A minute later they were thrust inside and the door was closed upon them with a clang that sent an echo ringing through the old castle.
"And so ends our little adventure," said Hal, seating himself upon a bench. "We came to Santiago with only friendly thoughts in our hearts. We were captured and accused of spying. The population jeered at us, and showed so much hatred that it took a whole regiment to put us in prison. And we are in reality two harmless young fellows. Well, it just settles the matter. Gerald, if we are here to-morrow we shall die. We must escape, and as the Spaniards have declared themselves our enemies, we will do our utmost to thwart them."
CHAPTER XIV
A DASH FOR LIBERTY
Desperate indeed was the position in which Hal and Gerald found themselves, and well might their usually exuberant spirits be damped, and their stock of courage ooze away at the dark prospect before them. Even as they sat there in their cell, the Spanish colonel who had interviewed them was probably dispatching his telegram to Havana; and how would it read? "We have captured two Americans, who are probably spies. They entered the town undetected, and when discovered and called upon to surrender, showed resistance, injuring an officer. They finally fell into our hands, and were found to be bearing arms. What shall we do with them?"
That in all probability would be the message, and it wanted little imagination to sketch the answer. Across the wires would flash the words, "Shoot them."
Hal sat down upon a stone bench beneath a grated window, and thought the matter out. Then he rose to his feet, and thrusting his hands into his pockets, stared out into the night. It was as black as ink, and at first only myriads of stars shone through the iron bars. But on casting his eyes downward, he saw other and bigger spots of light, while the reflection from them trailed towards him across a sheet of water that rippled slightly.
"The harbor!" he exclaimed. "The entrance to the shipping basin of Santiago. Never before did I feel so much like a bird in a cage. Look at those vessels, Gerald! They are just what we were in search of, and now they lie so close below our feet, and yet, for all that, so hopelessly far away. But we will not be beaten. I said that we must escape, and we will! I tell you that we will, however great the difficulty. Come here, old boy, and see what you can from the window; then we'll sit down and discuss the matter."
Gerald promptly stepped beside his friend, and, clasping the iron bars, thrust his head as far through them as possible.