“What shall we do?” said I to Pedro. “We are safe where we are for the present, for their bullets cannot reach us; and I am certain no Spanish soldier will be able to climb up in the way we did to this spot.”
“We shall get very hungry though, if they try to starve us out,” he answered; “besides, it will look as if we were guilty of some crime if we appear afraid of coming down.”
“There is no help for it, I see,” was my reply. “We must put a good face upon the matter. Señor officer,” I shouted, “your men have already shown that they can aim very correctly, and we would rather not run the risk of another peppering; may I beg that you will take care that they do not fire at us by mistake. If we have your word for it, we will descend, as you desire.”
“I pledge you the word of a Castilian that they shall not fire at you,” answered the officer.
“That satisfies us; we will descend,” I shouted back. “Come, Pedro, we must take care not to break our necks though, which we shall do if we slip,” I said, as I swung myself on to a bough of the nearest tree below the rock.
It is nearly always more difficult to descend a cliff than to climb up; as in the former case one cannot see where one’s feet are to rest; and one may chance to find one’s self on a jutting ledge, from whence the height is too great to leap off to the next standing-place below, and one has to climb up again to search for another way down. We had the advantage of knowing the rocks on which we were to rest; yet our descent took much more time than had our ascent. At one place Pedro had to hold fast by a tree while he let me down; and I, in return, had to grasp firmly a jutting rock, and to catch him as he dropped down to me. At length, with no slight exertion and risk, we reached the bottom, where we found the Spanish officer and several of his men, who had been watching us with some admiration, and wondering, as they told us, how we had contrived not to break our necks. They would scarcely believe that we had got up by the same way.
“I thought none but monkeys could climb such a place,” observed the officer.
“We English have a way of doing extraordinary things when we try,” I replied, trying to look as unconcerned as possible.
“English, are you indeed? I thought you must be so.”
“Yes, Señor, I am an Englishman at your service,” I said; for I had agreed with Pedro that it would be better to give a correct account of ourselves, than to attempt any deception.