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between the brothers that he should return to Spain and procure a vessel

in which he was to couel and as many

of their comrades as possible This was not the first attempt to escape

that Cervantes had made Soon after the commencement of his captivity he

induced several of his co to reach Oran,

then a Spanish post, on foot; but after the first day's journey, the Moor

who had agreed to act as their guide deserted them, and they had no

choice but to return The second attearden

outside the city on the sea-shore, he constructed, with the help of the

gardener, a Spaniard, a hiding-place, to which he brought, one by one,

fourteen of his fellow-captives, keeping the theade known as

El Dorador, "the Gilder" How he, a captive himself, contrived to do all

this, is one of the mysteries of the story Wild as the project may

appear, it was very nearly successful The vessel procured by Rodrigo

ht was

proceeding to take off the refugees, when the creere alar boat, and beat a hasty retreat On renewing the attempt

shortly afterwards, they, or a portion of them at least, were taken

prisoners, and just as the poor fellows in the garden were exulting in

the thought that in a few rasp, they found themselves surrounded by Turkish troops, horse and

foot The Dorador had revealed the whole scheme to the Dey Hassan