"But mind," he continued, "they can run like hares. Going up a hill,
no doubt, any of you would soon overtake them, but along a straight
road, I would back them against the best of us."

"There is no fear of their trying that," the chief said, pointing to
the rifles. "They would soon be stopped if they tried it on. However,
they are not likely to make any such mad attempt. They are, after all,
only young boys, and their spirit has speedily evaporated."

However, as a measure of precaution, he ordered that the man who was
acting as sentry over the boys should always keep his rifle in hand.

The meal over, the muleteer produced from his pocket some
writing-paper and a pencil. The chief then wrote on a piece of paper
the figures 5000, followed by the word "dollars." Then he said to the
boys, "Capitan," giving them a pencil and a sheet of note-paper. He
pointed to the figures he had written down, then to the sun, marked
with his hand its course twice through the sky, and then drew it
significantly across his throat.

"Well," Hawtry said, "that's clear enough. We are to write to the
captain to say that unless 5000 dollars are paid in two days we are to
have our throats cut. Well, I may as well write,--

"Dear Captain Stuart,--We are in an awful mess. We took some mules in
the Spanish lines for a ride yesterday, and the fellow who owned them
steered us into the middle of a lot of brigands. They were too strong
for us to show fight, and here we are. As far as we can make out, they
say that, unless 5000 dollars are paid in two days, we are to have our