“Do you see that little hut, Mike, just at the edge of those trees?  You must hide the earl there.  Our cavalry are still all over the country, hunting down fugitives.”

The earl, who was scarcely able to walk, his leg having been injured by the weight of the horse upon it, murmured his thanks, but did not speak again until they had entered the shed, when Desmond said: 

“Now, General, I will first cut down your riding boot, to ease your leg.  Then, if you will lie down in that corner, we will pile this firewood over you.  It will not be safe for you to attempt to go forward for two or three hours yet.  I have a report to make to Marshal de Bay.  When I have handed it in, I will return at once.

“Mike, do you stay near the hut, and if any searching party should come along, which is scarcely likely, for they have all gone farther afield, you can say there is no need to search the hut, as you, with an officer, have already examined it.”

In a few minutes, the earl was completely hidden.  Desmond then rode into Badajos, and delivered his report to the marshal.  He then went to the stables, took out his spare horse, and, leading it, rode out to the hut again.

“Has anyone been here?” he asked Mike.

“Not a soul, sir.”

“Take the horses into the wood, then, and stay with them for the present.  It will not be safe for the earl to move for a couple of hours.

“Now, General,” he went on, as he removed the firewood, “I fear that you have been very uncomfortable.”

“I can hardly say that I have been comfortable, sir, but that is of no consequence.  The pain in my leg has abated, since you cut the boot open.

“And now, how can I express my gratitude to you, for thus sheltering me?”

“It is but a fair return of services, sir.  You gave me my liberty, and I am doing my best to restore yours to you.”

“It is all very well to say that, Captain Kennedy.  I am the general in command of the British forces in Portugal, and had I chosen to openly release you, none could have questioned me.  It was only because some magnified report of the affair might have reached the ears of the Portuguese Government, and given rise to rumours hostile to me, that I thought it best to let it appear to be an accidental escape.  You see, I am by no means popular with the Portuguese.  In the first place, I am a Protestant; and in the next place, I am constantly bringing pressure to bear upon them, as to the supply of provisions, the making of roads, the proper feeding and arming of their own troops, and other matters of the same kind; and they would be only too glad to have some cause of complaint against me.

“But your case is altogether different, for you are risking even your life in thus aiding me to escape.”

“That may be, General, but it was nevertheless my duty, as a matter of conscience, to endeavour to return the kindness that you showed me; and as, at present, your army will hardly be in a state to take the field against us for a long time, I do not feel that I am seriously injuring our cause.”