1897-]
evidently a deserted home. Here the lieutenant rapped three
times with the hilt of his sword on the door, at which it was
opened and the party entered. Then lights began to flash
throughout the house, and at last, my curiosity getting the better
of me, I crawled up to one of the open windows and looked in,
just in time to see Calvario led away, still bound, and to hear a
deep voice say:
‘ ‘ To be shot to-morrow morning at sunrise. ’ ’
I knew what that meant. Calvario had been arrested and
courtmartialed as a spy, and the verdict being “ guilty ” he was
to suffer the usual penalty. Well, there were several hours yet
before sunrise, and I might yet save him. So, as cautiously as
before, I crawled away from the window and back to the shelter
of the bushes. My main object now was to find in what room
Calvario was confined, but this I could not do unless I entered
the house, to do which was to court discovery. So I lay still and
waited. Silently, one by one, the lights went out, until at last I
could distinguish but one gleam, which seemed to come from a
grating near the ground at the side of the house. “ The cellar,”
thought I. ‘‘Yes, of course, that is where Calvario is im
prisoned.” And I wondered that I had not thought of it before.
Then, keeping well in the deepest shadows, and avoiding the least
noise, I stealthily crept up to the grating and peeped through.
The light, which came from a flickering lantern, almost blinded
me at first; then, my eye becoming used to the semi-darkness of
of the cellar, I perceived a dark bundle in the farthest corner
which I made out to be Calvario. Directly opposite the grating
was an iron door which, I could see, was securely bolted on the
outside, and this, together with the thick stone walls of the cellar
formed an excellent prison, so good, in fact, that I could not see
how I was ever to be able to release him. Suddenly a daring
plan came to my mind, and before I could stop to think of its
dangers I began to execute it. With the greatest stealth and
care, I dug away the earth from the grating and essayed to raise
it. But it held fast and I could not move it. Then I felt about
for the bolts by which it must be secured. There were none, but
I discovered that it swung on hinges from the top and was held
in place by two large screws. Taking my jackknife from my
pocket I tried to unscrew the piece, and after a great deal of twist
ing and turning I had the satisfaction of feeling the grating swing
loose on its hinges. But the hardest part of ray work was yet to
A Cuban Episode ,