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The Treasure of the Incas: A Story of Adventure in Peru

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Title: The Treasure of the Incas: A Story of Adventure in Peru

Author: G. A. Henty


        
Release date: December 1, 2004 [eBook #7070]
                Most recently updated: January 2, 2014

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TREASURE OF THE INCAS: A STORY OF ADVENTURE IN PERU ***




Produced by Anne Soulard, Charles Franks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.









The Treasure of the Incas

A Story of Adventure in Peru


BY

G. A. HENTY




[Illustration: IT DID NOT TAKE LONG TO TRANSFER THE SACKS INTO THE BOAT
_Page 339_]




PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION


The mysterious loss of a large portion of the treasure of the Incas has
never been completely cleared up. By torturing the natives to whom the
secret had been entrusted, the Spaniards made two or three discoveries,
but there can be little doubt that these finds were only a small
proportion of the total amount of the missing hoards, although for
years after their occupation of the country the Spaniards spared no
pains and hesitated at no cruelty to bring to light the hidden wealth.
The story of the boat which put to sea laden with treasure is
historical, and it was generally supposed that she was lost in a storm
that took place soon after she sailed. It was also morally certain that
the Peruvians who left the country when the Spaniards became masters
carried off with them a very large amount of treasure into that part of
South America lying east of Peru. Legends are current that they founded
a great city there, and that their descendants occupy it at the present
time. But the forests are so thick, and the Indian tribes so hostile,
that the country has never yet been explored, and it may be reserved
for some future traveller, possessing the determination of my two
heroes, to clear up the mystery of this city as they penetrated that of
the lost treasure-ship. It need hardly be said that the state of
confusion, misrule, and incessant civil wars which I have described as
prevailing in Peru presents a true picture of the country at the period
in which this story is laid.

G. A. HENTY.




CONTENTS


CHAP.

    I. HOW IT CAME ABOUT

   II. THE START

  III. AT LIMA

   IV. A STREET FRAY

    V. AMONG THE MOUNTAINS

   VI. A TROPICAL FOREST

  VII. AN INDIAN ATTACK

 VIII. DEFEAT OF THE NATIVES

   IX. THE SIGNAL STAR

    X. A FRESH START

   XI. BRIGANDS

  XII. PRISONERS

 XIII. LETTERS FROM HOME

  XIV. THE CASTLE OF THE DEMONS

   XV. INVESTIGATIONS

  XVI. THE SEARCH BEGINS

 XVII. AT WORK

XVIII. DISAPPOINTMENT

  XIX. THE TREASURE

   XX. HOME




ILLUSTRATIONS


IT DID NOT TAKE LONG TO TRANSFER THE SACKS INTO THE BOAT.

AN INDIAN SPIES THE EXPEDITION.

THEY SAW APPROACHING A PEASANT WOMAN SITTING ON A MULE.

HARRY DROPPED THE BARREL OF HIS RIFLE INTO THE PALM OF HIS LEFT HAND.

Map of Peru

[Illustration: MAP OF PERU]




THE TREASURE OF THE INCAS




CHAPTER I

HOW IT CAME ABOUT


Two men were sitting in the smoking-room of a London club. The room was
almost empty, and as they occupied arm-chairs in one corner of it, they
were able to talk freely without fear of being overheard. One of them
was a man of sixty, the other some five or six and twenty.

"I must do something," the younger man said, "for I have been kicking
my heels about London since my ship was paid off two years ago. At
first, of course, it didn't matter, for I have enough to live upon; but
recently I have been fool enough to fall in love with a girl whose
parents would never dream of allowing her to marry a half-pay
lieutenant of the navy with no chance in the world of getting employed
again, for I have no interest whatever."

"It is an awkward case certainly, Prendergast," the other said; "and
upon my word, though I sympathize with you, I cannot blame Fortescue.
He is not what you might call a genial man, but there is no doubt that
he was a splendid lawyer and a wonderful worker. For ten years he
earned more than any man at the bar. I know that he was twice offered
the solicitor-generalship, but as he was making two or three times the
official salary, he would not take it. I believe he would have gone on
working till now had he not suddenly come in for a very fine estate,
owing to the death, in the course of two or three years, of four men
who stood between him and it. Besides, I fancy he got hints that in the
general opinion of the bar he had had a wonderfully good innings, and
it was about time that younger men had a share in it. What his savings
were I do not know, but they must be very large. His three sons are all
at the bar, and are rising men, so there was no occasion for him to go
on piling up money for them. But, as I say, he has always had the
reputation of being a hard man, and it is practically certain that he
would never allow his daughter to marry a man whom he would regard as
next door to a pauper. Now, what are you thinking of doing?"

"Well, sir, Miss Fortescue has agreed to wait for me for two years, and
of course I am eager to do something, but the question is what? I can
sail a ship, but even could I get the command of a merchantman, it
would not improve my position in the eyes of the parents of the lady in
question. Now, you have been knocking about all over the world, I do
wish you would give me your advice. Where is there money to be got? I
am equally ready to go to the North Pole or the Equator, to enter the
service of an Indian prince, or to start in search of a treasure hidden
by the old bucaneers."

"You talk Spanish, don't you?"

"Yes; all my service has been in the Mediterranean. We were two years
off the coast of Spain, and in and out of its ports, and as time hung
heavily on our hands, I got up the language partly to amuse myself and
partly to be able to talk fluently with my partners at a ball."

The elder man did not speak for a minute or two.

"You have not thought of South America?" he said at last.

"No, Mr. Barnett; I don't know that I have ever thought of one place
more than another."

The other was again silent.

"I don't think you could do better anywhere," he said slowly. "It is a
land with great possibilities; at any rate it is a land where you could
be understood, and of course it would be folly to go anywhere without a
knowledge of the language. I was, as you know, five years out there,
and came home when the war broke out between Chili and the Spaniards. I
have been more in Peru than in Chili, and as Peru was still in the
hands of the Spanish, it would have been impossible for me to go there
again as long as the war lasted. Knocking about as I did, I heard a
great deal from the natives (I mean the Indians). I gathered from them
a number of their traditions, and I am convinced that they know of any
number of gold mines that were formerly worked, but were blocked up
when the Spaniards invaded the country, and have been kept secret ever
since.

"The natives have never spoken on the subject at all to the Spaniards.
If they had, they would have been flogged until they revealed all they
knew--that is to say, they would have been flogged to death, for no
tortures will wring from an Indian anything he knows about gold. They
look upon that metal as the source of all the misfortunes that have
fallen upon their race. With an Englishman whom they knew and trusted,
and who, as they also knew, had no wish whatever to discover gold
mines, they were a little less reticent. I never asked them any
questions on a subject in which I had not a shadow of interest, but I
certainly had some curiosity, not of a pecuniary kind, because the
matter had always been a riddle as to the hiding-place of the Incas'
treasures. And from what I learned I should say it is absolutely
certain that a great portion of these escaped the search of their
Spanish tyrants.

"Whether the men who were employed in the work all died without
revealing the secret, or whether it had been trusted to a chosen few, I
know not; but the natives believe that there are still a few among them
to whom the secret has been passed down from father to son. Anyhow, all
had heard vague traditions. Some said that part of the treasure was
carried hundreds of miles inland and given over to a tribe of fierce
savages, in a country into which no European can enter. Another
tradition is that a portion of it was carried off by sea in a great
canoe, which was never heard of again and was believed to have been
lost. I am not for a moment supposing, Prendergast, that if you went
out there you would have the most remote chance of discovering what the
Spaniards, ever since they landed there, have been in vain trying to
find, and I certainly should not think of recommending a mad-brained
adventure, but undoubtedly there are many rich gold mines yet to be
found. There are openings for trade, too; and I can give you
introductions to merchants both in Chili and Peru. It is not a thing I
should recommend to everyone, far from it; but if you want to combine
adventure with a chance, however small, of making money, I don't know
that you can do better than go to South America. You are fitted for no
calling here; your income, counting your half-pay, would suffice to
keep you out there, and a couple of years of such a life would do you
no harm."

"It is just what I should like," the young man said enthusiastically;
"though I don't know how I should set to work if I did find a mine."

"You would have to bring home specimens, with particulars of the width
of the lode. Of course you would crush pieces up and wash them
yourself, or get your Indian to wash them; that would give you an
approximate idea of the percentage of gold. If it were rich, I could
introduce you to men who would advance money for working it, giving you
a share of the profits. They would send out a mining expert with you.
He would verify your report, and then you would take up the concession.
I don't know whether there have been any changes in the regulations,
but there is no difficulty in learning how to proceed from one or other
of the men to whom I will give you introductions. The thing would not
be worth thinking of were it not that the man who always went with me
as guide and muleteer is an Indian, and has, I am convinced, a
knowledge of some of these places. He was with me all the time I was
out there. I saved his life when a puma sprang upon him, and he more
than once hinted that he could make me a rich man, but I had no
inclination that way, my income being sufficient for all my wants.
Still, on the chance that he is alive--and he was about thirty when he
was with me fifteen years ago, so it is probable that he is still to
the fore--I will give you a letter to him telling him that you are a
dear friend of mine, and that I trust to him to do any service he can
for you just as he would have done for myself. Had it not been for that
I should never have mentioned the matter to you. These old mines are
the dream of every Peruvian. They have been searching for them ever
since the conquest of the country, and as they have failed, it is
absurd to think that an Englishman would have the slightest chance of
lighting upon a mine, still less of finding any of the Incas'
treasures. But with the Indian's aid it is just possible that you may
find something, though I should advise you most strongly not to build
in any way upon the chance. I consider that you cannot possibly win
Miss Fortescue; that being so, two years of knocking about will not
make your position worse, and by the time you come back, you may have
ceased to struggle against fate. It will afford you a remote--but
distinctly remote--opportunity of bettering your position, will give
you something else to think about besides that young lady's charms, and
you may even come to recognize that life is, after all, possible
without her. You may shake your head, lad; but you know children cry
for the moon sometimes, yet afterwards come to understand that it would
not be a desirable plaything."

"Well, at any rate, Mr. Barnett, I am extremely obliged for your
suggestion and for your offer of introductions. It is just the life
that I should enjoy thoroughly. As you say, the chance that anything
will come of it is extremely small, but at least there is a
possibility, and I take it as a drowning man catches at a straw."

"By the way, you mustn't think only of gold; silver is, after all, the
chief source of the riches of Peru, and there are numbers of
extraordinarily rich mines. It is calculated that three hundred
millions have been produced since the first occupation by the
Spaniards. Quicksilver is also very abundant; copper and lead are found
too, but there is not much to be done with them at present, owing to
the cost of carriage. There is good shooting in the mountains on the
eastern side of the Andes, and you will find plenty of sport there."

They talked over the matter for some time before they separated, and
Harry Prendergast became quite excited over it. On his return to his
rooms he was astonished to find the candles alight and a strong smell
of tobacco pervading the place. A lad of about sixteen leapt from the
easy-chair in which he had been sitting, with his feet on another.

"Hullo, Harry, I didn't expect you back so soon! The maid said you were
dining out, and I suppose that generally means one o'clock before you
are back."

"Well, what brings you here, Bert? I thought I had got you off my hands
for a year at least."

"I thought so, myself," the lad said coolly; "but circumstances have
been too strong for me. We were running down the Channel the night
before last, when a craft that was beating up ran smack into us. I
don't know that it was his fault more than ours; the night was dark,
and it was very thick, and we did not see each other until she was
within a length of us. Luck was against us; if she had been a few
seconds quicker we should have caught her broadside, but as it was she
rammed us, knocking a hole in our side as big as a house, and we had
just time to jump on board her. Our old craft went down two minutes
after the skipper, who was of course the last man, left her. The other
fellow had stove his bow in. Luckily we were only about a couple of
miles off Dungeness, and though she leaked like a sieve, we were able
to run her into the bay, where she settled down in two and a half
fathoms of water. As soon as it was light we landed and tramped to
Dover. A hoy was starting for the river that evening, and most of us
came up in her, arriving at the Pool about three hours ago. It is a bad
job, Harry, and I am horribly put out about it. Of course nothing could
be saved, and there is all the new kit you bought for me down at the
bottom. I sha'n't bother you again; I have quite made up my mind that I
shall ship before the mast this time, and a five-pound note will buy me
a good enough outfit for that."

"We need not talk about that now, Bertie. You are certainly an unlucky
beggar; this is the second time you have been wrecked."

"It is a frightful nuisance," the boy said. "It is the kit I am
thinking of, otherwise I should not mind. I didn't care for the
skipper. He seemed all right and decent enough before we started, but I
soon heard from fellows who had sailed with him before that he was a
tartar; and what was worse, they said he was in the habit of being
drunk two nights out of three. However, that has nothing to do with it.
I am really awfully sorry, Harry. You have been a thundering good elder
brother. I hated to think that you had to shell out last time, and I
have quite made up my mind that you sha'n't do it again."

"Well, it cannot be helped; it is no fault of yours; still, of course,
it is a nuisance. Thank God that no harm has come to you, that is the
principal thing. Now, sit down and go on with your pipe, you young
monkey. I did not think you had taken to smoking."

"One has to," the lad said, "everyone else does it; and there is no
doubt that, when you have got the middle watch on cold nights with foul
winds, it is a comfort."

"Well, go on smoking," his brother said. "I will light up too. Now shut
your mouth altogether. I want to think."

They were silent for fully ten minutes, then Harry said;

"I told you about that business of mine with Miss Fortescue."

Bertie grinned all over his face, which, as he sat, was not visible to
his brother. Then with preternatural gravity he turned towards him.

"Yes, you told me about it; an uncomfortable business wasn't it?--surly
old father, lovely daughter, and so on."

"I will pull your ear for you, you young scamp," Harry said wrathfully,
"if you make fun of it; and I have a good mind not to say what I was
going to."

"Say it, Harry, don't mind my feelings," the lad said. "You can't say I
did not stand it well when I was here last week, and gave you no end of
sympathy. Go ahead, old fellow; I dare say I shall be taken bad some
day, and then I shall be able to make allowances for you."

"I'll have nothing more to say to you, you young imp."

"Don't say that, Harry," the lad said in a tone of alarm. "You know how
sympathizing I am, and I know what a comfort it is for you to unburden
yourself; but I do think that it won't be necessary to go into personal
descriptions, you know, or to tell me what you said to her or she said
to you, because you told me all that ten days ago, also what her
tyrannical old father said. But really seriously I am awfully sorry
about it all, and if there is anything that I can possibly do for you I
shall be only too pleased. I don't see that it would be any advantage
for me to go and give the old gentleman my opinion of him; but if you
think it would, and can coach me in some of his sore points, we might
see how we could work upon them."

"I always thought you were a young ass, Bertie," Harry said sternly,
"but I have not realized before how utterly assified you are."

"All right, Harry!" the lad said cheerfully; "hit me as hard as you
like, under the circumstances I feel that I cannot kick."

Harry said nothing for another five minutes.

"This is a serious matter," he said at last, "and I don't want any
tomfoolery."

"All right, Harry! I will be as serious as a judge."

"I am thinking of going away for two years."

The lad turned half round in his chair and had a good look at his
brother.

"Where are you going to?" seeing by Harry's rather gloomy face that he
was quite in earnest.

"I believe I am going to Peru."

"What are you going there for, Harry?" the lad said quietly.

"I told you," the other went on, "that Mr. Fortescue said that he had
no personal objection to me, but that if I was in a position to give
his daughter a home equal to that which I wanted her to leave, he would
be content."

Bertie nodded.

"This seemed to me hopeless," Harry went on. "I told you that she was
willing to wait for two years, but that she couldn't promise much
longer than that, for her father had set his mind on her making a good
match; he has certainly put a tremendous pressure upon her. When I was
talking at the club this evening to Mr. Barnett--you know that he is
our oldest friend and is one of our trustees--I told him about it, and
said that though I was ready to do anything and go anywhere I could not
see my way at all to making a big fortune straight away. He agreed with
me. After talking it over he said he knew of but one way by which such
a thing would be at all possible, but the betting would be twenty
thousand to one against it. Of course I said that if there was even a
possibility I would try it. Well, you know he was in Peru for some
years. He says that the natives have all sorts of legends about rich
mines that were hidden when the Spaniards came first, and that it is
certain that, tremendous as was the amount of loot they got, a great
part of the Incas' treasure was hidden away. Once or twice there had
been great finds-in one case two million and a half dollars. It is
believed that the secret is still known to certain Indians. When he
went out there he had a muleteer, whose life he saved when he was
attacked by some beast or other, and this man as much as hinted that he
knew of a place where treasure might be concealed; but as Barnett was
interested in beasts and plants and that sort of thing, and had a
comfortable fortune, he never troubled himself about it one way or
another. Well, he offered to give me a letter to this man, and he
regarded it as just possible that the fellow, who seems to be a
descendant of some of the people who were members of the Incas' court
at the time the Spaniards came, may have some knowledge of the rich
mines that were then closed down, and that he may be able to show them
to me, from his feeling of gratitude to Barnett. It is but one chance
in a million, and as I can see no other possibility of making a fortune
in two years, I am going to try it."

"Of course you will," the lad said excitedly, "and I should think that
you would take me with you."

"I certainly had not dreamt of doing so, Bertie. But if I have to keep
on getting fresh outfits for you, the idea has come into my mind during
the last half-hour that I could not do better."

"Harry, you are sure to be disappointed lots of times before you hit on
a treasure, and then if you were all by yourself you would get down in
the mouth. Now, I should be able to keep you going, pat you on the back
when you felt sick, help you to fight Indians and wild beasts, and be
useful in all sorts of ways."

"That is like your impudence, Bertie," the other laughed. "Seriously, I
know I shall be a fool to take you, and if I really thought I had any
chance to speak of I should not do so; but though I am going to try, I
don't expect for a moment that I shall succeed. I feel that really it
would be a comfort to have someone with me upon whom I could rely in
such a life as I should have to lead. It certainly would be lonely work
for one man. The only doubt in my mind is whether it will be fair to
you--you have got your profession."

"But I can go back to it if nothing good turns up, Harry. I can visit
the firm and tell them that I am going to travel with you for a bit,
and hope that on my return they will take me back again and let me
finish my apprenticeship. I should think they would be rather glad, for
they always build and never buy ships, and it will take them six months
to replace the _Stella_. Besides, it will do me a lot of good. I shall
pick up Spanish--at least, I suppose that is the language they speak
out there--and shall learn no end of things. As you know, we trade with
the west coast of America, so I should be a lot more useful to the firm
when I come back than I am now."

"Well, I will think it over, and let you know in the morning. I must
certainly consult Mr. Barnett, for he is your trustee as well as mine.
If we go I shall work my way out. It will be a big expense, anyhow, and
I don't mean, if possible, to draw upon my capital beyond three or four
hundred pounds. I believe living is cheap out there, and if I buy three
or four mules I shall then have to pay only the wages for the
muleteers, and the expenses of living. Of course I shall arrange for my
income and half-pay to be sent out to some firm at Lima. Now, you had
better go off to bed, and don't buoy yourself up with the belief that
you are going, for I have by no means decided upon taking you yet."

"You will decide to take me, Harry," the lad said confidently, and then
added with a laugh: "the fact that you should have adopted a plan like
this is quite sufficient to show that you want somebody to look after
you."

Harry Prendergast did not get much sleep that night. He blamed himself
for having mentioned the matter at all to Bertie, and yet the more he
thought over it the more he felt that it would be very pleasant to have
his brother with him. The lad was full of fun and mischief, but he knew
that he had plenty of sound sense, and would be a capital companion,
and the fact that he had been three years at sea, and was accustomed to
turn his hand to anything, was all in his favour. If nothing came of it
he would only have lost a couple of years, and, as the boy himself had
said, the time would not have been altogether wasted. Bertie was down
before him in the morning. He looked anxiously at his brother as he
came in.

"Well, Harry?"

