“But do you believe José has done any thing wrong, even if Raymond has been captured by brigands?” asked Bark.
“Very likely he is to have a share of the plunder and the ransom; and I think you will find him ready to negotiate for the ransom now.”
This proved to be the case; for in the course of an hour José broached the subject to Lobo. He thought, if the friends of the young man would pay liberally for the trouble of looking him up, he might possibly be found. He did not know what had become of him; but he would undertake to find him. He was a poor man, and he could not afford to spend his time in the search for nothing. Lobo encouraged him to talk as much as he could, and mentioned several sums of money. They were too small. The beggars had probably lured the young man into the mountains; and he did not believe they would let him go without a reward. He thought that the beggars would be satisfied with fifty thousand reales.
While they were talking about the price, Julio returned with an officer and ten soldiers, who at once took José into custody. It seemed that he had been mixed up in some other irregular transaction, and the officers knew their man. Lobo stated the substance of his conversation with José, who protested his innocence in the strongest terms. It was evident that he preferred to deal with the friends of Raymond, rather than the civil guard.
The officer of the guard examined the guide very closely; and his story was quite different from that he had told Lobo, though he still insisted that the men whom they had encountered were beggars. The officer was very prompt in action. José was required to conduct the party to the spot where the young man had been captured. Bark and Lobo mounted their mules again, and Julio led the way as before.
“Can any thing be done in the night?” asked Bark.
“The officer says the night is the best time to hunt up these gentlemen of the road,” replied Lobo. “They often make fires, and cook their victuals, for the soldiers do not like to follow them in the dark.”
When the procession had been in motion an hour and a quarter, José indicated that it had reached the place where the beggars—as he still persisted in calling them—had stopped the traveller. For some reason or other, he told the truth, halting the soldiers at the rock which made a corner in the road. He also indicated the place where the beggars had taken to the hills. The officer of the civil guard disposed of his force for a careful but silent search of the region near the road. Many of the soldiers were familiar with the locality; for they had examined it in order to become acquainted with the haunts of brigands. The members were widely scattered, so as to cover as much territory as possible. Bark and Lobo were required to remain with the officer.
Not a sound could be heard while the soldiers were creeping stealthily about among the rocks, and visiting the various caverns they had discovered in their former survey. In less than half an hour, several of the guard returned together, reporting a fire they had all seen at about the same time. One of them described the place as being not more than ten minutes’ walk from the road; and he knew all about the cave in which the fire was built.