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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Incaland, by Claude H. (Claude Hazeltine)
+Wetmore, Illustrated by H. Burgess
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions 
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at 
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+
+
+
+Title: Incaland
+       A Story of Adventure in the Interior of Peru and the Closing Chapters of the War with Chile
+
+
+Author: Claude H. (Claude Hazeltine) Wetmore
+
+
+
+Release Date: October 4, 2016  [eBook #53204]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INCALAND***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by
+Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 53204-h.htm or 53204-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/53204/53204-h/53204-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/53204/53204-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      https://archive.org/details/incalandstory00wetmrich
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+
+
+
+
+INCALAND
+
+
+[Illustration: “He ran forward, closely followed by the others.”]
+
+
+INCALAND
+
+A Story of Adventure in the Interior of Peru
+and the Closing Chapters of the War with Chile
+
+by
+
+CLAUDE H. WETMORE
+
+Author of “Fighting Under the Southern Cross,” etc.
+
+With Illustrations by H. Burgess
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Boston and Chicago
+W. A. Wilde Company
+
+Copyright, 1902,
+By W. A. Wilde Company.
+All rights reserved.
+
+INCALAND.
+
+
+
+
+                                Preface.
+
+
+Since the years of the Chile-Peruvian War—1879-1883—a great change has
+come over the land where the Incas once held power. Military rulers have
+yielded place to men chosen from the civil walks of life; the large
+standing army has been disbanded, and the pick, hoe, and shovel replace
+sword, bayonet, and rifle.
+
+Peru’s decline, from the days of Pizarro until near the close of the
+nineteenth century, was due to the ease with which natural wealth could
+be acquired. The stages of the nation’s fall are marked by gold, guano,
+and nitrate of soda. Spaniards lived in opulence while Indian slaves
+unearthed the yellow metal. Later, Peruvians lived in idleness while
+coolies and peons shovelled the most productive of all fertilizers from
+the surface of the Chincha and Lobos Islands. Then in the south was
+found an equally rich and equally accessible source of revenue in the
+nitrate of soda.
+
+All gold that lay in sight was exhausted by the Spaniard; all guano was
+stripped from the treasure islands; and finally, Chile wrested from Peru
+the nitrate provinces.
+
+It is this period of time—when Peru’s last visible means of wealth was
+passing from her—that is covered in “Fighting under the Southern Cross”
+and “Incaland.”
+
+Peru emerged from beneath the war cloud staggering under the burden of a
+foreign debt. To her relief came representatives of an Anglo-American
+syndicate. “Give us your railroads for sixty-nine years,” they said. “We
+will extend them into the fertile interior, and as compensation we will
+assume your obligations.” Peru acquiesced. The Grace-Donoughmore
+contract was signed. Bondholders were satisfied.
+
+The shackles of debt cast one side, the men of Peru turned to work,
+guided by the rulers chosen from civil life who had been placed in
+power. They no longer depended upon the labor of a few to maintain the
+majority in indolence.
+
+They tunnelled and dug in the Sierra region and brought to light a
+wealth of copper; they sank wells in the north and were rewarded with
+flowing oil; they constructed irrigation canals in Piura Province, and
+developed a cotton which, because of its lustre and resemblance to wool,
+is creating a furore in the New York and Liverpool markets.
+
+Gold, guano, nitrate, are the tombstones of old Peru; agriculture and
+mining are the watchwords of the new.
+
+The dawn of a brighter day for Incaland is glinting over the Andean
+chain.
+
+
+
+
+                               Contents.
+
+
+      CHAPTER                                                PAGE
+           I. IN THE ANDES                                     11
+          II. THE MONTAÑA OF PERU                              32
+         III. A SNAKE AND A PUMA                               44
+          IV. IN THE COILS OF A BOA                            54
+           V. HUARI, AND THE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTESS   66
+          VI. A DISCOVERY AND AN ALARM                         85
+         VII. THE CANNIBALS OF PERU                            99
+        VIII. THE FORT ON THE MARAÑON                         113
+          IX. ATTACKED BY CANNIBALS                           125
+           X. NEAR TO DEATH’S DOOR                            137
+          XI. BEYOND THE WHITE ROCK                           142
+         XII. HARVEY AS A SENTRY                              157
+        XIII. BELLA CACERAS RECOGNIZES A VOICE                170
+         XIV. BLOCKADE OF CALLAO HARBOR                       186
+          XV. DARNING THE NEEDLE                              200
+         XVI. JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE                         207
+        XVII. JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE (CONTINUED)             219
+       XVIII. JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE (CONCLUDED)             236
+         XIX. A STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE                         248
+          XX. A CHASE INTO THE PAMPAS COUNTRY                 261
+         XXI. OLD GLORY IN THE BAY                            282
+        XXII. DARK DAYS IN INCALAND                           292
+       XXIII. AN APPEAL TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA       296
+
+
+
+
+                             Illustrations.
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+ “He ran forward, closely followed by the others”
+
+                                                     _Frontispiece_   41
+
+ “Ran ... to the side of his friend, whom he seized by the collar”    61
+
+ “Angry copper-colored faces showed at the opening”                  135
+
+ “This engine of death drifted slowly into the mist”                 216
+
+ “Two black streaks, bearing fluffy burdens of white, were moving    280
+   swiftly down the moonlit road”
+
+
+
+
+                               INCALAND.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I.
+                             IN THE ANDES.
+
+
+Harvey held some of the white substance in both hands, examined it
+curiously, then let it filter through his benumbed fingers.
+
+“This is snow, isn’t it?” he exclaimed.
+
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson laughed.
+
+“What! Have you never seen snow before?” asked the former.
+
+“Of course not. Didn’t I tell you that I visited the States only once,
+when I was little more than a baby, and remained but a month or two?
+I’ve never been in these regions any more than have you. I can remember
+rainfall, but snow! this is the first I have seen,” and he stooped over
+again, scooping up a fresh handful of the white, fluffy flakes that had
+covered the ground to the depth of an inch.
+
+“Look out!” screamed Hope-Jones.
+
+Ferguson and Harvey jumped to one side, warned by the cry, not a second
+too soon, for a huge boulder, roaring with the sound of an express
+train, bounded down the mountain side, crashed over the place where they
+had stood, and disappeared below the ledge, reverberating as it fell
+into the chasm.
+
+“Narrow escape that!”
+
+“I should say so,” said Harvey, who had dropped his snow and stood
+looking at the two young men, his cheeks quite pale.
+
+The three who thus had barely escaped death were explorers from Callao,
+Peru, in the year 1879, and this day they were eight hours’ walk beyond
+Chicla, the highest point to which the Oroya railroad had been built,
+and to which terminal they had journeyed by train from the main seacoast
+city of Peru.
+
+Harvey Dartmoor was seventeen years of age, the birthday which marked
+his passage from sixteen having been celebrated a week before his
+departure from home. His father had been a wealthy iron merchant in
+Peru, but the reverses which that country had sustained in the few
+months of the war with Chile, and which are described in detail in
+“Fighting Under the Southern Cross,” had forced Mr. Dartmoor, as well as
+many others in Lima and Callao, to the brink of the financial precipice
+beneath which yawned the chasm, ruin.
+
+Harvey had been more in the confidence of his father than Louis, who was
+a year older. This was perhaps due to the younger lad’s resemblance to
+his father, in face and in personal bearing; or, perhaps, to the fact
+that he was more studiously inclined and therefore passed more time at
+home than did Louis, who was fond of outdoor sports, and preferred a
+spin in Callao Bay, or a dash over the pampas on his pony, with his chum
+Carl Saunders as a companion, to poring over books in the library.
+
+It was in this manner—by being frequently at home and in the office—that
+Harvey had learned of his father’s distress of mind, caused by financial
+difficulties, long before other members of the family had realized the
+true state of affairs; and this observance by the lad and his inquiries
+had as a sequel his appearance in the great Andes chain, or the
+Cordilleras of Peru.
+
+His companions were an Englishman and an American, who had resigned
+clerkships in offices to undertake this journey. Horace Hope-Jones, the
+senior, had been five years on the Peruvian coast, coming to Callao from
+Liverpool, and John Ferguson had lived in Ohio until 1875, when he was
+offered a very good salary to enter the employ of a large American house
+which had branch establishments in several cities on the southwest
+coast. One was twenty-three, the other twenty-two.
+
+They were well known in the cities, and were popular in amateur athletic
+circles, both having been members of a famous four of the Callao Rowing
+Club, that had wrested victory from fours sent from Valparaiso, Panama,
+and other cities. Harvey Dartmoor was a junior member of this club, and
+it was while serving as coxswain that he became acquainted with
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson.
+
+It came about curiously that the three were in the Andes, at an altitude
+of 16,500 feet, this twenty-third day of August, 1879. Two days before
+they had stood on the beach at Callao, breakers of the Pacific Ocean
+dashing at their feet; now they were in a wilderness of granite,
+snow-capped peaks rising on every side, and behind, towering above
+these, were still others, stretching in a seemingly endless chain.
+
+Their quest in this vastness was gold, and an Indian’s narrative caused
+their search for yellow metal in the interior, where the great Incas
+once ruled.
+
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson had lived in bachelor apartments in Lima, which
+is eight miles from Callao, and for a year their wants had been attended
+to by an old native, named Huayno, who cooked their meals, made their
+beds and kept their rooms tidy.
+
+He was singularly uncommunicative during the first eight months of his
+service, but later, falling ill and being treated kindly by the young
+men, he told them that he was of direct descent from the Incas; indeed,
+that there flowed through his veins blood of the royal Atahuallpa, and
+that he might have been a king had not the race been first betrayed by
+the white men from Spain and then gradually exterminated, until only a
+few were left; and these wandered in bands through the interior, turned
+from a once proud people to Philistines, because of the injustice done
+them.
+
+Thus old Huayno would talk evenings for hour after hour, speaking in
+Spanish with a strange mixture of the Indian tongue, and they would
+listen intently, because he told wonderful things of life in that
+portion of the interior to the north of Cerro de Pasco, where the foot
+of white man had never trod.
+
+The Indian became worse instead of better, and finally was bedridden.
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson had grown much attached to him. They recognized
+a person above the station in which circumstances had placed him, and,
+moreover, they felt sorry for one who was far away from his people and
+so lonely. Therefore, instead of sending him to a hospital, they called
+a doctor and engaged a nurse to be near his side during the day, while
+they were absent at their offices. The physician shook his head, after
+examining the old man, and said:—
+
+“He cannot linger long; perhaps a week, possibly two, but no longer.”
+
+Ten days later the end came, and a few hours before Huayno breathed his
+last, he beckoned Hope-Jones and Ferguson to his side.
+
+“My masters, I know that I am about to die,” said he. “The sun of my
+life is setting in the hills and soon it will have disappeared. Before
+darkness comes I have much to tell you. In these weeks you have done
+much for me, as much as you would have done a brother; and so I, in
+turn, shall do for you. Give me, I pray you, from that bottle, so the
+strength may come to my voice.”
+
+One of them handed him a glass, into which he had poured some cordial,
+and the Indian drank slowly, then raised himself partly in bed, leaning
+on pillows which had been placed behind his back.
+
+He was a tall, well-formed man, his skin of light copper color, and he
+wore a beard that reached halfway to his waist. His cheeks were much
+sunken and shrivelled, and resembled stained pieces of chamois skin that
+had been wet, then dried without stretching. His luminous black eyes
+glistened from deep cavities under shiny brows.
+
+“I am of the tribe of Ayulis,” he continued, his voice much firmer.
+“They now inhabit the country round about the river Marañon, where they
+cultivate yacas, plantains, maize, and cotton, and from the latter the
+women weave gay cloths, so that their attire is of more splendid color
+than that of any tribe. Eighty-five years ago it was not thus; then we
+were not compelled to cultivate the fields, for having gold in abundance
+we employed others to work. That gold proved our curse, for the white
+men came from Spain and levied tribute upon us, more and more each year,
+until we knew that soon all would be taken away. They levied tribute
+which we were compelled to pay, but they never learned from where we
+secured the metal, although they searched in parties large and small and
+put many of our leading men to the torture, in effort to force the
+secret from them. An Ayulis has no fear of pain, and they laughed when
+burned with hot irons and when boiling oil was poured upon them.
+
+“When at last the Spaniards drove them too far, they choked the
+approaches to the mine with the trunks of huge trees, and all voiced a
+pledge that the place should never be opened again, nor would the
+location be made known to these unwelcome visitors from Spain. I am one
+hundred years old now; I was twenty then, and I remember well the great
+meeting of our tribe. Later we were revenged. Six months from that day
+we joined forces with the Jivaros, and at night we entered the town of
+Logroño, where a terrible butchery befell. Every white man was beheaded
+and every woman was carried away. Then other white men came and we were
+hunted through the forests for years, until at last we settled on the
+banks of the Marañon and there turned our attention to farming.
+
+“We thought no more of gold, my masters, for that had been our curse;
+but well I remember the days when the yellow metal was in plenty, and
+with these eyes I have seen a nugget of gold taken from the mine of
+which I speak, that was as large as a horse’s head and weighed four
+arrobas.[1] Silver was so plentiful and iron so scarce that horses were
+shod with the white metal.
+
+Footnote 1:
+
+  One hundred pounds.
+
+“Now I come to a time later by twenty years, when, by accident, I killed
+a man of our tribe. They would not believe me that I had meant him no
+harm, and that the arrow was not sped by design, but they declared that
+I should die. Had I been guilty I would have awaited the punishment; but
+I was innocent, and so I fled, and for a time I joined the savages on
+the Ucalayli, but in a few years I pushed on, over the mountains, to
+this coast where I have since been.”
+
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson had listened breathlessly, bending forward, for
+the old Indian’s voice had grown weaker and weaker. Soon he added:—
+
+“I will tell you where the gold mine lies, for you have been kind to me.
+Take paper and pencil, that you may write down what I may say and not
+forget.”
+
+They did so, and he went on:—
+
+“Cross the mountains to Oroya, go north even to Huari, all that way it
+is easy. From Huari go further north, three days on foot, to the great
+forest of cinchona trees, which commence at the sources of the upper
+Marañon. Enter this forest at Mirgoso, a village of few huts in my day,
+probably larger now. It is here that the Marañon properly commences.
+Follow the river, keeping in sight the right bank all the way. Travel
+six days by foot and you will suddenly see a great white rock. Beyond
+this once was a path, leading further north a half mile. Along it trees
+have been felled; they are rotted now. Push on and you will find the
+mine. Another—another—”
+
+They bent closer, for his breath was coming in spasms.
+
+“Another white rock marks—”
+
+They sprang to his side; a strange rattle sounded in his throat.
+
+“Lift me that I may see the setting sun.”
+
+They did so and he looked out the window, toward Callao, where the ball
+of red was sinking. Then he fell back, dead.
+
+For several days the young men said little concerning the Indian’s
+story. They gave his body fitting burial in the little cemetery at Bella
+Vista, and returned to their work at office desks. It all seemed a dream
+to them; either they had dreamed or they had listened to the ravings of
+Huayno. But after a week they commenced to discuss the narrative, first
+curiously, as one might talk of a fairy tale, then earnestly, as if
+their minds were becoming convinced that it had foundation in fact.
+
+Why was it impossible? Were not legends heard from every tongue of the
+fabulous wealth of the Incas? Was it not said that they had secret
+mines, from which gold and silver had been taken, and which mines were
+closed and their bearings lost after the advent of the white man? Had
+there not been wonderful wealth in Cuzco?—a temple covered with sheets
+of gold and heaps of treasure? At Cajamaráca, did not Atahuallpa offer
+Pizarro, as a ransom, sufficient gold to fill the apartment in which he
+was confined and twice that amount of silver?
+
+There could be no reason for the Indian to deceive them; there was every
+reason why he should have told them the truth. Would it not be wise to
+go into the interior and investigate?
+
+Nothing stood in the way. They had youth and strength, the journey would
+be of advantage physically; each had a small sum of money in bank and a
+portion of this would furnish everything they might need on the trip,
+leaving sufficient for emergencies upon their return, should they prove
+unsuccessful.
+
+These arguments, advanced by one, then by the other, determined them,
+and one evening Ferguson jumped up from his seat at table and
+exclaimed:—
+
+“Let’s go!”
+
+“Say we do,” answered Hope-Jones.
+
+“Agreed?”
+
+“Agreed.”
+
+“Shake on it.”
+
+They clasped hands, and it was settled.
+
+The very next afternoon they were discussing their plans in the dressing
+room of the Callao Rowing Club, when they were overheard by Harvey
+Dartmoor. He was not eavesdropping. Such was not his nature. They had
+not noticed his presence, and finally, when he attracted their
+attention, they were rather glad than otherwise that he had heard, and
+soon asked if he would like to join in the search.
+
+Harvey was known in Callao as a student, and the young men believed that
+he would be of assistance when knowledge of geology and chemistry should
+be needed. Besides, he was a pleasant companion, and although their
+junior, he was in many things far advanced for one of his years. So it
+was decided that Harvey should accompany them, provided his father
+should give consent, and in the evening Hope-Jones visited John Dartmoor
+at his home in Chucuito and unfolded to him the strange sayings of the
+Indian, Huayno.
+
+Mr. Dartmoor was at first reluctant to permit Harvey’s departure. There
+was considerable danger in the trip—from avalanches, wild animals, and
+perhaps from savages, occasional bands of which were known at times to
+approach the Marañon River.
+
+But in Hope-Jones and Ferguson he recognized young men of courage and
+determination; he knew Harvey to have a similar nature, and beyond all
+that he looked at the possibility of finding this treasure.
+
+John Dartmoor had seen nothing but darkness on all sides, and here was a
+glimmer of light. The depreciation of paper money and the stagnation of
+trade, because of war, had checked all business. He was confronted with
+obligations which he could not meet, and each night he dreaded the
+dawning of another day, lest it bring failure before darkness could come
+again. So at last he gave his consent, and Harvey, delighted, made his
+preparations for the journey.
+
+The three decided to make no secret of the fact that they were going
+inland to seek gold, but to no one except John Dartmoor did they say
+aught concerning the Indian’s revelations.
+
+Having once interested himself in the venture, Mr. Dartmoor proved of
+valuable assistance to the travellers. Hope-Jones and Ferguson having
+shared their information with his son, he in turn furnished outfits
+complete for all three, and as his hardware store was the largest on the
+coast, he was able to find nearly everything in stock. But the
+travellers, after frequent discussions, left behind far more than they
+first had planned to carry, for they appreciated the fact that before
+them lay mile after mile of mountain climbing.
+
+When equipped for the journey, each was clad in a suit of heavy tweed,
+the trousers to the knee, gray woollen stockings, and walking shoes.
+Each carried a knapsack, surmounted by two thin blankets, shaped in a
+roll, and in each knapsack were the following articles: One light rubber
+coat, one pair of shoes, two pairs of stockings, one suit of
+underclothing, three pocket-handkerchiefs, one tin plate, one tin cup,
+knife and fork of steel, one pound of salt, one large box of matches,
+one tooth brush, one comb, needles, pins, and thread, one iron hammer,
+and one box containing two dozen quinine pills.
+
+Ferguson and Hope-Jones each carried a pick, slung by cords over their
+shoulders, but Harvey was deemed too young to bear a similar burden;
+besides, two picks were plenty. Hope-Jones carried a shot-gun, Ferguson
+a rifle, and Harvey a weapon similar to that borne by the Englishman,
+but of less weight. They all wore two ammunition belts, one around the
+waist, the other over the shoulder. In pockets were jack-knives, pieces
+of twine and lead pencils and paper, for they hoped to send letters from
+the interior to the coast by making use of native runners, although once
+away from the railroad they could receive none.
+
+Thus equipped, the departure was made from Lima on the morning of August
+20, and the three adventurers were accompanied as far as Chosica by
+Harvey’s brother Louis and by Carl Saunders, their chum, who stood on
+the railway platform in the little mountain town and waved a God-speed
+until the train pulled out of sight.
+
+The Oroya railroad is one of the seven wonders of Peru, and no work by
+civil engineers in all the world so challenges admiration. It rises from
+the sea and threads the gorges of the Rimac, creeping on ledges that
+have been blasted from out the solid rock, crossing bridges that seem
+suspended in air, and boring through tunnels over which rest giant
+mountains. In places the cliffs on which rails are laid so overhang the
+river far below that a stone let fall from a car window will drop on the
+opposite side of the stream. From the coast to the summit there is not
+an inch of down grade, and in seventy-eight miles an altitude of 12,178
+feet is attained. Sixty-three tunnels are passed through. Placed end to
+end they would be 21,000 feet in length, so that for four miles of this
+wonderful journey one is burrowing in the bowels of mountains.
+
+At one point the travellers stood on the car platform and saw ahead of
+them the mouth of a tunnel, then, looking up the face of the precipice
+they saw another black opening that seemed the size of a barrel; higher
+still was a third, no larger in appearance than a silver dollar; yet
+higher, as high as a bird would fly, a fourth, resembling the eye of a
+needle. Four tunnels, one above the other!
+
+They would enter the first, wind around on ledges, pass through the
+second, wind again, the third, wind again, and before entering the
+fourth, look down from the train platform along the face of the
+precipice and see the entrances to the three holes through which they
+had passed. They were threading mountains, and always moving toward the
+summit.
+
+In this wild journey they passed over thirty bridges that spanned
+chasms, the most remarkable of them all being the iron bridge of
+Verrugas, which crosses a chasm 580 feet wide and rests on three piers,
+the central one being 252 feet high.
+
+The noonday meal was taken at Matucana, in the railway station house,
+and a half hour later they were on the way again, and all three stood on
+the platform of the rear car, watching the scenery, which every moment
+grew in grandeur. As the train wound around a ledge, like a huge iron
+snake, they saw far beneath a little lake of blue, bordered by willows.
+Even as they looked, clouds rolled out and hid the water and the
+willows. So they were above the clouds! Yet above them were other
+clouds, of fleecy white, drifting and breaking against the gray masses
+of stone that rose ever and ever at the sides of them and in front of
+them!
+
+For a long time they were silent, looking down into chasms so deep they
+could not in places see the bottom; at other points appeared a silver
+thread which they knew to be a river; or, they gazed up at smooth
+cliffs, towering as if to shut out the sun, and again at huge
+overhanging boulders that seemed to need but a touch to drop and
+obliterate train and passengers. While thus watching, Hope-Jones
+suddenly exclaimed:—
+
+         “Where Andes, giant of the Western star,
+         Looks from his throne of clouds o’er half the world.”
+
+“Who wrote those lines?” asked Harvey.
+
+“Campbell, I believe. I never appreciated them as I do now,” he replied.
+
+They were soon joined by the conductor, who was much interested in the
+three adventurers. The road not having been constructed its entire
+length, it was seldom that passengers for the interior were on trains,
+and rarely indeed were met persons who intended journeying as far as did
+these three companions. Those who rode up the Oroya railroad were mainly
+tourists. So, in those years, the railway was operated at a loss; but it
+was government property, and the purpose was in time to connect the
+great interior with the seaboard.
+
+The conductor was an American who had been five years in Peru, and he
+was always glad to meet any one from the States; so at once he fell into
+conversation with Ferguson.
+
+“How often do you go over the road?” he was asked.
+
+“Three times a week.”
+
+“Do you not tire of the solitude?”
+
+“No. Each time I see new grandeur. Look over there. What is on that
+cliff?”
+
+The three gazed in the direction he pointed.
+
+“It seems to be a little animal about the size of a lamb,” said
+Ferguson.
+
+“It’s an Andean bull.”
+
+“But, surely, how can that be?”
+
+“Because the cliff, which seems only a few hundred feet away, is
+thousands. In this rarefied air all distances and sizes are misleading.”
+
+“What did this road cost?” Harvey asked.
+
+“In money, no one knows exactly, unless it be the superintendent of
+public construction at Lima. Henry Meiggs took the contract in 1868 for
+$27,000,000, but the government has added many million dollars since
+then.”
+
+“You say in money. What other cost has there been?”
+
+“Lives of men, my son. The line is not completed, yet seven thousand men
+have perished during its construction. They say that for every tie on
+the railroad across the Isthmus of Panama a man gave his life, but even
+that road has no such death list on the dark side of its ledger as has
+this.”
+
+“That is more than double the number of the killed on both sides at the
+battle of Shiloh!” exclaimed Harvey.
+
+“Yes; if I remember my history aright,” assented the conductor.
+
+“What caused this frightful mortality?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“There have been many causes, sir. Extremes of climate have affected
+those with weak constitutions and rendered them easy victims to disease,
+pestilences have raged in the camps, and there have been hundreds of
+fatal accidents, due to blasting and to the fall of boulders. I dare say
+that if one could find a passage along the Rimac below,” and he pointed
+to the chasm, “he would see whitened bones between every mile post.”
+
+That evening they reached Chicla, 15,645 feet above sea level, and were
+entertained at the home of the railroad superintendent, who had charge
+of the upper division of the line. Chicla is a little town of huts
+nestling in a small valley and surrounded by mountain peaks. The nights
+are always cold, and for only a few hours during the day does the sun’s
+face escape from behind the towering peaks and shine upon the village.
+
+At the supper table Harvey complained of a drumming in his ears, and a
+few minutes later he hastily left the table because of a severe
+nosebleed. Ferguson felt something damp on his cheek not long after, and
+using a handkerchief he noticed that it bore a crimson streak. Blood was
+flowing from his right ear.
+
+The superintendent assured them that there was no cause for alarm, and
+that every one suffered from the effects of rarefied air when coming
+into a high altitude.
+
+“The pressure is less on the body up here,” he explained, “but within
+your veins and cells is air at the pressure received at sea level. This
+overpressure air, in endeavoring to escape, forces the blood with it. In
+a few hours the symptoms will have passed away. None of you has heart
+trouble, I trust?”
+
+“No,” they answered.
+
+“Then you will soon be all right.”
+
+They passed a restless night, but in the morning felt much better, and
+viewed from the veranda of the house the coming of the day without a
+rising sun in sight, for, the superintendent explained, it would be ten
+o’clock before the rays would shine from over the mountain peaks in the
+east. The valley was soon filled with a mellow light, and on the western
+hills rested a shadow that slowly crept downwards.
+
+After breakfast they watched from the veranda a train of llamas coming
+down the mountain side, bearing panniers filled with silver ore.
+
+“Those are wonderful beasts,” said the superintendent.
+
+“Yes,” remarked Hope-Jones; then he added: “Until recently, I believed
+they belonged to the same family as the domestic sheep of Europe and
+North America, but I ascertained by reading that they are more closely
+allied to the camel.”
+
+“So I have heard, and so examination would convince even one not versed
+in natural history. They are much larger than sheep, are powerful and
+more intelligent; besides, they can go for a long time without water and
+endure as heavy burdens as a mule.”
+
+“I understand that their flesh is good to eat.”
+
+“Yes, it is quite palatable. So the llama is valuable for three
+purposes—as a beast of burden, for its long, silken wool, and for its
+flesh.”
+
+An hour later Hope-Jones, Ferguson, and Harvey bade the superintendent
+good-by, after thanking him for his hospitality, and started on their
+journey to the northeast. While in Chicla they had secured canvas for a
+shelter-tent. It was unnecessary to carry poles, because these could be
+cut each evening; and the additional burden, divided among the three,
+was not heavy.
+
+The first day’s travel was uneventful until toward sundown, when snow
+commenced to fall, and Harvey for the first time saw the crystal flakes
+beneath his feet, and swirling through the air. They had attained quite
+an altitude above Chicla, how much higher they did not know, not having
+brought instruments. But in the morning they would commence to descend
+again to the region of the Montaña, the great table-land valley of Peru
+which lies between two parallel spurs of the Andes at an altitude of six
+thousand to eight thousand feet—a valley rich with forests and with
+smaller vegetation, a valley through which flows the river Marañon, and
+is inhabited by the Ayulis Indians; and in this valley somewhere on the
+river Marañon, was a great white rock that marked a nature’s storehouse
+of gold.
+
+They pitched their shelter-tent, lighted a fire, and ate a hearty supper
+of food they had carried from Chicla; then, after talking for an hour,
+they went to sleep, lying close together, wrapped in both blankets, for
+the night was cold.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER II.
+                          THE MONTAÑA OF PERU.
+
+
+Early next morning the three adventurers were awakened by a mournful
+cry. A long, shrill note sounded near the shelter-tent and was followed
+by three others, each deepening in tone. They sat up and rubbed their
+eyes, then looked at one another, as if to ask, “What is that?”
+
+Again the long, shrill note, and again the three mournful echoes, each
+deeper than the one preceding.
+
+“What a ghostly noise!” said Hope-Jones.
+
+“Oh, I know what it is!” exclaimed Harvey, rising, his face brighter.
+“It’s the alma perdida.”
+
+“Alma perdida! That’s the Spanish for ‘lost soul.’”
+
+“Exactly. That’s why the bird has such a name, because of its cry. It’s
+an alma perdida—a bird, that is piping so dolefully. Come, see if I am
+not correct.”
+
+He pushed aside the flap of the shelter-tent, sprang without, and was
+followed by the young men. In the light of early day they saw a little
+brown bird, a tuft of red on its head, perched on a scrub bush, not a
+hundred yards away. Even as they looked the shrill note was repeated,
+and then the doleful ones of deeper sound.
+
+“Shoo!” said Ferguson; and as the bird remained perched on the bush, he
+threw a stone. The red-tufted body of brown rose from the branch and
+disappeared.
+
+“’Good riddance to bad rubbish,’” said Ferguson. “We don’t want any such
+croakers at our feast; which, by the way, reminds me of breakfast.”
+
+“Whew!” exclaimed Harvey. “It’s cold!”
+
+Indeed it was cold for these travellers from the warm coast-belt, the
+mercury standing at about thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
+
+“Let’s run and get wood for a fire, then we’ll feel warmer,” said
+Hope-Jones. “There’s a dwarf tree over there. Surely some dry branches
+are beneath it. Now for a two hundred yards’ dash! One! two! three!”
+
+Ferguson won, Hope-Jones second, and Harvey a close third. The run
+started their blood well in circulation, and they fell to gathering
+chips of bark and dried twigs with a will, returning to the tent each
+with an armful. They placed four stones equidistant from a centre, so
+that a few inches were between them, and in the spaces piled the wood.
+
+“Be careful with the matches!” said Ferguson. “Only one for a fire.
+Harvey, take from your box first.”
+
+The boy stooped over and the two young men stood to the windward of him,
+forming a shield. In a few seconds a crackle was heard, then a thin line
+of blue smoke rose from between the stones, and tongues of flame licked
+the pieces of granite.
+
+“More wood!”
+
+It was added, and in a minute a merry blaze was burning briskly.
+
+They held their hands over the flames, and they stood on the leeward
+side, not minding the smoke which blew in their eyes, for the heat was
+carried to their bodies, dispelling the chill that had come after the
+run. Although the morning was somewhat warmer than had been the evening
+before, it was still very cold for these residents of the sandy
+coast-line. Here and there patches of snow still lay on the ground, but
+the white crystals were fast melting under the glow of coming day. The
+sun was not so tardy here as at Chicla, for no high peaks were in the
+east, and even as they stood around the fire a shaft of light was thrown
+across the valley in which they had rested during the night.
+
+“What shall we have for breakfast?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“Fried bacon and corn bread,” promptly answered Ferguson.
+
+“But how shall we cook the bacon?” asked Harvey.
+
+“I’ll show you;” and the Ohioan unstrapped his knapsack and took
+therefrom his tin plate, which he placed on the four stones.
+
+“How’s that for a frying pan!”
+
+They had taken certain provisions from Chicla, because the
+superintendent said it might be a couple of days before they could reach
+that part of the Montaña where game abounded, and the carrying of these
+edibles had devolved upon Harvey, his companions having burdened
+themselves with the canvas of the shelter-tent. Another minute, and a
+fragrant odor came from the dish that was resting over the flame.
+
+“I wish the corn bread could be made hot,” said Harvey, as he proceeded
+with the further opening of his knapsack.
+
+“It will be—in a jiffy,” was the reply. “Just clear away some of the
+fire on the other side.”
+
+This was done, the sticks and embers being pushed back, and Ferguson
+commenced with his jack-knife, hollowing out a space in the thin soil.
+Taking Hope-Jones’s and Harvey’s tin plates, he placed the bread between
+them, then laying them in the shallow excavation, rims together, he
+raked over some earth and on top of this a layer of hot coals.
+
+“By the time the bacon is cooked our bread will be ready,” he added.
+
+While this was being done Hope-Jones had visited a little spring near by
+and had filled their cups with sparkling water. Ten minutes later they
+were seated around the fire, enjoying the breakfast, and all agreed that
+they had never tasted a more appetizing meal.
+
+By half-past seven dishes were washed, the tent taken down, knapsacks
+and bundles packed, and they started, with a compass as a guide, toward
+the northeast, between two mountain peaks—for in that direction lay the
+Montaña. It was easy walking, llama trains having made a pathway, and
+the country soon became more regular, for they had passed the region of
+gorges, precipices, and chasms; although still among the mountains, the
+high peaks towered behind, those in front becoming lower as they
+progressed.
+
+They were travelling a down grade, and as they pushed on there were
+continual signs of change in the vegetable world. At the point where
+they had encamped for the night grew only a few shrubs and dwarf trees,
+whose gnarled branches told of a rigorous climate. But soon cacti thrust
+their ungainly shapes above ground, the trees became of larger size, and
+a long grass commenced to appear. And as above they had walked upon a
+gravel, which had crumbled from the rocky mountain side, so further down
+appeared a soil richer in alluvium as they proceeded. By eleven o’clock
+all the towering mountain peaks were behind them. They were nearing the
+table-land country and were among the foothills of the first spurs of
+the eastern slope.
+
+“O for a luncheon with potato salad!” exclaimed Harvey.
+
+“Sighing for potatoes in Peru is like sighing for coals in Newcastle,”
+said Hope-Jones.
+
+“Why so?”
+
+“Because Peru is the home of the potato. It was first discovered here.
+Didn’t you know that?”
+
+“Yes, but I had forgotten it for the moment. One is so accustomed to
+terming them ‘Irish potatoes.’”
+
+“Who discovered the vegetable in Peru?” asked Ferguson.
+
+“The Spaniards, in the seventeenth century. Large tracts of land in the
+Montaña country were covered with potato fields, and the Indians could
+not recall when they had not formed a staple of diet.”
+
+“How did the term Irish potato originate?”
+
+“Sir Walter Raleigh is responsible for that, I believe. The potato was
+planted on his estate near Cork and flourished better in that soil than
+in any other of Europe.”
+
+The noon hour having arrived and the conversation tending to increase
+their hunger, the three adventurers looked about for a spring, and in
+the distance seeing a clump of willows and verdure of unusual
+brightness, they hastened to the spot and found a little mountain stream
+rippling over pebbles. As they approached a number of parakeets flew
+away, chattering, their brilliant plumage causing them to appear as
+rainbow darts above their heads.
+
+“An ideal spot!” said Hope-Jones.
+
+“And here’s shade. We didn’t want shade this morning, did we?”
+
+“Hardly. But the day has grown warm.”
+
+While speaking they cast knapsacks and burdens one side and threw
+themselves down on the grass for a brief rest before preparing the
+noonday meal. The murmur of the brook had as an accompaniment the hum of
+insects and the piping of finches—for they were nearing the table-land,
+which pulsated with life; far different from the drear of the early
+morning, which was punctuated only by the doleful notes of the alma
+perdida.
+
+“I can almost think myself in an American harvest field,” said Ferguson,
+rolling on his back and clasping his hands over his head.
+
+Hope-Jones placed a blade of coarse grass between his thumbs, held
+parallel, then blew upon the green strand with all his might.
+
+“What on earth is that?” exclaimed Ferguson, jumping to his feet, and
+Harvey came running from the stream.
+
+“You said something about a harvest field, so I stood in the kitchen
+door and sounded the horn for dinner,” was the laughing response.
+
+“What shall it be?”
+
+“The same as this morning, with the addition of hard-boiled eggs; that
+is, providing Harvey hasn’t broken the eggs.”
+
+“Indeed, I haven’t,” protested the boy, and he commenced to unstrap his
+knapsack.
+
+A fire was soon started and the eggs were placed over the flame in a
+large tin cup. After being thoroughly boiled, they were put in the
+stream to cool, and bacon was fried as in the morning; but the corn
+bread was eaten cold, “by way of a variety,” so Ferguson said.
+
+“I hope we may find some game this afternoon,” said Harvey, as he
+cracked an egg-shell on his heel.
+
+“We undoubtedly shall, for it cannot be far to the Montaña proper.”
+
+An hour later they resumed their burdens, and with swinging steps
+continued on down the hillside. The grass became more profuse, and soon
+formed a velvet carpet under the feet. It was dotted with the chilca
+plant, which bears a bright yellow flower, of the same color as the
+North American dandelion; and in places could be seen the mutisia
+acuminata, with beautiful orange and red flowers, and bushes that bore
+clusters of red berries.
+
+“The landscape is becoming gorgeous,” said Hope-Jones.
+
+Trees were now larger, and vines of the semi-tropics clung to the trunks
+and to the branches. Little streams were of frequency, all running
+toward the east instead of to the west, as had been observed when on the
+other side of the cordillera; and so, late in the afternoon, the sun
+commenced to go down behind the hills, which seemed strange to those who
+were accustomed to see it sink in the ocean.
+
+“Sh!” exclaimed Hope-Jones, suddenly, then—“Drop down, fellows!”
+
+They sank into the grass.
+
+“What is it?” asked Harvey.
+
+“Look over there, in that clump of trees.”
+
+They saw something moving under the branches, then a form stood still.
+
+“It’s a deer. I suppose it’s the Peruvian taruco. Can you bring it down
+at this distance, Ferguson? If we go nearer, we shall probably see our
+supper bound away.”
+
+“I’ll try, but it’s a good range; almost six hundred yards, don’t you
+think?”
+
+“All of that.”
+
+“Then I’ll adjust the sights for seven hundred.”
+
+He threw himself flat on the grass, pushed his rifle before him, resting
+the barrel on a stone, took aim for a minute, then fired. The deer
+sprang into the open, gave a second bound, rising from all four hoofs,
+and, twisting convulsively, fell dead.
+
+“Bravo! At the first shot!” yelled Hope-Jones, and jumping up, he ran
+forward, closely followed by the others.
+
+“What shall we do now?” asked Harvey.
+
+“Fortunately I hunted quite a little when a lad in the States,” said
+Ferguson, whipping out a long knife and cutting the animal’s throat. “In
+a half hour we can skin it,” he added.
+
+“Say, fellows, I have an idea. What better place can we camp than here?”
+asked Hope-Jones.
+
+They were near a grove of tall trees, the bark of which was white, and
+in marked contrast with the dense green foliage. These were the palo de
+sangre, or blood-wood of the upper Marañon, from which is taken timber
+of a red color that is fine-grained, hard, and receives a good polish.
+The trees were not many in number, but they arched over a little brook,
+and tall grass grew between the trunks.
+
+“It’s a splendid spot,” replied Ferguson, “and I have another plan to
+add as an amendment to yours.”
+
+“What’s that?”
+
+“To remain here all to-morrow.”
+
+“And lose a day?”
+
+“No; I think we should gain thereby. I confess that I’m dead tired. The
+first day’s tramp always tells the most. Besides, we had a wearisome
+trip on the railroad, and for a week before leaving Callao we were
+continually on the jump. So a day’s rest from tramping will do us all
+good; but I don’t mean to idle away the time, for we can find plenty to
+do.”
+
+“What, for instance?”
+
+“Cut up that deer and smoke some strips of the flesh to carry with us.
+We may not always be so lucky, and smoked venison isn’t at all bad when
+one’s hungry.”
+
+The amendment was accepted, and they at once went into camp.
+
+It lacked two hours of sundown. The air was pleasant and warm, and the
+sweet odor from flowers was carried to their nostrils by a light breeze.
+Hope-Jones cleared a space for the tent and cut props for the canvas.
+Harvey fetched water from the brook and gathered firewood; and Ferguson,
+rolling up his sleeves, commenced to skin the deer, then cut a large
+steak from the loin. In an hour a bed of live coals was glowing, and,
+using a ramrod for a spit, the Ohioan commenced to broil the venison.
+Soon savory odors rose, and Hope-Jones and Harvey stood quite near,
+smacking their lips.
+
+“This is the best dinner I ever ate in my life,” said the boy fifteen
+minutes later, as he sat on the log of a tree, his tin dish between his
+knees.
+
+They crawled into the shelter-tent early that evening, right glad to
+rest, and the two young men were soon in dreamland. But Harvey tossed
+about uneasily and his eyes refused to close; he was too tired to sleep.
+For a long time he lay awake, listening to the monotonous notes of the
+yucahualpa, which sings only at night, and at last, the tent becoming
+oppressive, he took his blankets and stole quietly without. It was
+bright with starlight, but there was no moon. A breeze from the west
+moved the broad leaves of the blood-wood trees, and the sound of their
+rustling was like the roar of breakers on a distant beach.
+
+The boy stepped to a fallen tree, from the trunk of which branches
+protruded, but the leaves were gone. Wrapping one blanket completely
+around him, he lay down, his head resting in a fork several inches above
+the ground; then he drew the other blanket over him and the next minute
+was asleep.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III.
+                          A SNAKE AND A PUMA.
+
+
+“Where’s Harvey?”
+
+Hope-Jones, aroused by Ferguson, rose to an upright position and looked
+around. The flap of the shelter-tent had been thrown back, and the gray
+light of early morning was stealing in.
+
+“Not here? Perhaps he has gone to the brook.”
+
+“Yes; probably for a bath. I guess I’ll follow him.”
+
+They lazily drew on their knickerbockers, laced their shoes, and went
+outside, yawning as they stepped on the grass, for the sleep was still
+in their eyes. The next instant their attitude changed—from heavy with
+drowsiness every sense became alert, every muscle contracted and their
+nerves throbbed, their cheeks from red turned ashen pale. For Ferguson
+had clutched Hope-Jones’s arm and had whispered, “Look!”
+
+A hundred yards from where they stood lay Harvey, sound asleep, his head
+resting in the fork of a fallen tree and his face upturned. Two feet
+above this upturned face—a handsome, manly face—something was waving to
+and fro like a naked branch throbbed by the wind; only this something
+moved with a more undulating motion. It was a snake. The body was coiled
+around the limb of the tree that rose from the fork, and the flat head
+and neck waved at right angles.
+
+“Sh! It may strike if alarmed!”
+
+Both men sank to their knees.
+
+“What’s it waiting for?” whispered Hope-Jones.
+
+“I don’t know.”
+
+“What can we do? Shall I risk a shot?”
+
+“No. Your gun would scatter and perhaps hit Harvey. We must try the
+rifle.”
+
+“You do it, then. I never could hit that target.”
+
+“I’ll try,” said Ferguson, clenching his teeth; and he crawled quickly
+into the tent, and, returning with the weapon, threw himself flat on the
+grass in the position he had taken the evening before while aiming at
+the deer.
+
+The light had grown, so that twigs on trees stood out plainly. They
+could see that the snake was of a brown-green, the head very flat, and
+in and out between the jaws moved a thin tongue, vibrating as does a
+tightly stretched string that has been pulled with the fingers.
+
+“Why don’t you fire?” whispered Hope-Jones, who had thrown himself down
+beside Ferguson.
+
+“Wait. I can’t hit that. No one could.”
+
+The day was growing fast. Harvey slept without moving, and above his
+face, no nearer and no farther away, moved the flat head with
+pendulum-like regularity.
+
+All at once, a ray of light glanced from the rising sun through the
+trees and fell on the face of the sleeping boy—a line of golden light,
+reaching from forehead to chin. Harvey moved. That instant, the flat
+head ceased swaying, the portion of the body free from the tree arched
+itself like the neck of a swan and the snake was immovable, poised to
+strike. But before the fangs could be plunged into the victim, a rifle
+rang out, and the snake fell forward, writhing, upon the neck and
+shoulders of the boy, and he, at a bound, freed himself from the
+blankets and started for the woods on a run, yelling: “I’m shot! I’m
+shot!”
+
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson followed and caught up with him at the edge of
+the brook. Beads of perspiration were standing out on his forehead, and
+his face was pale.
+
+“Where are you hurt, Harvey?” asked Ferguson, anxiously.
+
+He looked at them in amazement, for as a fact he had just awakened. The
+yell and the exclamation were only part of a nightmare, which had been
+caused by the discharge of the firearm.
+
+Meanwhile Hope-Jones was feeling of him carefully, his arms, his body,
+and examining his head and neck.
+
+“He’s as sound as a dollar,” he finally said.
+
+“Of course I am,” Harvey replied rather sheepishly. “What’s all the row
+about, anyway?”
+
+“Come, we’ll show you,” and the young men led him back to the tree and
+pointed to the dead snake.
+
+Harvey did not understand even then what the scene meant. He saw his
+blankets lying to one side, where he had tossed them, and he saw the
+reptile in the place where he had slept. Then Hope-Jones related what
+had happened, and the lad turned pale again when the Englishman ended by
+saying:—
+
+“Had not Ferguson’s aim been true you would be a dead boy, because I can
+recognize this snake as of a poisonous species, although I do not know
+the name.”
+
+He turned the broad head over, and it was seen that the rifle bullet had
+entered the mouth and shattered the upper fang.
+
+Harvey was silent for several minutes while Ferguson stooped over and
+measured the reptile, announcing that it was seven feet two inches long;
+then the boy said:—
+
+“I can never, never find words to thank you.”
+
+“Don’t mention that, Harvey,” was the reply, “but remember and keep with
+us at night. We’re in a strange land now, and there’s no telling what we
+may meet.”
+
+“I suppose we have all been careless,” said Hope-Jones. “Back in the
+sierra there was no animal life, except the llama and a few goats; we
+are in the Montaña now and it’s different. However, let’s change the
+subject and have breakfast.”
+
+The fire was lighted, another venison steak was cooked, and with it they
+ate the last of the corn bread. After breakfast Ferguson set to work on
+the deer, cutting the flesh into strips, and while he was doing this
+Hope-Jones and Harvey, following his direction, built a little
+smoke-house with three boughs and started a slow fire within. Later the
+strips of flesh were hung on pieces of twine that had been stretched
+across the top, and the place was closed, except for a small opening,
+through which the fire could be replenished during the day. After this
+the three went to the brook side and washed such clothing as was
+necessary, which was hung on bushes to dry.
+
+The noonday meal consisted of fried eggs and cold venison; then, after
+tending the fire in the smoke-house once more, the three lay down for a
+siesta. The afternoon was quite warm, the drone of insects could be
+heard, and they had a refreshing sleep for two hours.
+
+But the sun was not to set without further adventure, which, like that
+of the morning, brought in its train a lesson to the three who were
+unaccustomed to the wilds of the Peruvian interior. Harvey, who was the
+first to awaken, believed that he might find some wild fruit in a clump
+of trees which grew about a quarter of a mile to the east, and so he
+left the camp at three o’clock and soon crossed the open space. He found
+himself in a little grove, the size of that in which the tent was
+pitched. But the trees, which had appeared different at a distance, were
+the same, and, disappointed, he was about to return, when his attention
+was attracted by a purring sound, like that made by kittens when their
+backs are stroked; and looking down he saw, almost beneath his feet,
+three little animals that were at play, catching each other with their
+paws by the tails and ears, and rolling over and over. They were not
+much taller than kittens, but were more plump, and their bodies were
+broader. The hair was a brownish yellow, spotted with brown of a deeper
+tint, and their little tails were ringed with the same color.
+
+The boy watched them a few minutes, then thinking what a surprise he
+could give Hope-Jones and Ferguson, he lifted one in his arms. It was
+quite heavy and gave forth a peculiar whine when taken from its
+companions. Harvey held it close and started back to the camp, walking
+briskly.
+
+He had gone about a hundred yards when there came from behind him a
+hideous howl that made his heart jump into his throat and his hair stand
+on end, while chill after chill passed down his spinal column. Glancing
+over his shoulder he saw an animal bounding after him, mouth wide open
+and foam dropping from yellow fangs. It was the size of a lion. Giving a
+scream, the boy started toward camp at a speed he had never equalled.
+For a few seconds he was so dizzy from fright that he seemed to be
+floating in air. Every muscle was stretched to its utmost, and he bent
+far forward, calling at the top of his voice, in the hope that his
+companions might hear.
+
+Another awful howl sounded, this time nearer, and he could hear the
+footfalls of the animal close behind; the next second he could hear it
+panting, and then, just as he felt that the next breath would be his
+last, reason came to him, and he dropped the little animal which,
+without thinking, he had held tight in his arms.
+
+The instant he did so the footfalls ceased and the panting grew less
+distinct. He cast a swift glance over his shoulder and saw that the
+animal had stopped beside her cub and was walking round and round the
+little yellow creature and licking it. The sight gave him hope, and he
+ran on toward the camp, ran as he had not even when that terrible
+breathing was so close, for then fear had partly benumbed him and at
+times he had staggered.
+
+He was halfway between the groves when the animal’s cry sounded again
+and acted on him like the spur on a horse. He glanced back. The creature
+had left her cub.
+
+“Perhaps she thinks I have another one of her pups,” was the thought
+that flashed through Harvey’s mind, and the inspiration came to dash his
+hat to the ground, which he did, and a few seconds later he looked back
+over his shoulder once more. Yes, the animal had stopped, but only for
+an instant, to sniff the piece of woollen, and then had bounded forward.
+
+The boy plainly saw the tent ahead, but he could not make out the figure
+of a person near the canvas. Where were Hope-Jones and Ferguson? Could
+he reach the grove? But of what use to do so, unless they were there to
+aid him? His heart beat wildly; perspiration flooded his face and stood
+out in cold beads; he felt cold all over, although he was running at a
+speed that should have given him fever heat, and the day was very warm.
+
+At that instant a man appeared near the tent, and Harvey gave a yell
+such as he had never uttered. The man stood out plainly in the afternoon
+light, and Harvey saw him turn. Simultaneously he heard the footfalls of
+the animal and the hoarse panting. The grove was near, the tent was
+near, the man was near, and he was immediately joined by another. They
+were waving to him. What could they mean?
+
+It was a signal, but he did not understand. The heavy breathing came
+nearer and nearer. The men were running toward him, throwing their hands
+out to the left. All at once he understood, and he darted to one side.
+The second after he did so the crash of a rifle rang out, then the
+deeper sound of a shot-gun.
+
+When Harvey looked up again Hope-Jones was pouring water on his head and
+Ferguson was saying:—
+
+“It’s a puma and of the largest size!”
+
+“Well, young man, have you had enough adventures for one day?” asked the
+Englishman, when the boy sat upright.
+
+“I guess I have,” he replied in a somewhat dazed voice.
+
+“You tackled quite a contract over there,” said Ferguson. “How did it
+happen?”
+
+Harvey told them, stopping now and then during the narrative, for he was
+not yet wholly over his fear, nor had he quite recovered his breath.
+
+“I guess you will keep close to us in the daytime as well as at night,”
+said Ferguson, when he had finished.
+
+“Yes, I think I shall,” the lad said somewhat dismally. “What was it you
+said chased me?”
+
+“A puma of the largest species. Do you wish to see it?” and Ferguson led
+the way a few steps to the right where the carcass of the animal lay in
+the long grass.
+
+Its legs were drawn up close to the body, proof that it had died in a
+convulsion, and Harvey shuddered as he looked at the long, sharp claws
+that protruded from soft, spongelike feet. These were the feet he had
+heard striking the ground in pursuit. The puma somewhat resembled a
+leopard, and measured forty-five inches from the nose to the root of the
+tail, and the tail was as long as the body. The head was rather small,
+the ears large and rounded. The skin was a tawny, yellowish brown, and
+the lower part of the body a dirty white.
+
+“Ugh!” exclaimed Harvey, shuddering.
+
+They walked back to camp. After supper Ferguson said:—
+
+“I move we adopt a couple of rules, to apply for the remainder of the
+journey.”
+
+“What are they?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“First, that we keep within hailing distance of one another.
+
+“Second, that one of us always has a gun in hand.”
+
+“Agreed,” said the Englishman, and Harvey nodded his head in approval.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IV.
+                         IN THE COILS OF A BOA.
+
+
+“Cross the mountains to Oroya, then go north to Huari, and in three days
+you will reach the great forest of cinchona trees,” repeated Hope-Jones,
+quoting old Huayno.
+
+“Yes, but we have gone around Oroya, as advised by the superintendent,”
+said Ferguson.
+
+“That’s why we have kept a northeast instead of a north course.”
+
+“We should sight Huari to-morrow.”
+
+“Yes. We should.”
+
+It was the fifth day of their journey from Chicla, and they were
+plodding along in a rain, rubber coats buttoned close to the chin. The
+llama path was very narrow and wound in and out among tropic verdure.
+Everything was dripping with moisture, large drops rolling from palm
+leaves, bushes throwing spray as they were released after being pushed
+one side by the pedestrians, and the long grass wound around their
+stockings until they became wringing wet. It had been impossible to
+light a fire at noon, and so they had dined on strips of smoked venison.
+
+“We must find some dry wood to-night and hang our clothing near a
+blaze,” said Harvey. The next minute he had darted ahead, then to one
+side.
+
+“Remember rule number one!” called out Ferguson.
+
+“All right,” came back the answer.
+
+They caught up with the lad in a minute, and found him standing under a
+clump of trees that were about fifteen feet in height and which had
+broad, flat tops. As they neared the spot a fragrance as of incense was
+borne to their nostrils through the rain.
+
+“Here’s a feast after all the dried deer meat!” called the boy, who had
+hung his knapsack on a branch, placed his shot-gun against the trunk of
+the tree, and was already climbing.
+
+“What is he after?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“I’m sure I don’t know. What have you found, Harvey?” called Ferguson.
+
+“Chirimoyas.”
+
+“Then we’re in luck. My mouth waters at the very thought of the fruit.
+But I never saw the tree before,” he said, looking up at their young
+companion.
+
+“The trees grow in plenty of places near Lima,” Harvey replied. “I
+recognized them at once from a distance. Here, catch!”
+
+The fruit he dropped down was heart-shaped, green, and covered with
+black knobs and scales, much as is a pineapple, and was about two-thirds
+the size of the latter.
+
+When Harvey had detached a half dozen he descended, and despite the
+inclement weather they sat down for a feast, this being the first of
+fruit or fresh vegetable they had tasted since leaving Chicla.
+
+Although it was damp no rain fell on the place where they rested, for
+the broad leaves of the trees were so interlaced as to form a natural
+umbrella that made a perfect watershed.
+
+The skin of the chirimoya is thick and tough, and their jack-knives were
+called into use, but once within the shell a treat indeed was found.
+Internally the fruit is snowy white and juicy, and embedded within the
+pulp are many seeds, but these are as easily removed as are the seeds of
+a watermelon.
+
+“My, this is delicious!” said Harvey, smacking his lips.
+
+“Picking chirimoyas from trees is better sport than picking up puma cubs
+from beneath them, is it not?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“Somewhat,” said the lad, as he buried his face in the fruit and took so
+large a mouthful that his cheeks were distended.
+
+“Be careful lest you choke,” warned Hope-Jones; then turning to Ferguson
+he asked:—
+
+“How would you describe the flavor should you wish to do so to a person
+at home?”