"Well, I have thought it over in every light. But in the first place,
Bertie, if you go with me you will have to remember that I am your
commanding officer. I am ten years older than you, and besides I am a
lieutenant in the King's Navy, while you are only a midshipman in the
merchant service. Now, I shall expect as ready obedience from you as if
I were captain of my own ship and you one of my men; that is absolutely
essential."

"Of course, Harry, it could not be otherwise."

"Very well, then; in the next place I shall abide by what Mr. Barnett
says. He is your guardian as well as trustee, and has a perfect right
to put a veto upon any wild expedition of this sort. Lastly, I should
hope, although I don't say that this is absolutely necessary, that you
may get your employer's promise to take you back again in order that
you may complete your time."

"Thank you very much, Harry!" the lad said gratefully. "The first
condition you may rely upon being performed, and I think the third will
be all right, for I know that I have always been favourably reported
upon. Old Prosser told me so himself when he said that I should have a
rise in my pay this voyage. As to Mr. Barnett, of course I can't say,
but I should think, as it was he who put you up to this, he must see
that it would be good for you to have someone to take care of you."

"I think he is much more likely to say that I shall have quite enough
to do to take care of myself, without having the bother of looking
after you. However, I will go and see him this morning. You had better
call upon your employers."

"Don't you think I had better go to Mr. Barnett with you, Harry?"

"Not as you are now anyhow, Bertie. Your appearance is positively
disgraceful. You evidently had on your worst suit of clothes when you
were wrecked, and I can see that they have not been improved by the
experience. Why, there is a split right down one sleeve, and a big rent
in your trousers!"

"I got them climbing on board, for I had no time to pick and choose,
with the _Stella_ sinking under my feet."

"Well, you may as well go as you are, but you had better borrow a
needle and thread from the landlady and mend up the holes. You really
cannot walk through the city in that state. I will see about getting
you some more clothes when we get back, for I cannot have you coming
here in these in broad daylight. Here are three guineas; get yourself a
suit of pilot cloth at some outfitter's at the East End. It will be
useful to you anyhow, whether you go with me or ship again here."

"There is a good deal in what you say, Harry," Mr. Barnett said when
Prendergast asked his opinion as to his taking his brother with him.
"Two years would not make any material difference in his career as a
sailor; it simply means that he will be so much older when he passes as
mate. There is no harm in that. Two or three and twenty is quite young
enough for a young fellow to become an officer, and I don't think that
many captains care about having lads who have just got their
certificate. They have not the same sense of responsibility or the same
power of managing. Then, too, Bertie will certainly have a good deal of
knocking about if he spends a couple of years in South America, and the
knowledge he will gain of Spanish will add to his value with any firm
trading on that coast. As far as you are concerned, I think it would be
a great advantage to have him with you. In a long expedition, such as
you propose, it is a gain to have a companion with you. It makes the
work more pleasant, and two men can laugh over hardships and
disagreeables that one alone would grumble at; but apart from this, it
is very important in case of illness.

"A lonely man laid up with fever, or accidental injury, fares badly
indeed if he is at a distance from any town where he can obtain medical
attendance, and surrounded only by ignorant natives. I was myself at
one time down with fever for six weeks in a native hut, and during that
time I would have given pretty nearly all that I was worth for the
sight of a white face and the sound of an English voice. As to the fact
that it is possible that the lad might catch fever, or be killed in an
affray with natives, that must, of course, be faced; but as a sailor he
runs the risk of shipwreck, or of being washed overboard, or killed by
a falling spar. Everything considered, I think the idea of his going
with you is a good one. I don't suppose that many guardians would be of
the same opinion, but I have been so many years knocking about in one
part of the world or another, that I don't look at things in the same
light as men who have never been out of England."

"I am glad you see it in that way, sir. I own that it would be a great
satisfaction to have him with me. He certainly would be a cheery
companion, and I should say that he is as hard as nails, and can stand
as much fatigue and hardship as myself. Besides, there is no doubt that
in case of any trouble two men are better than one."

"I cannot advance any money out of the thousand pounds that will come
to him when he is of age. By your father's will it was ordered that, in
the event of his own death before that time, the interest was to
accumulate. Your father foresaw that, like you, probably Bertie would
take to the sea, and as the amount would be fully two thousand pounds
by the time he comes of age, it would enable him to buy a share in any
ship that he might, when he passed his last examination, command; but I
will myself draw a cheque for a hundred pounds, which will help towards
meeting expenses. I feel myself to some extent responsible for this
expedition. I somewhat regret now having ever spoken to you on the
subject, for I cannot conceal from myself that the chance of your
making a discovery, where the Spaniards, with all their power of
putting pressure on the natives for the past two or three hundred
years, have failed, is so slight as to be scarcely worth consideration.

"I tell you frankly that I broached the subject chiefly because I
thought it was much better for you to be doing something than kicking
your heels about London, and mooning over this affair with Miss
Fortescue. There is nothing worse for a young man than living in London
with just enough to keep him comfortably without the necessity of
working. Therefore I thought you would be far better travelling and
hunting for treasure in Peru, than staying here. Even if you fail, as I
feel is almost certain, in the object for which you go out, you will
have plenty to occupy your thoughts, and not be dwelling continually
upon an attachment which in all probability will not turn out
satisfactorily. I do not suppose that you are likely to forget Miss
Fortescue, but by the time you return you will have accustomed yourself
to the thought that it is useless to cry for the moon, and that, after
all, life may be very endurable even if she does not share it.
Therefore I propounded this Peruvian adventure, feeling sure that,
whatever came of it, it would be a benefit to you."

"No doubt it will, sir. I see myself the chance of success is small
indeed, but there is none at all in any other way. It is just the sort
of thing I should like, and I quite feel myself that it would be good
for me to have plenty to think about; and now that you have consented
to Bertie's going with me, I feel more eager than before to undertake
the expedition. The place is in rather a disturbed state, isn't it?"

"If you are going to wait until Peru ceases to be in a disturbed state,
Harry, you may wait another hundred years. The Spanish rule was bad,
but Peru was then a pleasant place to live in compared with what it is
now. It is a sort of cock-pit, where a succession of ambitious rascals
struggle for the spoils, and the moment one gets the better of his
rivals fresh intrigues are set on foot, and fresh rebellions break out.
There are good Peruvians--men who have estates and live upon them, and
who are good masters. But as to the politicians, there is no principle
whatever at stake. It is simply a question of who shall have the
handling of the national revenue, and divide it and the innumerable
posts among his adherents. But these struggles will not affect you
largely. In one respect they will even be an advantage. Bent upon their
own factious aims, the combatants have no time to concern themselves
with the doings of an English traveller, whose object out there is
ostensibly to botanize and shoot. Were one of them to obtain the
undisputed control of affairs he might meddle in all sorts of ways;
but, as it is, after you have once got pretty well beyond the area of
their operations, you can regard their doings with indifference,
knowing that the longer they go on fighting the fewer scoundrels there
will be in the land.

"But even were they to think that it was mining, and not science or
sport that took you out there, they would scarcely interfere with you.
It is admitted by all the factions that Peru needs capital for her
development, and at present that can best be got from this country. The
discovery of a fresh mine means employment to a large number of people,
and the increase of the revenues by a royalty or taxation. English
explorers who have gone out have never had any reason to complain of
interference on the part of the authorities. You will find the average
better class of Peruvians a charming people, and extremely hospitable.
The ladies are pretty enough to turn the head of anyone whose
affections are not already engaged. The men are kindly and courteous in
the extreme. However, you would have little to do with these.

"In the mountains you would largely depend upon your rifle for food,
and on what you could get in the scattered native villages. The Indians
have no love for the Peruvians. They find their condition no better off
under them than it was under the Spaniards. Once they find out that you
are English they will do all in their power for you. It is to Cochrane
and the English officers with him that they owe the overthrow and
expulsion of their Spanish tyrants, and they are vastly more grateful
than either the Chilians or Peruvians have shown themselves to be."

On returning to their lodgings Harry met his brother, who had been into
the city.

"Old Prosser was very civil," said Bertie. "He said that as their ships
were chiefly in the South American trade it would be a great advantage
for me to learn to speak Spanish well. They had not yet thought
anything about whether they should order another ship to replace the
_Stella_; at any rate, at present they had no vacancy, and would gladly
give me permission to travel in South America, and would find me a
berth to finish my apprenticeship when I returned. More than that, they
said that as I had always been so favourably reported upon they would
put me on as a supernumerary in the _Para_, which will sail in a
fortnight for Callao. I should not draw pay, but I should be in their
service, and the time would count, which would be a great pull, and I
should get my passage for nothing."

"That is capital. Of course I will take a passage in her too."

"And what does Mr. Barnett say?"

"Rather to my surprise, Bertie, he did not disapprove of the plan at
all. He thought it would be a good thing for me to have you with me in
case of illness or anything of that sort. Then no doubt he thought to
some extent it would keep you out of mischief."

"I don't believe he thought anything of the sort. Did he say so?"

"Well, no, he didn't; but I have no doubt he felt it in some way a sort
of relief."

"That is all very fine. I know, when I have been down to his place in
the country between voyages, I have always been as well behaved as if I
had been a model mid."

"Well, I have heard some tales of your doings, Bertie, that didn't seem
quite in accord with the character you give yourself."

"Oh, of course I had a few larks! You cannot expect a fellow who has
been away from England for a year to walk about as soberly as if he
were a Methodist parson!"

"No, I should not expect that, Bertie. But, on the other hand, I should
hardly have expected that he would, for example, risk breaking his neck
by climbing up to the top of the steeple and fastening a straw-hat on
the head of the weathercock."

"It gave it a very ornamental appearance; and that weathercock was
never before watched so regularly by the people of the village as it
was from that time till the hat was blown away in a gale."

"That I can quite believe. Still, Mr. Barnett told me that the rector
lodged a complaint about it."

"He might complain as much as he liked; there is no law in the land, as
far as I know, that makes the fixing of a straw-hat upon a weathercock
a penal offence. It did no end of good in the village, gave them
something to talk about, and woke them up wonderfully."

"And there were other things too, I think," his brother went on.

"Oh, well, you need not go into them now! they are an old story.
Besides, I fancy I have heard of various tricks played by Mr.
Midshipman Harry Prendergast, and, as I heard them from your lips, I
cannot doubt but that they were strictly veracious. Well, this is jolly
now. When are we going to begin to get our outfit?"

"We will lose no time about that. But really there is not much to
get--a couple of good rifles and two brace of pistols, with a good
store of ammunition, those clothes you have just bought, and two or
three suits of duck for the voyage. I shan't get any special kit until
we arrive there, and can take the advice of people at Lima whether we
had better travel in European clothes or in those worn by the
Peruvians. Of course saddles and bridles and all that sort of thing we
can buy there, and we shall want a small tent to use when we get into
out-of-the-way places. I shall take three hundred pounds in gold. I
have no doubt we can exchange it into silver profitably; besides, it is
much more handy for carrying about. I shall go down this afternoon and
see Prosser and secure a berth."

"I think you will have to arrange that with the captain. Very few of
our ships have accommodation for passengers, but the captains are
allowed to take one or two if they like."

"All right! At any rate I must go to the office first. They can refer
me to the skipper if they like; that would be better than my going to
him direct."




CHAPTER II

THE START


Harry Prendergast went down to Leadenhall Street and saw the managing
owner of the _Para_. As Bertie had anticipated, Mr. Prosser, after
hearing Harry's statement that he wished to take a passage to Callao in
the vessel advertised to start in a week's time, and that he was much
obliged to them for giving Bertie a berth as supernumerary midshipman,
said:

"We shall certainly have pleasure in putting your brother's name on the
ship's books. He has already explained to me his desire to go out with
you; we have had every reason to be satisfied with him since he entered
our service, and he had better draw pay as usual, as his service during
the voyage will then count towards his time. As for yourself, we do not
book passengers, it is more bother than it is worth; but we have no
objection to our masters taking one or two. The addition of a mouth or
so practically makes very little difference in the amount of ships'
stores consumed. The masters pay us a small sum a head and make their
own terms with the passengers they take. In that way we are saved all
complaints as to food and other matters. Of course a passenger would
put on board for himself a stock of such wines, spirits, and little
luxuries as he may choose.

"You will find Captain Peters down at the docks. The last cargo has
been discharged, and they are giving an overhaul to the rigging and
making a few repairs; he is not a man to leave his ship if he can help
it while work is going on there."

Harry at once went down.

"Well, sir," the captain said, when he had told him that he wished to
take a passage to Callao, and that the owners had referred him to him,
"I had fully made up my mind that I would not take passengers again. On
my last voyage they were always grumbling at the food, expecting to be
treated as if they were in a first-class hotel."

"I am not likely to grumble, Captain; I have been knocking about the
King's service since I was fourteen."

"Oh, you are a royal navy man, are you, sir?"

"I am; I am a lieutenant."

"That makes a difference; and I have no doubt we can arrange the matter
to our satisfaction."

"I may tell you," Harry said, "that I have a younger brother coming out
with me. He is an apprentice nearly out of his time, and was on board
the _Stella_ when she was sunk in the Channel. Your owners have kindly
arranged that he shall go out with you as a supernumerary; that is one
reason why I wish to go in your ship."

The Master thought for a minute or two. "Well, Mr. Prendergast," he
said, "I like having one of you naval gentlemen on board; if anything
goes wrong it is a comfort to have your advice. If we have bad weather
round the Horn, could I rely upon you to give me a helping hand should
I need it? I don't mean that you should keep watch or anything of that
sort, but that you should, as it were, stand by me. I have a new first
mate, and there is no saying how he may turn out. No doubt the firm
would make every enquiry. Still, such enquiries don't mean much; a
master doesn't like to damn a man by refusing to give him a good
character. I dare say he is all right. Still, I should certainly feel
very much more comfortable if I had a naval officer with me. Now, sir,
I pay the firm twelve pounds for each passenger I take as his share of
the cabin stores; you pay me that, and I will ask for nothing for your
passage. I cannot say fairer than that."

"You cannot indeed, Captain, and I feel very much obliged to you for
the offer--very much obliged. It will suit me admirably, and in case of
any emergency you may rely upon my aid; and if you have a spell of bad
weather I shall be quite willing to take a watch, for I know that in
the long heavy gales you meet with going round the Horn the officers
get terribly overtaxed."

"And how about your brother?" the captain said; "as he is to be a
supernumerary, I suppose that only means that the firm are willing that
he shall put in his time for his rating. I have never had a
supernumerary on board, but I suppose he is to be regarded as a
passenger rather than one of the ship's complement."

"No, Captain, he is to be on the pay-sheet; and I think he had much
better be put into a watch. He would find the time hang very heavy on
his hands if he had nothing to do, and I know he is anxious to learn
his profession thoroughly. As he is to be paid, there is no reason why
he should not work."

"Very well; if you think so we will say nothing more about it. I
thought perhaps you would like to have him aft with you."

"I am much obliged to you, but I think the other way will be best; and
I am sure he would feel more comfortable with the other apprentices
than as a passenger."

"Are you going out for long, may I ask you, Mr. Prendergast?"

"For a couple of years or so. I am going to wander about and do some
shooting and exploring and that sort of thing, and I am taking him with
me as companion. I speak Spanish fairly well myself, and shall teach
him on the voyage, if you will allow me to do so. A knowledge of that
language will be an advantage to him when he comes back into Prosser &
Co.'s service."

"A great advantage," the captain agreed. "Most of us speak a little
Spanish, but I have often thought that it would pay the company to send
a man who could talk the lingo well in each ship. They could call him
supercargo, and I am sure he would pay his wages three or four times
over by being able to bargain and arrange with the Chilians and
Peruvians. In ports like Callao, where there is a British consul,
things are all right, but in the little ports we are fleeced right and
left. Boatmen and shopkeepers charge us two or three times as much as
they do their own countrymen, and I am sure that we could get better
bargains in hides and other produce if we had someone who could knock
down their prices."

"When do you sail, Captain?"

"This day week. It will be high tide about eight, and we shall start to
warp out of dock a good half-hour earlier, so you can either come on
board the night before or about seven in the morning."

"Very well, sir; we shall be here in good time. I shall bring my things
on board with me; it is of no use sending them on before, as they will
not be bulky and can be stored away in my cabin."

"This will be your state-room," the captain said, opening a door. "I
have the one aft, and the first mate has the one opposite to you. The
others are empty, so you can stow any baggage that you have in one of
them; the second and third officers and the apprentices are in the
deck-house cabins."

"In that case, Captain, I will send the wine and spirits on board the
day before. Of course I shall get them out of bond; I might have
difficulty in doing that so early in the morning. You will perhaps be
good enough to order them to be stowed in one of the empty cabins."

"That will be the best plan," the captain said.

"When do the apprentices come on board?"

"The morning before we sail. There is always plenty to be done in
getting the last stores on board."

"All right! my brother will be here. Good-morning, Captain, and thank
you!"

The following morning at eleven Harry Prendergast was standing in front
of the entrance to the British Museum. A young lady came up. "It is
very imprudent of you, Harry," she said, after the first greeting, "to
ask me to meet you."

"I could not help it, dear; it was absolutely necessary that I should
see you."

"But it is of no use, Harry."

"I consider that it is of particular use, Hilda."

"But you know, Harry, when you had that very unpleasant talk with my
father, I was called in, and said that I had promised to wait two years
for you. When he found that I would not give way, he promised that he
would not press me, on the understanding that we were not to meet again
except in public, and I all but promised."

"Quite so, dear; but it appears to me that this is surely a public
place."

"No, no, Harry; what he meant was that I was not to meet you except at
parties."

"Well, I should have asked you to meet me to-day even if I had had to
storm your father's house to see you. I am going away, dear, and he
could scarcely say much if he came along and found us talking here. You
see, it was not likely that I should stumble across a fortune in the
streets of London. I have talked the matter over with Barnett--you know
our trustee, you have met him once or twice--and we came to the
conclusion that the only possible chance of my being able to satisfy
your father as to my means, was for me to go to Peru and try to
discover a gold mine there or hidden treasure. Such discoveries have
been made, and may be made again; and he has supplied me with a letter
to an Indian, who may possibly be able to help me."

"To Peru, Harry! Why, they are always fighting there."

"Yes, they do a good deal of squabbling, but the people in general have
little to do with it; and certainly I am not going out to take any part
in their revolutions. There is not a shadow of doubt that a number of
gold mines worked by the old people were never discovered by the
Spaniards, and it is also certain that a great portion of the treasures
of the Incas is still lying hid. Barnett saved the life of a muleteer
out there, and from what he said he believed that the man did know
something about one of these lost mines, and might possibly let me into
the secret. It is just an off chance, but it is the only chance I can
see. You promised your father that you would never marry without his
consent, and he would never give it unless I were a rich man. If
nothing comes of this adventure I shall be no worse off than I am at
present. If I am fortunate enough to discover a rich mine or a hidden
treasure, I shall be in a position to satisfy his demand. I am going to
take Bertie with me; he will be a cheerful companion, and even now he
is a powerful young fellow. At any rate, if I get sick or anything of
that sort, it would be an immense advantage to have him with me."

"I don't like the idea of your going, Harry," she said tearfully.  "No,
dear; and if I had the chance of seeing you sometimes, and of some day
obtaining your father's consent to the marriage, all the gold mines in
Peru would offer no temptation to me. As it is, I can see nothing else
for it. In some respects it is better; if I were to stay here I should
only be meeting you frequently at dances and dinners, never able to
talk to you privately, and feeling always that you could never be mine.
It would be a constant torture. Here is a possibility--a very remote
one, I admit, but still a possibility--and even if it fails I shall
have the satisfaction of knowing that I have done all that a man could
do to win you."

"I think it is best that you should go somewhere, Harry, but Peru seems
to be a horrible place."

"Barnett speaks of it in high terms. You know he was four or five years
out there. He describes the people as being delightful, and he has
nothing to say against the climate."

