"But what can you, an American, do against General Gonzales, and all his soldiers? Everyone here fears him! Even my father grovels at his feet, and my mother must do as he says. He will kill my father and my mother and me some day, I fear, when he becomes angered. He is a big chief. I am afraid to do aught against him." "There will be no danger if you do as I will suggest and----" At that moment the door of the General’s house was thrown open, and again the figure of the chief was framed in the lighted doorway. "Columbus! Columbus! Come here at once!" roared the harsh voice across the clearing. "I must go, or he will send the soldiers for me. But I will return," said the lad, rising, and quickly filling the pail he ran back across the clearing. CHAPTER XV THE ESCAPE FROM THE BARRIO In an incredibly short time Columbus was back, and this time he nursed a large bruise on the side of his head where the General’s cane had fallen with no light force. "If my father were able to fight he would kill that nigger," exclaimed the excited lad. "But my father was crippled in the last revolution. That general, he makes our house his own. He makes my mother to cook for him and to wash for him. We could not leave my father when the rebels occupied the barrio. We had to stay to look out for him. They eat our food and kill our pigs and chickens, and never pay. They----" "Is your name Columbus?" inquired Dick in order to cut short the boy’s tale of trials and tribulations. "Si, Señor." "Well, Columbus, here are two brand new Americano pesos for you, and there will be many more if you do as I tell you," and Dick passed over the silver coins. "What must I do?" "First of all tell me how many soldiers are in the barrio." "Over one hundred, Señor." "How far is it from here to Sanchez?" "By the shore road it is nearly three kilometers. The shore road passes through the barrio," said the lad. "Is the road guarded by more soldiers than the group of men I could see before dark on the outskirts of the town?" "Oh, yes, Señor, they patrol the entire road every night. The big light from the ship does not frighten them." "Can you see the ship from the beach back of your house, Columbus?" "No, a point of land prevents that, but it is not far by boat,--a little over a kilometer." "Who is in your house with the General?" "The five soldiers who came with him this afternoon, my mother and father and a little girl the general stole from her people. I do not know her name. She weeps all the time, but makes no noise. He has told her he will kill her if she tries to run away." "Columbus, I want to get the little girl out of that house and return her to her father and her mother. If you help me they will pay you well."