will dismount and be after us in a minute!” gasped Alano. “Hark! they are coming already!”
“On! on!” I urged. “We’ll find some hiding-place soon.”
Around the rocks and under the low-hanging plantains we sped, until the road was left a hundred yards behind. Then we came to a gully, where the vegetation was heavy. Alano pointed down to it.
“We can hide there,” he whispered. “But we will be in danger of snakes. Yet it is the best we can do.”
I hesitated. To make the acquaintanceship of a serpent in that dense grass was not pleasant to contemplate. But what else was there to do? The footsteps of our pursuers sounded nearer.
Down went Alano, making leaps from rock to rock, so that no trail would be left. I followed at his heels, and, coming to a rock which was partly hollowed out at one side and thickly overgrown, we crouched under it and pulled the vines and creepers over us.
It was a damp, unwholesome spot, but there was no help for it, and when several enormous black beetles dropped down and crawled around my neck I shut my lips hard to keep from crying out. We must escape from the enemy, no matter what the cost, for even if they did not make us prisoners we knew they would take all we possessed and even strip the coats from our backs.
Peering from between the vines, we presently caught sight of three of the Spaniards standing at the top of the gully, pistols in hand, on the alert for a sight of us. They were dark, ugly-looking fellows, with heavy black mustaches and faces which had not had a thorough washing in months. They were dressed in the military uniform of Spain, and carried extra bags of canvas slung from their shoulders, evidently meant for booty. That they were tough customers Alano said one could tell by their vile manner of speech.
“Do you see them, Carlo?” demanded one of the number. “I thought they went down this hollow?”
“I see nothing,” was the answer, coupled with a vile exclamation. “They disappeared as if by magic.”
“They were but boys.”
“Never mind, they were rebels – that is enough,” put in the third guerrilla, as he chewed his mustache viciously. “I wish I could get a shot at them.”
At this Alano pulled out his pistol and motioned for me to do the same.
“We may as well be prepared for the worst,” he whispered into my ear. “They are not soldiers, they are robbers – bandits.”
“They look bad enough for anything,” I answered, and produced my weapon, which I had not discharged since the brush with the alligator.
“If they are in the hollow it is odd we do not see them on their trail,” went on one of the bandits. “Perhaps they went around.”
His companions shook their heads.
“I’ll thrash around a bit,” said one of them; and, leaving the brink of the gully, he started straight for our hiding-place.
My heart leaped into my throat, and I feared immediate discovery. As for Alano, he shoved his pistol under his coat, and I heard a muffled click as the hammer was raised.
When within ten feet of us the ugly fellow stopped, and I fairly held my breath, while my heart appeared to beat like a trip-hammer. He looked squarely at the rock which sheltered us, and I could not believe he would miss discovering us. Once he started and raised his pistol, and I imagined our time had come; but then he turned to one side, and I breathed easier.
“They did not come this way, capitan!” he shouted. “Let us go around the hollow.”
In another moment all three of the bandits were out of sight. We heard them moving in the undergrowth behind us, and one of them gave a scream as a snake was stirred up and dispatched with a saber. Then all became quiet.
“What is best to do now?” I asked, when I thought it safe to speak.
“Hush!” whispered Alano. “They may be playing us dark.”
A quarter of an hour passed, – it seemed ten times that period of time just then, – and we heard them coming back. They were very angry at their want of success; and had we been discovered, our fate would undoubtedly have been a hard one. They stalked back to the road, and a moment later we heard the hoof-strokes of their horses receding in the distance.
“Hurrah!” I shouted, but in a very subdued tone. “That’s the time we fooled them, Alano.”
My Cuban chum smiled grimly. “Yes, Mark, but we must be more careful in the future. Had we not been so busy talking we might have heard their horses long before they came into view. However, the scare is over, so let us put our best foot forward once again.”
“If only we had horses too!” I sighed. “My feet are beginning to get sore from the uneven walking.”
“Horses would truly be convenient at times. But we haven’t them, and must make the best of it. When we stop for our next meal you had best take off your boots and bathe your feet. You will be astonished how much rest that will afford them.”
I followed this advice, and found Alano was right; and after that I bathed my feet as often as I got the chance. Alano suffered no inconvenience in this particular, having climbed the hills since childhood.
We were again on rising ground, and now passed through a heavy wood of cedars, the lower branches sweeping our hats as we passed. This thick shade was very acceptable, for the glare of the sun had nearly blinded me, while more than once I felt as if I would faint from the intense heat.
“It’s not such a delightful island as I fancied it,” I said to my chum. “I much prefer the United States.”
“That depends,” laughed Alano. “The White Mountains or the Adirondacks are perhaps nicer, but what of the forests and everglades in Florida?”
“Just as bad as this, I suppose.”
“Yes, and worse, for the ground is wetter, I believe. But come, don’t lag. We must make several more miles before we rest.”
We proceeded up a hill and across a level space which was somewhat cleared of brush and trees. Beyond we caught sight of a thatched hut. Hardly had it come into view than from its interior we heard a faint cry for help.
CHAPTER VIII.
ANDRES
“What is that?” ejaculated Alano, stopping short and catching my arm.
“A cry of some kind,” I answered. “Listen!”
We stepped behind some trees, to avoid any enemies who might be about, and remained silent. Again came the cry.
“It is a man in distress!” said Alano presently. “He asks us not to desert him.”
“Then he probably saw us from the window of the hut. What had we best do?”
“You remain here, and I will investigate,” rejoined my Cuban chum.
With caution he approached the thatched hut, a miserable affair, scarcely twelve feet square and six feet high, with the trunks of palm trees as the four corner-posts. There were one tiny window and a narrow door, and Alano after some