"I will not try to dissuade you," she said bravely after a pause. "At
present I am hopeless, but I shall have something to hope and pray for
while you are away. We will say good-bye now, dear. I have come to meet
you this once, but I will not do so again, another meeting would but
give us fresh pain. I am very glad to know that your brother is going
with you. I shall not have to imagine that you are ill in some
out-of-the-way place without a friend near you; and in spite of the
dangers you may have to run, I would rather think of you as bravely
doing your best than eating your heart out here in London. I shall not
tell my father that we have met here; you had better write to him and
say that you are leaving London at once, and that you hope in two years
to return and claim me in accordance with his promise. I am sure he
will be glad to know that you have gone, and that we shall not be
constantly meeting. He will be kinder to me than he has been of late,
for as he will think it quite impossible that you can make a fortune in
two years he will be inclined to dismiss you altogether from his mind."

For another half-hour they talked together, and then they parted with
renewed protestations on her part that nothing should induce her to
break her promise to wait for him for two years. He had given her the
address of one of the merchants to whom Mr. Barnett had promised him a
letter of introduction, so that she might from time to time write, for
the voyage would take at least four months and as much more would be
required for his first letter to come back. He walked moodily home
after parting with her.

"Hullo, Harry! nothing wrong with you, I hope? why, you look as grave
as an owl."

"I feel grave, Bertie. I have just said good-bye to Hilda; and though I
kept up my spirits and made the best of this expedition of ours, I
cannot but feel how improbable it is that we shall meet again--that is
to say, in our present relations; for if I fail I certainly shall not
return home for some years; it would be only fair to her that I should
not do so. I know that she would keep on as long as there was any hope,
but I should not care to think that she was wasting her life. I was an
ass to believe it could ever be otherwise, and I feel that the best
thing for us both would have been for me to go away as soon as I found
that I was getting fond of her."

"Well, of course I cannot understand it, Harry, and it seems to me that
one girl is very like another; she may be a bit prettier than the
average, but I suppose that comes to all the same thing in another
twenty years. I can understand a man getting awfully fond of his ship,
especially when she is a clipper. However, some day I may feel
different; besides, how could you tell that her father would turn out
such a crusty old beggar?"

"I suppose I did not think about it one way or the other, Bertie,"
Harry said quietly. "However, the mischief is done, and even if there
was no chance whatever of making money I should go now for my own sake
as well as hers. Well, it is of no use talking more about it; we will
go out now and buy the rifles. I shan't get them new, one can pick up
guns just as good at half the price, and as I know something about
rifles I am not likely to be taken in. Of course I have got my pistols
and only have a brace to buy for you. You will have time on the voyage
to practise with them; if you did not do that you would be as likely to
shoot me as a hostile Indian."

"Oh, that is bosh!" the boy said; "still, I certainly should like to be
a good shot."

After getting the rifles and pistols, Harry went into the city and
ordered six dozen of wine and three dozen of brandy to be sent on board
out of bond; he also ordered a bag of twenty pounds of raw coffee, a
chest of tea, and a couple of dozen bottles of pickles and sauces, to
be sent down to the docks on the day before the _Para_ sailed. Another
suit of seafaring clothes and a stock of underclothing was ordered for
Bertie. Harry spent the intervening time before the vessel sailed in
looking up his friends and saying good-bye to them, and drove down to
the docks at the appointed time, his brother having joined the ship on
the previous day.

The _Para_ was a barque-rigged ship of some eight hundred tons. At
present she did not show to advantage, her deck being littered with
stores of all kinds that had come on board late. The deck planks where
they could be seen were almost black, the sails had been partly loosed
from the gaskets, and to an eye accustomed to the neatness and order of
a man-of-war her appearance was by no means favourable; but her sides
shone with fresh paint, and, looking at her lines from the wharf, Harry
thought she would be both fast and a good sea-boat. She was not heavily
laden, and stood boldly up in the water. Nodding to Bertie, who was
working hard among the men, he went up on to the poop, from which
Captain Peters was shouting orders.

"Glad to see you, sir," the captain said; "she looks rather in a litter
at present, doesn't she? We shall get her all ataunto before we get
down to the Nore. These confounded people won't send their stores on
board till the last moment. If I were an owner I should tell all
shippers that no goods would be received within five or six hours of
the ship's time for sailing; that would give us a fair chance, instead
of starting all in a muddle, just at the time, too, when more than any
other one wants to have the decks free for making short tacks down
these narrow reaches. I believe half the wrecks on the sands at the
mouth of the river are due to the confusion in which the ships start.
How can a crew be lively in getting the yards over when they have to go
about decks lumbered up like this, and half of them are only just
recovering from their bout of drink the day before?"

Up to the last moment everyone on board was hard at work, and when the
order was given to throw off the hawsers the deck was already
comparatively clear. Half an hour later the vessel passed out through
the dock gates, with two boats towing ahead so as to take her well out
into the river; the rest of the crew were employed in letting the sails
drop. As soon as she gathered way the men in the boats were called in,
the boats themselves being towed behind in case they might again be
required.

The passage from the Pool to the mouth of the river was in those days
the most dangerous portion of the voyage. There were no tugs to seize
the ships and carry them down to the open water, while the channels
below the Nore were badly buoyed and lighted, and it was no uncommon
thing for twenty vessels to get upon the sands in the course of a
single tide.

The wind was light, and being northerly helped them well on their way,
and it was only in one or two reaches that the _Para_ was unable to lay
her course. She overtook many craft that had been far ahead of her, and
answered the helm quickly.

"She is both fast and handy, I see," Harry Prendergast, who had been
watching her movements with interest, remarked.

"Yes; there are not many craft out of London can show her their heels
when the wind is free. She does not look quite so well into the wind as
I should wish; still, I think she is as good as most of them."

"I suppose you will get down to Gravesend before the tide turns?"

"Yes, we shall anchor there. The wind is not strong enough for us to
stem the tide, which runs like a sluice there. Once past the Nore one
can do better, but there is no fighting the tide here unless one has a
steady breeze aft. I never feel really comfortable till we are fairly
round the South Foreland; after that it is plain sailing enough. Though
there are a few shoals in the Channel, one can give them a wide berth;
fogs are the things we have to fear there."

"Yes. I have never been down the river, having always joined my ships
either at Portsmouth or Plymouth, so I know very little about it; but I
know from men who have been on board vessels commissioned at Chatham or
Sheerness that they are thankful indeed when they once get round the
Goodwins and head west."

"Well, Mr. Prendergast, I am against these new-fangled steamboats--I
suppose every true sailor is; but when the _Marjory_ began to run
between London and Gravesend eighteen years ago--in '15 I think it
was--folks did say that it would not be long before sailing craft would
be driven off the sea. I did not believe that then, and I don't believe
it now; but I do say that I hope before long there will be a lot of
small steamers on the Thames, to tow vessels down till they are off the
North Foreland. It would be a blessing and a comfort to us master
mariners. Once there we have the choice of going outside the Goodwins,
or taking a short cut inside if the wind is aft. Why, sir, it would add
years to our lives and shorten voyages by weeks. There we are, now,
sometimes lying off the Nore, five hundred sail, waiting for the wind
to shift out of the east, and when we do get under weigh we have always
to keep the lead going. One never knows when one may bump upon the
sands. Some masters will grope their way along in the dark, but for my
part I always anchor. There are few enough buoys and beacons in
daytime, but I consider that it is tempting Providence to try and go
down in a dark night. The owners are sensible men and they know that it
is not worth while running risks just to save a day or two when you
have got a four months' voyage before you. Once past Dover I am ready
to hold on with anyone, but between the Nore and the North Foreland I
pick my way as carefully as a woman going across a muddy street."

"You are quite right, Captain; I thoroughly agree with you. More ships
get ashore going down to the mouth of the Thames than in any other part
of the world; and, as you say, if all sailing ships might be taken down
by a steamer, it would be the making of the port of London."

"Your brother is a smart young chap, Mr. Prendergast. I was watching
him yesterday, and he is working away now as if he liked work. He has
the makings of a first-rate sailor. I hold that a man will never become
a first-class seaman unless he likes work for its own sake. There are
three sorts of hands. There is the fellow who shirks his work whenever
he has a chance; there is the man who does his work, but who does it
because he has to do it, and always looks glad when a job is over; and
there is the lad who jumps to his work, chucks himself right into it,
and puts his last ounce of strength on a rope. That is the fellow who
will make a good officer, and who, if needs be, can set an example to
the men when they have to go aloft to reef a sail in a stiff gale. So,
as I understand, Mr. Prendergast, he is going to leave the sea for a
bit. It seems a pity too."

"He will be none the worse for it, Captain. A year or so knocking about
among the mountains of Peru will do more good to him than an equal time
on board ship. It will sharpen him up, and give him habits of reliance
and confidence. He will be all the better for it afterwards, even
putting aside the advantage it will be to him to pick up Spanish."

"Yes, it may do him good," the captain agreed, "if it does not take
away his liking for the sea."

"I don't think it will do that. If the first voyage or two don't sicken
a lad, I think it is pretty certain he is cut out for the sea. Of
course it is a very hard life at first, especially if the officers are
a rough lot, but when a boy gets to know his duty things go more easily
with him; he is accustomed to the surroundings, and takes to the food,
which you know is not always of the best, with a good appetite. Bertie
has had three years of it now, and when he has come home I have never
heard a grumble from him; and he is not likely to meet with such
luxuries while we are knocking about as to make him turn up his nose at
salt junk."

The tide was already turning when they reached Gravesend. As soon as
the anchor was down the steward came up to say that dinner was ready.

"I am not at all sorry," Harry said as he went below with the captain.
"I ate a good breakfast before I started at half-past six, and I went
below and had a biscuit and bottle of beer at eleven, but I feel as
hungry as a hunter now. There is nothing like a sea appetite. I have
been nearly two years on shore, and I never enjoyed a meal as I do at
sea."

The crew had been busy ever since they left the dock, and the deck had
now been scrubbed and made tidy, and presented a very different
appearance from that which met Harry's eye as he came on board.

Johnson, the first mate, also dined with the skipper. He was a tall,
powerfully-built man. He was singularly taciturn, and took no share in
the conversation unless directly asked. He seemed, however, to be able
to appreciate a joke, but never laughed audibly, contenting himself
with drawing his lips apart and showing his teeth.

The wind was light and baffling, so that they did not round the South
Foreland until the seventh day after leaving dock. After that it was
favourable and steady, and they ran without any change until they
approached the line; then there was a fortnight of calm. At last they
got the wind again, and made a rapid run until within five hundred
miles of Cape Horn. The captain was in high glee.

"We have done capitally so far, Mr. Prendergast. I don't think I ever
made so rapid a run. If she goes on like this we shall reach Callao
within three months of starting."

"I don't think the weather will continue like this," the mate said.

This was the first original observation he had made since he had
sailed, and Harry and the captain looked at him in surprise.

"You think there is going to be a change, Mr. Johnson?" the captain
said, after a short pause to recover from his astonishment.

The mate nodded.

"Glass falling, sky hazy."

"Is the glass falling? I am ashamed to say I have not looked at it for
the past twenty-four hours. It has stuck so long at the same point that
I have quite ceased to look at it two or three times a day as I usually
do."

"It has not fallen much, but it is sinking."

The captain got up from the table, and went to look at the glass.

"You are right, it has fallen a good eighth; but that may mean a change
of wind. Did you notice any change, Mr. Prendergast?"

"No, I can't say that I did. I looked up, as a sailor always does, when
I was on deck this morning, but it was clear enough then, and I have
not noticed it particularly since."

But when they went up on deck half an hour later both agreed that the
mate was right. The change overhead was slight, but away to the west a
dull reddish mist seemed to obscure the horizon.

"We will get the upper sails off at once, Mr. Johnson. These storms
come so suddenly off the coast that it is as well to lose no time in
shortening sail when one sees any indication of such a change."

The mate at once gave the necessary orders. The sailors started up with
looks of surprise.

"Look sharp, men!" the mate said. "We shall have wind, and plenty of
it. It will be here before long."

The men, who were by no means sorry for a spell of work after going so
long without shifting sail or tack, worked hard, and the white sheets
of canvas were soon snugly furled. By this time all the sailors who had
been to sea for any time recognized the utility of their work. The low
bank had risen and extended the whole width of the western horizon.

"What do you think, Mr. Prendergast? Have we got enough off her?"

"I don't know about your storms here, Captain; but if it were in the
Levant I should get every stitch of canvas off her excepting
closely-reefed topsails, a storm jib, and fore stay-sail. The first
burst over, one can always shake out more canvas. However, you know
these seas, and I do not."

"I think you are right. These pamperos, as we call them, are not to be
trifled with."

"In that case there is no time to be lost, Captain, and with your
permission I will lend a hand."

"All hands take in sail!" the captain shouted.

The mate led the way up the starboard shrouds, while Harry, throwing
off his coat, mounted those to port, closely followed by Bertie. Five
minutes' hard work, and the _Para_ was stripped for the struggle.

"That is a good job done," the skipper said to Harry as he reached the
deck.

"A very good job, sir. The wind may come, but we are prepared for it;
there is nothing like being ready in time."

"She is in good trim for it," said the captain, "not above two-thirds
laden, and as the wind is off the land, there is nothing to worry us
except the Falklands. I shall go outside them. Of course that will
lengthen the voyage, but with this westerly wind I should not care
about being between them and the mainland. You think the same, Mr.
Prendergast?"

"I do, sir; they are a scattered group, and it would not be pleasant to
have them under lee."

It had grown sensibly darker, but the line of mist had not risen
higher. Harry remarked upon this.

"I almost doubt whether it is coming after all," he said.

The captain shook his head.

"It does not spread over the sky," he said, "because it is largely dust
blown off the land. After the first burst you will see that we shall
have a bright blue sky and a roaring wind, just as one gets it
sometimes in an easterly gale in the Channel. We shall have it in
another five minutes, I fancy. I don't think it will be very strong, or
we should have had it here before this."

It was not long before a dull, moaning sound was heard, the brown-red
fog changed its appearance, swirls of vapour seemed to dash out in
front of it, and the whole swelled and heaved as if it were being
pushed forward by some tremendous pressure in its rear.

The ship's head was pointing nearly east, the canvas hung down
motionless, and there was not a breath of wind.

"Hold on all!" the captain shouted. Half a minute later the billowly
clouds swept across the vessel, and a sudden darkness overspread them.
Then there was a glow of white light, a line of foam approached as
fleet as a race-horse, and with a shriek the gale was upon them. The
vessel shook from stem to stern as if she had struck against a rock,
and her bow was pressed down lower and lower until she seemed as if she
were going to dive head-foremost. But as she gathered way, her bow
rose, and in a minute she was flying along at some eighteen knots an
hour.

"She is all right now, Mr. Prendergast," the captain said. "It is well
we stripped her so thoroughly, and that she is not heavily laden."

Four men had been placed at the wheel, and it needed all their strength
to keep her from yawing. In half an hour the sea began to get up, and
the captain laid her course south-east, which put the wind on her
quarter.

"It is well we were not a degree or so farther south, Captain."

"Yes; it would have been as much as we could do to weather the
Falklands; for with this small amount of sail we should have made a
terrible amount of leeway. As it is, all is fair sailing."

The darkness gradually passed away, and in an hour after the gale had
struck her the _Para_ was sailing under a bright blue sky. Although but
few points off the wind, she was lying down till her lee scuppers were
under water. The spray was flying over her sparkling in the sun; the
sailors were crouched under the weather bulwark, lashed to
belaying-pins and stanchions to prevent themselves from shifting down
to leewards. Six hours later it was evident that there was some slight
diminution in the force of the wind.

"She is going about fourteen knots now," the captain said; "we can head
her more to the south. We must be nearly abreast of the islands, and
according to my reckoning forty or fifty miles to the east of them."

It was now dark, and the watch was sent below.

"To-morrow morning we shall be able to get some more sail on her," the
master said, "and I hope by the next morning the squall will be over,
for we shall then have made our southing, and the wind will be right in
our teeth when we turn her head west. There is no saying which way it
will come when the squall dies out. What do you think, Johnson?"

"We are pretty sure to get it hot from one quarter or another," the man
said. "I should say most likely from the south."

"Except for the cold that would be better than west," Harry remarked.

"Yes, if it is not too strong; but it is likely to be strong. After
such a gale as we have had, it seldom settles down for some time. As
like as not there will be bad weather for the next month."

The next morning when Harry went on deck he saw that the reefs had been
shaken out of the topsails and the spanker hoisted. There was still a
fresh wind, but it had backed round more to the south, and there was so
sharp a nip in it that he went below and put on a pea-jacket. Then he
beckoned to Bertie, who was off duty, to join him on the poop.

"That has been a smart blow, Bertie."

"Yes, but I had it worse than that the last time I came round the Horn.
I think we shall be shortening sail again before long. The clouds are
banking up to the south-west. She is a good sea-boat, isn't she?"

"She has behaved uncommonly well. We shall want all our clothes before
night, Bertie. It was May when we started, and it is nearly mid-winter
down here."

"There is one thing, we shan't have so much risk of coming across
drifting icebergs, most of them will be frozen up hard and fast down in
the south. They don't matter much when the weather is clear, but if it
is thick one has an awful time of it. On my first voyage it was like
that, and I tell you I didn't think I was going to see England again.
We had some desperately close shaves."

The wind speedily freshened, and by evening the ship was under
close-reefed canvas again. The clouds were flying fast overhead and the
air was thick. Before the evening watch was set the ship was brought
round on the other tack, and was running to the east of south.

"We will lie on this course till morning, Mr. Prendergast," said the
captain, "and then if the wind holds, I think we shall be able to make
a long leg and weather the Horn."

For six days the storm raged with unabated violence. The cold was
intense, the spray breaking over the bows froze as it fell, and the
crew were engaged for hours at a time in breaking up the masses of ice
thus formed. Harry had volunteered to take a watch in turn with the
first and second mates. The captain was almost continuously on deck.
Twice they encountered icebergs, and once in a driving snow-storm
nearly ran foul of one. Fortunately it was daylight, and the whole crew
being on deck, they were able to put the vessel about just in time.
During this time the vessel had only gained a few miles' westing. All
on board were utterly exhausted with the struggle against the bitter
wind; their hands were sore and bleeding through pulling upon frozen
ropes, their faces inflamed, and their eyelids so swollen and sore that
they could scarcely see. Then the wind began to abate, and more sail
being got on the _Para_, she was able to lie her course.




CHAPTER III

AT LIMA


Three days later the sky cleared, and the captain, getting an
observation, found that they had rounded the southernmost point of the
Cape. Another day and the _Para's_ head was turned north, and a week
later they were running smoothly along before a gentle breeze, with the
coast of Chili twenty miles away. The heavy wraps had all been laid
aside, and although the air was still frosty, the crew felt it warm
after what they had endured. The upper spars and yards had all been
sent up, and she was now carrying a crowd of canvas. The mate had
thawed out under the more congenial surroundings. He had worked like a
horse during the storm, setting an example, whether in going aloft or
in the work of clearing off the ice from the bows, and even when his
watch was relieved he seldom went below.

"Well, I hope, Mr. Johnson, we shall sail together until you get your
next step," the captain said. "I could not wish for a better first
officer."

"I want nothing better, sir. She is a fine ship, well manned and well
commanded. I begin to feel at home in her now; at first I didn't. I
hate changes; and though the last captain I sailed with was a surly
fellow, we got on very well together. I would rather sail with a man
like that than with a skipper who is always talking. I am a silent man
myself, and am quite content to eat my meal and enjoy it, without
having to stop every time I am putting my fork into my mouth to answer
some question or other. I was once six months up in the north without
ever speaking to a soul. I was whaling then, and a snow-storm came on
when we were fast on to a fish. It was twenty-four hours before it
cleared off, and when it did there was no ship to be seen. We were in
an inlet at the time in Baffin's Bay. We thought that the ship would
come back, and we landed and hauled up the boat. The ship didn't come
back, and, as I learned long afterwards, was never heard of again. I
suppose she got nipped between two icebergs.

