"To bed!" the man called out. "Stop your noise and get to your quarters, or there will be trouble. The general has retired this three hours and more, and he will not thank you for awaking him when he has to be out so early. Get home and be silent."
The crash of his clumsy arquebus could be heard as he brought the stock to the ground, while Roger noted that the merrymakers still went on with their song, though their voices were now less noisy than before. They pa.s.sed the sentry, chaffing him as they went, and then, when they had increased their distance from the headquarters, shouted at the top of their voices. But soon the noise died down, and not a sound broke the silence. It was time to move again. Roger turned to Tamba.
"The others?" he asked. "Where is Teotlili, and what preparations has he made?"
"He is outside, my lord," was the answer. "He is waiting till you have come to him, when he will attempt the other rescue. We have a dozen ropes with us, and those will be sufficient to pa.s.s all the prisoners out. There are thirty-four in all, so that they should be able to climb within a few minutes. If there is an alarm, my lord will be safe outside, and can escape. That is Teotlili"s arrangement."
"But it will not suit me," whispered Roger. "Have my comrades been warned? For if not, they will be too surprised to take advantage of the opportunity. Or they may think that it is a ruse on the part of the Spaniards. Who knows? They will certainly feel suspicious. I will go down to them, and then send them up. But one moment. How many men are there outside?"
Tamba waited a few seconds, calculating the number before he answered.
"Three hundred, perhaps," he said. "They came to our help eagerly, and they hung on the tracks of the men who made you a captive. They have sworn to rescue you. For your friends they do not care so much, though Teotlili will be glad to have them also. You are the main reason for our being here--the only reason, in fact."
"What preparations have been made for flight?" demanded Roger, in low tones. "Quick, Tamba, for we must not delay."
"None," was the quick reply. "None that I am aware of. We were to effect a rescue, and then cut across to Mexico direct. We should be there soon after dawn on the morrow."
"Not if we do not take precautions to hoodwink these people," thought our hero. "If there is no alarm, all the better for us, and we shall reach Mexico safely. But supposing there is some noise, and this attempt is discovered, we shall be pursued and shall be taken. There are thousands of natives in this town."
"And a hundred thousand outside," whispered Tamba. "The country swarms with them."
For a minute or more there was silence. Then Roger again addressed Tamba.
"Drop the ropes into the compound where the prisoners are," he said with decision. "Then go to Teotlili. Give him this message. He is to send a hundred of his natives to the far end of the town at once--I mean to the end opposite to that from which we shall escape. If they hear an alarm they are to shout and rush at any of the native allies of the Spanish that they may see. They are to attract attention to themselves, and then are to disappear in the darkness. The remainder will divide themselves up into four bodies, and each one will take an equal number of my comrades. They will march away at once, and make for Mexico. They will endeavour to keep together, but if there is an alarm they are to separate, and each body is to make the best of its way to safety. Do you understand? Then go at once. I will give you a few minutes to give the message, and Teotlili sufficient time to make the arrangements. Then I shall go to my friends, and commence to send them up to you."
Tamba would have remonstrated, and attempted to dissuade his master, but Roger cut him short.
"You heard?" he demanded peremptorily. "Then go at once. We must not delay."
They crept along the top of the wall till they had pa.s.sed the spot where the dividing wall of the prisons was met. There Roger found that the ropes had been made fast from the outside, where he fancied he could see a number of dark figures, while a couple of other ropes were attached to wooden pegs silently driven into the top of the walls, and giving sufficient hold to bear the weight of a man descending by the rope. In fact, all was in readiness for the attempt, and if no alarm were raised all would be well. If the sentry discovered the attempted escape the town would be alive within a short while, and Roger guessed that many of his countrymen would be taken. Then death would follow swiftly.
"Teotlili should have made his preparations now," he said to himself, when some three minutes had pa.s.sed, noticing that many dark figures were flitting to and fro at the base of the wall. "And here comes Tamba. It is time that I was moving. But I will wait for Tamba to tell me where the prisoners are sleeping."
A minute later the native was beside him, breathing heavily after his rapid climb.
"The hundred have gone to their hiding-place," he said. "They have a leader, and he has the orders. The remainder are now divided and ready.
These people are wonderful at obeying directions, and the darkness does not confuse them. Now, master, I will tell you where these other prisoners are. They sleep round the walls on mats, just as you were pretending to do, and some will be directly below. We hear that they have already made an attempt at escape, and that they were nearly successful. But the Spaniards raised an alarm, and they were all taken.
Would it not be as well for me to descend?"
He asked the question simply, and waited eagerly for Roger"s answer, for he had clambered back to his side with express orders from Teotlili.
"Send my lord down to me if possible," the latter had said; "then, if there is an alarm, I can hurry him away to safety. Do not let him risk his life for these other men."
"You will wait here," answered our hero, shortly. "If you went down they would take you for a Tlascalan, and there would be an outcry, perhaps.
They will know me. I speak English, you see. Besides, there is Philip, and Sir Thomas knows my voice. Now let me get to the rope. In a minute I will send the first man up."
