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Meantime
,
the
troops
were
being
landed
and
formed
into
a
column
,
whose
head
crept
up
gradually
so
close
to
him
that
he
made
it
out
,
barring
nearly
the
whole
width
of
the
wharf
,
only
a
very
few
yards
from
him
.
Then
the
low
,
shuffling
,
murmuring
,
clinking
sounds
ceased
,
and
the
whole
mass
remained
for
about
an
hour
motionless
and
silent
,
awaiting
the
return
of
the
scouts
.
On
land
nothing
was
to
be
heard
except
the
deep
baying
of
the
mastiffs
at
the
railway
yards
,
answered
by
the
faint
barking
of
the
curs
infesting
the
outer
limits
of
the
town
.
A
detached
knot
of
dark
shapes
stood
in
front
of
the
head
of
the
column
.
Presently
the
picket
at
the
end
of
the
wharf
began
to
challenge
in
undertones
single
figures
approaching
from
the
plain
.
Those
messengers
sent
back
from
the
scouting
parties
flung
to
their
comrades
brief
sentences
and
passed
on
rapidly
,
becoming
lost
in
the
great
motionless
mass
,
to
make
their
report
to
the
Staff
.
It
occurred
to
Captain
Mitchell
that
his
position
could
become
disagreeable
and
perhaps
dangerous
,
when
suddenly
,
at
the
head
of
the
jetty
,
there
was
a
shout
of
command
,
a
bugle
call
,
followed
by
a
stir
and
a
rattling
of
arms
,
and
a
murmuring
noise
that
ran
right
up
the
column
.
Near
by
a
loud
voice
directed
hurriedly
,
"
Push
that
railway
car
out
of
the
way
!
"
At
the
rush
of
bare
feet
to
execute
the
order
Captain
Mitchell
skipped
back
a
pace
or
two
;
the
car
,
suddenly
impelled
by
many
hands
,
flew
away
from
him
along
the
rails
,
and
before
he
knew
what
had
happened
he
found
himself
surrounded
and
seized
by
his
arms
and
the
collar
of
his
coat
.
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"
We
have
caught
a
man
hiding
here
,
mi
teniente
!
"
cried
one
of
his
captors
.
"
Hold
him
on
one
side
till
the
rearguard
comes
along
,
"
answered
the
voice
.
The
whole
column
streamed
past
Captain
Mitchell
at
a
run
,
the
thundering
noise
of
their
feet
dying
away
suddenly
on
the
shore
.
His
captors
held
him
tightly
,
disregarding
his
declaration
that
he
was
an
Englishman
and
his
loud
demands
to
be
taken
at
once
before
their
commanding
officer
.
Finally
he
lapsed
into
dignified
silence
.
With
a
hollow
rumble
of
wheels
on
the
planks
a
couple
of
field
guns
,
dragged
by
hand
,
rolled
by
.
Then
,
after
a
small
body
of
men
had
marched
past
escorting
four
or
five
figures
which
walked
in
advance
,
with
a
jingle
of
steel
scabbards
,
he
felt
a
tug
at
his
arms
,
and
was
ordered
to
come
along
.
During
the
passage
from
the
wharf
to
the
Custom
House
it
is
to
be
feared
that
Captain
Mitchell
was
subjected
to
certain
indignities
at
the
hands
of
the
soldiers
--
such
as
jerks
,
thumps
on
the
neck
,
forcible
application
of
the
butt
of
a
rifle
to
the
small
of
his
back
.
Their
ideas
of
speed
were
not
in
accord
with
his
notion
of
his
dignity
.
He
became
flustered
,
flushed
,
and
helpless
.
It
was
as
if
the
world
were
coming
to
an
end
.
The
long
building
was
surrounded
by
troops
,
which
were
already
piling
arms
by
companies
and
preparing
to
pass
the
night
lying
on
the
ground
in
their
ponchos
with
their
sacks
under
their
heads
.
Corporals
moved
with
swinging
lanterns
posting
sentries
all
round
the
walls
wherever
there
was
a
door
or
an
opening
.
Sotillo
was
taking
his
measures
to
protect
his
conquest
as
if
it
had
indeed
contained
the
treasure
.
His
desire
to
make
his
fortune
at
one
audacious
stroke
of
genius
had
overmastered
his
reasoning
faculties
.
He
would
not
believe
in
the
possibility
of
failure
;
the
mere
hint
of
such
a
thing
made
his
brain
reel
with
rage
.
Every
circumstance
pointing
to
it
appeared
incredible
.
The
statement
of
Hirsch
,
which
was
so
absolutely
fatal
to
his
hopes
,
could
by
no
means
be
admitted
.