"Winter was coming on fast, and the men all agreed that they would
rather try and make their way south overland than stay there. I told
them that they were fools, but I admit that the prospect of a winter
there was enough to frighten any man. I did not like it myself, but I
thought it was wiser to remain there than to move. Some of the men went
along the shore, or out in the boat, and managed to kill several
sea-cows. They made a sledge, piled the meat on it, and started.

"Meanwhile I had been busy building a sort of hut. I piled great stones
against the foot of the cliffs, and turned the boat upside down to form
a roof. The men helped me to do that job the last thing before they
started. Then I blocked up the entrance, leaving only just room for me
to crawl in and out. The snow began to fall steadily three days after
the others had gone, and very soon covered my hut two feet deep. I
melted the blubber of the whale in the boat's baler, for we had towed
the fish ashore. The first potful or two I boiled over a few bits of
drift-wood. After that it was easy enough, as I unravelled some of the
boat's rope, dipped it in the hot blubber, and made a store of big
candles. There was a lot of meat left on the sea-cows, so I cut that
up, froze it, and stowed as much as I could in the hut. I was bothered
about the rest, as I knew the bears were likely to come down; but I
found a ledge on the face of the perpendicular rock, and by putting the
boat's mast against it I was able to get up to it. Here I piled, I
should say, a ton of meat and blubber. Then I set to work and collected
some dried grass, and soon I had enough to serve as bed and covers. It
took me a month to do all this, and by that time winter was down on me
in earnest. I had spent my evenings in making myself, out of the skins
of the three cows, breeches, high boots, and a coat with a hood over
the head, and in order to make these soft I rubbed them with hot oil.
They were rough things, but I hoped that I might get a bear later on.
Fortunately the boat had two balers, for I required one in which to
melt the snow over the lamp.

"Well, sir, I lived there during that winter. I did not find it
altogether dull, for I had several bits of excitement. For a month or
so bears and wolves came down and fought over the carcass of the whale.
When that was eaten up they turned their attention to me, and over and
over again they tried to break in. They had better have left me alone,
for though they were strong enough to have pulled away the rocks that
blocked the entrance, they could not stand fire. As I had any amount of
rope, I used to soak it in rock-oil, set it on fire, and shove it out
of the entrance. Twice small bears managed to wriggle up the passage,
but I had sharpened the boat-hook and managed to kill them both. One
skin made me a whole suit, and the other a first-rate blanket. Not that
it was ever unpleasantly cold, for a couple of my big candles, and the
thick coating of snow over it, kept the place as warm as I cared for.
Occasionally, when the bears had cleared off, I went out, climbed the
mast, and got fresh supplies down. They had made desperate efforts to
get at the meat, but the face of the rock was luckily too smooth for
them to get any hold. When spring came and the ice broke up, I planted
the mast on the top of the cliff with the sail fastened as a flag, and
a month after the sea was clear a whaler came in and took me off. That
was how I pretty well lost the use of my tongue, and though I am better
than I was, I don't use it much now except on duty."

"That certainly accounts for it," Harry said; "you must have had an
awful time."

"I don't think I minded it very much, sir. Except when I was bothered
by the bears I slept a good lot. I think at first I used to talk out
loud a good deal. But I soon dropped that, though I used to whistle
sometimes when I was cooking the food. I don't think I should have held
on so long if I had only had the sea-cow flesh, but the bears made a
nice change, and I only wished that one or two more had managed to
crawl in."

"I wonder you were able to kill them with a boat-hook."

"I didn't, sir. You know every whaler carries an axe to cut the line if
necessary, and I was able to split their skulls as they crawled in
before they could get fairly on to their feet and use their paws. I was
getting very weak with scurvy towards the end; but as soon as the snow
melted plants began to shoot, and I was able to collect green stuff, so
that I was nearly well by the time I was picked up."

The weather continued fine all the time they were coasting up the
Chilian coast. They were a week at Valparaiso getting out the cargo
they had brought for that town, and did some trading at smaller ports;
but at last, just four months after leaving England, they dropped
anchor off Callao. "Well, it has been a jolly voyage, Harry," his
brother said as they were rowed ashore, after a hearty farewell from
the captain and the first officer.

"I am glad you enjoyed it, Bertie. I was sorry all the time I hadn't
taken a passage for you aft."

"I am better pleased to have been at work; it would have been awfully
slow otherwise. The mates were both good fellows, and I got on well
with the other apprentices. I tried at first not to turn out on night
watch, as I was not obliged to do so, but I soon gave it up; it seemed
disgusting to be lying there when the others had to turn out. It has
been a jolly voyage, but I am glad that we are here at last, and are
going to set to work in search of treasures."

"I had begun to think that we should not get on shore to-day," Harry
said as they neared the landing-place. "What with three hours' waiting
for the medical officer, and another three for that bumptious official
whom they call the port officer, and without whose permission no one is
allowed to land, I think everyone on board was so disgusted that we
should have liked nothing better than to pitch the fellow overboard. It
was rather amusing to watch all those boatmen crowding round shouting
the praises of their own craft and running down the others. But a
little of it goes a long way. It is the same pretty nearly at every
port I have entered. Boatmen are harpies of the worst kind. It is lucky
that we had so little baggage; a tip of a couple of dollars was enough
to render the custom-house officer not only civil but servile."

As they mounted the steps they were assailed by a motley crowd, half of
whom struggled to get near them to hold out their hands for alms, while
the other half struggled and fought for the right of carrying their
baggage. Accustomed to such scenes, Harry at once seized upon two of
them, gave them the portmanteaux, and, keeping behind them, pushed them
through the crowd, telling them to lead the way to the hotel that the
captain had recommended as being the least filthy in the place. They
crossed a square covered with goods of all kinds. There were long rows
of great jars filled with native spirit, bales of cinchona bark, piles
of wheat from Chili, white and rose-coloured blocks of salt, pyramids
of unrefined sugar, and a block of great bars of silver; among these
again were bales and boxes landed from foreign countries, logs of
timber, and old anchors and chains. Numbers of people who appeared to
have nothing to do sauntered about or sat on logs. In odd corners were
native women engaged in making the picanties upon which the poor
largely exist; these were composed of fresh and salt meat, potatoes,
crabs, the juice of bitter oranges, lard, salt, and an abundance of
pepper pods.

"That is the sort of thing we shall have to eat, Bertie."

"Well, I should not mind if I had not got to look on at the making;
they smell uncommonly good."

The hotel was larger and even more dirty than the captain's description
had led them to expect. However, the dinner that was served to them was
better than they had looked for, and being very hungry after their long
wait, they did full justice to it.

"It might have been a good deal worse, Bertie."

"I should think so; after four months of salt junk it is splendid!"

A cup of really good coffee, followed by a little glass of native
spirits, added to their satisfaction. They had hesitated before whether
to push on at once to Lima or wait there till next morning. Their meal
decided them--they would start at daybreak, so as to get to Lima before
the sun became really hot. Harry asked the landlord to bargain for two
riding mules and one for baggage to be ready at that hour, and they
then strolled out to view the place, although Bertie assured his
brother that there was nothing whatever to see in it.

"That may be, Bertie; but we are not going to begin by being lazy.
There is always something to see in foreign lands by those who keep
their eyes open."

After an hour's walk Harry was inclined to think that his brother was
right. The houses were generally constructed of canes, plastered with
mud, and painted yellow. As the result of earthquakes, scarce a house
stood upright--some leaned sideways, and looked as if they were going
to topple over into the road; while others leaned back, as if, were you
to push against them, they would collapse and crush the inmates.

Their night was not a pleasant one. The beds were simple, consisting
only of hides stretched across wooden frames, but, as they very
speedily found, there were numerous other inhabitants. They therefore
slept but little, and were heartily glad when the first gleam of dawn
appeared.

Slipping on their clothes, they ran down to the shore and had a bath.
By the time they returned breakfast was ready--coffee, fish, and eggs.
The mules did not appear for another hour, by which time their patience
was all but exhausted. The portmanteaux were speedily strapped on to
the back of the baggage mule, and they mounted the two others. The
muleteer had brought one for himself, and, fastening the baggage animal
behind it, they started.

It was six miles to Lima, but as the city is five hundred and twelve
feet above the sea, the ascent was steady and somewhat steep. The road
was desperately bad, and the country uninteresting, being for the most
part dried up. Occasionally they saw great mounds of adobe bricks, the
remains of the ancient habitations. As they neared the town vegetation
became general, small canals irrigating the country. Here were fruit
and vegetable gardens, with oranges, plantains, vines, and flowers.

Passing through a gate in the walls they entered the town, which
afforded a pleasant contrast to the squalid misery of Callao. The city,
however, could not be called imposing; the houses were low and
irregular, fantastically painted in squares or stripes, and almost all
had great balconies shut in with trellis-work.

Few of the houses had any windows towards the street, the larger ones
being constructed with a central courtyard, into which the rooms all
opened. The streets were all built at right angles, the principal ones
leading from the grand square, in which stood the cathedral and the
palace of the Spanish viceroys, the other sides consisting of private
houses, with shops and arcades below them. The hotel to which they had
been recommended was a large building with a courtyard, with dining and
other rooms opening from it, and above them the bedrooms. In comparison
with the inn at Callao it was magnificent, but in point of cleanliness
it left a great deal to be desired. After settling themselves in their
room they went out. The change in temperature since they had left
Callao had been very great.

"The first thing to do, Bertie, is to buy ourselves a couple of good
ponchos. You see all the natives are wearing them."

"We certainly want something of the sort, Harry. I thought it was heat
that we were going to suffer from, but it seems just the other way. To
judge from the temperature we might be in Scotland, and this damp mist
chills one to the bone."

"I am not much surprised, for of course I got the subject up as much as
I could before starting; and Barnett told me that Lima was altogether
an exceptional place, and that while it was bright and warm during the
winter months, from May till November on the plains only a few miles
away, even in the summer months there was almost always a clammy mist
at Lima, and that inside the house as well as outside everything
streamed with moisture. He said that this had never been satisfactorily
accounted for. Some say that it is due to the coldness of the river
here--the Rimac--which comes down from the snowy mountains. Others
think that the cold wind that always blows down the valley of the river
meets the winds from the sea here, and the moisture contained in them
is thus precipitated. I believe that a few miles higher up we shall get
out of this atmosphere altogether. Still, the ponchos will be very
useful, for it will be really cold up in the mountains. They serve for
cloaks in the daytime and blankets at night. The best are made of the
wool of the guanacos, a sort of llama. Their wool is very fine, and
before we start we will get two of coarser wool to use as blankets to
sleep on, while we have the finer ones to cover us."

There was no difficulty in finding a shop with the goods they wanted,
and the prices, even of the best, were very moderate. They next bought
two soft felt hats with broad brims.

"That is ever so much more comfortable. We will wait until to-morrow
before we begin what we may call business, Bertie. Of course I shall
deliver the other letters of introduction that Mr. Barnett gave me; but
the principal one--that to his former muleteer--is more important than
all put together. If anything has happened to him, there is an end of
any chance whatever of finding treasure. Of course he may have moved
away, or be absent on a journey with his mules, in which case we shall
have either to follow him or wait for his return."

"That would be a frightful nuisance."

"Yes; still, it is one of the things that we foresaw might happen."

"I vote we go at once, Harry, and see if he is here."

"I don't think we shall find him here; for Barnett said that he lived
in the village of Miraflores, five miles away on the north, and that if
he is not there, Señor Pasquez, to whom I have a letter, will be likely
to tell me where he is to be found, for he is often employed by him.
However, I am as anxious as you to see him. As it is only eleven
o'clock yet, there is no reason why we should not go to Miraflores.
They will get mules for us at the hotel, and tell us which road to
take."

It was not necessary, however, to go into the hotel, for when they
returned, two or three men with mules were waiting to be hired. They
engaged two animals, and as the man of whom they hired them had a
third, and he was ready to accompany them for a small fee, they agreed
to take him with them.

Before they were a mile out of the town the mist cleared off and the
sun shone brightly. The heat, however, was by no means too great to be
pleasant. Miraflores was a charming village, or rather small town,
nestling among gardens and orchards.

"I want to find a muleteer named Dias Otero," Harry said to their guide
as they rode into the place.

"I know him well," he said. "Everyone about here knows Dias. His wife
was a cousin of my mother's."

"Do you know whether he is at home now?"

"Yes, señor; I saw him in Lima three days ago. He had just come down
from the mountains. He had been away two months, and certainly will not
have started again so soon. Shall I lead you to his house at once?"

"Do so; it is to see him that I have come to this town. He worked for a
long time with a friend of mine some years ago, and I have brought a
message from him. I may be some time talking with him, so when I go in
you can tie up your mules for a while."

"That is his house," the man said presently.

It lay in the outskirts of the town, and was neater than the generality
of houses, and the garden was a mass of flowers. They dismounted,
handed over the mules to their owner, and walked to the door. An Indian
of some five-and-forty years came out as they did so.

"Are you Dias Otero?" Harry asked.

"The same, señor."

"I have just arrived from England, and bring a letter to you from Señor
Barnett, with whom you travelled for two or three years some time ago."

The man's face lit up with pleasure. "Will you enter, señor. Friends of
Señor Barnett may command my services in any way. It is a delight to
hear from him. He writes to me sometimes, but in these troubles letters
do not always come. I love the señor; there never was a kinder master.
He once saved my life at the risk of his own. Is there any hope of his
coming out again?"

"I do not think so, Dias. He is strong and well, but I do not think he
is likely to start again on a journey of exploration. He is my greatest
friend. My brother and I were left under his charge when we were young,
and he has been almost a father to us. It is he who has sent us out to
you. Here is his letter."

"Will you read it to me, señor. I cannot read; I am always obliged to
get somebody to read my letters, and write answers for me."

The letter was of course in Spanish, and Harry read:

"Dear friend Dias,

"I am sending out to you a gentleman, Mr. Prendergast, an officer of
the British Navy, in whom I am deeply interested. His brother
accompanies him. I beg that you will treat them as you would me, and
every service you can render him consider as rendered to myself. From a
reason which he will no doubt explain to you in time, it is of the
deepest importance to him that he should grow rich in the course of the
next two years. He asked my advice, and I said to him, 'There is no one
I know of who could possibly put you in the way of so doing better than
my friend Dias Otero. I believe it is in his power to do so if he is
willing.' I also believe that for my sake you will aid him. He will
place himself wholly in your hands. He does not care what danger he
runs, or what hardships he has to go through in order to attain his
purpose. I know that I need not say more to you. He has two years
before him; long before that I am sure you will be as interested in him
as you were in me. He has sufficient means to pay all expenses of
travel for the time he will be out there. I know that you are descended
from nobles of high rank at the court of the Incas when the Spaniards
arrived, and that secrets known to but few were passed down from father
to son in your family. If you can use any of those secrets to the
advantage of my friend, I pray you most earnestly to do so. I trust
that this letter will find you and your good wife in health. Had I been
ten years younger I would have come out with my friends to aid them in
their adventure, but I know that in putting them into your hands I
shall be doing them a vastly greater service than I could do were I
able to come in person."

When Harry ceased, the Indian sat for some time without speaking, then
he said:

"It is a matter that I must think over, señor. It is a very grave one,
and had any other man than Señor Barnett asked this service of me no
money could have tempted me to assent to it. It is not only that my
life would be in danger, but that my name would be held up to
execration by all my people were I to divulge the secret that even the
tortures of the Spaniards could not wring from us. I must think it over
before I answer. I suppose you are staying at the Hotel Morin; I will
call and see you when I have thought the matter over. It is a grave
question, and it may be three or four days before I can decide."

"I thank you, Dias; but there is no occasion for you to give a final
decision now. Whether or no, we shall travel for a while, and I trust
that you will go with us with your mules and be our guide, as you did
to Mr. Barnett. It will be time enough when you know us better to give
us a final answer; it is not to be expected that even for Señor
Barnett's sake you would do this immense service for strangers,
therefore I pray you to leave the matter open. Make arrangements for
your mules and yourself for a three months' journey in the mountains,
show us what there is to see of the gold and silver placers, and the
quicksilver mines at Huanuco. At the end of that time you will know us
and can say whether you are ready to aid us in our search."

The native bowed his head gravely.

"I will think it over," he said; "and now, señors, let us put that
aside. My wife has been busy since you entered in preparing a simple
meal, and I ask you to honour me by partaking of it."

"With pleasure, Dias."

It consisted of _puchero_, a stew consisting of a piece of beef,
cabbage, sweet-potatoes, salt pork, sausage-meat, pigs' feet, yuccas,
bananas, quinces, peas, rice, salt, and an abundance of Chili peppers.
This had been cooked for six hours and was now warmed up. Two bottles
of excellent native wine, a flask of spirits, and some water were also
put on the table. The Indian declined to sit down with them, saying
that he had taken a meal an hour before.

While they ate he chatted with them, asking questions of their voyage
and telling them of the state of things in the country.

"It is always the same, señors, there is a revolution and two or three
battles; then either the president or the one who wants to be president
escapes from the country or is taken and shot, and in a day or two
there is a fresh pronunciamiento. We thought that when the Spaniards
had been driven out we should have had peace, but it is not so; we have
had San Martin, and Bolivar, and Aguero, and Santa Cruz, and Sucre.
Bolivar again finally defeated the Spaniards at Ayacucho. Rodil held
possession of Callao castle, and defended it until January of this
year. We in the villages have not suffered--those who liked fighting
went out with one or other of the generals; some have returned, others
have been killed--but Lima has suffered greatly. Sometimes the people
have taken one side, sometimes the other, and though the general they
supported was sometimes victorious for a short time, in the end they
suffered. Most of the old Spanish families perished; numbers died in
the castle of Callao, where many thousands of the best blood of Lima
took refuge, and of these well-nigh half died of hunger and misery
before Rodil surrendered."

"But does not this make travelling very unsafe?"

The Indian shrugged his shoulders.

"Peru is a large country, señor, and those who want to keep out of the
way of the armies and lighting can do so; I myself have continued my
occupation and have never fallen in with the armies. That is because
the fighting is principally in the plains, or round Cuzco; for the men
do not go into the mountains except as fugitives, as they could not
find food there for an army. It is these fugitives who render the road
somewhat unsafe; starving men must take what they can get. They do not
interfere with the great silver convoys from Potosi or other mines--a
loaf of bread is worth more than a bar of silver in the mountains--but
they will plunder persons coming down with goods to the town or going
up with their purchases. Once or twice I have had to give up the food I
carried with me, but I have had little to grumble at, and I do not
think you need trouble yourself about them; we will take care to avoid
them as far as possible."

After chatting for an hour they left the cottage, and, mounting their
mules, returned to Lima.

"I think he will help us, Harry," Bertie said as soon as they set out.

"I think so too, but we must not press him to begin with. Of course
there is a question too as to how far he can help us. He may know
vaguely where the rich mines once existed; but you must remember that
they have been lost for three hundred years, and it may be impossible
for even a man who has received the traditions as to their positions to
hit upon the precise spot. The mountains, you see, are tremendous;
there must be innumerable ravines and gorges among them. It is certain
that nothing approaching an accurate map can ever have been made of the
mountains, and I should say that in most cases the indications that may
have been given are very vague. They would no doubt have been
sufficient for those who lived soon after the money was hidden, and
were natives of that part of the country and thoroughly acquainted with
all the surroundings, but when the information came to be handed down
from mouth to mouth during many generations, the local knowledge would
be lost, and what were at first detailed instructions would become
little better than vague legends. You know how three hundred years will
alter the face of a country--rocks roll down the hills, torrents wash
away the soil, forests grow or are cleared away. I believe with you
that the Indian will do his best, but I have grave doubts whether he
will be able to locate any big thing."