+
+“I couldn’t. It is finer than the pineapple, more luscious than the best
+strawberry, and richer than the peach. There is no fruit with which I
+could make comparison. Can you think of any?”
+
+“No.”
+
+They enjoyed the repast with which nature had provided them, then
+Ferguson urged that they take up their march again.
+
+“What’s the matter with remaining here?” Harvey asked.
+
+“It’s too damp. We all would have colds in the morning. No, we must find
+a dry spot, even if we have to keep going till late at night. As it is,
+perhaps we had better each take a couple of quinine pills. Here, I will
+stand treat,” and he commenced to unstrap his knapsack.
+
+“Chirimoyas for the first course and quinine for the second,” remarked
+Harvey. “Who wouldn’t call that a genuine Peruvian meal?”
+
+Then they resumed their way in the rain, which continued falling
+heavily, dripping from the trees overhead.
+
+Since morning they had been descending into a valley that was lower than
+any part of the Montaña which they had as yet traversed; indeed, they
+were at an altitude of only five thousand feet above sea level; and as
+they were on the eastern slope, where there is no trade wind to cool the
+air, the temperature had become tropical.
+
+Soon the path would mount again, and a climb of three thousand feet was
+in front before Huari could be reached; but for the time being they were
+threading a region that was as dense with vegetation as that which
+borders the Amazon. Huge vines and creepers almost hid the trees from
+view, and green moss hung in long festoons. In places were groves of
+palms, in others trees of wondrous growth that were completely covered
+with brilliant scarlet flowers. Occasionally, between branches, they saw
+rare orchids.
+
+In the jungle at the sides of the path could be heard the croaking of
+frogs, and on the bark of trees sounded the sharp notes of woodpeckers.
+At times a brilliant-colored snake crawled across the path. But they saw
+little else of animal life, although the occasional rustle of leaves
+ahead told that something savage had slunk away.
+
+“Probably a puma,” said Hope-Jones once, when they had stopped to
+listen, and had brought their guns into position. “But there is no cause
+for alarm. A puma rarely attacks a man unless brought to bay, or
+unless,” and he cast a side glance at Harvey, “some enterprising person
+endeavors to kidnap a cub.”
+
+“Will you ever forget that?” asked the boy, and they laughed.
+
+Since the day of the lad’s dual adventures little of moment had befallen
+the travellers. They had remained in company, and at night had selected
+spots in scant groves, which they had inspected thoroughly before
+pitching the shelter-tent. They were cautious during the day as well. As
+for human beings, two or three Indians had been met, but they were
+stupid specimens, who did not speak Spanish, and who manifested little
+curiosity at meeting a white man.
+
+“They are a sneaky lot,” Ferguson had said. “Notice how low their brows
+are and how narrow the forehead.”
+
+At times they saw a hut perched on a hill above the roadway, but they
+did not care to investigate, and passed them by. These places of
+habitation were constructed somewhat like the North American Indian’s
+tepee, of boughs wound with animal hides.
+
+But this all had been at a higher altitude. In the valley which they now
+trod, and which was a tropic jungle, there was no sign of man save the
+narrow path—and the path at times was almost lost to sight in the dense
+growth—which told that occasionally llama trains passed that way.
+
+Toward four o’clock in the afternoon they reached the lowest part of the
+valley, and at that hour the clouds cleared away and the sun came out,
+causing the leaves to glisten as if studded with diamonds, and the air
+became heavy with the perfume of flowers and the exudations from plants
+and vines.
+
+Coaxed by the sun, hundreds of butterflies drifted lazily from the sides
+of the jungle and moved as if borne by light currents of air from flower
+to flower. Some were white, their large wings dotted with golden yellow;
+others were purple, fringed with black; others the color of the
+dandelion, and still others were crimson. In and out, between these
+slow-moving seekers of perfume, darted hummingbirds like dashes of
+many-colored lightning, and the torn air sounded a faint note as they
+passed. This sunlight also brought lizards of many hues into its warmth,
+and chameleons which when prodded changed color, from green to red or to
+purple, depending upon the stage of anger. Meanwhile the atmosphere grew
+heavier with the tropic odors which the warm rain had coaxed from the
+vegetation.
+
+“My, but I’m sleepy!” said Hope-Jones.
+
+“So am I,” answered Harvey, who was bending over his knapsack and
+placing therein the rubber coat, of which he stood no longer in need.
+“Can’t we camp hereabout?”
+
+[Illustration: “Ran ... to the side of his friend, whom he seized by the
+collar.”]
+
+“Miasma! chills! fever!”
+
+“What’s that, Mr. Ferguson?”
+
+“I said miasma, chills, and fever. That’s what would befall us should we
+remain here for a night. Beyond,” and he pointed to the hill that rose
+on the other side of the valley, “we shall doubtless find a place for
+the tent. However, we may as well rest here a bit, and I spy a seat over
+there which I propose to occupy.”
+
+Saying this he cast aside his knapsack and rifle, then walked ahead a
+few yards and to one side, where he dropped upon what appeared to be a
+mass of twisted vine, as large as the limbs of the average tree.
+
+The instant that Ferguson sank into the seat, Hope-Jones, who had been
+looking ahead curiously, let fall everything that he had in hand or on
+his back, and springing from Harvey’s side with a bound, ran as if on a
+race-course to the side of his friend, whom he seized by the collar and
+not only lifted to an upright position, but threw with all the strength
+he possessed to the ground, by the path side, and ended by catching him
+by the legs and dragging him some distance.
+
+Ferguson was very quick-tempered, and the moment he jumped to his feet
+he darted at his companion with his fist clenched, roaring out at the
+top of his voice:—
+
+“I’ll fix you! What do you mean? That wasn’t any joke.”
+
+Harvey had run up, and he sprang between the young men, wondering what
+had caused this; and a glance at Hope-Jones’s face surprised him the
+more, for it was pale as that of a corpse, whereas Ferguson’s was red,
+and he was blowing with indignation.
+
+“I’ll teach you!” he repeated. “Get out of the way, Harvey.”
+
+But Hope-Jones had found his voice by this time, and instead of
+resenting his friend’s language he gasped: “It’s a boa! It’s a boa!”
+
+“What’s a boa?” and Ferguson glanced around.
+
+“You sat down on a boa! It’s coiled up over there!”
+
+Then the young man who had been dragged along the path so ruthlessly
+turned as pale as had his companion, and so did the lad who had
+endeavored to act as peacemaker. Meanwhile the three were retreating
+rapidly to the point where they had dropped their knapsacks and rifles.
+
+“A boa!” repeated Ferguson. “I can hardly believe it!”
+
+“Yes. I once saw one coiled up like that in a menagerie, and the thought
+that your seat was alive came to me the instant you sat down. As I drew
+near I made out the scales, which resemble the bark on a tree, and I
+also saw the head. Its eyes are closed, and it’s evidently in a torpor
+after gorging. You sat right down in the coils, and it’s a wonder it
+didn’t wake and squeeze the life out of you.”
+
+Ferguson shuddered, then throwing an arm around his chum’s shoulder, he
+said:—
+
+“Forgive me, old man.”
+
+“Why, of course. I don’t blame you in the least. I wouldn’t have blamed
+you if you had struck me. In which case we would have fought and
+afterward would have discussed matters. I expected as much the moment I
+laid a hand on you, but there wasn’t time for explanations at that stage
+of the game.”
+
+“I should say not.”
+
+They resumed their burdens and walked forward again along the footpath,
+but they kept at a respectful distance from his majesty the snake, which
+remained as when first spied by Ferguson, motionless.
+
+“I don’t wonder that I was fooled,” said he, halting for a look at the
+enormous reptile. “It looks exactly like branches or a huge vine coiled;
+now, doesn’t it?”
+
+“Yes, it does,” assented Harvey, “but down below I can see the head.
+What enormous jaws!”
+
+“Like a shark’s.”
+
+“And they say that the jaws will stretch still wider, for they are
+fastened together by ligaments that are as elastic as rubber.”
+
+“Yes, they will stretch so that it can swallow a young deer.”
+
+“Perhaps that’s what it’s gorging on now.”
+
+“Perhaps. You notice that hump below the neck? That’s as far as the prey
+has moved down toward the creature’s stomach.”
+
+“Are you going to try a shot?”
+
+“No, Harvey. Why should I? The boa hasn’t harmed us, and should I only
+wound it, one of us might suffer, for it’s said they move with wonderful
+rapidity for a short distance.”
+
+“Would it not be a good plan to hasten and climb the hill yonder?”
+suggested Hope-Jones. “It won’t be safe to sleep in this valley
+to-night, and goodness only knows what we’ll stumble over next.”
+
+The others evidently thought so also, for they quickened their pace, and
+giving the boa a wide berth they pushed ahead. An hour later they were
+threading their way by the side of a little stream up the hillside.
+After walking some distance Harvey said:—
+
+“Mr. Ferguson?”
+
+“Yes, my lad.”
+
+“Are you going to quiz me any more about that puma cub?”
+
+“No, Harvey. I’ll call the account square, if you will.”
+
+Hope-Jones laughed. “It looks very much as though I should have plenty
+of amusement with both——”
+
+Ferguson and Harvey stood stock still. Hope-Jones had vanished from
+sight.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V.
+            HUARI, AND THE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTESS.
+
+
+“B-r-r-r-r!” came a voice.
+
+“What on earth has happened?” asked Ferguson, in amazement, bending over
+a large hole that had suddenly yawned at their feet.
+
+“B-r-r-r! Help me out, fellows! I’m stifling!”
+
+They threw themselves face down at the edge of the cavity, and reached
+their hands below, but could not feel anything.
+
+“Quick, Harvey! Give me the pick! Catch that, old man!” he called,
+pushing the iron arms into the opening. A pressure was felt and a hoarse
+voice replied:—
+
+“That’ll help. I can crawl up the side that slopes.”
+
+The next minute Hope-Jones was with them again, blowing dirt from his
+mouth and saying unpleasant things about the animal that had dug the
+hole at the path side. His ears were filled with loam, black earth had
+sifted back of his shirt collar, and such hair as projected beneath his
+cap was tangled with the soil. As for his clothing, it was streaked.
+Fortunately, his shot-gun, knapsack, and pick remained fastened to his
+back, and although dirty, he was none the loser because of his drop
+below the surface. Ferguson and Harvey brushed him off as best they
+could, then the three resumed their way up the hill.
+
+“I didn’t see any hole,” remarked the Englishman, a few minutes later.
+
+“It was at the side of the path; most of it in the jungle, and leaves
+had fallen over the edge,” Ferguson replied.
+
+“Mr. Hope-Jones?”
+
+“Yes, Harvey.”
+
+“Will you cry quits on the puma cub?”
+
+“Certainly, my lad.”
+
+“Hope-Jones!”
+
+“Yes, Ferguson, I know what you are about to say. Boa, puma cub, and
+holes are barred subjects evermore.”
+
+And they shook hands in a chain.
+
+The path ascended rapidly and the vegetation became less tangled as the
+travellers proceeded; so too the atmosphere grew somewhat more bracing,
+for the heavy odor of the valley did not mount to any height. With the
+setting of the sun the new moon shone for several hours above the
+horizon, and the silvery rays from the crescent, together with the
+starlight, illumined their way so they were able to make rapid progress
+until about ten o’clock, when the ground becoming quite dry—for the rain
+of the valley had not extended this far—they pitched the shelter-tent
+and built a rousing fire, near which they placed their damp clothing.
+Toward midnight they turned in “tired to the bone,” as Harvey expressed
+it, and none awakened until the sun was two hours’ high. Then, looking
+down into the valley, they saw a billowy mist, which completely hid even
+the tallest trees.
+
+“There’s miasma for you!” exclaimed Ferguson, pointing to the vapor. “As
+we passed through it, perhaps we should take some more quinine.”
+
+They acted on the suggestion, then, after a hurried breakfast, set off
+on the road again, for they were anxious to reach Huari that day, and
+the morning start had been late. The road was up grade until the noon
+hour, then became level again, and the vegetation was the same as on the
+other side of the valley, before they had plunged into the riot of
+undergrowth. Toward three o’clock they saw smoke rising lazily ahead and
+concluded they must be nearing a town. A half hour later they came upon
+a number of huts on the outskirts. Fields of maize and cotton were under
+cultivation, and brown men, half naked, were at work in them with
+primitive tools—ploughs that were but sharpened boughs of the ironwood
+tree, trimmed wedge-shaped, and drawn by small oxen; shovels made from
+the same wood; and other agricultural implements with which they were
+strangers, fashioned from stones that had been worn to sharp edges. All
+the men wore beards, some quite long.
+
+The huts became more numerous, and naked little children, standing in
+the doorways or running about in the narrow streets, stared at the
+travellers, while the older boys and girls, who wore loin cloths or
+skins of animals fastened as tunics, called in the Indian tongue to
+persons who were within the dwellings. They met few men and fewer women;
+the better class of the former wore trousers and a poncho (a blanket
+with a hole cut in the middle, through which the head is thrust, and
+which falls over the shoulders); whereas the poorer class were content
+with the upper dress that came to the ankles: but the women wore gowns
+of gorgeous color, though they were ill-shapen and no attempt was made
+to fit the figure.
+
+The travellers neared the centre of the town before they met a “white
+man,” or one who did not belong to the Indian race. His features were
+proof that he or his ancestors had come from a foreign land, being in
+marked contrast with the thick, stubby nose, narrow forehead, and broad
+lips of the Ayulis. Hope-Jones doffed his cap and addressed him in
+Spanish.
+
+The Peruvian, who had been staring at them since they had come in sight,
+at once joined them, and not only shook hands, but placed his right arm
+around the shoulders of each in turn, patting him on the back, meanwhile
+speaking rapidly, with much sibilation of the s’s and rolling of the
+r’s, conveying in the most flowery language his delight at their visit.
+
+So they had journeyed all the way from Lima! How tired they must be! But
+what matter? He had comfortable beds at his house and they must rest for
+a week, or a month if necessary, and be his guest the while. What, could
+only remain one night? Surely, they would be courting illness by thus
+hurrying along. No matter, he would speak of that later. They must
+accompany him now.
+
+He placed his hand in Hope-Jones’s arm, and gathering his poncho, which
+was quite long, much as a woman would her skirts, he turned in the
+direction from which he had come and led the way, explaining as they
+walked that there were few white men in Huari, “and,” he added, “some of
+them you would not wish to meet.”
+
+At the word “bed” Harvey had become very much interested, so, for that
+matter, had Ferguson and Hope-Jones, and they were not at all loath to
+accept the invitation which had been so insistently given.
+
+After travelling five minutes and entering what was evidently the better
+section of the Montaña town, they stopped before a one-story building,
+bordered by verandas, that was spread out over much ground and was
+surrounded by fruit trees. It was the most imposing structure they had
+yet seen in the village, though, like others, it was built of adobe,
+reënforced with bamboo.
+
+The host and his companions were met by an Indian woman, who appeared to
+be of better class than those the travellers had seen on the streets,
+and she was presented to them as Señora Cisneros. Her greeting was
+spoken in excellent Spanish, and although not quite as demonstrative as
+her husband’s, it was none the less sincere. The travellers were led to
+two connecting rooms, and after discarding their burdens and returning
+to the cool veranda, they were asked if they would not like to drink
+some cold coffee.
+
+“We have learned the art of coffee-making from the Brazilians,” said
+Señor Cisneros, “and, believe me, the beverage is better cold than hot.
+Would you like to observe our arrangement? But perhaps you are tired?”
+
+Hope-Jones confessed that he was tired, but Ferguson and Harvey
+manifested interest in the Brazilians’ teachings; so while the
+Englishman remained on the veranda, chatting with the señora, the two
+young Americans accompanied the host to the rear of the house and into
+an arbor that was covered with trailing vines. It was a cool spot, far
+enough from buildings to be affected by all breezes, and in the centre
+stood an immense earthen vessel, the height of a man and at least four
+feet in circumference. A foot and a half from the bottom was a spigot.
+
+“This jar is made of porous clay,” said the señor, tapping the vessel,
+“and as a slight amount of the liquid filters through, evaporation cools
+its contents. Once every three months we boil coffee by the barrel. It
+is poured in here, permitted to settle for a week, and all sediment goes
+to the bottom. You will notice that I draw the liquid from some distance
+above,” and he placed a pitcher beneath the spigot, turning which, a
+dark, clear liquid flowed.
+
+“Taste it?” and he filled a small cup, then another. “Is it not cold?”
+he added.
+
+Ferguson and Harvey found the beverage delicious, and expressed wonder
+that it could be coffee.
+
+“Wait until some sugar is added,” said the Peruvian, as pitcher in hand
+he led the way back to the house.
+
+For a half hour they rested on the veranda, sipping cold coffee
+sweetened with brown sugar, and eating paltas, which Señora Cisneros had
+placed on a little table. They related their adventures to host and
+hostess, and, without revealing their reason for visiting the interior,
+told that they were in search of gold.
+
+Señor Cisneros shook his head. “Perhaps there is gold,” he said, “but I
+have found no trace of any.”
+
+Then he told that for years he had been engaged in silver-mining, and
+that his llama trains passed over the road which they had travelled.
+
+“When the railroad pierces the interior,” he continued, “there will be
+much profit made by those who extract metals from the ground, but with
+the present method of transportation one does well to gain a
+livelihood.”
+
+The señora was very anxious to hear about Lima. She had been there once,
+but only for a few days, soon after her marriage.
+
+After a time the host ordered hammocks swung on the veranda, and in
+these Hope-Jones, Ferguson, and Harvey rested until a few minutes before
+dinner. It seemed good to sit down in chairs, at a table, and to taste
+other food than the game and fruits of the woods, to say nothing of
+having crockery dishes to eat from instead of the tin plates. They were
+early in bed, and after a refreshing night’s sleep between sheets,
+which, though coarse, were cool and clean, they awoke with renewed
+determination to continue their journey.
+
+But while they were enjoying more of the señor’s delicious coffee—heated
+this time—rain commenced to fall; huge drops came in sheets and leaden
+clouds hung low; so they were nothing loath to accept an urgent
+invitation to remain another day and night. Señora Cisneros, learning of
+the scant stock of clothing they had taken with them, insisted upon
+overhauling their knapsacks, and she passed several hours of the morning
+with needle and thread, darning and mending. In the afternoon she packed
+them some food from her well-stocked larder, sufficient to last and add
+variation to their mountain bill of fare for several days.
+
+The next morning dawned warm and bright, and the adventurers started
+early, after thanking host and hostess time and again; and they promised
+themselves the pleasure of a longer visit on their return. They were
+passing from the town and were waving their caps to Señor Cisneros, who
+had accompanied them to the outskirts, when Ferguson said:—
+
+“He’s a splendid fellow. I wish he were going with us.”
+
+“So do I,” said Hope-Jones. “He would be a jolly companion.”
+
+Harvey came suddenly to a halt.
+
+“What’s the matter,” the young men asked.
+
+“I happened to think of something. Cisneros is a miner.”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“And he knows this country.”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“He’s honest.”
+
+“He has every appearance of being so. What are you driving at?”
+
+“And he told us that his silver mines were not paying very well,”
+persisted the boy.
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“If we find gold we’re going to find a great deal, are we not?”
+
+“So old Huayno said. But why are you wasting time standing here and
+asking all these questions?”
+
+“Because I move we turn back.”
+
+“Turn back! Why?”
+
+“And ask Señor Cisneros to join us.”
+
+“Tell him the secret?”
+
+“Yes, and take him in on shares. One quarter for each.”
+
+Ferguson slapped his hand on his thigh. “Bully for you, Harvey! That’s a
+splendid idea. I wonder it never came to me.”
+
+“It never entered my mind until the last time he waved his hat,” said
+the boy, looking pleased at the approval he had been given, for
+Hope-Jones had spoken as warmly in favor of the project as had the
+American; and the three at once commenced to retrace their footsteps.
+They found their erstwhile host on the veranda of his home, bidding
+adieu to his wife, for he had planned a trip to a neighboring village.
+
+“Take him one side and explain, Ferguson,” whispered Hope-Jones.
+
+“I am delighted that you are returning,” he called out when they
+appeared. “Thought you would rest a little longer?”
+
+“No, señor; thank you. We wished to consult with you regarding a certain
+matter. Will you go for a short walk with me?” asked the elder American.
+
+“With pleasure,” and he led the way back of the house, to the arbor,
+while Hope-Jones and Harvey remained on the veranda with the señora, who
+looked at them curiously, wondering of course what it meant, but she
+politely refrained from asking questions.
+
+The two were absent about a half hour, and when they came in sight again
+Ferguson nodded his head, as if to say, “He will go,” and the señor
+grasped each of them by a hand.
+
+“Pardon me, but I must immediately tell my wife of this extraordinary
+news,” said he. “You need have no fear. My secrets are safe with her,”
+and the two passed into the house.
+
+“So he’ll go?”
+
+“I should say so. You should have seen his eyes glisten. He believes
+that every word old Huayno uttered is true; says he’s heard legends of
+this sort, but no one was ever able to locate the mine. All stories
+agree, however, that it is beyond the cinchona trees.”
+
+“It was a capital thought, that of Harvey’s! I wonder how long it will
+be before he can accompany us?”
+
+The señor answered the question in person, reappearing just then and
+saying, “I shall be able to leave in an hour, if you wish to start that
+soon.”
+
+“In an hour?”
+
+“Yes,” he replied, smiling. “I am accustomed to long journeys and am
+always ready for departure. The señora is even now placing my things in
+order.”
+
+So it happened that at nine o’clock they again departed from Huari, but
+this time they were four in number, instead of three. When beyond the
+confines of the village the travellers from the coast were surprised at
+being addressed by their new friend in the English tongue.
+
+“I did not know you could speak our language,” exclaimed Ferguson.
+
+“It has been long since I have used it,” was the reply, “or I should
+have a better accent and vocabulary. For ten years, until I was
+seventeen, I lived in New York City; but that was thirty-five years ago,
+and since then I have only met Englishmen and Americans occasionally.”
+
+“Why didn’t you let us know before that you could speak English?”
+
+“Because you are excellent Spanish scholars; and as my wife has not
+enjoyed the same advantages that I have, I prefer to converse in the
+tongue with which she is familiar. Now that we are away from Huari,
+however, and by ourselves, I should be very glad to use only the English
+and learn from you that which I have forgotten.”
+
+They found the señor a most pleasant companion and also a valuable
+addition to the party. On the trip from Chicla to Huari, after the
+edibles which were stored in their knapsacks had been exhausted, they
+were compelled to live on game, and the diet became monotonous. But
+Señor Cisneros added to the daily bill of fare materially by his
+knowledge of the Peruvian vegetable world. He cut tender shoots from a
+certain palm tree, which, when boiled, tasted something like the
+northern cauliflower; from a vine that grew in and out the long grass,
+he made an excellent substitute for spinach: before he joined them they
+had feared to eat berries, not knowing which were poisonous; now they
+were able to enjoy a dessert of fruit after every meal. Their cooking
+utensils had also been added to at Huari, a pot among other articles,
+and in this the novel vegetables were cooked.
+
+In lieu of a knapsack the Peruvian was provided with two commodious bags
+made of llama skins, which were fastened together by a broad strip of
+hide by which they depended from his shoulders. He carried a rifle of
+the muzzle-loading description, an old-time powder horn and
+bullet-pouch. He proved himself as good a shot as Ferguson, and a
+pleasant rivalry soon sprang up between the two.
+
+Old Huayno had told them to push ahead for three days from Huari, to the
+forest of cinchona trees, and find the head waters of the Marañon, one
+of the rivers that are tributary to the Amazon.
+
+At its source this stream is very small, and the travellers from Callao
+had wondered how they might recognize it from others, and had regarded
+this stage of the journey with some apprehension, lest they might fail
+in reaching the river on which the great white rock was located. But
+Señor Cisneros knew exactly the course to take, and without aid of
+compass he directed their steps.
+
+“We shall be longer than three days on this journey,” he said. “Your
+Indian friend reckoned the distance as it was covered by those of his
+tribe who were able to move much more swiftly than we can with our
+numerous burdens. We shall be five days, rather than three.”
+
+“Then from the river’s source to the great white rock it will perhaps be
+two weeks’ journey?”
+
+“Yes; I should think it probable.”
+
+He was correct concerning the distance from Huari; it was evening of the
+fifth day when they pitched the shelter-tent on the edge of a dense,
+dark forest.
+
+“My, but there’s sufficient quinine in there to cure a world of giants!”
+exclaimed Harvey.
+
+“Those are not cinchona trees, my son,” said the Peruvian.
+
+“No? But I thought this was the forest of cinchona trees.”
+
+“So it is; for the reason that the valuable growth appears frequently in
+these woods. We will doubtless see many specimens during our journey,
+but none is in sight from here.”
+
+“What does the tree look like, señor?”
+
+“It resembles the beech, with the flowing branches of the lilac, and has
+smooth wood, susceptible of a high polish. The leaves resemble those of
+the coffee plant.”
+
+“Are you versed in the method of preparing quinine from the bark,
+señor?”
+
+“It happens that I have made the subject quite a study,” he replied.
+“Several years ago a representative of the British government was my
+guest in Huari. He had been sent to Peru for the purpose of deciding
+whether it would be possible to transplant young cinchona trees from
+these forests to India and other tropical countries. With him I made
+several expeditions.”
+
+“What was the result, señor?”
+
+“He recommended that transplanting be attempted. It was done, and I
+understand that cinchona groves are thriving in many places.”
+
+“Is that possible!” said Ferguson. “I was of the opinion that Peruvian
+bark only grew in Peru. But as I think of it, I really am very ignorant
+on the subject. Perhaps you will tell us more concerning the enemy of
+chills and fever.”
+
+“I will be glad to, but suppose we have supper first.”
+
+To this all agreed. They had made the tent ready for the night while
+thus conversing, and had gathered fuel for the evening fire, so that
+soon the pot was surrounded by a bright blaze.
+
+“The water in which our food is cooking should have a peculiar charm for
+us all,” said the señor.
+
+“Why so?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“Because it comes from the Marañon, which flows past the white rock and
+the gold mine.”
+
+“Do you mean to say that the little stream from which I fetched water is
+the Marañon, señor?” Harvey asked.
+
+“Yes, or one of the small branches that form the head. A day’s journey
+from here it broadens considerably. How it is beyond I do not know, for
+I have never gone further.”
+
+After supper, when they had drawn up logs for seats near the fire,
+because the night was chill and a damp breeze came from out the forest,
+Señor Cisneros commenced his promised narrative of the white powder that
+occupies such a prominent place in the medical world.
+
+“Once upon a time, in fact in the year 1638, there lived in Cuzco a most
+beautiful woman who was loved by all who knew her.”
+
+“Why, you are starting out as if telling a fairy story!” said Harvey,
+laughing.
+
+“The facts are something like one of those charming tales,” replied the
+señor, who resumed:—
+
+“This woman, renowned for her beauty and her grace of manner, was the
+wife of the ruler of Peru. One day she became grievously ill, and the
+doctors of that time were unable to remedy her condition. Her flesh
+burned with great heat, her cheeks were flushed with red, her eyes were
+unusually bright, and the blood pulsed rapidly through her veins. She
+soon became delirious, failed to recognize her husband and children, and
+all those in the palace were in despair.
+
+“At that time a most learned man was the corregidor, or chief
+magistrate, of Loxa. He was not only versed in the study of the law, but
+he had familiarized himself more than any other man with the vegetable
+life of Peru; he was a botanist, self-taught. This man learned that the
+countess was at death’s door; and hastening to the palace he asked
+permission to see her. It was granted, and after looking for a few
+minutes upon the woman, who was tossing about on the silken couch, he
+abruptly left the apartment, saying that he would soon return.
+
+“Within the half hour he was back, carrying a shallow dish, in which
+were pieces of bark steeped in water. He gave the countess some of the
+liquid to drink and urged that the dose be repeated at intervals during
+two days. His instructions were followed; she became restful, slept
+sweetly, and the fever left her body. In a week she was up and about,
+and in a fortnight was out in the palace grounds.”
+
+“And that story is true?” asked Harvey.
+
+“Yes, true in every detail. It is vouched for in the public records of
+Peru.”
+
+“Of course the drug he gave her was the essence of Peruvian bark.”
+
+“Yes, extracted in a primitive form.”
+
+“What was her name?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“The Countess of Chinchon.”
+
+“That is why the tree is called cinchona?”
+
+“It is, and to be more correct one should spell it ‘chinchona’ instead
+of ‘cinchona.’”
+
+“How did the term quinine originate?”
+
+“From the Indian compound word ‘Quina-Quina,’ meaning ‘bark of barks.’”
+
+“You say the trees are isolated, señor?”
+
+“Yes. They seldom grow in clumps, and the task of finding them is often
+great; the native searchers, or cascarilleros, undergo great hardships
+in penetrating the jungle-like forests.”
+
+“How is the white powder prepared?”
+
+“There are several processes, the most popular, I believe, being that of
+mixing pulverized bark thoroughly with milk of lime, then treating the
+substance to the action of certain chemicals, and ultimately the
+sulphate of quinine is produced. Different manufacturers have different
+processes; many of them are kept a secret. The object is to extract the
+maximum amount of quinine from the bark and leave as little of other
+ingredients in the powder as possible.”
+
+From the subject of Peruvian bark they changed to that of the journey on
+the morrow, and a half hour later, with knapsacks and bags as pillows,
+they went to sleep in the shelter-tent. Harvey, as he closed his eyes,
+thought of the beautiful Countess of Chinchon, and wondered if she could
+have been as pretty as Señorita Bella Caceras, a girl in Callao whom he
+had met under most peculiar circumstances while adrift one night in the
+bay of that name.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI.
+                       A DISCOVERY AND AN ALARM.
+
+
+They entered the forest the next day, and for a week were in its
+confines, threading the right bank of the Marañon and following its
+current.
+
+The way along the river was easy to travel, when compared with the
+seemingly impassable jungle to the right and the left of the stream, but
+it was not without its difficulties, and many times they were compelled
+to stop and cut the heavy growth of vines with the small axe which Señor
+Cisneros had added to the outfit. At night they were bothered by
+mosquitoes, and the insect plague became so great one evening that they
+kept watch and watch, the one on duty throwing on the embers of the fire
+a bark which emitted a light yellow smoke which drove the pests away.
+
+Game was plentiful in this forest, and what with the flesh of
+four-footed animals and birds, reënforced at times by fish caught in the
+stream and the vegetables harvested by the Peruvian, they managed to
+fare very well. But in other respects they were not treated so kindly.
+Thorns tore their trousers and their coats, their shoes were wearing
+out, and faces and hands became covered with scratches and bruises, the
+latter caused by many falls, which it was impossible to avoid because of
+the insecure footing.
+
+In spite of this they were in the best of health; and as for their
+clothing, they made good use each night of the needles and thread which
+they had brought; and although some of the darns and patches were
+curiosities to look upon, they served their purpose. Hope-Jones and
+Ferguson had both been smooth-shaven while in the city, but by the time
+they were a week from Huari, mustaches covered their upper lips and
+light growths of beard were dependent from their chins.
+
+“Nobody in Callao would know you,” said Harvey, one morning. “I never
+saw such a change in persons.”
+
+“How about yourself?” retorted Ferguson. “If you could but glance at
+your own face in a mirror you would not say much.”
+
+Somewhat later in the day the boy made use of a deep pool of water for
+that purpose, and was surprised to see, peering up at him, features that
+were copper-colored from sunburn and exposure to the elements. The
+outdoor life at home had tanned him somewhat, but nothing in comparison
+with this.
+
+The weather, while they were in the forest, was dry and pleasant, but
+the very day they emerged from its confines, a rain poured down that was
+even heavier than that which had detained them twenty-four hours at
+Huari. It commenced to fall as they were awakening, and descended in
+such torrents that any thought of trying to pursue their way while it
+lasted had to be abandoned. Their shelter-tent was fortunately pitched
+on a slight elevation, beneath the branches of a large ironwood tree
+which broke the force of the drops, or rather of the rain-sheets.
+
+Señor Cisneros and Hope-Jones put on rubber coats and dug a shallow
+trench around the canvas, making a channel toward the river, and for the
+remainder of the day they sat in the little enclosure, except for a few
+minutes when one or the other ventured forth for a “breath of fresh
+air.” All wood in the vicinity was too wet for use as fuel; indeed,
+there was no spot where they could build a fire, had they had dry
+timber; so they were compelled to subsist upon smoked meat.
+
+“This is Monday, is it not?” Harvey asked.
+
+“Yes, and a decidedly blue Monday,” was the reply.
+
+Toward evening they voted it the most miserable day of the journey, and
+their only comfort came from the Peruvian, who assured them that the
+heavy rains in that season seldom lasted for more than one day.
+
+The rule held in this instance, and soon after dark the clouds were
+driven away, the moon silvered the dripping trees and bushes, and the
+travellers were able to emerge from under the canvas. By digging beneath
+some leaves, they found dried, decayed wood, that served admirably for
+fuel, and soon had a roaring blaze started, over which they cooked some
+fish that Harvey had caught during the afternoon.
+
+After leaving the dense forest behind, they followed the Marañon through
+a much more open country. There were many trees, but they were not so
+close together, nor were they so tangled with vines, and the undergrowth
+also became thinner. This was due to a change in the soil, they having
+passed from the region of black earth to a land that contained more
+sand. It became quite rocky close to the river, and they were compelled
+to make frequent detours from the bank because of the boulders through
+which the stream passed.
+
+One morning all became very much interested in witnessing a body of
+foraging ants, to which their attention was called by Señor Cisneros.
+
+“These little creatures can be seen only in South and Central America,”
+he said, “and they have the reputation of being the wisest of all
+antdom. Look how they are marching in regular phalanxes, with officers
+in command!”
+
+The diminutive black and gray army covered a space about three yards
+square, and was moving from the river across the path.
+
+“I will interrupt their progress,” said the Peruvian, “and we shall have
+plenty of opportunity to observe them. Fetch me that pot full of water,
+Harvey.”
+
+While the lad was hastening to the river, he dug with one of the picks
+until he had made a narrow channel about ten feet long, into which he
+poured the water as soon as it was brought him, and just as the vanguard
+of the ant army approached. The little soldiers halted on the edge of
+this ditch, and from the sides and rear hurried ants that evidently were
+officers.
+
+“Now I shall give them a small bridge,” the señor said, “and if they
+have the intelligence of a body that I observed about a month ago, they
+will quickly make the footway broader and in a novel manner.”
+
+Saying which, he cut a rather long twig, one that was narrow, but would
+reach across the little trench, and this he placed in position.
+
+Two of the ants hurried on the little span, then returned to the army.
+They evidently gave some instructions, for two or three score of the
+main body left the ranks, and hurrying on to the twig, swung themselves
+from the sides in perfect line, until the passageway had been made three
+times as broad as before. Then, at an order, the army commenced moving
+over.
+
+“Isn’t that wonderful!” exclaimed Hope-Jones.
+
+“Indeed, yes. Many students of the ant rank him in intelligence next to
+man. You will observe that the little fellows who are offering their
+bodies as planks for the bridge are of a different color, and evidently
+different species from the marchers, and that others of both kinds
+constitute the main body.”
+
+“Yes, that is so.”
+
+“The little fellows are slaves.”
+
+“Slaves?” echoed all three.
+
+“Yes, slaves captured in battle, and made to do the masters’ bidding.”
+
+“Do they always obey?”
+
+“I have watched them many times and have never seen any sign of
+rebellion. Frequently the superior ant, or the one who owns the slaves,
+will remain perfectly still and direct the little servants. In that way
+I saw a score of the slaves tug away at a dead bee, one day, and it was
+perfectly plain that a larger ant that stood near by was giving orders.”
+
+“You say they are called foraging ants?”
+
+“Yes. They roam about in bands like this in search of food. They are
+carnivorous and eat such insects as are unfortunate enough to be in
+their path.”
+
+The army was fully fifteen minutes crossing the living bridge, and when
+the last company had passed, the slave ants detached themselves and
+followed. But two or three, evidently exhausted by the strain, fell from
+the twig into the river. No attention was given them; they were left to
+drown.
+
+“Did you notice that?” said the señor. “Now watch how differently
+members of the superior class of ants are treated when in distress.”
+
+He stepped ahead a few feet and drawing some of the larger species from
+the main body with a stick, he covered them partly with gravel, until
+only a leg or two were visible. At once several ants of the same species
+stopped their march, and summoning a small body of slave ants, went to
+the rescue. By butting with their heads and tugging away at the small
+stones the slaves soon rescued the imprisoned masters, and all rejoined
+the army, bringing up the rear.
+
+“Bravo!” shouted Harvey, as if the little fellows could understand.
+
+That afternoon the travellers fell to conversing of the old mine which
+they expected to find. Not that it was an unusual subject for
+conversation, for it was the topic most frequently broached; but the
+talk this day was of special interest, because Señor Cisneros told them
+minutely of the mining laws of Peru. Hope-Jones had expressed worry lest
+foreigners would not be permitted to enjoy the results of discovery, but
+his fears were set at rest by the Peruvian, who said:—
+
+“Our mining laws have been greatly misunderstood in other countries, and
+exaggerated reports concerning them have been sent broadcast. The
+foreigner’s right to own what he finds, providing no one else has a
+prior claim, has never been disputed. Recently it was made the subject
+of special legislation. During the last session Congress passed a law
+which, among other provisions, states that ‘Strangers can acquire and
+work mines in all the territory of the Republic, enjoying all the rights
+and remaining subject to all the obligations of the natives respecting
+the property and the workings of the mines; but they cannot exercise
+judicial functions in the government of the mines.’”
+
+“What does that last clause mean, señor?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“It has been interpreted to mean that the foreigner cannot hold the
+position of mine superintendent, the object plainly being to prevent his
+having active control of the natives who, of course, would be called in
+to do the manual labor.”
+
+“It is fortunate then that we have taken you with us,” said Ferguson.
+“You will be able to act as superintendent, and we shall not have to
+employ an outsider.”
+
+“I should like nothing better; that is, providing we find the mine. But
+are we not, as you say in the States, counting our chickens before they
+are born?”
+
+“Before they are hatched,” corrected Harvey, but not in a manner which
+the señor could possibly take exception to—for that matter, he had asked
+them many times to speak of his mistakes during the trip. “Oh, it’s fun
+to do that,” continued the lad. “So I move that we have an election of
+officers, and I place Mr. Hope-Jones in nomination for president.”
+
+“I vote ay,” said Ferguson.
+
+“And I also,” said the Peruvian.
+
+“Of course _I_ do,” Harvey said. “And I nominate Mr. Ferguson for
+treasurer.”
+
+The others agreed as before.
+
+“Let me propose Harvey Dartmoor for secretary,” said the señor, entering
+into the spirit of the moment.
+
+The choice was unanimous.
+
+“And now,” Hope-Jones said, “we will name Señor Anton Cisneros
+vice-president and general superintendent of all our properties.”
+
+“Thank you, gentlemen,” said the Peruvian, doffing his hat. “I only hope
+the stockholders of the corporation will be of your mind.”
+
+“The stockholders! How can they change our election?”
+
+“You will have to sell stock in order to work the property, and those
+who buy shares will have a right to vote.”
+
+“Certainly. But cannot we hold the majority of shares?”
+
+“I am glad to hear you say that. If we find anything nearly as valuable
+as the old Indian claimed, it would be a pity to let the property pass
+out of our control.”
+
+“Tell us something more of the mining laws, won’t you?” asked Ferguson.
+“In speaking of the recent enactment, you stated that ‘strangers should
+be subject to all the obligations of natives.’ What does that mean? Is
+the taxation heavy?”
+
+“On the contrary, it is very light, just sufficient to meet the expenses
+of the government mining bureau. The tax is fifteen dollars a year for
+every mine,—gold, silver, nitrate of soda, salt, petroleum,—no matter
+what it may be.”
+
+“And how would we ‘prove a claim,’ as they say in the States?”
+
+“Did you inquire in Lima whether any mines had been reserved in the
+locality where we intend prospecting?”
+
+“No, señor, for we did not wish to attract attention to that section of
+the state.”
+
+“You were doubtless right. It was perhaps unnecessary. In all
+probability no one has sought treasure in that region. Still, that point
+must first be definitely settled. The government issues a quarterly
+statement, called the ‘padron,’ in which are given the boundaries of all
+new claims. These padrons are indexed, and it is possible to learn the
+location of all mines in a given region. If we discover valuable
+properties where old Huayno said they were located, or anywhere else, we
+will at once stake off the land, just as is done in the United States,
+then return to Lima, examine the padron index, and if no one else has a
+claim we will notify the Deputy Commissioner of Mining that we desire
+title.
+
+“He will issue us a document, upon our payment of the first year’s tax,
+which will be similar to the ‘patent applied for’ paper given in the
+United States. Within ninety days after receiving this, it will be
+necessary to return to the mine with one of the officials of the mining
+department and an official surveyor, whose expenses for the trip we
+shall be compelled to meet. These will fix the actual boundaries, and
+upon their return to Lima a document will be issued giving us the right
+to mine the property, and guaranteeing our sole possession so long as we
+pay the annual tax.”
+
+“That all seems very simple,” said Harvey.
+
+They had few adventures during this stage of the journey. Several times
+wild animals crossed their paths, but the young men had learned wisdom
+on the trip from Chicla to Huari, and Señor Cisneros was an old
+woodsman, so they were always on the lookout. Game continued plentiful,
+although the country grew more open each day.
+
+The Marañon changed from a slow-running stream to a broad,
+rapid-coursing river; in places were cataracts, and the shore line
+became uneven, boulders being piled so high that the way between them
+was difficult to find. In this rough country they were once all day
+going three miles and were exhausted when night came. Harvey and
+Ferguson had large blisters on their feet, and the other two proposed
+that they rest for the twenty-four hours following; but the Americans
+were too anxious to proceed, being so near the journey’s end, and the
+next morning, binding pieces of a handkerchief around the bruised
+places, they announced themselves able to push ahead.
+
+This was the twelfth day from Huari, and all agreed that at any time
+they might come upon the great rock that marked the way to the mine.
+They were certain they had not passed it unobserved, for since the fifth
+day from the village they had not moved a step forward after dusk or
+until morning was well advanced. When compelled to make detours, one or
+more of them had ascended every half hour to some eminence, like a tree
+or a high mound, and had carefully surveyed the right bank to the
+water’s edge.
+
+Toward four o’clock on this day Hope-Jones and Harvey were walking
+somewhat in advance of the others. The boy was limping slightly and was
+in more pain than he would admit to his companion, who had urged him not
+to go any further, to which Harvey had replied, “One more mile and then
+I’ll give in.”
+
+The lad was singing, to keep up his courage, and the words were those of
+the familiar Sunday-school hymn:—
+
+                      “Onward, Christian soldiers,
+                      Marching as to war.”
+
+Suddenly he stopped, gave a yell, and his face turned pale.
+
+“What is it?” exclaimed Hope-Jones. “Are you hurt?”
+
+“Look! Look! Look!” and the boy pointed straight ahead, between two
+trees. There, bathed in sunlight, the Englishman saw that which made his
+heart beat like a trip-hammer—a high boulder that shone as purest
+marble.
+
+“Hurrah!” he shouted, throwing his cap in the air. “Come on, everybody!
+There’s the rock! There’s the great white rock!”
+
+Ferguson and Señor Cisneros came up at a run.
+
+“What? The rock?” they called.
+
+“Yes. Look!” and the man pointed in the direction they had gazed.
+
+That instant the Peruvian exclaimed excitedly: “Down with you! Drop
+down, everybody! Down, flat on your stomachs!”
+
+Startled by his commanding tones they obeyed.
+
+“What is it?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“Sh! In a whisper! Indians! A score of them! And they look like the
+Majeronas!”
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII.
+                         THE CANNIBALS OF PERU.
+
+
+“The Majeronas!” echoed Ferguson, but in the whisper which he had been
+cautioned to use. “Are they not a savage tribe?”
+
+“They are.”
+
+“I didn’t know they came this far, not within three or four hundred
+miles of here. So I was told in Lima.”
+
+“It is only recently that they have visited this region. Within the last
+year several reports have come to Huari of their depredations.”
+
+“They are said to be cannibals, are they not?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+Harvey shivered and drew his gun closer.
+
+“What are we going to do?” Hope-Jones asked. He was thinking, and so
+were the others, how lucky it was that they had induced the experienced
+miner and woodsman to accompany them.
+
+“For a time we will wait here,” was the reply. “They may go away. Again,
+I am not certain they are the Majeronas. I didn’t spend any great amount
+of time examining them, I can assure you. They may be friendly Ayulis,
+but just at present we do not care to meet even friendly Ayulis.”
+
+“What is the difference between the tribes, señor?” Harvey asked,
+gaining control of himself and preventing his teeth chattering.
+
+“The Majeronas are much lighter and their beards are thinner. The
+Indians yonder certainly answer the description, but the light may have
+deceived me.”
+
+“I think the light of a setting sun would darken a face, don’t you?”
+suggested Ferguson. “It certainly gave a red tinge to that white rock.”
+
+“Perhaps you are right.”
+
+They were lying very close together, and words spoken in a whisper were
+heard by all. Each had drawn his weapon to his side, and those with
+modern guns threw open the breech-locks and made certain that loaded
+shells were in the chambers, while the Peruvian examined the cap on his
+rifle and swung loose his powder-horn and shot pouch. They remained in
+this position for nearly an hour, and not hearing a sound from the
+direction where the Indians had been seen, hope came that the redmen had
+gone.
+
+But this was dispelled toward five o’clock by Señor Cisneros, who
+pointed to above the rock behind which they were hiding, and called
+attention to a thin line of blue smoke in the distance.
+
+“They are making a fire,” he said, “and have undoubtedly chosen that
+place for a camp.”
+
+Neither Hope-Jones, Ferguson, nor Harvey said a word. The Peruvian
+waited a minute, then whispered:—
+
+“Do you want to retreat? We can crawl for a short distance and then take
+to our feet.”
+
+“And the white rock in view! No, I don’t want to retreat,” said the
+Englishman.
+
+“Nor I,” said Ferguson.
+
+“What do you say, Harvey?”
+
+“I’d rather die first,” and he clenched his fists in a manner that
+showed he meant all that he said.
+
+“That’s right,” whispered the señor. “You have courage; that’s the main
+thing. It would indeed be a pity to leave the spot now, for I am
+convinced that old Huayno told the truth in everything. If they are
+Majeronas, it is only a wandering band. The main tribe is far away, and
+we shall have only these to settle with, should the worst come to pass.
+But the probabilities are that they will go away in the morning. Should
+they stay in this neighborhood for a time, we might be able to remain in
+hiding. I think we have three or four days’ supply of dried meat, and it
+will be easy to crawl down to the river for water. If it comes to a
+fight, we have these,” and he tapped his rifle.
+
+“What are they armed with?” asked Ferguson.
+
+“Arrows and bludgeons, I have been told.”
+
+They remained in the prostrate position for some time, in fact until
+night fell, then following the direction of Señor Cisneros they moved
+nearer the river, arriving at last at a shallow basin, surrounded on
+three sides by boulders, between each of which was a space of about a
+half foot, giving a view of the surrounding country, and which would
+make excellent openings for their guns, should it prove necessary to use
+them.
+
+“How’s this for a natural fort?” said the Peruvian. “We’re near the
+water supply, and I think we can hold the position for a time.”
+
+“What about supper?” asked Harvey, who, after the first minute’s fright,
+had shown as much unconcern as any of them and was now feeling quite
+hungry.
+
+“Dried meat and water,” promptly said the señor. “No fire must be
+lighted to-night. I will get the water.”
+
+He took a skin bag, which he had brought from Huari, and slowly crawled
+in the direction of the river. He moved so cautiously that they did not
+hear a sound, and when he returned to the camp, in a quarter of an hour,
+his appearance was so sudden and without warning that all three were
+startled.
+
+They ate sparingly of the dried meat, for Señor Cisneros, who had taken
+command at the urgent solicitation of the others, had divided the food
+supply into rations sufficient to last three days.
+
+“We must call you captain now,” said Harvey, as he munched his share,
+“for these are war times.”
+
+After supper they made preparation for the night, moving cautiously, so
+that metal might not ring out, nor anything fall. They had no poles for
+the shelter-tent; it was deemed unwise to try to secure any, so they
+disposed the canvas as a bed and spread a blanket. This done, the señor
+said he would go out and reconnoitre.
+
+“I must ascertain whether they are Majeronas or Ayulis,” he explained,
+“and I must also learn their number.”
+
+He took everything out of his pockets and divested himself of such
+clothing as would impede his progress—removed his poncho, his shoes and
+stockings, and soon was ready, barefooted and clad only in a woollen
+shirt and trousers. Sounds now came distinctly from down the river.
+These noises, first heard faintly while they were eating their frugal
+supper, grew in volume and became long wails, rising and falling.
+
+“They are singing,” whispered the señor. “That is a chant.”
+
+He placed a hunting-knife in his belt, laying aside his rifle, and
+announced himself ready to leave.
+
+“What if they should see you and should attack? How are we to know it?”
+asked Ferguson.
+
+The captain shrugged his shoulders. “I think you would not know until I
+failed to return.”
+
+“That will never do, sir,” protested the American. “Take your revolver,”
+and he picked up the small weapon, which had been discarded with the
+rifle. “If you are attacked, fire a shot, and we will hurry to the
+rescue. We all stand together in this. Don’t we, fellows?”
+
+“Of course we do,” said Hope-Jones and Harvey.
+
+He looked at them gratefully and started to leave, but stopped a minute
+to say: “While I am gone keep a close watch. Don’t worry, even should I
+be absent two hours, for it will be slow work. I will fire the pistol
+should anything happen. Good-by.”
+
+“Good-by,” they said, and each grasped him by the hand.
+
+It was quite lonely when he had gone, and they then appreciated how much
+they depended upon him. From down the river the sound of the chant came
+louder, evidence that more voices were joining in the evening song. It
+was a night with no clouds in the sky, and the full moon shone direct
+upon their camp and the surrounding country, silvering the broad leaves
+of trees, throwing the trunks into blackness more deep by the contrast,
+and causing strange shadows to appear on all sides. As a gentle wind
+stirred the branches, the shadows moved from side to side. Once or twice
+Harvey, who was stationed at the opening near the wooded country, was
+certain that he saw the figure of an Indian, and whispered a warning,
+but each time it proved to be only the obscuration of the moonlight by a
+branch or a rock.
+
+From the river bank came the croaking of frogs, tree-toads sounded among
+the growth of vegetation; in the blackness where stood the trees,
+flitted fireflies, and occasionally a glow-worm crawled along the
+ground. They were startled now and then by a faint splash in the river
+and made ready for an attack, but as nothing followed, they concluded
+that a fish had risen and in diving again had flipped the water with its
+tail—a sound they would not have ordinarily noticed, but which seemed
+loud to their sense of hearing, more acute than usual because of the
+nerve strain under which they rested.
+
+After a time that seemed to him interminable Harvey whispered to
+Hope-Jones, “I wonder if anything has happened to the captain. Has he
+not been gone longer than he expected?”
+
+The Englishman looked at his watch. The moonlight was so bright that he
+could distinctly see the dial and the hands.
+
+“No, he has been absent only an hour,” was the reply.
+
+From the woods came the hoot of an owl. A few minutes later a low growl
+was heard in the distance.
+
+“That’s a puma,” said Ferguson. “If it should come this way we would
+have to fire, and then those redskins would be attracted.”
+
+But it did not come near them, nor did the growl sound again. The owl
+continued to hoot dismally, and the call of a night bird was also heard.
+Of a sudden Hope-Jones exclaimed “Sh!” and pushed his rifle through the
+opening at the side of the river.
+
+A dry branch had crackled. His warning was followed by a voice outside
+the camp, saying in low tones, “It’s I, boys,” and the next second the
+captain had rejoined them. He was considerably out of breath, and they
+noticed that his clothing was more torn than when he had left the camp.
+
+“It’s pretty tough work crawling nearly a mile on the hands and knees,”
+he finally found voice to say. “But I saw them and had a good view,
+lying on a rock that overlooked their camp. I was so close that I could
+have picked off a half dozen with my revolver.”
+
+“Are they Ayulis?” asked Ferguson.
+
+“No, Majeronas.”
+
+“The savages?”
+
+He nodded his head.
+
+None of them asked any more questions for a full minute, then Harvey
+said rather hoarsely, “How many of them are there?”
+
+“It’s a large band, my boy. More by far than I would wish for. I counted
+forty.”
+
+Forty—and they were four! No wonder their cheeks blanched.
+
+“They have eaten a deer and other animals that I could make out,” the
+captain continued, “and are lying around on the ground, resting after
+their feast. It would be an easy matter for us to creep up to them and
+pick off a score and probably put to flight the remainder, but I don’t
+like to have the blood of even a Majerona on my hands, unless to save
+our lives. What do you say?”
+
+They agreed with him, then inquired what would be best to do.
+
+“There’s nothing to do, but to wait developments. We are in no danger
+to-night, so long as we keep still. The probabilities are that they will
+move in the morning, and I think they are going down stream. However,
+should they come this way, we shall have to face the music.”
+
+“Could we not confer with the chief and promise him presents if they
+will let us alone?”
+
+“Confer with a Majerona! Never, my boy. They are the Philistines of Peru
+and are cannibals. Why, that fire over there was not to cook their food.
+They pulled the deer apart and ate strips of meat raw. I don’t wish to
+frighten you, only to make it plain that we are near an enemy that
+doesn’t even know what it is to spare a man of a different tribe or
+race. To change the subject, I will suggest that as we have to prepare
+for a siege, our best plan is to get some sleep. It will be necessary to
+keep a close watch all night. I am very tired and I will ask Mr.
+Hope-Jones to stand the first, Mr. Ferguson the second, and I will take
+the third.”
+
+“What about me?” asked Harvey. “I should do my share.”
+
+“Very well. I thought you might be lonely on guard. You may take that
+last watch, the one near daybreak. That will make four watches of two
+hours each. Come, those who can get rest had better improve the
+opportunity.”
+
+Saying which the Peruvian rolled himself under a blanket and lay down in
+the shadow of one of the boulders. Ferguson followed his example, and
+Harvey, drawing his cover close, took a position in the centre of the
+camp.
+
+“Tell the lad to come out of the moonlight,” said the captain to
+Ferguson, who was between them. The American did so, and Harvey crept
+closer to Señor Cisneros. “Why was that?” he asked.
+
+“Because moonlight falling on one’s face in this latitude sometimes
+causes insanity.”
+
+“I have heard that,” the boy said, “but I thought science had exploded
+the theory.”
+
+“Science or no science, no Indian will ever lie down in the open without
+covering his head. And now good night. Try to sleep.”
+
+But as for sleep, nothing was farther from Harvey’s mind. He lay quite
+still, however, so as not to disturb the others, and watched Hope-Jones,
+who stood at the opening near the river, his rifle resting on the little
+ledge of rock, gazing steadily in the direction of the Indian camp. The
+owl continued to hoot, the night bird to call, the tree-toads chirped
+merrily, and the frogs kept up their doleful croaking. But the mournful
+chant had ceased, and it was evident that slumber had stolen over the
+camp of the Indians. The boy, in earnest endeavor to sleep, resorted to
+all those expedients which are recommended, and finally counted up to
+one thousand. After that he yawned and wondered if it was possible, if
+he was really losing consciousness under such circumstances; if——Some
+one tapped him on the shoulder, and he sprang to an upright position.
