exclaimed; "we shall never enjoy peace or prosperity until
that has been accomplished! Pepe! Mariano! you will fight--we will all
fight--for so good a cause."

They agreed to come into the town after they had gone back to their farm
and endeavoured to recover any of the cattle, pigs, or poultry which had
escaped.

"There is little chance of that; the thieves will have carried off
everything," observed the woman.

As we could gain no further information from these persons, we resolved
to try and make our way up the mountains, in the hope of either finding
our friends, or hearing from other fugitives where they had taken
shelter; but although we fell in with a few more people, our inquiries
proved unsuccessful.

We had ridden some distance, when the dominie, who could see well ahead,
exclaimed. "We shall either have to hide ourselves or ride for it!
Those men are, I suspect, Spanish cavalry."

To hide ourselves, owing to the nature of the ground, was scarcely
possible, and almost before we had turned our horses' heads, the enemy,
for such undoubtedly they were, had discovered us. Our animals, too,
from the