A Servant of Satan: Romantic Career of Prado the Assassin — page 113: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A SERVANT OF SATAN. EES 105 | brute would force him, by means of taunts and threats, to - resumehis task. Not a moment’s respite would he permit _ them for the purpose of slaking their intense thirst with a _ drink of water; and for six long hours, in the very hottest ' part of the day, he kept them exposed without lh oe _ tothe scorching rays of the tropical sun. _ At length, overcome by the sultriness of the atmosphere and by the frequency of his potations, he sank off into a ' deep and drunken sleep, his rifle still loosely lying across his ' knees. Frederick’s attention having been attracted thereto by one of his comrades, he immediately perceived that the ~ moment had arrived for carrying into effect his long- Es cherished project of escape. Quick as lightning he com- - municated his intention to his fellow-prisoners. A few _ sturdy blows with the hammers which they had been using 4 until then for breaking the stones were sufficient to relieve ' them of their waist and ankle chains, and in a moment ' they had overpowered and,tightly bound and gagged their ' still sleeping warder. Frederick seized his rifle, and ac- i companied by the others made a bolt for the woods, which | they were'able to reach unobserved. It was not until an 4 hour after nightfall, when they were already several miles - distant from the spot where they had regained their liberty, that the booming of the big guns of the fort at stated in- - tervals proclaimed the fact to them that their escape had . become known and that a general alarm had _ been given. tS ‘ a On becoming aware of this they held a kind of council ' of war, and it was determined that they should scatter in 4 ‘groups of two and three, which they considered ‘would b- _ more likely to enable them to avoid being recaptured. ' The notes left by ‘‘Prado” do not mention the fate of 4 those from whom he parted company at the time. It is . probable that they either were caugat by the posses of war- eres sent in their pursuit or bis that they fell into the Eomichboo m