In the evening Harry would come and amuse Carlo, for as the days passed slowly on the boy gradually began to mend. He would tell him of his hunting with Andreas, and how sometimes they had near escapes of being discovered; but that the men left behind had enough to do to guard the few fortresses remaining, and thought, besides, more about watching the bays for possible enemies than of hunting the forest. One day the Doña Elena herself asked Harry to tell her all he knew of her brave husband’s last hours, and he recounted simply what he had seen. Carlo was sitting up, propped with pillows, looking pale, but far different from what he had been a fortnight before; and he joined in the request, saying: ’When I last saw my dear uncle he was just starting to help some twenty men who were defending an important post.’ ’Yes, and that was where I saw him,’ added Harry. ’I was bent on gaining an entrance into the castle, so that I might, if possible, save you and your uncle. I had tried to pass over some portions of burning wall, for I had seen the pirates rush through, regardless of the danger; but though I tried twice, the flames drove me back each time; so, at last, climbing along the side of the mountain, I caught sight of the men making a dash for this special breach. I could not help admiring their pluck, though the cause was bad enough. I came up just as they carried the position, in spite of the fierce resistance they met. Following them through the breach, I saw that this last effort would most likely end in the capture of the castle; for I noticed several Spanish soldiers throw themselves over the parapet rather than fall into the pirates’ hands alive. They would not ask for quarter--indeed, it would not have been granted. Just then I met a fellow who was badly wounded, and I asked him if he knew whether the Governor were taken, or what had become of him. This man told me Don Alvarez had retired to the Corps-du-Garde, and was defending it like a lion. So, never thinking of danger, I hastened in the direction to which he pointed, and beheld a scene I shall never forget. Don Alvarez was standing at the head of a flight of steps, and round him and below him were some thirty men. The pirates had double the number of men, and saw it was only a question of time, and that a short one. I was looking everywhere for you, Señor Carlo, and, not seeing you, I was just going to hurry away, when I heard a sharp report, and then a yell of anger; and, looking back, I saw the noble Don Alvarez fall forward, struck through the heart with a musket-shot. I knew that I had not then a moment to lose; and, meeting a fugitive Spaniard, I asked him to tell me where the young nephew of the Governor had last been seen, for I was none of the enemy. He hardly believed me; but pointed to some spot behind the church; and the rest you know, Señor Carlo.’