He grasped the rope firmly, and tried its strength. Then he swung himself over the edge of the wall and slid to the ground below. Arrived in the prison, he stood still for some seconds, for the darkness was very dense. Then gradually he was able to make out the outlines of the place, and saw a number of dark figures lying round the walls. One was within a couple of yards of him, and he crept towards the man. Then he kneeled beside him, and touched his arm, while he placed his hand over his mouth. The man sat up with a start, and made frantic efforts to get his mouth free. He kicked desperately, and would have shouted out in his terror had not Roger suddenly whispered in his ear--
"Beware that you do not make a sound or give the alarm," he said swiftly. "I am Roger de Luce, and I have friends outside. Silence, man, or I will stun you!"
His voice a.s.sumed a sterner tone, and he clung to the figure, his hand tightly clasped about the mouth. And it was as well that he had taken that precaution, for this happened to be Peter Tamworth, the little sailor with the enormous nose, who had obtained possession of the disc, and his nerves were none of the best. Capture by the Spaniards and fear of execution or of torture had unhinged his courage, for the little sailor had been a dashing fighter. However, this sudden awakening was almost too much for him, and had it not been for our hero"s precaution he would have destroyed every chance of escape.
"Silence!" repeated Roger. "Now, sit up, and lead me to Sir Thomas, and afterwards to Philip. Come, man, do not act as if you were dazed. I am alive, and not a ghost; and I have friends here who are come to help us all. Sit up! Now lead the way."
Time was of the utmost importance, and so earnest was Roger that this delay fretted him. Peter still peered at him through the gloom, and shook like a leaf. He made no effort to rise, but sat there on his mat, gaping and shivering. Roger took him promptly by the shoulders, and with a heave raised him to his knees.
"Crawl to Sir Thomas," he whispered hoa.r.s.ely, "and stop shaking. You are not hurt, man, and I am no spirit. Come, do as I bid."
The stern tones and Roger"s well-known voice brought Peter Tamworth to his senses at length, and he went along beside the wall on hands and knees till he arrived at a figure some yards away.
"This is he," he said in a whisper. "Better that I should wake him. He thinks that you are dead."
Bending over the leader of the expedition which had proved so disastrous, Peter shook him gently and spoke in his ear, with the result that within a few seconds the commander of the brigantine was kneeling beside Roger, gripping his hand till the bones almost cracked.
"Something told me that you would come to our help, and that you still lived," he said hoa.r.s.ely. "What is your news? Are we to go now?"
"At once," was the answer. "Peter can wake the men while you climb. Go at once, please, and then there will be no waiting for the others."
He led the commander to the dangling rope, and called softly to Tamba above. Then he hoisted Sir Thomas on his shoulders, and gave him such a start that he was easily able to reach the top of the wall. By that time Peter had roused some of the men, and they came along, singly and in couples, all on tiptoe, and all eager to get away from the Spaniards.
""Twas nigh a hanging matter when we made the attempt some few days ago," said Philip, as he came to Roger"s side and spoke to him in tremulous tones which told of his joy at their meeting. "If we are taken now it will be our end."
"Then you will not be taken," answered Roger, curtly. "I was ordered to be hanged at dawn to-morrow. I will fight till I am killed rather than submit to these Spaniards. But silence! You will ruin everything. Come, do not delay."
It was wonderful to see the meek manner in which all, from Sir Thomas downward, obeyed their young comrade. They clambered up the rope in silence, and dropped to the other side, wondering what was to happen next. And there they waited for the young giant who had so suddenly and unexpectedly come to their aid.
"What next?" demanded Sir Thomas, when at length all had left the prison, and he had counted their numbers to make sure that none remained behind. "Now, Sir Giant, you are our commander, and we look to you for orders. What are they?"
"Divide into four parties at once," said Roger, peremptorily. "Let Peter and Philip take one group each, while you take a third, Sir Thomas. I will lead the other. Now, you will be joined by natives, and they will lead you. If there is trouble, you are each to go with your own lot of natives, for we could never pa.s.s across the country together. Now, hurry, please, and silence!"
There was need for his warning, for the men had commenced to chatter together, some wishing to go with particular friends. However, at Roger"s voice they separated, and silently grouped themselves. Then Teotlili gave vent to a curious hissing sound between his tongue and his teeth, and natives filed about the groups.
"We will lead, my lord," he said, coming to Roger"s side. "The others will go to either side once we are out of the town. Now, let us be moving."
"Hark! I heard something!" whispered Roger, suddenly. "Listen now! Men are moving, and that was a weapon being loaded!"
The metallic ring of a ramrod crushing a charge into a barrel came to their ears, but exactly from what quarter was not certain. It was followed by a similar sound, and was repeated on several occasions.
"Let the men move. Tell them to separate, and run as soon as possible,"
whispered Roger. "The Spaniards must have got news of the attempt. Ah!
there goes their signal!"
Suddenly the silence of the night was broken by the roar of an arquebus, while from some point high up amongst the houses came the flash of the ponderous weapon, lighting up the walls of Tlascala and the natives and Englishmen grouped at their base. The next instant all was pitch dark again, but there was no longer silence. A roar of angry voices filled the air, and a loud command was given in Spanish. It was followed by a sharp fusillade, which caused Roger and his friends to scatter, and struck some of them to the ground. A moment later a shout at the far end of the town told that the hundred men sent there were obeying instructions.
"Time to go," said Roger to Teotlili. "Separate, and do as I have said,"
he shouted out at the top of his voice. "Whatever you do, separate."
Some one took him by the arm, and he hurried off into the darkness. But he was by no means alone, for Teotlili was on one side and Tamba close on the other, while a strong body of men followed closely.