+
+“It’s your watch, Harvey,” the captain said. “But never mind, I will
+stand it for you.”
+
+“No, sir,” said the boy, stoutly, as he rubbed his eyes and picked up
+Ferguson’s rifle. The captain rolled himself in his blanket without
+further words and was soon breathing heavily.
+
+Could it be possible, thought the lad, that it was really his turn? Why,
+it seemed that only the minute before he had watched Hope-Jones standing
+at the opening, and now the Englishman was lying down. Why, not only the
+captain but Ferguson had stood watch in the meanwhile! And there was no
+moonlight! Of course not; it was four o’clock in the morning. He yawned;
+then shook himself and muttered, “This will never do!” and, all at once,
+he was wide awake and fit for his duty as sentry.
+
+It was chill and damp. From the river a light mist was creeping. He
+could not see it, but he felt the wet on his cheeks. The bird had ceased
+crying, and so had the tree-toads and the frogs. It was indescribably
+lonely; but his great comfort came from the fact that three trusted
+companions were so near that he could almost touch them with his foot,
+and he knew they would awaken at his slightest call.
+
+While standing there, his rifle resting on the ledge, he thought of the
+dear ones at home and wondered what they would say, could they know the
+plight he was in. “My, but Louis and Carl would give their boots to be
+here, I know!” was a sentence that passed through his mind. And the
+other members of the Callao Rowing Club—what adventures he could relate
+to them upon his return! He thought of the regattas, when as coxswain he
+had steered to victory the eight-oared shells in which Hope-Jones had
+pulled stroke and Ferguson bow; and now here they were, far in the
+interior of Peru, near a camp of cannibals.
+
+At the thought of cannibals, Harvey’s heart gave a quick jump. But it
+was soon steady again, and he commenced thinking of the dreary night he
+had passed in Callao Bay, while afloat on a torpedo, which strange
+adventure of the younger Dartmoor brother is related in detail in
+“Fighting Under the Southern Cross.” He had come out of that safely, and
+why not out of this? Then the lad remembered that for several nights he
+had neglected to say those words which he had learned when a little
+child at his mother’s knee, so he fervently repeated the prayers she had
+taught him. After this he felt more courage than ever, and when a fish
+rose in the river, it did not cause him to start as had the sounds
+earlier in the night. Thus communing with himself and with his God, time
+passed quickly for the boy, and soon he began to make out the shadowy
+forms of the mist that rose from the water.
+
+In this latitude, near the equator, there are only a few minutes of
+twilight, so it was soon bright enough for him to look at the watch that
+had been left on the stone ledge. Ten minutes to six! He could soon call
+the others. The generous impulse came to let them sleep for another
+hour, but it was followed by the thought that the Indians were
+undoubtedly awakening, and as they might at once march up the river, it
+would be well for all to be on the alert. So when the long hand pointed
+at twelve and the short hand at the dot which on clocks and watches is
+the sign for six, he touched the captain lightly on the arm. Señor
+Cisneros sprang up. It was broad day. He awakened Hope-Jones and
+Ferguson.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VIII.
+                        THE FORT ON THE MARAÑON.
+
+
+For several minutes after the camp was astir the Peruvian stood near one
+of the openings, and placing a hand partly back of an ear, so that more
+sound waves might reach that organ, he listened intently, in hopes that
+he might determine whether the Majeronas were on the move or still in
+camp. But in early day they are not given to making as much noise as at
+night, when that wild chant, considered part of a religious ceremony,
+rolls out, and the captain turned to his companions, disappointed.
+
+Then, as all were hungry, another ration was consumed by each, and as
+there was plenty of cool water in the skin no one was called upon to
+risk a trip to the river. They continued conversing in whispers and
+observed the same caution as on the evening before. Unless they gave
+thought to the cause, their low tones seemed very strange and
+unnecessary, for nothing was in evidence to remind them of the presence
+in the vicinity of savages; not even did smoke rise from the place where
+they were encamped. Soon after breakfast Harvey said to Señor Cisneros:—
+
+“If you will permit me, captain, I will crawl over to that tree,” and he
+pointed to one whose lower branches were near the ground, yet whose
+trunk rose to quite a height, “and by climbing I can see what the
+Indians are doing. The leaves are thick so that I shall be well hidden,
+and my suit is about the color of the bark.”
+
+The plan was approved and the boy left the camp, imitating the manner in
+which Señor Cisneros had made his journeys of the evening before. The
+three within the enclosure looked at him approvingly, and the Peruvian
+said: “He worms his way along as well as an experienced woodsman. That’s
+a very clever lad.”
+
+“Indeed, he is,” said Hope-Jones, “and a more truthful, honest youngster
+I never met.”
+
+They watched the tree which Harvey had spoken of as his goal, and before
+long they saw something moving in the branches, but very slowly, for the
+boy was observing even more caution than when on the ground. After ten
+minutes’ careful climbing he reached a spot halfway to the top, where
+the branches were fewer, and there he stopped, evidently at a sufficient
+altitude to look over the intervening boulders and see the camp of the
+Majeronas. He was stationary for a few seconds, then they saw him
+commence to descend, but no longer slowly and with caution; he came down
+hand below hand, and when he reached the ground he ran to the camp, not
+attempting to observe the quiet which had marked his departure.
+
+Knowing that he must have good cause for alarm and feeling that an
+attack was possibly imminent, the three men stood at a “ready” in the
+openings, their weapons poised. When Harvey joined them he said quickly,
+but in low tones:—
+
+“A half dozen of the savages are coming this way. They were not far off
+when I left the tree and were moving slowly, looking closely at the
+ground, as if in search of something. The others are still in camp.”
+
+Saying this, Harvey picked up his shot-gun.
+
+“You say they are walking slowly and looking down, as if in search of
+something?”
+
+“Yes, captain. They were bent low, and at first I thought they were
+crawling; then I saw that they appeared to be examining the ground as
+they passed.”
+
+“Hum! I suppose they found my trail. The copper-colored rascals have a
+scent as keen as a dog. But I think that I fooled them.”
+
+“How so?” asked Ferguson.
+
+“I took to the water when halfway between the camps and waded for a
+couple of hundred yards.”
+
+“Then you don’t think that they will be able to track you?”
+
+“No. But they may search the neighborhood before they leave.”
+
+“Harvey reports the main body still at the white rock. How do you
+account for that?”
+
+“The band is undoubtedly resting for the day. It is probable that the
+savages have travelled some distance and have called a forty-eight
+hours’ halt. I can think of no other reason, for surely there could be
+no game to attract them in this vicinity, and there is no hostile tribe
+near for them to attack.”
+
+“You don’t suppose they are in search of the gold, do you?” asked
+Harvey.
+
+“Gold! They don’t know what gold is. They are the most ignorant Indians
+in all Peru.”
+
+This whispered conversation was suddenly brought to an end by Ferguson,
+who placed his fingers on his lips, to enjoin silence, and pointed
+through the opening nearest the river. They looked in the direction, and
+saw a head projecting beyond a rock. It was the head of a Majerona, long
+black hair, and skin a light copper color. The savage looked up and down
+stream, then was lost to sight for a moment, and soon stood out in the
+open, where he was joined by several others.
+
+They were naked, save for strips of hide that served as loin cloths.
+They were tall, well-formed men, straight and muscular: each held a long
+bow, and dependent from the belt of hide, instead of swung over the
+shoulder, was a quiver filled with arrows. The cannibal who had first
+thrust out his head had done so cautiously, as if to survey the country,
+but they soon became bold, evidently convinced that they were alone.
+First, they took a few steps up stream, at which the white men tightened
+their grips on the weapons, and then, for some reason, they turned about
+and hurried away.
+
+“Whew! that was a narrow escape!” muttered Ferguson.
+
+“Yes; and I fear it will prove no escape after all. They were sent out
+to scout, and another band undoubtedly will be despatched in a little
+while. The chances are against our not being seen, and as the
+probability is that we will have to fight, I propose that we make our
+fort better suited for defence. Harvey, fill every pot, pan, and cup we
+have with water. Don’t try to crawl; only step as softly as possible so
+as not to cause stones to roll and dry branches to break. Hope-Jones and
+Ferguson, I wish you would go to that drift pile over there, and bring
+me all the branches and wood possible. You cannot bring too much.”
+
+They at once commenced their allotted tasks, and the señor remained
+behind the boulders, keeping an eye down stream, and at the same time
+directing where the wood should be placed as it was brought in. First,
+he had the openings between the rocks carefully filled, to the height of
+his shoulders, the pieces of wood interlaced in the same manner that log
+fences are built in the American farming country. This done, he gave
+orders for wood to be piled at the rear of their position. It will be
+remembered that the boulders formed a shelter on three sides, and
+Ferguson and Hope-Jones, seeing at once that the Peruvian’s idea was to
+close the fourth, redoubled their efforts, and within a half hour they
+had brought in what they deemed sufficient material to erect the
+barricade.
+
+“More!” the captain said, when they asked him if that would do. “Bring
+all of that pile if you can.”
+
+Harvey had finished his task by this time, and placing him on guard,
+Señor Cisneros turned his attention to shaping the rear defence. He
+constructed the wall V-shaped, the angle outward, explaining to the boy
+that in this form it could better withstand the force of an attack,
+should the Indians try to rush the position. But the longest boughs he
+placed slanting against the high boulders, so that they formed a roof
+over half the space. These he wove in and out with a tough young vine
+that he had directed Ferguson to bring from a tree near by, and which
+had fallen in a mass when a slight pull had been given.
+
+An hour after they had commenced their task, the captain said there was
+sufficient wood on hand, and Hope-Jones and Ferguson, tired, red of
+face, and perspiring profusely, pushed in through the narrow opening
+that had been left for their entrance, which the Peruvian at once closed
+with some branches that he had placed to one side for that purpose.
+
+Ferguson had cut his left hand, and the handkerchief which he had wound
+around the injured member was blood stained. When he was asked if the
+cut was a deep one, he replied by saying that it was lucky it had not
+happened to the other, or he would have trouble holding his rifle. Then
+he questioned Señor Cisneros why he had formed a roof over part of the
+enclosure.
+
+“To be sure it’s nice to have shade,” he said, “but I should have
+thought you too tired to attend to that.”
+
+“And might have had mercy on you two and not have asked you to carry in
+more boughs than absolutely necessary, eh?” responded the captain,
+smiling.
+
+“I didn’t say that.”
+
+“No; but I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it. However, this little roof
+will probably prove more valuable than any defence we have constructed.”
+
+“How so?”
+
+“Did you ever see a Peruvian Indian shoot an arrow? an Ayuli, or a man
+of any other tribe?”
+
+No. They had not.
+
+“I have watched them many times; and I have seen them kill a deer and
+not aim at it at all; only shoot up in the air.”
+
+“And the arrow would describe a parabola and fall on the animal?”
+
+“Its flight would rather be the sides of a triangle, and it would turn
+in mid air at the apex, then falling at the same angle on the other
+side, would strike the deer in the back.”
+
+“Have you seen this done?”
+
+“Yes; and not once, but several times.”
+
+“Then I can understand why you built the covering!” exclaimed
+Hope-Jones; and so did the others.
+
+As the three men were quite tired, the captain let Harvey stand guard,
+and they lay down in the shade. Thus another hour passed, and not a
+sight of an Indian was had, nor did a sound come from down the river.
+
+Toward noon the rations of dried meat were passed around, and so was
+water, sparingly. After that they talked and waited, relieving each
+other at the opening near the river every half hour, in order that all
+might be in good condition should an attack occur.
+
+One o’clock came, two, then three, and the little garrison commenced to
+speculate on the probability of danger having passed. Perhaps the band
+had gone away; it might be that the savages they had seen in the morning
+had been recalled to camp in order to resume the march; or, perhaps all
+were resting, and no further attempt was being made to reconnoitre the
+surrounding country. In that event they would undoubtedly leave early
+the next morning. But even after the Majeronas had departed, how long
+would they have to remain quiet and on the defensive before they dared
+approach the location of the mine?
+
+“I would almost rather have a fight with them; that is, if we could give
+them such a taste of modern firearms that they would leave the country,”
+said Señor Cisneros, rising from the place where he had been resting in
+the shade.
+
+He approached the opening that faced the thinly grown forest, and gazed
+over the brushwood that was piled as a protection, in the direction of
+the trees. They saw him bend forward, as one is apt to do when looking
+intently at something, and then, turning, he beckoned Ferguson to his
+side.
+
+“Look,” he whispered. “Do you see that long grass waving over there,
+under that ironwood tree?”
+
+“Yes. I guess it is wind blown.”
+
+“But there isn’t a particle of wind. Wet your finger and hold your hand
+up high.”
+
+The American did so. “No,” he said. “There’s no breeze. What makes the
+grass wave, then?”
+
+“One of those copper-skinned rascals is crawling through it,” said the
+captain.
+
+“Shall I pick him off?” and Ferguson reached for his rifle.
+
+“By no means.” The señor reached out his hand and caught the barrel. “We
+are not sure that they have seen us, although such is probably the case.
+Aside from that, I would rather not be the first to engage. But a better
+reason than all is that we should reserve our fire, if firing be
+necessary, until we can let go a volley into their midst. It might
+stampede them.
+
+“Ah! see!” he exclaimed a moment later. “My first surmise was correct.”
+
+The Indian had risen suddenly from the grass and had bent his bow. But
+the arrow was not aimed in their direction; it was pointed toward the
+woods, away from the river bank, and that moment Ferguson saw a young
+deer near a dwarf palm. Sharp and clear they heard the twang of the
+hide-string and the whistle of the dart, so near was the savage to them;
+and the animal fell dead in its tracks. The Majerona walked leisurely
+over to where his prey had dropped, and lifting it on his broad
+shoulders, he started back to camp.
+
+“He is a hunter for the band,” said the captain. “There are probably
+others out. His actions are proof that they do not even suspect we are
+in the vicinity. I suppose they think that my trail, which they followed
+for a short distance this morning, was that of a wild animal. Now I
+believe that we are going to get out of this without even a brush with
+them.”
+
+All breathed easier at these reassuring words; all except Harvey, who
+said, “But there is a chance they may come, is there not?”
+
+“Why, from your tone, I really believe you wish they would,” said the
+señor. “But,” he added, “that chance and a remark which I made to Mr.
+Ferguson have reminded me of something. I believe I said that a volley
+might have a demoralizing effect, did I not?”
+
+“Yes; I think you did.”
+
+“Then I shall endeavor to increase the effect. Didn’t I see a gourd in
+camp?”
+
+“Harvey has one which Señora Cisneros gave him.”
+
+“Let me have it, Harvey. I can’t promise to return it, but I may make it
+of use.”
+
+He emptied some powder into the receptacle, then asked for a
+contribution of loaded shells, which he put with the black grains. With
+some shreds of cotton, which he twisted into shape, and some dampened
+powder he made a fuse and placed it in the opening of the gourd, then
+sealed it with moist clay made from the soil underfoot, dampened with
+water.
+
+“There!” he exclaimed, “there’s a bomb! It may fail to ignite, and it
+will have to be handled quickly, but if it ever does go off in the midst
+of the copper-skins there will be a foot-race down the river that will
+prove interesting.”
+
+He had been an hour making this weapon of defence. The hands of their
+watches pointed to four o’clock, and the shadows to the east of them
+commenced to grow long. Ferguson was on watch. The others were lolling
+about on the ground, thinking more of other matters than they had at any
+time since the evening before, when they were suddenly startled by a
+rifle shot.
+
+An answering scream came from above their heads, and a wounded Majerona,
+who had crawled to the top of the lowest boulder and was peering into
+the camp, came rolling down upon them.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IX.
+                         ATTACKED BY CANNIBALS.
+
+
+In his descent the savage struck Harvey, who was crawling from under the
+shelter, and the lad was sent sprawling to the other side of the little
+enclosure.
+
+“Hold him! Keep him down!” called the señor to Hope-Jones, who with
+great presence of mind had fallen upon the struggling Majerona. But
+there was little use for the Peruvian to urge, or the Englishman to use
+his strength, for the Indian was mortally wounded; his struggles were
+death throes, not efforts to give combat, and in a few seconds he rolled
+over, dead. The rifle ball had pierced his brain. Two shots had rung out
+from the opening while this was going on, and howls and cries answered
+them. Ferguson was busily pumping lead into others of the cannibals, and
+when his companions hurried to his side, they saw one man stretched out
+not fifty feet from the enclosure, and another, evidently wounded, was
+being assisted away in the direction of the encampment by a half dozen
+fellow-tribesmen.
+
+“Now we are in for it!” said Señor Cisneros. “But first, my friend,” he
+said warmly, offering his hand to Ferguson, “I want to tell you that you
+have saved our lives. Another minute and all those reptiles would have
+been in here, and we should have been massacred. How did you happen to
+see him?” pointing to the dead savage, lying against the brush heap—“and
+how did you happen to act so promptly?”
+
+Ferguson’s cheeks were red and his eyes were snapping in a manner they
+had, when he was excited. He was also breathing quickly.
+
+“It was only good fortune; that’s all,” he replied. “I grew tired
+standing stock still while you were loafing in the shade, and to amuse
+myself I had lifted my rifle to my shoulder and was taking aim around at
+different objects. I suppose that while doing this I neglected to watch
+the opening as closely as I should, and one of the Indians sneaked up in
+the grass, like that fellow did this morning. But it happened that when
+he put his head over the rock, I was aiming at a spot near where his
+black hair appeared; so all I had to do was to pull the trigger.”
+
+They all congratulated him—all, including Harvey, who had picked himself
+up and was rubbing his head where a lump the size of a hickory nut
+testified to his having struck against a stone after being given
+momentum by the wounded savage; then they hastened to make such
+preparations as were necessary before the attack which they now knew
+must come.
+
+“First, let’s get rid of this body,” said the captain, and taking down
+some of the brush at the rear, they dragged the corpse out and toward
+the river. Returning, they made everything snug again, and the captain
+disposed of the forces for the fray.
+
+“My plan of reserving the fire for a volley has been spoiled,” he said,
+“so the next best thing will have to be done. Ferguson, you’re a
+splendid shot. Do you think that with a boost you can get up on the
+rock, in about the place where your friend, the Majerona, was lying?”
+
+“Yes, I guess so,” replied the American, surveying the steep boulder.
+
+“Then it would be well for you to do so and commence picking them off
+with your rifle as soon as they come in sight. We have only two openings
+down here that command their approach, and there won’t be an opportunity
+for us all. We must kill and wound as many as possible before they get
+near. That’s our only hope.”
+
+“What am I going to do?” asked Harvey. “There are only two openings, and
+I suppose you and Mr. Hope-Jones will want to cover those.”
+
+“You can alternate with me, my boy. My rifle, unfortunately, is a
+muzzle-loader, and while I am ramming in a charge you can step to the
+peep-hole and use your shot-gun. Of course,” he continued, “the
+shot-guns will not carry as far as the rifles and will not be
+serviceable as soon, but we have plenty of ammunition, and I think it
+would be wise to blaze away with all pieces as often as possible during
+the first five minutes and make plenty of noise.” Then turning to
+Ferguson again he said:—
+
+“Don’t stay up there a second after it seems dangerous. You can slide
+down, can you not, without assistance?”
+
+“Of course.”
+
+“How many cartridges does your rifle carry in the chamber?”
+
+“Eight.”
+
+“Then don’t take any more with you. They will be sufficient until the
+arrows commence to fly, and then I want you with us here. That reminds
+me, I told Hope-Jones and Harvey to blaze away, regardless of aim, with
+their shot-guns for a time, but I suppose you understand the same does
+not apply to the rifles. We must make every shot count.”
+
+“Never fear for that. Will you give me a boost now, sir? They will be
+coming any minute.”
+
+“Yes. Help me, Hope-Jones. Steady me a bit,” and the Peruvian stood
+upright against the rock and told the Englishman to press against his
+back. “Leave your rifle, Ferguson, and we will pass it up to you.”
+
+By stepping on a stone the American obtained a foothold on the señor’s
+shoulders, then reaching up, he caught a ledge of rock and bringing into
+practice an exercise he had learned on the horizontal bars, he drew
+himself with ease to the ledge, from which he scrambled to the surface.
+
+“Quick!” he exclaimed, the moment he looked around. “Pass me my rifle.
+They are coming! I can see them down the river! Gracious, what a band of
+them!”
+
+At the captain’s direction, Harvey jumped on his shoulders as Ferguson
+had done and passed the repeating rifle to his companion, then the
+Peruvian and the Englishman took positions at the peep-holes, while the
+lad stood back, waiting.
+
+If the truth be told his heart was beating like it had on days after a
+boat race, and he felt the blood surging to his temples. There was an
+instant after Ferguson said that the Indians were coming that he felt
+dizzy. But it passed almost as soon as it had come, and he bit his lip
+until it bled, for he was angry that any alarm should have seized him.
+The moment this feeling of anger came, he was surprised to note that his
+heart commenced to beat normally, that the fever left his cheeks, and
+that he became self-possessed. And from that moment he became as cool
+and collected as any one in the little fort.
+
+“How far are they off?” called out Señor Cisneros.
+
+“A half mile, sir,” answered the voice from above.
+
+“Do you think there are more than forty?”
+
+“I dare say not; but they seemed to number two or three hundred when
+they first came in sight.”
+
+“I counted forty when I reconnoitred their camp last night, and they
+must have all been within the vicinity of the fire, for there would have
+been no object in their scattering at that hour. Therefore, with two
+dead and one wounded we have thirty-seven to fight. How are they coming?
+In a body?”
+
+“Yes; close together; all in a bunch.”
+
+“So much the better.”
+
+This conversation had been carried on in loud tones, that Ferguson might
+hear and be heard, for he was lying on the far side of the boulder. It
+seemed strange to speak in this manner after the enforced whispers that
+had been the rule for twenty-four hours.
+
+“Now I can see them,” said the captain, and he rested his rifle on the
+ledge. A sharp report sounded above.
+
+“Did you bring another down?”
+
+“No,” called back Ferguson. “I missed.”
+
+“You’re honest, that’s sure. Most persons would have said they didn’t
+know, but thought so. Better reserve your fire a few minutes.”
+
+The American did as he was advised, but before any of them below had an
+opportunity to take effective aim, his rifle spoke again and the captain
+called: “How now?”
+
+“I saw a copper-colored rascal whirl ‘round and ‘round and then drop.”
+
+“Bravo! That makes thirty-six!”
+
+A minute later the Peruvian’s weapon sounded, and without waiting to
+notice the result, he darted back and commenced to reload, saying:—
+
+“Now blaze away, my lad!” and Harvey rushed to the opening. Hope-Jones
+in the meantime had discharged one barrel, then another, of his shot-gun
+and had thrown back the breech to press in fresh shells, while the sharp
+report of Ferguson’s rifle came from above, once, twice, thrice, and the
+American was heard to call above the din:—
+
+“They’re getting it! You struck one, Cisneros, and I have fetched two
+more.”
+
+“Thirty-three,” said the Peruvian, and he crowded Harvey one side as the
+boy was loading his double-barrelled gun, and taking aim once more, he
+sent another bullet into the dark throng that was rapidly approaching,
+for the Indians were running.
+
+After that there was no opportunity to keep count. Ferguson came sliding
+down from his altitudinous perch, having exhausted all the cartridges in
+his rifle; and ejecting the worthless shells, he loaded again, then
+stood behind Hope-Jones, to alternate with him at the peep-hole, and
+after the Englishman had fired both barrels point-blank, the American
+jumped to the opening and pumped eight shots in the direction of the
+enemy, as fast as the mechanism of the modern arm would work.
+
+Harvey, the while, had been loading with feverish haste, running toward
+his peep-hole the moment it was left by the Peruvian and discharging his
+weapon. He took aim, and after the third discharge, he saw an Indian
+fall, evidently from shot he had sent speeding, for the man was somewhat
+detached from the others and the boy had tried to bring him down. The
+little enclosure became filled with smoke, and their faces and arms were
+streaked with dirt. All were more or less powder-burned, but of this
+they did not know till afterwards.
+
+“What now?” suddenly said the captain, for the Majeronas had halted.
+“They are bending their bows! Watch out, all! Down on your faces!”
+
+The warning was not a second too soon. Whistling like a wind that
+scurries around the gable of a house in winter, a flight of arrows
+poured into and over the little fort, and others could be heard striking
+against the front boulder. Several of the darts came through the
+openings and rattled against the stones, and one transfixed Ferguson’s
+knapsack, which was in a corner.
+
+“Now, at them once more!”
+
+And the men and boy jumped to their places as before.
+
+The target was not nearly so good. The Indians had separated and were
+spreading out. They could be seen running in different directions,
+evidently carrying out some command of their chief, and a few minutes
+later a dozen commenced climbing trees, keeping their bodies on the side
+opposite the fort.
+
+“This is different,” exclaimed the señor. “Pick off all you can while
+you have the opportunity, for we shall soon be compelled to seek
+shelter.”
+
+The guns were kept busy until the barrels were so hot that they burned
+the hands, but only one Majerona fell—a bold fellow who had run forward
+of the others, and whom it was Harvey’s lot to make bite the dust, at
+which the captain patted the boy on the shoulder and said:—
+
+“I wish I had a lad like you. If God spares me, I am going to make it my
+business to tell Señor Dartmoor what a son he has.”
+
+A little later he called, “Under cover, all of you!” and they darted
+beneath the thick mass of boughs that he had placed against the side of
+the boulder. Then they knew with what wisdom he had constructed this
+protection, for arrows commenced to rain into the enclosure from all
+sides, some whistling low over the boulders, others dropping as if from
+the skies. They came with such force that those which fell without stood
+upright in the ground, and although others penetrated the protecting
+branches, they lost their force and none of the defenders of the fort
+was harmed. However, as a further protection, they lay flat on their
+faces. This lasted for full five minutes; then there was a lull, and
+Señor Cisneros, creeping to an opening, said:—
+
+“They are forming again. No, don’t fire,” and he restrained Hope-Jones.
+“I have an idea.”
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“If we withhold our fire, they will think we are all dead or so
+grievously wounded as not to be able to resist. You see, they don’t know
+anything about our roof. The fellow who got a view inside was placed in
+a position where he could not relate the result of his observations.
+Yes, they are forming in a body for a rush. Now wait, everybody, until I
+give the word!”
+
+He darted under the boughs to the furthermost corner and at once
+reappeared with the gourd which, earlier in the afternoon, he had
+fashioned into a bomb.
+
+“Who has a match?”
+
+Harvey gave him some.
+
+[Illustration: “Angry copper-colored faces showed at the opening.”]
+
+“Here, Hope-Jones, take my rifle! You can use it and your shot-gun as
+well, for I shall be busy with this thing. Harvey, don’t try to fire,
+but have your gun handy. When I give the word, pull away as fast as you
+can at the brush in the opening nearest the Indians, so that I may have
+room in which to throw.”
+
+These directions were no sooner given than the band of Majeronas,
+yelling, sprang toward the stone fort. The four defenders bent down low,
+that they might not be seen. The Indians ran with great speed,
+brandishing bludgeons; they had cast their bows one side, evidently
+believing the victory won. Señor Cisneros let them come to within a
+stone’s throw, then he called:—
+
+“Now let drive!” and Ferguson and Hope-Jones, jumping to the opening,
+discharged three shots simultaneously, and the repeating-rifle of the
+former was worked as it never had been worked before.
+
+“Pull down the brush! Use both hands! Quick now!”
+
+Harvey sprang to his task and tore away the small branches. The crackle
+of a match was heard, and, just as angry, copper-colored faces showed at
+the opening, the captain called out:—
+
+“Duck down, everybody!”
+
+The next instant a report as of a cannon was heard, followed by
+screeches and howls; and a cloud of white smoke drifted away before a
+light breeze that had sprung up, while a crackle as of giant
+fire-crackers told of the exploding cartridges with which the gourd had
+been loaded.
+
+“Out and after them!” screamed the señor, seizing his rifle and pushing
+his way through the opening, in which act he was followed by the three
+companions.
+
+But they met none in combat. The Indians were fleeing, running in a
+confused mass along the river bank, shrieking in their fear. Two or
+three picked up their bows as they sped, and turning, let fly each an
+arrow, then joined the others; but the majority never turned. The
+defenders of the little fort followed for several hundred yards, firing
+as they went, not in endeavor to kill more, for they did not stop to
+take aim, but to spread the alarm; until at last loss of breath caused a
+halt. But the Majeronas, greatly reduced in numbers, kept on, their
+howls growing fainter and fainter, until they were heard no more, and
+the last of the savages disappeared down the river.
+
+“Do you think they will come back?” panted Hope-Jones.
+
+“No. They believe they attacked a band of devils. There is no longer
+danger.”
+
+“Where’s Harvey?” It was Ferguson who asked.
+
+They looked around, and their cheeks blanched. The boy was not with
+them.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X.
+                         NEAR TO DEATH’S DOOR.
+
+
+For a minute none of the three said a word, then Señor Cisneros
+suggested that perhaps the lad had remained behind.
+
+“No. That’s not his way. He would be with us unless hurt, or——”
+
+Hope-Jones could not find the word for the alternative; his voice
+choked. “Let’s hurry back,” he added.
+
+They did so, going as fast as when in pursuit of the enemy, and not
+stopping until they had reached the fort. Outside they saw their boy
+companion lying beside a large stone not a hundred yards from the
+opening. An arrow was fastened in his breast.
+
+Hope-Jones dropped on his knees. Ferguson reached over to pull out the
+arrow, but was restrained by the captain.
+
+“Don’t,” he said. “It might cause a fatal hemorrhage if there is not one
+already. Wait until we see how far it has entered;” and he commenced
+unfastening Harvey’s coat, which had been buttoned close, that it might
+not impede his action.
+
+“I fear it has reached his heart,” said the Englishman, in a whisper.
+“See, it penetrated the left side.”
+
+“His hands are cold,” Ferguson added. “I cannot feel the pulse.”
+
+All three were quite pale and were trembling. It seemed probable that
+life had left the boy’s body.
+
+“Bring some water, quickly,” said the captain. “I will do the best I
+can.”
+
+Ferguson darted off to the fort and returned at once with the skin bag
+filled.
+
+“Help me turn him over. There, that’s right; not too much,” and the
+captain loosened another button, then carefully inserted his hand
+beneath the coat. He felt in the region where the arrow had penetrated,
+and touching the shaft moved his fingers cautiously downward. Then a
+puzzled expression came over his face, and he muttered: “Something hard.
+I don’t quite understand. There isn’t any blood.”
+
+He withdrew his hand, looked at it, then inserted it again and caught
+the shaft firmly. The dart turned to one side, but did not come out. The
+captain jumped to his feet.
+
+“That arrow isn’t in Harvey’s body!” he exclaimed. “It’s fast in
+something that he has in the pocket of his flannel shirt. He’s fainted;
+got a knock on his head or something. Throw some water on his face!”
+
+Ferguson did as directed, and Harvey immediately sat upright, then began
+pawing the air, as if warding off a blow, and tried to rise to his feet.
+Desisting suddenly from this effort he exclaimed: “What’s all the rumpus
+about? And—and—where are the Majeronas?”
+
+Ferguson and Hope-Jones were too overjoyed to speak. They clapped the
+boy on the back, rubbed his arms, and asked him where he was hurt. For
+reply he put his hand to his head, and they found there another lump.
+
+“I stumbled, I guess, and struck my head,” he said. “I can remember
+falling, and I saw a lot of stars and—but say, where are the savages?”
+
+“Yes; and when you were falling, this was shot into you.” The captain
+pointed to the arrow, which was drooping, but still was held firmly.
+
+Harvey looked at it in surprise, then reached under his coat. As he
+touched the shaft his cheeks turned a fiery red. He endeavored to
+withdraw the dart by pulling at it from the outside, but it would not
+come, so Ferguson bent down and helped him unfasten the remaining
+buttons of his coat and remove the garment. But even with the weight of
+that on the shaft, the arrow held firmly to the something that was in
+Harvey’s pocket, and he was at last compelled to cut the flannel. Then
+all saw that the point was embedded firmly in a pincushion, no larger
+than a plum, a pincushion well stuffed with cotton and which had barred
+the way to the boy’s heart.
+
+“How on earth did you happen to be carrying such a thing in your
+pocket?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+He did not answer. He was looking at the little article, and his face
+turned pale as he thought of his narrow escape from death; and at the
+same time he thought of those he had left behind and of the giver of
+that which had so strangely saved his life, Señorita Bella Caceras,
+niece of the famous Captain Grau, who, the evening before the departure
+of the three from Callao, had made this little present to the lad, that
+he might have some token to carry with him into the wilds of Peru. Thus
+a girl’s thoughtful gift and a boy’s romantic manner of carrying the
+keepsake had resulted in the arrest of a Majerona arrow, aimed at the
+heart.
+
+He did not explain all this to his companions, who pressed closer,
+congratulating him and patting him on the back, for every moment they
+realized more and more what a narrow escape he had had; no, he kept his
+secret and later he sewed up the pocket, replaced the little pincushion,
+and vowed that he would carry it with him so long as he lived. He also
+saved the arrow, so that when he returned to Callao he could present it
+to the señorita.
+
+The men attempted to assist him into the fort, but Harvey protested that
+he was as well and as able to be about as ever in his life.
+
+“Then let’s start for the white rock,” said Ferguson.
+
+“No, indeed,” was Señor Cisneros’s rejoinder. “I for one favor a good
+rest.”
+
+“Perhaps that would be a better plan.”
+
+“Indeed it would,” assented Hope-Jones. “I confess that I am played
+out.”
+
+“First, let’s give these bodies some sort of burial,” said the Peruvian,
+and he pointed to the corpses that were strewn over the ground.
+
+They dug a trench with their picks, and gathering the dead Majeronas
+from near the fort and from several hundred yards away, they placed them
+in the shallow opening and covered them with earth. Fourteen were thus
+interred. How many savages had been wounded they never knew. A few of
+those who had been struck by bullets and not killed during the battle,
+had been helped away by their comrades; others, who were mortally
+wounded, had been killed, as was the custom of the tribe.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XI.
+                         BEYOND THE WHITE ROCK.
+
+
+The grewsome work of burial completed, they reëntered the little fort
+and made preparations for the night. First, they went to the river bank
+and enjoyed a bath in the cool, crystal waters; and there for the first
+time they discovered many bruises on their bodies, caused by bumps and
+knocks received during the quick action of the afternoon.
+
+Ferguson had scraped one of his shins while sliding down the rock after
+emptying his rifle at the approaching Majeronas, and the cut on his left
+hand pained him greatly. Hope-Jones found a black and blue spot on his
+right shoulder, which he could not account for until he remembered that
+in his excitement he had several times neglected to press his shot-gun
+close when firing; and a little later he discovered that the lobe of his
+right ear was torn.
+
+“An arrow struck there,” said the captain, after examining the wound.
+“You had as narrow an escape as had Harvey.”
+
+Then the captain looked at his own physical condition and reported that
+the tendons of his left ankle had been strained, and that a long powder
+burn on his right cheek marked where a flash had sprung upward from an
+imperfect cap on his old-fashioned rifle.
+
+But of them all Harvey showed more marks of battle. A very painful black
+and blue spot on his side told where the foot of the Majerona had struck
+him after the drop from the rock, and two bruises on the back of the
+head marked his contact with stones on the occasions of his falling. His
+hands were scratched and torn in several places, but he could not tell
+how these minor wounds had been received until the captain remarked that
+he had never seen a brush-heap disappear so rapidly as when the boy
+pulled away branches from the opening, to make room for the bomb; and
+then the lad recalled that at the time he had felt the sharp prick of
+thorns.
+
+Although they were refreshed after the bath, they limped more or less on
+their return to camp.
+
+“Is that due to the fact that we have just seen where we have been
+hurt?”
+
+“Partly that and partly because the excitement is over,” said the
+captain.
+
+“It will be good to have a hot supper,” the elder American remarked,
+changing the subject; “but I’ll be switched if I feel much like making a
+fire and cooking.”
+
+“What have we to cook, anyway? There’s not a bit of fresh meat in the
+camp, and I’d rather go to bed hungry than hunt for anything,”
+interposed Harvey.
+
+“Go to bed?” queried Hope-Jones.
+
+“Well, turn in, lie down, go to sleep, or whatever you call it; but it’s
+going to be ‘go to bed’ for me, because I shall pile up some of that
+dried moss over there and make a couch.”
+
+“A good idea,” said the señor. “We will all do it. As for supper, I for
+one propose to eat my last ration of dried meat and not try for any game
+to-night.”
+
+The others did not demur, and although the sun was not yet set, they
+proceeded to bring in the moss and distribute it under the boughs that
+had sheltered them from dropping arrows. But as the three adventurers
+from Callao were spreading their blankets and kicking off their shoes,
+Señor Cisneros interrupted them with, “Not so fast there! What about a
+watch?”
+
+“A watch to-night? Is one necessary?”
+
+“Certainly, and every night, so long as we are in this region. The
+Majeronas are probably gone for good, but some of them might return.
+Yes, sirs, we will take our turns, above and below, as they say on
+shipboard.”
+
+“Who first?” asked Hope-Jones.
+
+“Suppose we draw lots. Better still, let Harvey choose which watch he
+will stand, as he is the one most used up, and we men will draw straws!”
+
+Harvey decided that he would prefer to be sentinel from six till eight
+o’clock, then have a night’s rest through, so the others lay down under
+the shelter, and he stationed himself in the opening, near the river,
+with Ferguson’s rifle in hand.
+
+A heavy rain fell on the following day, and they were only too glad to
+remain under the shelter of the boughs which, reënforced with the canvas
+of the shelter-tent, made an almost perfect watershed. Harvey was
+somewhat feverish in the morning, and the others felt even more wearied
+than on the night before, so all were rather pleased than vexed that the
+elements had conspired to delay their journey.
+
+Lest the younger member of the party should fall ill, Señor Cisneros
+early set about administering the remedies which were at hand, the first
+of which was quinine, and he gave Harvey ten grains. Then, believing
+that a hot foot-bath would prove beneficial, he cast about for a utensil
+that could be improvised as a tub, and finding none, he dug a hole, two
+feet deep and about two feet square, into which he poured water heated
+by Hope-Jones over a brisk fire built in a corner of the fort, where a
+ledge of rock sheltered the crackling wood from the rain. This novel
+bath was at the edge of the lean-to of boughs, and when Harvey,
+following the captain’s directions, plunged his lower limbs into it,
+raindrops fell on his knees, but these and his body to the waist were
+covered with moss, and the lad was compelled to stay in that posture for
+ten minutes and “steam,” while the captain added hot water until the
+patient yelled out that he was being scalded.
+
+“I dare say you think you are,” said the Peruvian, as he desisted, “but
+I can bear my hand in here.”
+
+Notwithstanding a demonstration to this effect, Harvey protested against
+the temperature being increased, and at last was permitted again to roll
+over on his moss couch, where, covered with blankets, he soon fell
+asleep.
+
+It was three o’clock in the afternoon when he awakened. The fever had
+passed, the aches had disappeared from the muscles, and he said that he
+felt somewhat better, though a trifle weak. To prove there was at hand a
+remedy for this condition, Señor Cisneros pointed to Ferguson, who was
+busy in the far corner, turning ‘round and ‘round, over the glowing heat
+of embers, the ramrod of the captain’s rifle, on which were spitted a
+dozen little birds; and from the broilers came a savory odor that caused
+Harvey to smack his lips in expectation.
+
+“They are plovers,” said the señor. “Hope-Jones went out about ten
+o’clock to find you a delicacy, and he succeeded in bagging enough for
+us all.”
+
+The wild birds, reënforced by one of the captain’s palm-shoot
+vegetables, furnished a most edible repast, and it was not long
+thereafter before Hope-Jones, Ferguson, and the youngest member of the
+party turned in, the captain taking the first watch.
+
+When Harvey awoke in the morning, he reported himself fit for any task,
+and the others, having recovered from strains and bruises, agreed to
+start as soon after breakfast as the packing of the camp equipment would
+permit. Before the departure, Señor Cisneros fastened a pole firmly
+between two of the rocks and attached thereto a handkerchief.
+
+“It’s possible, though not probable, that hostile Indians may appear
+again,” he said. “In that event it would be well for us to retreat to
+this position, which is naturally fitted for defence, and which we have
+rendered even more impregnable. As the boulders do not show their
+peculiar form from down stream, we might pass the place by in our haste
+to seek shelter, but with that flagstaff set I don’t believe we could
+miss it.”
+
+“Hadn’t we better give our little fort a name?” asked Harvey.
+
+“To be sure we had,” said Ferguson. “Victory do?”
+
+“I would suggest Majerona Hill,” said Hope-Jones.
+
+“Would not Fort Pincushion be more appropriate?” asked the captain.
+
+“Capital! Capital!” exclaimed the two men, and the boy blushed as he had
+done on the occasion when he felt the object in his pocket which had
+been pierced by the arrow.
+
+Although the white rock, which had been their goal since leaving Callao,
+had seemed only a short distance from the fort, yet they were nearly
+half an hour reaching a point beneath its strange formation, and all
+four expressed astonishment at the brilliant, pearly white lustre.
+Ferguson was the first to touch the stone, and in passing his hand over
+the surface, he noticed that his finger nail left a mark.
+
+“My, how soft it is! Almost as soft as soapstone! Can you tell us, Mr.
+Geologist, what manner of outcropping the Earth has given us here?”
+
+Harvey, thus appealed to, took from his knapsack the little hammer which
+he had brought for such purpose, and knocking off a fragment, he
+examined it critically, then said:—
+
+“It looks very much like alabaster.”
+
+“Alabaster in these regions?”
+
+“Yes, and it is not unusual. The stone is found near Cuzco, and it
+abounds in the Cordilleras of Chile. To be sure, the best quality comes
+from Tuscany, but excellent specimens abound in this interior region,
+and we have found an unusually large deposit.”
+
+“It seems to me that I perceive a faint odor of lime,” said Hope-Jones.
+
+“Then I am correct in saying that this is alabaster,” the boy answered;
+“for alabaster is a compact variety of sulphate of lime.”
+
+“Now for the mine!” exclaimed Ferguson, and they at once turned from the
+shaft and made ready to continue the journey.
+
+“Old Huayno directed you to proceed farther north for a half mile, until
+you should see another white rock, did he not?” asked the captain.
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Then put your compass on something level, Hope-Jones, and give us the
+bearings.”
+
+The Englishman did so, and the needle pointed in a direction that took
+them away from the stream, into the light growth of woods. They
+tightened their belts and started, pushing forward rapidly and eagerly.
+Months afterward Harvey said that no stage or event of the journey, not
+even the encounter with the savages, was so firmly impressed on his mind
+as was this period after they swung to the left from the bank of the
+river Marañon.
+
+“I had a stuffy feeling,” he explained; “all choked up, and didn’t know
+whether I should cry like a baby when I reached the mine, or shout like
+a man. I thought all the time of mother, father, Rosita, and Louis, of
+what riches would do for them. Yes, to be sure, I thought of myself as
+well, but to tell the honest truth, it was not so much with the idea of
+having great riches at hand, as it was to be able to purchase some books
+that I wanted, and a sail-boat.”
+
+These thoughts of the boy were shared in their intensity by the other
+members of the party. Hope-Jones had left an aged mother in England,
+who, though not in want, would be none the less a sharer in any good
+fortune that might come to her son; Ferguson built air-castles for his
+sister, who was studying music in Boston, and who had written him only
+by the last mail that she would be perfectly happy, could she but go
+abroad. As for the captain, he had long wished that six months might be
+passed in Lima and the remaining period of the year in their home in
+Huari. Thus busied they said little or nothing during the first ten
+minutes after leaving the Marañon, but kept on diligently, making as
+much speed as was possible over the rough country.
+
+Their speculating reveries were interrupted by the captain, who called a
+halt for a conference.
+
+“Your old Indian friend said something about trees having been felled
+across the path from the river to the mine, did he not?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Then it is about time for us to meet with them in quantity. There are a
+few here and there, but not enough as yet to indicate that we have
+reached the region where the Ayulis placed obstructions. Another matter
+to consider is that a white rock hereabouts, although the timber is
+sparse, would not be so readily seen as the pile of alabaster on the
+river bank. And again, it must be remembered that the Ayulis did not use
+a compass in determining the course of their journeys; they judged such
+a direction to be north, and another south, by the relative bearing of
+the sun. Therefore, although Huayno said to go north from the river, yet
+his ‘north’ might have been northeast or northwest.”
+
+“What then do you propose to do, sir?”
+
+“I believe it would be wise to spread out. You, Hope-Jones and Harvey,
+walk over to the right until you are within easy calling distance of one
+another, and Ferguson and I will do the same on the left. We will then
+move forward in a fan-shape and cover the country closely, watching out
+for a white rock and for fallen trees that seem to have been felled
+systematically. Everybody move slowly,” he added. “About like this,” and
+he took several paces, to give them an example.
+
+Fifteen minutes later not one was in sight of the other, and then they
+commenced the slow forward journey, “beating the country,” one might
+say, not for animals or birds, but for signs that a century before had
+marked for the aborigines of Peru the place where great treasure lay
+buried.
+
+Harvey, between the captain and Hope-Jones, could hear the swish of the
+latter’s walking-stick as he cut the plants through which he moved, but
+not a sound came from his left. Occasionally a little animal darted from
+a decayed log; or, with a whir, a bird, startled from the undergrowth,
+would fly ahead, slanting upwards. But he saw nothing else. The trees
+were not much nearer together than in an orchard. Of course they were
+large of trunk and branch, and the shade was almost continual. Here and
+there one had fallen, but the boy saw no signs of a number having been
+felled by man. After fifteen minutes had passed he heard Hope-Jones
+call: “Anything in sight, Harvey?”
+
+“Nothing.” Then he repeated the question, turning to the left.
+
+“Not a sight that is cheering, my boy,” was the captain’s answer.
+
+The Peruvian’s voice was quite indistinct, and Harvey, believing he had
+borne too far to the right, altered his direction somewhat. Then time
+commenced to hang heavy, and the minutes dragged like hours as he moved
+on, but ahead he saw an interminable succession of giant trees,
+interspersed here and there with immense heliotrope bushes, but never a
+rock of prominence or a number of trees felled as if to offer a bar to
+progress. Finally there came a call that set his blood tingling.
+
+“Come on, Harvey, and bring Hope-Jones with you!” shouted the captain.
+
+The lad repeated the cheerful words, and soon the crackling of
+underbrush announced the approach of the Englishman, who, panting from
+his exertions, joined the boy, and then the two made equal haste to the
+side of the Peruvian, who guided them by frequent shouts.
+
+“What is it?” both asked.
+
+“Ferguson has seen something and is waiting,” he answered, then called
+out: “Give us a word, over there!”
+
+A shout came in reply, and going in the direction of the sound, the
+three made the most haste possible.
+
+They found the elder American standing near a mass that resembled a
+mound, and in every direction ahead of him were similar curious shapes.
+
+“Don’t you think these have been formed by heaps of fallen trees,
+covered in time with vegetation?” he inquired.
+
+“You may be right. Here, lend me your pick-axe, Hope-Jones;” and taking
+the tool the captain commenced vigorously to make an opening. The mound
+yielded beneath the blows and proved to be little more than a mass of
+foliage supported by soil that had been formed of dead timber. Within
+were gray, shrivelled pieces of wood, some of which Harvey drew forth
+and eagerly examined.
+
+“Yes,” he exclaimed, “these are pieces of trees, almost fossilized.”
+
+“Then we are in the right path,” said Hope-Jones. “But where is the
+white rock?”
+
+“That remains to be found. Let’s push onward,” said the captain.
+
+As all the mounds seemed to be within reach of the eye on both sides,
+and to extend in a line straight ahead, they continued their way
+together and travelled through the strange land that spoke of the
+Ayulis’ anger and the efforts of the aborigines to prevent their
+treasure falling into the intruders’ hands.
+
+Captain Cisneros remarked that the trees were not so tall as those they
+had left behind, which, he said, was conclusive evidence that the
+primeval growth had been cut down, and that this thin forest had sprung
+into being since that day. It was noticed that the ground sloped
+somewhat from both right and left; they were, in fact, in a little
+valley, through which, as Ferguson remarked, a stream once flowed and
+probably still flowed during the rainy season.
+
+For nearly fifteen minutes they kept on, and then as suddenly as the
+mounds had commenced, they came to an end, and beyond them the trees
+were of ancient growth once more. They looked at one another
+quizzically, as if to say: “We have passed the obstructions. Where is
+the white rock that marks the mine?”
+
+“We’ve missed it somehow,” said the captain. “Perhaps it’s to the right,
+or the left. Hope-Jones, you and Harvey go around the mounds on one
+side, and Ferguson and I will go on the other.”
+
+They separated, as proposed, and carefully surveyed the country for the
+landmark which meant fortunes to them. The two parties were an hour
+making the detour, and when they met again at the point where Ferguson
+had first called their attention to the curious earth formations,
+neither had any encouraging report to make. All were puzzled. What could
+it mean? Had old Huayno hoaxed them, and thus vented his wrath against
+white men? The captain asked this question and was assured by both
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson that they, who had known the old Indian, could
+not entertain the thought for a minute. Could he have been mistaken
+concerning the location of the second white rock? That was possible, but
+where could they search for it, if not among these mounds? Huayno’s
+estimate of distances had proved different from theirs; still the
+general direction had been correct, and they had found all the landmarks
+that he had named—all save the last and the most important.
+
+While discussing what had better be done, they unstrapped their
+knapsacks and ate the noonday meal, for the morning had passed. This
+done, the captain said that he would keep on some distance in the
+general direction they had followed since leaving the river, and while
+he was gone the others could explore the mound region more thoroughly.
+
+It was four o’clock when they met again, weary and discouraged, for not
+one had seen aught that led him to believe they had located the mine.
+
+“I thought I had the rock in sight once, boys, but it turned out to be a
+tree with white blossoms,” said the captain.
+
+As the shades were lengthening in the woods, the explorers turned back
+to the river, and once arrived at the white rock on the bank, they
+decided to camp there for the night and not walk to Fort Pincushion. So
+they pitched the shelter-tent, built a fire and cooked some game which
+they had killed on the return trip. Then, after arranging for the watch,
+those who could “turn in” went to sleep immediately, for their brains
+were fatigued by the disappointment, even as their bodies were by the
+physical exertion.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII.
+                          HARVEY AS A SENTRY.
+
+
+Harvey was called at two o’clock in the morning, and he posted himself
+as sentinel under a small tree that grew near the shelter-tent. He had
+become somewhat accustomed to being rudely awakened and to being alone
+while the others slept, and now that an attack by Indians was
+improbable, and it was no longer necessary to strain his sense of
+hearing that he might note the slightest sound, the novelty of the
+situation appealed to him.
+
+This night the moon in its third quarter shone from out a cloudless sky,
+and at the altitude of the great intermontane valley in which they
+rested, the rays were brighter than at points nearer the sea level, so
+the river bank and the open country were visible with nearly the
+distinctness of day.
+
+As the boy walked a few times back and forth, a rifle on his shoulder,
+then paused for a short rest under the tree, he puzzled his brain to
+account for their not having found the second white rock. He believed
+implicitly in the truth of all that Huayno had said, and was confident
+that not far from where he stood great riches were stored in the ground.
+
+But could they ever locate the mine? It would be a task of years to
+demolish all those mounds and ascertain which hid the entrance to the
+old workings; and should it be attempted, others must learn what they
+were doing on the banks of the Marañon, others would flock to the place
+with picks and shovels, and among these others some one or two might
+first find the store of yellow metal.
+
+Thus cogitating he walked closer to the river and stood beneath the
+great white rock, which shone resplendent in the moonlight, glistening
+and seeming to be translucent. Studying the strange geological formation
+attentively, he noticed for the first time that only the side facing up
+stream and the side facing the woods were white; those facing down
+stream and the opposite shore were much darker, almost a slate color.
+This peculiarity had not been remarked, because no member of the party
+had gone farther down stream. The boy also saw that the rock was several
+feet from the river and that its lower portion, where the water washed,
+had turned this same slate color.
+
+He paced slowly back to the tree, meditating on these observations, and
+endeavoring to solve the reason for the varying of the physical features
+of the unique landmark. In the midst of this his mind strangely reverted
+to the time of a dinner party that had been given at his father’s home
+in Chucuito about six months before, and try as he might he could think
+of nothing else than this entertainment and the people who were present;
+then of the conversation that had occurred—and the moment the mind cell
+that contained the impression left by that conversation opened, he had
+the solution of the problem which confronted them.
+
+At this dinner Don Isaac Lawton, editor of the _South Pacific Times_,
+had been asked to explain the absence of rain on the Peruvian
+coast-line. He had done so in these words:—
+
+“The absence of rain on the coast is caused by the action of the lofty
+uplands of the Andes on the trade-wind. The southeast trade-wind blows
+obliquely across the Atlantic Ocean until it reaches Brazil. By this
+time it is heavily laden with vapor, which it continues to bear along
+across the continent, depositing it and supplying the sources of the
+Amazon and the La Plata. Finally, the trade-wind arrives at the
+snow-capped Andes, and here the last particle of moisture is wrung from
+it that the very low temperature can extract. Coming to the summit of
+that range, it rushes down as a cool and dry wind on the Pacific slopes
+below. Meeting with no evaporating surface, and with no temperature
+colder than that to which it is subjected on the mountain tops, this
+wind joins the south trades and reaches the ocean before it becomes
+charged with fresh moisture.”
+
+Harvey, recalling this conversation, for it had been imprinted upon his
+mind, because it was the first explanation he had heard of this Pacific
+coast phenomenon, began to reason that if the trade-winds blew in a
+certain direction over Brazil and in a certain direction on the coast,
+there was undoubtedly a regularity of the wind currents in this
+intermontane valley. He had noticed since leaving Huari that what breeze
+stirred, blew in their faces; therefore the general direction of the
+wind was up stream, or toward the southwest.
+
+That being true, the reason why a portion of the great white rock had
+turned a slate color was evident—it was weather-stained, and the
+remaining portion, sheltered from the winds, retained its lustre. At
+this stage in his reflections he recalled a sentence from his geology:
+“Alabaster is soluble to a certain extent in water.”
+
+This white rock was high above the river and had not been dissolved by
+the stream. Its northern portion had undoubtedly been worn by rains, and
+it was probably not so high as when old Huayno was a young man; still it
+had been better preserved than if the full force of the stream had been
+brought to bear upon it.
+
+“What if conditions had been different and the rock had been wave-washed
+all these years?” Harvey asked, and then answered himself: “It would
+have been worn down and all sides would have been weather-stained, even
+as the more exposed portions are.”
+
+In the region of the peculiar mounds they had noticed a depression, and
+all had agreed that it probably formed the course of a stream during the
+rainy season. Perhaps the second white rock had stood in this
+depression; it was undoubtedly not so high as that which was nearer the
+river, even in old Huayno’s day. What then would have been the natural
+result of a low rock of alabaster, washed five and six months in the
+year by swiftly running waters?
