half extended to receive a gratuity.

'If the Colonel fails to receive the letter I shall certainly know
of it,' said Conyngham, stumbling down the dark staircase, and well
pleased to have accomplished his mission.

He returned with all speed to the inn in the quiet alley where he
had elected to pass the night, and found Concepcion still at table.

'In half an hour I take the road,' said the Spaniard. 'The time for
a cup of coffee, and I am ready to ride all night.'

Having eaten, Concepcion was in a better frame of mind, and now
cheerfully undertook to carry out his master's instructions. In
little more than half an hour he was in the saddle again, and waved
an airy adieu to Conyngham as he passed under the swinging oil lamp
that hung at the corner of the street.

It was yet early in the evening, and Conyngham, having dined, set
out to explore the streets of Xeres, which were quiet enough now, as
the cafes were gayer and safer than the gloomy thoroughfares where a
foe might lurk in every doorway. In the market-place, between rows
of booths and tents, a dense crowd walked backwards and forwards
with that steady sense of promenading which the Spaniard understands
above all other men. The dealers in coloured handkerchiefs from
Barcelona or mantillas from Seville were driving a great trade, and
the majority of them had long since shouted themselves hoarse. A
few quack dentists were operating upon their victims under the
friendly covert of a big drum and a bassoon. Dealers in wonderful
drugs and herbs were haranguing the crowd, easily gaining the