"I would not care a _claco_ for my own life," said Raoul, as the gate
closed upon us, "but that you, Captain--_helas! helas_!" and the
Frenchman groaned and sank upon the stone bench, dragging me down also.
I could offer no consolation. I knew that we should be tried as spies;
and, if convicted--a result almost certain--we had not twenty hours to
live. The thought that I had brought this brave fellow to such a fate
enhanced the misery of my situation. To die thus ingloriously was
bitter indeed. Three days ago I could have spent my life recklessly;
but now, how changed were my feelings! I had found something worth
living to enjoy; and to think I should never again--"Oh! I have become
a coward!" I cursed my rashness bitterly.
We passed the night in vain attempts at mutual consolation. Even our
present sufferings occupied us. Our clothes were wet through, and the
night had become piercingly cold. Our bed was a bench of stone; and
upon this we lay as our chains would allow us, sleeping close together
to generate warmth. It was to us a miserable night; but morning came at
last, and at an early hour we were examined by the officer of the guard.
Our court-martial was fixed for the afternoon, and before this tribunal
we were carried, amidst the jeers of the populace. We told our story,
giving the name of the boy Narcisso, and the house where he was lodged.
This was verified by the court, but declared to be a _ruse_ invented by
my comrade--whose knowledge of the place and other circumstances
rendered the thing probable enough. Raoul, moreover, was identified by
many of the citizens, who proved his disappearance coincident with the
landing of the American expedition. Besides, my ring and purse were
sufficient of themselves to condemn us--and condemned we were. We were
to be _garrotted_ on the following morning!
Raoul was offered life if he would turn traitor and give information of
the enemy. The brave soldier indignantly spurned the offer. It was
extended to me, with a similar result.
All at once I observed a strange commotion among the people. Citizens
and soldiers rushed from the hall, and the court, hastily pronouncing
our sentence, ordered us to be carried away. We were seized by the
guard, pulled into the street, and dragged back towards our late prison.
Our conductors were evidently in a great hurry. As we passed along we
were met by citizens running to and fro, apparently in great terror--
women and children uttering shrieks and suddenly disappearing behind
walls and battlements. Some fell upon their knees, beating their
breasts and praying loudly. Others, clasping their infants, stood
shivering and speechless.
"It is just like the way they go in an earthquake," remarked Raoul, "but
there is none. What can it be, Captain?"
Before I could reply, the answer came from another quarter.
Far above, an object was hissing and hurtling through the air.
"A shell from ours! Hurrah!" cried Raoul.
I could scarcely refrain from cheering, though we ourselves might be the
victims of the missile.
The soldiers who were guarding us had flung themselves down behind walls
and pillars, leaving us alone in the open street!
The bomb fell beyond us, and, striking the pavement, burst. The
fragments went crashing through the side of an adjoining house; and the
wail that came back told how well the iron messengers had done their
work. This was the second shell that had been projected from the
American mortars. The first had been equally destructive; and hence the
extreme terror of both citizen and soldier. Every missile seemed
charged with death.
Our guard now returned and dragged us onward, treating us with increased
brutality. They were enraged at the exultation visible in our manner;
and one, more ferocious than the rest, drove his bayonet into the fleshy
part of my comrade's thigh. After several like acts of inhumanity, we
were thrown into our prison and locked up as before.
Since our capture we had tasted neither food nor drink, and hunger and
thirst added to the misery of our situation.
The insult had maddened Raoul, and the pain of his wound now rendered
him furious. He had not hands to touch it or dress it. Frenzied by
anger and pain to a strength almost superhuman, he twisted off his iron
manacles, as if they had been straws. This done, the chain that bound
us together was soon broken, and our ankle "jewellery" followed.
"Let us live our last hours, Captain, as we have our lives, free and
unfettered!"