+
+Again he answered himself, to the effect that under such circumstances a
+rock of this description would have been worn down in the eighty years,
+perhaps almost to a level with the country, and its entire surface would
+be slate-colored, like the weather-beaten sides of the landmark on the
+Marañon.
+
+Five minutes later Harvey entered the shelter-tent and awakened
+Ferguson.
+
+“My turn to stand guard, eh?” said the elder American, as he threw off
+the blankets and commenced putting on his clothing.
+
+The boy made no answer until he was joined on the outside by the young
+man; then he said:—
+
+“No, it isn’t your turn, and it won’t be for an hour, but I would like
+to go into the woods for a little while and don’t wish to leave the camp
+unguarded.”
+
+“Go into the woods! Are you crazy, lad? Has the moon affected you?”
+
+“I have an idea that I can find the second rock.”
+
+“You have, have you?”
+
+“Yes.” And then he explained his chain of reasoning.
+
+“Now I call that clever,” said Ferguson, “and I believe you have hit the
+nail on the head. Don’t you want somebody to go with you?”
+
+“No. There’s no danger. I shall carry my shot-gun. Besides, the camp
+must be guarded, and I don’t want to awaken the other two.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“They’ve had their watch; and besides, if I fail, there won’t be so many
+persons disappointed.”
+
+“Sensible precaution, that.”
+
+“I wish I had Mr. Hope-Jones’s compass.”
+
+“Here it is. He gave it to me in the woods because his pocket is torn.”
+
+“Let me have it, please. Mr. Ferguson, 5280 feet make a mile, do they
+not?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“And one-half of 5280 is 2640?”
+
+“Certainly.”
+
+“I cover about two feet at every step through this broken country, do I
+not?”
+
+“About that. But what are you driving at? You are the greatest boy to
+fire questions at one that I ever met.”
+
+“Why, I want to go in the direction old Huayno gave for exactly a half
+mile, or as near that as possible, and then investigate.”
+
+“Well, take care of yourself, and if anything happens fire a shot and I
+will hurry to your aid.”
+
+“Good-by.”
+
+“Good luck.”
+
+And the boy disappeared in the timber. “One, two, three, four, five,
+six, seven, eight, nine, ten,” Harvey counted, and then into the
+twenties and into the hundreds, thus numbering the steps as he took them
+in a north direction, guided by the compass needle. He soon lost sight
+of the camp and of the white rock and was well in the region of the tall
+trees. He had carried only his shot-gun, the little iron hammer, and the
+compass. The early morning was cool, the air bracing, and as the moon’s
+rays gave plenty of light, he made quick progress; but from the start he
+so regulated his steps that they would not be much over two feet each in
+length. Whatever addition there might be to that measure he thought
+would in the total correspond with old Huayno’s idea of a half mile, for
+the Indian’s estimate had invariably been less than the actual distance.
+
+He had counted one thousand before he stopped to rest; and then the halt
+was but momentary, more to tighten his belt and shift his shot-gun from
+one shoulder to the other, than because he was tired. Soon after
+starting again, he noticed to his satisfaction that he had entered the
+slight depression which they had observed in the afternoon, and through
+which it was believed a river ran during the rainy season. Its course
+there was north to south, where it entered the Marañon. Thus the
+strength of one link in his theoretical chain had been proven; if the
+second white rock was directly north from the main river, it undoubtedly
+stood in the bed of this periodical waterway.
+
+About this time he entered the region of the curious mounds and was able
+to remain in the little valley, for the waters had washed a way around
+each, not so deep as the channel, however, proving that a portion of the
+flow had soaked through the strangely formed hillocks.
+
+At his two-thousandth step the boy noticed that the mounds had increased
+in size and were closer together. A hundred yards farther they appeared
+to be merged into one, which was several hundred feet in circumference,
+and which appeared to be a little table-land, indented by the depression
+across its surface. At the opposite end from where he had entered the
+table-land, or rather on the opposite side of the circle, the river-bed
+swept in an angle to the east.
+
+Perspiration stood in beads on his forehead; his heart beat wildly. Was
+he right? Was this little table-land, this mound larger than all the
+others, an elevation at the mouth of the mine? Was the decomposed wood
+under his feet the remains of trees which had been felled in the
+greatest number by the Ayulis, because of proximity to the treasure? If
+these facts were true, then where had the white rock stood? Why, at the
+point where the river of winter changed its course to the east; that was
+the most probable point, if the pillar that marked the mine opening bore
+north from the Marañon, as old Huayno had said.
+
+It took him but a minute to reach this point, and once there he put down
+his rifle, then commenced to crawl on all fours over the little hillocks
+with which the big mound was dotted, striking the ground hard blows with
+his hammer. After having done this for a quarter of an hour or so he
+stopped, for he was almost out of breath, then when rested he moved to
+the other side of the depression, at a point a few yards beyond, where
+it turned east at right angles. There his foot encountered something
+hard, and throwing himself down, he commenced feverishly to tear aside
+the vines and creepers that formed a covering. When they were removed he
+saw a dark brown rock that was covered over with decayed vegetable
+matter. Scraping this off, the lad made use of his little hammer, and
+after three or four blows a wonderful thing happened.
+
+As the dirty brown shells of an oyster open and reveal an interior of
+pearly white, so the breaking of the rock showed a seam that was the
+color of milk.
+
+Ferguson, standing guard near the Marañon, was wondering what kept
+Harvey so long and was blaming himself for permitting the lad to enter
+the woods unaccompanied at such an hour, when his attention was
+attracted by the crackling of underbrush some distance away, and then
+the sound of footfalls nearing him rapidly.
+
+“Harvey’s on the run!” he ejaculated. “Wonder if it’s a puma this time,
+or what?” and swinging his rifle on his shoulder, he started at a double
+quick to the forest, where he met the boy, hatless and minus his
+shot-gun, just beyond the first line of trees.
+
+He had no opportunity to make inquiries, for the lad waved a piece of
+rock the instant he caught sight of him and screamed:—
+
+“I’ve found it! I’ve found it! Look at this! will you?”
+
+It happened that the shelter-tent had not been erected in a very secure
+manner the evening before, for all hands had been too tired and
+discouraged; they had used a very thin piece of wood for a centre-pole.
+Therefore the result of a wild rush under the canvas by Ferguson and
+Harvey, both anxious to tell the cheering news, was the collapse of the
+cloth structure, and in the entangling folds three men and a boy were
+soon struggling. To add to the confusion, Hope-Jones, who had been
+dreaming of the Majeronas, imagined an attack was on, and reaching out
+for the fancied opponent nearest him, he commenced pommelling Ferguson
+lustily. The elder American, who was so imprisoned by the canvas that he
+could not defend himself, might have been seriously injured had not
+Señor Cisneros rolled himself free, and dragged the bellicose Englishman
+away. He then freed the others, and as Harvey was still breathing
+heavily, after the wild dash through the woods, he drew the boy to him,
+believing he had been injured.
+
+“No, I’m not hurt,” exclaimed the lad, panting. “Look, I have found the
+white rock over there in the woods! Here’s a piece that I chipped off,”
+and he exhibited the specimen of alabaster, to which he had held firmly.
+
+Hope-Jones, who by this time had come to his senses, gave a yell of joy,
+and the captain, jumping to his feet, caught Harvey by the shoulders in
+an embrace, then urged him to relate the details of his exploration.
+
+Of course there was no thought of attempting to sleep again that night;
+they did not even straighten up the shelter-tent. Hope-Jones and
+Ferguson favored starting at once in search of the treasure, but the
+captain said it would be wiser first to eat breakfast. “Besides,” he
+added, “Harvey needs some rest.”
+
+So they built a fire and soon were enjoying tin cups of hot coffee and
+some broiled duck’s meat—for the captain had snared wild fowl the
+evening before and had prepared it while on watch.
+
+Although the moon was setting when the start was made from the camp,
+they pushed on quickly, for their watches told them that in another half
+hour dawn would come; and when at last they reached the large centre
+mound and the point where Harvey had found the second white rock, a gray
+light was penetrating the woods.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three happy men, and a boy who was even happier, sat around the
+camp-fire on the banks of the river Marañon that evening.
+
+“You say the quartz is the richest you ever saw?” asked Harvey.
+
+“Yes, it is,” and the captain lifted one of the many pieces they had
+brought from the mine as samples, and all looked at it for perhaps the
+hundredth time that day.
+
+“How long do you think we had better remain here?” Ferguson inquired.
+
+“Perhaps a fortnight. That will give us ample time in which to explore
+the property and stake it off.”
+
+Another member of the camp was a friendly Ayuli Indian, who had appeared
+on the bank as they emerged from the wood. He with others had been
+driven far from his village by the marauding band of Majeronas before
+the latter’s encounter with the white men, and he was making a long
+detour on his return. They had detained him over night and on the morrow
+intended sending him with letters to Huari, from where they would be
+forwarded to Chicla and then to Callao.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XIII.
+                   BELLA CACERAS RECOGNIZES A VOICE.
+
+
+One evening early in November, 1879, several persons met at the home of
+John Dartmoor in Chucuito, a suburb in Callao.
+
+From La Punta, a seaside resort, had come Captain and Mrs. Saunders,
+with their sons, Carl and Harold, the first-named a boy who was just
+graduating from his teens and the latter a much younger lad. Carl was
+the chum of Louis Dartmoor, Harvey’s elder brother; and these three,
+Carl, Louis, and Harvey, had experienced many adventures in Callao Bay
+together. Another adult guest was Don Isaac Lawton, a courtly British
+colonial, editor of the _South Pacific Times_, a man greatly esteemed by
+both Mr. Dartmoor and Captain Saunders, indeed by all the American and
+English residents of Peru.
+
+A younger visitor was Bella Caceras, whose name has appeared in earlier
+chapters. Seated beside her on a couch in the little parlor this evening
+was Rosita Dartmoor, whose strong resemblance to her Peruvian mother was
+as marked as was her younger brother’s resemblance to his American
+father.
+
+A dinner had preceded the social evening, and the occasion of the
+gathering was to celebrate Rosita’s fifteenth birthday. One who did not
+know how rapidly girls mature in these South American countries would
+have thought her several years older; indeed, in the United States she
+would readily have passed for a miss of eighteen or nineteen, and so
+would Bella Caceras, who was Rosita’s age. Both girls wore long skirts,
+and in Peru they were considered old enough to enter society. This
+winter would have witnessed their début, had it not been for the
+circumstances of the times preventing the social entertainments that for
+years had marked Lima and Callao as gay cities of the West Coast.
+
+Peru, in this November of 1879, was a nation of mourning, a country
+plunged in despair. Eight months before she had taken up arms against
+Chile, to prevent the latter’s seizure of land to the south which was
+rich in nitrate of soda. Entering the contest with a well-equipped army
+and with a navy that was deemed by many the equal of the enemy’s, she
+had met a series of reverses that were disheartening, and in this early
+summer month—the seasons below the equator are the reverse of those to
+the north—it was evident that the country’s doom was sealed, and that
+any day a conquering army might move from the south and besiege the
+capital.
+
+Fate had been unkind to the northern republic. One month after
+hostilities had commenced, the largest war-ship, the _Independencia_,
+had been lost on a reef near Iquique while in pursuit of a little
+Chilean gunboat that was hardly worthy the capture. In October, the
+_Huascar_, a turret-ship of great power, had been surrounded off Point
+Angamos, while steaming north, by nearly all the ships of the Chilean
+fleet and had been captured after a bitter engagement, but not until
+nearly one-half of her crew had been killed and she had been set on fire
+in several places.
+
+It was during this engagement that Grau, admiral of the Peruvian navy,
+had been killed; and that is why Bella Caceras was in mourning, for he
+was her uncle. The loss of the _Huascar_ had cast a gloom over all Peru,
+and the despair was heightened a few weeks later by the news that the
+gunboat _Pilcomayo_ had been captured.
+
+Meanwhile revolution had left its scar upon the country. Prado, the
+president, had fled to Europe, and an attempt by his ministers to form a
+government had been resisted by Don Nicolas de Pierola, who with a force
+of mountain men and some army and navy officers, who flocked to his
+standard, had attacked the palace in Lima, which they had captured after
+a bitter struggle; and as a result, Pierola was at this time dictator of
+Peru. The land forces had not been more successful than had the
+maritime. Reverses had been met in the south, and orders had been given
+to concentrate troops in the vicinity of Lima, to take part in the
+defence of the capital; for now that the Peruvian navy had been nearly
+annihilated, the ocean highway was clear, and it was possible for Chile
+to move transports as she wished.
+
+Callao was the one strong point in the country. Defended by large modern
+guns in the castles, in the Chucuito forts, at Los Baños and at La
+Punta, the city was pronounced able to withstand any bombardment. But a
+blockade! That was what the residents feared, for with a cordon of ships
+in the offing commerce could not be maintained; supplies of food from
+the north and south and supplies from Europe, upon which the residents
+greatly depended, would cease.
+
+As yet no Chilean ships had appeared off the port, except to
+reconnoitre, but rumors came from the enemy’s country that a squadron
+for blockade duty was forming, and more heartrending than all was the
+report that machinists were busy on the _Huascar_, putting her in trim,
+and that she would form one of the fleet. At this news Peruvians gnashed
+their teeth with rage.
+
+It would be bad enough to have the ironclads _Blanco Encalada_ and
+_Almirante Cochrane_ dominate the sea within their sight, but to be
+compelled to witness a little turret-ship, once the pride of the
+Peruvian navy, steam near San Lorenzo island at the entrance to the
+harbor, flying the lone star flag of the enemy, would be the last drop
+in the bitter cup.
+
+The gloom which overspread the country had little part in John
+Dartmoor’s home on this evening. They were all very happy, for any day
+they were expecting the return of Harvey from the interior, and a letter
+received from him had told them that his mission had been successful,
+even beyond their most fanciful expectations.
+
+It was only the extreme of circumstances that had influenced Mr.
+Dartmoor to let his younger son undertake this hazardous trip. At the
+time of the lad’s departure he had believed he could postpone the evil
+day for several months, but a few weeks later came the news of the naval
+engagement off Point Angamos and the defeat of the _Huascar_, which
+caused a financial panic in Callao and Lima, and among the many forced
+to the wall was the American iron merchant.
+
+He bravely faced the storm and was ably assisted by his wife and
+children, who cheerfully accustomed themselves to the new life that was
+made necessary. They gave up their handsome home and moved into a little
+cottage; Mrs. Dartmoor yielded her jewels, that more money might be paid
+their creditors; Rosita denied herself the pleasures which her father’s
+wealth in former years had enabled her to enjoy, and Louis, believing
+that he should no longer be a burden at home, secured a position as
+purser’s clerk on one of the steamers of the Pacific Steam Navigation
+Company.
+
+A fortnight before this evening the same persons had met at Mr.
+Dartmoor’s home to bid good-by to Louis, who had planned to sail on the
+morrow, and while they were gathered in the little parlor a clerk had
+arrived from the ship chandler’s, where Mr. Dartmoor had found temporary
+employment, and had brought a letter received late in the afternoon. It
+was from Harvey, and the lad had written:—
+
+    “DEAR ONES AT HOME: I have found it, or rather we have found it.
+    The mine is here, just where the old Inca said it would be found.
+    Mr. Ferguson, who is somewhat versed in such matters, says that
+    millions are buried. From the study that I have had, I know that
+    our assays have shown twenty-five per cent gold to seventy-five
+    per cent gross.
+
+    “Of course it is difficult to work this mine, because no means of
+    transportation exist, but as Mr. Hope-Jones says, ‘Gold is gold,’
+    and there will be no lack of capital to exploit what we have
+    found. This letter I have written with the stub of a pencil,
+    seated on the side of an ironwood tree. It is sent by a native,
+    who has promised to take it to Chicla, from where it will be
+    forwarded by post. We shall start home in about two weeks, after
+    we have collected sufficient samples. My love for everybody, and I
+    hope this letter will not arrive too late.
+
+                                                              “HARVEY.
+
+    “P.S. Please ask Rosita to tell Bella Caceras, the next time she
+    sees her, that I have appreciated her gift very much. It has been
+    a constant companion.”
+
+The joy which the receipt of this letter had given them all can well be
+imagined. John Dartmoor saw the rehabilitation of his fortunes at no
+distant day, and the reinstatement of his wife and children in the life
+to which they had been accustomed. The letter had also made it
+unnecessary for Louis to go to sea, but as he had promised the
+superintendent of the steamship company to take the position, and as it
+would have been difficult to find another person competent for the place
+on such short notice, he had made one voyage to Panama, returning the
+evening before this entertainment in honor of his sister’s birthday.
+
+To another member of this party Harvey’s news had also brought happiness
+and relief from worry. Mr. Lawton had felt the burden of financial
+depression almost as much as had Mr. Dartmoor, and although he had
+weathered the first storm, yet every one knew that it was but the matter
+of a month or two before his publishing house would be compelled to
+close. The very day after the boy’s letter came to Chucuito, Harvey’s
+father had entered the editorial rooms and had said:—
+
+“Don Isaac, can you hold out for a little while longer?”
+
+“Yes, I think I can,” was the reply. “But what is the use? The end must
+come, and might as well happen now as later. Advertisers simply cannot
+pay their contracts, for all business is at a standstill, and there is a
+straight loss in the circulation with the currency so depreciated.”
+
+“Well, I wish you to hold on until Harvey returns.”
+
+“Why so, my friend?”
+
+“Because I know that nothing would give my son more pleasure, after
+caring for his mother and sister, than advancing you all the money
+necessary to tide you over.”
+
+“Do you think so, Dartmoor?”
+
+“Indeed I know it, and can promise it for him.”
+
+“Thank God!” exclaimed the Britisher fervently, but in a choking voice.
+His eyes were unusually brilliant, for they had grown moist. He was a
+bachelor, all his relatives were dead, and his newspaper was the one
+object that made life dear to him.
+
+That evening Mr. Dartmoor said to his wife: “It seemed so strange for me
+to speak of Harvey lending money. But it is a fact, and he will really
+be lending it to us, for it will be his.”
+
+“I am certain you know Harvey better than that,” Mrs. Dartmoor had
+replied. “You see if his very first act is not to insist that his
+interest be transferred to you.”
+
+“But I would not accept it.”
+
+“Nor should I wish you to. But he will have it arranged in some manner,
+that I know.”
+
+Although Captain Saunders was not in financial distress, for he was paid
+in gold by the American Board of Marine Underwriters, for whom he was
+agent on the West Coast, yet the letter from the interior had made him
+none the less happy than it had the others, for John Dartmoor was not
+only a close friend of his Peruvian life, but they had been chums in
+boyhood, even as their sons were at this time; and for Don Isaac he had
+the same regard.
+
+None of them in Chucuito permitted the news to alter their mode of
+living. Mr. Dartmoor remained at the desk in a ship chandler’s, and with
+his wife and Rosita lived in the little cottage, waiting until the
+adventurers should return from the interior. The good news had been
+noised about in Callao and Lima, and several offers had been made Mr.
+Dartmoor by persons anxious to advance money and secure a promise of an
+interest in the wonderful mine. But all these the American refused,
+saying that the property was not his, but his son’s, and he did not wish
+to make any arrangements until the lad should return.
+
+It will be noticed that Harvey in writing had refrained from making
+mention of the encounter with the Majeronas. He had done this so that
+his parents might not be alarmed. And he had said nothing concerning
+Señor Cisneros. So that all they knew was that the mine had been
+located, that it was rich in gold, and that the boy was well.
+
+“Let’s see, it’s a little over two weeks since the letter came, is it
+not?” asked Captain Saunders on the occasion of this birthday
+entertainment.
+
+“Yes, two weeks ago Tuesday.”
+
+“He said that they expected to leave within a fortnight?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Then he is due now at any time.”
+
+“I hardly expect him so soon,” said Mr. Dartmoor. “The Indian runner,
+accustomed to the country, and having nothing to carry, would be able to
+make much better time through the mountains than Hope-Jones, Ferguson,
+and my son, burdened with their camp utensils, and with the samples of
+ore. So I would not be surprised should another week elapse before their
+arrival.”
+
+“You are doubtless correct. I had not thought of those matters.”
+
+“Wouldn’t it be jolly though if they should arrive unexpectedly
+to-night!” exclaimed Carl Saunders, and Louis added, “I should say so.”
+
+They were interrupted by a loud ring at the bell.
+
+“I wonder if it can be possible!” exclaimed the elder Dartmoor boy,
+springing to his feet and rushing out into the hall. All conversation
+ceased, and they listened intently. But it was not the voice of Harvey
+that sounded when the door was opened. The tones, however, they
+recognized as those of a very dear friend, General Matajente, the
+smallest officer in the Peruvian army, a man who had been a captain in
+the navy during the administration of President Prado, but who had
+joined the land forces of Pierola and had rendered that leader such
+signal service that he had been rapidly promoted.
+
+“Are your parents in?” they heard the general ask Louis, and the next
+minute he came hurriedly into the room, apologizing for having called at
+such a late hour, and expressing himself overjoyed at meeting so many of
+his friends at one time.
+
+The general was an exquisite in the matter of dress, and wore black
+mustachios that were so long and stood out so prominently that he gave a
+person the idea of a walking cross. Although he was much undersized, yet
+those who knew him never gave the matter of his height any thought, for
+he was a most courageous and pugnacious personage. Both Carl and Louis
+had seen him facing an enemy, and had marvelled at his quickness and his
+dexterity. They had been present on the _Pilcomayo_, which he once
+commanded, when the captain had fought a duel with a naval officer who
+was much his superior in physique, yet who had been in the hands of the
+little man as a mouse in the paws of a kitten. They had also seen him
+lead the famous cavalry charge in Lima, and sweep right into a battery
+of guns, sabring the artillerists until all the pieces were silenced.
+When they thought of these things, Captain Matajente, as they always
+called him to one another, appeared as a giant, rather than a dwarf,
+which he was in reality.
+
+“Had we known that you were in the city, general, we should have sent
+you an invitation on behalf of Rosita,” said Mr. Dartmoor.
+
+“I know you would, and I am delighted that I happened in. The fact is I
+came from Lima only on the last train.”
+
+“Are you going to remain long?”
+
+“Only over night,” he replied. “I came to listen in detail to some
+remarkable adventures; as remarkable, I am sure, as any that ever
+happened to three young men; and I came also, Mr. Dartmoor, to introduce
+my cousin, Anton Cisneros, a resident of Huari, who has journeyed to the
+coast on a business trip.”
+
+“I should be delighted——”
+
+Mr. Dartmoor was cut short by the entrance from the hallway of a tall,
+dark-featured Peruvian, clad in a long poncho and wearing heavy
+top-boots, who was presented to those who were in the parlor.
+
+“Rosita,” whispered Bella Caceras, “I believe that Harvey has returned.
+Look at the general. Don’t you notice a twinkle in his eyes? And what is
+Louis waiting out in the hall for? I hear voices, Rosita! I tell you,
+it’s your brother!” and the vivacious Peruvian girl darted from the
+room. A second later she gave a little scream of delight, then was heard
+to say: “I knew it! I knew it! Rosita, come here!”
+
+“Ah! the little minx has spoiled my surprise!” said General Matajente to
+those in the parlor. “Harvey, come in and bring your friends!”
+
+“Harvey here!” exclaimed Mrs. Dartmoor, rising quickly, and she ran to
+the door, followed by her husband.
+
+Yes, Harvey was there, and so were Hope-Jones and Ferguson.
+
+“Why, you have grown nearly a foot!” said Mr. Dartmoor, holding him off
+at arm’s length after the first welcome was over. “And you are almost
+black.”
+
+Then all fell to talking at once, as is usual on such occasions. General
+Matajente explained that he had met the travellers by chance as they
+were leaving the Oroya Railroad station in Lima, after coming in from
+Chicla. That was at five o’clock in the afternoon, and he had taken them
+to his home, where they had removed the stains of travel. He had been
+pleasantly surprised to find that the companion of their interior
+journey had been his cousin from Huari, and from him he had learned
+something of the adventures of the four. Anxious to hear the story in
+detail, and also to be a witness to the joyful reunion, he had
+accompanied them to Callao and on to Chucuito. He had planned that
+Harvey’s entrance should be a surprise, but the keen ears of Bella
+Caceras had enabled her somewhat to turn the tables.
+
+The five had dined in Lima, but were nothing loath to again sitting down
+at the board, and at ten o’clock all drew up chairs. Then, as every one
+insisted that the story of the adventures be told that night, Hope-Jones
+described their experience from Lima to Huari, and the captain took up
+the thread of the story from the time of their departure from the
+mountain town. Mrs. Dartmoor shuddered when the adventure with the puma
+was related, and the girls turned pale. But when it came to the battle
+with the Majeronas, the details were listened to with breathless
+eagerness, and Harvey felt his mother’s arm press him closer.
+
+There were two scarlet faces in the room as the captain detailed the
+sequel to this fight and Harvey’s narrow escape from death; and then,
+for the first time, the men learned who had been the donor of the
+pincushion that had stayed the arrow’s flight, for Bella Caceras had
+jumped to her feet, and had run over to the boy’s side when she heard
+how he had carried her little gift, and what it had done for him. The
+two were for several minutes the objects of many good-natured jests, but
+they bore them bravely, and, all being interested in hearing of the
+further discoveries, the narrative was resumed.
+
+It was after midnight before everything had been told, and before they
+thought of rest. Mr. Dartmoor insisted that Señor Cisneros should remain
+with him, and that Hope-Jones and Ferguson also should stay. As the
+house was too small to accommodate all whom the genial American wished
+to accommodate, Captain Saunders invited General Matajente to go with
+him to La Punta, and he also urged that Louis join them as Carl’s guest.
+This arrangement was finally agreed upon, and the party for La Punta
+withdrew, being accompanied as far as the little railway station by Don
+Isaac, who had refused all invitations and had said that he would prefer
+to walk to his rooms in Callao.
+
+“For,” he explained to Captain Saunders, “I feel a strange buoyancy
+to-night; even as if I were a boy again.”
+
+The editor had good cause for this. A few minutes before good nights
+were said, he had been taken to one side by Mr. Dartmoor, who had
+whispered:—
+
+“I spoke to Harvey of my wish that you should share our good fortune,
+and he is enthusiastic at the idea.”
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV.
+                       BLOCKADE OF CALLAO HARBOR.
+
+
+Louis Dartmoor and Carl Saunders were early astir at the home of the
+latter’s parents in La Punta the next morning. The Peruvian residence of
+the American captain was a suite of rooms in a large, rambling hotel,
+situated at the extreme tip of the narrow peninsula that juts into the
+Pacific west of Callao, and forms, with San Lorenzo Island, three miles
+distant, a shelter for the bay.
+
+It was only a stone’s throw from the hotel to the beach, and as was
+their frequent practice, the boys donned their bathing suits in the
+bedrooms, and running down the rear stairs, took a dip in the ocean
+before breakfast, diving through the inrushing breakers and swimming out
+some distance from the shore. They were in the water about a half hour
+and had returned to the rooms by half-past six. Faustina, Mrs.
+Saunders’s cook,—the suite occupied by the Americans resembled in many
+respects the apartment house of the United States, inasmuch as they had
+their independent kitchen and dining room,—had just arrived from Callao,
+and had put the water for the coffee over to boil. So the boys, having
+plenty of time on their hands before breakfast could be ready, dressed
+at their leisure, after a brisk rub-down with coarse towels, then went
+out on the broad veranda, where Louis told Carl of some of his
+experiences while on his one voyage as purser’s clerk; then they began
+discussing the return of Harvey.
+
+The veranda was unusually wide, even for a South American country, and
+ran the entire length of the hotel. From the north end it commanded a
+view of the bay and also of the entrance to the harbor, which was past
+the north end of San Lorenzo. The channel between that island and La
+Punta was so strewn with reefs as to be dangerous for any except very
+light-draught vessels. When they had reached the end of the veranda, a
+light mist had obscured most of the bay, and it was quite dense to
+seaward; but while they were talking this mist gradually disappeared
+under the influence of the sun’s rays, and a breeze had commenced
+blowing from the south, so that within a quarter of an hour the waves
+had turned from a dull gray to bright indigo, except close in shore,
+where they broke in white foam before dashing on the stony beach.
+
+Louis, happening to glance toward the end of San Lorenzo soon after this
+transformation was wrought, seized Carl’s arm and gave a yell as he
+pointed in the direction where ships round the headland to enter port.
+“Look! Look!” he said.
+
+Carl did so, then gasped, “The Chileans!”
+
+“Yes, the Chileans! The blockading fleet! One, two, three, four, five
+ships!”
+
+“Oh, Louis!”
+
+“Yes, Carl!”
+
+“Isn’t that the _Huascar_?”
+
+“Great Scott! I believe it is! Our little _Huascar_, with the lone star
+flag at her gaff! Isn’t that terrible!”
+
+“And there’s the _Pilcomayo_ too. Think of it. The gunboat that Captain
+Matajente once commanded; and now he is perhaps asleep in our guest
+room. We must tell him and also tell father.”
+
+“Wait a minute, Carl. That’s one of the big ironclads, I guess; that one
+to the right of the _Huascar_, Wonder whether it’s the _Blanco_ or the
+_Cochrane_?”
+
+“I don’t suppose anybody can tell at this distance. They are sister
+ships, you know, and I heard father say they differed only in their
+superstructure. Whichever she is, she is the flagship, for I can make
+out the admiral’s pennant at the fore truck. And look, a steam launch is
+putting off from her side and making for shore! Perhaps they are sending
+notice of a bombardment!”
+
+The boys then hurriedly left the end of the veranda and ran into the
+little parlor, then into the first bedroom, where they found Captain
+Saunders shaving. Both were too excited to say anything for a full
+minute, and the American, somewhat vexed at the intrusion, exclaimed:—
+
+“Carl, you should not bring your friend in here, for I am not yet
+dressed.”
+
+“But father—the Chileans—the Chileans—are—in the offing.”
+
+“The Chileans! Who said so? It must be a bola!”[2]
+
+Footnote 2:
+
+  Many false rumors and many grossly exaggerated reports were current up
+  and down the coast during the Chile-Peruvian war, and these were
+  designated by the term “bola.”
+
+“But it’s not a bola, father. We have seen them ourselves. There are
+five ships—one of the big ironclads, the _Huascar_, the _Pilcomayo_, and
+two other vessels; all are steaming up and down.”
+
+Captain Saunders placed the razor on the dresser, hurriedly washed his
+face, and went with the boys to the point from where they had viewed the
+fleet. They had no more than reached the end of the veranda than they
+heard the pattering of bare feet on the wood floor, and turning, saw
+General Matajente running toward them, exclaiming at the top of his
+voice: “What’s that I heard? The Chileños? Did any one say the Chileños
+were in sight?”
+
+It was well for the boys that they had frequently been impressed with
+the little general’s prowess, else they might not have restrained their
+laughter at the sight which he had presented. Hearing their report of
+the enemy, he had jumped from his bed and had run without stopping to
+dress. The evening before, Captain Saunders had given him a pair of his
+pyjamas, and these the little general had been compelled to turn up both
+at the legs and arms, until the fold of the former reached to his knees
+and of the latter to his elbows. He was evidently accustomed to wearing
+a nightcap when at home, and such an article not being in the American’s
+wardrobe, the Peruvian had tied his handkerchief over his head. Beneath
+this band of white his long, black mustachios stood out straight and his
+shaggy eyebrows protruded.
+
+In his haste and excitement he pushed Carl and Louis one side, and to
+see the better, when he reached the place that commanded a view of the
+harbor entrance, he stood up on the foot-board of the rail. Then he
+broke out into violent exclamations.
+
+“C-a-r-a-m-ba!” he hissed, “the audacity of them! To bring the _Huascar_
+here with their abominable flag flying! And my little _Pilcomayo_! My
+pride! My treasure! With dirty Chileños on her decks! C-a-r-a-m-b-a! It
+is too much! It is too much!”
+
+Tears commenced to roll down his face, and he became almost hysterical.
+The man who, during his lifetime, had faced death perhaps a hundred
+times without flinching, the man who, in the streets of Lima, had led a
+cavalry squadron right into the very centre of a battery, was sobbing
+like a child. But they understood those tears and also the convulsive
+chokings. They knew that not only sorrow, but anger, was struggling for
+utterance, and in addition to all was humiliation.
+
+“They are coming ashore, coming to give notice!” he explained, noticing
+for the first time the little steam launch that was now some distance
+from the largest ship. “I hope that notice will be of a bombardment;
+that they will engage the forts like men, and not skulk in the offing
+and destroy ships that cannot fight. O for one shot at them with the
+castle guns!”
+
+He darted away from the railing and started for the stairs that led from
+the veranda to the main floor beneath.
+
+“Where are you going, general?” asked Captain Saunders, catching the
+little officer by the sleeve of his pyjamas.
+
+“To the castles,” he replied.
+
+“But you cannot go in this attire. Remember, you are not yet dressed.”
+
+The Peruvian officer then realized for the first time that he had
+appeared in his night clothes, and his one fault being his vanity, he
+became as humble as a reprimanded child when he appreciated what a sorry
+figure he had cut. To add to his confusion, Mrs. Saunders came from her
+rooms at that moment, and before her husband could reach her side and
+ask her to withdraw, she had taken a dozen steps in their direction. In
+his anxiety not to be seen, the general had stepped behind Carl, and had
+whispered to the boy: “Shield me! Shield me, I beg you!”
+
+That was easy to do, for the youth was much taller than the officer, and
+considerably broader, so that, standing still, he completely hid the
+diminutive general, who remained quiet until Mrs. Saunders had left the
+balcony. Then, darting from behind his human barrier, he made haste by a
+side door to the room where he had passed the night.
+
+A few minutes later Faustina announced that breakfast was on the table,
+and Carl and Louis at once sat down with Captain and Mrs. Saunders.
+Although the latter was much interested in the news of the advent of the
+Chilean fleet, she asked if General Matajente had been awakened, and
+suggested that they await his arrival. But Captain Saunders understood
+the officer so well that he knew he would not wish to present himself
+before the boys after his peculiar appearance, and he also realized that
+the Peruvian wished to reach Callao with all haste; so he made excuses
+for him, and with his own hands carried a tray laden with edibles to his
+room.
+
+“I shall go to Callao with our friend,” he said, on his return. “It is
+necessary that I know at once what course the Chileans have decided to
+take.”
+
+“May we go with you?” Carl asked.
+
+“Yes, if you hurry, for I shall not detain the general. The next dummy
+leaves in ten minutes. If you can catch that, you may go. But not so
+fast with your coffee, Carl. You will choke.”
+
+“What do you think they will do?” asked Mrs. Saunders.
+
+“I hardly think they will bombard,” he replied, “for they know the range
+of the guns in Callao, and they could not approach near enough to do any
+damage without exposing themselves to the Peruvians’ fire. So I expect
+they will send notice of a blockade. However, it may be of a
+bombardment, and in that event, Louise, we shall have to move to Lima
+to-night. So immediately after breakfast, you had better call in
+Faustina and pack the trunks; then we shall be ready for any emergency.”
+
+“What if they declare a blockade?” his wife asked.
+
+“Then our future actions will depend greatly upon its nature. If a close
+blockade be declared, one that will prevent the entry of any vessels
+until the war is ended, I believe it would be wise for you to leave at
+once for the States with the children.”
+
+“Oh, father, please don’t send me. Let me remain with you.”
+
+“Would you not wish to go with your mother, Carl?”
+
+“Yes, of course, but——”
+
+“If I should have to go, let him stay with you,” Mrs. Saunders said. “I
+can understand exactly how he feels about leaving now. He would be a
+companion for you, dear; and besides, the experience would be valuable.”
+
+“Well, well, we shall see about it later. Matters may not come to such a
+pass that it will be necessary for anybody to go. Are you ready, boys?
+Then join me at the dummy, and I will walk over with the general. Pardon
+him, Louise, if he does not come in to say good-by; he is quite put out
+by the course of events.”
+
+A half hour later the four had reached Callao, and Captain Saunders,
+with Carl and Louis, went direct to the editorial rooms of the _South
+Pacific Times_, knowing that there they would hear the first reliable
+news; and General Matajente went to the office of the captain of the
+port. In Mr. Lawton’s apartments they found Mr. Dartmoor and Harvey, and
+several other American and English residents of Callao, all assembled
+for the same purpose. Harvey at once joined his brother and their chum.
+
+“Where are Hope-Jones and Ferguson?” asked Louis.
+
+“They left early this morning for Lima, by the first train, I believe;
+before we knew the Chileans had been sighted. And I want to know, Louis,
+why you didn’t tell me last night that the _Huascar_ and the _Pilcomayo_
+had been captured while I was in the interior? It came as a great shock
+this morning.”
+
+“That’s so, Harvey. I confess I had completely forgotten that you were
+not as well posted as we. But tell me, does father think that this will
+make any difference with your mine?”
+
+“Don’t call it _my_ mine, Louis. It belongs to us all; or rather, it is
+father’s, and that is just the same thing.”
+
+“Well, does he think the arrival will interfere much with your plans?”
+
+“No. He is rather glad than otherwise that the fleet has come, for he
+believes it will hasten the end. Of course, it will be impossible for us
+to do anything until peace shall be declared, that is, to commence any
+mining; so the sooner Peru yields the better.”
+
+“In the meantime, what are you going to do?” asked Carl.
+
+“Señor Cisneros will return to the interior this week with a surveyor
+and a deputy from the mining bureau, so as to comply with the law and
+perfect our claim, and some one will go to either New York or London and
+interest capital, in order that we may have the ready money with which
+to secure machinery and bring the ore to the coast. In the meantime, we
+shall be able to borrow sufficient from one of the banks here to pay all
+preliminary expenses.”
+
+“Who will go to New York?”
+
+“That I don’t know. We have arranged to hold another meeting to-night at
+Chucuito and decide.”
+
+Their attention was attracted by the entrance of an officer in the
+service of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, who had come from the
+office of the captain of the port.
+
+“Has the Chilean launch arrived at the mole?” asked Don Isaac, eagerly;
+and the others pressed near.
+
+“It has. And the admiral has served notice on all interests that he
+intends maintaining a close blockade. Non-combatants will be allowed
+forty-eight hours in which to leave; after that no vessel, sail or
+steam, will be permitted to enter port or depart. So my ship, gentlemen,
+will be the last to leave.”
+
+Hearing this, Captain Saunders jumped to his feet, and beckoning Carl to
+his side, bade him come, and the two hurriedly left the room.
+
+“What’s the matter, father?” the boy asked, as they walked rapidly
+across the plaza.
+
+“Didn’t you hear Captain Brown say that his ship would be the last to
+leave Callao?”
+
+“Yes, sir.”
+
+“Then I have no time to lose in securing a passage for your mother,
+Harold, and yourself. The boat will be crowded; hundreds will apply who
+will not even be able to get berths. By going to the office at once, I
+can perhaps reserve a stateroom.”
+
+“Father, I wish you would let me remain with you.”
+
+“Do you know what it means, Carl, to be in a blockaded city with all
+supplies cut off?”
+
+“I can imagine, father; but I should like very much to stay with you.
+Besides, I am some little help in the office, am I not?”
+
+“Yes. But with a blockade established, no ships will come in, and I
+shall have nothing to do.”
+
+“Then, isn’t that a reason for my remaining? You will be very lonely,
+and should have one of your sons by your side.”
+
+Captain Saunders smiled. “Very well put, Carl,” he said, “but I wonder
+how much Louis and Harvey have to do with your anxiety to remain? But
+you may do as you wish, and I shall reserve a stateroom for your mother
+and Harold. Now that this is settled, I wish you to take the next dummy
+back to La Punta, and tell your mother what has occurred; then help her
+all you can with the packing. I shall be home early this afternoon,” and
+he turned in the direction of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s
+offices, while his son kept on to the railroad station.
+
+As Captain Saunders was leaving, after having secured the quarters on
+the Panama steamer, he met John Dartmoor and Señor Cisneros.
+
+“Are you going to send Mrs. Dartmoor to the States?” he asked.
+
+“No. I should like to, but she and Rosita would prefer to remain and
+move to Lima in the event of open hostilities. The señor and I are about
+to engage a berth for some one who must go to the States and arrange to
+secure working capital for our mine. Saturday’s boat will be the last
+out, you know.”
+
+“Yes, so I heard Captain Brown say, and I came here at once to engage
+passage for Mrs. Saunders.”
+
+“I am very sorry to learn that she is going, but I think you are wise.
+We may see some pretty tight times here.”
+
+“There’s little doubt of it.”
+
+“Are both boys going?”
+
+“No, Carl remains with me.”
+
+“That will delight Louis and Harvey. And by the way, Saunders, I am
+going to move back to my old home in Chucuito this week. Suppose you and
+Carl come and live with us after Mrs. Saunders and Harold leave; or at
+least make us a visit.”
+
+“I should be very pleased, Dartmoor; that is, to visit until I can find
+suitable quarters.”
+
+“Do so, then.”
+
+That evening a meeting was held of those interested in the Bella
+mine—for so Captain Cisneros had insisted upon naming the property after
+he had learned the true story of the pincushion in Harvey’s pocket. It
+was decided that both Hope-Jones and Ferguson should go to New York, for
+the purpose of interesting capitalists; that Señor Cisneros should
+return to the interior, and that Mr. Dartmoor should attend to the
+company’s interests in Callao and Lima.
+
+So it happened that when the last steamship sailed from Callao before
+the blockade commenced, Harvey waved an adieu from a small boat to the
+two young men with whom he had passed such adventurous times in the
+interior; and from another boat Captain Saunders and Carl fluttered
+handkerchiefs and were answered with love signals waved by Mrs. Saunders
+and Harold.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XV.
+                          DARNING THE NEEDLE.
+
+
+The darkest period in Peruvian history was the year 1880. Defeated on
+sea and on land, the nation had drawn its forces toward the centre and
+awaited a final struggle near historic Lima, the City of the Kings.
+
+But the Chileans, triumphant, were in no haste to follow up the
+victories of Tarapacá, Tacna, Arica, and Point Angamos; they realized
+the enervating influences that always are at work in an army that is
+inactive and on the defensive; and although as early as January nothing
+hindered the northward movement of their land forces, they refrained
+from striking the decisive blow, and passed the time perfecting the
+transport service, increasing the efficiency of the troops and laying by
+stores of munitions of war.
+
+The blockade of Callao, established toward the close of 1879, was
+maintained without interruption, and the harbor, which only two years
+before had been second only to San Francisco in commercial importance on
+the west coast of the Americas, became a drear waste of water, for not a
+vessel, of sail or steam, was permitted to enter, unless it might be an
+occasional war-ship of a neutral power; nor could any craft depart after
+the expiration of the forty-eight hours which the Chilean admiral had
+given as notification.
+
+During those two days and two nights, craft of all description and
+flying flags of all nations prominent in the maritime world put to sea
+and sailed north or south, some laden, but the majority in ballast; and
+when the last one had departed and the enemy’s cordon was close drawn in
+the offing, the Bay of Callao reflected only one story—the death of
+commerce.
+
+Where two hundred ships had swung at anchor, a Peruvian sloop or an
+abandoned bark rose sluggishly with the ground swell; where once was
+seen the men-of-war of the Peruvian navy, awaiting the word from Lima to
+dash south, now appeared only the wooden corvette _Union_, the obsolete
+coast defence monitor _Atahuallpa_, and the school-ship _Maria Theresa_;
+once there was constant danger of collision in the harbor, because of
+the press of small boats—cutters, gigs, and barges, propelled by oars;
+steam launches darting here and there, whistles blowing lustily;
+lighters moving slowly as long sweeps were pushed, and sailboats gliding
+with white wings outstretched,—now the appearance of even a rowboat
+caused conjecture.
+
+Before Harvey’s departure for the interior, the bay had been a never
+ending source of delight to the three boys; indeed, it had appealed to
+all foreign residents, as well as to the natives, but to none more than
+to the members of the Callao Rowing Club, for the placid waters
+permitted their going some distance from the shore, even in the racing
+shells, and the trade wind not reaching the water near the beach line,
+and the surface not being ruffled, it was possible to feather the spoon
+oars by sliding them, even as is done on pond and river. After the
+blockade was established, Carl, Louis, and Harvey occasionally went out
+for spins; but the wide waste of harbor had little attraction, and they
+soon abandoned visits to the boat-house at Los Baños, preferring to take
+their recreation in the fields, on horseback, or in some of the games
+that had been introduced from the United States and England.
+
+Other members of the club felt the same about rowing in the bay; and a
+fortnight after the Chilean vessels appeared in the offing, the
+governing board decided to close the boat-house until peace should be
+declared and normal conditions be restored in Callao. So the shells,
+practice boats, canoes, and the sail-boat were carefully housed in the
+large covered barge that was anchored a short distance from shore; the
+doors were securely fastened, and Pedro, the keeper, was told he would
+have to seek other employment. The members removed their effects from
+the lockers in the apartments which had been rented from the owner of
+the Baños del Oroya, and the lease to these shore quarters was
+surrendered. But the Callao Rowing Club did not disband. The
+organization was maintained, and to-day it is a flourishing athletic
+association, famous up and down the West Coast.
+
+In naval parlance ships are “darning the needle” when they steam back
+and forth before a harbor, out of the reach of shore batteries, yet near
+enough to prevent entrance and departure of vessels. This is what the
+Chileans did day after day, week after week, and month after month, and
+it became an accustomed sight to see their low, black hulls in the
+offing, steam rising lazily from the funnels.
+
+The vessels first on blockade duty were the _Blanco Encalada_, which
+flew the admiral’s pennant, the _Huascar_, the _Angamos_, the
+_Pilcomayo_, and the _Mathias Cousino_. Others were added after a time,
+and there were frequent changes in the squadron; but the little
+_Huascar_ was kept on the station as an aggravation to the Peruvians.
+The _Angamos_ was a cruiser of a modern type and armed with one rifle
+gun, which, reports said, could throw a shell from Callao to Lima—eight
+miles.
+
+The monotony of the blockade was broken after the first month by a short
+bombardment of Callao, which was brought about by the Chucuito forts
+opening upon a steam launch from the _Blanco Encalada_, that ran in
+close to La Punta, evidently to reconnoitre the shore battery there. The
+shots from the land guns were fired at six o’clock in the evening, and
+the Chilean squadron steamed into the harbor one hour later. The first
+broadside from out in the bay was followed by a panic in the seacoast
+city and a wild rush of the residents to escape into the environs. Among
+the thousands who fled from their homes were Mr. Dartmoor and the
+members of his family and Captain Saunders and Carl. After that exciting
+night, most of which was passed in the fields, they and many others
+moved to Lima and only visited Callao during the day.
+
+Little damage was done by the bombardment; only a few houses were
+destroyed, and no loss of life was reported. But the brief engagement
+was signalled by as remarkable an incident as any ever related
+concerning war times, and the story thereof is told in Callao to this
+day. Immediately after dinner that evening the daughter of an American
+bookseller sat down before the piano in the parlor of her father’s home
+and commenced playing. After rendering one of Mozart’s compositions she
+swung around on the stool, in order that she might easily reach for more
+sheet music, and the motion brought her feet and lower limbs from
+beneath the instrument. At that instant the _Blanco Encalada_ opened
+fire out in the bay, and a shot from one of her guns, flying shoreward,
+pierced the side of this residence, cut through the piano stool, as
+neatly as would a buzz-saw, crushed the lower part of the piano, and
+made its exit through another wall. The young woman fell upon the floor
+unharmed. Had she not swung partly around her legs would have been shot
+away. No other residence of any consequence was struck that night, the
+dwellings destroyed being ramshackle structures.
+
+One week later an attempt was made at midnight to destroy the monitor
+_Atahuallpa_ with a torpedo, but side-nets had been lowered around the
+war-ship, and the submarine engine was caught in the meshes, where it
+exploded, throwing water on board. The report caused alarm in the city,
+but investigation proved that no damage had been done. Attempts were
+made later in January to destroy the _Union_, and they also failed.
+Short bombardments became of more frequency, and those who remained in
+Callao grew accustomed to the gun-fire and the whistling of shot and
+shell.
+
+Thus passed the late summer and early spring of 1880. With each
+succeeding week the value of food products increased, for no supplies
+came into port, and the irrigated lands were not of sufficient area to
+furnish all vegetable products that were required. Demand was made on
+the interior, but the means of transportation were so poor that articles
+thus brought commanded almost prohibitive prices. Eggs were sold for two
+and three dollars a dozen, and meat became worth almost that sum per
+pound; potatoes, even in the land of their birth, brought fancy prices,
+and milk and butter were soon not obtainable. But rice and corn were in
+plenty, so that, although the majority were compelled to deny themselves
+a variety of diet, there was no fear of starvation.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI.
+                        JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE.
+
+
+Señor Cisneros returned from the interior toward the latter end of
+January, and immediately after the report of the surveyor and the deputy
+inspector had been filed, a patent was issued to the Bella Mining
+Company of Callao and New York, to dig ores from the district which had
+been chartered and to extract precious metals therefrom.
+
+Beyond this action, which secured the claim, nothing could be done until
+peace should be declared. Hope-Jones and Ferguson undoubtedly had
+interested capitalists of the United States, but it was impossible for
+the Englishman and American to reenter Callao; and it was equally
+impossible for them to communicate with their associates in Peru,
+because all mail service had ceased with the establishment of the
+blockade.
+
+The fact that mining operations had been delayed did not greatly
+inconvenience the Dartmoors, for the banks of Lima were only too glad to
+come to their assistance. And at that period occurred a demand for
+agricultural implements, so great that the receiver who had control of
+the bankrupt hardware store reported rapidly increasing business,
+notwithstanding the fact that Callao was often under fire; and with the
+consent of local creditors he engaged the former owner of the
+establishment to conduct the new trade, which promised soon to pay all
+indebtedness and leave a profit.
+
+Mr. Dartmoor regretted that he had not sent his wife and children to the
+States, when he saw how the war promised to drag along; and Captain
+Saunders was sorry that he had not insisted upon Carl going north with
+his mother. But the boys were very well satisfied to remain. Not a day
+passed without some excitement—the firing upon forts and the attacks on
+war-ships at anchor, and the kaleidoscopic panorama of Lima, which was
+the centre of a brilliant army corps.
+
+The Dartmoors lived in the capital until the latter part of June, when
+the bombardments having practically ceased, they reopened the house at
+Chucuito and lived there part of the time. Mrs. Dartmoor and Rosita
+would pass several days in each week in the spacious suburban home,
+returning to Lima in the evening; but Louis and Harvey would frequently
+remain all night, and usually Carl Saunders was with them. Although the
+boys enjoyed life in Lima for a season, they were happier near the
+ocean, for all three were splendid swimmers, and every morning they
+could run over to the Santa Rosa beach and have a dip before breakfast.
+
+On one of these occasions—it was the morning of July 3—they left home
+somewhat earlier than usual; indeed, it was a half hour before dawn, for
+they had been asked to go to Callao immediately after breakfast and
+assist on their father’s books.
+
+“Whew!” exclaimed Louis, as they emerged from the house. “It’s rather
+cold for a dip, isn’t it?”
+
+“The water is warmer than the air, fortunately,” said Carl, who had been
+a visitor for nearly a fortnight with his chums.
+
+“And a brisk run will put us in condition,” added Harvey. “So let’s be
+off!”
+
+They started at a swinging pace to cover the quarter mile, which was the
+width of the peninsula at this point, and leaving behind them the rough
+breakers of Mar Bravo, in which no man could live, they rapidly neared
+the more peaceful shore on the bay side, where bathing was safe for
+those who could swim.
+
+But they did not take a “dip” on this morning; instead they became
+witnesses to a tragedy, one of the tragedies of history.
+
+For, as the lads swung down beneath the Santa Rosa fort, toward the line
+where the rollers break, they saw a number of forms gathered on the
+beach, and a sentinel’s call to “halt” brought them to a sudden stand.
+
+An officer came running up, a very small officer, who, as soon as he saw
+who the intruders were, exclaimed, “Good morning, boys”; and recognizing
+General Matajente, they at once felt at their ease.
+
+“You are out rather early, are you not?” he asked. “But you are in time
+to witness something that I am sure will interest you. How would you
+like to see the _Blanco Encalada_ blown out of water?”
+
+This question was asked in a whisper; and without waiting for it to be
+answered, the diminutive general turned and walked down to the beach,
+closely followed by the three thoroughly astonished and interested lads.
+
+A dozen officers and a score of soldiers and sailors were gathered near
+the water line; but towering above them all was a figure that the boys
+at once recognized in the growing light, and Harvey, exclaiming: “Why
+that’s John Longmore! I haven’t seen him since the _Huascar_ was
+captured!” darted forward and seized his old-time friend by the hand.
+
+The man thus addressed had once been a recluse on San Lorenzo Island,
+having lived there in solitude from the time of his wife’s death until
+the outbreak of the war with Chile. He was an American by birth, but he
+had so loved his Peruvian wife, for whom he had abandoned the sea, that
+for her sake he had sworn allegiance to this South American country.
+
+When war had been declared he enlisted on board the _Huascar_ and was
+one of the crew during all her famous engagements. Wounded during the
+fight off Point Angamos, he was sent home; and soon thereafter he
+followed Captain Matajente into the ranks of Pierola’s forces, and took
+part in the famous charge upon the artillery in Lima.
+
+The boys had known him while he lived on San Lorenzo Island, frequently
+rowing over to the rugged place where his hermit’s hut was perched; they
+had been with him during some of the exciting scenes of the early war
+and had witnessed his daring in Lima. But since old John had become a
+captain in the Peruvian army they had not met him as frequently, and a
+week before Harvey’s return he had been sent north on recruiting duty;
+so the lad had not been able to greet him until this morning.
+
+He grasped Harvey cordially by the hand, exchanged a few words with him,
+then with Carl and Louis, and finally saying, “You are just in time,” he
+left them to attend to the work in hand.
+
+A remarkable sight met their gaze when they turned from greeting their
+old-time friend to learn what was going forward. For a space of several
+yards the beach appeared to have been transformed into a market stall.
+The sand and stones were covered with meats and fresh vegetables, of a
+quality that would have made them tempting even before the blockade had
+transformed ordinary food products into delicacies, and of a quantity
+that bespoke a large outlay of money. Rich red shoulders of beef, the
+fat white and firm, told of the slaughter of a young Andean bull;
+rounded joints of lamb and mutton spoke of importations from the fertile
+grazing lands of the interior. Quail, snipe, and plover, which all knew
+must have come from the mountain valleys, were piled promiscuously, and
+so were barnyard fowl of the western slope. There was much green stuff
+in sight—corn, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and beans; baskets were
+filled with tomatoes, paltas, and the tempting chirimoyas.
+
+The boys looked upon all this in astonishment, marvelling equally
+concerning the use to which it was about to be put, and the means by
+which it had been procured. In the rapidly growing light, they saw other
+strange sights—articles in marked contrast with the wealth of edibles:
+barrels marked “gunpowder” and kegs filled with even more powerful
+explosives. Near these was a peculiar machine, resembling druggists’
+scales inverted, and minus the weighing pans. Drawn up on the beach, so
+that only the stern rested in the water, was a large lighter. A number
+of sentinels surrounded this strange conglomeration and also the
+soldiers, sailors, and officers of both army and navy, who were gathered
+near.
