"It is--hell, and we must set about quickly to get out of
it."
"Escape, do you mean? But that is impossible. Asensio can tell you
all about that. The Spaniards used to issue passes for the men to
go outside the lines in search of food. It was just a trick. They
never came back--all of them were killed. Every one knows better
than to try, now."
"Nevertheless, we can't stay here much longer." In answer to the
girl's puzzled inquiry he explained: "My money is gone--all but a
few cents. This is the last of our food and there is no chance of
getting more. Jacket has some mysterious source of supply and he
manages to bring in something every now and then, but there are
five of us to feed, and he can't furnish more than enough for
himself. No, we must make a move at once, while we have the
strength."
Rosa had not asked the source whence came the blessed food which
was bringing the life blood back into her body, and although that
food was not much--a little meal, a plantain, an occasional scrap
of meat or fish--it had never occurred to her that the supply
might be limited. She met the problem bravely, however.
"I have been close to death so long that it means little to me,"
she confessed. "I have you, and--well, with you at my side I can
face the worst."
"Oh, we won't give up until we have to," he assured her.
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