It
is
true
,
too
,
that
Hirsch
's
story
had
been
told
so
incoherently
,
with
such
excessive
signs
of
distraction
,
that
it
really
looked
improbable
.
It
was
extremely
difficult
,
as
the
saying
is
,
to
make
head
or
tail
of
it
.
On
the
bridge
of
the
steamer
,
directly
after
his
rescue
,
Sotillo
and
his
officers
,
in
their
impatience
and
excitement
,
would
not
give
the
wretched
man
time
to
collect
such
few
wits
as
remained
to
him
.
He
ought
to
have
been
quieted
,
soothed
,
and
reassured
,
whereas
he
had
been
roughly
handled
,
cuffed
,
shaken
,
and
addressed
in
menacing
tones
.
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His
struggles
,
his
wriggles
,
his
attempts
to
get
down
on
his
knees
,
followed
by
the
most
violent
efforts
to
break
away
,
as
if
he
meant
incontinently
to
jump
overboard
,
his
shrieks
and
shrinkings
and
cowering
wild
glances
had
filled
them
first
with
amazement
,
then
with
a
doubt
of
his
genuineness
,
as
men
are
wont
to
suspect
the
sincerity
of
every
great
passion
.
His
Spanish
,
too
,
became
so
mixed
up
with
German
that
the
better
half
of
his
statements
remained
incomprehensible
.
He
tried
to
propitiate
them
by
calling
them
hochwohlgeboren
herren
,
which
in
itself
sounded
suspicious
.
When
admonished
sternly
not
to
trifle
he
repeated
his
entreaties
and
protestations
of
loyalty
and
innocence
again
in
German
,
obstinately
,
because
he
was
not
aware
in
what
language
he
was
speaking
.
His
identity
,
of
course
,
was
perfectly
known
as
an
inhabitant
of
Esmeralda
,
but
this
made
the
matter
no
clearer
.
As
he
kept
on
forgetting
Decoud
's
name
,
mixing
him
up
with
several
other
people
he
had
seen
in
the
Casa
Gould
,
it
looked
as
if
they
all
had
been
in
the
lighter
together
;
and
for
a
moment
Sotillo
thought
that
he
had
drowned
every
prominent
Ribierist
of
Sulaco
.
The
improbability
of
such
a
thing
threw
a
doubt
upon
the
whole
statement
.
Hirsch
was
either
mad
or
playing
a
part
--
pretending
fear
and
distraction
on
the
spur
of
the
moment
to
cover
the
truth
.
Sotillo
's
rapacity
,
excited
to
the
highest
pitch
by
the
prospect
of
an
immense
booty
,
could
believe
in
nothing
adverse
.
This
Jew
might
have
been
very
much
frightened
by
the
accident
,
but
he
knew
where
the
silver
was
concealed
,
and
had
invented
this
story
,
with
his
Jewish
cunning
,
to
put
him
entirely
off
the
track
as
to
what
had
been
done
.
Sotillo
had
taken
up
his
quarters
on
the
upper
floor
in
a
vast
apartment
with
heavy
black
beams
.
But
there
was
no
ceiling
,
and
the
eye
lost
itself
in
the
darkness
under
the
high
pitch
of
the
roof
.
The
thick
shutters
stood
open
.
On
a
long
table
could
be
seen
a
large
inkstand
,
some
stumpy
,
inky
quill
pens
,
and
two
square
wooden
boxes
,
each
holding
half
a
hundred-weight
of
sand
.
Sheets
of
grey
coarse
official
paper
bestrewed
the
floor
.
It
must
have
been
a
room
occupied
by
some
higher
official
of
the
Customs
,
because
a
large
leathern
armchair
stood
behind
the
table
,
with
other
high-backed
chairs
scattered
about
.
A
net
hammock
was
swung
under
one
of
the
beams
--
for
the
official
's
afternoon
siesta
,
no
doubt
.
A
couple
of
candles
stuck
into
tall
iron
candlesticks
gave
a
dim
reddish
light
.
The
colonel
's
hat
,
sword
,
and
revolver
lay
between
them
,
and
a
couple
of
his
more
trusty
officers
lounged
gloomily
against
the
table
.
The
colonel
threw
himself
into
the
armchair
,
and
a
big
negro
with
a
sergeant
's
stripes
on
his
ragged
sleeve
,
kneeling
down
,
pulled
off
his
boots
.
Sotillo
's
ebony
moustache
contrasted
violently
with
the
livid
colouring
of
his
cheeks
.
His
eyes
were
sombre
and
as
if
sunk
very
far
into
his
head
.