+
+“Harvey,” said General Matajente, approaching the boys, “it’s lucky you
+came. Can you tell us what time the tide turns? Since Captain Longmore
+and I left the navy, to join the land forces, we have not kept posted on
+such matters.”
+
+It was not unusual for persons to appeal to the younger Dartmoor boy for
+information concerning conditions in the bay. For three years before
+going into the interior, he had made them a special study, and had found
+that the information so gained aided him greatly when acting as coxswain
+in regattas. After removing from Lima to Chucuito, he had resumed these
+observations, probably more from force of habit than other reason, and
+so he was able to answer promptly, “At twenty-nine minutes after six,
+sir.”
+
+“Then we have no time to lose. Captain, as this is your idea, I wish you
+to take command here and carry out your plans.”
+
+At the order from General Matajente, Old John—the boys could not think
+of him save as Old John, the sailor, although he was now an artillery
+officer—stepped forward, and by his command work was begun. The object
+of their endeavor at first puzzled the lads, but in a few minutes all
+became quite clear.
+
+Sailors and soldiers rolled the barrels and kegs of explosives to the
+side of the lighter, and the larger ones were lifted into the hull and
+placed amidships. Also into the hull went Old John, who was handed the
+peculiar mechanical contrivance, and the boys, who were permitted to
+peer over the sides, saw him make fast the base to the floor of the
+craft, then busy himself adjusting the arms, to one of which they saw a
+spring had been attached. The kegs of explosives were now passed in and
+placed nearer the peculiar machine than had been the barrels, then
+Captain Longmore, still remaining within the lighter, directed that the
+provisions be handed to him.
+
+The more bulky of these, such as the shoulders of beef, were distributed
+on the bottom of the boat, but arranged in such a manner that portions
+of their surface would show above the mass of green stuff that was soon
+thrown in. Although the beef, mutton, potatoes, cauliflower, and the
+other vegetables were stowed away in bow and stern with apparent
+carelessness, more attention was given to the placing of the products
+amidships, in the vicinity of the explosives, and above the mechanism a
+space about a foot in diameter was kept open.
+
+The game, the fruit, and the smaller vegetables were placed in tempting
+array on top of the coarser products, and after adjusting the edibles to
+his satisfaction, John Longmore sprang out and called all the sailors
+round him.
+
+“Now, in with her, men! But carefully, so as not to dislodge the cargo!
+Wade out beyond the line of breakers and hold her there, steady, until I
+come.”
+
+They formed ten deep on each side of the craft, and slowly pushed her
+down the beach and into the water; then, following orders, they waded
+out until the bow was about ten feet from shore. The big boat rose and
+fell on the glassy rollers, and was kept in place by the sailors, who
+held firmly to the gunwales.
+
+“What time is it, sir?” asked Old John.
+
+“Exactly half-past six,” replied General Matajente.
+
+“Then the tide has turned and is on the ebb. Shall I let her go, sir?”
+
+“Yes, if all is in readiness.”
+
+“In a moment, sir, as soon as I attach this,” and he held up a
+percussion cap; “and this,” and he displayed a small shoulder of lamb.
+
+Strange combination! thought the boys as they saw these last articles
+needed to complete the engine of death that was about to be set sailing
+under the most alluring flag of peace—agriculture; and they watched
+intently as the gaunt seaman strode through the surf to the side of the
+lighter, then climbed on board.
+
+The morning was misty, but at such a short distance from shore he was
+easily discernible, bending over and moving his hands and arms. He was
+not engaged in this for more than two minutes, then he dropped over the
+side, and called out, “Push her off, men!”
+
+Old John waded ashore, and the lighter, loaded with explosives and
+disguised with market gardeners’ truck, with the choice from butchers’
+stalls, with delicacies from the fruiterers; yes, even with a few
+flowers, which were strewn carelessly on top, as if placed there by some
+one who had given them as a memento to the owner of the cargo—this
+engine of death drifted slowly into the mist, out toward the sea, borne
+by the ebb tide.
+
+The artillery captain spoke for a moment with General Matajente, then
+turned to the boys and bade them good-by, saying that he must go to the
+castles.
+
+“But first, won’t you please tell us what you did when you went on the
+lighter while the men were holding her?” asked Harvey. “We saw what was
+done on shore, but cannot understand what followed.”
+
+“Certainly, my lad. You noticed that I carried a percussion cap and a
+shoulder of lamb?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“I placed the meat on the arm of the machine to which the spring is made
+fast, and the percussion cap upon an open keg of powder, beneath the
+other arm. Do you understand?”
+
+[Illustration: “The engine of death drifted slowly into the mist.”]
+
+“Yes, I think so. When the piece of lamb is lifted the spring will fly
+up, the opposite arm will descend, explode the cap, and——”
+
+“Exactly,” the captain said.
+
+“But could not a person see all this arrangement and suspect something?”
+asked Louis. “You left quite a space there.”
+
+“That is all filled in, and I put the most tempting game and fruit right
+above the powder.”
+
+“Then,” said Carl, slowly, “you expect the boat will drift far out in
+the bay; will be sighted by one of the ships on blockade; that an
+attempt will be made to take the stuff on board, and all hands will be
+blown to kingdom come?”
+
+“That is what I hope, my lad.”
+
+“It’s horrible!” said Harvey.
+
+Old John laughed in a peculiar manner and walked away.
+
+As the boys were going slowly up the beach, Carl said:—
+
+“Did you notice the change in Old John? I believe he’s insane.”
+
+“So do I,” said Louis.
+
+“And I,” echoed Harvey. “The old whaler we once knew on San Lorenzo
+couldn’t have planned such a trick.”
+
+They had not gone far before they were joined by General Matajente. He
+walked on in silence until they reached the La Punta road, then they
+heard him mutter:—
+
+“I don’t like it one bit, boys; I don’t like it one bit.”
+
+“Don’t like what, general?”
+
+“That business down on the beach.”
+
+“Why then did you permit it, sir?”
+
+“Orders, my boy, orders. It was not the old boatswain who suggested the
+plan to a naval officer, but a captain in the artillery arm who went to
+headquarters. John Longmore told the people in the palace at Lima of his
+plan, and I was sent down here to oversee the operations.”
+
+“Then you do not approve of what has been done?”
+
+“Orders, my boy, orders,” was his only reply.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVII.
+                 JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE (_continued_).
+
+
+When the sun was an hour high the mist faded away; the gray mantle
+disappeared, and Callao Bay became of two colors, a green within the
+space of an imaginary arc extending from the tip of La Punta to Los
+Baños, and a blue beyond, as far as San Lorenzo, where it merged into
+the indigo of the immensity of waters.
+
+Upon the surface of the green, circling around occasionally when caught
+by a surface current, but steadily moving with the tide, was a market
+gardener’s lighter, crowded from keel to gunwales with every variety of
+produce. Such a sight had not been witnessed for more than six months,
+not since those ships, discernible far in the offing, had enforced the
+closing of the port. Before that time these lighters had been frequently
+rowed and sailed over the bay, moving toward the heart of the city from
+the fertile region of the Rimac on the north.
+
+When men saw what manner of craft was adrift they rubbed their eyes, to
+make sure that sleep was not with them and conjuring a fanciful vision
+in a dream. No, the boat was still there, rising and falling on the
+slowly undulating rollers and moving ever toward the open. Then between
+La Punta’s tip and the northern shore perhaps a dozen persons sprang
+into skiffs, whitehalls, and wherries, and let fall oars to race for the
+prize.
+
+“Halt!” called a soldier standing on the beach near the big, smooth guns
+on The Point.
+
+“Halt!” An infantryman levelled his rifle beneath the forts at Chucuito.
+
+“Halt!” yelled a red-uniformed guard, stationed on the mole in Callao.
+
+“Halt!” A boatman who was pushing off from Los Baños dropped his oars
+and came back on shore.
+
+“Halt! Halt! Halt!” was heard at intermediary points, for around all the
+sweep of land bordering the bay stood sentinels, and their orders were
+to permit no man’s interference with the progress seaward of that
+lighter laden with garden truck.
+
+From these guardsmen was learned the nature of the craft that was so
+jealously watched, and the news spread with lightning rapidity over the
+city of Callao, to Bella Vista and haciendas adjoining, to Miraflores,
+to Chorillas, and all over Lima; and from there it was wafted up the
+mountains to Chosica and even to Matucana.
+
+Peru was to be revenged! That was the keynote of the message, and then
+followed in more or less exaggerated form an account of what had been
+done and what was the expected sequel. Revenge! After having been
+humiliated in the south by many defeats, after suffering from
+blockade—which is a thumb-screw torture inflicted by one nation upon
+another—and after being insulted by the flaunting in their face of the
+lone star flags hoisted on the _Huascar_ and the _Pilcomayo_; after all
+these had occurred and all this time had elapsed, Peru was at last to be
+revenged!
+
+The Chilean fleet would be blown out of the water before noon! This was
+the word which was sent from mouth to mouth.
+
+Early risers, who were on the streets soon after dawn,—venders of water
+and venders of such scant green stuff as could be obtained,—hurried to
+the shore and dotted the beach here and there, gazing seaward
+expectantly. All that day jackasses wandered unattended around the
+streets of Callao, braying mournfully, and bearing on their backs casks
+that had been filled from the river Rimac, or baskets that contained
+plantains and coarse vegetables.
+
+In a few minutes these hucksters and providers of the day’s drinking
+supply were joined by other men, persons who lived near the beach and
+had run from breakfast tables when the news had reached them; some were
+only half dressed, for they had jumped from their beds at the summons.
+Then from out all the streets of the seacoast city poured a throng, and
+men were joined by women and children. A solid human line marked the
+entire water-front, and behind it formed others. Balconies of buildings
+that faced the sea were rented that morning, and then space in windows
+was sold. Callao’s shore line was the tier of a gigantic amphitheatre;
+the bay was the arena.
+
+A severe earthquake shock is followed by an exodus from the seacoast to
+Lima, which is on high ground and beyond reach of a tidal wave. At such
+times all manner of equipages are pressed into service; railroad trains
+are overcrowded, and those who cannot ride in car or carriage, on horses
+or mules, run or walk along the road. But no flight from the coast to
+Lima ever equalled the outpouring from the City of the Kings toward
+Callao on this morning of July 3, 1880; and within two hours after the
+lighter had been pushed from the Chucuito beach the depopulation of the
+capital commenced, and a wave of humanity swept down the highway and
+spread out over the pampas country.
+
+After taking leave of General Matajente, the boys had directed their
+steps toward the Dartmoor residence on the Mar Bravo side of the
+peninsula, and realizing each minute more and more vividly the
+stupendousness of the impending tragedy, they increased their speed
+accordingly, until, when the house was reached, they were running as
+fast as they could; and bounding up the stairs, two and three at a time,
+they burst into the dining room, reaching there nearly out of breath.
+
+Mr. Dartmoor was at breakfast, and with him at table was Captain
+Saunders, who had been his guest over night. The men listened in
+astonishment to the recital, and at its conclusion the iron merchant
+said:—
+
+“No business can be transacted this day. We may as well go to Callao and
+witness this deplorable attempt at destruction of life and property.”
+
+“You may well say deplorable,” remarked Captain Saunders. “Torpedo
+warfare is to be regretted under any circumstances. But against the
+modern engines of destruction, which are projected beneath the water,
+the enemy has some means of defence. He may let down nets at the sides
+and entangle the projectile, or by continual vigilance keep his ship
+from being struck. Against this bomb-laden market boat there is no
+defence, except accidental discovery of its true character. It is an
+abominable trap, and if any one is killed thereby, it will be
+coldblooded murder.”
+
+“You say that General Matajente did not approve the action?” asked Mr.
+Dartmoor.
+
+“Indeed he did not, sir. His expression told us more than did his words,
+however. He seemed to be thoroughly disgusted.”
+
+“I should expect as much from him, and I believe that Peru as a nation
+will not approve such methods of warfare. Let us hope this attempt will
+not succeed. I am surprised, though, boys, that your old friend should
+have conceived such a plot.”
+
+“That man, John Longmore, is insane,” said Captain Saunders, with
+emphasis. “He has been insane ever since he received that sabre cut on
+board the _Huascar_. He is a monomaniac in his hatred of Chileans.”
+
+“We noticed his peculiar actions this morning, father,” said Carl.
+
+The boys were hastening their breakfast while this conversation was
+taking place, and announced themselves ready for departure as soon as
+their fathers pushed back chairs from the table.
+
+“If this succeeds, it will be deplorable for another reason than the
+immediate loss of life,” said the captain, rising.
+
+“You mean because of a postponement of peace negotiations?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“I fear you are correct.”
+
+“How will it affect the peace negotiations, sir?” Louis asked.
+
+“Because the Chileans will become so incensed that they will not listen
+to the propositions for arbitration which have recently been made by
+commissioners sent from Washington. Not only that,” said Captain
+Saunders, “but any hope of Chile abandoning her idea of territorial
+annexation will be gone. I prophesy that if this lighter, armed and
+equipped by John Longmore, does any considerable damage in the Chilean
+fleet, that Peru will pay for it with the province of Tarapacá.”
+
+“The richest province?” said Harvey.
+
+“Yes, my lad, the richest nitrate of soda country in the world.”
+
+By this time they were on the plank road that leads from Chucuito to
+Callao, and after a brisk walk of fifteen minutes reached the business
+section. They were too early to meet the mass of humanity that later
+surged through all the streets; but they encountered some hundreds of
+persons who were rushing toward the water-front.
+
+“This will be a gala day,” remarked Captain Saunders.
+
+“Yes, until the truth is known,” was Mr. Dartmoor’s reply. “Then you
+will see a reaction and genuine sorrow. I know these people, I have
+lived among them since we parted company in the States, immediately
+after the war—and,” he added in a low tone, “I married one of them.”
+
+“Pardon me, my old friend,” said Captain Saunders, “I did not intend to
+wound your feelings. I was not speaking bitterly of the Peruvians as a
+people, but of those who are responsible for this action to-day.”
+
+“You must remember that an American suggested it.”
+
+“That is true, John, but he is insane, I am certain. Those who gave it
+the stamp of approval are the guilty ones.”
+
+They had reached the large building owned by the English Railroad
+Company, and the boys, who had walked somewhat in advance, stopped in
+front of the entrance to the flight of steps and looked back
+inquiringly.
+
+“Yes,” said Captain Saunders, in reply, “go ahead.” Then he added,
+“There’s no better place, is there?”
+
+“No. We may as well go up here.”
+
+The railroad building was situated on the beach, and a broad balcony on
+the second floor jutted out over the water. This veranda and nearly all
+the rooms on the floor were leased by the English Club. From no place,
+except the tip of La Punta, could a better view be obtained of the bay.
+
+Mounted on tripods at both ends of this open space were two large
+telescopes; numerous marine glasses were on tables. For years, until
+1880, these clubrooms had been a favorite place for captains of the
+merchant marine and naval officers to lounge during afternoons, and they
+had been no less enjoyed by the Anglo-Saxon residents of Callao and
+Lima.
+
+The boys hurried to the railing as soon as they had reached the veranda
+and looked seaward. Out in the offing, darning the needle, were six
+ships on blockade duty. About a mile from shore, heading well out from
+the Chucuito beach, was what appeared to be a small boat. They knew it
+was the lighter, and glances which each in turn took through one of the
+telescopes showed that the cargo of vegetables and meats had not been
+disturbed. It was the only craft moving on the bay. At anchor, but safe
+under the forts, were the monitor _Atahuallpa_, the corvette _Union_,
+and the training ship _Maria Theresa_, remnants of the Peruvian navy.
+Within the new pier were perhaps a score of vessels, tied up until the
+blockade should be over. Nothing else was on all that broad expanse of
+beautiful harbor, except a little schooner, moored at a buoy, and an
+abandoned, unseaworthy bark.
+
+For several weeks after the blockade had been established, the members
+thronged the club-house and waited their turn to gaze through the
+powerful lenses at the ships flying the lone star flag; but long before
+July, 1880, came around, the enemy’s fleet had ceased to attract
+attention; and as nothing stirred in the bay, the men shunned the
+balcony because the view it commanded was disheartening. It told of a
+dead commerce, of stagnant trade. But this morning all those who
+possessed the little blue membership tickets hastened to the quarters,
+and many brought friends, so that within an hour after the arrival of
+Captain Saunders, Mr. Dartmoor, and the boys, the place was overcrowded,
+and late comers were compelled to go higher and seek vantage points in
+windows of the railway company’s offices.
+
+The Chucuito party was fortunate, both in arriving early and in being
+joined by a number of intimate friends, for they were enabled to take
+possession of one of the large telescopes, and hold it for the morning.
+
+Don Isaac was the first to come, and he listened attentively to the
+recital by the boys, who told again, for his benefit, of the strange
+doings at the break of day on the Chucuito beach. They had hardly
+finished when Señor Cisneros appeared.
+
+“What is this I hear? Are they going to use a torpedo in broad daylight?
+I fear it will prove certain death for the crew that attempts to
+approach those ships,” and he pointed seaward.
+
+Captain Saunders explained that the torpedo was not of the kind
+generally launched from war vessels, or sent from shore, and he briefly
+described the construction of John Longmore’s engine of death. The
+Peruvian’s face flushed while he listened to the recital, and his
+eyebrows contracted.
+
+“This should not be allowed!” he exclaimed. “It is a crime! Pierola
+should be appealed to and asked to stop this slaughter.”
+
+At these words Mr. Dartmoor looked at Captain Saunders triumphantly. He
+had been correct in his estimate of the people. First, the officer who
+had been ordered to oversee the details of launching the lighter had
+denounced the work to which he had been assigned; and now a
+representative citizen from the interior deplored the event in even more
+energetic terms.
+
+It was too late to stop the enactment of the tragedy, too late to appeal
+to Pierola. The fiendish plot, hatched in the crazed brain of the old
+whaler, and approved by a hot-headed official in Lima, must go forward.
+The boat which was laden with market produce had drifted two miles from
+shore, and was nearing the line where the green water of the harbor
+merged into the blue beyond; as it passed from one colored surface to
+the other events began to move rapidly—and all the while, from along the
+shore, came the buzz of the many thousands who had crowded as near as
+was possible to the water’s edge.
+
+“Look!” suddenly exclaimed Louis. “A boat is putting off from the mole!”
+
+“It’s the state barge,” said Harvey, after a glance through the marine
+glasses. “I wonder what’s up now.”
+
+The question was soon answered by the craft itself, which was rowed
+alongside the _Union_. Believing it had been sent out only to carry an
+officer back to his ship, they paid no more attention to this section of
+the harbor until Carl called attention again to the corvette, by saying
+that a steam launch had put off from her side. Puffs of smoke came from
+the short stack on this small vessel, and after swinging under the stern
+of the _Union_ she shaped a course out toward the open.
+
+The foreigners on the club veranda looked at one another in amazement;
+the natives on the beach set up a shout.
+
+“Thank God!” fervently exclaimed Señor Cisneros. “They are going to tow
+that lighter back to the shore.”
+
+Out steamed the launch, at full speed, sending spray flying at the sides
+of her stem, and leaving astern a narrow path of white that marked where
+her propeller had churned the water.
+
+Until this small craft appeared in the bay, the Chileans had evidently
+given no heed to the lighter that, by this time, had well entered the
+blue; if it had been sighted by them, no sign to that effect had been
+made; they continued to steam slowly backward and forward, patrolling
+the entrance. But when the launch had covered half the distance between
+the shore and the provision-laden barge, the cruiser _Mathias Cousino_,
+which at that time happened to be the nearest to La Punta, changed her
+course and made toward the harbor. Ten minutes later she fired a bow
+gun, and the shot plunged into the water not far from the launch.
+
+The Peruvian boat at once put about and made for the _Union_. A dense
+cloud of smoke from her stack told that the stoker on board was using
+all his energy, and that the boiler had been called upon for the highest
+pressure it could stand.
+
+An expression of disappointment could be seen on the faces of Mr.
+Dartmoor and Señor Cisneros. The crowd shouted again, and the noise made
+by the many thousands was like the roar of a train, or the rasping of
+stones over stones on a beach when the undertow sucks them back. One
+could not tell whether this shout was in approval or disappointment.
+
+“I do not believe it was ever the intention to have that launch tow the
+lighter back to port,” said Captain Saunders.
+
+“You do not?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Why did she go out, then?”
+
+“It was a ruse.”
+
+“But what could have been the object?”
+
+“That ship’s manœuvre answers your question,” and the captain pointed to
+the _Mathias Cousino_, which was moving slowly toward the
+provision-laden craft. “The Chileans had not noticed Old John’s floating
+mine, or having noticed it were suspicious,” he added. “The launch was
+sent to attract their attention, or to lull their fears by an apparent
+anxiety to tow the lighter inshore.”
+
+Whether Captain Saunders had surmised correctly or not was never known
+in Callao; the instructions given the officer in command of the launch
+were not made public.
+
+Every eye had been turned in the direction of the Chilean cruiser that
+had left her station, and as she came within a mile of the barge, men on
+the club balcony climbed on the railings and on tables, that they might
+see the better, expecting that she would prove a victim to the floating
+mine. But after a few minutes the _Mathias Cousino_ altered her course,
+and describing a broad semicircle, returned to her position in the
+squadron.
+
+“She has set signals!” said Captain Saunders, who had been looking
+through the telescope.
+
+“And the _Blanco_ is answering!” remarked Señor Cisneros, after sweeping
+his marine glasses to the right, where the flagship formed one of the
+wings of the fleet.
+
+“She’s shaping a course for the lighter!” exclaimed the captain, who had
+swung his telescope around; and then every one looked toward the north,
+from which point of the compass the big ironclad was lumbering
+shoreward.
+
+A breeze from the south, blowing somewhat earlier in the day than was
+usual, had cleared the last shadow of mist away, a cool temperature had
+prevented the forming of a heat haze, and the eye could discern even
+trees on San Lorenzo Island.
+
+At the time of exchanging signals the _Blanco_ was about six miles
+distant from the _Mathias Cousino_. She moved sluggishly, not over eight
+knots an hour, for her hull had become foul with the marine growth of
+the South Pacific; and it was a half hour from the time she left the
+line before she reached the spot where the cruiser had been. The lighter
+had moved some two and a half miles from shore, and was still drifting.
+To reach this craft the big man-of-war had approached so near that even
+those who had no marine glasses could make out features of her
+superstructure; while persons sitting at the telescopes counted the
+number of men stationed on the bridge and on other elevated deck works.
+
+By approaching this close the flagship came within easy range of the
+shore guns, and when she was only a few cables’ length distant from the
+lighter, a shell was sent screeching over the water from one of the
+rifled pieces in the castle. It struck to the south of her, fully a
+quarter of a mile.
+
+“That bluff is so poor that I should think her commander would see
+through it,” said Captain Saunders.
+
+“What do you mean by a bluff, father?” asked Carl.
+
+“Why, that gun-fire, evidently ordered to lull the suspicions of the
+Chileans, who might wonder if no shots were let fly.”
+
+“Didn’t they aim at her, then?”
+
+“Certainly not, son.”
+
+At that moment a shell flew from the Chucuito fort, and it went as wild
+as had that from the castle.
+
+Then everybody bent forward breathlessly, looked out over the bay with
+staring eyes, and not a word was spoken; a silence as of death had
+fallen upon the multitude that thronged the shore lines. For the _Blanco
+Encalada_ had slowly passed between the lighter and the land, had
+reversed her propeller, and had come to a stop with the lighter
+alongside. None could see this boat that was crowded with food-stuffs
+and undermined with sufficient explosives to destroy every ship out
+there in the offing, but they knew that it had been made fast, and that
+greedy eyes of half-famished sailors were spying the wealth of
+edibles—enough food to put new life into every man in the fleet, even as
+there was sufficient material, hidden by the green, to insure every man
+a horrible death.
+
+Minutes passed like hours; the ticking of watches could be heard. What
+could they be about on the ironclad? Why the delay? Why did the crash
+not come and be over with?
+
+Harvey was watching as were the others, but all at once he buried his
+face in his hands and covered his eyes. The boy who had stood before the
+Majeronas so bravely became dizzy when he thought of the awful scene
+that might spring into being any moment out in the bay; a lump was in
+his throat. Carl and Louis also turned away at times. Strong men were
+affected and nervously twitched their fingers, tapped the floor with
+their feet, or bit the ends of their mustaches.
+
+“She’s away! She’s safe!” suddenly exclaimed the captain. “She’s made
+out the trap and is putting out to sea again!”
+
+Then everybody saw the lighter reappear under the war-ship’s counter,
+and gradually the water and sky line broadened between the big ship and
+the boat.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII.
+                 JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE (_concluded_).
+
+
+Señor Cisneros gave vent to a sigh of relief; so did Mr. Dartmoor. The
+boys were both disappointed and pleased. If they could have seen a
+war-ship destroyed without loss of life, the spectacle would have
+thrilled them; or could they have been eyewitness to a naval engagement
+in which both sides had warning, they would have enjoyed nothing better.
+They understood perfectly the attitude taken by their seniors, and their
+love of fair play told them that such methods of warfare as that
+employed by John Longmore could have no honest approval.
+
+Captain Saunders picked up his hat from a table, and, rising from the
+chair where he had ensconced himself so as to look the better through
+the telescope, he prepared to leave the veranda, and waited a minute
+until the others could make ready. Several club members had hurriedly
+taken their departure, anxious to avoid the crowd that would throng the
+streets.
+
+“Come, boys,” Mr. Dartmoor said, and he started toward the stairs.
+
+“Just a minute, please, father?” asked Louis, who had taken a seat at
+the telescope. Then he added, “I wonder what the _Blanco_ is signalling
+for?”
+
+“She is signalling, that’s a fact,” said Carl, who had taken up a pair
+of marine glasses and was looking seaward.
+
+“Hurry! Don’t you see you are keeping us all waiting?” insisted Mr.
+Dartmoor.
+
+“One second, please, one second! Oh, father, look! There’s another ship
+coming up. See, that one to the south is leaving the line!”
+
+Mr. Dartmoor turned and took the marine glasses which Carl handed to
+him.
+
+“Take a look, captain,” he said, after a minute. “I do believe another
+ship is planning to take the cargo on board.”
+
+Captain Saunders put his eye to the telescope and was heard to mutter:—
+
+“You’re right, Dartmoor.”
+
+He gazed at the oncoming vessel some few minutes longer, then added:
+“Yes, sir; one of the transports is making in this direction. And I
+think that I can understand the reason.”
+
+“Are we still in doubt as to the outcome?” asked Don Isaac, who with
+Señor Cisneros had returned to the corner.
+
+“Yes. And if I am correct in my surmise, the plot will now succeed.”
+
+“How so? Don’t you think that the _Blanco’s_ officers guessed the nature
+of that cargo?”
+
+“No. I don’t believe they did. If they had, she would probably have
+stood off a short distance and put a shell into it, to test the
+correctness of the suspicion. Instead of that, the admiral has signalled
+another ship to approach. My strongest grounds for believing that the
+ruse has succeeded are based on the nature of the vessel that has been
+called from the line.”
+
+“In what respect?”
+
+“She’s a transport. Moreover, she was formerly in the coast service.”
+
+“Yes?”
+
+“If I am not mistaken, she is the _Loa_, formerly one of the Chilean
+Transportation Company’s vessels. You will remember her. She was on the
+Callao-Valparaiso run a year or so ago.”
+
+“I remember her well,” said Mr. Dartmoor. “I once took passage on her to
+Arica. Why has she been called?”
+
+“Because she has machinery on board that can be used for lifting the
+provisions from the lighter. There is a heavy swell outside, and the
+_Blanco_ could not bring the small boat close enough to transfer the
+green stuff; so the former coaster has been ordered to do it. She is
+especially equipped, with steam winches and swinging cranes, which have
+been used for that purpose for many years, up and down the coast. Watch,
+and you will see that I am correct,” and he settled himself firmly in
+the chair, convinced that the tragedy had been postponed, not avoided.
+
+Other club members had noticed the manœuvre out in the open, and had
+returned to their seats and positions near the railing; and still
+others, who were descending the stairs, had been called back by their
+friends. A movement had been noticed in the crowd on the beach, a wave
+of humanity had receded toward the city when the _Blanco_ put out to sea
+again; now the wave was sweeping back, for keen eyes all along the
+water-front had noticed that change in position by ships of the enemy.
+
+The _Loa_, one of the largest passenger steamers on the Pacific in that
+day, had been bought by the Chilean government for the purpose of
+carrying troops from Valparaiso to the Peruvian seaports. Pending the
+embarkation of the large force that was ultimately to march on Lima, she
+had been sent to the blockading fleet with supplies. The vessel was
+almost new, her engines were of a late pattern, and she could steam a
+good fourteen knots. Therefore her progress from the line was much more
+swift than had been that of the _Blanco Encalada_. On she came, parting
+the glassy rollers, throwing a curved wave to port and another to
+starboard, smoke belching from the stack, and steam flying in gray
+tangles from the escape pipe.
+
+“What a shame!” remarked Señor Cisneros, as they watched her approach.
+“I have heard that the poor fellows out there have been attacked with
+scurvy. Think what a treat those vegetables would be to them after these
+long months of salt pork and dry bread!”
+
+“We can only hope that they will discover the plot,” said Mr. Dartmoor.
+
+For ten minutes little was said by those on the veranda; then Captain
+Saunders, who remained with his eye glued to the object glass,
+exclaimed:—
+
+“She’s shifted her helm and will bring the lighter on the shore side of
+her.”
+
+They noticed that she had altered her course; then she slowed down
+perceptibly.
+
+Five minutes later the _Loa_ appeared to be motionless; if she was
+moving, it was very slowly; the lighter had been brought abeam.
+Observers who had no glasses could tell the relative position of the two
+craft, so clear was the air; those with marine glasses could see that
+preparations were going forward to make the provision boat fast; through
+the powerful telescopes every movement of persons on the deck and bridge
+could be watched.
+
+Captain Saunders commenced to describe rapidly what was happening, for
+the benefit of those who had no lenses to aid their vision.
+
+“The lighter is abreast the _Loa_,” he said. “They have let a rope down
+over the side, and a sailor is descending to the boat. There! he has
+found a footing and is making the rope fast to the bow. Another rope has
+been thrown him, which he is making fast to the stern. Down this comes
+another fellow, to help him, and another. Three of them are now on
+board. Fenders are being thrown them to place between the sides, for she
+is bumping heavily. Ah! nearly over!”
+
+“What was nearly over?” Mr. Dartmoor asked. “The lighter?”
+
+“Yes. She was almost swamped. I wish she had been. Perhaps that wrench
+has dislodged the machinery of the mine. Now they are passing down poles
+and these are being used between the sides, instead of fenders, so as to
+keep her farther off. More men are going on board; there are fully a
+score of them among the green stuff. I can make out a number of them
+eating fruit. Poor fellows, what a treat all that does seem! Little do
+they know that they are enjoying chirimoyas, paltas, and oranges while
+standing on the brink of death! Now we shall be able to tell. The
+suspense won’t last much longer!”
+
+“What has happened?” asked Don Isaac.
+
+“They have swung the crane around and are lowering the chain with a
+basket attached.”
+
+“That means they are loading with the green stuff first, I believe. You
+said that was on top, did you not, Carl?” asked the editor.
+
+“Yes, sir,” the boy replied, in a choking voice. “The fruits, the
+lettuce, beans, and such things are scattered about over the meat and
+larger vegetables. And flowers too.”
+
+“Flowers?”
+
+“An armful of them, sir,” Harvey said.
+
+“Then that accounts for the bunch of red which I saw one of the men
+throw on board just now,” said Captain Saunders. “There goes the first
+basketful. It is going up rapidly; the crane is swinging inboard; it is
+being dumped on deck. Now the crane is travelling back and the basket is
+lowered again. The men fall to. They are loading with a will, for an
+officer has gone down among them and is directing. I suppose the poor
+devils stopped too often to taste the fruit. The second basketful is
+going up! up! up! That also is dumped. What’s this? The basket is not
+coming back! No, hooks are being lowered on the end of the chain. They
+must have put in all the vegetables that were on top and have reached
+the meat. Ah, they are commencing at the bow and not amidships. There
+goes a shoulder of beef! Inboard with it! Out comes the crane arm again
+and down go the hooks! Another shoulder of beef! Those fellows are
+working like mad. Why, Dartmoor, they must be nearly famished. I suppose
+they didn’t appreciate what a rich haul they had come across. Merciful
+God, if Thou wilt but stay Thine hand!”
+
+The brief, fervent prayer was echoed by all who heard. The faces of men
+and boys had become ashen pale. Two hundred men were on the transport
+_Loa_, two hundred hungry men, and there were thousands of others in the
+fleet. The launch contained enough fresh provisions to give them all a
+treat for at least one day.
+
+The _Blanco Encalada_ had steamed only a short distance away, and then
+had swung around and lay rolling in the trough, waiting, her crew
+evidently watching the work that was being pushed forward. Other ships
+of the fleet, realizing from the signals what was happening, had edged
+closer in.
+
+“They are working their way aft,” continued Captain Saunders. “Some
+smaller pieces are being sent up the side. You say the infernal machine
+is located exactly amidships?”
+
+“Yes, sir,” answered Harvey, in a whisper.
+
+“There, there!” The captain held his hand out, as if in a warning. “The
+officer is bending over; a sailor bends over with him. The hook is being
+made——”
+
+The sentence was never finished.
+
+A blinding flash sprang from the side of the transport, a flash that
+dazzled the eye even in the bright day, and for one infinitesimal
+measurement of time everything stood out plainly—the side of the ship,
+the lighter, the men bending over, the men grouped among the provisions,
+and those who had manned the chains. Then, in contrast with the
+lightning-like movement of the great glare was the slow movement of the
+steamship, parting in twain. She opened as though a giant wedge had
+cleft her in two; she had been rent asunder by a force that was titanic.
+And as she thus divided, a roar the like of which no man in Callao had
+ever heard came thundering over the water. The great sound waves threw
+themselves upon buildings, causing them to tremble to their foundations,
+and thrust upon sensitive ear-drums with deafening force. Then they
+swept on, over the seacoast city, over the pampas country, up to Lima,
+rattling windows there, and passed from the City of the Kings to the
+spurs of the Andes, which threw them back in a prolonged echo, so that
+all the valley seemed filled with sound.
+
+While the roar was spreading, a column of water had sprung into being
+out in the bay, and spurting through it was a writhing mass of steam.
+This vaporous geyser bore in its embrace fragments of men and fragments
+of iron, steel, and wood; it carried dismembered human beings aloft in
+its gray fantastic flight, and it also bore piston rods, segments of
+crank shafts, plates, torn and twisted from the hull, hatch coverings,
+deck railings, and sides of superstructures; it enveloped a medley of
+wrought metals and rough wood, and a medley of quivering bodies. It bore
+upward also the ragged ends of the transport _Loa_, lifting the segments
+that had been torn asunder, so that the bow of the ship dipped down, and
+the stern did likewise. Then these two parts plunged beneath the
+surface, going in opposite directions, and as they went, the spout of
+water fell, and the steam settled down over all. This steam could be
+seen whirling and eddying, and when the light wind threw it to one side,
+the water was seen to be whirling and eddying even as had done the
+vapor, throwing up pieces of wood in places, and also black objects,
+which those who still looked—and they were not many, for the great
+majority had turned their heads because of the horror—knew to be the
+bodies of men.
+
+From the sides of the _Blanco Encalada_ boats commenced to creep; from
+farther out in the bay other vessels of the fleet cast great columns of
+smoke into the air as they made haste to the rescue.
+
+The many persons on the veranda of the English Club said nothing for
+fully five minutes, so struck with awe were they. Then Captain Saunders
+found voice to call the boys.
+
+“We had better go now,” he said. “You have witnessed what will go down
+into history as the crime of the Chile-Peruvian War.”
+
+His prophecy was true. That which Mr. Dartmoor and Señor Cisneros had
+said also came to pass, for Peru as a nation mourned what had been done,
+and the blush of shame came to the cheeks of many whenever the sinking
+of the _Loa_ was mentioned.
+
+Months later those in Callao who had watched this spectacle learned that
+one hundred Chileans had been killed and fifty wounded by Old John’s
+infernal machine.
+
+“We had better go to Lima,” added the captain, when they had left the
+veranda and had mingled with the thousands who were slowly leaving the
+beach.
+
+“Why? Do you think there will be a bombardment?”
+
+“Assuredly there will be. The Chileans will be avenged to-night.”
+
+They went to the capital, and so did thousands of other residents of the
+seacoast city.
+
+At sunset the Chilean fleet steamed in close under the guns, and paying
+no heed to the fire from the forts, poured shot and shell into Callao
+until morning came. Houses were destroyed, large buildings were lacked
+through and through, and many fires were started. There was a death list
+among those who remained in the town, and many persons were wounded.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX.
+                        A STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE.
+
+
+News filtered through the lines from the south of serious reverses to
+Peruvian arms. It came overland, for there was no communication by sea.
+The word was to the effect that Arica had been taken by assault on June
+7, and that there had been great loss of life in the Peruvian army.
+
+No man doubted that the Peruvian city had fallen, but as for the
+particulars, so many rumors were afloat that no credence was given any
+of them, and every one anxiously awaited definite information.
+
+Much lawlessness prevailed about this time, both in the cities and in
+the surrounding country. Nearly half the population was under arms in
+Lima and Callao, and these many thousand soldiers, inactive save for the
+daily drills, became restless, and when given liberty they resorted to
+deeds of violence. Day after day reports reached the towns of country
+haciendas having been pillaged, and the occupants forced to pay tribute
+to marauding bands; citizens, out late at night, were frequently robbed;
+and a prominent English physician of Callao was attacked while walking
+on the plank road leading from Chucuito, and was killed.
+
+The army as a whole deplored this reign of terror, and officers did
+their best to check the wave of crime. Courts-martial were frequent; the
+guilty were ranged against a wall and shot, but, despite this energetic
+action, deeds of violence continued. Some of the worst characters in
+Peru had volunteered for the ranks, and as they were known as desperate
+fighters, their services had been accepted. All would have been well
+could they have been led at once against the enemy, but retained in
+camp, and months passing without action, their worst natures came to the
+surface.
+
+When the reign of terror had become recognized as beyond the power of
+the authorities entirely to subdue, Mr. Dartmoor regretted more than
+ever that he had not sent his family to the United States; indeed, he
+regretted that he had not left the country with them before the enemy’s
+ships had closed the port.
+
+Captain Saunders, convinced that no vessels could enter the harbor for
+many more months, and realizing that in their absence his presence in
+Peru was of no benefit to the American Board of Marine Underwriters,
+decided upon an overland journey, with Carl, to one of the northern
+cities, from where they could take passage for Panama. He spoke of the
+plan to Mr. Dartmoor, and the iron merchant decided to accompany him.
+Mr. Lawton, hearing of their proposed trip, and having arranged his
+affairs in a satisfactory manner, said that he also would go.
+
+“But your newspaper?” asked Captain Saunders.
+
+“I shall suspend publication. All my obligations have been met, thanks
+to Harvey and his father, and I am in a position where I can close the
+plant and reopen it when peace shall be declared and business resume.”
+
+“I think it would be wise for us all to go,” declared Mr. Dartmoor.
+“Nothing can be done with the mine until this unfortunate war shall come
+to an end, and we are constantly exposing our lives here. What will you
+do?” he asked, turning to Señor Cisneros, who had remained in Callao,
+hoping that the clouds of depression might lift.
+
+“I shall return to Huari and wait for peace,” he replied. “We are safe
+in the mountains. I wish you all could go with me.”
+
+They thanked him, but declined. Mr. Dartmoor had not been home save for
+a brief period since the Civil War; he wished his children to become
+better acquainted with the great republic to the north, and he was
+anxious that Mrs. Dartmoor should see more of the United States.
+
+Plans were formed to travel overland to Payta, and some forty or fifty
+other Americans and English decided to accompany them. The day for
+departure had been set when two events occurred, the first of which put
+a temporary stop to preparations, and the second altered their
+arrangements materially.
+
+One evening, during the last week in July, five young persons were
+gathered in the parlor of Mr. Dartmoor’s Chucuito residence—Carl
+Saunders, Louis and Harvey Dartmoor and their sister Rosita, and Bella
+Caceras. The presence of the girls in the Callao suburb was due to a
+temporary truce that had been agreed to by the commander-in-chief of the
+land forces and the admiral of the Chilean fleet, whereby it was agreed
+not to exchange shots for a fortnight.
+
+This had no effect upon the blockade, but it made Callao a safe place to
+live in so far as the element of bombardment was eliminated, and, taking
+advantage of the lull in hostilities, those who had homes near the sea
+removed from Lima, so as to enjoy the bracing salt-laden air and have a
+brief respite from the crowded, soldier-burdened life of the capital.
+
+The evening had been prefaced by one of those dinners for which John
+Dartmoor’s home had been noted before his financial difficulties had
+embarrassed him. To be sure, this day the dishes were not as numerous as
+they had been before the blockade, and that which was served cost four
+and five times the price of edibles in the olden times, but steaming
+pucharo was there, as of yore, and there was no lack of paltas and other
+fruit.
+
+After the enjoyable hour at table, Mr. Dartmoor, Captain Saunders, and
+Señor Cisneros went to the billiard room, and Mrs. Dartmoor accompanied
+the young people to the parlor, from where, after a few minutes’
+conversation, she went to her bedroom, having some sewing to do—for
+these days of preparations were busy ones, and, as all women know, it
+was upon the mother that the greatest burdens fell.
+
+Toward eight o’clock, Harvey, who had stepped out on the balcony for a
+minute, suggested that they stroll over to Mar Bravo beach.
+
+“It’s a perfect night,” he said. “The moon is full and there’s hardly a
+cloud to be seen; only a few of fleecy white that scud along as if
+ashamed to interrupt the light.”
+
+“Do you realize, sir, that if you should change that sentence a trifle
+you would have a verse for a poem?” laughingly said Bella Caceras. “But
+you are right. It is lovely. Let’s all go. The evening is warm and we do
+not need any wraps, do we, Rosita?”
+
+“I think not,” and rising, Miss Dartmoor joined her friend, then all
+passed out the door and down the stairs.
+
+“Where are you going?” called Mr. Dartmoor, from the billiard room.
+
+“To the beach, father,” answered Louis.
+
+“Don’t be gone long.”
+
+“No, sir; not over a half hour.”
+
+It was the first time the five had visited Mar Bravo beach since the
+happy days preceding the blockade, when these evenings at Chucuito were
+of frequent occurrence.
+
+“This does seem good!” exclaimed Harvey, as he sat down on a circular,
+flat-topped stone, as near the line where spray dashed as he could
+venture without being wet.
+
+“What did you say?” called Bella Caceras, who was seated somewhat above
+him.
+
+“I said that this seems good,” he called back. For, although they were
+almost within touch, the roar of the breakers and their accompanied
+undertow was so loud as to drown conversation.
+
+“Better than fighting Majeronas with pincushions?” he heard her
+mischievously ask.
+
+At this he followed a receding breaker, and snatching a clump of seaweed
+from the swirl, he returned and threatened to crown the Peruvian with
+the dripping mass unless she offered an apology.
+
+“I’ll be good! I’ll be good!” she shouted, endeavoring to rise. “Oh,
+look at the beautiful starfish you have in the bunch!”
+
+Harvey deposited the seaweed at her feet, and Rosita came over with Carl
+and Louis, to examine closely the red stellerid that had been so
+unexpectedly captured. The time passed only too quickly, and all were
+surprised when Louis, looking at his watch, and recalling the remark he
+had made to his father, said they must hasten home, for they had been
+absent from the house nearly an hour.
+
+On the return, when halfway between the beach and the Dartmoor Row, as
+the house owned by the boys’ father and those adjacent to it were
+called, Carl proposed a race.
+
+“I can’t run,” protested Bella Caceras.
+
+“Oh, try,” urged Louis.
+
+“Let me whisper in your ear,” said Rosita, and then exclaiming, “Pardon
+me, boys,” she said to her friend, very low, “Let’s start with them,
+then you and I stop suddenly, and walk on. We will have a nice talk all
+alone and they’ll never notice it.”
+
+“Very well.”
+
+“Will you race?” asked Carl.
+
+“Yes, we’ll race.”
+
+“Then all in line,” said Louis. “One, two, three, and off!”
+
+Great rivalry had always existed between the boys, and once started they
+strained every muscle to call forth speed. Before his trip into the
+interior Harvey had never been able to keep up with his brother and
+chum; but that journey had toughened him greatly, made him more agile,
+and this evening he surprised the other two by taking the lead and
+keeping it. So intent were all three, that they never looked around
+until the house was reached, nor even then, for Harvey dashed in at the
+front door, the others after him, and all sat down on the steps, panting
+and out of breath.
+
+“Well, that’s the jolliest sprint we’ve had for a long time,” said
+Louis, when he had recovered sufficiently to form the words.
+
+“I believe it is the first time we have tried to see who could beat
+since we used to run from Chucuito to La Punta in the old days of the
+Rowing Club,” replied Carl. “And say, Louis, what do you think of your
+young brother here? Beating us square and fair by three feet or more in
+a three hundred yard dash!”
+
+“Sh!” exclaimed the boy whom they were complimenting. “Listen! What’s
+the row in the yard? And, Louis, mother is screaming, calling out, or
+something. Come on! Come on, Carl!”
+
+They needed no urging, but dashed up the stairs, two and three steps at
+a time, then through the house to the rear balcony, which overlooked a
+large court. There they met Mrs. Dartmoor, who was crying hysterically.
+
+“What’s the matter, mother?” asked Louis and Harvey, at the same
+instant.
+
+“I don’t know,” she sobbed. “There was a noise in the stables and your
+father went down. I heard some terrible sounds, and then he called for
+Carl’s father and Señor Cisneros. They were already on the way to him,
+and the three must have had an encounter with some one. It seemed as if
+all the horses had been turned loose. Oh, I don’t know what has
+happened!”
+
+At that moment a voice came from below, calling:—
+
+“Have the boys returned?”
+
+“Yes, father,” replied Louis. “We are here.”
+
+“Come down.”
+
+“All right, sir,” he replied, and the lads obeyed only too willingly.
+Mrs. Dartmoor, reassured at hearing her husband’s voice, returned to her
+room.
+
+The Dartmoor Row, which included the house occupied by John Dartmoor
+before his failure, and to which he had removed since the discovery of
+the gold mine, and the advance to him of money by capitalists of Lima,
+consisted of a number of fine residences, built in a semicircle in the
+heart of Chucuito suburb. They were, in fact, the most pretentious
+structures in this little place, and because of the prominence in
+diplomatic and business life of the tenants, they were known by
+foreigners all up and down the West Coast. Back of the houses was a high
+fence, which completed the circle, and which enclosed a large court.
+Within the enclosure were the stables and other outbuildings, arranged
+so that the whole somewhat resembled an English country residence;
+indeed, it was said to have been patterned from an estate near London.
+Flights of stairs connected the court with the different houses, and it
+was down one of these that the boys ran. At the bottom they met Mr.
+Dartmoor, Señor Cisneros, and Captain Saunders.
+
+“We had a little brush with them,” said Louis’s father.
+
+“With whom, sir?” the lads asked, and they saw that the iron merchant
+was holding a handkerchief to the side of his head and that the Peruvian
+was limping as if his leg pained him.
+
+“With a rascally band of soldiers,” replied Mr. Dartmoor. “But they were
+not half so bad as their leader. Louis, who do you think he was?”
+
+“But, father, are you hurt?”
+
+“Nothing to speak of. Tell me, who do you think led the soldiers into
+the court?”
+
+“Alfred?”
+
+“Yes, Alfred.”
+
+“The scoundrel!”
+
+Mr. Dartmoor spoke of a young Englishman to whom they had given
+employment about the place. He had deserted from an English man-of-war,
+and, believing his story to be true, that harsh treatment had caused him
+to run away from the ship, the iron merchant had found work for him. But
+he soon learned that the young man was addicted to the use of strong
+liquors, and after repeated warnings he was compelled to discharge him.
+The notification that he was no longer needed had brought bitter words
+from the former sailor boy, who had denounced Mr. Dartmoor and had
+threatened to “get even.”
+
+“What did he try to do, father?” asked Harvey.
+
+“Try to do! He has done it. He and his band have taken all the horses!”
+
+“The horses?”
+
+“Yes, every one that was in the stables. Yours and Louis’s, mine, and
+two that belonged to Mr. Dartnell. I heard the noise and ran down the
+stairs. There were fully twenty of them, and I could do nothing, so
+called Captain Saunders and the señor, but they got away.”
+
+While this conversation was taking place they had walked from the centre
+of the court to the stairs, which they soon commenced to mount. At the
+top they were met by Mrs. Dartmoor, who asked:—
+
+“Did Rosita go into the court with you, boys?”
+
+“Rosita? No,” said Harvey. “Is she not in the house with Bella Caceras?”
+
+“No. I have called her several times.”
+
+“Why, that is strange. They came back with us from Mar Bravo. That is,
+they followed close behind.”
+
+The boy ran into the house and called “Rosita! Rosita! Rosita!”
+
+No answer came.
+
+Louis and Carl hurried after him. “They are hiding downstairs,” said the
+latter. “They are playing a joke on us because we ran away from them.”
+
+“They shouldn’t do that,” said Harvey. “They must have heard mother
+call. A joke is a joke, but they ought not to worry her.”
+
+The boys ran down the steps and out in front. The girls were not in
+sight. They looked in the doorways of the neighboring houses. No one
+could be seen.
+
+“Rosita! Rosita!” called Harvey and Louis. “Don’t try to hide any
+longer. We know where you are.”
+
+There was no answer.
+
+“Where do you suppose they are?” asked Harvey, and his voice trembled.
+
+“I think we should tell father,” said Louis, and running to the foot of
+the stairs he called to Mr. Dartmoor.
+
+“What is it, Louis?” asked the iron merchant.
+
+“We can’t find Rosita and Bella Caceras.”
+
+“Can’t find Rosita! Why, what do you mean? Rosita!” he called.
+
+No reply came.
+
+“Where were they, boys, when you saw them last?”
+
+“Following us from Mar Bravo. We all started on a foot race, and the
+girls were with us. They couldn’t have been more than a dozen steps in
+the rear.”
+
+“Perhaps they are hiding behind the stones. Run over to the beach and
+see if they are not.”
+
+The boys did as they were bid and returned in five minutes. No sign of
+the girls had been seen. All called again. There was no answer. Mrs.
+Dartmoor came downstairs and added her cries to those of the men and the
+boys. Not a voice was heard in reply.
+
+Rosita Dartmoor and Bella Caceras had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XX.
+                    A CHASE INTO THE PAMPAS COUNTRY.
+
+
+They formed a startled group out in front of the Dartmoor Row, standing
+in the white of the moonlight, and for fully a minute not a sound came
+from them, except low moans from Mrs. Dartmoor’s lips. These, too,
+suddenly ceased, and the woman fell toward her husband.
+
+“Quick, Louis! Help me! Your mother has fainted!”
+
+The boy sprang to his father’s side.
+
+“We must carry her upstairs.”
+
+Captain Saunders also hurried to assist, and the three bore the
+deathlike mother to her bedroom, where restoratives were applied, and
+she soon regained consciousness.
+
+“There, I am better now,” she said, as soon as she could sit upright. “I
+must go down and look for Rosita,” and she tried to struggle to her
+feet.
+
+“No. Please don’t try to do that,” urged her husband. “Louis will go,
+and so will the captain, and with Señor Cisneros, Carl, and Harvey they
+will do all that is possible. I shall remain by your side until you are
+much better.”
+
+Then he stepped over to Captain Saunders and whispered, “For God’s sake
+do what you can!”
+
+“Rest assured that I will,” was the reply, and he left the room with the
+boys.
+
+Below they saw Señor Cisneros walking slowly up and down the road, near
+the end of the row. He was bent nearly double, and was carefully
+examining the ground.
+
+“Come here,” he finally called to those who were gathered near the door,
+and when they had approached, he added, “Do you see these hoof prints,
+rounding from the stables.”
+
+“Yes,” they all exclaimed.
+
+“Notice that they continue on in front of the houses about a hundred
+feet and then stop.”
+
+He had walked along while calling their attention to the marks that were
+plain in the light-colored, sandy soil of the roadway.
+
+“You are correct,” said Captain Saunders. “What does it mean?”
+
+“First, let’s ascertain if they continue up the main road,” and turning,
+he walked in the direction of Callao again.
+
+“Yes,” he added, “they doubled over this stretch. Notice how confused
+the imprints are, and now,” when they had passed the corner, “see, they
+are plain again on the way to the city! Those girls, Rosita and Bella,
+have been kidnapped.”
+
+“Kidnapped? By whom?”
+
+“By that scoundrelly Englishman and his ruffianly band. After leaving
+the stables they made for the main road. At the corner they saw the
+girls, and as they were only a few feet away, they picked them up and
+dashed off again. We did not hear them nor the cries of the girls, which
+of course were soon stifled, because we were so occupied in the court.”
+
+“I _did_ hear a scream,” said Captain Saunders, “but paid no particular
+attention, thinking one of the women servants had cried in alarm because
+of the uproar in the stables. But, señor, for what reason would they
+kidnap the girls?”
+
+“For a ransom. That English renegade knows about the gold mine, and the
+thought came to him at once to extort money. Here, Harvey, come back!”
+
+The boy, who had started on a run, came to a halt.
+
+“Where are you going?”
+
+“After them,” he replied.
+
+“You can do nothing alone and on foot. We’ll all start. Louis, are there
+any horses in the neighborhood?”
+
+He shook his head in negation.
+
+“Oh, yes there are!” exclaimed Harvey, who had quickly returned. “There
+are some at the fort.”
+
+“Then hurry over there as fast as you can, explain to the commandante
+what has happened, and ask him if he will lend us mounts. Louis, you go
+with him, and Captain Saunders, let your son go also. It will take three
+of them to bring back the horses.”
+
+“Certainly. Make haste, Carl!”
+
+The lads disappeared around the corner, and their footfalls could be
+heard as they started to cross the peninsula.
+
+The señor at once went upstairs, and returned with Mr. Dartmoor, who
+looked over the ground as the others had done, and became convinced that
+the Peruvian’s theory was correct.
+
+“Mrs. Dartmoor is better,” he said, returning to the door. “Captain,
+will you do me a favor?”
+
+“Anything you ask.”
+
+“Then remain with my wife, for I must join in this chase.”
+
+“I shall do so willingly, if she needs any one.”
+
+“Yes, she does; for her nerves are completely shattered, and I dare not
+trust her alone.”
+
+“Very well, I will remain. Would you like to have Carl accompany you?”
+
+“By all means. We need as large a force as can be quickly mustered.”
+
+They were upstairs again before this conversation was ended, and Mr.
+Dartmoor, hastening to his wife, reassured her the best he could.
+
+“I do not apprehend any harm will befall the girls, aside from a rough
+ride,” he said. “Those marauders want money, that’s all.”
+
+“You will pay them?”
+
+“Yes, of course I will, should it be necessary; but I don’t think it
+will be.”
+
+“Hurry, then; oh, do hurry!”
