On hearing this, the whole garrison of Barinas assailed the governor with
reproaches, impetuously demanding that the guerilla chief should be
arrested and confined in irons. The versatile governor again gave way, and
that night the Paez mansion was entered and he taken from his bed, put in
irons, and locked up in prison. It was no more than he might have
expected, if he had known as much of the Spanish character then as he was
afterwards to learn.
But Paez was not an easy captive to hold. In the prison he found about one
hundred and fifty of his fellow rebels, among them his friend Garcia, an
officer noted for strength and courage. On Garcia complaining to him of
the weight of his irons and the miserable condition of the prisoners, Paez
accused him of cowardice, and offered to exchange fetters with him. To
keep his word he broke his own chains by main strength and handed them to
his astonished friend.
Paez now spoke to the other prisoners and won their consent to a concerted
break for liberty. Freed from his own fetters, he was able to give
efficient service to the others, and before morning nearly the whole of
them were free.
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