The two soldiers slouched in their walk, and presently, when their beats
met before the door, they let the butts of their guns rest on the ground,
and exchanged pleasant talk about pretty, dark girls that they had known
in far-away Spain. One boldly lighted a cigarrito and the other encouraged
by his example did likewise. Hark, what was that? "A lizard in the grass,"
said Carlos. "Yes, certainly," said Juan. They continued to smoke their
cigarritos blissfully, and talk of the pretty, dark girls that they had
known in far-away Spain.
As they smoked and talked, and found smoke, talk and company pleasant,
they did not see a shadow glide swiftly from the bushes and pass to the
rear of the log prison that they were guarding so well. Nor could they
see the shadow, since the building was now between them, resolve itself
again into the figure of a man, who stood upright against the wall, his
face at one of the little slits of windows.
Their own talk was so pleasant, and the sound of their voices was such a
cure for lonesomeness on a dark night, that they did not hear the man at
the little slit of a window utter a faint warning hiss. Nor did they hear
something a moment later fall with a slight metalic sound on the bark
floor of the prison.
Pages:
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231