"One of them might have managed to come and give me a word," he said, fretfully, as at last, weary of watching the scintillations of the fireflies in a distant opening, he threw himself upon his couch to try and sleep, feeling that he would be wakeful all night, when all at once, just as he felt most troubled, his eyes closed, and he was deep in a dreamless sleep, lost to everything but the terrific roar which suddenly burst forth, following a vivid flash as of lightning, and as, confused and half-stunned, Humphrey started up, all idea of the proposed escape seemed to have passed away, and he sat watching for the next flash, listening for the next peal, thinking that this was a most terrific storm. No flash--no peal--but a confused buzz of voices and the distant pattering of feet, while a dense, dank odour of exploded gunpowder penetrated the forest, and entered the window close to which the prisoner sat. "Dinny--the escape!" he cried, excitedly, as he sprang from his bed, for now a flash did come with almost blinding force; but it was a mental flash, which left him quivering with excitement, as he sprang to the curtained corridor and listened there. A step!--Dinny's! Yes, he knew it well! It was coming along the great stone passage! "Quick! we shall easily get away, for they'll all crowd about the captain, asking him what to do." Dinny led on rapidly till they reached the turning in the direction of the old temple which contained the cenote. Here they struck off to the left, and found, as they cleared the narrow forest path, that the odour of the exploded gunpowder was almost overpowering. Not a hundred yards away voices were heard speaking rapidly, and directly after they were silent, and the captain's words rang out plainly as he gave orders to his people, though their import was not clear from the distance where the fugitives crept along by the edge of the ruins. "Are you sure you are right?" whispered Humphrey. "Roight, sor; I niver was more so. Whisht! Are ye there?" "Yes, yes," came from down by the side of a great wall. "Oh, Dinny, I was afraid you were killed!" "Kilt! Nay, my darling, there's a dale o' loife in me yet. Tak' howlt o' me hand, one on each side, and walk quick and shteady, and I'll have ye down by the say shore, where the boat is waiting, before ye know where ye are." They started off at a sharp walk, pausing at times to listen to the jargon of excited voices behind, but rapidly advancing, on the whole, toward their goal. "Do--do you think we can escape?" said the woman, panting with fear. "An' is it eshcape, whin the boat's waiting, and everything riddy?" said Dinny scornfully. "Dyer hear her, sor? What a woman it is!" The woman sighed as if not hopeful, and Dinny added an encouraging word: "Sure an' the captain says he'll tak' care of us, darlin', and avore long we'll be sailing away over the salt say. It's a white sail I've got in the boat, and--"