+
+“We will be off as soon as the horses come. It will be all right then
+for me to go and leave Captain Saunders with you, dear?”
+
+“Yes, yes. I really do not need any one—but if the captain could stay, I
+should like to have him.”
+
+“I am very glad that I can be of any service,” said Carl’s father. “And
+let me assure you, Mrs. Dartmoor, that I feel convinced your daughter
+and Señorita Caceras will soon be recovered.”
+
+Meanwhile the men who were to go were making hurried preparations,
+casting aside coats and vests, and donning flowing ponchos; also
+exchanging shoes for high boots. Mr. Dartmoor went into the boys’ room
+and gathered an armful of articles, which he thought his sons would
+need, and which he carried downstairs so they might lose no time in
+getting ready for the road.
+
+“We’ll leave what we don’t want on the sidewalk,” he called to Captain
+Saunders. “Please have one of the servants take them in.”
+
+The clatter of hoofs sounded, and four horsemen dashed around the corner
+and came to a sharp halt in a cloud of dust. Four other horses were
+being led. The first to dismount was a little man clad in a brilliant
+uniform of red and gold braid.
+
+“General Matajente!” exclaimed Mr. Dartmoor, and he grasped the soldier
+fiercely by the hand. “Thank God you have come!”
+
+“Rosita and Bella kidnapped!” replied the officer. “Never fear, we will
+soon be up with them.”
+
+“Hurry, boys! dismount and make ready!” and Mr. Dartmoor pointed to the
+clothing that lay on the pavement.
+
+So expeditious were the lads that they were fully equipped by the time
+the men had tightened their saddle girths.
+
+“Have you weapons?” asked the general, as they all prepared to mount.
+
+Mr. Dartmoor made an affirmative gesture.
+
+“And the boys?”
+
+“Each has a revolver. I have permitted them to carry firearms since
+these dangerous times began.”
+
+“Then let’s be off!”
+
+They started at a canter up the road to Callao, knowing the wisdom of
+not urging the horses at the start. As for the course they pursued, the
+topography of the land was such that the marauders could have taken no
+other. In the city they received information that directed them still
+farther. A policeman near the English railway station had seen the
+soldiers going rapidly to the northeast. Yes, he had noticed two
+señoritas in the party, and he had believed the troops were escorting
+them. Did they call out? No.
+
+“Then,” said General Matajente, “they must have been gagged, or else the
+scoundrels rode close and threatened them. Tell me,” he inquired of the
+policeman, “were the señoritas mounted—each on a horse by herself?”
+
+“Yes, señor commandante.”
+
+“Forward, then!” And the party started across the city in the direction
+indicated. At the farther end, not far from the Baños del Oroya, they
+came upon a sentinel on guard near an artillery camp, and from him they
+also secured information. The kidnappers had passed on beyond Callao,
+going in the same general direction.
+
+“They have taken the road to Bella Vista, that’s certain. Now we can go
+faster.”
+
+Spurs were pressed to flanks, whips were let fall, and the horses dashed
+forward on a run. The three men were in front and the boys close behind.
+The animals that had been brought from the Santa Rosa fort were the best
+in the stables, for General Matajente, who had been the guest, during
+the evening, of the commanding officer, and had heard Louis’s and
+Harvey’s petition for steeds, had warmly seconded their request and
+finally had selected the mounts himself. Accustomed to command, the
+little officer had unconsciously taken the head of the party; and Mr.
+Dartmoor was rejoiced thereat, for the courage and ability of the
+general had been tested many times, and was known to equal that of any
+man in the service of Peru.
+
+It is two miles from Callao to Bella Vista, and within five minutes
+after leaving the city they drew rein in the little settlement, their
+horses snorting, with heads uplifted, necks arched, flecks of foam
+dropping from their mouths, and sweat commencing to show on their
+shoulders.
+
+“Two roads branch from here,” said the general, “and we must decide
+quickly which to take. Señor Cisneros, perhaps you can aid us again.”
+
+The resident of Huari had already dismounted, and he went at once to the
+fork, then walked rapidly in a stooping posture along the highway to the
+right. It was still bright moonlight and would be for several hours, so
+that he had little difficulty in scanning the ground. After going a
+hundred feet or so, he returned with the information that no one had
+recently passed that way, except a party of two or three, and they had
+moved at a walk. Then he moved over the left branch, going even farther
+this time, and upon returning he said:—
+
+“Not a person has passed over this road on horseback in the last
+twenty-four hours.”
+
+They looked at one another in alarm. Had a mistake been made and all
+this time wasted? Who had given the wrong direction, the policeman or
+the soldier?
+
+But suddenly the general exclaimed: “There may be a clever rogue in that
+party. To horse, señor! I have a plan,” and riding forward, he led them
+along the road that branched to the left.
+
+“Where can he be going?” asked Mr. Dartmoor. “He must realize that every
+moment counts.”
+
+“He believes they made a detour, and so do I,” replied Señor Cisneros.
+
+The general rode at a rapid gait full a quarter of a mile, bending down
+close to the saddle, his head almost on a level with his horse’s neck,
+scanning the white roadway; then, drawing rein suddenly, he exclaimed in
+a triumphant tone:—
+
+“Try it again, señor, at this point.”
+
+Señor Cisneros was no sooner on his feet than he said: “Yes, here are
+the tracks! They came out of the short grass at this point.”
+
+“And they entered it below Bella Vista, believing they could throw us
+off the trail!” added General Matajente. “Now I think we have them. The
+road is straight to the Rimac, then follows along its bank for ten
+miles, and after that comes a bridle-path up the hills. Forward! Not too
+fast, señores! Easy with the horses for a few minutes, then we’ll let
+them out!”
+
+They rode close. No words were exchanged; the only sounds were the
+hoof-beats and the hoarse breathing of the horses. The speed was
+increased gradually, General Matajente setting the pace, and soon the
+gnarled cacti and dwarf shrubs of the pampas country seemed to pass them
+by as do objects seen from the window of a train. A half hour of this
+riding brought a mass of vegetation in sight ahead: rows of bamboos,
+palms, and willows. The soil became more fertile; thick, heavy grass,
+dotted here and there with yellow lilies, took the place of the dry
+vegetation.
+
+They had reached the valley of the Rimac. From the dense underbrush on
+each side darted birds; the cries of others sounded. A silver thread
+shone between an opening in the woods ahead, and in another minute the
+road turned more to the east, commenced to follow the wanderings of the
+river, and became no longer level but slightly up grade.
+
+“Halt!” said General Matajente, and when they had drawn rein he added:
+“A five minutes’ rest now may be worth a mile of extra speed later.
+Everybody dismount! Now let’s lead the animals to the bank and let them
+drink. But only a little. Remember, boys, only a swallow or two. Beat
+them back if you have to.”
+
+They did as he directed, and had no little trouble restraining the
+heated, panting animals; then returned to the road again and waited by
+the horses’ sides until the word was given to mount, when they started
+once more, convinced that they were on the right track, for all had been
+able to see the imprints of hoofs on the roadway.
+
+“The scoundrels didn’t stop to water here,” said General Matajente to
+Mr. Dartmoor, when they were riding again. “They probably tried it
+farther along and failed, for the banks are too high. I tell you, my
+friend, we’ve got them!”
+
+The iron merchant reached out his hand and grasped that which the little
+officer had extended. No further words were exchanged, for the father
+was too choked for utterance.
+
+Fragrance from heliotrope bushes came to them, borne on the light wind
+that swept down from the mountains. The road turned frequently, and at
+no time could they see far ahead; it was thrown into shadow in places by
+dense grasses, and in others stretched away in clear moonlight. On they
+rode, faster and faster, the horses needing very little urging, for they
+sprang forward gladly in the clear, cool night. An hour passed without a
+word being said by any one, then the silence was broken by the general.
+
+“They should not be far off now. I don’t believe they had over a half
+hour’s start, and they do not know how to save their horses. Besides,
+the most of the animals they have cannot compare with these. Of course
+those which they took from your stables are runners, but all the others
+must be ordinary cavalry mounts.”
+
+Mr. Dartmoor nodded his head, to signify that he understood, but he did
+not speak.
+
+Still they rode on, sweeping under willows that touched their heads and
+shoulders, curving in and out between the bamboo rows, at times near the
+river, again several rods from the bank, following the winding road that
+by this time had narrowed so that only two could ride abreast, and was
+increasing in up grade. They had passed through an unusually long
+stretch of forest and had emerged into an equally long reach of roadway,
+lighted by the moon, which was still about two hours high—for it was
+nearly midnight—when General Matajente yelled:—
+
+“There they are!” and pointed to markings straight ahead that at first
+looked like tall bushes, indicating another turn, but which a second
+glance told were moving.
+
+A burst of speed followed his exclamation, for reins had been loosened,
+rowels dug into the horses feverishly, and whips let fall. The pursued
+were not a quarter of a mile distant and the pursuers were rapidly
+nearing them, for the shadows grew in size. Indeed, they grew so rapidly
+that the general looked with care, and then cried sharply, “Halt!”
+catching Mr. Dartmoor’s horse by the bridle, throwing both the front
+animals almost on their haunches and bringing those behind to a stand.
+
+“What do you mean?” exclaimed the iron merchant, angrily. He had drawn
+his revolver.
+
+“You must not fire. Remember the girls are with them.”
+
+Mr. Dartmoor replaced the weapon in his pocket. “But why do we stop?” he
+asked.
+
+“They have stopped. And see, one of the band is coming to meet us. They
+want to parley. Let me speak with him, will you?”
+
+“Yes, yes, and pardon me, general.”
+
+The little officer rode ahead a few paces, and Señor Cisneros moved up
+to Mr. Dartmoor’s side, then all pressed closer.
+
+A man clad in a ragged uniform came riding slowly from the group beyond.
+
+“Well, what is it, fellow?” said the officer.
+
+“General Matajente!” The tone showed the surprise felt by the bandit,
+but noticing the small numbers behind the intrepid warrior, he regained
+courage and said insolently:—
+
+“Our captain wants money.”
+
+“Who, pray, is your captain?”
+
+“Captain Alfred. He sends word that the señoritas must be paid for.”
+
+“If I did right, I would shoot you down, you dog.”
+
+“Then they would kill the señoritas.”
+
+“And what would happen to the murderers?”
+
+The bandit shrugged his shoulders. “We are forty and you are six,” he
+said.
+
+“So many as that!” General Matajente was heard to murmur; then aloud he
+said, “What do you propose?”
+
+“The captain wants twenty thousand pesos (dollars), señor commandante,
+and he will release the señoritas unharmed.”
+
+“And if he is refused?”
+
+The bandit drew his hand across his throat significantly.
+
+“Stop!” implored Señor Cisneros, seizing Mr. Dartmoor’s bridle rein.
+
+“Twenty thousand dollars! You don’t suppose we’ve anywhere near that sum
+at our command!”
+
+“Our captain says that you can get it, señor commandante. He knows of
+the gold mine.”
+
+“But even if we could get the money, it would take a long time. Will you
+return the señoritas to us if we promise to pay?”
+
+“I will ask the captain,” was the answer, and the man rode back. He soon
+returned. “No, señor commandante. The captain will keep the señoritas,
+and they will be taken to our camp near Chosica. He promises they will
+be unharmed if you will do what he says.”
+
+“What is that?”
+
+“Return to Callao, secure the money, then two of you, not more, come to
+Chosica twenty-four hours from now. We shall be able to see you
+approaching a mile away. If more than two come, it will be useless, for
+no one will appear; but if you do as the captain says, the señoritas
+will be delivered to you.”
+
+“That can never be!” exclaimed Mr. Dartmoor. “Twenty-four hours in those
+rascals’ hands! The girls had better be dead. Let’s advance, general.”
+
+“Please don’t interfere,” urged the officer. Then to the bandit he said,
+“What do you suppose will happen to you later?”
+
+“_Quien sabe?_” (who knows) and he shrugged his shoulders again. “We
+shall have the money.”
+
+Harvey pushed forward his horse just then to the side of General
+Matajente, and began to whisper earnestly in his ear. After a few
+minutes the officer said:—
+
+“This young man wishes to return with you and reassure his sister and
+her companion. Will you take him?”
+
+“What answer shall I give the captain?”
+
+“That depends upon whether the señoritas are unharmed and whether you do
+what we ask. When the boy returns you come with him and we will give the
+reply.”
+
+“Very well, señor commandante. I can see no harm in that,” and wheeling
+his horse he went back over the road, with the boy following.
+
+As soon as they were out of earshot General Matajente said earnestly:—
+
+“When they return, hold your horses ready for a sudden dash. Draw your
+revolvers, but keep them concealed.”
+
+“What do you propose?” asked Señor Cisneros.
+
+“I do not understand clearly myself, as yet. Harvey has formed some
+plan, and will tell more when he has seen his sister and Señorita
+Caceras!”
+
+The lad had indeed thought of a way to outwit the bandits. It came to
+him suddenly, and was not fully matured even when he started from
+General Matajente’s side, but as he rode on he saw more clearly, and his
+heart beat fast and the blood surged to his cheeks. “If they are only
+mounted on Nigger and Tom,” he thought. “If they only——”
+
+His guide stopped further reflection by the sharp command, “Wait here,
+while I ride on,” and Harvey reined in his horse under an ironwood tree,
+about fifty yards from the group, which could now be seen distinctly
+ahead.
+
+The envoy evidently conferred with the leader, for after a few minutes
+another voice called out, “Ride up! quick now!” and the boy urged his
+horse forward. He was permitted to approach within a few feet, and there
+he saw his sister and her friend, both mounted on horses and seated
+astride.
+
+“Thank God!” he thought, “Rosita is on Nigger and Bella is on Tom.”
+
+The girls were not bound, nor were they gagged, but forming a semicircle
+behind and at the sides of them, partly in the road and partly in the
+long grass, were a dozen mounted bandits, revolvers shining in their
+hands. The girls were very pale, but did not appear to have been injured
+in any way. They looked like ghosts there in the moonlight, clad in the
+white dresses they had donned for the evening at Chucuito. They were
+strangely silent, and the only greeting given Harvey was with their
+wild, staring eyes.
+
+The man who had called out rode from the centre, and Harvey saw that he
+was Alfred, the discharged servant.
+
+“Want to speak with your sister, eh, boy? Well, you can. They’re all
+right. Yes, you may answer,” he added, turning to the girls. “You see,
+we told them we’d blow their brains out if they said anything.”
+
+“Oh, Harvey! Save us! Save us! Isn’t papa coming?”
+
+“It will be all right, Rosita,” the boy answered nervously. “Have you
+been hurt?”
+
+“No, not much. My side pains me, for I was lifted suddenly into the
+saddle.”
+
+“How are you, Bella?”
+
+The Peruvian girl, who had not yet spoken, answered hurriedly and
+somewhat wildly, “It’s horrible! horrible!”
+
+Harvey gained control of himself by an effort, and said: “We’re going to
+get you out of this all right. Don’t worry any more. I’ve got to go now.
+Keep up your courage.”
+
+As he turned his horse, the bandit who had been an envoy rode out from
+the bushes to his side.
+
+“One moment,” said the leader, and Harvey drew rein.
+
+“You can tell your father and the others that the girls are in front and
+we propose to keep them there. If any of you fire, they will be hit
+first. Now go back, and I think you will advise the old gentleman to
+pay.”
+
+On the return trip Harvey continued saying to himself, “Rosita is on
+Nigger and Bella on Tom.”
+
+“How are they, my son?” called Mr. Dartmoor, as soon as the two were
+within hailing distance.
+
+“They have not been hurt,” replied the boy, who then rode rapidly to the
+side of General Matajente.
+
+“The captain wants his answer, señor commandante,” exclaimed the bandit.
+
+“Just a minute; wait till I hear the lad’s report.”
+
+Meanwhile Harvey had been whispering rapidly: “The girls are on our
+horses, Rosita on Louis’s and Bella on mine. They are the swiftest
+horses in Chucuito. Both are several steps in advance of the men, and no
+one is touching them. They are good riders. Shall I do it?”
+
+“Yes, and God help you. Quick now!”
+
+The boy swung his horse round, and rising from his saddle yelled at the
+top of his voice:—
+
+“_Coo-ee! Coo-ee!_”
+
+It was a call used by brothers and sister. When out riding, if they
+became separated and wished to attract one another’s attention, this was
+their signal. It meant to hurry as well.
+
+“_Coo-ee! Coo-ee!_”
+
+Horses had learned the call, as well as the boys and the girl. The
+animals always pricked their ears and started toward the sound when it
+rang out.
+
+“_Coo-ee! Coo-ee!_”
+
+A sharp ring of hoofs; a scream from up the road—a scream, the
+intonation of which showed that the one who gave vent to it understood.
+
+Quick as a flash General Matajente wheeled his horse, dashed up to the
+solitary bandit, and gave him a blow on the head with the butt of his
+revolver that caused the man to reel and fall from his saddle.
+
+“Open ranks there!” called the general. “Let the girls through!”
+
+Two black streaks, bearing fluffy burdens of white, were moving swiftly
+down the moonlit road, followed several yards behind by a dense mass,
+from which came cries and yells.
+
+“Close in after the girls, Dartmoor and Cisneros!” ordered the little
+officer. “Carl and Louis go next! Harvey, stay with me!”
+
+On came Nigger and Tom, gaining with every stride of their magnificent
+limbs; on into their midst and through them, down the road, and as they
+went the two men and two boys followed and covered the retreat.
+
+“Fire!” called General Matajente, who had taken his revolver from a
+saddle pouch. Two shots rang out, one from his weapon and one discharged
+by Harvey. A man fell from the front rank of those who pursued, a horse
+toppled over, and there was confusion in the mass.
+
+“Now ride for it!” called the general, and off the two started, down the
+road, following the others.
+
+Soon cries came again from the rear, horses at a gallop were heard, and
+an intermittent firing began. But the bandits were riding hard and their
+aim was poor.
+
+[Illustration: “Two black streaks, bearing fluffy burdens of white, were
+moving swiftly down the moonlit road.”]
+
+“On with you!” exclaimed General Matajente, digging spurs into his
+horse. “Ah! What’s that?” and he pointed to a dense mass ahead of them,
+ahead even of the girls and their escorts, a mass that was coming
+forward swiftly. “Cavalry! The commandante of Santa Rosa fort! He said
+that he would follow.”
+
+It was indeed a squadron, and the ranks opened to let the fugitives pass
+through, then re-formed with General Matajente at the head. The bandits,
+not seeing the increased force because of a turn in the road, came on
+wildly, and were met by a withering volley from carbines. There was a
+short, sharp struggle, and in five minutes twenty men lay dead or
+wounded on the ground, and a score more had been made prisoners.
+
+Then all rode back to Callao, Rosita still on Nigger, close by her
+father’s side, while Bella Caceras, on Tom, had Louis and Harvey as
+escorts.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXI.
+                         OLD GLORY IN THE BAY.
+
+                      “The star-spangled banner,
+                      O long may it wave!
+                      O’er the land of the free
+                      And the home of the brave.”
+
+
+General Matajente and Señor Cisneros acted as hosts one afternoon, a
+week after the stirring events related in the last two chapters, and
+entertained as guests at luncheon those who were about to undertake the
+overland journey north. The tables were set in the grand salle of the
+big hotel on the tip of La Punta.
+
+The truce agreed upon by the commanders of the land and sea forces would
+end with the going down of the sun on the morrow, and it was expected
+that warlike operations would be renewed with vigor. This meant active
+work for the general, and as his friends would leave for the States
+within twenty-four hours, he had suggested this means of bidding
+farewell.
+
+Don Isaac was also there, and so were Señor and Señora Caceras and
+Bella. The latter would, of course, remain in Peru; at least everybody
+thought they would remain, until, immediately after rising from the
+table, Mr. Dartmoor announced that he had persuaded Señor Caceras to
+send his wife and daughter to the States with them. There was much
+rejoicing among the young people at this, for they had been drawn very
+close by the perils through which they had passed.
+
+“I don’t see how it is possible for me to get ready,” said the señora.
+
+“Try,” urged Mrs. Dartmoor. “I will help you to-night and to-morrow
+morning.”
+
+“I would advise you to make the journey, madam,” said Don Isaac “Your
+daughter does not seem to have been well since her exciting experience.”
+
+“No, she has not, and I suppose the journey, especially the sea voyage,
+would be of great benefit.”
+
+“Indeed it will,” assented Mrs. Dartmoor. “Rosita also needs a change.
+She has become very nervous. For that matter, I think we have all been
+somewhat upset by these trying times. I wish your husband could
+accompany us.”
+
+“I may be able to do so, at least as far as Panama,” he said.
+
+“Then I shall go,” said Señora Caceras.
+
+Bella brightened at this, and Harvey, who had appeared somewhat worried
+when the conversation had taken a doubtful tone, exclaimed in
+unromantic, but no less hearty, tones, “Isn’t that bully!”
+
+“General Matajente, I wish that you could go,” said Mrs. Dartmoor.
+
+“Duty, señora, compels me to remain.”
+
+“And you, Señor Cisneros?”
+
+“I must return to Huari.”
+
+From the large salle in which luncheon had been served they went to the
+broad veranda above, where there were many chairs, and from where they
+could enjoy the beautiful view of the bay, the seacoast city beyond, and
+Lima in the distance.
+
+Both Carl and his father felt a twinge of sadness when they saw the
+suite of rooms where they had passed so many happy months before Mrs.
+Saunders had returned to the States with Harold, but this was followed
+by the glad thought that they would soon be speeding north, homeward
+bound.
+
+While the adults drew chairs near the centre of the broad balcony, the
+young people walked to the end, from where they could command a better
+view of the bay and also of San Lorenzo.
+
+“Oh, those were happy days when we could row over there in the practice
+boats!” exclaimed Louis, pointing to the big island.
+
+“Are not these days happy, sir?” asked Bella Caceras.
+
+“Y-e-s,” he stammered, somewhat confused. “You know, I meant——”
+
+“Well, what did you mean?” she demanded laughingly.
+
+“It was a different kind of happiness,” said Harvey, coming to the
+rescue.
+
+“You said that very prettily; didn’t he, Rosita?”
+
+“Yes, he did. But tell the honest truth, boys, where would you rather
+be—out in the bay, or talking with us here, on the veranda?”
+
+“Here,” replied Carl.
+
+“So I say,” Louis replied.
+
+“And you, Harvey?”
+
+“I would rather be out in the bay, and have you girls with us.”
+
+At this they all laughed heartily.
+
+“Look, there’s another ship coming to join the fleet!” exclaimed the
+youngest lad, pointing seaward; and they saw a seventh vessel farther
+out, heading toward the six that composed the blockading squadron.
+
+“It was there that you were capsized, was it not?” asked Bella of Louis.
+
+“Yes, just off the end of San Lorenzo, near where the _Blanco Encalada_
+is cruising. My! Carl, but that was an anxious evening! I don’t believe
+I ever told you how frightened I was during the hours that we clung to
+the overturned cat-boat.”
+
+“No, and I never told you. I think we kept one another’s courage up,
+don’t you?”
+
+“Yes I’m sure we did.”
+
+“Let’s leave this place,” said Harvey, “and go where the others are. It
+makes me homesick to look out over the bay.”
+
+“Why?” asked the girls.
+
+“Because the ships are all gone. It’s like going through a house where
+everybody is dead.”
+
+“Ugh! what a comparison!”
+
+Captain Saunders was talking when they came near, and they drew up
+chairs and listened. He had been telling those near him of a lonely six
+months he had passed in Nicaragua, soon after the close of the war, when
+he had been compelled to remain in that country as an attaché to the
+United States legation.
+
+“I had not been long married,” he was saying, “and had left Mrs.
+Saunders and Carl in the States, for there was no steamship
+communication then, and the voyage to many parts of the Central American
+coast was made in sailing vessels. It was a very lonely life, there were
+few congenial spirits, and the one or two who were companionable were as
+homesick as I. On three occasions I was sorely tempted to go on board a
+steamer and sail for New York, and it is curious to note how old
+associations influenced me at such times.”
+
+“How was that?” inquired Don Isaac.
+
+“The first,” said the captain, “occurred one hot afternoon while I was
+lying in a hammock under a cypress tree. It was a very oppressive day
+and I was endeavoring to sleep, when suddenly from somewhere came the
+notes of violin music. Somebody was playing, ‘Maryland, my Maryland.’
+The air at once brought before my mind the two years I had passed at
+college in northern Ohio, for one of my old fraternity songs had been
+set to this music. I saw the fresh green campus, bordered with maples,
+the gray weather-stained dormitories, the red brick gymnasium, and
+before me passed one after another of my old college friends. An
+irresistible longing came to rise and hurry to the land where they
+lived, away from that land of strangers.”
+
+“And the second time?” asked Señor Cisneros.
+
+“Was one night while lying awake and tortured with fever I heard the
+strains of ‘Home, Sweet Home.’ Then came a picture of my wife and child,
+of the wooden house, opposite the Episcopal church, in the little
+village where I had left them. I could see the yard, the well-sweep,
+yes, and I could hear the wooden roller creak as the bucket was hauled
+from the cool depths; and in my longing I believe I called out for some
+of that cold, crystal water which I had drunk when a boy.”
+
+“The third?”
+
+“The third,” said Captain Saunders, sitting upright, “was at Greytown,
+or San Juan del Norte, on a Christmas day. I was looking out into the
+bay when there rounded a cape and steamed in full view a ship of
+graceful lines, and I saw fluttering from her gaff——”
+
+“Oh, father!” interrupted Carl. “A man-of-war is coming into the
+harbor!”
+
+They all jumped to their feet, and hastened to the end of the veranda.
+
+“There,” said the captain, “there’s the picture I saw. Look! The stars
+and stripes! An American war-ship has arrived.”
+
+It was so. A cruiser, of graceful lines and tapering masts, was moving
+slowly over the passive waters of the bay, and streaming from her
+halyards was Old Glory. They watched her in silence as she steamed to a
+point opposite Chucuito, where the anchor was let go, and then the
+stillness of the afternoon was broken by the discharge of cannon as her
+forward guns fired a salute to the Peruvian flag that had been broken at
+the fore truck.
+
+“That must be the _Pensacola_,” said Harvey.
+
+“Yes, and Brown is her captain,” Captain Saunders exclaimed.
+
+“Why has she come here, do you suppose?” asked Mr. Dartmoor.
+
+“To take Americans and other foreigners to the north before a general
+bombardment is begun. Brown has probably received word that Chile
+contemplates aggressive action, and he has come to our rescue. Dartmoor,
+our overland journey need not be undertaken. We can sail north in an
+American man-of-war.”
+
+A half hour later they left the hotel and went by the little train, some
+to Chucuito and others to Callao. While walking to the station, Bella
+Caceras, who had been very quiet ever since the advent of the
+_Pensacola_, stepped to Captain Saunders’s side and said to him:—
+
+“I’m so sorry. No, not exactly sorry, because I’m glad for your sake,
+but I’m sorry for ours.”
+
+“Sorry about what, young lady?”
+
+“That mamma and I cannot go to the United States.”
+
+“But why can’t you go?”
+
+“You said, didn’t you, that the war vessel would take away Americans and
+other foreigners? We are Peruvians.”
+
+“Bless my heart!” ejaculated the captain, “if you look at old Brown only
+half as wistfully as you do at me, he will not only take you, but will
+surrender his cabin for your occupancy. Of course you will go, if any of
+us do. I promise that.”
+
+Whereat Bella became happy again, and ran to the side of her mother and
+father, to whom she told the good news.
+
+That evening the American consul sent word to the members of the foreign
+colony that Captain Brown of the _Pensacola_ would take all citizens of
+the United States on board the _Pensacola_ on the morrow and carry them
+to Panama, and that he extended like invitations to other non-combatants
+who wished to escape from the beleaguered city.
+
+“The word ‘non-combatant’ applies to you, Miss Bella,” said Captain
+Saunders, smiling at the young Peruvian.
+
+He was right. The commander of the cruiser was glad that he could grant
+passage to the friends of the Saunders and Dartmoors, and by three
+o’clock the next day those who had planned the overland trip were stowed
+away, bag and baggage, on the American man-of-war. As she steamed out of
+port an hour later, two persons waved good-bys from the Peruvian state
+barge, that had been pulled out into the harbor. One was General
+Matajente and the other Señor Cisneros.
+
+The war-ship steamed near the _Blanco Encalada_, and through a
+speaking-trumpet Captain Brown thanked the admiral for permitting his
+entrance into the harbor. Then the course was shaped for the north.
+
+At five o’clock the land was but a blue haze in the distance. Carl,
+Louis, and Harvey stood at the stern rail and watched the fading
+outlines.
+
+“Good-by, Peru,” said Carl, finally. “I suppose I shall never see you
+again.”
+
+“Poor Peru!” exclaimed Louis. “She has been kind to us. I wonder what
+her future will be?”
+
+Harvey said nothing, but to him the shore line was even more dim than to
+the others, for a mist had formed in his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXII.
+                         DARK DAYS IN INCALAND.
+
+
+The exodus from Callao was none too soon. The day following the
+departure of the _Pensacola_, the Chilean ships steamed close in, and
+for forty-eight hours rained shot and shell into Callao. Houses were set
+on fire in many quarters, and had it not been for the non-combustible
+property of adobe, out of which nearly all buildings were constructed,
+the seaport would have been laid in ashes. As it was, some of the finest
+residences were riddled, and General Matajente learned with sorrow that
+the Dartmoor Row had been partly destroyed.
+
+The castles, the Santa Rosa fort, the guns at Los Baños and those at La
+Punta, replied vigorously to the fire, striking the enemy repeatedly and
+ultimately driving them out of range. But the cruiser _Angamos_, armed
+with her powerful rifle, could stand out in the harbor where no shot
+could reach her, and throw shell after shell into the town. The screech
+of these missiles was heard night and day; it became horrible but
+familiar music, and men, yes even women, slept of nights while the
+projectiles were speeding on their way to give destruction and perhaps
+death at their journey’s end.
+
+August, September, and October of 1880 passed, and no move to the north
+was made by the Chilean land forces. Envoys from the United States had
+arrived in Callao, and others had gone on to Chile. They came with
+proposals of arbitration and the expression of hope that peace would
+ultimately result. They came instructed to do all in their power to
+settle the difficulties between the republics, and they also told Chile
+that she must not demand territory from Peru as the price of peace.
+While these negotiations were pending aggressive operations ceased, and
+although the blockade of Callao was maintained, there were no
+bombardments.
+
+But Chile resented interference by the United States, and particularly
+the insistence that no territory should be demanded from Peru. For years
+she had had eyes fixed on the rich nitrate beds of the Tarapacá
+Province—the richest in the world, and finally the government of the
+southern republic announced that Peru and her ally, Bolivia, must yield
+this district or Chilean armies would march on Lima.
+
+Protests were in vain. November brought the news that army corps were
+being mobilized in Valparaiso and in the captured city, Arica. Early in
+December came the information that three great divisions, numbering
+twenty-five thousand men in all, had embarked on transports and were
+sailing north. A week later a fleet of nearly fifty ships appeared off
+the Peruvian coast, a few miles south of Callao, and under cover of the
+guns of all the vessels of Chile’s navy, men-of war coming from the
+south and the others being withdrawn from blockade duty, this great
+force was landed.
+
+Peru met the blow as best she could. Her army, which had deteriorated
+during the long inactivity, went into line with forebodings of disaster.
+The troops under the red, white, and red disputed every foot of ground
+between the capital and the sea, fighting fiercely at Chorillos,
+Miraflores, and San Juan, but they could not beat back the enemy; they
+were defeated and routed, and Christmas day saw the Chileans in Lima.
+
+But the Peruvian army had not yet yielded, although the enemy had taken
+possession of the capital; the troops had withdrawn to the north, and
+from there they continued to wage war. Several attempts were made by the
+United States to bring about a peace, overtures to arbitrate were
+frequently advanced; but to all Chile turned a deaf ear, and insisted
+that the demands made in 1880, that the nitrate provinces be
+surrendered, must be met before the troops would be withdrawn.
+
+For three years this desperate, one-sided struggle continued, and then
+Peru, compelled to purchase peace at any price or lose her individuality
+as a nation, made the best terms she could. Bolivia yielded all her
+rights on the seacoast, and Chile secured the port of Antofogasta
+forever. Peru yielded the province of Tarapacá, and by the final treaty,
+signed in 1884, she gave to Chile for a term of years the provinces of
+Arica and Tacna, it being agreed that in 1893 a vote of the people
+should be taken, to determine to what power they wished ultimately to
+belong.
+
+Thus the land of the Incas emerged from its second overwhelming
+defeat—the first at the hands of Pizarro’s forces; the second at the
+hands of the Chileans.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII.
+               AN APPEAL TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
+
+
+The dawn of the twentieth century found Peru recovering from the
+financial depression which had followed the war, but still far from the
+position which she had held before 1879. It also found her knocking at
+the door of the great republic of the north, and asking that a
+protecting arm be extended below the equator, and that certain promises
+made years before be fulfilled.
+
+In the whirl that marked the last days of the nineteen-hundredth term,
+the land of the Incas had been lost temporarily from view. Peru’s
+ancient enemy, Spain, had occupied the central position, and at the
+hands of the vigorous northern country had received even a more bitter
+defeat than that given her on the west coast of South America when the
+countries there had wrested their independence. The Philippine Islands
+had changed in their allegiance, so had Porto Rico, Guam, Tutuila, and
+Hawaii, and Cuba had become independent.
+
+All these events had overshadowed that which had happened and was
+happening on the Western Hemisphere to the south. But when the clouds of
+conflict cleared away, there came into view a shade on the southern
+horizon that told of trouble there. Peru was seen gesturing and asking
+to be heard. Permission granted, this is what she said:—
+
+“Twenty years ago we were at war with Chile, not through any fault of
+ours, but to save our southern provinces from being taken away from us.
+Several times during the early stages of that conflict we had
+opportunity to make honorable peace, and each time we were deterred
+because of the word that you sent us, to the effect that exorbitant
+terms made by the enemy should not be listened to, and that you, with
+your great force, would prevent any seizure of our territory. We
+listened and took heart. We continued the struggle and waited. Internal
+affairs withdrew your attention from us, and we were left to do the best
+that we could. The best proved the worst. Our richest lands were seized,
+and other land, almost as valuable, was taken for a number of years,
+upon a promise made that it would be returned. That promise has not been
+kept. We have paid Chile more indemnity than was paid by France after
+the Franco-German War, and still our southern neighbor insists upon the
+pound of flesh and demands complete cession of the provinces of Arica
+and Tacna in addition to Tarapacá. Therefore, we appeal to you, to the
+United States of America, the mother of all republics, and ask that you
+insist that justice be done.”
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a beautiful afternoon in early spring of the year that was the
+most prosperous in United States history. A man of about thirty-six or
+seven years of age was hurrying along Pennsylvania Avenue, not looking
+carefully to his steps, nor minding how carriages might be approaching
+at street crossings, so occupied was he with his thoughts. He was warned
+by several coachmen and hailed by one or more bicyclists, while the
+driver of an automobile rang his gong loudly before he dodged from in
+front of the rubber-tired wheels. Finally he ran squarely into another
+man, and then came to a sudden stop, for he must needs beg pardon. But
+as he lifted his hat he caught sight of the person’s face and
+exclaimed:—
+
+“Carl Saunders!”
+
+“Harvey Dartmoor!”
+
+They grasped hands warmly. “Why, we have not met since we left the
+steamer at New York in 1880.”
+
+“That’s so. More than twenty years ago. In many things it seems like
+yesterday and in others a century. What are you doing in Washington,
+Carl?”
+
+“I came on for a day, to attend to some business for father. And you,
+Harvey?”
+
+“I live here. At least I have a home here, and pass half the time; the
+remainder of each year I am in Peru. In fact, I am returning the day
+after to-morrow. That reminds me, Carl, I have a very important
+engagement at the White House.”
+
+“With the President?”
+
+“Yes, with the President. He has appointed two o’clock as the hour when
+I may see him, and it now lacks but five minutes of that time.”
+
+“Then I must not detain you. Come and see me when you have finished.”
+
+“I will. Where?”
+
+Mr. Saunders named a hotel, and after a brief hand clasp they parted.
+
+Ten minutes later, in the White House, a dignified, courtly gentleman
+asked the hurrying pedestrian of Pennsylvania Avenue to be seated, and
+then he said:—
+
+“Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Dartmoor?”
+
+“Yes, your Excellency.”
+
+“The Peruvian minister has spoken very highly of you, sir, as one of the
+leading business men of his country. He also informs me that you are a
+citizen of the United States, and despite your love for the
+sub-equatorial country you have never forsworn your allegiance.”
+
+“I have not, sir; nor shall I ever do so.”
+
+“That I am glad to hear. It should not be an easy matter for a citizen
+of this nation to relinquish the ties. And now, sir, what may I do for
+you?”
+
+“I have called, your Excellency, to place before you briefly the
+conditions that exist in Peru, and the causes that have led to the
+present state of affairs, and to enlist your sympathy, if possible. I
+was a spectator of many events of the war that began in 1879, and, since
+then, half my time has been passed in Lima and in Callao. If you will
+grant me a few minutes of your valuable time, I will say in as few words
+as possible that which appeals to me as the meat of this momentous
+question.”
+
+“Proceed, sir.”
+
+“I thank you. I will not burden you with the events that led to the
+declaration of war, nor with an account of the war itself, for that is
+not germane, but I shall come at once to the time when the United States
+entered upon the scene.
+
+“In 1880 President Hayes offered the mediation of the United States to
+the belligerents, and the same being accepted, conferences were held in
+Arica under the auspices of the representatives of the United States in
+Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, Thomas A. Osborne, J. P. Christiancy, and
+General Charles Adams. Mr. Osborne declared, in his opening speech, that
+the independence of the United States was the origin of republican
+institutions in America, and that the United States considered
+themselves in a manner responsible for the existence of the
+institutions; that the independence of the South American republics was
+acknowledged, first of all, by the United States, and the stability of
+the institutions founded upon the independence, being put to a severe
+test by the war, he hoped the belligerent republics, impelled by the
+same wish that animated the United States, would endeavor, by every
+means in their power, to put an end to the war, by an honorable and
+lasting peace. To this Chile replied haughtily, that the province of
+Tarapacá must be ceded to her; and the first conference came to an end.
+
+“On June 15, 1881, new ministers were chosen to represent the United
+States in the belligerent republics, General Stephen A. Hurlbut in Peru
+and General Judson Kilpatrick in Chile. To General Hurlbut, Secretary of
+State James G. Blaine gave the following instructions:—
+
+“’It will be difficult, perhaps, to obtain from Chile a relinquishment
+of claims to territory, but, as the Chilean Government has distinctly
+repudiated the idea that this war was a war of conquest, the Government
+of Peru may fairly claim the opportunity to make proposals of indemnity
+and guarantee before submitting to a cession of territory. If you can
+aid the Government of Peru in securing such a result, you will have
+rendered the service which seems most pressing.’
+
+“On August 25, 1881, General Hurlbut said, in the course of his
+reception speech at Lima:—
+
+“’I wish to state further, that while the United States recognize all
+rights which the conqueror gains under the laws of civilized war, they
+do not approve of war for the purpose of territorial aggrandizement, nor
+of the violent dismemberment of a nation except as a last resort, in
+extreme emergencies.’
+
+“But, your Excellency, the efforts of General Hurlbut and General
+Kilpatrick came to naught, and on November 1, 1881, Mr. William Henry
+Trescot was sent to Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, as a special envoy. To
+him, in the course of his instructions, Mr. Blaine said:—
+
+“’Already by force of its occupation, the Chilean Government has
+collected great sums from Peru; and it has been openly and officially
+asserted in the Chilean Congress that these military impositions have
+furnished a surplus beyond the cost of maintaining its armies of
+occupation. The annexation of Tarapacá, which, under proper
+administration, would yield annually a sufficient sum to pay a large
+indemnity, seems to us inconsistent with the execution of justice.’
+
+“Mr. Trescot’s mission failed as had the others, but, your Excellency,
+it did not fail through any fault of his: it failed because of the
+change in the policy at Washington. While this special envoy was absent
+upon his delicate mission, the assassination of President Garfield
+occurred and Mr. Arthur became President. With his advent there came
+into office a new Secretary of State, Mr. Frelinghuysen, who at once
+altered the policy of his predecessor, and Mr. Trescot’s instructions
+were changed by wire. In the meanwhile, your Excellency, Peru, not
+knowing of a change of heart at Washington, had continued the struggle,
+believing that this great country would continue upon the lines which it
+had laid down and not permit the seizure of territory by Chile. Not
+content with modifying Mr. Trescot’s instructions, Mr. Frelinghuysen
+recalled that gentleman to Washington. Fully appreciating the gravity of
+the situation, although he was no longer an envoy, Mr. Trescot, on June
+5, 1882, wrote Mr. Frelinghuysen as follows:—
+
+“’If the United States intend to intervene effectively to prevent the
+disintegration of Peru, the time has come when that intention should be
+avowed. If it does not intend to do so, still more urgent is the
+necessity that Chile and Peru should understand exactly where the action
+of the United States ends. It would be entirely beyond my duty to
+discuss the character of the consequences of either line of conduct; but
+I trust that you will not deem that I am going beyond that duty in
+impressing upon the government that the present position of the United
+States is an embarrassment to all the belligerents, and that it should
+be terminated as promptly as possible.’
+
+“Two weeks later, your Excellency, newly accredited envoys were sent to
+Peru and Chile, Dr. Cornelius A. Logan to the latter nation and Mr.
+James R. Partridge to Peru. The instructions of these gentlemen, your
+Excellency, were no longer declarative that Chile had no moral right to
+demand territory of Peru, but they contained the recommendation that
+Peru be urged to make the best terms possible, in order that the war
+might be brought to an end.
+
+“Mr. President, the good offices of the United States produced the sole
+effect of encouraging Peru in her resistance, confident, as she was, of
+their efficacy, thus greatly aggravating the condition of the vanquished
+nation, only to find herself forsaken in the end and defenceless in the
+hands of her implacable enemy. In this regard, Mr. President, I should
+like to repeat the words of Mr. Hurlbut. In his official note to Mr.
+Blaine, dated Lima, October 26, 1881, he wrote:—
+
+“’If the United States, after denying to these people every application
+for aid from any European state, shall themselves refuse any help in
+their desperate situation, it would seem to be almost a breach of
+national faith. I myself am a profound believer in the right and duty of
+the United States to control the political questions of this continent,
+to the exclusion of any and all European dictation. This I understand to
+be the opinion held also by the American people and to have been
+asserted by Congress. This I also understand to be the doctrine of the
+administration which sent me to this place.’”
+
+The President was silent for several minutes after Mr. Dartmoor had
+finished, then he said:—
+
+“You have placed the matter before me very concisely, sir. I am of
+course familiar with the details, but I never had my attention called to
+them in such a brief yet forceful manner.”
+
+“Thank you, your Excellency,” said Mr. Dartmoor.
+
+“Your position,” continued the President, “is that the United States, by
+interfering in the Chile-Peruvian War, gave the last-named nation undue
+encouragement, and because of a change in policy, failed to impress
+Chile with the firmness of its position. Because of this, you believe
+the United States should now interfere and prevent Chile’s retention of
+the provinces of Arica and Tacna?”
+
+“Yes, your Excellency.”
+
+“Mr. Dartmoor, I will place the matter before Congress with the
+recommendation which you have urged.”
+
+He rose from his seat, and the conference was at an end.
+
+Harvey left the White House very much pleased with the result of his
+call, and hurried to the hotel where he had promised to meet his old
+friend, Carl Saunders; and arrived there, he related in detail the
+conversation with the President, and received the congratulations of his
+chum of the Callao Rowing Club days. Then they fell to discussing events
+that had occurred those many years ago, and talked of the persons they
+had then known. Both heard with relief that all members of the two
+families who had been so intimately associated were living. Carl was
+delighted to learn that General Matajente was high in favor with the
+government, and as belligerent as ever, notwithstanding his advanced
+years.
+
+“And John Longmore?” he asked.
+
+“Poor fellow! he died in an insane asylum.”
+
+“How is Señor Cisneros?”
+
+“He is very well, and is resident manager of the mine.”
+
+“That’s so, the mine! I forgot to ask about that. Then it has paid?”
+
+“Yes, it has paid beyond our expectations, and has made us all wealthy,
+so far as worldly goods are concerned. But what are we doing here? I
+wish to have you visit me at my home.”
+
+“I should be delighted. Is it far?”
+
+“No; on Q street. Come. Rosita, who is visiting me, will be delighted to
+see you.”
+
+On the way Carl asked if Harvey had ever heard of their esteemed friend,
+Don Isaac Lawton.
+
+“Why, yes; he is in Jamaica, and is in good circumstances.”
+
+They soon entered one of those large, elegantly furnished residences for
+which Washington is famous, and after closing the door Harvey called
+out:—
+
+“Rosita, here is an old friend from Callao!”
+
+A tall, handsome woman soon appeared, and grasped the visitor’s hand
+cordially. She was followed into the room by one who was not so tall,
+but even more beautiful and graceful.
+
+“This is my wife, Carl. But, how stupid! Why, you know her!”
+
+“Know her? Know Bella Caceras? I should say so!”
+
+At the dinner table the guest remarked a curious ornament on the wall.
+
+“Did I never tell you its history?” Harvey asked. “To be sure I did.
+It’s the Majerona arrow.”
+
+“And the pincushion?” asked Carl.
+
+“I still carry that in my pocket.”
+
+
+
+
+                              VOCABULARY.
+
+
+PRONUNCIATION.—ā, ē, ī, ō, as in fate, mete, site, rope; ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, as
+in hat, met, bit, not; ä, ë, ï, ö, as in far, her, fir, nor; ēē, as in
+feet; ôô as in hoot.
+
+  Alma Perdida, Äl’-mä Pār-dēē’-dä.
+  Almirante, Äl-mē-rän’-tē.
+  Antofogasta, An-tō-fō-gäs’-tä.
+  Arica, Ä-rēē’-cä.
+  Arroba, Ä-rō’-bä.
+  Atahuallpa, Ä-tä-wäl’-pä.
+  Ayuli, Ä-yôô’-ly.
+  Baños, Bän’-yōs.
+  Bella, Bë’-yä.
+  Blanco Encalada, Blän’-cō Ën-cä-lä’-dä.
+  Bola, Bō’-läw.
+  Caceras, Käs’-ä-räs.
+  Cajamaráca, Kä-hä-mä-rä’-cä.
+  Callao, Käl-yōw’.
+  Cerro de Pasco, Sār’-rō dā Päs’-kō.
+  Chicla, Chēēk’-lä.
+  Chile, Chēē’-lā.
+  Chirimoya, Chēē-rēē-möy’-yä.
+  Chosica, Chō-sēē’-cä.
+  Chucuito, Chôô-quēē’-tō.
+  Cinchona, Sēēn-kō’-nä.
+  Cisneros, Cēēs-nē’-rŏs.
+  Cordillera, Cōr-dēēl-yā’-rä.
+  Covodonga, Kō-vō-dŏn’-gä.
+  Grau, Gräw.
+  Huari, Whä’-rēē.
+  Huascar, Wäs’-cär.
+  Independencia, In-dā-pĕn-dĕn’-cēē-ä.
+  Iquique, Ēē-kēē’-kä.
+  Islay, Ēēs-lī’.
+  Jivaro, Hēē-vä,’-rō.
+  La Punta, Lä Pôôn’-tä.
+  Lima, Lēē’-mä.
+  Llama, Yä’-mä.
+  Logroño, Lō-grōn’-yō.
+  Majerona, Mä-hā-rō’-nä.
+  Manco Capac, Män’-cō Kä-päc’.
+  Marañon, Mä-rän-yōn’.
+  Matajente, Mä-tä-gĕn’-tā.
+  Matucana, Mä-tôô-kän’-ä.
+  Mirgoso, Mēēr-gō’-sō.
+  Mutista Acuminata, Mu-tēē’-sēē-ä Ä-q-mēē-nä’-tä.
+  Oroya, Ō-rōw’-yä.
+  Palo de Sangre, Pä,’-lō dā Sän’-grā.
+  Pedro, Pā’-drō.
+  Peru, Pā-rôô’.
+  Peso, Pā’-sö.
+  Pilcomayo, Pēēl-cō-mī-yō.
+  Prado, Prä’-dō.
+  Rimac, Rēē’-mäck.
+  Rosita, Rō-sēē’-tä.
+  Señor, Sĕn-yṓr.
+  Señora, Sĕn-yō’-rä.
+  Señorita, Sĕn-yō-rḗē-tä.
+  Taruco, Tä-ru’-kō.
+  Ucalayli, U-cä-lä’-lēē.
+  Valparaiso, Väl-pä-rī’-sō.
+  Vista, Vēēs’-tä.
+  Yucahualpa, W-kä-whäl’-pä.
+
+
+
+
+                      __Fighting Under
+                            the Southern Cross.__
+
+                   A Story of the Chile-Peruvian War.
+
+                                   BY
+
+                          _CLAUDE H. WETMORE_.
+
+       335 pages.      Illustrated.      12mo.      Cloth, $1.50.
+
+       _CONTAINING PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY AND MAP OF CALLAO BAY_
+
+This is one of the best stories for boys that has been issued, and with
+great pleasure we heartily recommend it.—_Observer._
+
+This story is full of thrilling interest and dramatic power. The many
+picturesque descriptions give a real portrayal of the country and its
+people.—_Book News._
+
+This volume is so real that one imagines he is in the centre of action.
+This doubtless is due to the author’s thorough acquaintance with the
+customs and conditions of these countries.—_St. Louis Star._
+
+Just now when there are so many reminders of the differences existing
+between the South American States, and while the influence of the
+Pan-American Congress in Mexico is being so strongly felt, this book is
+very timely. It is a very vivid picture of the war between Chile and
+Peru in 1879, and a portrayal of the customs and manners of these states
+that is extremely interesting, and that throws much light on present
+problems.—_Christian Endeavor World._
+
+The bitter war of conquest waged by Chile against Peru has never been
+given any popular presentation until now. The author is a traveler who
+has covered all of South America and was a resident of Peru when the war
+broke out. His picture of that period is absorbingly interesting, and
+the promised sequel of this volume will be awaited with great
+eagerness.—_The Interior._
+
+                W. A. WILDE COMPANY, Boston and Chicago.
+
+
+
+
+      *      *      *      *      *      *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+ 1. Added the missing word ‘to’ on p. 185.
+
+ 2. Silently corrected typographical errors.
+
+ 3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INCALAND***
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+<body>
+<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Incaland, by Claude H. (Claude Hazeltine)
+Wetmore, Illustrated by H. Burgess</h1>
+<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
+and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
+restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
+under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
+eBook or online at <a
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.  If you are not
+located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this ebook.</p>
+<p>Title: Incaland</p>
+<p>       A Story of Adventure in the Interior of Peru and the Closing Chapters of the War with Chile</p>
+<p>Author: Claude H. (Claude Hazeltine) Wetmore</p>
+<p>Release Date: October 4, 2016  [eBook #53204]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INCALAND***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+    from page images generously made available by<br />
+    Internet Archive<br />
+    (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      Internet Archive. See
+      <a href="https://archive.org/details/incalandstory00wetmrich">
+      https://archive.org/details/incalandstory00wetmrich</a>
+    </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div class='ph1'>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+<div class='nf-center c001'>
+    <div>Incaland</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id='p41'  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/i_004.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>“He ran forward, closely followed by the others.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+  <h1 class='c002'>INCALAND<br /> <span class='xlarge'><em>A Story of Adventure in the Interior of Peru</em></span><br /> <span class='large'>AND THE CLOSING CHAPTERS OF THE WAR WITH CHILE</span></h1>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+<div class='nf-center c003'>
+    <div><span class='small'>BY</span></div>
+    <div class='c004'><span class='large'>CLAUDE H. WETMORE</span></div>
+    <div><span class='small'>AUTHOR OF “FIGHTING UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS,” ETC.</span></div>
+    <div class='c004'><em>With Illustrations by H. Burgess</em></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/title_page.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>BOSTON AND CHICAGO</div>
+    <div class='c004'><span class='large'>W. A. WILDE COMPANY</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+<div class='nf-center c001'>
+    <div><em>Copyright, 1902</em>,</div>
+    <div class='c004'><span class='sc'>By W. A. Wilde Company</span>.</div>
+    <div class='c004'><em>All rights reserved.</em></div>
+    <div class='c003'><span class='sc'>Incaland.</span></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>Preface.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c006'>Since the years of the Chile-Peruvian War—1879-1883—a
+great change has come over the land
+where the Incas once held power. Military rulers
+have yielded place to men chosen from the civil
+walks of life; the large standing army has been
+disbanded, and the pick, hoe, and shovel replace
+sword, bayonet, and rifle.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Peru’s decline, from the days of Pizarro until near
+the close of the nineteenth century, was due to the
+ease with which natural wealth could be acquired.
+The stages of the nation’s fall are marked by gold,
+guano, and nitrate of soda. Spaniards lived in
+opulence while Indian slaves unearthed the yellow
+metal. Later, Peruvians lived in idleness while
+coolies and peons shovelled the most productive of
+all fertilizers from the surface of the Chincha and
+Lobos Islands. Then in the south was found an
+equally rich and equally accessible source of revenue
+in the nitrate of soda.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>All gold that lay in sight was exhausted by the
+Spaniard; all guano was stripped from the treasure
+islands; and finally, Chile wrested from Peru the
+nitrate provinces.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It is this period of time—when Peru’s last visible
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>means of wealth was passing from her—that is
+covered in “Fighting under the Southern Cross”
+and “Incaland.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Peru emerged from beneath the war cloud staggering
+under the burden of a foreign debt. To her
+relief came representatives of an Anglo-American
+syndicate. “Give us your railroads for sixty-nine
+years,” they said. “We will extend them into the
+fertile interior, and as compensation we will assume
+your obligations.” Peru acquiesced. The Grace-Donoughmore
+contract was signed. Bondholders
+were satisfied.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The shackles of debt cast one side, the men of
+Peru turned to work, guided by the rulers chosen
+from civil life who had been placed in power.
