I found him studying the paper which General de Sama had sent to him from the prison, and his first question was about it. “Why have you made prisoners of some of His Majesty’s officers?” he asked. “I have much to tell you and of very grave importance, but there is a condition,” I replied. I told him enough to convince him that my information was such as to place clues in his hand strong enough to enable him to break up the whole revolutionary movement so far as the Pretender’s friends were concerned; and then named my condition. Without mentioning their names I described at length the means which had been adopted to force Miralda, Vasco and Dagara into the scheme and how they had helped me to thwart it, and asked for a written assurance of pardon for them all. He fought hard and tried every means to get the names from me. A long and at times very heated altercation followed, in which I declared that I would make all the trouble I could on the score of my own treatment, and finally that I would seek an audience of the king himself and lay all the facts before him. I won the victory in the end, and I had the assurance in my pocket when I gave him the story, confining my statement to what I had overheard on the _Rampallo_ and all that had followed from it. We then arranged for the _Stella_ to go out at once to pick up the _Rampallo_ and to carry out Government agents to take over charge of her and the officers. I purposely abstained from mentioning Inez, but the fact that I had been arrested in her house led Volheno to question me about her. I found that the house had been raided through a blunder of the police who had mixed up some information they had received with Captain Bolton’s statement that I was a prisoner there. Volheno had nothing definite against her, and I would not give him any information. Of Miralda’s whereabouts he knew no more than I. She had not been arrested, however; and I returned to my rooms to learn the result of Bryant’s visit to her house. He brought no news of her. He had seen the viscontesse who was almost prostrate with grief and anxiety at her absence. There was only one inference to draw. Miralda must still be with Barosa; and where to look for them baffled me. CHAPTER XXXIV ON THE TRACK I racked my wits in vain to think of some clue to the place where Barosa was likely to hide. I ransacked my memory to recall every incident of my stay in the city, every word which had been dropped in my hearing, and every man I had met, having any connexion with him or any of his companions. But it led to no result. All I could think of was to institute a house-to-house search of the whole city; and I wrote to urge Volheno to have this done, declaring I would cheerfully bear all the expense and give a liberal reward to any one who brought me the information I craved.