"Well, you don't take a very cheerful view of things, Harry; you
certainly seemed more hopeful when we first started."

"Yes. I don't say I am not hopeful still, but it is one thing to plan
out an enterprise at a distance and quite another when you are face to
face with its execution. As we have come down the coast, and seen that
great range of mountains stretching along for hundreds of miles, and we
know that there is another quite as big lying behind it, I have begun
to realize the difficulties of the adventures that we are undertaking.
However, we shall hear, when Dias comes over to see us, what he thinks
of the matter. I fancy he will say that he is willing to go with us and
help us as far as he can, but that although he will do his best he
cannot promise that he will be able to point out, with anything like
certainty, the position of any of the old mines."

Next day they called on Señor Pasquez, who received them very cordially.

"So you are going to follow the example of Señor Barnett and spend some
time in exploring the country and doing some shooting. Have you found
Dias?"

"Yes, señor, and I think he will go with us, though he has not given a
positive answer."

"You will be fortunate if you get him; he is one of the best-known
muleteers in the country, and if anyone comes here and wants a guide
Dias is sure to be the first to be recommended. If he goes with you he
can give you much useful advice; he knows exactly what you will have to
take with you, the best districts to visit for your purpose, and the
best way of getting there. For the rest, I shall be very happy to take
charge of any money you may wish to leave behind, and to act as your
banker and cash any orders you may draw upon me. I will also receive
and place to your account any sums that may be sent you from England."

"That, sir, is a matter which Mr. Barnett advised me to place in your
hands. After making what few purchases we require, and taking fifty
pounds in silver, I shall have two hundred and fifty pounds to place in
your hands. Mr. Barnett will manage my affairs in my absence, and will
send to you fifty pounds quarterly."

"You will find difficulty in spending it all in two years," the
merchant said with a smile. "If you are content to live on what can be
bought in the country, it costs very little; and as for the mules, they
can generally pick up enough at their halting-places to serve them,
with a small allowance of grain. You can hire them cheaply, or you can
buy them. The latter is cheaper in the end, but you cannot be sure of
getting mules accustomed to mountains, and you would therefore run the
risk of their losing their foothold, and not only being dashed to
pieces but destroying their saddles and loads. However, if you secure
the services of Dias Otero, you will get mules that know every path in
the mountains. He is famous for his animals, and he himself is
considered the most trusty muleteer here; men think themselves lucky in
obtaining his services. I would send him with loads of uncounted gold
and should be sure that there would not be a piece missing."

Next day Dias came to the hotel.

"I have thought it over, señor," he said. "I need not say that were it
only ordinary service, instead of exploring the mountains, I should be
glad indeed to do my best for a friend of Señor Barnett; but as to the
real purpose of your journey I wish, before making any arrangement,
that the matter should be thoroughly understood. I have no certain
knowledge whatever as to any of the lost mines, still less of any
hidden treasures; but I know all the traditions that have passed down
concerning them. I doubt whether any Indians now possess a certain
knowledge of these things. For generations, no doubt, the secrets were
handed down from father to son, and it is possible that some few may
still know of these places; but I doubt it. Think of the hundreds and
thousands of our people who have been killed in battle, or died as
slaves in the mines, and you will see that numbers of those to whom the
secrets were entrusted must have taken their knowledge to the grave
with them.

"In each generation the number of those who knew the particulars of
these hiding-places must have diminished. Few now can know more than I
do, yet I am sure of nothing. I know generally where the mines were
situated and where some treasures were concealed, and what knowledge I
have I will place at your service; but so great a care was used in the
concealment of the entrances to the mines, so carefully were the
hiding-places of the treasures chosen, and so cunningly concealed,
that, without the surest indications and the most minute instructions,
we might search for years, as men indeed have done ever since the
Spanish came here, without finding them. I am glad that I can lay my
hand upon my heart and say, that whatever may have been possessed by
ancestors of mine, no actual details have ever come down to me; for,
had it been so, I could not have revealed them to you. We know that all
who were instructed in these were bound by the most terrible oaths not
to reveal them. Numbers have died under the torture rather than break
those oaths; and even now, were one of us to betray the secrets that
had come down to him, he would be regarded as accursed. No one would
break bread with him, every door would be closed against him, and if he
died his body would rot where it fell. But my knowledge is merely
general, gathered not only from the traditions known to all our people,
but from confidences made by one member of our family to another. Full
knowledge was undoubtedly given to some of them; but all these must
have died without initiating others into the full particulars. Such
knowledge as I have is at your disposal. I can take you to the
localities, I can say to you, 'Near this place was a great mine,' but
unless chance favours you you may search in vain."

"That is quite as much as I had hoped for, Dias, and I am grateful for
your willingness to do what you can for us, just as you did for Señor
Barnett."




CHAPTER IV

A STREET FRAY


"Now, señor," Dias said, "as we have settled the main point, let us
talk over the arrangements. What is the weight of your baggage?"

"Not more than a mule could carry. Of course we shall sling our rifles
over our shoulders. We have a good stock of ammunition for them and for
our pistols. We shall each take two suits of clothes besides those we
wear, and a case of spirits in the event of accident or illness. We
shall each have three flannel shirts, stockings, and so on, but
certainly everything belonging to us personally would not mount up to
more than a hundred and fifty pounds. We should, of course, require a
few cooking utensils, tin plates, mugs, and cups. What should we need
besides these?"

"A tent and bedding, señor. We should only have, at the start, to carry
such provisions as we could not buy. When we are beyond the range of
villages in the forests we might often be weeks without being able to
buy anything; still, we should probably be able to shoot game for food.
We should find fruits, but flour we shall have to take with us from the
last town we pass through before we strike into the mountains, and
dried meat for an emergency; and it would be well to have a bag of
grain, so that we could give a handful or so to each of the mules. I am
glad you have brought some good spirits--we shall need it in the swamps
by the rivers. Your tea and coffee will save your having to buy them
here, but you will want some sugar. We must take two picks and a
shovel, a hammer for breaking up ore, a small furnace, twenty crucibles
and bellows, and a few other things for aiding to melt the ore. You
would want for the journey five baggage mules, and, of course, three
riding mules. I could hardly manage them, even with aid from you, in
very bad places, and I would rather not take any strange man with me on
such business as we have in hand. But some assistance I must have, and
I will take with me my nephew José. He has lost his father, and I have
taken him as my assistant, and shall train him to be a guide such as I
am. He is but fifteen, but he already knows something of his business,
and such an expedition will teach him more than he would learn in ten
years on the roads."

"That would certainly be far better than having a muleteer whom you
could not trust, Dias. My brother and myself will be ready to lend you
a hand whenever you want help of any kind. We have not had any
experience with mules, but sailors can generally turn their hands to
anything. Now, how about the eight mules?"

"I have five of my own, as good mules as are to be found in the
province; we shall have to buy the three others for riding. Of course I
have saddles and ropes."

"But you will want four for riding."

"No, señor; yours and the one I ride will be enough. José at times will
take my place, and can when he likes perch on one of the most lightly
laden animals."

"How much will the riding mules cost?"

"I can get fair ones for about fifty dollars apiece; trade is slack at
present owing to the troubles, and there are many who would be glad to
get rid of one or two of their train."

"And now, Dias, we come to the very important question, what are we to
pay you for yourself, your nephew, and the five mules--say by the
month?"

"I have been thinking the matter over, señor--I have talked it over
with my wife"--he paused for a moment, and then said: "She wishes to go
with me, señor."

Harry opened his eyes in surprise. "But surely, Dias, you could not
think of taking her on such an expedition, where, as you say yourself,
you may meet with many grave dangers and difficulties?"

"A woman can support them as well as a man," Dias said quietly. "My
wife has more than once accompanied me on journeys when I have been
working on contract. We have been married for fifteen years, and she
has no children to keep her at home. She is accustomed to my being away
for weeks. This would be for months, perhaps for two years. I made no
secret to her that we might meet with many dangers. She says they will
be no greater for her than for me. At first she tried to dissuade me
from going for so long a time; but when I told her that you were sent
me by the gentleman who saved my life a year after I married her, and
that he had recommended you to me as standing to him almost in the
relation of a son, and I therefore felt bound to carry his wishes into
effect, and so to pay the debt of gratitude that I owed him, she agreed
at once that it was my duty to go and do all in my power for you, and
she prayed me to take her with me. I said that I would put it before
you, señor, and that I must abide by your decision."

"By all means bring her with you, Dias. If you and she are both willing
to share the dangers we should meet with, surely we cannot object in
any way."

"Thank you, señor; you will find her useful. You have already seen that
she can cook well; and if we have José to look after the animals when
we are searching among the hills, you will find it not unpleasant, when
we return of an evening, to find a hot supper ready for us."

"That is quite true, and I am sure we shall find your wife a great
acquisition to our party. The only difference will be, that instead of
one large tent we must have two small ones--it does not matter how
small, so long as we can crawl into them and they are long enough for
us to lie down. And now about payment?"

"I shall not overcharge you," Dias said with a smile. "If my wife had
remained behind I must have asked for money to maintain her while we
were away. It would not have been much, for she has her garden and her
house, and there is a bag hid away with my savings, so that if she had
been widowed she could still live in the house until she chose someone
else to share it with her; she is but thirty-two, and is as comely as
when I first married her. However, as she is going with us, there will
be no need to trouble about her. If misfortune comes upon us and I am
killed, it is likely she will be killed also. We shall have no expenses
on the journey, as you will pay for food for ourselves and the animals.
You will remember, señor, that I make this journey not as a business
matter--no money would buy from me any information that I may have as
to hidden mines or treasures,--I do it to repay a debt of gratitude to
my preserver, Don Henry Barnett, and partly because I am sure that I
shall like you and your brother as I did him. I shall aid you as far as
lies in my power in the object for which you are undertaking this
journey. Therefore until it is finished there shall be no talk about
payment. You may have many expenses beyond what you calculate upon. If
we meet with no success, and return to Lima empty-handed, I shall have
lost nothing. I shall have had no expenses at home, my wife and I will
have fed at your expense, and José will have learned so much that he
would be as good a guide as any in the country. You could then give me
the three mules you will buy, to take the place of any of mine that may
have perished on the journey, and should you have them to spare, I will
take a hundred dollars as a _bueno mano_. If we succeed, and you
discover a rich mine or a hidden treasure, you shall then pay me what
it pleases you. Is it a bargain?"

"The bargain you propose is ridiculously one-sided, Dias, and I don't
see how I could possibly accept the offer you make to me."

"Those are my terms, señor," Dias said simply, "to take or to leave."

"Then I cannot but accept them, and I thank you most heartily;" and he
held out his hand to Dias, and the Indian grasped it warmly.

"When do you propose we shall start?"

"Will this day week suit you, señor? There are the mules to buy, and
the tents to be made--they should be of vicuña skin with the wool still
on, which, with the leather kept well oiled, will keep out water. We
shall want them in the hills, but we shall sometimes find villages
where we can sleep in shelter."

"Not for us, Dias. Mr. Barnett has told me that the houses are for the
most part alive with fleas, and I should prefer to sleep in a tent,
however small, rather than lie in a bed on the floor of any one of
them. We don't want thick beds, you know--a couple of thicknesses of
well-quilted cotton, say an inch thick each, and two feet wide. You can
get these made for us, no doubt."

The Indian nodded.

"That would be the best for travel; the beds the Peruvian caballeros
use are very thick and bulky."

"You will want two for yourself and your wife, and two for José. By the
by, we shall want a tent for him."

Dias smiled. "It will not be necessary, señor; muleteers are accustomed
to sleep in the open air, and with two thick blankets, and a leathern
coverlet in case of rain, he will be more than comfortable. I shall
have five leather bags made to hold the beds and blankets. But the
making of the beds and tents will take some time--people do not hurry
in Lima,--and there will be the riding saddles and bridles to get, and
the provisions. I do not think we can be ready before another week. It
will be well, then, that you should, before starting away, visit the
ruins of Pachacamac. All travellers go there, and it will seem only
natural that you should do so, for there you will see the style of the
buildings, and also the explorations that were everywhere made by the
Spaniards in search of treasure."

"Very well, Dias; then this day week we shall be ready to start.
However, I suppose I shall see you every day, and learn how you are
getting on with your preparations."

Bertie had been sitting at the window looking down into the street
while this conversation was going on. "Well, what is it all about?" he
asked, turning round as the Indian left the room. "Is it satisfactory?"

"More than satisfactory," his brother answered. "In the first place his
nephew, a lad of fifteen, who is training as a mule-driver, is going
with us, which is much better than getting an outsider; in the next
place his wife is going with us."

"Good gracious!" Bertie exclaimed, "what in the world shall we do with
a woman?"

"Well, I think we shall do very well with her, Bertie; but well or ill
she has to go. She will not let her husband go without her, which is
natural enough, considering how long we shall be away, and that the
journey will be a dangerous one. But really I think she will be an
acquisition to the party. She is bright and pretty, as you no doubt
noticed, and what is of more importance, she is a capital cook."

"She certainly gave us a good meal yesterday," Bertie said, "and though
I could rough it on anything, it is decidedly pleasanter to have a
well-cooked meal."

"Well, you see, that is all right."

"And how many mules are we to take?"

"Five for baggage, and three for riding. I have no doubt Dias's wife
will ride behind him, and the boy, when he wants to ride, will perch
himself on one of the baggage mules. Dias has five mules, and we shall
only have to buy the three for riding."

"What is it all going to cost, Harry?" Bertie said when his brother had
told him all the arrangements that had been made. "That is the most
important point after all."

"Well, you will be astonished when I tell you, Bertie, that if we don't
succeed in finding a treasure of any kind I shall only have to pay for
the three riding mules, and the expenses of food and so on, and a
hundred dollars."

"Twenty pounds!" Bertie said incredulously; "you are joking!"

"No, it is really so; the man said that he considered that in going
with me he is only fulfilling the obligation he is under to Mr.
Barnett. Of course I protested against the terms, and would have
insisted upon paying the ordinary prices, whatever they might be, for
his services and the use of his mules; but he simply said that those
were the conditions on which he was willing to go with me, and that I
could take them or leave them, so I had to accept. I can only hope that
we may find some treasure, in which case only he consented to accept
proper payment for his services."

"Well, it is awfully good of him," Bertie said; "though really it
doesn't seem fair that we should be having the services of himself, his
wife, his boy, and his mules for nothing. There is one thing, it will
be an extra inducement to him to try and put us in the way of finding
one of those mines."

"I don't think so, Bertie; he said that not for any sum of money
whatever would he do what he is going to do, but simply from gratitude
to Barnett. It is curious how the traditions, or superstitions, or
whatever you like to call them, of the time of the Incas have continued
to impress the Indians, and how they have preserved the secrets
confided to their ancestors. No doubt fear that the Spaniards would
force them to work in the mines till they died has had a great effect
in inducing them to conceal the existence of these places from them.
Now that the Spaniards have been cleared out there is no longer any
ground for apprehension of that kind, but they may still feel that the
Peruvians would get the giant's share in any mine or treasure that
might be found, and that the Indians would, under one pretence or
another, be defrauded out of any share of it. It is not wonderful that
it should be so considering how these poor people have been treated by
the whites, and it would really seem that the way in which Spain has
gone to the dogs is a punishment for her cruelties in South America and
the Islands. It may be said that from the very moment when the gold
began to flow the descent of Spain commenced; in spite of the enormous
wealth she acquired she fell gradually from her position as the
greatest power in Europe.

"In 1525, after the battle of Pavia, Spain stood at the height of her
power. Mexico was conquered by Cortez seven years before, Peru in 1531,
and the wealth of those countries began to flow into Spain in enormous
quantities, and yet her decline followed speedily. She was bearded by
our bucaneers among the Islands and on the western coast; the
Netherlands revolted, and after fierce fighting threw off her yoke; the
battle of Ivry and the accession of Henry of Navarre all but destroyed
her influence in France; the defeat of the Armada and the capture of
Cadiz struck a fatal blow both to her power on the sea and to her
commerce, and within a century of the conquest of Peru, Spain was
already an enfeebled and decaying power. It would almost seem that the
discoveries of Columbus, from which such great things were hoped,
proved in the long run the greatest misfortune that ever befell Spain."

"It does look like it, Harry; however, we must hope that whatever
effect the discovery of America had upon Portugal or Spain, it will
make your fortune."

Harry laughed.

"I hope so, Bertie, but it is as well not to be too hopeful. Still, I
have great faith in Dias, at any rate I feel confident that he will do
all he can; but he acknowledges that he knows nothing for certain. I am
sure, however, that he will be a faithful guide, and that though we may
have a rough time, it will not be an unpleasant one. Now, you must
begin to turn to account what Spanish you have learned during the
voyage; I know you have worked regularly at it while you have not been
on duty."

"I have learned a good lot," Bertie said; "and I dare say I could ask
for anything, but I should not understand the answers. I can make out a
lot of that Spanish _Don Quixote_ you got for me, but when Dias was
talking to you I did not catch a word of what he was saying. I suppose
it will all come in time."

"But you must begin at once. I warn you that when I am fairly off I
shall always talk to you in Spanish, for it would look very unsociable
if we were always talking together in English. If you ride or walk by
the side of the boy you will soon get on; and there will be Donna Maria
for you to chat away with, and from what we saw of her I should say she
is sociably inclined. In three months I have no doubt you will talk
Spanish as well as I do."

"It will be a horrid nuisance," Bertie grumbled; "but I suppose it has
got to be done."

Three days later Dias said he thought they might as well start the next
day to Pachacamac.

"We shall only want the three riding mules and one for baggage. Of
course we shall not take José or my wife. By the time we return
everything will be ready for us."

"I shall be very glad to be off, Dias. We know no one here except Señor
Pasquez; and although he has been very civil and has begged us to
consider his house as our own, he is of course busy during the day, and
one can't do above a certain amount of walking about the streets. So by
all means let us start to-morrow morning. We may as well go this time
in the clothes we wear, it will be time enough to put on the things we
have bought when we start in earnest."

Starting at sunrise, they rode for some distance through a fertile
valley, and then crossed a sandy plain until they reached the little
valley of Lurin, in which stand the ruins of Pachacamac. This was the
sacred city of the natives of the coast before their conquest by the
Incas. During their forty-mile ride Dias had told them something of the
place they were about to visit. Pachacamac, meaning "the creator of the
world," was the chief divinity of these early people, and here was the
great temple dedicated to him. The Incas after their conquest erected a
vast Temple of the Sun, but they did not attempt to suppress the
worship of Pachacamac, and the two flourished side by side until the
arrival of the Spaniards. The wealth of the temple was great; the
Spaniards carried away among their spoils one thousand six hundred and
eighty-seven pounds of gold and one thousand six hundred ounces of
silver; but with all their efforts they failed to discover the main
treasure, said to have been no less than twenty-four thousand eight
hundred pounds of gold, which had been carried away and buried before
their arrival.

"If the Spaniards could not succeed in getting at the hiding-place,
although, no doubt, they tortured everyone connected with the temple to
make them divulge the secret, it is evident there is no chance for us,"
Harry said.

"Yes, señor, they made every effort; thousands of natives were employed
in driving passages through the terraces on which the temple stood. I
believe that they did find much treasure, but certainly not the great
one they were searching for. There is no tradition among our people as
to the hiding-place, for so many of the natives perished that all to
whom the secret was known must have died without revealing it to
anybody. Had it not been so, the Spaniards would sooner or later have
learned it, for although hundreds have died under torture rather than
reveal any of the hiding-places, surely one more faint-hearted than the
rest would have disclosed them. Certain it is that at Cuzco and other
places they succeeded in obtaining almost all the treasures buried
there, though they failed in discovering the still greater treasures
that had been carried away to be hidden in different spots. But
Pachacamac was a small one in comparison with Cuzco, and it was
believed that the treasures had not been carried far. Tradition has it
that they were buried somewhere between this town and Lima. Doubtless
all concerned in the matter fled before the Spaniards arrived, at any
rate with all their cruelty the invaders never discovered its position.
The report that it was buried near may have been set about to prevent
their hunting for it elsewhere, and the gold may be lying now somewhere
in the heart of the mountains."