+They no longer depended upon the labor of a few
+to maintain the majority in indolence.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They tunnelled and dug in the Sierra region and
+brought to light a wealth of copper; they sank
+wells in the north and were rewarded with flowing
+oil; they constructed irrigation canals in Piura
+Province, and developed a cotton which, because
+of its lustre and resemblance to wool, is creating
+a furore in the New York and Liverpool markets.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Gold, guano, nitrate, are the tombstones of old
+Peru; agriculture and mining are the watchwords
+of the new.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The dawn of a brighter day for Incaland is glinting
+over the Andean chain.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>Contents.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary='Contents'>
+  <tr>
+    <th class='c007'>CHAPTER</th>
+    <th class='c008'>&nbsp;</th>
+    <th class='c009'>PAGE</th>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>I.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>In the Andes</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_11'>11</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>II.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>The Montaña of Peru</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_32'>32</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>III.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>A Snake and a Puma</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_44'>44</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>IV.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>In the Coils of a Boa</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_54'>54</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>V.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Huari, and the Story of the Beautiful Countess</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_66'>66</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>VI.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>A Discovery and an Alarm</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_85'>85</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>VII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>The Cannibals of Peru</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_99'>99</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>VIII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>The Fort on the Marañon</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_113'>113</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>IX.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Attacked by Cannibals</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_125'>125</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>X.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Near to Death’s Door</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_137'>137</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XI.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Beyond the White Rock</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_142'>142</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Harvey as a Sentry</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_157'>157</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XIII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Bella Caceras recognizes a Voice</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_170'>170</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XIV.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Blockade of Callao Harbor</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_186'>186</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XV.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Darning the Needle</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_200'>200</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XVI.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>John Longmore’s Revenge</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_207'>207</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>XVII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>John Longmore’s Revenge (continued)</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_219'>219</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XVIII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>John Longmore’s Revenge (concluded)</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_236'>236</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XIX.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>A Strange Disappearance</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_248'>248</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XX.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>A Chase into the Pampas Country</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_261'>261</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XXI.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Old Glory in the Bay</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_282'>282</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XXII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>Dark Days in Incaland</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_292'>292</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'>XXIII.</td>
+    <td class='c008'><span class='sc'>An Appeal to the United States of America</span></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#Page_296'>296</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>Illustrations.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<table class='table0' summary='Illustrations'>
+  <tr>
+    <th class='c010'></th>
+    <th class='c009'>PAGE</th>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c010'>“He ran forward, closely followed by the others”</td>
+    <td class='c009'>&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c007'><em>Frontispiece</em></td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#p41'>41</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c010'>“Ran ... to the side of his friend, whom he seized by the collar”</td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#p61'>61</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c010'>“Angry copper-colored faces showed at the opening”</td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#p135'>135</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c010'>“This engine of death drifted slowly into the mist”</td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#p216'>216</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class='c010'>“Two black streaks, bearing fluffy burdens of white, were moving swiftly down the moonlit road”</td>
+    <td class='c009'><a href='#p280'>280</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span></div>
+<div class='ph1'>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+<div class='nf-center c001'>
+    <div>INCALAND.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<div  class='figcenter id002'>
+<img src='images/i_013.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <span class='large'>IN THE ANDES.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>Harvey held some of the white substance in
+both hands, examined it curiously, then let
+it filter through his benumbed fingers.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This is snow, isn’t it?” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones and Ferguson laughed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What! Have you never seen snow before?”
+asked the former.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Of course not. Didn’t I tell you that I visited
+the States only once, when I was little more than
+a baby, and remained but a month or two? I’ve
+never been in these regions any more than have you.
+I can remember rainfall, but snow! this is the first
+I have seen,” and he stooped over again, scooping
+up a fresh handful of the white, fluffy flakes that
+had covered the ground to the depth of an inch.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Look out!” screamed Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson and Harvey jumped to one side, warned
+by the cry, not a second too soon, for a huge
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>boulder, roaring with the sound of an express train,
+bounded down the mountain side, crashed over the
+place where they had stood, and disappeared below
+the ledge, reverberating as it fell into the chasm.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Narrow escape that!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should say so,” said Harvey, who had dropped
+his snow and stood looking at the two young men,
+his cheeks quite pale.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The three who thus had barely escaped death were
+explorers from Callao, Peru, in the year 1879, and
+this day they were eight hours’ walk beyond Chicla,
+the highest point to which the Oroya railroad had
+been built, and to which terminal they had journeyed
+by train from the main seacoast city of Peru.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey Dartmoor was seventeen years of age, the
+birthday which marked his passage from sixteen
+having been celebrated a week before his departure
+from home. His father had been a wealthy iron
+merchant in Peru, but the reverses which that country
+had sustained in the few months of the war with
+Chile, and which are described in detail in “Fighting
+Under the Southern Cross,” had forced Mr.
+Dartmoor, as well as many others in Lima and
+Callao, to the brink of the financial precipice beneath
+which yawned the chasm, ruin.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey had been more in the confidence of his
+father than Louis, who was a year older. This was
+perhaps due to the younger lad’s resemblance to his
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>father, in face and in personal bearing; or, perhaps,
+to the fact that he was more studiously inclined and
+therefore passed more time at home than did Louis,
+who was fond of outdoor sports, and preferred a spin
+in Callao Bay, or a dash over the pampas on his pony,
+with his chum Carl Saunders as a companion, to
+poring over books in the library.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was in this manner—by being frequently at
+home and in the office—that Harvey had learned of
+his father’s distress of mind, caused by financial difficulties,
+long before other members of the family had
+realized the true state of affairs; and this observance
+by the lad and his inquiries had as a sequel his
+appearance in the great Andes chain, or the Cordilleras
+of Peru.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>His companions were an Englishman and an
+American, who had resigned clerkships in offices to
+undertake this journey. Horace Hope-Jones, the
+senior, had been five years on the Peruvian coast,
+coming to Callao from Liverpool, and John Ferguson
+had lived in Ohio until 1875, when he was offered
+a very good salary to enter the employ of a large
+American house which had branch establishments in
+several cities on the southwest coast. One was
+twenty-three, the other twenty-two.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were well known in the cities, and were
+popular in amateur athletic circles, both having been
+members of a famous four of the Callao Rowing
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>Club, that had wrested victory from fours sent from
+Valparaiso, Panama, and other cities. Harvey Dartmoor
+was a junior member of this club, and it was
+while serving as coxswain that he became acquainted
+with Hope-Jones and Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It came about curiously that the three were in the
+Andes, at an altitude of 16,500 feet, this twenty-third
+day of August, 1879. Two days before they
+had stood on the beach at Callao, breakers of the
+Pacific Ocean dashing at their feet; now they were
+in a wilderness of granite, snow-capped peaks rising
+on every side, and behind, towering above these,
+were still others, stretching in a seemingly endless
+chain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Their quest in this vastness was gold, and an
+Indian’s narrative caused their search for yellow
+metal in the interior, where the great Incas once
+ruled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones and Ferguson had lived in bachelor
+apartments in Lima, which is eight miles from
+Callao, and for a year their wants had been attended
+to by an old native, named Huayno, who cooked
+their meals, made their beds and kept their rooms
+tidy.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He was singularly uncommunicative during the
+first eight months of his service, but later, falling ill
+and being treated kindly by the young men, he told
+them that he was of direct descent from the Incas;
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>indeed, that there flowed through his veins blood of
+the royal Atahuallpa, and that he might have been
+a king had not the race been first betrayed by the
+white men from Spain and then gradually exterminated,
+until only a few were left; and these
+wandered in bands through the interior, turned
+from a once proud people to Philistines, because of
+the injustice done them.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Thus old Huayno would talk evenings for hour
+after hour, speaking in Spanish with a strange mixture
+of the Indian tongue, and they would listen
+intently, because he told wonderful things of life in
+that portion of the interior to the north of Cerro
+de Pasco, where the foot of white man had never
+trod.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Indian became worse instead of better, and
+finally was bedridden. Hope-Jones and Ferguson
+had grown much attached to him. They recognized
+a person above the station in which circumstances
+had placed him, and, moreover, they felt sorry for
+one who was far away from his people and so lonely.
+Therefore, instead of sending him to a hospital, they
+called a doctor and engaged a nurse to be near his
+side during the day, while they were absent at their
+offices. The physician shook his head, after examining
+the old man, and said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He cannot linger long; perhaps a week, possibly
+two, but no longer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>Ten days later the end came, and a few hours
+before Huayno breathed his last, he beckoned Hope-Jones
+and Ferguson to his side.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My masters, I know that I am about to die,”
+said he. “The sun of my life is setting in the hills
+and soon it will have disappeared. Before darkness
+comes I have much to tell you. In these weeks you
+have done much for me, as much as you would have
+done a brother; and so I, in turn, shall do for you.
+Give me, I pray you, from that bottle, so the strength
+may come to my voice.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>One of them handed him a glass, into which he
+had poured some cordial, and the Indian drank
+slowly, then raised himself partly in bed, leaning on
+pillows which had been placed behind his back.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He was a tall, well-formed man, his skin of light
+copper color, and he wore a beard that reached halfway
+to his waist. His cheeks were much sunken and
+shrivelled, and resembled stained pieces of chamois
+skin that had been wet, then dried without stretching.
+His luminous black eyes glistened from deep
+cavities under shiny brows.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I am of the tribe of Ayulis,” he continued, his
+voice much firmer. “They now inhabit the country
+round about the river Marañon, where they cultivate
+<span lang="es" xml:lang="es">yacas</span>, plantains, maize, and cotton, and from the latter
+the women weave gay cloths, so that their attire
+is of more splendid color than that of any tribe.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>Eighty-five years ago it was not thus; then we were
+not compelled to cultivate the fields, for having gold
+in abundance we employed others to work. That
+gold proved our curse, for the white men came from
+Spain and levied tribute upon us, more and more
+each year, until we knew that soon all would be
+taken away. They levied tribute which we were
+compelled to pay, but they never learned from where
+we secured the metal, although they searched in parties
+large and small and put many of our leading
+men to the torture, in effort to force the secret from
+them. An Ayulis has no fear of pain, and they
+laughed when burned with hot irons and when boiling
+oil was poured upon them.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“When at last the Spaniards drove them too far,
+they choked the approaches to the mine with the
+trunks of huge trees, and all voiced a pledge that
+the place should never be opened again, nor would
+the location be made known to these unwelcome visitors
+from Spain. I am one hundred years old now;
+I was twenty then, and I remember well the great
+meeting of our tribe. Later we were revenged.
+Six months from that day we joined forces with the
+Jivaros, and at night we entered the town of Logroño,
+where a terrible butchery befell. Every
+white man was beheaded and every woman was carried
+away. Then other white men came and we
+were hunted through the forests for years, until at
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>last we settled on the banks of the Marañon and
+there turned our attention to farming.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We thought no more of gold, my masters, for
+that had been our curse; but well I remember the
+days when the yellow metal was in plenty, and with
+these eyes I have seen a nugget of gold taken from
+the mine of which I speak, that was as large as a
+horse’s head and weighed four arrobas.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c011'><sup>[1]</sup></a> Silver was
+so plentiful and iron so scarce that horses were shod
+with the white metal.</p>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='f1'>
+<p class='c000'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>One hundred pounds.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now I come to a time later by twenty years,
+when, by accident, I killed a man of our tribe.
+They would not believe me that I had meant him no
+harm, and that the arrow was not sped by design,
+but they declared that I should die. Had I been
+guilty I would have awaited the punishment; but I
+was innocent, and so I fled, and for a time I joined
+the savages on the Ucalayli, but in a few years I
+pushed on, over the mountains, to this coast where I
+have since been.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones and Ferguson had listened breathlessly,
+bending forward, for the old Indian’s voice
+had grown weaker and weaker. Soon he added:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I will tell you where the gold mine lies, for you
+have been kind to me. Take paper and pencil, that
+you may write down what I may say and not forget.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They did so, and he went on:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>“Cross the mountains to Oroya, go north even to
+Huari, all that way it is easy. From Huari go
+further north, three days on foot, to the great forest
+of cinchona trees, which commence at the sources
+of the upper Marañon. Enter this forest at Mirgoso,
+a village of few huts in my day, probably larger now.
+It is here that the Marañon properly commences.
+Follow the river, keeping in sight the right bank
+all the way. Travel six days by foot and you will
+suddenly see a great white rock. Beyond this once
+was a path, leading further north a half mile.
+Along it trees have been felled; they are rotted
+now. Push on and you will find the mine. Another—another—”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They bent closer, for his breath was coming in
+spasms.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Another white rock marks—”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They sprang to his side; a strange rattle sounded
+in his throat.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Lift me that I may see the setting sun.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They did so and he looked out the window, toward
+Callao, where the ball of red was sinking. Then he
+fell back, dead.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For several days the young men said little concerning
+the Indian’s story. They gave his body
+fitting burial in the little cemetery at Bella Vista,
+and returned to their work at office desks. It all
+seemed a dream to them; either they had dreamed
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>or they had listened to the ravings of Huayno. But
+after a week they commenced to discuss the narrative,
+first curiously, as one might talk of a fairy tale,
+then earnestly, as if their minds were becoming convinced
+that it had foundation in fact.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Why was it impossible? Were not legends heard
+from every tongue of the fabulous wealth of the
+Incas? Was it not said that they had secret mines,
+from which gold and silver had been taken, and
+which mines were closed and their bearings lost
+after the advent of the white man? Had there not
+been wonderful wealth in Cuzco?—a temple covered
+with sheets of gold and heaps of treasure? At Cajamaráca,
+did not Atahuallpa offer Pizarro, as a ransom,
+sufficient gold to fill the apartment in which he
+was confined and twice that amount of silver?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>There could be no reason for the Indian to deceive
+them; there was every reason why he should have
+told them the truth. Would it not be wise to go
+into the interior and investigate?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Nothing stood in the way. They had youth and
+strength, the journey would be of advantage physically;
+each had a small sum of money in bank and a
+portion of this would furnish everything they might
+need on the trip, leaving sufficient for emergencies
+upon their return, should they prove unsuccessful.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>These arguments, advanced by one, then by the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>other, determined them, and one evening Ferguson
+jumped up from his seat at table and exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let’s go!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Say we do,” answered Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Agreed?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Agreed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Shake on it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They clasped hands, and it was settled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The very next afternoon they were discussing their
+plans in the dressing room of the Callao Rowing
+Club, when they were overheard by Harvey Dartmoor.
+He was not eavesdropping. Such was not
+his nature. They had not noticed his presence, and
+finally, when he attracted their attention, they were
+rather glad than otherwise that he had heard, and
+soon asked if he would like to join in the search.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey was known in Callao as a student, and the
+young men believed that he would be of assistance
+when knowledge of geology and chemistry should be
+needed. Besides, he was a pleasant companion, and
+although their junior, he was in many things far
+advanced for one of his years. So it was decided
+that Harvey should accompany them, provided his
+father should give consent, and in the evening Hope-Jones
+visited John Dartmoor at his home in Chucuito
+and unfolded to him the strange sayings of the
+Indian, Huayno.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor was at first reluctant to permit Harvey’s
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>departure. There was considerable danger in
+the trip—from avalanches, wild animals, and perhaps
+from savages, occasional bands of which were known
+at times to approach the Marañon River.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But in Hope-Jones and Ferguson he recognized
+young men of courage and determination; he knew
+Harvey to have a similar nature, and beyond all that
+he looked at the possibility of finding this treasure.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>John Dartmoor had seen nothing but darkness on
+all sides, and here was a glimmer of light. The
+depreciation of paper money and the stagnation of
+trade, because of war, had checked all business. He
+was confronted with obligations which he could not
+meet, and each night he dreaded the dawning of
+another day, lest it bring failure before darkness
+could come again. So at last he gave his consent,
+and Harvey, delighted, made his preparations for the
+journey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The three decided to make no secret of the fact
+that they were going inland to seek gold, but to no
+one except John Dartmoor did they say aught concerning
+the Indian’s revelations.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Having once interested himself in the venture, Mr.
+Dartmoor proved of valuable assistance to the travellers.
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson having shared
+their information with his son, he in turn furnished
+outfits complete for all three, and as his hardware
+store was the largest on the coast, he was able to find
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>nearly everything in stock. But the travellers, after
+frequent discussions, left behind far more than they
+first had planned to carry, for they appreciated the
+fact that before them lay mile after mile of mountain
+climbing.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When equipped for the journey, each was clad in a
+suit of heavy tweed, the trousers to the knee, gray
+woollen stockings, and walking shoes. Each carried
+a knapsack, surmounted by two thin blankets, shaped
+in a roll, and in each knapsack were the following
+articles: One light rubber coat, one pair of shoes,
+two pairs of stockings, one suit of underclothing,
+three pocket-handkerchiefs, one tin plate, one tin
+cup, knife and fork of steel, one pound of salt, one
+large box of matches, one tooth brush, one comb,
+needles, pins, and thread, one iron hammer, and one
+box containing two dozen quinine pills.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson and Hope-Jones each carried a pick,
+slung by cords over their shoulders, but Harvey was
+deemed too young to bear a similar burden; besides,
+two picks were plenty. Hope-Jones carried a shot-gun,
+Ferguson a rifle, and Harvey a weapon similar
+to that borne by the Englishman, but of less weight.
+They all wore two ammunition belts, one around the
+waist, the other over the shoulder. In pockets were
+jack-knives, pieces of twine and lead pencils and paper,
+for they hoped to send letters from the interior to
+the coast by making use of native runners, although
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>once away from the railroad they could receive
+none.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Thus equipped, the departure was made from Lima
+on the morning of August 20, and the three adventurers
+were accompanied as far as Chosica by Harvey’s
+brother Louis and by Carl Saunders, their
+chum, who stood on the railway platform in the little
+mountain town and waved a God-speed until the
+train pulled out of sight.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Oroya railroad is one of the seven wonders of
+Peru, and no work by civil engineers in all the world
+so challenges admiration. It rises from the sea and
+threads the gorges of the Rimac, creeping on ledges
+that have been blasted from out the solid rock, crossing
+bridges that seem suspended in air, and boring
+through tunnels over which rest giant mountains.
+In places the cliffs on which rails are laid so overhang
+the river far below that a stone let fall from a
+car window will drop on the opposite side of the
+stream. From the coast to the summit there is not
+an inch of down grade, and in seventy-eight miles an
+altitude of 12,178 feet is attained. Sixty-three tunnels
+are passed through. Placed end to end they
+would be 21,000 feet in length, so that for four miles
+of this wonderful journey one is burrowing in the
+bowels of mountains.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At one point the travellers stood on the car platform
+and saw ahead of them the mouth of a tunnel,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>then, looking up the face of the precipice they saw
+another black opening that seemed the size of a barrel;
+higher still was a third, no larger in appearance
+than a silver dollar; yet higher, as high as a bird
+would fly, a fourth, resembling the eye of a needle.
+Four tunnels, one above the other!</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They would enter the first, wind around on
+ledges, pass through the second, wind again, the
+third, wind again, and before entering the fourth,
+look down from the train platform along the face
+of the precipice and see the entrances to the three
+holes through which they had passed. They were
+threading mountains, and always moving toward the
+summit.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In this wild journey they passed over thirty bridges
+that spanned chasms, the most remarkable of them
+all being the iron bridge of Verrugas, which crosses
+a chasm 580 feet wide and rests on three piers, the
+central one being 252 feet high.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The noonday meal was taken at Matucana, in the
+railway station house, and a half hour later they
+were on the way again, and all three stood on the
+platform of the rear car, watching the scenery, which
+every moment grew in grandeur. As the train
+wound around a ledge, like a huge iron snake, they
+saw far beneath a little lake of blue, bordered by
+willows. Even as they looked, clouds rolled out and
+hid the water and the willows. So they were above
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>the clouds! Yet above them were other clouds, of
+fleecy white, drifting and breaking against the gray
+masses of stone that rose ever and ever at the sides
+of them and in front of them!</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For a long time they were silent, looking down
+into chasms so deep they could not in places see the
+bottom; at other points appeared a silver thread
+which they knew to be a river; or, they gazed up at
+smooth cliffs, towering as if to shut out the sun, and
+again at huge overhanging boulders that seemed
+to need but a touch to drop and obliterate train
+and passengers. While thus watching, Hope-Jones
+suddenly exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<div class='lg-container-b c012'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'>“Where Andes, giant of the Western star,</div>
+      <div class='line'>Looks from his throne of clouds o’er half the world.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Who wrote those lines?” asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Campbell, I believe. I never appreciated them
+as I do now,” he replied.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were soon joined by the conductor, who was
+much interested in the three adventurers. The road
+not having been constructed its entire length, it was
+seldom that passengers for the interior were on trains,
+and rarely indeed were met persons who intended journeying
+as far as did these three companions. Those
+who rode up the Oroya railroad were mainly tourists.
+So, in those years, the railway was operated at a loss;
+but it was government property, and the purpose was
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>in time to connect the great interior with the seaboard.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The conductor was an American who had been
+five years in Peru, and he was always glad to meet
+any one from the States; so at once he fell into conversation
+with Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How often do you go over the road?” he was
+asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Three times a week.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you not tire of the solitude?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. Each time I see new grandeur. Look over
+there. What is on that cliff?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The three gazed in the direction he pointed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It seems to be a little animal about the size of a
+lamb,” said Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s an Andean bull.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But, surely, how can that be?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because the cliff, which seems only a few hundred
+feet away, is thousands. In this rarefied air all
+distances and sizes are misleading.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What did this road cost?” Harvey asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“In money, no one knows exactly, unless it be
+the superintendent of public construction at Lima.
+Henry Meiggs took the contract in 1868 for
+$27,000,000, but the government has added many
+million dollars since then.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You say in money. What other cost has there
+been?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>“Lives of men, my son. The line is not completed,
+yet seven thousand men have perished during
+its construction. They say that for every tie on
+the railroad across the Isthmus of Panama a man
+gave his life, but even that road has no such death
+list on the dark side of its ledger as has this.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That is more than double the number of the
+killed on both sides at the battle of Shiloh!” exclaimed
+Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; if I remember my history aright,” assented
+the conductor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What caused this frightful mortality?” asked
+Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There have been many causes, sir. Extremes of
+climate have affected those with weak constitutions
+and rendered them easy victims to disease, pestilences
+have raged in the camps, and there have been
+hundreds of fatal accidents, due to blasting and to
+the fall of boulders. I dare say that if one could
+find a passage along the Rimac below,” and he
+pointed to the chasm, “he would see whitened bones
+between every mile post.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That evening they reached Chicla, 15,645 feet
+above sea level, and were entertained at the home of
+the railroad superintendent, who had charge of the
+upper division of the line. Chicla is a little town of
+huts nestling in a small valley and surrounded by
+mountain peaks. The nights are always cold, and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>for only a few hours during the day does the sun’s
+face escape from behind the towering peaks and
+shine upon the village.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the supper table Harvey complained of a
+drumming in his ears, and a few minutes later he
+hastily left the table because of a severe nosebleed.
+Ferguson felt something damp on his cheek not long
+after, and using a handkerchief he noticed that it
+bore a crimson streak. Blood was flowing from his
+right ear.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The superintendent assured them that there was
+no cause for alarm, and that every one suffered from
+the effects of rarefied air when coming into a high
+altitude.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The pressure is less on the body up here,” he
+explained, “but within your veins and cells is air
+at the pressure received at sea level. This overpressure
+air, in endeavoring to escape, forces the
+blood with it. In a few hours the symptoms will
+have passed away. None of you has heart trouble,
+I trust?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No,” they answered.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then you will soon be all right.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They passed a restless night, but in the morning
+felt much better, and viewed from the veranda of
+the house the coming of the day without a rising
+sun in sight, for, the superintendent explained, it
+would be ten o’clock before the rays would shine
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>from over the mountain peaks in the east. The
+valley was soon filled with a mellow light, and on
+the western hills rested a shadow that slowly crept
+downwards.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After breakfast they watched from the veranda a
+train of llamas coming down the mountain side, bearing
+panniers filled with silver ore.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Those are wonderful beasts,” said the superintendent.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes,” remarked Hope-Jones; then he added:
+“Until recently, I believed they belonged to the
+same family as the domestic sheep of Europe and
+North America, but I ascertained by reading that
+they are more closely allied to the camel.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So I have heard, and so examination would convince
+even one not versed in natural history. They
+are much larger than sheep, are powerful and
+more intelligent; besides, they can go for a long
+time without water and endure as heavy burdens as
+a mule.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I understand that their flesh is good to eat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, it is quite palatable. So the llama is valuable
+for three purposes—as a beast of burden, for its
+long, silken wool, and for its flesh.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>An hour later Hope-Jones, Ferguson, and Harvey
+bade the superintendent good-by, after thanking
+him for his hospitality, and started on their journey
+to the northeast. While in Chicla they had secured
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>canvas for a shelter-tent. It was unnecessary to
+carry poles, because these could be cut each evening;
+and the additional burden, divided among the three,
+was not heavy.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The first day’s travel was uneventful until toward
+sundown, when snow commenced to fall, and Harvey
+for the first time saw the crystal flakes beneath
+his feet, and swirling through the air. They had
+attained quite an altitude above Chicla, how much
+higher they did not know, not having brought instruments.
+But in the morning they would commence
+to descend again to the region of the Montaña, the
+great table-land valley of Peru which lies between
+two parallel spurs of the Andes at an altitude of six
+thousand to eight thousand feet—a valley rich with
+forests and with smaller vegetation, a valley through
+which flows the river Marañon, and is inhabited
+by the Ayulis Indians; and in this valley somewhere
+on the river Marañon, was a great white rock
+that marked a nature’s storehouse of gold.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They pitched their shelter-tent, lighted a fire, and
+ate a hearty supper of food they had carried from
+Chicla; then, after talking for an hour, they went to
+sleep, lying close together, wrapped in both blankets,
+for the night was cold.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <span class='large'>THE MONTAÑA OF PERU.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>Early next morning the three adventurers were
+awakened by a mournful cry. A long, shrill
+note sounded near the shelter-tent and was followed
+by three others, each deepening in tone. They sat
+up and rubbed their eyes, then looked at one another,
+as if to ask, “What is that?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Again the long, shrill note, and again the three
+mournful echoes, each deeper than the one preceding.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What a ghostly noise!” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Oh, I know what it is!” exclaimed Harvey, rising,
+his face brighter. “It’s the alma perdida.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Alma perdida! That’s the Spanish for ‘lost
+soul.’”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Exactly. That’s why the bird has such a name,
+because of its cry. It’s an alma perdida—a bird,
+that is piping so dolefully. Come, see if I am not
+correct.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He pushed aside the flap of the shelter-tent, sprang
+without, and was followed by the young men. In
+the light of early day they saw a little brown bird,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>a tuft of red on its head, perched on a scrub bush,
+not a hundred yards away. Even as they looked
+the shrill note was repeated, and then the doleful
+ones of deeper sound.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Shoo!” said Ferguson; and as the bird remained
+perched on the bush, he threw a stone. The red-tufted
+body of brown rose from the branch and disappeared.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“’Good riddance to bad rubbish,’” said Ferguson.
+“We don’t want any such croakers at our feast;
+which, by the way, reminds me of breakfast.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Whew!” exclaimed Harvey. “It’s cold!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Indeed it was cold for these travellers from the
+warm coast-belt, the mercury standing at about
+thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let’s run and get wood for a fire, then we’ll feel
+warmer,” said Hope-Jones. “There’s a dwarf tree
+over there. Surely some dry branches are beneath
+it. Now for a two hundred yards’ dash! One!
+two! three!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson won, Hope-Jones second, and Harvey a
+close third. The run started their blood well in circulation,
+and they fell to gathering chips of bark
+and dried twigs with a will, returning to the tent
+each with an armful. They placed four stones
+equidistant from a centre, so that a few inches were
+between them, and in the spaces piled the wood.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Be careful with the matches!” said Ferguson.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>“Only one for a fire. Harvey, take from your box
+first.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy stooped over and the two young men
+stood to the windward of him, forming a shield. In
+a few seconds a crackle was heard, then a thin line
+of blue smoke rose from between the stones, and
+tongues of flame licked the pieces of granite.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“More wood!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was added, and in a minute a merry blaze was
+burning briskly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They held their hands over the flames, and they
+stood on the leeward side, not minding the smoke
+which blew in their eyes, for the heat was carried to
+their bodies, dispelling the chill that had come after
+the run. Although the morning was somewhat
+warmer than had been the evening before, it was
+still very cold for these residents of the sandy coast-line.
+Here and there patches of snow still lay on
+the ground, but the white crystals were fast melting
+under the glow of coming day. The sun was not
+so tardy here as at Chicla, for no high peaks were
+in the east, and even as they stood around the fire
+a shaft of light was thrown across the valley in
+which they had rested during the night.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What shall we have for breakfast?” asked
+Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Fried bacon and corn bread,” promptly answered
+Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>“But how shall we cook the bacon?” asked
+Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ll show you;” and the Ohioan unstrapped his
+knapsack and took therefrom his tin plate, which he
+placed on the four stones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How’s that for a frying pan!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They had taken certain provisions from Chicla,
+because the superintendent said it might be a couple
+of days before they could reach that part of the Montaña
+where game abounded, and the carrying of these
+edibles had devolved upon Harvey, his companions
+having burdened themselves with the canvas of the
+shelter-tent. Another minute, and a fragrant odor
+came from the dish that was resting over the flame.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I wish the corn bread could be made hot,” said
+Harvey, as he proceeded with the further opening of
+his knapsack.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It will be—in a jiffy,” was the reply. “Just
+clear away some of the fire on the other side.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This was done, the sticks and embers being pushed
+back, and Ferguson commenced with his jack-knife,
+hollowing out a space in the thin soil. Taking
+Hope-Jones’s and Harvey’s tin plates, he placed the
+bread between them, then laying them in the shallow
+excavation, rims together, he raked over some earth
+and on top of this a layer of hot coals.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“By the time the bacon is cooked our bread will
+be ready,” he added.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>While this was being done Hope-Jones had visited
+a little spring near by and had filled their cups with
+sparkling water. Ten minutes later they were
+seated around the fire, enjoying the breakfast, and all
+agreed that they had never tasted a more appetizing
+meal.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>By half-past seven dishes were washed, the tent
+taken down, knapsacks and bundles packed, and
+they started, with a compass as a guide, toward the
+northeast, between two mountain peaks—for in that
+direction lay the Montaña. It was easy walking,
+llama trains having made a pathway, and the country
+soon became more regular, for they had passed the
+region of gorges, precipices, and chasms; although
+still among the mountains, the high peaks towered
+behind, those in front becoming lower as they progressed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were travelling a down grade, and as they
+pushed on there were continual signs of change in
+the vegetable world. At the point where they had
+encamped for the night grew only a few shrubs and
+dwarf trees, whose gnarled branches told of a rigorous
+climate. But soon cacti thrust their ungainly
+shapes above ground, the trees became of larger size,
+and a long grass commenced to appear. And as
+above they had walked upon a gravel, which had
+crumbled from the rocky mountain side, so further
+down appeared a soil richer in alluvium as they proceeded.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>By eleven o’clock all the towering mountain
+peaks were behind them. They were nearing
+the table-land country and were among the foothills
+of the first spurs of the eastern slope.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“O for a luncheon with potato salad!” exclaimed
+Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sighing for potatoes in Peru is like sighing for
+coals in Newcastle,” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why so?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because Peru is the home of the potato. It was
+first discovered here. Didn’t you know that?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, but I had forgotten it for the moment.
+One is so accustomed to terming them ‘Irish
+potatoes.’”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Who discovered the vegetable in Peru?” asked
+Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The Spaniards, in the seventeenth century.
+Large tracts of land in the Montaña country were
+covered with potato fields, and the Indians could not
+recall when they had not formed a staple of diet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How did the term Irish potato originate?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sir Walter Raleigh is responsible for that, I
+believe. The potato was planted on his estate near
+Cork and flourished better in that soil than in any
+other of Europe.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The noon hour having arrived and the conversation
+tending to increase their hunger, the three
+adventurers looked about for a spring, and in the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>distance seeing a clump of willows and verdure of
+unusual brightness, they hastened to the spot and
+found a little mountain stream rippling over pebbles.
+As they approached a number of parakeets flew
+away, chattering, their brilliant plumage causing
+them to appear as rainbow darts above their heads.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“An ideal spot!” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And here’s shade. We didn’t want shade this
+morning, did we?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hardly. But the day has grown warm.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>While speaking they cast knapsacks and burdens
+one side and threw themselves down on the grass
+for a brief rest before preparing the noonday meal.
+The murmur of the brook had as an accompaniment
+the hum of insects and the piping of finches—for
+they were nearing the table-land, which pulsated
+with life; far different from the drear of the early
+morning, which was punctuated only by the doleful
+notes of the alma perdida.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I can almost think myself in an American harvest
+field,” said Ferguson, rolling on his back and
+clasping his hands over his head.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones placed a blade of coarse grass between
+his thumbs, held parallel, then blew upon
+the green strand with all his might.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What on earth is that?” exclaimed Ferguson,
+jumping to his feet, and Harvey came running from
+the stream.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>“You said something about a harvest field, so I
+stood in the kitchen door and sounded the horn for
+dinner,” was the laughing response.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What shall it be?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The same as this morning, with the addition of
+hard-boiled eggs; that is, providing Harvey hasn’t
+broken the eggs.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Indeed, I haven’t,” protested the boy, and he
+commenced to unstrap his knapsack.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A fire was soon started and the eggs were placed
+over the flame in a large tin cup. After being thoroughly
+boiled, they were put in the stream to cool,
+and bacon was fried as in the morning; but the
+corn bread was eaten cold, “by way of a variety,”
+so Ferguson said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I hope we may find some game this afternoon,”
+said Harvey, as he cracked an egg-shell on his heel.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We undoubtedly shall, for it cannot be far to
+the Montaña proper.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>An hour later they resumed their burdens, and
+with swinging steps continued on down the hillside.
+The grass became more profuse, and soon
+formed a velvet carpet under the feet. It was dotted
+with the chilca plant, which bears a bright yellow
+flower, of the same color as the North American
+dandelion; and in places could be seen the mutisia
+acuminata, with beautiful orange and red flowers,
+and bushes that bore clusters of red berries.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>“The landscape is becoming gorgeous,” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Trees were now larger, and vines of the semi-tropics
+clung to the trunks and to the branches.
+Little streams were of frequency, all running toward
+the east instead of to the west, as had been observed
+when on the other side of the cordillera; and so,
+late in the afternoon, the sun commenced to go
+down behind the hills, which seemed strange to
+those who were accustomed to see it sink in the
+ocean.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sh!” exclaimed Hope-Jones, suddenly, then—“Drop
+down, fellows!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They sank into the grass.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is it?” asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Look over there, in that clump of trees.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They saw something moving under the branches,
+then a form stood still.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s a deer. I suppose it’s the Peruvian taruco.
+Can you bring it down at this distance, Ferguson?
+If we go nearer, we shall probably see our supper
+bound away.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ll try, but it’s a good range; almost six hundred
+yards, don’t you think?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“All of that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I’ll adjust the sights for seven hundred.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He threw himself flat on the grass, pushed his rifle
+before him, resting the barrel on a stone, took aim
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>for a minute, then fired. The deer sprang into the
+open, gave a second bound, rising from all four hoofs,
+and, twisting convulsively, fell dead.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Bravo! At the first shot!” yelled Hope-Jones,
+and jumping up, he ran forward, closely followed by
+the others.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What shall we do now?” asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Fortunately I hunted quite a little when a lad
+in the States,” said Ferguson, whipping out a long
+knife and cutting the animal’s throat. “In a half
+hour we can skin it,” he added.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Say, fellows, I have an idea. What better place
+can we camp than here?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were near a grove of tall trees, the bark of
+which was white, and in marked contrast with the
+dense green foliage. These were the palo de sangre,
+or blood-wood of the upper Marañon, from which
+is taken timber of a red color that is fine-grained,
+hard, and receives a good polish. The trees were
+not many in number, but they arched over a little
+brook, and tall grass grew between the trunks.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s a splendid spot,” replied Ferguson, “and I
+have another plan to add as an amendment to yours.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s that?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“To remain here all to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And lose a day?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No; I think we should gain thereby. I confess
+that I’m dead tired. The first day’s tramp always
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>tells the most. Besides, we had a wearisome trip on
+the railroad, and for a week before leaving Callao
+we were continually on the jump. So a day’s rest
+from tramping will do us all good; but I don’t mean
+to idle away the time, for we can find plenty to do.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What, for instance?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Cut up that deer and smoke some strips of the
+flesh to carry with us. We may not always be so
+lucky, and smoked venison isn’t at all bad when one’s
+hungry.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The amendment was accepted, and they at once
+went into camp.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It lacked two hours of sundown. The air was
+pleasant and warm, and the sweet odor from flowers
+was carried to their nostrils by a light breeze.
+Hope-Jones cleared a space for the tent and cut
+props for the canvas. Harvey fetched water from
+the brook and gathered firewood; and Ferguson,
+rolling up his sleeves, commenced to skin the deer,
+then cut a large steak from the loin. In an hour
+a bed of live coals was glowing, and, using a ramrod
+for a spit, the Ohioan commenced to broil the venison.
+Soon savory odors rose, and Hope-Jones and
+Harvey stood quite near, smacking their lips.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This is the best dinner I ever ate in my life,”
+said the boy fifteen minutes later, as he sat on the
+log of a tree, his tin dish between his knees.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They crawled into the shelter-tent early that evening,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>right glad to rest, and the two young men were
+soon in dreamland. But Harvey tossed about uneasily
+and his eyes refused to close; he was too tired
+to sleep. For a long time he lay awake, listening
+to the monotonous notes of the yucahualpa, which
+sings only at night, and at last, the tent becoming
+oppressive, he took his blankets and stole quietly
+without. It was bright with starlight, but there
+was no moon. A breeze from the west moved the
+broad leaves of the blood-wood trees, and the sound
+of their rustling was like the roar of breakers on a
+distant beach.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy stepped to a fallen tree, from the trunk
+of which branches protruded, but the leaves were
+gone. Wrapping one blanket completely around
+him, he lay down, his head resting in a fork several
+inches above the ground; then he drew the other
+blanket over him and the next minute was asleep.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <span class='large'>A SNAKE AND A PUMA.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>“Where’s Harvey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones, aroused by Ferguson, rose to
+an upright position and looked around. The flap of
+the shelter-tent had been thrown back, and the gray
+light of early morning was stealing in.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Not here? Perhaps he has gone to the brook.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; probably for a bath. I guess I’ll follow
+him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They lazily drew on their knickerbockers, laced
+their shoes, and went outside, yawning as they
+stepped on the grass, for the sleep was still in their
+eyes. The next instant their attitude changed—from
+heavy with drowsiness every sense became
+alert, every muscle contracted and their nerves
+throbbed, their cheeks from red turned ashen pale.
+For Ferguson had clutched Hope-Jones’s arm and
+had whispered, “Look!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A hundred yards from where they stood lay Harvey,
+sound asleep, his head resting in the fork of a
+fallen tree and his face upturned. Two feet above
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>this upturned face—a handsome, manly face—something
+was waving to and fro like a naked
+branch throbbed by the wind; only this something
+moved with a more undulating motion. It was a
+snake. The body was coiled around the limb of the
+tree that rose from the fork, and the flat head and
+neck waved at right angles.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sh! It may strike if alarmed!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Both men sank to their knees.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s it waiting for?” whispered Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I don’t know.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What can we do? Shall I risk a shot?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. Your gun would scatter and perhaps hit
+Harvey. We must try the rifle.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You do it, then. I never could hit that target.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ll try,” said Ferguson, clenching his teeth;
+and he crawled quickly into the tent, and, returning
+with the weapon, threw himself flat on the grass in
+the position he had taken the evening before while
+aiming at the deer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The light had grown, so that twigs on trees stood
+out plainly. They could see that the snake was of
+a brown-green, the head very flat, and in and out
+between the jaws moved a thin tongue, vibrating as
+does a tightly stretched string that has been pulled
+with the fingers.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why don’t you fire?” whispered Hope-Jones,
+who had thrown himself down beside Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>“Wait. I can’t hit that. No one could.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The day was growing fast. Harvey slept without
+moving, and above his face, no nearer and no farther
+away, moved the flat head with pendulum-like
+regularity.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>All at once, a ray of light glanced from the rising
+sun through the trees and fell on the face of the
+sleeping boy—a line of golden light, reaching from
+forehead to chin. Harvey moved. That instant,
+the flat head ceased swaying, the portion of the body
+free from the tree arched itself like the neck of a
+swan and the snake was immovable, poised to strike.
+But before the fangs could be plunged into the victim,
+a rifle rang out, and the snake fell forward,
+writhing, upon the neck and shoulders of the boy,
+and he, at a bound, freed himself from the blankets
+and started for the woods on a run, yelling: “I’m
+shot! I’m shot!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones and Ferguson followed and caught up
+with him at the edge of the brook. Beads of perspiration
+were standing out on his forehead, and his face
+was pale.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where are you hurt, Harvey?” asked Ferguson,
+anxiously.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He looked at them in amazement, for as a fact he
+had just awakened. The yell and the exclamation
+were only part of a nightmare, which had been
+caused by the discharge of the firearm.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>Meanwhile Hope-Jones was feeling of him carefully,
+his arms, his body, and examining his head
+and neck.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He’s as sound as a dollar,” he finally said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Of course I am,” Harvey replied rather sheepishly.
+“What’s all the row about, anyway?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Come, we’ll show you,” and the young men led
+him back to the tree and pointed to the dead snake.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey did not understand even then what the
+scene meant. He saw his blankets lying to one
+side, where he had tossed them, and he saw the
+reptile in the place where he had slept. Then Hope-Jones
+related what had happened, and the lad turned
+pale again when the Englishman ended by saying:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Had not Ferguson’s aim been true you would
+be a dead boy, because I can recognize this snake as
+of a poisonous species, although I do not know the
+name.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He turned the broad head over, and it was seen
+that the rifle bullet had entered the mouth and
+shattered the upper fang.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey was silent for several minutes while Ferguson
+stooped over and measured the reptile, announcing
+that it was seven feet two inches long;
+then the boy said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I can never, never find words to thank you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t mention that, Harvey,” was the reply,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>“but remember and keep with us at night. We’re
+in a strange land now, and there’s no telling what
+we may meet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I suppose we have all been careless,” said Hope-Jones.
+“Back in the sierra there was no animal
+life, except the llama and a few goats; we are in the
+Montaña now and it’s different. However, let’s
+change the subject and have breakfast.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The fire was lighted, another venison steak was
+cooked, and with it they ate the last of the corn
+bread. After breakfast Ferguson set to work on
+the deer, cutting the flesh into strips, and while he
+was doing this Hope-Jones and Harvey, following
+his direction, built a little smoke-house with three
+boughs and started a slow fire within. Later the
+strips of flesh were hung on pieces of twine that
+had been stretched across the top, and the place was
+closed, except for a small opening, through which
+the fire could be replenished during the day. After
+this the three went to the brook side and washed
+such clothing as was necessary, which was hung on
+bushes to dry.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The noonday meal consisted of fried eggs and cold
+venison; then, after tending the fire in the smoke-house
+once more, the three lay down for a siesta.
+The afternoon was quite warm, the drone of insects
+could be heard, and they had a refreshing sleep for
+two hours.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>But the sun was not to set without further adventure,
+which, like that of the morning, brought in its
+train a lesson to the three who were unaccustomed to
+the wilds of the Peruvian interior. Harvey, who
+was the first to awaken, believed that he might find
+some wild fruit in a clump of trees which grew about
+a quarter of a mile to the east, and so he left the
+camp at three o’clock and soon crossed the open
+space. He found himself in a little grove, the size
+of that in which the tent was pitched. But the
+trees, which had appeared different at a distance,
+were the same, and, disappointed, he was about to
+return, when his attention was attracted by a purring
+sound, like that made by kittens when their backs
+are stroked; and looking down he saw, almost beneath
+his feet, three little animals that were at play,
+catching each other with their paws by the tails and
+ears, and rolling over and over. They were not
+much taller than kittens, but were more plump, and
+their bodies were broader. The hair was a brownish
+yellow, spotted with brown of a deeper tint, and
+their little tails were ringed with the same color.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy watched them a few minutes, then thinking
+what a surprise he could give Hope-Jones and
+Ferguson, he lifted one in his arms. It was quite
+heavy and gave forth a peculiar whine when taken
+from its companions. Harvey held it close and
+started back to the camp, walking briskly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>He had gone about a hundred yards when there
+came from behind him a hideous howl that made his
+heart jump into his throat and his hair stand on end,
+while chill after chill passed down his spinal column.
+Glancing over his shoulder he saw an animal bounding
+after him, mouth wide open and foam dropping
+from yellow fangs. It was the size of a lion. Giving
+a scream, the boy started toward camp at a speed
+he had never equalled. For a few seconds he was so
+dizzy from fright that he seemed to be floating in
+air. Every muscle was stretched to its utmost, and
+he bent far forward, calling at the top of his voice, in
+the hope that his companions might hear.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Another awful howl sounded, this time nearer, and
+he could hear the footfalls of the animal close behind;
+the next second he could hear it panting, and
+then, just as he felt that the next breath would be
+his last, reason came to him, and he dropped the little
+animal which, without thinking, he had held tight
+in his arms.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The instant he did so the footfalls ceased and the
+panting grew less distinct. He cast a swift glance
+over his shoulder and saw that the animal had stopped
+beside her cub and was walking round and round
+the little yellow creature and licking it. The sight
+gave him hope, and he ran on toward the camp, ran
+as he had not even when that terrible breathing was
+so close, for then fear had partly benumbed him and
+at times he had staggered.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>He was halfway between the groves when the
+animal’s cry sounded again and acted on him like the
+spur on a horse. He glanced back. The creature
+had left her cub.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps she thinks I have another one of her
+pups,” was the thought that flashed through Harvey’s
+mind, and the inspiration came to dash his hat to the
+ground, which he did, and a few seconds later he
+looked back over his shoulder once more. Yes, the
+animal had stopped, but only for an instant, to sniff
+the piece of woollen, and then had bounded forward.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy plainly saw the tent ahead, but he could
+not make out the figure of a person near the
+canvas. Where were Hope-Jones and Ferguson?
+Could he reach the grove? But of what use
+to do so, unless they were there to aid him? His
+heart beat wildly; perspiration flooded his face
+and stood out in cold beads; he felt cold all over,
+although he was running at a speed that should
+have given him fever heat, and the day was very
+warm.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At that instant a man appeared near the tent, and
+Harvey gave a yell such as he had never uttered.
+The man stood out plainly in the afternoon light,
+and Harvey saw him turn. Simultaneously he
+heard the footfalls of the animal and the hoarse
+panting. The grove was near, the tent was near,
+the man was near, and he was immediately joined
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>by another. They were waving to him. What
+could they mean?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was a signal, but he did not understand. The
+heavy breathing came nearer and nearer. The men
+were running toward him, throwing their hands out
+to the left. All at once he understood, and he
+darted to one side. The second after he did so the
+crash of a rifle rang out, then the deeper sound of a
+shot-gun.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When Harvey looked up again Hope-Jones was
+pouring water on his head and Ferguson was saying:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s a puma and of the largest size!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, young man, have you had enough adventures
+for one day?” asked the Englishman, when the
+boy sat upright.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I guess I have,” he replied in a somewhat dazed
+voice.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You tackled quite a contract over there,” said
+Ferguson. “How did it happen?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey told them, stopping now and then during
+the narrative, for he was not yet wholly over his
+fear, nor had he quite recovered his breath.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I guess you will keep close to us in the daytime
+as well as at night,” said Ferguson, when he had
+finished.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, I think I shall,” the lad said somewhat dismally.
+“What was it you said chased me?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>“A puma of the largest species. Do you wish to
+see it?” and Ferguson led the way a few steps to
+the right where the carcass of the animal lay in the
+long grass.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Its legs were drawn up close to the body, proof
+that it had died in a convulsion, and Harvey shuddered
+as he looked at the long, sharp claws that
+protruded from soft, spongelike feet. These were
+the feet he had heard striking the ground in pursuit.
+The puma somewhat resembled a leopard, and
+measured forty-five inches from the nose to the root
+of the tail, and the tail was as long as the body.
+The head was rather small, the ears large and
+rounded. The skin was a tawny, yellowish brown,
+and the lower part of the body a dirty white.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Ugh!” exclaimed Harvey, shuddering.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They walked back to camp. After supper Ferguson
+said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I move we adopt a couple of rules, to apply for
+the remainder of the journey.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What are they?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“First, that we keep within hailing distance of
+one another.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Second, that one of us always has a gun in
+hand.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Agreed,” said the Englishman, and Harvey
+nodded his head in approval.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <span class='large'>IN THE COILS OF A BOA.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>“Cross the mountains to Oroya, then go north
+to Huari, and in three days you will reach
+the great forest of cinchona trees,” repeated Hope-Jones,
+quoting old Huayno.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, but we have gone around Oroya, as advised
+by the superintendent,” said Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’s why we have kept a northeast instead of
+a north course.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We should sight Huari to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. We should.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was the fifth day of their journey from Chicla,
+and they were plodding along in a rain, rubber coats
+buttoned close to the chin. The llama path was
+very narrow and wound in and out among tropic
+verdure. Everything was dripping with moisture,
+large drops rolling from palm leaves, bushes throwing
+spray as they were released after being pushed
+one side by the pedestrians, and the long grass wound
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>around their stockings until they became wringing
+wet. It had been impossible to light a fire at
+noon, and so they had dined on strips of smoked
+venison.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We must find some dry wood to-night and hang
+our clothing near a blaze,” said Harvey. The next
+minute he had darted ahead, then to one side.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Remember rule number one!” called out Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“All right,” came back the answer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They caught up with the lad in a minute, and
+found him standing under a clump of trees that
+were about fifteen feet in height and which had
+broad, flat tops. As they neared the spot a fragrance
+as of incense was borne to their nostrils
+through the rain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Here’s a feast after all the dried deer meat!”
+called the boy, who had hung his knapsack on a
+branch, placed his shot-gun against the trunk of the
+tree, and was already climbing.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is he after?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’m sure I don’t know. What have you found,
+Harvey?” called Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Chirimoyas.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then we’re in luck. My mouth waters at the
+very thought of the fruit. But I never saw the
+tree before,” he said, looking up at their young
+companion.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>“The trees grow in plenty of places near Lima,”
+Harvey replied. “I recognized them at once from
+a distance. Here, catch!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The fruit he dropped down was heart-shaped,
+green, and covered with black knobs and scales,
+much as is a pineapple, and was about two-thirds the
+size of the latter.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When Harvey had detached a half dozen he descended,
+and despite the inclement weather they sat
+down for a feast, this being the first of fruit or
+fresh vegetable they had tasted since leaving Chicla.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Although it was damp no rain fell on the place
+where they rested, for the broad leaves of the trees
+were so interlaced as to form a natural umbrella
+that made a perfect watershed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The skin of the chirimoya is thick and tough, and
+their jack-knives were called into use, but once
+within the shell a treat indeed was found. Internally
+the fruit is snowy white and juicy, and embedded
+within the pulp are many seeds, but these
+are as easily removed as are the seeds of a watermelon.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My, this is delicious!” said Harvey, smacking
+his lips.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Picking chirimoyas from trees is better sport than
+picking up puma cubs from beneath them, is it not?”
+asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Somewhat,” said the lad, as he buried his face in
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>the fruit and took so large a mouthful that his cheeks
+were distended.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Be careful lest you choke,” warned Hope-Jones;
+then turning to Ferguson he asked:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How would you describe the flavor should you
+wish to do so to a person at home?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I couldn’t. It is finer than the pineapple, more
+luscious than the best strawberry, and richer than
+the peach. There is no fruit with which I could
+make comparison. Can you think of any?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They enjoyed the repast with which nature had
+provided them, then Ferguson urged that they take
+up their march again.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s the matter with remaining here?” Harvey
+asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s too damp. We all would have colds in the
+morning. No, we must find a dry spot, even if we
+have to keep going till late at night. As it is, perhaps
+we had better each take a couple of quinine
+pills. Here, I will stand treat,” and he commenced
+to unstrap his knapsack.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Chirimoyas for the first course and quinine for
+the second,” remarked Harvey. “Who wouldn’t
+call that a genuine Peruvian meal?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then they resumed their way in the rain, which
+continued falling heavily, dripping from the trees
+overhead.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>Since morning they had been descending into a
+valley that was lower than any part of the Montaña
+which they had as yet traversed; indeed, they were
+at an altitude of only five thousand feet above sea
+level; and as they were on the eastern slope, where
+there is no trade wind to cool the air, the temperature
+had become tropical.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Soon the path would mount again, and a climb of
+three thousand feet was in front before Huari could
+be reached; but for the time being they were threading
+a region that was as dense with vegetation as
+that which borders the Amazon. Huge vines and
+creepers almost hid the trees from view, and green
+moss hung in long festoons. In places were groves
+of palms, in others trees of wondrous growth that
+were completely covered with brilliant scarlet flowers.
+Occasionally, between branches, they saw rare
+orchids.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In the jungle at the sides of the path could be
+heard the croaking of frogs, and on the bark of trees
+sounded the sharp notes of woodpeckers. At times
+a brilliant-colored snake crawled across the path.
+But they saw little else of animal life, although the
+occasional rustle of leaves ahead told that something
+savage had slunk away.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Probably a puma,” said Hope-Jones once, when
+they had stopped to listen, and had brought their
+guns into position. “But there is no cause for
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>alarm. A puma rarely attacks a man unless brought
+to bay, or unless,” and he cast a side glance at Harvey,
+“some enterprising person endeavors to kidnap
+a cub.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Will you ever forget that?” asked the boy, and
+they laughed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Since the day of the lad’s dual adventures little of
+moment had befallen the travellers. They had remained
+in company, and at night had selected spots
+in scant groves, which they had inspected thoroughly
+before pitching the shelter-tent. They were cautious
+during the day as well. As for human beings, two
+or three Indians had been met, but they were stupid
+specimens, who did not speak Spanish, and who manifested
+little curiosity at meeting a white man.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are a sneaky lot,” Ferguson had said.
+“Notice how low their brows are and how narrow
+the forehead.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At times they saw a hut perched on a hill above
+the roadway, but they did not care to investigate, and
+passed them by. These places of habitation were
+constructed somewhat like the North American
+Indian’s tepee, of boughs wound with animal
+hides.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But this all had been at a higher altitude. In the
+valley which they now trod, and which was a tropic
+jungle, there was no sign of man save the narrow
+path—and the path at times was almost lost to sight
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>in the dense growth—which told that occasionally
+llama trains passed that way.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Toward four o’clock in the afternoon they reached
+the lowest part of the valley, and at that hour the
+clouds cleared away and the sun came out, causing
+the leaves to glisten as if studded with diamonds, and
+the air became heavy with the perfume of flowers
+and the exudations from plants and vines.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Coaxed by the sun, hundreds of butterflies drifted
+lazily from the sides of the jungle and moved as if
+borne by light currents of air from flower to flower.
+Some were white, their large wings dotted with
+golden yellow; others were purple, fringed with
+black; others the color of the dandelion, and still
+others were crimson. In and out, between these
+slow-moving seekers of perfume, darted hummingbirds
+like dashes of many-colored lightning, and the
+torn air sounded a faint note as they passed. This
+sunlight also brought lizards of many hues into its
+warmth, and chameleons which when prodded
+changed color, from green to red or to purple,
+depending upon the stage of anger. Meanwhile
+the atmosphere grew heavier with the tropic odors
+which the warm rain had coaxed from the vegetation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My, but I’m sleepy!” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So am I,” answered Harvey, who was bending
+over his knapsack and placing therein the rubber
+coat, of which he stood no longer in need. “Can’t
+we camp hereabout?”</p>
+
+<div id='p61'  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/i_063.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>“Ran ... to the side of his friend, whom he seized by the collar.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>“Miasma! chills! fever!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s that, Mr. Ferguson?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I said miasma, chills, and fever. That’s what
+would befall us should we remain here for a night.
