"'I will keep a great distance from the fighting, if you will allow me to go.'
"The General's lips closed tightly, and he said: 'Impossible!
Impossible!'
"'What would happen,' I asked, 'if I should be discovered crossing the lines without permission?'
"'You would be treated just the same as a man.'
"'Would I be sent to Castle Morro?'
"'Yes,' he replied, nodding his head vigorously. That settled it.
I decided not to go.
"'Why,' I asked him, 'is the rule incommunicado placed upon prisoners? Is it not cruel to prevent a man from seeing his wife and children?'
"'The rule incommunicado,' said the General, 'is a military law. Prisoners are allowed to see their relatives as a favor, but we exercise discretion in these cases.'
"'There are stories that prisoners are shot in Castle Morro at daybreak each morning, and that the shots can be plainly heard across the bay. Is this true?'
"The General's eyes looked unpleasant again. 'It is false!' he said shortly. 'The prisoners go through a regular court-martial, and no one could be shot at Morro without my orders, and I have not given orders to shoot anyone since I have been here.'