Yet in the midst of his sore troubles the young man did not think only of himself. He wondered where Estella and her maid were? Had the beautiful girl returned to her father, or was she still alone and unprotected in the district, now overrun with Spaniards and rebels? "Would to Heaven I knew she was safe," he murmured. "I shudder at the thought of the perils that environ her." With half a dozen other prisoners Howard had been confined in the cane-house, that is, the building in which the sugar-cane is sometimes stored. He had been thrown rudely upon the mud floor in one corner of the building, and a sentry had adopted the precaution of searching him and taking away his weapons and the precious letters. It was a damp, disagreeable place in which to be confined, but Howard realized the uselessness of grumbling, and said nothing. One of the other prisoners protested, and was promptly kicked for complaining. "I do not wonder the Cubans rebel," he thought. "This treatment by the Spaniards is sufficient to make even a worm turn." Outside of the building a dozen Spaniards were encamped, the plantation home being too crowded to accommodate them. The soldiers killed a small pig, roasted and ate it, but offered nothing to their prisoners. It looked as if they would have been delighted to have seen Howard and the others starved to death. At last, the camp outside of the cane-house became quiet, as one after another dropped off to sleep. Presently but one soldier was awake, the man at the cane-house door, left there on guard. He sat on a box, smoking one rudely made cigar after another, and his long gun rested across his knees, in readiness for use. Immediately after being thrown down in the dark corner, Howard had begun to pull and strain at the thongs which bound him. This was painful work, and for a long time it seemed as if it would be useless, also. But finally he managed to free one hand, then the other hand, and then his feet quickly followed. Turning over silently, Howard looked toward the guard, and by the light of a smoking lantern hung over the doorway, he saw the man in the act of lighting a fresh cigar. He immediately rose, and carelessly advanced to the fellow's side. A quick movement, and he had the gun presented at the head of the dumbfounded guard. "Silence!" he commanded, in Spanish. "A word and your life will pay the forfeit!" The man's teeth began to chatter, and he quaked from head to heels. He opened his mouth, but not a sound escaped him. "Move on to yonder trees," went on Howard, in a whisper, as he pointed the way. "And, remember, no noise." Still trembling violently, the guard obeyed the order, and the two found themselves beyond sight and hearing of those about the cane-house. Howard made the guard walk still farther, however, until all danger of being overheard was past. "Now, answer my questions," he said, sternly. "Who is in command of this body of men?"