Carlo nodded, and with new hope followed the English boy into the Captain’s cabin. CHAPTER XIII. THE ESCAPE. Captain Morgan had done wisely in thinking that it was quite necessary for him to have some base of operations on the mainland before crossing the narrow neck of land which separated him from the coveted prize, the city of Panama. It was for this reason that the expedition under Captain Brodely was sent out, whilst he detained the rest of his ships at safe anchor at St. Catherine, and also kept his men in good temper by letting them do as they pleased and ransack the two fair Spanish islands of this name. Captain Brodely was a daring seaman, who had seen before now the inside of Spanish prisons, and knew the ground round about Panama pretty accurately; but the Castle of Chagres was on the opposite side of the isthmus, and the river Chagres, which flowed at the foot of the hill on which stood the castle, was difficult to navigate, and great care would therefore be needed to steer the ships into safe anchorage. The Captain had been told that the Marquis’s son knew well the castle and its surroundings; but when Harry Fenn entered his cabin accompanied by Carlo, the sturdy rover looked with scorn on the slight stripling whom Captain Morgan had sent him for guide. As hostage he might be all very well, but for aught else the Englishman preferred trusting his own good sense to the doubtful information abstracted from an unwilling prisoner whose Spanish blood prevented him, in the eyes of Captain Brodely at least, from having any regard for truth. Carlo found himself, therefore, treated with silent contempt rather than with severity by his new jailor, and as the ’Falcon’ bounded over the water he could not help feeling happier than in his dungeon, wondering much how it was that he had appreciated liberty so little until now. After the first interview he received no special orders, nor was he expected to do anything; so, wishing to be alone, he retired for the night under a bale of goods stolen from one of the fortresses in St. Catherine. Harry Fenn, however, soon joined him, and the two spent the rest of the night by no means unpleasantly under this shelter, which had the merit of being out of the way of the crew. The next morning land was dimly in sight, and they expected to strike it in the afternoon; so before this time the Captain had several confabulations with his men. They knew that their ships were certain to be seen, so that it was hopeless to attempt to creep up in the dark unperceived, as their own safety required them to use the daylight.