All watched the general break the seal and fumble with his glasses. It seemed ages before he finished the few short lines and handed the letter to Captain Blynn. “Lieutenant Tillotson is my prisoner. I will surrender him safely in exchange for the deserter Colonel Martinez. If you attack me I shall have him shot. “ESPINOSA.” CHAPTER XVII A DARING PLAN Phil stood silently by, his mind occupied over the details of a daring plan. The exchange proposed by Espinosa was out of the question, even if Colonel Martinez had surrendered, which he had not done up to the present time; and until his sins in Luzon were forgiven Phil knew that he preferred his liberty. But this threat against Tillotson’s life worried Phil. Espinosa was sufficiently cruel to carry it out, he was sure. Leaving the group of officers, who were still pondering over the contents of Espinosa’s communication, Phil went in search of Maria. There were points in his plan which she could throw light upon. He found her in the house, heavy-eyed with sorrow and loss of sleep, but she greeted him with a smile and waited patiently until the room was empty before signing him to speak, for she saw that he had something of importance to communicate. “How much dependence can we put upon Garcia as a guide?” he asked eagerly. “I have a plan, and all depends upon whether he can be trusted to lead us against Espinosa, if not willingly, then under intimidation.” “Before they killed my father and carried away the treasure,” the girl answered, a spark of excitement entering her dull eyes, “Espinosa and Salas got the information necessary for their work from Garcia, bound and helpless where your sailors had left him. They refused to liberate him and hoped he would be killed by the Americans. You can be sure,” she added, “that he will take keen pleasure in running his enemies to earth.” “And now for my favor from you,” the lad continued in a lower tone; “as Garcia will take Lopez’s place as guide for the soldiers to the trail up the mountain, I want twenty-five of your men whom you would trust to the death, under the command of Lopez, to take O’Neil and me as prisoners to Espinosa’s camp.” The girl gave a low exclamation of surprised horror, regarding Phil fixedly, half believing the lad was out of his mind. “I mean it,” he exclaimed earnestly. “It’s the only chance we have of saving Tillotson’s life. Your men must pretend to have deserted after the death of their master,” he dropped his voice as he saw the look of pain in Maria’s eyes at the mention of her father’s sad fate. “Lopez will claim to have taken us prisoners and then deserted to the insurgents. It’s a good plan,” he cried enthusiastically, “and is sure to be successful.” Maria paled at the mere thought of such rashness, but seeing Phil could not be moved from his avowed intention, she gave her consent grudgingly.