Harry Prendergast and his brother looked in astonishment at the massive
walls that rose around the eminence on which the temple had stood. The
latter had disappeared, but its situation could be traced on the
plateau buttressed by the walls. These were of immense thickness, and
formed of huge adobe bricks almost as hard as stone; even the long
efforts of the Spaniards had caused but little damage to them. The
plateau rose some five hundred feet above the sea, which almost washed
one face of it. Half-way up the hill four series of these massive
walls, whose tops formed terraces, stood in giant steps some fifty feet
high. Here and there spots of red paint could be seen, showing that the
whole surface was originally painted. The ascent was made by winding
passages through the walls. On the side of the upper area facing the
sea could be seen the remains of a sort of walk or esplanade, with
traces of edifices of various kinds. On a hill a mile and a half away
were the remains of the Incas' temple and nunnery, the style differing
materially from that of the older building; it was still more damaged
than the temple on the hill by the searchers for treasure.

Pachacamac was the most sacred spot in South America, vast numbers of
pilgrims came here from all points. The city itself had entirely
disappeared, covered deeply in sand, but for a long distance round, it
had, like the neighbourhood of Jerusalem and Mecca, been a vast
cemetery, and a small amount of excavation showed the tombs of the
faithful, occupied in most cases by mummies.

"We will ride across to the Incas' temple. There is not much to see
there, but it is as well that you should look at the vaults in which
the treasures were hid. There are similar places at Cuzco and several
of the other ruins."

"It may certainly be useful to see them," Harry agreed, and they rode
across the plain. Leaving their mules outside they entered the ruins.
The Indian led them into some underground chambers. He had brought a
torch with him, and this he now lit.

"You have to be careful or you might otherwise tumble into one of these
holes and break a limb; and in that case, if you were here by
yourselves, you would certainly never get out again."

They came upon several of these places. The openings were sometimes
square and sometimes circular, and had doubtless been covered with
square stones. They were dug out of the solid ground. For about six
feet the sides of the pit were perpendicular; in some it swelled out
like a great vase with a broad shoulder, in others it became a square
chamber of some size.

"Some of these places were no doubt meant to store grain and other
provisions," the Indian said, "some were undoubtedly treasuries."

"Awkward places to find," Harry said; "one might spend a lifetime in
searching for them in only one of these temples."

"They were the last places we should think of searching," Dias said.
"For years the Spaniards kept thousands of men at work. I do not say
that there may not be some few places that have escaped the searchers,
but what they could not with their host of workers find certainly could
not be found by four or five men. It is not in the temples that the
Incas' wealth has been hidden, but in caves, in deep mountain gorges,
and possibly in ruins on the other side of the mountains where even the
Spaniards never penetrated. There are such places. I know of one to
which I will take you if our search fails elsewhere. It is near the
sea, and yet there are not half a dozen living men who have ever seen
it, so strangely is it hidden. Tradition says that it was not the work
of the Incas, but of the people before them. I have never seen it
close. It is guarded, they say, by demons, and no native would go
within miles of it. The traditions are that the Incas, when they
conquered the land, found the place and searched it, after starving out
the native chief who had fled there with his followers and family. Some
say that they found great treasure there, others that they discovered
nothing; all agree that a pestilence carried off nearly all those who
had captured it. Others went, and they too died, and the place was
abandoned as accursed, and in time its very existence became forgotten;
though some say that members of the tribe have always kept watch there,
and that those who carelessly or curiously approached it have always
met with their death in strange ways. Although I am a Christian, and
have been taught to disbelieve the superstitions of my countrymen, I
would not enter it on any condition."

"If we happen to be near it I shall certainly take a close look at it,"
Harry said with a laugh. "I don't fancy we should see anything that our
rifles and pistols would find invulnerable."

It was getting dark by the time they had finished their inspection of
the rooms, so, riding two or three miles away, they encamped in a grove
up the valley. Next morning they returned to Lima. Dias had given out
that the two white señors intended to visit all the ruined temples of
the Incas, and as other travellers had done the same their intention
excited neither surprise nor comment.

On the following evening after dark Harry and his brother were
returning from the house of Señor Pasquez.

"It is a pleasant house," Harry said; "the girls are pretty and nice,
they play and sing well, and are really charming. But what a contrast
it was the other morning when we went in there and accidentally ran
against them when we were going upstairs with their father, utterly
untidy, and, in fact, regular sluts--a maid of all work would look a
picture of neatness beside them."

Bertie was about to answer, when there was an outburst of shouts from a
wine-shop they were passing, and in a moment the door burst open and
half a dozen men engaged in a fierce conflict rushed out. Knives were
flashing, and it was evident that one man was being attacked by the
rest. By the light that streamed out of the open door they saw that the
man attacked was Dias. It flashed across Harry's mind that if this man
was killed there was an end to all hope of success in their expedition.

"Dash in to his rescue, Bertie," he cried; "but whatever you do, mind
their knives."

With a shout he sprang forward and struck to the ground a man who was
dodging behind Dias with uplifted knife, while Bertie leapt on to the
back of another, the shock throwing the man down face forward. Bertie
was on his feet in a moment, and brought the stick he carried with all
his force down on the man's head as he tried to rise. Then, springing
forward again, he struck another man a heavy blow on the wrist. The
knife dropped from the man's hand, and as he dashed with a fierce oath
upon Bertie the stick descended again, this time on his head, and
felled him to the ground. In the meantime one of the assailants had
turned fiercely on Harry and aimed a blow at him with his knife; but
with the ease of a practised boxer Harry stepped back, and before the
man could again raise the knife he leaped in and struck him a
tremendous blow on the point of his chin. The fifth man took to his
heels immediately. The other four lay where they had fallen, evidently
fearing they would be stabbed should they try to get on to their feet.

"Are you hurt, Dias?" Harry exclaimed.

"I have several cuts, señor, but none of them, I think, serious. You
have saved my life."

"Never mind that now, Dias. What shall we do with these fellows--hand
them over to the watch?"

"No, señor, that would be the last thing to do; we might be detained
here for months. I will take all their knives and let them go."

"Here are two of them," Bertie said, picking up those of the men he had
struck.

Dias stood over the man Harry had first knocked down, and with a fierce
whisper ordered him to give up his knife, which he did at once. The
other was still stupid from the effect of the blow and his fall, and
Dias had only to take his knife from his relaxed fingers.

"Now, señor, let us be going before anyone comes along."

"What was it all about, Dias?" Harry asked as he walked away.

"Many of the muleteers are jealous, señor, because I always get what
they consider the best jobs. I had gone into the wine-shop for a glass
of pulque before going round to see that the mules were all right. As I
was drinking, these men whispered together, and then one came up to me
and began to abuse me, and directly I answered him the whole of them
drew their knives and rushed at me. I was ready too, and wounded two of
them as I fought my way to the door. As I opened it one of them stabbed
me in the shoulder, but it was a slanting blow. Once out they all
attacked me at once, and in another minute you would have had to look
for another muleteer. 'Tis strange, señors, that you should have saved
my life as Mr. Barnett did. It was a great deed to risk your lives with
no weapons but your sticks against five ruffians with their knives."

"I did not use my stick," Harry said. "I am more accustomed to use my
fists than a stick, and can hit as hard with them, as you saw. But my
brother's stick turned out the most useful. He can box too, but cannot
give as heavy a blow as I can. Still, it was very lucky that I followed
your advice, and bought a couple of heavy sticks to carry with us if we
should go out after dark. Now you had better come to the hotel, and I
will send for a surgeon to dress your wound."

"It is not necessary, señor; my wife is waiting for me in my room, she
arrived this afternoon. Knife cuts are not uncommon affairs here, and
she knows quite enough to be able to bandage them."

"At any rate we shall have to put off our start for a few days."

"Not at all, señor; a bandage tonight and a few strips of plaster in
the morning will do the business. I shall be stiff for a few days, but
that will not interfere with my riding, and José will be able to load
and unload the mules, if you will give him a little assistance. Adios!
and a thousand thanks."

"That was a piece of luck, Bertie," Harry said when they had reached
their room in the hotel. "In the first place, because neither of us got
a scratch, and in the second, because it will bind Dias more closely to
us. Before, he was willing to assist us for Barnett's sake, now it will
be for our own also, and we may be quite sure that he will do his best
for us."

"It is my first scrimmage," Bertie said, "and I must say that I
thought, as we ran in, that it was going to be a pretty serious one. We
have certainly come very well out of it."

"It was short and sharp," Harry laughed. "I have always held that the
man who could box well was more than a match for one with a knife who
knew nothing of boxing. One straight hit from the shoulder is sure to
knock him out of time."

Next morning Dias and his wife came up early. The former had one arm in
a sling. As they entered, the woman ran forward, and, throwing her arms
round Bertie, she kissed him on both cheeks. The lad was too much
surprised at this unexpected salute to return it, as his brother did
when she did the same to him. Then, drawing back, she poured out her
thanks volubly, the tears running down her cheeks.

"Maria asked me if she might kiss you," Dias said gravely when she
stopped. "I said that it was right that she should do so, for do we not
both owe you my life?"

"You must not make too much of the affair, Dias; four blows were
struck, and there was an end to it."

"A small matter to you, señor, but a great one to us. A Peruvian would
not interfere if he saw four armed men attacking one. He would be more
likely to turn down the next street, so that he might not be called as
a witness. It is only your countrymen who would do such things."

"And you still think that you will be ready to start the day after
to-morrow?"

"Quite sure, señor. My shoulder will be stiff and my arm in a sling for
a week, but muleteers think nothing of such trifles,--a kick from a
mule would be a much more serious affair."

"You don't think those rascals are likely to waylay us on the road, and
take their revenge?"

"Not they, señor. If you could do such things unarmed, what could you
not do when you had rifles and pistols? The matter is settled. They
have not been seriously hurt. If one of them had been killed I should
be obliged to be careful the next time I came here; as it is, no more
will be said about it. Except the two hurt in the wine-shop they will
not even have a scar to remind them of it. In two years they will have
other things to think about, if it is true that Colombia means to go to
war with Chili."

"What is the quarrel about, Dias?"

"The Colombians helped us to get rid of the Spaniards, but ever since
they have presumed a right to manage affairs here."

"Perhaps nothing will come of it."

"Well, it is quite certain that there is no very good feeling between
Chili, Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru."

"I suppose they will be fighting all round some day?"

"Yes, and it will interfere with my business. Certainly we are better
off than when the Spaniards were here; but the taxes are heavy, and
things don't go as people expected they would when we got rid of the
Spaniards. All the governments seem jealous of each other. I don't take
any interest in these matters except so far as they interfere with
trade. If every man would attend to his own affairs it would be better
for us all."

"I suppose so, Dias; but one can hardly expect a country that has been
so many years governed by a foreign power to get accustomed all at once
to governing itself."

"Now, señor, I shall be glad if you will go with me and look at the
stores that are already collected. I think you will find that
everything is ready."




CHAPTER V

AMONG THE MOUNTAIN


Two days later the mules were brought round to the door at sunrise, and
Harry and his brother sallied out from the hotel, dressed for the first
time in the Peruvian costume. They were both warmly clothed. On their
heads were felt hats with broad brims, which could be pulled down and
tied over the ears, both for warmth and to prevent their being blown
away by the fierce winds that sweep down the gorges. A thick poncho of
llama wool fell from their shoulders to their knees, and loosely tied
round their necks were thick and brightly-coloured scarves. They wore
high boots, and carried large knives stuck in a strap below the knee.
The rifles were fastened at the bow of their saddles, and their
wallets, with provisions for the day, were strapped behind. By the
advice of Dias each had in his pocket a large pair of green goggles, to
protect their eyes from the glare of sun and snow. They tied these on
before coming downstairs, and both agreed that had they met
unexpectedly in the street they would have passed each other without
the slightest recognition.

"It is a pity, Harry," Bertie said seriously, "that you did not have
your portrait taken to send home to a certain young lady. You see, she
would then have been able to hang it up in her room and worship it
privately, without anyone having the slightest idea that it was her
absent lover."

"You young scamp," Harry said, "I will pull your ears for you."

"If you attempt anything of the sort, I shall tie the brim of my hat
tightly over them. I really think it is very ungrateful of you not to
take my advice in the spirit in which I gave it."

"If you intend to go on like this, Bert, I shall leave you behind."

"You can't do it."

"Oh, yes, I can! I might give you in charge for some crime or other;
and in lack of evidence, the expenditure of a few dollars would, I have
no doubt, be sufficient to induce the judge, magistrate, or whatever
they call him, to give you six months' imprisonment."

"Then you are an unnatural brother, and I will make no more suggestions
for your good."

So they had come downstairs laughing, though feeling a little shy at
their appearance as they issued out of the courtyard. Speedily,
however, they gained courage as they saw that passers-by paid no
attention to them.

They had spent the previous afternoon in packing the bundles, in which
every item was put away so that it could be got at readily, and in
making sure that nothing had been omitted. The five baggage mules were
fastened one behind another, and José stood at the head of the leading
one. As they came out Dias swung his wife on to a cushion strapped
behind his saddle, and mounted himself before her. Harry and his
brother climbed into theirs. They had both refused to put on the heavy
and cruel spurs worn by the Peruvians, but had, at the earnest request
of the Indian, put them in their saddle-bags.

"You will want them," he said. "You need not use them cruelly, but you
must give your mules an occasional prick to let them know that you have
spurs."

On leaving the town the road ran up the valley of the Rimac, a small
river, but of vital importance to the country through which it passes,
as small canals branching from it irrigate the land.

"The Spaniards have done some good here at least," Harry said to Dias,
who was riding beside him.

"Some of these canals were constructed in their time, but the rest
existed long before they came here, and, indeed, long before the Incas
came. The Incas' work lies chiefly beyond the mountains; on this side
almost all the great ruins are of cities and fortresses built by the
old people. Cuzco was the Incas' capital, and almost all the towns
between the two ranges of the Andes were their work. It is true that
they conquered the people down to the sea, but they do not seem to have
cared to live here. The treasures of Pachacamac and the other places on
the plains were those of the old people and the old religion. The
inhabitants of the plains are for the most part descendants of those
people. The Incas were strong and powerful, but they were not numerous.
That was why the Spaniards conquered them so easily. The old people,
who regarded them as their masters, did not care to fight for them,
just as the Peruvians did not care to fight for the Spaniards."

"I expect it was a good deal like the Normans in England," Bertie put
in. "They conquered the Saxons because they were better armed and
better disciplined, but they were few in number in comparison with the
number they governed, and in their quarrels with each other the bulk of
the people stood aloof; and it was only when the Normans began their
wars in France and Scotland, and were obliged to enlist Saxon archers
and soldiers, that the two began to unite and to become one people."

"I have no doubt that was so, Bertie; but you are breaking our
agreement that you should speak in Spanish only."

"Oh, bother! you know very well that I cannot talk in it yet, and you
surely do not expect that I am going to ride along without opening my
lips."

"I know you too well to expect that," Harry laughed, "and will allow an
occasional outbreak. Still, do try to talk Spanish, however bad it may
be. You have got cheek enough in other things, and cheek goes a long
way in learning to talk a foreign language. You have been four months
at your Spanish books, and should certainly begin to put simple
sentences together."

"But that is just what one does not learn from books," the lad said.
"At any rate, not from such books as I have been working at. I could do
a high-flown sentence, and offer to kiss your hand and to declare that
all I have is at your disposal. But if I wanted to say, 'When are we
going to halt for dinner? I am feeling very peckish,' I should be
stumped altogether."

"Well, you must get as near as you can, Bertie. I dare say you cannot
turn slang into Spanish; but you can find other words to express your
meaning, and when you cannot hit on a word you must use an English one.
Your best plan is to move along on the other side of Dias, and chat to
his wife."

"What have I got to say to her?"

"Anything you like. You can begin by asking her if she has ever gone a
long journey with her husband before, how far we shall go
to-day--things of that sort."

"Well, I will try anyhow. I suppose I must. But you go on talking to
Dias, else I shall think that you are both laughing at me."

Five miles from Lima they passed through the little village of Quiraz.
Beyond this they came upon many cotton plantations, and in the ravines
by the side of the valley or among the ruins of Indian towns were
several large fortresses. They also passed the remains of an old
Spanish town and several haciendas, where many cattle and horses were
grazing. They were ascending steadily, and after passing Santa Clara,
eleven miles from Lima, the valley narrowed and became little more than
a ravine. On either side were rents made in the hills by earthquakes,
and immense boulders and stones were scattered about at the bottom of
the narrow gorge. Four hours' travelling brought them to Chosica, where
the valley widened again near the foot of the hills.

Here they halted for the day. There was an inn here which Dias assured
them was clean and comfortable, and they therefore took a couple of
rooms for the night in preference to unpacking their tents.

"It is just as well not to begin that till we get farther away," Harry
said. "We have met any number of laden mules coming down, and if we
were to camp here we should cause general curiosity."

He accordingly ordered dinner for himself and his brother, Dias
preferring to take his meal in a large room used by passing muleteers.
The fare was as good as they had had at the hotel at Lima.

"I am not sorry that we halted here," Bertie said; "I feel as stiff as
a poker."

"I think you got on very well, Bertie, with Mrs. Dias. I did not hear
what you were saying, but you seemed to be doing stunningly."

"She did most of the talking. I asked her to speak slowly, as I did not
manage to catch the sense of what she said. She seems full of fun, and
a jolly little woman altogether. She generally understood what I meant,
and though she could not help laughing sometimes, she did it so
good-temperedly that one did not feel put out. Each time I spoke she
corrected me, told me what I ought to have said, and made me say it
after her. I think I shall get on fairly well at the end of a few
weeks."

"I am sure you will, Bertie; the trouble is only at the beginning, and
now that you have once broken the ice, you will progress like a house
on fire."

There were still four hours of daylight after they had finished their
meal, so they went out with Dias to explore one of the numerous
burying-grounds round the village. It consisted of sunken chambers. In
these were bones, with remains of the mats in which the bodies had been
clothed. These wrappings resembled small sacks, and they remarked that
the people must have been of very small size, or they could never have
been packed away in them. With them had been buried many of the
implements of their trade. One or two had apparently not been opened.
Here were knitting utensils, toilet articles, implements for weaving,
spools of thread, needles of bone and bronze. With the body of a girl
had been placed a kind of work-box, containing the articles that she
had used, and the mummy of a parrot, some beads, and fragments of an
ornament of silver. Dias told them that all these tombs were made long
before the coming of the Incas. He said that round the heads of the men
and boys were wound the slings they had used in life, while a piece of
cotton flock was wrapped round the heads of the women. Many of the
graves communicated with each other by very narrow passages; the
purpose of these was not clear, but probably they were made to enable
the spirits of the dead to meet and hold communion with each other.

"I don't want to see any more of them," Bertie said after they had
spent three hours in their investigations; "this sort of thing is
enough to give one a fit of the blues."

Beyond Chosica civilization almost ceased. The road became little more
than a mule track, and was in many places almost impassable by vehicles
of any kind. Nothing could be wilder than the scenery they passed. At
times rivers ran through perpendicular gorges, and the track wound up
and down steep ravines. Sometimes they would all dismount, though Dias
assured them it was not necessary; still, it made a change from the
monotonous pace of little over two miles an hour at which the mules
breasted the steep incline.

José rode on the first of the baggage mules, which was very lightly
loaded; he generally sang the whole time. When on foot, Donna Maria
stepped gaily along and Bertie had hard work to keep pace with her. He
was making rapid progress with the language, though occasionally a peal
of laughter from his companion told of some egregious error.

