“I dare say you are surprised at this sudden move, but you know that two attempts were made upon my life last night, and I have no doubt that these would be repeated, and perhaps with greater success, had I stayed there.  You were present yesterday, with two of your men, when we discovered that large portions of the stores were mere dummies filled with earth.  Whether or not the governor was a party to the fraud I cannot say, but this morning he had all the storekeepers who were arrested shot, and Colonel Mendez, who was present at the investigation, was murdered during the night.  It is evident, therefore, that many people are interested in preventing the discovery we made from getting known.  Of course, the soldiers who assisted would be aware of it, but they would not venture to speak, and it is only I and your men and my servant who have still to be silenced.

“I tell you this, in order that you may impress upon the men the necessity for the greatest vigilance, such as they would use if travelling through an enemy’s country.  Messengers were, I hear, sent off yesterday evening in various directions, and I have no doubt that these were to the various contractors concerned in the plot, urging upon them the necessity of preventing the news from reaching Madrid; and perhaps to some of the robber bands in the sierra.  Therefore, instead of keeping the main road up the valley, we will ride by country tracks and avoid all large towns.  We will not put up anywhere, but will bivouac in the open.  In this way I hope that we shall yet avoid any parties of men who may be lying in wait for us.

“The most dangerous part of the journey will, of course, be the passage of the mountains.  We must there travel by one or other of the roads through the defiles, and it is possible all these may be watched.  If we are attacked, we must endeavour to ride through them.  If this is impossible, we will sell our lives as dearly as we can.”

“You may trust us for that, Major,” the sergeant said.  “I have no love for these Spaniards, and we are all discontented at being kept down here to fight the King of Spain’s battles, instead of being up in the north, where every man is wanted to prevent the enemy marching to Paris.”

They struck off from the road when nearing Merida, and followed a country track until they came upon the road between that town and Torre Mocha.  Avoiding the latter place, they took the road to Truxillo, and, late in the afternoon, approached that town and halted in a wood two miles distant from it.

Here Desmond consulted his map.  There were two roads from Truxillo.  Crossing the sierra, the main and shorter road came down upon the Tagus at Almarez.  The other passed through Deleytoza, and came down upon the bridge at Condo.  Beyond Deleytoza it appeared to be a mere mule track.

“If there are any parties watching,” he said to Mike, “they will expect that my messenger, or I myself, will travel by the main road to Almarez, for not only is it better, but it is shorter.  But again, they might think that, if I suspected we might be attacked, I should take the road through Deleytoza, and would, at any rate, make matters safe by watching both roads.  It is a difficult question which to choose.”