Santalla was a Royalist colonel of whose cruelty I had heard many times. He was a gigantic fellow, of enormous strength; but, according to all accounts, a pitiful coward in spite of his boasting. Indeed, any leader of average bravery would have turned and struck a blow at the handful of tired riders which now pursued him. "Here we are!" exclaimed Castro presently, and I saw with satisfaction the trees on our left hand to which he pointed. Every bone in my body was racked with pain, my lips were parched, my eyes ached, and for the last hour I had scarcely been able to keep my seat. Halting his men, Plaza sent me on with the guide to investigate. Leaving our horses, we moved forward swiftly but quietly; there was just the possibility of a trap. The place was almost like an enclosure on a large hacienda, but the fence was composed of trees, and we could hear the plashing waters of a stream. Inside the ring was an open space, and there, to our astonishment, we beheld some twenty men lying on the grass in all manner of attitudes. Not one made the slightest movement, and at first I thought they must be dead. "Don't be too sure," whispered Castro, and stooping down he glided noiselessly to the nearest man, while I waited with breathless eagerness. "Poor beggars!" said he pityingly; "we must have pushed them hard. I don't believe they would waken if a cannon were fired at them!" This was an exaggeration, but indeed they slept so soundly that our men, surrounding them, took away most of their weapons before they understood what was going on. Binding their arms, we pushed and dragged them close together, and then the captain placed his men round them in a circle. Sentries were stationed at various places on the outer ring, and, much to my disgust, I was told off to visit them during the first hour. "Keep a sharp lookout," said the captain, "and go round regularly. They are likely to fall asleep if you don't,"--which I did not think at all surprising. However, I had a good drink of water, and dipped my head in the stream, which freshened me somewhat. Then I began what has, perhaps, been the very longest hour in my life. Fortunately I had to walk, and I tried hard to keep my eyes open all the time. As to the captain's "sharp look-out," I concluded he must have been joking. The hour came to an end at last, and I was free to sleep. I just lay down on the ground, drew my poncho over me, and was sound asleep. I would not have undertaken another hour's duty just then for all the gold ever mined. The capture of the small Spanish detachment was a benefit to us in one way: it prevented Plaza from moving so early, and gave us all an extra hour's sleep. However, as soon as day broke, he told off half a dozen men to guard the prisoners until the colonel's arrival, and ordered the rest to be ready for starting in ten minutes.