We were all out there, watching the shadows as the sun set behind the hills in the west, when one of the guards announced that two men were approaching from a trail leading through the woods to the northwest. A field-glass was at once procured, and Lieutenant Porlando took a long look at them.
“A black and a boy,” he announced in Spanish, and I leaped forward and begged for the use of the glass for a minute. My request was readily granted, and I waited for the two newcomers to reappear among the trees.
“They are Alano and Jorge!” I exclaimed a minute later.
“Alano!” cried my chum’s sisters. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, it is Alano, and he carries his arm in a sling.”
And down we rushed in a body and asked to be let out of the courtyard. Inez was the first to emerge into the open, and off she rushed at full speed, to find herself a minute later in Alano’s arms, with Paula close behind.
[CHAPTER XXIII.]
ON THE TRAIL OF MY FATHER.