I confessed to being still in a fog, so he continued his explanations.
"This is the idea," said he. "You and Barriero—Barriero is wonderfully strong—stroll down to him presently. Pretend you want to ask him a question. That will put him off his guard. What happens? You spring on him suddenly, clap a rag in his mouth, and with our help hold him so that he cannot struggle. Then you exchange clothes and stand on guard. When the relief comes you march away. Understand?"
"Nothing could be simpler," I murmured, while we were all nearly choking with suppressed laughter.
"Grand, isn't it?" said he. "I knew you would be struck."—I was.—"Then we'll serve the next fellow the same way, and the next, and so on till we are all out. After that we'll seize the viceroy—"
But by this time we were convulsed with laughter, and the sentry, in no very gentle tones, advised us to be quiet.
"It's a great scheme, Alzura," I said presently, "a wonderful scheme, but it can't be carried out. Suppose the trick was discovered after my escape, all you fellows would be punished sharply, and I shouldn't like that."
"No," said he, in a disappointed tone; "I thought your scruples might stand in the way."
Alzura's plan was still fresh in our minds when the Royalists showed us how to pass the sentry. One morning, directly after breakfast, an officer entered the room with a number of soldiers, and we were ordered to stand in line. Producing a paper, he read a list of the names, and each man, as he answered, was told to step forward. Then we were marshalled in twos, the left arm of one man being tied to the right of the other. My companion was Alzura, and very disgusted he looked at the treatment.
"What are they going to do with us?" he asked.
"I don't know. Perhaps they heard we wanted to get away, and are obliging us."