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the hoofs of their chargers, or else crawled into some neighbouring ditch, to expire in comparative tranquillity.

Increasing weakness from loss of blood warned Captain Dubois of his inability much longer to retain the saddle. But what was his alternative? He dared not await the arrival of the victorious troops, animated as they were with the first ruthless ardour of the pursuit; whilst to seek an asylum in the dwellings of any of the native inhabitants of the country, would be to throw himself into the hands of those whose very mercy towards his Countrymen was cruel. Casting a despairing glance around, he observed what seemed to be a half-ruined shed, and about which no appearance of life was visible, at some distance from the road. Approaching it, a closer investigation showed it to have been originally intended as a place for cattle; but as it bore no appearance of having been used for some time, he gladly availed himself of the shelter and seclusion it afforded; and having led his horse through the doorway-the floor having been removed, if indeed it had ever had one-prepared to pass the night. Having stanched the wound in his side in the best manner his means permitted that in his head not being serious -he came to the determination, if unable to continue his retreat on the following day, to seek, and surrender himself to the first party of British soldiers he could discover; certain that, as the ardour of the pursuit would then have slackened, he would be treated with attention and humanity as a prisoner of war. Having come to this resolution, he yielded to the drowsiness produced by his utter exhaustion, and was soon buried in a profound slumber.

Several hours had passed away, during which, despite his wounds, he had enjoyed deep and refreshing sleep, when he was suddenly aroused by the tramp of horses, and the sound of human voices. The moon had gone down, and morning had not yet dawned; consequently, though the new-comers were grouped together immediately without the open doorway, his sense of hearing furnished his only clue to their character. Friends he could not expect them to be; and the most sanguine hope he ventured to indulge was, that they might prove a party of the British. The first articulate sounds which met his ear dissipated even this faint expectation: the Spanish language was that which was spoken; and too well did the unfortunate young Frenchman know, that to be a Spaniard was to be his deadly enemy. He felt, therefore, that his only chance of concealment and escape depended on the departure of the Spaniards without entering the building. A short time sufficed to decide this point. A light was struck, and a man bearing a torch entered the house. His shout of surprise, as the brilliant accoutrements of the Frenchman reflected the light, and glittered through the gloom, brought his comrades to the spot; and Dubois found himself-his worst fears realised-in the centre of a guerilla band.

Summoning his courage to meet, with the boldest front he could assume, the fate he now deemed inevitable, he replied with composure to their inquiries as to the circumstances which had led him there; after which the party retired some paces, and conversed for a time in a tone so low, that few of their remarks were audible to their prisoner. They then dispersed themselves in various attitudes about the building, and appeared to wait the approach of day; the captive meanwhile feeling, it may be presumed, little further disposition to sleep.

The sun had fairly risen when the guerillas again bestirred themselves. They led forth the charger of Dubois, and ordered him to follow and mount. He had reached the open air, and was feebly endeavouring to comply with the latter command, the slight exertion having already caused the blood to flow from his wound afresh, when another individual rode rapidly up to the party, and sprang to the ground. In the strongly-marked features, and powerful and massive frame of the new-comer, Dubois thought he discovered a resemblance to some one he had seen before; but when, or where, he could not recall; nor indeed, in such an emergency, did his mind dwell much on the circumstance. His costume and general equipment differed but slightly from those of the men who had previously arrived. He carried, like each of them, a sabre and carbine, but of somewhat more elegant and expensive workmanship: he had also holsters at his saddle-bow, of which they were destitute; and his garb partook somewhat less of the peasant, and more of the military character than theirs. The greeting with which he was received having subsided, he inquired where they had taken the Frenchman, and for what purpose they were permitting him to mount.

"We found him here, whither he had crawled after the battle of yesterday," replied a tall swarthy-looking fellow, whose dark eyes burned like live-coals in their sockets as he glared upon his victim; and we are taking him to hang him on the same tree from which the hounds his countrymen hung my father at his own door last week, for refusing to become their guide."

"But don't you see he wont live to accomplish half the journey?" said the other. "Besides, there's better game on foot; and I want you all just now for more active service than to escort a wounded man a dozen leagues."

"Stand clear, then," cried the former to his comrades, "and let me exterminate the accursed Francese!"

The group gave way, and left the man standing face to face with his intended victim, at the distance of half-a-dozen feet. In leading the latter from the house, his shako had been forgotten or overlooked; and as he now stood with uncovered head, waiting to receive his death wound, the bright rays of the early sun shone full on his features, rendering every muscle and line of his countenance visible with the utmost possible distinctness. The Spaniard unslung the carbine which he carried at his back,

glared at the countenance of Dubois for an instant, and raised the weapon to his shoulder. For a moment, as he levelled at the fair forehead of the young Frenchman, the piece and the arm which sustained it were immovable, as if hewn in marble; already his finger contracted on the trigger, and in another moment the contents would have penetrated the brain of his victim, when the new-comer, who stood beside him, shouted, with a suddenness and energy which thrilled the hearts of those who heard him, "Hold!" Even this interference would have come too late had he not at the same instant seconded the word by striking up the weapon with his hand, which caused the contents to pass several feet above the prisoner's head.

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"What mean you, Juan Martin Diez?" angrily exclaimed the baffled Spaniard. Why do you interrupt the course of my vengeance, and compel me to waste a second cartouch when the first would have sufficed?"

"It strikes me," quietly replied Diez-for the new-comer was indeed the Empecinado-" that this young gentleman and I are old acquaintances-old friends, for that matter, in case my conjectures prove correct; and if so, not a hair of his head shall be injured. Your name, young man?" he continued, turning to the Frenchman.

"Dubois."

