He thought a moment. “I will go with you,” he said. “Candela, we will visit the Señor Desmond, and you will easily find the way back; though, by my faith, it is more, I suspect, than I could do myself.”
Candela had no objection to offer. Indeed, there was no danger of the padre being discovered, as our enemies were not likely to be wandering in that part of the forest at night; and even if they were, unless they found out our camp, we might easily conceal ourselves from them. This being arranged, Candela, after listening at the trap to make sure that no one by any chance was near, led the way down the ladder. I followed as soon as he was at the bottom; and the padre came last, Candela and I holding the lower end of the ladder to steady it. The padre, however, exhibited far more activity than I had expected, and came down as fast as I had done. He had laid aside, I should have said, his usual clerical attire, and was habited in a half-military dress, with a broad-brimmed straw hat on his head; and having allowed his beard and moustache to grow, I should not, with his hat on, have recognised him. He carried a long, stout stick, which, dexterously wielded, was calculated to prove a formidable weapon.
“I should not venture to leave the ladder hanging down in the daytime,—though there is little chance even then of any one reaching the spot,” he observed.
Candela now led the way, crying out to us when to stoop down and when to crawl, as we passed through the narrow passages by which he had before conducted me. The padre followed, and I kept close after him. Thus we progressed, till we reached the more open part of the forest, near the edge of the river. Candela now pushed on at a rapid rate, till we saw the light of our camp-fire a short distance off. I then proposed going ahead to announce the padre’s coming.
I found my father watching at the entrance of the opening; Gerald and the Indian had arrived, and he was beginning to get anxious at my non-appearance. He was very glad to hear that Padre Pacheco was alive and well, and was coming to the camp; so I hastened back to meet him and Candela.
While we were greeting the padre, his servant received an equally warm welcome from Tim and Chumbo.
My father endeavoured to persuade the padre to accompany us up the mountains.
“I would rather advise you to remain here,” answered the padre. “You would run no risk of being discovered while living, as I do, at the top of a tree; and you may kill as much game as you require.”
“We should kill no game while living at the top of a tree, that is very certain,” answered my father; “and the report of our guns, when shooting in the forest, would be more than likely to reach the ears of our enemies.”
At last the padre, with a sigh, agreed that my father’s plan was the best. “As for accompanying you,” he said, “I cannot make up my mind. If I could discover where the brave Bermudez, or Paez, or Bolivar himself, are, I would join their forces; and I might do good service by preaching to the men, and encouraging them to perform their duty.”