Should any pursuit be organized, which was unlikely, it would be in the direction of Ciudad; as it might be supposed that an escaped prisoner would naturally make for the nearest spot where he could join his friends.

One prisoner more or less would, however, make but little difference; and the authorities would probably content themselves with sending a message by a trooper, to all the towns and villages on that road, to arrest any suspicious persons travelling without proper papers.
On the line they were pursuing, the risk of interference was very small.

The marshal's pass would be certainly respected by the officers of the corps under his command; and it was not until they fell in with parties of Soult's troops that any unpleasantness was to be apprehended; though even here the worst that could be looked for, if they met any large body of troops, would be that the mules might be taken, for a time, for service in the army.
After a long day's journey they halted, for the night, at a village.

Here they found that the troops marching south had encamped close at hand for the night, and the resources of the place had been completely exhausted.

This mattered but little, as they carried a week's store of bread, black sausage, cheese, onions, garlic, and capsicums.