He was halted once or twice by
guards on the streets, but, after a very cursory inspection, was
allowed to pass. His route took him past the back of the
governor's palace, an impressive stone affair surrounded by
beautiful grounds. Here he stopped, as if to fasten a tug. Out of
the hay tumbled fifteen men armed with rifles and revolvers, all
of them being careful to leave the wagon on the side farthest
from the palace.
"Now, me lads, we're all heroes by our talk. It's up to us to
make good. I can promise one thing: by this time to-morrow we'll
all be live patriots or dead traitors. Which shall it be?"
O'Halloran's concluding question was a merely rhetorical one, for
without waiting for an answer he started at the double toward the
palace, taking advantage of the dense shrubbery that offered
cover up to the last twenty yards. This last was covered with a
rush so rapid that the guard was surprised into a surrender
without a protest.
Double guard was on duty on account of the strained situation,
but the officer in charge, having been won over to the Valdez
side, had taken care to pick them with much pains.
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