“There is business on hand?” he said quietly, signing to Harper, who moved towards the door. Maccario, somewhat to his astonishment, checked Harper with a gesture. “It is not necessary,” he said. “There is nobody there. Morales is sending his troops away, and by and by we seize the Barremeda district for the Revolution.” “You want me?” asked Appleby very slowly. A curious little smile crept into Maccario’s eyes. “Where could one get another teniente to equal you?” Appleby sat very still. He had, he fancied, started on the way to prosperity when he became Harding’s manager, and while he sympathized vaguely with the aspirations of the few disinterested Insurgents who seemed to possess any he had seen sufficient of the Sin Verguenza. If he could cling to the position it seemed not unlikely that a bright future awaited him; and while free from avarice, he had his ambitions. On the other hand, there were privations relieved only by the brief revelry that followed a scene of rapine, weary marches, hungry bivouacs, and anxious days spent hiding in foul morasses from the troops of Spain. Still, he had already surmised that he would sooner or later have to make the decision, and while he remembered the promise the ragged outcasts had required of him a vague illogical longing for the stress of the conflict awoke in him. “Well,” he said quietly, “when I am wanted I will be ready.” Maccario made him a very slight inclination, which was yet almost stately and expressive, as only a Spaniard’s gesture could be. “It is as one expected, comrade; but perhaps we do not want you to carry the rifle,” he said. “It is the silver we have in the meanwhile the most need of.” “What I have is my friends’, to the half of my salary.” “We do not take so much from you. A little, yes, when the good will goes with it; but there is more you can do for us.” “No!” and Appleby’s voice, though quiet, had a little ring in it. “There is nothing else.” Maccario lifted one hand. “It is arms we want most, my friend, and now the patriotic committee are liberal we are getting them. There remains the question of distribution and storage for the rifles as they some from the coast, which is difficult. Still, I thing Morales would not search one place, and that is the hacienda San Cristoval. It is evident how you could help us.” “No,” said Appleby grimly. “Not a single rifle shall be hidden here. When the Sin Verguenza send for me I will join them, but in the meanwhile I serve the Señor Harding. That implies a good deal, you understand?” Maccario appeared reflective. “A little hint sent Morales would, I think, be effectual. Arrives a few files of cazadores with bayonets, and the Señor Harding will want another manager.” “Oh yes,” said Harper dryly as he sprang towards the door. “That’s quite simple, but the hint isn’t sent yet. A word from me, and I guess the Sin Verguenza would be left without a leader!”