"I told you to take your choice," he said. "Marry me, and he shall go free. Nay, more than that--I will give him a passport which will enable him to enter the army lines at pleasure, so he can gather what information he will for publication, and I will pay his way." "Ah! then you would turn traitor even to your own side!" she sneered. "Marry you? Never! never! never!" She repeated the word, as if to thus fortify herself against him. In a rage he stamped upon the matted floor with his cavalry boots. "You have signed his death-warrant!" he cried. "He shall die within the hour! I swear it!" The distant roll of musketry broke in upon the thrilling scene. The lieutenant started and leaped to the doorway to listen, while Estella ran to the window. "Diablo!" muttered the soldier. "An engagement! Those dirty rebels have kept their word. We must rout them for good!" He turned to Estella, and came so close that she shrank from him. "Remember what I said," he hissed in her ear. "This battle now starting in the direction of Jocanjo may delay the carrying out of my plan. But it will surely be carried out, unless you change your mind, and consent to be my wife." With these parting words he hastened from the room, and a moment later was on his horse and galloping away at the top of the animal's speed. With her heart beating furiously, she listened to his retreat. Then, struck by a sudden thought she rang the bell for a servant. "Send Tomasso to me instantly, and have a horse saddled for him," she ordered. The servant ran off, and soon a tall and not bad-looking man appeared, one of the plantation overseers. "Tomasso," said Estella, "I know I can trust you in everything. You saw Lieutenant Mazenas ride away, did you not?" "Yes, sweet mistress," was the overseer's reply. His admiration for Estella was almost as great as his love for Cara, the maid, who had promised to one day be his wife. "Quick! take a horse and ride after him, and watch him closely. He has in his charge a prisoner named Howard Sherwood, an American. If possible learn where Mr. Sherwood is kept, and at once report to me." "I will do it," said the man, eagerly. "I think I know where the American was taken, but I am not sure." After a few more words, Tomasso hurried away, and, looking from the window, Estella saw him ride off in the direction Lieutenant Mazenas had gone. The roll of musketry still continued, but instead of drawing closer, it seemed more distant, showing that the battleground was shifting farther from the plantation. For this Estella was thankful, for she knew that once the estate was reached destruction would quickly follow, for the torches of the combatants would speedily lay buildings and fields in waste.