"Ha! I thought as much. Does your father bear a commission in the French army?"

"He did till the evening of yesterday. His was a nobler fate than that reserved for me. He died on the field of battle."

"How long have you been in the army?"

"I have accompanied my father with the army for many years, but have actually borne a commission for little more than two."

"Enough," said Diez, grasping his hand; and he related briefly to the attentive group the obligation he had incurred to the young man nearly three years previously, concluding by stating his determination to befriend him to the utmost of his power.

The Spaniard who had attempted the life of Dubois heard him to the end with ill-concealed impatience. "And think you,” he exclaimed, as the other ceased to speak, " that I will suffer you, or any man, to defraud me of my just revenge? The prisoner belongs to me-not to you; and I shall dispose of him as I please, without asking your permission."

"Why, Tomas," replied the Empecinado, "you have heard that I owe him a life, and I am determined to repay the obligation. True, he is your prisoner; but resign the poor boy to me, and I'll take and hand over to you half-a-dozen of his countrymen before the week is out, to deal with as you list."

A brief altercation ensued, in which the mildness of Diez contrasted strangely with the increasing ferocity of Tomas. The latter at length, with a bound, brought himself almost in contact

with Dubois; and at the same moment the long two-edged knife, which, like most of the Spanish guerillas, he carried at his girdle, glittered in his uplifted hand. Before it could descend in execution of his bloody purpose, his arm was seized by Diez, and held

as in a vice.

"Tomas," he said, in calm but stern tones, whilst an ominous frown gathered on his brow, "for old acquaintance' sake I recommend you to drop that knife."

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An ineffectual struggle to release his arm from the iron grasp that held it was the only reply. "Tomas," said Diez in a somewhat higher key than before, we have been companions from childhood, and I should be sorry to do you an injury. Again I say drop that knife: I'll not tell you a third time."

"Never!" shouted his antagonist, "until it finds a sheath in the Frenchman's heart."

A slight turn of the wrist of Diez was followed by a shriek of mingled rage and anguish from the lips of the other, whilst the knife dropped from his nerveless grasp. Diez loosened his hold, and the arm of Tomas, dislocated at the shoulder, fell helplessly against his side.

"Now, my friend," said Diez to the Frenchman—who might be said not merely to have stood on the brink of the abyss of eternity a few minutes previously, but actually to have gazed into its giddy depths-"what shall I do to serve you? Command me, and to the utmost of my power it shall be done."

When the latter was able fully to master his emotions-emotions that will be readily understood, and his experience of which involved no imputation on his manhood-he replied, "Take me to the nearest station of the British army. There I shall be safe, and my wounds will be cared for."

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Ay, but there you will be a prisoner also," replied his preserver. "Trust yourself in my care for the present. You shall be well attended to; and when able to travel, conducted to any station of your own troops you please on this side the Pyrenees. Nay, never fear these men," observing and interpreting aright the look of distrust and dread which Dubois cast on the fiercelooking band that surrounded them; "there's not a man among them who will not be ready to risk his life in defence of the man whom the Empecinado calls his friend."

Shouts of "Viva el Empecinado!" "Viva el Francese!" attested the truth of his statement. Dubois no longer hesitated; but submitting himself to the guidance of his new and powerful friend, was conveyed, with all the tenderness which his state required, to a farm-house at no great distance from the spot on which the transactions just detailed had taken place, whose inha bitants prepared, with the utmost alacrity, to meet the wishes of the Empecinado. His wounds having been attended to, and having partaken of such simple food as alone was suited to his debilitated and suffering condition, he was conducted to the

chamber prepared for him, where, on a humble yet comfortable couch, the recollection of the exciting scenes of the previous twenty-four hours was speedily effaced by the oblivion of sound and refreshing slumber. Ere he retired to rest, however, Diez made particular inquiry of him as to the part of the field, and the period of the conflict of the foregoing day in which his father had fallen; then wringing his hand, informed him that he was about to leave him for the present, but would see him again before long, and had meanwhile taken all necessary precautions to insure his safety during his temporary absence.

VI.

An act of gratitude had thus saved the life of young Dubois, and so far the Empecinado may be said to have cleared scores with his friend. But he still felt that something more was wanting.

At an early hour in the forenoon of the following day, the rapid clatter of a horse's hoofs along the paved causeway conducting to the farm-house caused a quickened circulation of the blood in the veins of the young Frenchman, who had not yet been able so completely to divest himself of his apprehensions as to feel perfectly at ease while surrounded by Spanish guerillas. A heavy footstep, in connexion with which his practised ear distinguished the ringing of spurs and the clank of a sabre, was heard in the passage which led to his room, announcing the approach of the new-comer; and the next moment the homely but manly countenance and stalwart form of the Empecinado appeared in the doorway. Having greeted his guest with a cordial frankness, which thoroughly reassured him, and inquired with evident solicitude concerning his wounds, he acquainted him that, after having left him on the previous day, he had proceeded to the scene of conflict, and, acting on the information with which the young man had furnished him concerning the locality, had succeeded without much difficulty in discovering the body of his father, which was readily recognised by the uniform, and some other particulars, having hitherto escaped spoliation by those human vultures who invariably hang on the skirts of an army in the field, and prey alike on the wounded and the dead. had already caused the remains to be removed to an adjacent hamlet; where, having undergone the simple preparations which the peasantry were accustomed to employ on such occasions, they lay in a house contiguous to the village graveyard, and, when the state of Captain Dubois's health would permit him to attend, should be placed in the consecrated earth. The Frenchman was deeply affected by this touching and delicate attention on the part of the rude and fiery guerilla, and signified his wish that, if convenient, the ceremony should take place that evening. This was done; and the body of the late colonel was committed

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