He smiled, and pulled out—what d’you think?—old Billums’s cigarette case—I knew it jolly well—and said, ’I give him my—he give me him,’ but shut up like an oyster, shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head when we asked him if Billums was coming with us. That made us miserable again, and we went out to see what the cavalry escort were like. They had dismounted, and were swaggering into the courtyard, looking absolute villains, most of them niggers, their carbines and bandoliers over their shoulders, revolvers in their belts, and swords, which clanked and rattled whenever they moved. The servants were giving them cigarettes and some food, but, for all that, they didn’t seem at all friendly, and the whites of their eyes showed up under the swinging lanterns, and made them look more like brigands than ever. The Angel palled up to them and made them show him their rifles, but I felt too frightened and only hoped that the Governor was coming with us. The carriages drove up, all the ladies came out and were put into them, the dear old Governor of Los Angelos handing them in and bending down to kiss our Minister’s wife’s hands in such a jolly manner that the Angel and I could have hugged him. We felt that he could be absolutely trusted, and weren’t we jolly glad again when his horse was led up and he and part of the escort rode away with the ladies. In the last carriage the Captain, Mr. Perkins, and we two mids. were stowed, and away we went after them with the two A.D.C.’s bobbing behind on their horses and the rest of the escort, leaving the Ministers all standing together under the lamp which lit up their faces and all their beautiful gold lace. ’They don’t look very "sniffy," do they?’ I whispered to the Angel, ’I should if I was letting my wife go away like this.’ ’Not if you’d got those uniforms on and had a Frenchman or a German or a Dutchman watching you,’ he whispered. I expect he was right. The Governor came clattering back on his great horse to see that we’d started, and then went on ahead again, the black A.D.C. bumping along after him. You can imagine what a row we made, and how, as we got into the streets, all the shutters of the windows were thrown back and people peered at us from behind the bars; dogs, too, flew out and barked from every doorway. It was a wonderful night—a big moon and millions of stars, the tops of the mountains showing up all round us. Jolly cold it was, too, and the Angel and I were glad to snuggle together under a rug. We seemed to go a long way round, skirting the city, and though sometimes at street corners pickets and patrols challenged us, they were quite satisfied. Presently we passed close to a great shadowy building high up on our right. It had a funny little tower at one corner, and we recognised the shadow at once—it was San Sebastian.