There were villages every few miles, but now when they halted they did
so as a rule a mile before they got to one of these. Dinner was cooked
over a fire of dead sticks, and after the meal Harry's tent was erected
and the bed spread in it. The Indians went on to the village for the
night, while Harry and his brother sat and smoked for a time by the
fire and then turned in. At daybreak Dias rode back leading their
riding mules and a baggage animal; the tent, beds, and the cooking
utensils were packed up, and they rode in to the village and passed on
at a trot until they overtook Maria and José, who had started with the
other four mules when Dias rode away. At last they reached the head of
the pass, and two days' journey took them to Oroya, standing on an
elevated plateau some ten thousand feet above the sea, and five
thousand below the highest point of the road.

The scenery had now completely changed. Villages were scattered thickly
over the plain, cultivation was general. The hillsides were lined by
artificial terraces, on which were perched chalets and small
hamlets--they had seen similar terraces on the way up. These were as
the Spaniards found them, and must at one time have been inhabited by a
thriving population. Even now gardens and orchards flourished upon them
up to the highest points on the hills. Oroya was a large place, and,
avoiding the busy part of the town, they hired rooms, as it was
necessary to give the mules two days' rest. On the first evening after
their arrival they gathered round a fire, for the nights were cold, and
even in the daytime they did not find their numerous wraps too hot for
them.

"Now, Dias," Harry said, "we must talk over our plans. You said that we
would not decide upon anything till we got here."

"In the first place, señor, I think it would be well to go to the north
to see the Cerro de Pasco silver mine, they say it is the richest in
the world. It is well that you should see the formation of the rocks
and the nature of the ore; we may in our journeyings come across
similar rock."

"It is gold rather than silver that one wants to find, Dias. I do not
say that a silver mine would not be worth a very large sum of money,
but it would be necessary to open it and go to a large expense to prove
it. Then one would have to go to England and get up a company to work
it, which would be a long and difficult matter. Still, I am quite ready
to go and see the place."

Dias nodded.

"What you say is true, señor. I could take you to a dozen places where
there is silver. They may be good or may not, but even if they were as
rich as Potosi the silver would have to be carried to Lima, so great a
distance on mules' backs that it would swallow up the profits. And it
would be almost impossible to convey the necessary machinery there,
indeed to do so would involve the making of roads for a great distance."

"At the same time, Dias, should you know of any silver lodes that might
turn out well, I would certainly take some samples, and send two or
three mule-loads of the stuff home. They might be of no good for the
purpose for which I have come out here, but in time I might do
something with them; the law here is that anyone who finds a mine can
obtain a concession for it."

"That is so, señor, but he must proceed to work it."

"I suppose it would be sufficient to put two or three men on for that
purpose."

"But if you were away for a year difficulties might arise. It would be
better for you only to determine the course of the lode, its thickness
and value, to trace it as far as possible, and then hide all signs of
the work, and not to make your claim until you return here."

"Very well, I will take your advice, Dias. And now about the real
object of our journey."

"I have been thinking it over deeply," Dias said. "First as to mines;
at present almost all the gold that is obtained is acquired by washing
the sands of rivers. Here and there gold has been found in rocks, but
not in sufficient quantities to make mining pay. The rivers whose sands
are richest in gold are in the mountains that lie behind Lake Titicaca,
which lies to the south of Cuzco and on the border of Bolivia. No one
doubts that in the time of the Incas there existed gold mines, and very
rich ones; for if it had not been so it is impossible to account for
the enormous amount of gold obtained by the Spanish conquerors, and no
one doubts that they got but a small portion of the gold in existence
when they arrived. It is of no use whatever for us to search the old
ruins of the Incas in Cuzco, or their other great towns; all that can
be found there has already been carried away.

"Now you see, señor, Huanuco, Jauja, Cuzco, and Puno all lie near the
eastern range of the Andes, and when the alarm caused by the arrogant
conduct of the Spaniards began, it was natural that the treasures
should be sent away into the heart of those mountains. The towns on the
western sides of this plateau, Challhuanca, Tanibobamba, Huancavelica,
would as naturally send theirs for safety into the gorges of the
western Andes, but all traditions point to the fact that this was not
done by the Incas. As soon as the Spaniards arrived and struck the
first blow, the great chiefs would naturally call together a band of
their followers on whose fidelity they could rely, load the treasures
on llamas, of which they possessed great numbers, and hurry them off to
the mountains.

"It is among the mountains, therefore, that our search must be made.
All our traditions point to the fact that it was along the eastern
range of the Cordilleras, and the country beyond, that by far the
greater portion of the treasures were taken for concealment. At any
rate, as we have but eighteen months for the search it is on that side
that we must try, and ten times that length of time would be
insufficient for us to do it thoroughly. As to the gold mines, it is
certain that they lie in that portion of the range between Cuzco and
Lake Titicaca. It was near Puno, a short distance from the lake, that
the Spaniards, owing to the folly of an Indian, found great treasures
in a cave. They would probably have found much more had not a stream
suddenly burst out which flooded the whole valley and converted it into
a lake. Which do you think we had better look for first, gold mines or
hidden treasures?"

"Of course that must depend on you, Dias, and how much you know about
these matters. I need not say that a hidden treasure would be of vastly
more use to me than the richest gold mine in the world. To obtain the
gold from a mine an abundance of labour is required, besides machinery
for crushing quartz and separating the gold from it. In the bed of a
river, if it is rich and abounding in nuggets, three or four men, with
rough machinery, could wash out a large quantity of gold in a short
time, and a place of that sort would be far better than a rich mine,
which could not be worked without a large amount of capital."

"I have heard tales of such places on the other side of the mountains
to the south. From time to time gold-seekers have returned with as much
as they could carry, but not one in a hundred of those that go ever
come back; some doubtless die from hunger and hardship, but more are
killed by the Indians. Most of the tribes there are extremely savage,
and are constantly at war with each other, and they slay every white
man who ventures into their country."

"Then is it not probable, Dias, that the gold could have come from
their country?"

"Not from the plains, but from the streams running down into them; and
although the Incas never attempted to subdue the tribes beyond the
mountains, they may have had bodies of troops to protect the workers
from incursions by these savages."

"Are there many wild beasts there?"

"In some parts of the mountains pumas and jaguars abound."

"That is not altogether satisfactory, though I should not mind if we
fell in with one occasionally. But how about game, Dias?"

"The chief game are the wild vicuñas, which are very numerous in some
parts; but they are very shy and difficult to hunt. Deer are plentiful,
and there are foxes, bears, and hogs; but the great article of food is
fish. On the plains the manatee, which is very like the seal, is
caught; turtles are found in great numbers, and the people make oil
from their eggs; and the buffo, a sort of porpoise, also abounds. The
natives do not eat these, except when very pressed for food; they catch
them for the sake of their oil. There are many kinds of fish: the
sunaro, which I heard an English traveller say are like the fish the
English call the pike; these grow to the length of seven or eight feet.
And many smaller kinds of fish are caught by throwing the juice of the
root of the barbasto into small streams. This makes the fish stupid,
and they float on the surface so that they may easily be caught by
hand. There are also many sorts of fruit."

"Well, then, we ought to do fairly well, Dias."

"Yes, señor; but many of these creatures are only found in the forests
and in the rivers of the plains, and they are so much hunted by the
savages there that they are very shy. But there are some creatures with
which we certainly do not wish to meet, and unfortunately these are not
uncommon. I mean the alligators and the great serpents. The natives
fear the alligators much, for their weapons are of no avail against
them, and they would never venture to attack a great snake."

"And besides these, what other disagreeables are there, Dias?" Bertie
asked cheerfully.

"There is one other disagreeable," Dias replied, "and it is a serious
one. There are in the mountains many desperate men. Some have slain an
enemy who had friends influential enough to set the law in motion
against them, or have escaped from prison; some have resisted the
tax-collectors; many have been suspected of plotting against the
government; and others are too lazy to work."

"And how do they live?" Harry asked.

"They live partly on game and partly on plunder. They steal from
cultivators; they are paid a small sum by all muleteers passing through
the mountains; they rob travellers who are worth robbing; and sometimes
they carry off a proprietor of land, and get a ransom for him.
Occasionally they will wash the sand, and get gold enough to send one
of their number into a town to buy articles they require."

"And do they go in large bands?"

"No, señor; as a rule some ten or twelve keep together under the one
they have chosen as their chief. Sometimes, if people make complaints
and troops are sent against them, they will join to resist them; but
this is not often. The authorities know well enough that they have no
chance of catching these men among the mountains they are so well
acquainted with, and content themselves with stationing a few troops in
the villages."

"And is it through the robbers or the savages that so few of the gold
explorers ever return?"

"It is chiefly, I think, from hardship," Dias said; "but undoubtedly
many who venture down near the Indians' country are killed by them.
Some who have done well, and are returning with the gold they have
accumulated, fall victims to these robbers. You must not, of course,
suppose that there are great numbers of them, señor. There may be some
hundreds, but from Huancabamba--the northern frontier of the western
Cordilleras, where the Maranon crosses the eastern range--down to Lake
Titicaca on the one side, and Tacna on the other, is nigh a thousand
miles, and the two ranges cover more square leagues than can be
reckoned, and even a thousand men scattered over these would be but so
many grains of sand on a stretch of the sea-shore."

"It certainly sounds like it, Dias; but perhaps those worthy people
congregate chiefly in the neighbourhood of the passes."

"That is so, señor; but even through these a traveller might pass many
times without being troubled by them."

"Have you fallen in with them often, Dias?"

"Yes; but, as you see, they have done me no harm. Sometimes, when I get
to the end of my journey, the mules are not so heavily laden as when I
started; but generally the people for whom I work say to me, 'Here are
so many dollars, Dias; they are for toll.' There are places in the
villages at the foot of the most-frequented passes where it is
understood that a payment of so many dollars per mule will enable you
to pass without molestation. In return for your money, you receive a
ribbon, or a rosette, or a feather, and this you place in your hat as a
passport. You may meet a few men with guns as you pass along, but when
they see the sign they salute you civilly, ask for a drink of wine if
you are carrying it, then wish you good-day. It is only in
little-frequented passes that you have to take your chance. I may say
that though these men may plunder, they never kill a muleteer. They
know that if they did, all traffic on that road would cease, and the
soldiers would find guides who knew every path and hiding-place in the
mountains."

"Anyhow, I think it is well, Dias, that I took your advice, and handed
over my gold to Señor Pasquez, for if we do fall into the hands of any
of these gentry, we can lose practically nothing."

"No money, señor, but we might lose everything else, except perhaps the
mules, which they could not use in the mountains. But if they were to
take our blankets, and tents, and provisions, and your firearms, we
should be in a bad way if we happened to be a couple of hundred miles
in the heart of the mountains."

"Well, I don't think they will take them," Harry said grimly, "without
paying pretty dearly for them. With your gun and our rifles, and that
old fowling-piece which you got for José, which will throw a fairly
heavy charge of buck-shot, I think we can make a very good fight
against any band of eight men, or even one or two more."

"I think so," Dias said gravely. "It is seldom I miss my mark. Still, I
hope we shall not be troubled with them, or with the Indians. You see,
it is not so much an attack by day that we have to fear, as a surprise
at night. Of course, when we are once on the hills, José and I will
keep watch by turns. He is as sharp as a needle. I should have no fear
of any of these robbers creeping up to us without his hearing them. But
I can't say so much for him in the case of the Indians, who can move so
noiselessly that even a vicuña would not hear them until they were
within a spear's-throw."

"The spear is their weapon then, Dias?"

"Some tribes carry bows and arrows, others only spears, and sometimes
they poison the points of both these weapons."

"That is unpleasant. Are there remedies for the poisons?"

"None that I know of, nor do I think the savages themselves know of
any. The only chance is to pour ammonia at once into the hole that is
made by an arrow, and to cut out all the flesh round a spear-wound, and
then to pour in ammonia or sear it with a hot iron."

"That accounts for your buying that large bottle of ammonia at Lima. I
wondered what you wanted it for. When we get into the country these
unpleasant people inhabit, I will fill my spirit-flask with it, so that
it will always be handy if required. Now we understand things
generally, Dias. It only remains for you to decide where we had best
leave the plain and take to the mountains."

Dias was silent for a minute. "I should say, señor, that first we had
better journey down to Cuzco and then down to Sicuani, where the
western Cordilleras, after making a bend, join the eastern branch, and
there cross the Tinta volcano. On the other side are many gorges. In
one of these I know there is some very rich gold sand. Explorers have
sought for this spot in vain, but the secret has been well kept by the
few who know it. It has been handed down in my father's family from
father to son ever since the Spaniards came. He told it to me, and I
swore to reveal it to none but my son. I have no son, and the secret
therefore will die with me. Whether it has been passed down in any
other family I cannot say. It may be, or it may not be; but as I owe
you my life, and also the debt of gratitude to Señor Barnett, I feel
that you are more to me than a son. Moreover, the secret was to be kept
lest it should come to the knowledge of the Spaniards. The Spaniards
have gone, and with them the reason for concealment, so I feel now that
I am justified in taking you there."

"I am glad of that, Dias. Assuredly the gold can be of service to no
man as long as it lies there, and it would be better to utilize it than
allow it to waste. I need not say how grateful I shall feel if you can
put me in the way of obtaining it."

"That I cannot absolutely promise," he said. "I have the indications,
but they will be difficult to find. Three hundred years bring great
changes--rocks on which there are marks may be carried away by
torrents, figures cut in the cliffs may be overgrown by mosses or
creepers. However, if but a few remain, I hope to be able to find my
way. If I fail we must try elsewhere; but this is the only one of which
I have been told all the marks. I know generally several places where
great treasure was hidden, but not the marks by which they could be
discovered, and as we may be sure that every measure was taken to hide
the entrances to the caves, the chances would be all against our
lighting upon them. I may say, señor, that, great as was the treasure
of the Incas, that of the Chimoos or Chincas, a powerful people who
inhabited part of this country, was fully as large; and traditions say
that most of the treasures hidden were not those of the Incas, but of
the Chimoos, who buried them when their country was invaded by the
Incas.

"This is certainly the case with most of the treasures hidden to the
west of the mountains. It was so at Pachacamac; it was so at Truxillo,
where the Spaniards found three million and a half dollars of gold; and
it is known that this was but a small hoard, and that the great one,
many times larger, has never been discovered. Probably the secret has
long been lost; for if there are but few who know where the Incas
buried their gold, it may well be believed that the exact locality of
the Chimoo treasures, which were buried more than eight hundred years
ago, is now unknown, and that nothing but vague traditions have been
handed down."

"That one can quite understand," Harry agreed, "when we consider how
many of the Chimoos must have fallen in the struggle with the Incas,
and how more than half the population were swept away by the Spaniards,
to say nothing of those who have died in the wars of the last thirty
years. It seems strange, however, that the treasures in the temple of
Pachacamac were left untouched by the Incas and allowed to accumulate
afterwards."

"It was so generally regarded as the sacred city," Dias said, "that,
powerful as they were, the Incas did not attempt to interfere with it,
as to do so would certainly have stirred up a formidable insurrection
of the natives throughout the whole of their territory; and instead,
therefore, of taking possession of the temple and dedicating it to
their own god, they allowed it to remain untouched and the worship of
the old gods to be carried on there, contenting themselves with
building a temple of their own to the Sun-god close at hand."

"Whether any treasure we find belonged to the Incas or to the Chimoos
is of no consequence whatever. I certainly think that before entering
upon what would seem to be almost a hopeless search for such stores, we
should try this place that you know of. In that case it seems to me,
Dias, that if we had gone down the coast to Islay, and up through
Arequipa to Cuzco, our journey would have been considerably shorter."

"That is true, señor, but we should have found it difficult to take a
passage for our mules; the steamers are but small craft, with poor
accommodation even for passengers. And besides, until we had made all
our arrangements for the journey from Lima, I could hardly say that I
had made up my mind to bring you to this place. Only when you and your
brother saved my life did I feel that I was bound to aid you, even to
the point of divulging the secret. It is different now from what it was
when it was first handed down. At that time the Spaniards were
mercilessly slaying all known to be in the possession of any secret
connected with gold, and every discovery of gold entailed the forced
labour of thousands more of the natives. Well, señor, all that is
changed; we are our own masters, and those who find mines are allowed
to work them on payment of certain royalties. There is, therefore, no
good in keeping a secret that has been useless for hundreds of years."

"Certainly, Dias, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you
are injuring no one by the act, and are besides doing a very good
action to my brother and myself.

"Well, Bertie," Harry said when Dias had left the room, "I think we may
congratulate ourselves. For the first time I really think there is a
chance of the expedition turning out a success."

"It certainly looks like it," Bertie agreed. "For your sake I hope it
will be so. As for me, I am quite content; what with Indians and
brigands, wild beasts, alligators, and snakes, the journey is likely to
be an exciting one."




CHAPTER VI

A TROPICAL FOREST


It took them over three weeks to reach Cuzco. They did not hurry, for
they wished to keep the mules in good condition for the serious work
before them. They were travelling across a plateau thickly dotted with
villages and small towns, and everywhere richly cultivated. Near the
summit of the mountains large flocks of alpacas were grazing, and lower
down herds of cattle and sheep, while near the plain were patches of
wheat, barley, and potatoes, which in turn were succeeded by fields of
maize, apple and peach trees, and prickly-pears. At the foot were
fields of sugar-cane, oranges, citron, pine-apples, cacao, and many
other tropical fruits; while in the deeper ravines cotton was grown in
abundance for the wants of the population. Here, in fact, were all
varieties of climate, from the perpetual snow on the summits of the
lofty mountains to a tropical heat in the valleys.

"If the Incas had been contented with this glorious plateau, which for
centuries constituted their kingdom, and had passed a law against the
gathering of gold and the mining for silver, they might still have been
lords here," Harry said one day. "There would have been nothing to
tempt the avarice of the Spaniards, for owing to the distance of the
mines from the coast, the cost of carriage would have been immense, and
the long sea journey would have rendered the exportation of the natural
products of the country impossible. Some of the more sober-minded of
the Dons might have settled down here and taken wives from among the
daughters of the nobles, and, bringing with them the civilization of
Spain, become valuable colonists. The Incas, before they extended their
conquest over the whole of the west of South America, must have been a
comparatively simple people, and would have had none of the habits of
luxury and magnificence that tempted the Spaniards. The gold of South
America was the ruin of the Incas, as it was afterwards the chief cause
of the ruin of Spain."

"Well, Harry, then I should very strongly advise you to give up
treasure-hunting and to remain poor, for the curse of the gold may not
have worked itself out yet."

"I must risk that, Bertie. I have no desire for luxury or magnificence;
it is for a laudable purpose that I seek the gold. However, if you have
any scruples on the subject there is no occasion for you to have any
share in what I may discover."

"No, I think I will agree with you and risk it; though certainly at
present I don't see what advantage any amount of money would be to me."

The houses of the peasants were for the most part comfortable, although
small, for since the expulsion of the Spaniards, the people had had no
reason to make a pretence of poverty. During the Spanish rule no one
dared, by the size of his house or by his mode of living, to show signs
of wealth above his fellows, for to do so would be to expose himself to
the cruel exactions of the tax-collectors and local officials; and even
now they had hardly recognized the change that had taken place, and
remained wedded to the habits that had become rooted in them by
centuries of oppression.

The travellers had no difficulty whatever in purchasing food and forage
on the way. They always slept in their tents now, and preferred Donna
Maria's cooking to that which they could obtain in the small and
generally dirty inns in the towns.

By the time they reached Cuzco, Bertie was able to converse in Spanish
with some fluency. On the way he rode either beside Dias and his wife,
or with José; in either case an animated conversation was kept up,
sometimes on the stirring events of the war of independence and the
subsequent struggles, sometimes about life in England, its ways and
customs, concerning which neither Maria nor José had any knowledge
whatever. Bertie also endeavoured to gain some information concerning
the history of Peru prior to the rising against Spain; but neither the
woman nor boy knew anything of the subject beyond the fact that the
Incas were great people, and that the natives still mourned for them.

