Now they and their innocent children were reaping the fruits of the piety of these conscientious objectors.
After the first fortnight this existence in an atmosphere of disease became absolutely terrible to me.

Not an hour of the day passed that I did not imagine some symptom of smallpox, and every morning when we met at breakfast I glanced at Emma with anxiety.

The shadow of the thing lay deep upon my nerves, and I knew well that if I stopped there much longer I should fall a victim to it in the body.

In this emergency, by means of Antonio, I opened negotiations with the officer of the _rurales_, and finally, after much secret bargaining, it was arranged that in consideration of a sum of two hundred dollars--for by good luck I had escaped from the brigands with my money--our flight through the cordon of guards should not be observed in the darkness.
We were to start at nine o'clock on a certain night.

At a quarter to that hour I went to the stable to see that everything was ready, and in the courtyard outside of it found Antonio seated against the water tank groaning and writhing with pains in the back.