"
"If it is not there," said I, "then I pray you, Marshal Massena,
to see that my effects are sold and the money sent to my mother."
So I raised my hand to my busby and turned upon my heel, my heart
glowing at the thought of the great exploit which lay before me.
I sat in my own chamber for some little time considering how I
had best take the matter in hand. The fact that neither Cortex
nor Duplessis, who were very zealous and active officers, had
succeeded in reaching the summit of the Sierra de Merodal, showed
that the country was very closely watched by the guerillas. I
reckoned out the distance upon a map. There were ten miles of
open country to be crossed before reaching the hills. Then came
a belt of forest on the lower slopes of the mountain, which may
have been three or four miles wide. And then there was the
actual peak itself, of no very great height, but without any
cover to conceal me. Those were the three stages of my journey.
It seemed to me that once I had reached the shelter of the wood
all would be easy, for I could lie concealed within its shadows
and climb upward under the cover of night.
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