"You see that black apron most of the women wear over one hip, as a
sign of mourning; it is still worn for the Incas. They must have been
good people, and not cruel like the Spanish, or they would not be so
much regretted," Maria said. "I don't wear the apron, because both Dias
and I are of mixed blood, descendants on one side of natives, and on
the other of Creoles, that is of Spaniards whose families were settled
here, and who hated their countrymen just as much as we do. Well, there
is Cuzco in sight. I have never seen it, and am glad that we shall stay
there for a few days."

The old capital of the Incas lay at the end of a valley about two miles
in length, and about a mile in width. To the north of the city rose an
abrupt hill, crowned by the great citadel with its three lines of
walls, the hill being divided from those forming the side of the valley
by two deep ravines, in which flowed little streams that ran through
the city. The appearance of the town was striking. There were numerous
churches, its streets ran at right angles to each other, and the
massive stone houses dated from the early Spanish days, though they
were surmounted for the most part by modern brickwork additions. Where
the great Temple of the Sun once stood, the church of Santo Domingo had
been built, a portion of the splendid building of the old faith being
incorporated in it.

"What is the use of staying here?" Bertie asked his brother
impatiently, two days after they had arrived at Cuzco. "I dare say
these old ruins and fortresses, and so on, are very interesting to
people who understand all about the Incas; but as I know nothing about
them, I don't see how you can expect me to get up any interest in an
old wall because you tell me that it is one of the remains of a palace
belonging to some old chap I never heard of. I shall be very glad when
Dias says that the mules have had enough rest and that we can set out
on our business."

"I am afraid you are a Goth, Bert," Harry said, looking at him with an
expression of pity. "Here you are in one of the most interesting cities
of the world, a place that thousands and thousands of people would
travel any distance to investigate, and in forty-eight hours you are
tired of it. You have no romance in your nature, no respect for the
past; you are a Goth and a Philistine."

"I am afraid you are mixing up localities, Harry. I may be a Goth or a
Philistine, but perhaps you are not aware that these peoples or tribes
had no connection with each other. Your education in matters
unconnected with the Royal Navy seems to have been even more deplorably
neglected than my own."

"Shut up, youngster!"

"No, Lieutenant Prendergast, you are not on the quarter-deck of one of
Her Majesty's ships at present. You are not even the leader of a small
caravan on the march. We are in this locanda on terms of perfect
equality, save and except in any small advantage that you may possess
in the matter of years."

Harry laughed.

"Well, Bertie, I do not altogether disagree with what you say. If I had
come here to get up the history of the Incas, and investigate the ruins
of their palaces, I should be content to stay here for some weeks; but
as it is, I am really just as anxious as you are to be on the move. I
was speaking to Dias half an hour ago, and he says that in two more
days we shall be able to start again. We have been discussing how much
flour and other things it is absolutely necessary to take. Of course
the better provided we are the more comfortable we shall be; but on the
other hand, as Dias says, it is of great importance that the mules
should carry as little weight as possible.

"In crossing the passes we shall have the benefit of the old roads of
the Incas, but once we leave these the difficulties will be enormous.
Dias said that it might be better to dispose of our mules altogether
and get trained llamas in their place, as these can climb over rocks
where no mule could obtain a foothold. But then it would be necessary
to take with us one or two natives accustomed to their ways, and this
would not suit us at all. However, I do think that it would be worth
while to take two or three of these animals with us. They can carry a
hundred pounds apiece; but as we may be going over extraordinarily
rough country, fifty pounds would be sufficient. The advantage would be
that we could establish a sort of central camp at the farthest spot to
which the mules could go, and then make exploring expeditions with the
llamas to carry provisions and tools. The llamas are not bad eating, so
that if we found no other use for them they would assist our
commissariat."

"How far can they go in a day, Harry?"

"Ten or twelve miles, and you may be sure that that is as much as we
can do when we are among the mountains."

"Then I should think they would be very useful. I suppose there will be
no difficulty in buying them?"

"None at all. A good many are brought in for sale to the market every
day. Of course it would be necessary to get strong animals accustomed
to burdens."

Before starting there was another long consultation between Harry and
Dias as to which course it would be better to adopt. The
most-frequented pass through the mountains was that to Paucartambo,
forty miles north-east from Cuzco, at the mouth of the pass that leads
down into the plains. Between this town and the Carabaya range, a
hundred and fifty miles to the south, was to be found the rich gold
deposit to which Dias had referred. So far, however, as the traditions
he had received informed him, it was situated near the slopes of the
Tinta volcano, and between that and Ayapata. The direct road to this
spot was extremely difficult, and he was of opinion that the journey
could be more easily performed by going to Paucartambo and then
skirting the foot of the mountains.

"You will find no difficulty in obtaining food as you go along," he
said; "wild turkeys, pheasants, and other birds are to be met with in
that district. Moreover, there are many plantations which have been
deserted owing to the depredations of the Chincas, a tribe who live on
the tributaries of the Pueros, or as it used to be called, Rio Madre de
Dios. Here you will find fields of maize still growing, sugar-cane,
cacao, and rice. One after another the estates have been abandoned; at
some of them the whole of the people on the farms were massacred, and
in all the danger was so great that the proprietors found it impossible
to work them. The one drawback to that road is that we may fall in with
the Chincas, in which case they will certainly attack us. However, they
are widely scattered through the forests, and we may not fall in with
them. On the other hand, the track by the Tinta mountain from Sicuani
is extremely difficult and dangerous, We might lose several of our
animals in traversing it, and should have to depend entirely on what we
carried for food."

"Then by all means let us go the other way, Dias. Were we to lose some
of our mules it would be impossible to replace them, and it would be
useless to find gold if we could not carry it away."

Two days later they started, four llamas having been added to the
caravan. Dias explained that it would not be necessary to take any
natives to attend to these animals, as, once started, they would follow
the mules without difficulty, especially if they were fed with them
before starting. Three days' travelling brought them to the little
town, which lay very high up in the hills. The cold here was bitter,
and the party needed all their wraps, and were glad to get in motion as
soon as it was light. Passing over a range of mountains above
Paucartambo, where a thin layer of snow crunched under their feet, they
began the tremendous descent into the plain. In a short time the
morning mist cleared away. The road led through a tropical forest. It
took them over three hours to reach the river Chirimayu, a descent of
eleven thousand feet in the course of eight miles.

Here they halted by the side of a splendid waterfall. The hills rose up
perpendicularly on every side except where the little river made its
way through the gorge; they were covered with brushwood, ferns, and
creepers, thick with flowers of many colours, while lofty palms and
forest trees grew wherever their roots could find a hold. Splendid
butterflies of immense size flitted about; birds of many kinds and
beautiful plumage flew hither and thither among the trees;
humming-birds sucked the honey from the bright flowers; parrots
chattered and screamed in the upper branches of the trees, and the foam
and spray of the torrent sparkled in the sun. Harry and his brother
stood struck with admiration at the loveliness of the scene, even Donna
Maria and José ceased their chatter as they looked at a scene such as
they had never before witnessed.

"It is worth coming all the way from England to see this, Bertie."

"It is, indeed. If it is all like this I sha'n't mind how long Dias
takes to find the place he is in search of."

At a word from Dias they all set to work to take the burdens off the
animals. A place was cleared for the tents. When these had been erected
José collected dried sticks. A fire was soon lighted, and Maria began
to prepare breakfast.

"Is it unhealthy here, Dias?"

"Not here, señors; we are still many hundred feet above the plain. In
the forest there it is unhealthy for whites, the trees grow so thickly
that it is difficult to penetrate them, swamps and morasses lie in many
places, and the air is thick and heavy. We shall not go down there
until we need. When we must descend we shall find an abundance of
maize, and fruits of all sorts. The savages kill the people they find
on the estates, but do not destroy the crops or devastate the fields.
They are wise enough to know that these are useful to them, and though
they are too lazy to work themselves they appreciate the good things
that others have planted."

"It is rather early to make a halt, Dias."

"We have work to do, señor. In the first place we must find a spot
where large trees stand on the bank of the torrent. Two or three of
these must be felled so that they fall across it; then we shall have to
chop off the branches, lay them flat side by side, and make a bridge
over which to take animals. After breakfast we must set about this
work, and it will be too late before we finish to think of going
farther to-day."

"It is well that we bought four good axes and plenty of rope at Cuzco,"
Harry said.

"We shall want them very often, señor. Three large torrents come down
between this and the Tinta volcano, besides many smaller ones. Some
rise from the hills to the north of us. These fall into others, which
eventually combine to make the Madre de Dios. So far as is known boats
can descend the river to the Amazon without meeting with any obstacle,
from a point only a few miles from the head of the Pueros, which we
shall presently cross. The fact that there are no cataracts during the
whole course from the hills to the junction of the rivers, shows how
perfectly flat the great plain is."

"And did either the Incas or the Spaniards ever conquer the Chincas and
cultivate these splendid plains?"

"The Incas drove them back some distance, señor, and forced them to pay
a tribute, but they never conquered them. Doubtless they cultivated the
land for some leagues from the foot of the mountains, as did the
Spaniards, and it was considered the most fertile part of the Montaña,
as their possessions this side of the Cordilleras were called. The
Spaniards tried to push farther, but met with such stout opposition by
the savages that they were forced to desist."

All were ready when Maria announced breakfast. After the meal they sat
smoking for half an hour, reluctant to commence the heavy work before
them.

"We had better be moving, señor," Dias said as he rose to his feet, "or
we shall not get the bridge made before dark."

A hundred yards from the camp they found three large trees growing
close to each other near the edge of the stream. Bertie looked at them
with an air of disgust.

"This will be worse for the hands than rowing for twelve hours in a
heavy boat."

"I dare say it will," Harry agreed; "but it has got to be done, and the
sooner we set about it the better."

"I shall take off my flannel shirt," Bertie said.

"You had better not, señor," Dias said, as he saw what the lad was
about to do. "There are many insects here that will sting you, and the
bites of some of them swell up and turn into sores. Now, señor, I will
take this tree. The next is not quite so large, will you take that? I
will help you when I am finished with my own. Your brother and José can
work by turns at the other."

It was hard work, for the trees were over two feet across near the
foot. Dias had felled his before the others had cut half-way through,
and he then lent his aid to Harry, who was streaming with perspiration.

"You are not accustomed to it, señor. You will manage better when you
have had two or three months' practice at the work."

"I did not bargain for this, Harry," Bertie said as he rested for the
twentieth time from his work. "Jaguars and alligators, Indians and
bandits, and hard climbing I was prepared for, but I certainly never
expected that we should have to turn ourselves into wood-cutters."

"It is hard work, Bertie, but it is useless to grumble, and, as Dias
says, we shall become accustomed to it in two or three months."

"Two or three months!" Bertie repeated with a groan; "my hands are
regularly blistered already, and my arms and back ache dreadfully."

"Well, fire away! Why, José has done twice as much as you have, and he
has hardly turned a hair. I don't suppose that he has had much more
practice than you have had, and he is nothing like so strong."

"Oh, I dare say! if he has never cut, his ancestors have, and I suppose
it is hereditary. Anyhow, I have been doing my best. Well, here goes!"

Harry laughed at his brother's theory for explaining why José had done
more work than he had. He was himself by no means sorry that Dias had
come to his assistance, and that his tree was nearly ready to fall.
José climbed it with the end of a long rope, which he secured to an
upper bough. Dias then took the other end of the rope, crossed the
torrent by the tree he had felled, and when José had come down and
Harry had given a few more cuts with the axe, he was able to guide the
tree in its fall almost directly across the stream. Then he took
Bertie's tree in hand. In ten minutes this was lying beside the others.
It took three hours' more work to cut off the branches and to lay the
trees side by side, which was done with the aid of one of the mules.
The smaller logs were packed in between them to make a level road, and
when this was done the workers went back to the little camp. The sun
was already setting, and Donna Maria had the cooking-pots simmering
over the fire.

"That has been a hard day's work," Harry said, when he and his brother
threw themselves down on the grass near the fire.

"Hard is no name for it, Harry. I have never been sentenced to work on
a tread-mill, but I would cheerfully chance it for a month rather than
do another day's work like this. The palms of my hands feel as if they
had been handling a red-hot iron, my arms and shoulders ache as if I
had been on a rack. I seem to be in pain from the tips of my toes to
the top of my head."

Harry laughed.

"It is only what every settler who builds himself a hut in the
backwoods must feel, Bert. It is the work of every wood-cutter and
charcoal-burner; it is a good deal like the work of every miner. You
have been brought up too soft, my boy."

"Soft be hanged!" the lad said indignantly; "it is the first time I
have heard that the life of an apprentice on board a ship was a soft
one. I have no doubt you feel just as bad as I do."

"But you don't hear me grumbling, Bert; that is all the difference. I
expect that, of the two, I am rather the worse, for my bones and
muscles are more set than yours, and it is some years now since I
pulled at either a rope or an oar."

Bertie was silent for a minute or two, and then said rather
apologetically:

"Well, Harry, perhaps I need not have grumbled so much, but you see it
is a pretty rough beginning when one is not accustomed to it. We ought
to have had a short job to begin with, and got into it gradually,
instead of having six hours on end; and I expect that the backwoods
settler you were talking about does not work for very long when he
first begins. If he did he would be a fool, for he certainly would not
be fit for work for a week if he kept on till he had nearly broken his
back and taken the whole skin off his hands by working all day the
first time he tried it."

"There is something in that, Bertie; and as we are in no extraordinary
hurry I do think we might have been satisfied with felling the trees
to-day, and cutting off the branches and getting them into place
to-morrow. Still, as Dias seemed to make nothing of it, I did not like
to knock off at the very start."

"The meal is ready, señor," Maria said, "and I think we had better eat
it at once, for the sky looks as if we were going to have rain."

"And thunder too," Dias said. "You had better begin; José and I will
picket the mules and hobble the llamas. If they were to make off, we
should have a lot of trouble in the morning."

The aspect of the sky had indeed changed. Masses of cloud hung on the
tops of the hills, and scud was flying overhead.

Maria placed one of the cooking-pots and two tin plates, knives, and
forks beside Harry and his brother, with two flat cakes of ground maize.

"Sit down and have your food at once," Harry said to her. "The rain
will be down in bucketfuls before many minutes."

They were soon joined by Dias and José, the latter bringing up a large
can of water from the stream. They had just finished when large drops
of rain began to patter on the ground.

"Never mind the things," Harry said as he leapt to his feet. "Crawl
under shelter at once; it is no use getting a wetting."

All at once made for the tents; and they were but just in time, for the
rain began to fall in torrents, and a peal of thunder crashed out
overhead as they got under the canvas.

"This is our first experience of this sort of thing," Harry said, as he
and his brother lit their pipes half-sitting and half-reclining on
their beds. "I rather wondered why Dias put the tents on this little
bit of rising ground, which did not look so soft or tempting as the
level; but I see now that he acted very wisely, for we should have been
flooded in no time if we had been lower down. As it is, I am by no
means sure that we shan't have the water in. Another time we will take
the precaution to make trenches round the tents when we pitch them.
However, we have got a waterproof sheet underneath the beds, so I
expect it will be all right."

"I hope so. Anyhow, we had better see that the edges are turned up all
round, so that the water cannot run over them. By Jove! it does come
down. We can hardly hear each other speak."

Suddenly the entrance to the tent was thrust aside.

"Here is a candle, señors."

It was thrown in, and Dias ran back into his own tent, which was but a
few yards away, before Harry could remonstrate at his coming out.

"The candle will be useful, anyhow," Bertie said. "It is almost
pitch-dark now. What with the sun going down and the clouds overhead,
it has turned from day into night in the past five minutes."

Striking a match he lit the candle, and stuck it in between his shoes,
which he took off for the purpose.

"That is more cheerful, Harry."

"Hullo! what is that?"

A deep sound, which was certainly not thunder, rose from the woods. It
was answered again and again from different directions.

"They must be either pumas or jaguars, which are always called here
lions and tigers, and I have no doubt Dias will know by the roar which
it is. I should not mind if it were daylight, for it is not pleasant to
know that there are at least half a dozen of these beasts in the
neighbourhood. We may as well drop the cartridges into our rifles and
pistols. I believe neither of these beasts often attacks men, but they
might certainly attack our mules."

The storm continued, and each clap of thunder was succeeded by roars,
snarls, and hissing, and with strange cries and shrieks. During a
momentary lull Harry shouted:

"Is there any fear of these beasts attacking us or the mules, Dias?"

"No, señor, they are too frightened by the thunder and lightning to
think of doing so."

"What are all those cries we hear?"

"Those are monkeys, señor. They are frightened both by the storm and by
the roaring of the lions and tigers."

"Which is the bigger, Harry, the puma or the jaguar?"

"I believe the jaguar is the bigger, but the puma is the more
formidable and fiercer. The latter belongs to the same family as the
lion, and the former to that of the leopards. The jaguar is more
heavily built than the leopard, and stronger, with shorter legs, but it
is spotted just as the leopard is. The puma is in build like the lion,
but has no mane. Both prey on animals of all kinds. The natives say
they catch turtles, turn them over on their backs as a man would do,
and tear the shells apart. They will also eat fish; but they are both
scourges to the Indians and white planters, as they will kill sheep,
horses, and cattle. Of course, if they are attacked by men and wounded,
they will fight desperately, as most wild creatures will; but if man
does not molest them, they are quite content to leave him alone, unless
he chances to pass under a tree among the branches of which they are
lying in wait for prey. Both of them can climb trees."

"Well, I thought I should have slept like a log, Harry, after the work
that I have done, but what with the thunder and the patter of the rain,
and all those noises of beasts, I don't think I am likely to close my
eyes."

"We shall get accustomed to the noises after a time, Bert; but at
present I feel as if I were in the middle of a travelling menagerie
which had been caught in a thunderstorm. It is curious that all animals
should be frightened at lightning, for they cannot know that it is
really dangerous."

"Yes, I know. We had two dogs on the last ship I was in. A clap of
thunder would send them flying down the companion into the cabin, and
they would crouch in some dark corner in a state of absolute terror.
They would do just the same if cannon were fired in salute, or anything
of that sort. I suppose they thought that was thunder."

In spite, however, of the noises, Harry and his brother both dropped
off to sleep before long, being thoroughly worn out by the day's work.
They were awakened by Dias opening the front of their little tent.

"The sun is up, señors, and it is a fine morning after the storm. Maria
has got coffee ready, baked some cakes, and fried some slices of meat."

"All right, Dias! we will be out directly. We will first run up the
bank a short distance, and have a dip."

"You won't be able to swim, señor. The bed of the torrent is full, and
no swimmer could breast the water."

"All right! we will be careful."

Throwing on their ponchos, they went down to the stream and ran along
the bank.

"The water is coming down like a race-horse, Bert, but just ahead it
has overflowed its banks. We can have a bath there safely, though it is
not deep enough for swimming."

After ten minutes' absence they returned to the camp, completed their
dressing, and sat down to breakfast.

"What were all those frightful noises, Dias? Were they pumas or
jaguars?"

"They were both, señor. You can easily tell the difference in the
sounds they make. The jaguar's is between a roar and a snarl, while the
puma's is a sort of a hissing roar."

As soon as breakfast was over, the tents were packed up and the mules
and llamas laden. Dias had given them a feed all round an hour before.
The course they should take had been already agreed upon; they must
descend to the plain, for it would be next to impossible to cross the
ravines on the mountain-side.

"Each stream coming down from the hills," Dias said, "must be followed
nearly up to its source, but for the next seventy or eighty miles the
search need not be so careful as it must be afterwards. The place
cannot be far from Tinta, but somewhere this side of it. We need not
hurry, for 

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