the garden of the Convent of the Madonna. It was not for us
soldiers to think about politics, but from the beginning there
always seemed to be a curse upon this war in Spain.

However, at the moment I had no time to brood over such matters
as these. There was, as I have said, no difficulty in getting as
far as the convent garden, but to pass inside the convent
unquestioned was not so easy.

The first thing which I did was to walk round the garden, and I
was soon able to pick out one large stained-glass window which
must belong to the chapel. I had understood from Hubert that the
Mother Superior's room, in which the powder was stored, was near
to this, and that the train had been laid through a hole in the
wall from some neighbouring cell. I must, at all costs, get into
the convent. There was a guard at the door, and how could I get
in without explanations? But a sudden inspiration showed me how
the thing might be done. In the garden was a well, and beside
the well were a number of empty buckets. I filled two of these,
and approached the door. The errand of a man who carries a
bucket of water in each hand does not need to be explained. The
guard opened to let me through. I found myself in a long,
stone-flagged corridor, lit with lanterns, with the cells of the
nuns leading out from one side of it. Now at last I was on the
high road to success. I walked on without hesitation, for I knew
by my observations in the garden which way to go for the chapel.

A number of Spanish soldiers were lounging and smoking in the
corridor, several of whom addressed me as I passed. I fancy it
was for my blessing that they asked, and my "Ora pro nobis"