+Beyond,” and he pointed to the hill that rose on the
+other side of the valley, “we shall doubtless find a
+place for the tent. However, we may as well rest
+here a bit, and I spy a seat over there which I propose
+to occupy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Saying this he cast aside his knapsack and rifle,
+then walked ahead a few yards and to one side, where
+he dropped upon what appeared to be a mass of
+twisted vine, as large as the limbs of the average
+tree.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The instant that Ferguson sank into the seat,
+Hope-Jones, who had been looking ahead curiously,
+let fall everything that he had in hand or on his back,
+and springing from Harvey’s side with a bound, ran
+as if on a race-course to the side of his friend, whom
+he seized by the collar and not only lifted to an
+upright position, but threw with all the strength he
+possessed to the ground, by the path side, and ended
+by catching him by the legs and dragging him some
+distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson was very quick-tempered, and the moment
+he jumped to his feet he darted at his companion
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>with his fist clenched, roaring out at the top of his
+voice:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ll fix you! What do you mean? That wasn’t
+any joke.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey had run up, and he sprang between the
+young men, wondering what had caused this; and a
+glance at Hope-Jones’s face surprised him the more,
+for it was pale as that of a corpse, whereas Ferguson’s
+was red, and he was blowing with indignation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ll teach you!” he repeated. “Get out of the
+way, Harvey.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But Hope-Jones had found his voice by this time,
+and instead of resenting his friend’s language he
+gasped: “It’s a boa! It’s a boa!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s a boa?” and Ferguson glanced around.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You sat down on a boa! It’s coiled up over
+there!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then the young man who had been dragged along
+the path so ruthlessly turned as pale as had his companion,
+and so did the lad who had endeavored to
+act as peacemaker. Meanwhile the three were retreating
+rapidly to the point where they had dropped
+their knapsacks and rifles.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“A boa!” repeated Ferguson. “I can hardly
+believe it!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. I once saw one coiled up like that in a
+menagerie, and the thought that your seat was alive
+came to me the instant you sat down. As I drew
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>near I made out the scales, which resemble the bark
+on a tree, and I also saw the head. Its eyes are
+closed, and it’s evidently in a torpor after gorging.
+You sat right down in the coils, and it’s a wonder it
+didn’t wake and squeeze the life out of you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson shuddered, then throwing an arm around
+his chum’s shoulder, he said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Forgive me, old man.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, of course. I don’t blame you in the least.
+I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had struck me.
+In which case we would have fought and afterward
+would have discussed matters. I expected as much
+the moment I laid a hand on you, but there wasn’t
+time for explanations at that stage of the game.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should say not.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They resumed their burdens and walked forward
+again along the footpath, but they kept at a respectful
+distance from his majesty the snake, which
+remained as when first spied by Ferguson, motionless.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I don’t wonder that I was fooled,” said he, halting
+for a look at the enormous reptile. “It looks
+exactly like branches or a huge vine coiled; now,
+doesn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, it does,” assented Harvey, “but down below
+I can see the head. What enormous jaws!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Like a shark’s.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And they say that the jaws will stretch still
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>wider, for they are fastened together by ligaments
+that are as elastic as rubber.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, they will stretch so that it can swallow a
+young deer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps that’s what it’s gorging on now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps. You notice that hump below the neck?
+That’s as far as the prey has moved down toward the
+creature’s stomach.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are you going to try a shot?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, Harvey. Why should I? The boa hasn’t
+harmed us, and should I only wound it, one of us
+might suffer, for it’s said they move with wonderful
+rapidity for a short distance.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Would it not be a good plan to hasten and climb
+the hill yonder?” suggested Hope-Jones. “It
+won’t be safe to sleep in this valley to-night, and
+goodness only knows what we’ll stumble over
+next.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The others evidently thought so also, for they
+quickened their pace, and giving the boa a wide
+berth they pushed ahead. An hour later they were
+threading their way by the side of a little stream up
+the hillside. After walking some distance Harvey
+said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Mr. Ferguson?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, my lad.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are you going to quiz me any more about that
+puma cub?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“No, Harvey. I’ll call the account square, if you
+will.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones laughed. “It looks very much as
+though I should have plenty of amusement with
+both——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson and Harvey stood stock still. Hope-Jones
+had vanished from sight.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <span class='large'>HUARI, AND THE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTESS.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>“B-r-r-r-r!” came a voice.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What on earth has happened?” asked
+Ferguson, in amazement, bending over a large hole
+that had suddenly yawned at their feet.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“B-r-r-r! Help me out, fellows! I’m stifling!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They threw themselves face down at the edge of
+the cavity, and reached their hands below, but could
+not feel anything.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Quick, Harvey! Give me the pick! Catch
+that, old man!” he called, pushing the iron arms
+into the opening. A pressure was felt and a hoarse
+voice replied:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’ll help. I can crawl up the side that
+slopes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The next minute Hope-Jones was with them again,
+blowing dirt from his mouth and saying unpleasant
+things about the animal that had dug the hole at
+the path side. His ears were filled with loam, black
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>earth had sifted back of his shirt collar, and such
+hair as projected beneath his cap was tangled with
+the soil. As for his clothing, it was streaked. Fortunately,
+his shot-gun, knapsack, and pick remained
+fastened to his back, and although dirty, he was
+none the loser because of his drop below the surface.
+Ferguson and Harvey brushed him off as best
+they could, then the three resumed their way up the
+hill.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I didn’t see any hole,” remarked the Englishman,
+a few minutes later.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It was at the side of the path; most of it in the
+jungle, and leaves had fallen over the edge,” Ferguson
+replied.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Mr. Hope-Jones?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, Harvey.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Will you cry quits on the puma cub?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly, my lad.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hope-Jones!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, Ferguson, I know what you are about to
+say. Boa, puma cub, and holes are barred subjects
+evermore.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>And they shook hands in a chain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The path ascended rapidly and the vegetation
+became less tangled as the travellers proceeded; so
+too the atmosphere grew somewhat more bracing, for
+the heavy odor of the valley did not mount to any
+height. With the setting of the sun the new moon
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>shone for several hours above the horizon, and the
+silvery rays from the crescent, together with the starlight,
+illumined their way so they were able to make
+rapid progress until about ten o’clock, when the
+ground becoming quite dry—for the rain of the valley
+had not extended this far—they pitched the
+shelter-tent and built a rousing fire, near which they
+placed their damp clothing. Toward midnight they
+turned in “tired to the bone,” as Harvey expressed
+it, and none awakened until the sun was two hours’
+high. Then, looking down into the valley, they
+saw a billowy mist, which completely hid even the
+tallest trees.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There’s miasma for you!” exclaimed Ferguson,
+pointing to the vapor. “As we passed through it,
+perhaps we should take some more quinine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They acted on the suggestion, then, after a hurried
+breakfast, set off on the road again, for they were
+anxious to reach Huari that day, and the morning
+start had been late. The road was up grade until
+the noon hour, then became level again, and the
+vegetation was the same as on the other side of the
+valley, before they had plunged into the riot of undergrowth.
+Toward three o’clock they saw smoke rising
+lazily ahead and concluded they must be nearing
+a town. A half hour later they came upon a number
+of huts on the outskirts. Fields of maize and cotton
+were under cultivation, and brown men, half naked,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>were at work in them with primitive tools—ploughs
+that were but sharpened boughs of the ironwood tree,
+trimmed wedge-shaped, and drawn by small oxen;
+shovels made from the same wood; and other agricultural
+implements with which they were strangers,
+fashioned from stones that had been worn to sharp
+edges. All the men wore beards, some quite long.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The huts became more numerous, and naked little
+children, standing in the doorways or running about
+in the narrow streets, stared at the travellers, while
+the older boys and girls, who wore loin cloths or
+skins of animals fastened as tunics, called in the
+Indian tongue to persons who were within the dwellings.
+They met few men and fewer women; the
+better class of the former wore trousers and a poncho
+(a blanket with a hole cut in the middle, through
+which the head is thrust, and which falls over the
+shoulders); whereas the poorer class were content
+with the upper dress that came to the ankles: but
+the women wore gowns of gorgeous color, though
+they were ill-shapen and no attempt was made to fit
+the figure.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The travellers neared the centre of the town
+before they met a “white man,” or one who did not
+belong to the Indian race. His features were proof
+that he or his ancestors had come from a foreign
+land, being in marked contrast with the thick,
+stubby nose, narrow forehead, and broad lips of the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>Ayulis. Hope-Jones doffed his cap and addressed
+him in Spanish.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Peruvian, who had been staring at them since
+they had come in sight, at once joined them, and not
+only shook hands, but placed his right arm around
+the shoulders of each in turn, patting him on the
+back, meanwhile speaking rapidly, with much sibilation
+of the s’s and rolling of the r’s, conveying in
+the most flowery language his delight at their visit.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>So they had journeyed all the way from Lima!
+How tired they must be! But what matter? He
+had comfortable beds at his house and they must rest
+for a week, or a month if necessary, and be his guest
+the while. What, could only remain one night?
+Surely, they would be courting illness by thus hurrying
+along. No matter, he would speak of that
+later. They must accompany him now.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He placed his hand in Hope-Jones’s arm, and gathering
+his poncho, which was quite long, much as a
+woman would her skirts, he turned in the direction
+from which he had come and led the way, explaining
+as they walked that there were few white men in
+Huari, “and,” he added, “some of them you would
+not wish to meet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the word “bed” Harvey had become very much
+interested, so, for that matter, had Ferguson and
+Hope-Jones, and they were not at all loath to accept
+the invitation which had been so insistently given.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>After travelling five minutes and entering what
+was evidently the better section of the Montaña
+town, they stopped before a one-story building, bordered
+by verandas, that was spread out over much
+ground and was surrounded by fruit trees. It was
+the most imposing structure they had yet seen in the
+village, though, like others, it was built of adobe,
+reënforced with bamboo.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The host and his companions were met by an Indian
+woman, who appeared to be of better class than
+those the travellers had seen on the streets, and she
+was presented to them as Señora Cisneros. Her
+greeting was spoken in excellent Spanish, and although
+not quite as demonstrative as her husband’s,
+it was none the less sincere. The travellers were led
+to two connecting rooms, and after discarding their
+burdens and returning to the cool veranda, they
+were asked if they would not like to drink some
+cold coffee.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We have learned the art of coffee-making from
+the Brazilians,” said Señor Cisneros, “and, believe
+me, the beverage is better cold than hot. Would
+you like to observe our arrangement? But perhaps
+you are tired?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones confessed that he was tired, but Ferguson
+and Harvey manifested interest in the Brazilians’
+teachings; so while the Englishman remained
+on the veranda, chatting with the señora, the two
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>young Americans accompanied the host to the rear
+of the house and into an arbor that was covered with
+trailing vines. It was a cool spot, far enough from
+buildings to be affected by all breezes, and in the
+centre stood an immense earthen vessel, the height
+of a man and at least four feet in circumference. A
+foot and a half from the bottom was a spigot.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This jar is made of porous clay,” said the señor,
+tapping the vessel, “and as a slight amount of the
+liquid filters through, evaporation cools its contents.
+Once every three months we boil coffee by the barrel.
+It is poured in here, permitted to settle for a week,
+and all sediment goes to the bottom. You will notice
+that I draw the liquid from some distance above,” and
+he placed a pitcher beneath the spigot, turning which,
+a dark, clear liquid flowed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Taste it?” and he filled a small cup, then another.
+“Is it not cold?” he added.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson and Harvey found the beverage delicious,
+and expressed wonder that it could be coffee.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Wait until some sugar is added,” said the Peruvian,
+as pitcher in hand he led the way back to the
+house.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For a half hour they rested on the veranda, sipping
+cold coffee sweetened with brown sugar, and eating
+paltas, which Señora Cisneros had placed on a little
+table. They related their adventures to host and
+hostess, and, without revealing their reason for visiting
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>the interior, told that they were in search of
+gold.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Señor Cisneros shook his head. “Perhaps there
+is gold,” he said, “but I have found no trace of
+any.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then he told that for years he had been engaged
+in silver-mining, and that his llama trains passed over
+the road which they had travelled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“When the railroad pierces the interior,” he continued,
+“there will be much profit made by those
+who extract metals from the ground, but with the
+present method of transportation one does well to
+gain a livelihood.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The señora was very anxious to hear about Lima.
+She had been there once, but only for a few days,
+soon after her marriage.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After a time the host ordered hammocks swung on
+the veranda, and in these Hope-Jones, Ferguson, and
+Harvey rested until a few minutes before dinner. It
+seemed good to sit down in chairs, at a table, and to
+taste other food than the game and fruits of the
+woods, to say nothing of having crockery dishes to
+eat from instead of the tin plates. They were early
+in bed, and after a refreshing night’s sleep between
+sheets, which, though coarse, were cool and clean,
+they awoke with renewed determination to continue
+their journey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But while they were enjoying more of the señor’s
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>delicious coffee—heated this time—rain commenced
+to fall; huge drops came in sheets and leaden clouds
+hung low; so they were nothing loath to accept an
+urgent invitation to remain another day and night.
+Señora Cisneros, learning of the scant stock of clothing
+they had taken with them, insisted upon overhauling
+their knapsacks, and she passed several hours
+of the morning with needle and thread, darning and
+mending. In the afternoon she packed them some
+food from her well-stocked larder, sufficient to last
+and add variation to their mountain bill of fare for
+several days.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The next morning dawned warm and bright, and
+the adventurers started early, after thanking host
+and hostess time and again; and they promised
+themselves the pleasure of a longer visit on their
+return. They were passing from the town and were
+waving their caps to Señor Cisneros, who had accompanied
+them to the outskirts, when Ferguson said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He’s a splendid fellow. I wish he were going
+with us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So do I,” said Hope-Jones. “He would be a
+jolly companion.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey came suddenly to a halt.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s the matter,” the young men asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I happened to think of something. Cisneros is
+a miner.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>“And he knows this country.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He’s honest.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He has every appearance of being so. What are
+you driving at?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And he told us that his silver mines were not
+paying very well,” persisted the boy.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If we find gold we’re going to find a great deal,
+are we not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So old Huayno said. But why are you wasting
+time standing here and asking all these questions?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because I move we turn back.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Turn back! Why?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And ask Señor Cisneros to join us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Tell him the secret?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, and take him in on shares. One quarter
+for each.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson slapped his hand on his thigh. “Bully
+for you, Harvey! That’s a splendid idea. I wonder
+it never came to me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It never entered my mind until the last time he
+waved his hat,” said the boy, looking pleased at the
+approval he had been given, for Hope-Jones had
+spoken as warmly in favor of the project as had the
+American; and the three at once commenced to retrace
+their footsteps. They found their erstwhile
+host on the veranda of his home, bidding adieu to
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>his wife, for he had planned a trip to a neighboring
+village.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Take him one side and explain, Ferguson,”
+whispered Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I am delighted that you are returning,” he called
+out when they appeared. “Thought you would rest
+a little longer?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, señor; thank you. We wished to consult
+with you regarding a certain matter. Will you
+go for a short walk with me?” asked the elder
+American.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“With pleasure,” and he led the way back of the
+house, to the arbor, while Hope-Jones and Harvey
+remained on the veranda with the señora, who looked
+at them curiously, wondering of course what it meant,
+but she politely refrained from asking questions.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The two were absent about a half hour, and when
+they came in sight again Ferguson nodded his head,
+as if to say, “He will go,” and the señor grasped
+each of them by a hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Pardon me, but I must immediately tell my wife
+of this extraordinary news,” said he. “You need
+have no fear. My secrets are safe with her,” and
+the two passed into the house.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So he’ll go?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should say so. You should have seen his eyes
+glisten. He believes that every word old Huayno
+uttered is true; says he’s heard legends of this sort,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>but no one was ever able to locate the mine. All
+stories agree, however, that it is beyond the cinchona
+trees.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It was a capital thought, that of Harvey’s! I
+wonder how long it will be before he can accompany
+us?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The señor answered the question in person, reappearing
+just then and saying, “I shall be able to
+leave in an hour, if you wish to start that soon.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“In an hour?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes,” he replied, smiling. “I am accustomed
+to long journeys and am always ready for departure.
+The señora is even now placing my things in
+order.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>So it happened that at nine o’clock they again departed
+from Huari, but this time they were four in
+number, instead of three. When beyond the confines
+of the village the travellers from the coast were
+surprised at being addressed by their new friend in
+the English tongue.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I did not know you could speak our language,”
+exclaimed Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It has been long since I have used it,” was the
+reply, “or I should have a better accent and vocabulary.
+For ten years, until I was seventeen, I lived
+in New York City; but that was thirty-five years
+ago, and since then I have only met Englishmen
+and Americans occasionally.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>“Why didn’t you let us know before that you
+could speak English?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because you are excellent Spanish scholars; and
+as my wife has not enjoyed the same advantages
+that I have, I prefer to converse in the tongue with
+which she is familiar. Now that we are away from
+Huari, however, and by ourselves, I should be very
+glad to use only the English and learn from you
+that which I have forgotten.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They found the señor a most pleasant companion
+and also a valuable addition to the party. On the
+trip from Chicla to Huari, after the edibles which
+were stored in their knapsacks had been exhausted,
+they were compelled to live on game, and the diet
+became monotonous. But Señor Cisneros added to
+the daily bill of fare materially by his knowledge
+of the Peruvian vegetable world. He cut tender
+shoots from a certain palm tree, which, when boiled,
+tasted something like the northern cauliflower;
+from a vine that grew in and out the long grass,
+he made an excellent substitute for spinach: before
+he joined them they had feared to eat berries, not
+knowing which were poisonous; now they were
+able to enjoy a dessert of fruit after every meal.
+Their cooking utensils had also been added to at
+Huari, a pot among other articles, and in this the
+novel vegetables were cooked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In lieu of a knapsack the Peruvian was provided
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>with two commodious bags made of llama skins,
+which were fastened together by a broad strip of
+hide by which they depended from his shoulders.
+He carried a rifle of the muzzle-loading description,
+an old-time powder horn and bullet-pouch. He
+proved himself as good a shot as Ferguson, and a
+pleasant rivalry soon sprang up between the two.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Old Huayno had told them to push ahead for
+three days from Huari, to the forest of cinchona
+trees, and find the head waters of the Marañon, one
+of the rivers that are tributary to the Amazon.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At its source this stream is very small, and the
+travellers from Callao had wondered how they might
+recognize it from others, and had regarded this stage
+of the journey with some apprehension, lest they
+might fail in reaching the river on which the great
+white rock was located. But Señor Cisneros knew
+exactly the course to take, and without aid of compass
+he directed their steps.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We shall be longer than three days on this
+journey,” he said. “Your Indian friend reckoned
+the distance as it was covered by those of his tribe
+who were able to move much more swiftly than we
+can with our numerous burdens. We shall be five
+days, rather than three.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then from the river’s source to the great white
+rock it will perhaps be two weeks’ journey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; I should think it probable.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>He was correct concerning the distance from
+Huari; it was evening of the fifth day when they
+pitched the shelter-tent on the edge of a dense, dark
+forest.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My, but there’s sufficient quinine in there to cure
+a world of giants!” exclaimed Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Those are not cinchona trees, my son,” said the
+Peruvian.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No? But I thought this was the forest of cinchona
+trees.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So it is; for the reason that the valuable growth
+appears frequently in these woods. We will doubtless
+see many specimens during our journey, but
+none is in sight from here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What does the tree look like, señor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It resembles the beech, with the flowing branches
+of the lilac, and has smooth wood, susceptible of a
+high polish. The leaves resemble those of the
+coffee plant.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are you versed in the method of preparing
+quinine from the bark, señor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It happens that I have made the subject quite a
+study,” he replied. “Several years ago a representative
+of the British government was my guest
+in Huari. He had been sent to Peru for the purpose
+of deciding whether it would be possible to
+transplant young cinchona trees from these forests
+to India and other tropical countries. With him I
+made several expeditions.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>“What was the result, señor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He recommended that transplanting be attempted.
+It was done, and I understand that cinchona
+groves are thriving in many places.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Is that possible!” said Ferguson. “I was of
+the opinion that Peruvian bark only grew in Peru.
+But as I think of it, I really am very ignorant on
+the subject. Perhaps you will tell us more concerning
+the enemy of chills and fever.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I will be glad to, but suppose we have supper
+first.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>To this all agreed. They had made the tent ready
+for the night while thus conversing, and had gathered
+fuel for the evening fire, so that soon the pot was
+surrounded by a bright blaze.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The water in which our food is cooking should
+have a peculiar charm for us all,” said the señor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why so?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because it comes from the Marañon, which flows
+past the white rock and the gold mine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you mean to say that the little stream from
+which I fetched water is the Marañon, señor?”
+Harvey asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, or one of the small branches that form the
+head. A day’s journey from here it broadens considerably.
+How it is beyond I do not know, for I
+have never gone further.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After supper, when they had drawn up logs for
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>seats near the fire, because the night was chill and a
+damp breeze came from out the forest, Señor Cisneros
+commenced his promised narrative of the white
+powder that occupies such a prominent place in the
+medical world.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Once upon a time, in fact in the year 1638, there
+lived in Cuzco a most beautiful woman who was
+loved by all who knew her.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, you are starting out as if telling a fairy
+story!” said Harvey, laughing.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The facts are something like one of those charming
+tales,” replied the señor, who resumed:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This woman, renowned for her beauty and her
+grace of manner, was the wife of the ruler of Peru.
+One day she became grievously ill, and the doctors
+of that time were unable to remedy her condition.
+Her flesh burned with great heat, her cheeks were
+flushed with red, her eyes were unusually bright, and
+the blood pulsed rapidly through her veins. She
+soon became delirious, failed to recognize her husband
+and children, and all those in the palace were
+in despair.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“At that time a most learned man was the <span lang="es" xml:lang="es">corregidor</span>,
+or chief magistrate, of Loxa. He was not
+only versed in the study of the law, but he had familiarized
+himself more than any other man with the
+vegetable life of Peru; he was a botanist, self-taught.
+This man learned that the countess was at death’s
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>door; and hastening to the palace he asked permission
+to see her. It was granted, and after looking
+for a few minutes upon the woman, who was tossing
+about on the silken couch, he abruptly left the apartment,
+saying that he would soon return.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Within the half hour he was back, carrying a
+shallow dish, in which were pieces of bark steeped
+in water. He gave the countess some of the liquid
+to drink and urged that the dose be repeated at
+intervals during two days. His instructions were
+followed; she became restful, slept sweetly, and the
+fever left her body. In a week she was up and
+about, and in a fortnight was out in the palace
+grounds.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And that story is true?” asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, true in every detail. It is vouched for in
+the public records of Peru.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Of course the drug he gave her was the essence
+of Peruvian bark.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, extracted in a primitive form.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What was her name?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The Countess of Chinchon.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That is why the tree is called cinchona?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It is, and to be more correct one should spell it
+‘chinchona’ instead of ‘cinchona.’”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How did the term quinine originate?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“From the Indian compound word ‘Quina-Quina,’
+meaning ‘bark of barks.’”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>“You say the trees are isolated, señor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. They seldom grow in clumps, and the
+task of finding them is often great; the native
+searchers, or cascarilleros, undergo great hardships
+in penetrating the jungle-like forests.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How is the white powder prepared?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There are several processes, the most popular, I
+believe, being that of mixing pulverized bark thoroughly
+with milk of lime, then treating the substance
+to the action of certain chemicals, and
+ultimately the sulphate of quinine is produced.
+Different manufacturers have different processes;
+many of them are kept a secret. The object is to
+extract the maximum amount of quinine from the
+bark and leave as little of other ingredients in the
+powder as possible.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From the subject of Peruvian bark they changed
+to that of the journey on the morrow, and a half
+hour later, with knapsacks and bags as pillows, they
+went to sleep in the shelter-tent. Harvey, as he
+closed his eyes, thought of the beautiful Countess of
+Chinchon, and wondered if she could have been as
+pretty as Señorita Bella Caceras, a girl in Callao
+whom he had met under most peculiar circumstances
+while adrift one night in the bay of that name.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <span class='large'>A DISCOVERY AND AN ALARM.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>They entered the forest the next day, and for
+a week were in its confines, threading the
+right bank of the Marañon and following its current.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The way along the river was easy to travel, when
+compared with the seemingly impassable jungle to
+the right and the left of the stream, but it was not
+without its difficulties, and many times they were
+compelled to stop and cut the heavy growth of vines
+with the small axe which Señor Cisneros had added
+to the outfit. At night they were bothered by mosquitoes,
+and the insect plague became so great one
+evening that they kept watch and watch, the one on
+duty throwing on the embers of the fire a bark
+which emitted a light yellow smoke which drove the
+pests away.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Game was plentiful in this forest, and what with
+the flesh of four-footed animals and birds, reënforced
+at times by fish caught in the stream and the vegetables
+harvested by the Peruvian, they managed to
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>fare very well. But in other respects they were not
+treated so kindly. Thorns tore their trousers and
+their coats, their shoes were wearing out, and faces
+and hands became covered with scratches and bruises,
+the latter caused by many falls, which it was impossible
+to avoid because of the insecure footing.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In spite of this they were in the best of health;
+and as for their clothing, they made good use each
+night of the needles and thread which they had
+brought; and although some of the darns and patches
+were curiosities to look upon, they served their purpose.
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson had both been
+smooth-shaven while in the city, but by the time they
+were a week from Huari, mustaches covered their
+upper lips and light growths of beard were dependent
+from their chins.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Nobody in Callao would know you,” said Harvey,
+one morning. “I never saw such a change in persons.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How about yourself?” retorted Ferguson. “If
+you could but glance at your own face in a mirror
+you would not say much.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Somewhat later in the day the boy made use of a
+deep pool of water for that purpose, and was surprised
+to see, peering up at him, features that were copper-colored
+from sunburn and exposure to the elements.
+The outdoor life at home had tanned him somewhat,
+but nothing in comparison with this.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>The weather, while they were in the forest, was
+dry and pleasant, but the very day they emerged
+from its confines, a rain poured down that was even
+heavier than that which had detained them twenty-four
+hours at Huari. It commenced to fall as they
+were awakening, and descended in such torrents
+that any thought of trying to pursue their way while
+it lasted had to be abandoned. Their shelter-tent
+was fortunately pitched on a slight elevation, beneath
+the branches of a large ironwood tree which
+broke the force of the drops, or rather of the rain-sheets.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Señor Cisneros and Hope-Jones put on rubber
+coats and dug a shallow trench around the canvas,
+making a channel toward the river, and for the remainder
+of the day they sat in the little enclosure,
+except for a few minutes when one or the other ventured
+forth for a “breath of fresh air.” All wood in
+the vicinity was too wet for use as fuel; indeed,
+there was no spot where they could build a fire, had
+they had dry timber; so they were compelled to subsist
+upon smoked meat.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This is Monday, is it not?” Harvey asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, and a decidedly blue Monday,” was the
+reply.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Toward evening they voted it the most miserable
+day of the journey, and their only comfort came
+from the Peruvian, who assured them that the heavy
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>rains in that season seldom lasted for more than one
+day.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The rule held in this instance, and soon after dark
+the clouds were driven away, the moon silvered the
+dripping trees and bushes, and the travellers were
+able to emerge from under the canvas. By digging
+beneath some leaves, they found dried, decayed wood,
+that served admirably for fuel, and soon had a roaring
+blaze started, over which they cooked some fish
+that Harvey had caught during the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After leaving the dense forest behind, they followed
+the Marañon through a much more open
+country. There were many trees, but they were
+not so close together, nor were they so tangled
+with vines, and the undergrowth also became
+thinner. This was due to a change in the soil,
+they having passed from the region of black earth
+to a land that contained more sand. It became
+quite rocky close to the river, and they were compelled
+to make frequent detours from the bank
+because of the boulders through which the stream
+passed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>One morning all became very much interested in
+witnessing a body of foraging ants, to which their
+attention was called by Señor Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“These little creatures can be seen only in South
+and Central America,” he said, “and they have the
+reputation of being the wisest of all antdom. Look
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>how they are marching in regular phalanxes, with
+officers in command!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The diminutive black and gray army covered a
+space about three yards square, and was moving
+from the river across the path.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I will interrupt their progress,” said the Peruvian,
+“and we shall have plenty of opportunity to
+observe them. Fetch me that pot full of water,
+Harvey.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>While the lad was hastening to the river, he dug
+with one of the picks until he had made a narrow
+channel about ten feet long, into which he poured
+the water as soon as it was brought him, and just
+as the vanguard of the ant army approached. The
+little soldiers halted on the edge of this ditch, and
+from the sides and rear hurried ants that evidently
+were officers.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now I shall give them a small bridge,” the señor
+said, “and if they have the intelligence of a body
+that I observed about a month ago, they will quickly
+make the footway broader and in a novel manner.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Saying which, he cut a rather long twig, one that
+was narrow, but would reach across the little trench,
+and this he placed in position.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Two of the ants hurried on the little span, then
+returned to the army. They evidently gave some
+instructions, for two or three score of the main body
+left the ranks, and hurrying on to the twig, swung
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>themselves from the sides in perfect line, until the
+passageway had been made three times as broad
+as before. Then, at an order, the army commenced
+moving over.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Isn’t that wonderful!” exclaimed Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Indeed, yes. Many students of the ant rank
+him in intelligence next to man. You will observe
+that the little fellows who are offering their bodies
+as planks for the bridge are of a different color,
+and evidently different species from the marchers,
+and that others of both kinds constitute the main
+body.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, that is so.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The little fellows are slaves.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Slaves?” echoed all three.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, slaves captured in battle, and made to do
+the masters’ bidding.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do they always obey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I have watched them many times and have never
+seen any sign of rebellion. Frequently the superior
+ant, or the one who owns the slaves, will remain
+perfectly still and direct the little servants. In that
+way I saw a score of the slaves tug away at a dead
+bee, one day, and it was perfectly plain that a larger
+ant that stood near by was giving orders.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You say they are called foraging ants?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. They roam about in bands like this in
+search of food. They are carnivorous and eat such
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>insects as are unfortunate enough to be in their
+path.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The army was fully fifteen minutes crossing the
+living bridge, and when the last company had passed,
+the slave ants detached themselves and followed.
+But two or three, evidently exhausted by the strain,
+fell from the twig into the river. No attention was
+given them; they were left to drown.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did you notice that?” said the señor. “Now
+watch how differently members of the superior class
+of ants are treated when in distress.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He stepped ahead a few feet and drawing some of
+the larger species from the main body with a stick,
+he covered them partly with gravel, until only a leg
+or two were visible. At once several ants of the
+same species stopped their march, and summoning a
+small body of slave ants, went to the rescue. By
+butting with their heads and tugging away at the
+small stones the slaves soon rescued the imprisoned
+masters, and all rejoined the army, bringing up the
+rear.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Bravo!” shouted Harvey, as if the little fellows
+could understand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That afternoon the travellers fell to conversing of
+the old mine which they expected to find. Not that
+it was an unusual subject for conversation, for it
+was the topic most frequently broached; but the
+talk this day was of special interest, because Señor
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>Cisneros told them minutely of the mining laws of
+Peru. Hope-Jones had expressed worry lest foreigners
+would not be permitted to enjoy the results
+of discovery, but his fears were set at rest by the
+Peruvian, who said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Our mining laws have been greatly misunderstood
+in other countries, and exaggerated reports
+concerning them have been sent broadcast. The
+foreigner’s right to own what he finds, providing no
+one else has a prior claim, has never been disputed.
+Recently it was made the subject of special legislation.
+During the last session Congress passed a
+law which, among other provisions, states that
+‘Strangers can acquire and work mines in all the
+territory of the Republic, enjoying all the rights
+and remaining subject to all the obligations of the
+natives respecting the property and the workings of
+the mines; but they cannot exercise judicial functions
+in the government of the mines.’”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What does that last clause mean, señor?” asked
+Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It has been interpreted to mean that the foreigner
+cannot hold the position of mine superintendent,
+the object plainly being to prevent his
+having active control of the natives who, of course,
+would be called in to do the manual labor.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It is fortunate then that we have taken you with
+us,” said Ferguson. “You will be able to act as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>superintendent, and we shall not have to employ an
+outsider.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should like nothing better; that is, providing
+we find the mine. But are we not, as you say in
+the States, counting our chickens before they are
+born?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Before they are hatched,” corrected Harvey, but
+not in a manner which the señor could possibly take
+exception to—for that matter, he had asked them
+many times to speak of his mistakes during the trip.
+“Oh, it’s fun to do that,” continued the lad. “So
+I move that we have an election of officers, and I
+place Mr. Hope-Jones in nomination for president.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I vote ay,” said Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And I also,” said the Peruvian.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Of course <em>I</em> do,” Harvey said. “And I nominate
+Mr. Ferguson for treasurer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The others agreed as before.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let me propose Harvey Dartmoor for secretary,”
+said the señor, entering into the spirit of the
+moment.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The choice was unanimous.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And now,” Hope-Jones said, “we will name
+Señor Anton Cisneros vice-president and general
+superintendent of all our properties.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Thank you, gentlemen,” said the Peruvian, doffing
+his hat. “I only hope the stockholders of the
+corporation will be of your mind.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>“The stockholders! How can they change our
+election?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You will have to sell stock in order to work the
+property, and those who buy shares will have a right
+to vote.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly. But cannot we hold the majority of
+shares?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I am glad to hear you say that. If we find anything
+nearly as valuable as the old Indian claimed,
+it would be a pity to let the property pass out of
+our control.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Tell us something more of the mining laws,
+won’t you?” asked Ferguson. “In speaking of the
+recent enactment, you stated that ‘strangers should
+be subject to all the obligations of natives.’ What
+does that mean? Is the taxation heavy?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“On the contrary, it is very light, just sufficient
+to meet the expenses of the government mining
+bureau. The tax is fifteen dollars a year for every
+mine,—gold, silver, nitrate of soda, salt, petroleum,—no
+matter what it may be.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And how would we ‘prove a claim,’ as they
+say in the States?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did you inquire in Lima whether any mines had
+been reserved in the locality where we intend
+prospecting?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, señor, for we did not wish to attract attention
+to that section of the state.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>“You were doubtless right. It was perhaps unnecessary.
+In all probability no one has sought
+treasure in that region. Still, that point must first
+be definitely settled. The government issues a
+quarterly statement, called the ‘padron,’ in which
+are given the boundaries of all new claims. These
+<span lang="es" xml:lang="es">padrons</span> are indexed, and it is possible to learn the
+location of all mines in a given region. If we discover
+valuable properties where old Huayno said
+they were located, or anywhere else, we will at once
+stake off the land, just as is done in the United
+States, then return to Lima, examine the padron
+index, and if no one else has a claim we will notify
+the Deputy Commissioner of Mining that we desire
+title.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He will issue us a document, upon our payment
+of the first year’s tax, which will be similar to the
+‘patent applied for’ paper given in the United
+States. Within ninety days after receiving this, it
+will be necessary to return to the mine with one of the
+officials of the mining department and an official surveyor,
+whose expenses for the trip we shall be compelled
+to meet. These will fix the actual boundaries,
+and upon their return to Lima a document will be
+issued giving us the right to mine the property, and
+guaranteeing our sole possession so long as we pay
+the annual tax.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That all seems very simple,” said Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>They had few adventures during this stage of the
+journey. Several times wild animals crossed their
+paths, but the young men had learned wisdom on
+the trip from Chicla to Huari, and Señor Cisneros
+was an old woodsman, so they were always on the
+lookout. Game continued plentiful, although the
+country grew more open each day.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Marañon changed from a slow-running stream
+to a broad, rapid-coursing river; in places were cataracts,
+and the shore line became uneven, boulders
+being piled so high that the way between them was
+difficult to find. In this rough country they were
+once all day going three miles and were exhausted
+when night came. Harvey and Ferguson had large
+blisters on their feet, and the other two proposed
+that they rest for the twenty-four hours following;
+but the Americans were too anxious to proceed,
+being so near the journey’s end, and the next morning,
+binding pieces of a handkerchief around the
+bruised places, they announced themselves able to
+push ahead.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This was the twelfth day from Huari, and all
+agreed that at any time they might come upon the
+great rock that marked the way to the mine. They
+were certain they had not passed it unobserved, for
+since the fifth day from the village they had not
+moved a step forward after dusk or until morning
+was well advanced. When compelled to make detours,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>one or more of them had ascended every half
+hour to some eminence, like a tree or a high mound,
+and had carefully surveyed the right bank to the
+water’s edge.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Toward four o’clock on this day Hope-Jones and
+Harvey were walking somewhat in advance of the
+others. The boy was limping slightly and was in
+more pain than he would admit to his companion,
+who had urged him not to go any further, to which
+Harvey had replied, “One more mile and then I’ll
+give in.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The lad was singing, to keep up his courage, and
+the words were those of the familiar Sunday-school
+hymn:—</p>
+
+<div class='lg-container-b c012'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'>“Onward, Christian soldiers,</div>
+      <div class='line'>Marching as to war.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'>Suddenly he stopped, gave a yell, and his face
+turned pale.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is it?” exclaimed Hope-Jones. “Are you
+hurt?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Look! Look! Look!” and the boy pointed
+straight ahead, between two trees. There, bathed
+in sunlight, the Englishman saw that which made
+his heart beat like a trip-hammer—a high boulder
+that shone as purest marble.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hurrah!” he shouted, throwing his cap in the
+air. “Come on, everybody! There’s the rock!
+There’s the great white rock!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>Ferguson and Señor Cisneros came up at a run.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What? The rock?” they called.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. Look!” and the man pointed in the
+direction they had gazed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That instant the Peruvian exclaimed excitedly:
+“Down with you! Drop down, everybody! Down,
+flat on your stomachs!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Startled by his commanding tones they obeyed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is it?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sh! In a whisper! Indians! A score of them!
+And they look like the Majeronas!”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VII.<br /> <span class='large'>THE CANNIBALS OF PERU.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>“The Majeronas!” echoed Ferguson, but in the
+whisper which he had been cautioned to use.
+“Are they not a savage tribe?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I didn’t know they came this far, not within
+three or four hundred miles of here. So I was told
+in Lima.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It is only recently that they have visited this
+region. Within the last year several reports have
+come to Huari of their depredations.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are said to be cannibals, are they not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey shivered and drew his gun closer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What are we going to do?” Hope-Jones asked.
+He was thinking, and so were the others, how lucky
+it was that they had induced the experienced miner
+and woodsman to accompany them.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“For a time we will wait here,” was the reply.
+“They may go away. Again, I am not certain they
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>are the Majeronas. I didn’t spend any great amount
+of time examining them, I can assure you. They
+may be friendly Ayulis, but just at present we do
+not care to meet even friendly Ayulis.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is the difference between the tribes, señor?”
+Harvey asked, gaining control of himself and preventing
+his teeth chattering.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The Majeronas are much lighter and their beards
+are thinner. The Indians yonder certainly answer
+the description, but the light may have deceived
+me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I think the light of a setting sun would darken
+a face, don’t you?” suggested Ferguson. “It
+certainly gave a red tinge to that white rock.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps you are right.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were lying very close together, and words
+spoken in a whisper were heard by all. Each had
+drawn his weapon to his side, and those with modern
+guns threw open the breech-locks and made certain
+that loaded shells were in the chambers, while the
+Peruvian examined the cap on his rifle and swung
+loose his powder-horn and shot pouch. They remained
+in this position for nearly an hour, and not
+hearing a sound from the direction where the Indians
+had been seen, hope came that the redmen had
+gone.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But this was dispelled toward five o’clock by
+Señor Cisneros, who pointed to above the rock behind
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>which they were hiding, and called attention
+to a thin line of blue smoke in the distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are making a fire,” he said, “and have
+undoubtedly chosen that place for a camp.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Neither Hope-Jones, Ferguson, nor Harvey said
+a word. The Peruvian waited a minute, then
+whispered:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you want to retreat? We can crawl for a
+short distance and then take to our feet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And the white rock in view! No, I don’t want
+to retreat,” said the Englishman.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Nor I,” said Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What do you say, Harvey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’d rather die first,” and he clenched his fists
+in a manner that showed he meant all that he
+said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’s right,” whispered the señor. “You have
+courage; that’s the main thing. It would indeed
+be a pity to leave the spot now, for I am convinced
+that old Huayno told the truth in everything. If
+they are Majeronas, it is only a wandering band.
+The main tribe is far away, and we shall have only
+these to settle with, should the worst come to pass.
+But the probabilities are that they will go away in
+the morning. Should they stay in this neighborhood
+for a time, we might be able to remain in hiding.
+I think we have three or four days’ supply of dried
+meat, and it will be easy to crawl down to the river
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>for water. If it comes to a fight, we have these,”
+and he tapped his rifle.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What are they armed with?” asked Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Arrows and bludgeons, I have been told.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They remained in the prostrate position for
+some time, in fact until night fell, then following
+the direction of Señor Cisneros they moved nearer
+the river, arriving at last at a shallow basin, surrounded
+on three sides by boulders, between each
+of which was a space of about a half foot, giving a
+view of the surrounding country, and which would
+make excellent openings for their guns, should it
+prove necessary to use them.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How’s this for a natural fort?” said the Peruvian.
+“We’re near the water supply, and I think
+we can hold the position for a time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What about supper?” asked Harvey, who, after
+the first minute’s fright, had shown as much unconcern
+as any of them and was now feeling quite
+hungry.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Dried meat and water,” promptly said the señor.
+“No fire must be lighted to-night. I will get the
+water.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He took a skin bag, which he had brought from
+Huari, and slowly crawled in the direction of the
+river. He moved so cautiously that they did not
+hear a sound, and when he returned to the camp, in
+a quarter of an hour, his appearance was so sudden
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>and without warning that all three were
+startled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They ate sparingly of the dried meat, for Señor
+Cisneros, who had taken command at the urgent
+solicitation of the others, had divided the food
+supply into rations sufficient to last three days.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We must call you captain now,” said Harvey,
+as he munched his share, “for these are war
+times.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After supper they made preparation for the night,
+moving cautiously, so that metal might not ring out,
+nor anything fall. They had no poles for the shelter-tent;
+it was deemed unwise to try to secure
+any, so they disposed the canvas as a bed and
+spread a blanket. This done, the señor said he
+would go out and reconnoitre.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I must ascertain whether they are Majeronas or
+Ayulis,” he explained, “and I must also learn their
+number.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He took everything out of his pockets and divested
+himself of such clothing as would impede
+his progress—removed his poncho, his shoes and
+stockings, and soon was ready, barefooted and clad
+only in a woollen shirt and trousers. Sounds now
+came distinctly from down the river. These noises,
+first heard faintly while they were eating their
+frugal supper, grew in volume and became long
+wails, rising and falling.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>“They are singing,” whispered the señor. “That
+is a chant.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He placed a hunting-knife in his belt, laying
+aside his rifle, and announced himself ready to leave.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What if they should see you and should attack?
+How are we to know it?” asked Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The captain shrugged his shoulders. “I think
+you would not know until I failed to return.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That will never do, sir,” protested the American.
+“Take your revolver,” and he picked up the
+small weapon, which had been discarded with the
+rifle. “If you are attacked, fire a shot, and we will
+hurry to the rescue. We all stand together in this.
+Don’t we, fellows?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Of course we do,” said Hope-Jones and Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He looked at them gratefully and started to
+leave, but stopped a minute to say: “While I am
+gone keep a close watch. Don’t worry, even should
+I be absent two hours, for it will be slow work. I
+will fire the pistol should anything happen. Good-by.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Good-by,” they said, and each grasped him by
+the hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was quite lonely when he had gone, and they
+then appreciated how much they depended upon him.
+From down the river the sound of the chant came
+louder, evidence that more voices were joining in the
+evening song. It was a night with no clouds in the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>sky, and the full moon shone direct upon their camp
+and the surrounding country, silvering the broad
+leaves of trees, throwing the trunks into blackness
+more deep by the contrast, and causing strange
+shadows to appear on all sides. As a gentle wind
+stirred the branches, the shadows moved from side to
+side. Once or twice Harvey, who was stationed at
+the opening near the wooded country, was certain
+that he saw the figure of an Indian, and whispered
+a warning, but each time it proved to be only the
+obscuration of the moonlight by a branch or a rock.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From the river bank came the croaking of frogs,
+tree-toads sounded among the growth of vegetation; in
+the blackness where stood the trees, flitted fireflies, and
+occasionally a glow-worm crawled along the ground.
+They were startled now and then by a faint splash in
+the river and made ready for an attack, but as nothing
+followed, they concluded that a fish had risen
+and in diving again had flipped the water with its
+tail—a sound they would not have ordinarily noticed,
+but which seemed loud to their sense of hearing, more
+acute than usual because of the nerve strain under
+which they rested.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After a time that seemed to him interminable Harvey
+whispered to Hope-Jones, “I wonder if anything
+has happened to the captain. Has he not been gone
+longer than he expected?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Englishman looked at his watch. The moonlight
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>was so bright that he could distinctly see the
+dial and the hands.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, he has been absent only an hour,” was the
+reply.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From the woods came the hoot of an owl. A few
+minutes later a low growl was heard in the distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’s a puma,” said Ferguson. “If it should
+come this way we would have to fire, and then those
+redskins would be attracted.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But it did not come near them, nor did the growl
+sound again. The owl continued to hoot dismally,
+and the call of a night bird was also heard. Of a
+sudden Hope-Jones exclaimed “Sh!” and pushed
+his rifle through the opening at the side of the river.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A dry branch had crackled. His warning was followed
+by a voice outside the camp, saying in low
+tones, “It’s I, boys,” and the next second the captain
+had rejoined them. He was considerably out of
+breath, and they noticed that his clothing was more
+torn than when he had left the camp.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s pretty tough work crawling nearly a mile on
+the hands and knees,” he finally found voice to say.
+“But I saw them and had a good view, lying on a
+rock that overlooked their camp. I was so close that
+I could have picked off a half dozen with my revolver.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are they Ayulis?” asked Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, Majeronas.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>“The savages?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He nodded his head.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>None of them asked any more questions for a full
+minute, then Harvey said rather hoarsely, “How
+many of them are there?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s a large band, my boy. More by far than I
+would wish for. I counted forty.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Forty—and they were four! No wonder their
+cheeks blanched.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They have eaten a deer and other animals that
+I could make out,” the captain continued, “and are
+lying around on the ground, resting after their
+feast. It would be an easy matter for us to creep
+up to them and pick off a score and probably put
+to flight the remainder, but I don’t like to have
+the blood of even a Majerona on my hands, unless
+to save our lives. What do you say?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They agreed with him, then inquired what would
+be best to do.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There’s nothing to do, but to wait developments.
+We are in no danger to-night, so long as we keep
+still. The probabilities are that they will move in
+the morning, and I think they are going down
+stream. However, should they come this way, we
+shall have to face the music.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Could we not confer with the chief and promise
+him presents if they will let us alone?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Confer with a Majerona! Never, my boy.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>They are the Philistines of Peru and are cannibals.
+Why, that fire over there was not to cook their
+food. They pulled the deer apart and ate strips of
+meat raw. I don’t wish to frighten you, only to
+make it plain that we are near an enemy that
+doesn’t even know what it is to spare a man of a
+different tribe or race. To change the subject, I
+will suggest that as we have to prepare for a siege,
+our best plan is to get some sleep. It will be
+necessary to keep a close watch all night. I am
+very tired and I will ask Mr. Hope-Jones to stand
+the first, Mr. Ferguson the second, and I will take
+the third.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What about me?” asked Harvey. “I should
+do my share.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Very well. I thought you might be lonely on
+guard. You may take that last watch, the one near
+daybreak. That will make four watches of two
+hours each. Come, those who can get rest had
+better improve the opportunity.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Saying which the Peruvian rolled himself under a
+blanket and lay down in the shadow of one of the
+boulders. Ferguson followed his example, and Harvey,
+drawing his cover close, took a position in the
+centre of the camp.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Tell the lad to come out of the moonlight,”
+said the captain to Ferguson, who was between
+them. The American did so, and Harvey crept
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>closer to Señor Cisneros. “Why was that?” he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because moonlight falling on one’s face in this
+latitude sometimes causes insanity.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I have heard that,” the boy said, “but I thought
+science had exploded the theory.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Science or no science, no Indian will ever lie
+down in the open without covering his head. And
+now good night. Try to sleep.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But as for sleep, nothing was farther from Harvey’s
+mind. He lay quite still, however, so as not
+to disturb the others, and watched Hope-Jones, who
+stood at the opening near the river, his rifle resting
+on the little ledge of rock, gazing steadily in the
+direction of the Indian camp. The owl continued
+to hoot, the night bird to call, the tree-toads chirped
+merrily, and the frogs kept up their doleful croaking.
+But the mournful chant had ceased, and it
+was evident that slumber had stolen over the camp
+of the Indians. The boy, in earnest endeavor to
+sleep, resorted to all those expedients which are
+recommended, and finally counted up to one thousand.
+After that he yawned and wondered if it was
+possible, if he was really losing consciousness under
+such circumstances; if——Some one tapped him
+on the shoulder, and he sprang to an upright position.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s your watch, Harvey,” the captain said. “But
+never mind, I will stand it for you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>“No, sir,” said the boy, stoutly, as he rubbed his
+eyes and picked up Ferguson’s rifle. The captain
+rolled himself in his blanket without further words
+and was soon breathing heavily.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Could it be possible, thought the lad, that it was
+really his turn? Why, it seemed that only the
+minute before he had watched Hope-Jones standing
+at the opening, and now the Englishman was lying
+down. Why, not only the captain but Ferguson had
+stood watch in the meanwhile! And there was no
+moonlight! Of course not; it was four o’clock in
+the morning. He yawned; then shook himself and
+muttered, “This will never do!” and, all at once,
+he was wide awake and fit for his duty as sentry.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was chill and damp. From the river a light
+mist was creeping. He could not see it, but he felt
+the wet on his cheeks. The bird had ceased crying,
+and so had the tree-toads and the frogs. It was indescribably
+lonely; but his great comfort came from
+the fact that three trusted companions were so near
+that he could almost touch them with his foot, and
+he knew they would awaken at his slightest call.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>While standing there, his rifle resting on the ledge,
+he thought of the dear ones at home and wondered
+what they would say, could they know the plight he
+was in. “My, but Louis and Carl would give their
+boots to be here, I know!” was a sentence that
+passed through his mind. And the other members
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>of the Callao Rowing Club—what adventures he
+could relate to them upon his return! He thought
+of the regattas, when as coxswain he had steered to
+victory the eight-oared shells in which Hope-Jones
+had pulled stroke and Ferguson bow; and now here
+they were, far in the interior of Peru, near a camp
+of cannibals.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the thought of cannibals, Harvey’s heart gave
+a quick jump. But it was soon steady again, and
+he commenced thinking of the dreary night he had
+passed in Callao Bay, while afloat on a torpedo, which
+strange adventure of the younger Dartmoor brother
+is related in detail in “Fighting Under the Southern
+Cross.” He had come out of that safely, and why
+not out of this? Then the lad remembered that for
+several nights he had neglected to say those words
+which he had learned when a little child at his
+mother’s knee, so he fervently repeated the prayers
+she had taught him. After this he felt more courage
+than ever, and when a fish rose in the river, it did not
+cause him to start as had the sounds earlier in the
+night. Thus communing with himself and with his
+God, time passed quickly for the boy, and soon he
+began to make out the shadowy forms of the mist
+that rose from the water.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In this latitude, near the equator, there are only a
+few minutes of twilight, so it was soon bright enough
+for him to look at the watch that had been left on
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>the stone ledge. Ten minutes to six! He could
+soon call the others. The generous impulse came
+to let them sleep for another hour, but it was followed
+by the thought that the Indians were undoubtedly
+awakening, and as they might at once march up
+the river, it would be well for all to be on the alert.
+So when the long hand pointed at twelve and the
+short hand at the dot which on clocks and watches
+is the sign for six, he touched the captain lightly on
+the arm. Señor Cisneros sprang up. It was broad
+day. He awakened Hope-Jones and Ferguson.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <span class='large'>THE FORT ON THE MARAÑON.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>For several minutes after the camp was astir the
+Peruvian stood near one of the openings, and
+placing a hand partly back of an ear, so that more
+sound waves might reach that organ, he listened
+intently, in hopes that he might determine whether
+the Majeronas were on the move or still in camp.
+But in early day they are not given to making as
+much noise as at night, when that wild chant, considered
+part of a religious ceremony, rolls out, and
+the captain turned to his companions, disappointed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then, as all were hungry, another ration was consumed
+by each, and as there was plenty of cool water
+in the skin no one was called upon to risk a trip to
+the river. They continued conversing in whispers
+and observed the same caution as on the evening
+before. Unless they gave thought to the cause, their
+low tones seemed very strange and unnecessary, for
+nothing was in evidence to remind them of the presence
+in the vicinity of savages; not even did smoke
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>rise from the place where they were encamped. Soon
+after breakfast Harvey said to Señor Cisneros:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If you will permit me, captain, I will crawl over
+to that tree,” and he pointed to one whose lower
+branches were near the ground, yet whose trunk rose
+to quite a height, “and by climbing I can see what
+the Indians are doing. The leaves are thick so that
+I shall be well hidden, and my suit is about the color
+of the bark.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The plan was approved and the boy left the camp,
+imitating the manner in which Señor Cisneros had
+made his journeys of the evening before. The three
+within the enclosure looked at him approvingly, and
+the Peruvian said: “He worms his way along as
+well as an experienced woodsman. That’s a very
+clever lad.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Indeed, he is,” said Hope-Jones, “and a more
+truthful, honest youngster I never met.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They watched the tree which Harvey had spoken
+of as his goal, and before long they saw something
+moving in the branches, but very slowly, for the boy
+was observing even more caution than when on the
+ground. After ten minutes’ careful climbing he
+reached a spot halfway to the top, where the branches
+were fewer, and there he stopped, evidently at a sufficient
+altitude to look over the intervening boulders
+and see the camp of the Majeronas. He was stationary
+for a few seconds, then they saw him commence
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>to descend, but no longer slowly and with
+caution; he came down hand below hand, and when
+he reached the ground he ran to the camp, not attempting
+to observe the quiet which had marked his
+departure.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Knowing that he must have good cause for alarm
+and feeling that an attack was possibly imminent,
+the three men stood at a “ready” in the openings,
+their weapons poised. When Harvey joined them
+he said quickly, but in low tones:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“A half dozen of the savages are coming this way.
+They were not far off when I left the tree and were
+moving slowly, looking closely at the ground, as if
+in search of something. The others are still in
+camp.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Saying this, Harvey picked up his shot-gun.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You say they are walking slowly and looking
+down, as if in search of something?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, captain. They were bent low, and at first I
+thought they were crawling; then I saw that they
+appeared to be examining the ground as they
+passed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hum! I suppose they found my trail. The
+copper-colored rascals have a scent as keen as a dog.
+But I think that I fooled them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How so?” asked Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I took to the water when halfway between the
+camps and waded for a couple of hundred yards.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>“Then you don’t think that they will be able to
+track you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. But they may search the neighborhood
+before they leave.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Harvey reports the main body still at the white
+rock. How do you account for that?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The band is undoubtedly resting for the day.
+It is probable that the savages have travelled some
+distance and have called a forty-eight hours’ halt.
+I can think of no other reason, for surely there could
+be no game to attract them in this vicinity, and there
+is no hostile tribe near for them to attack.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You don’t suppose they are in search of the gold,
+do you?” asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Gold! They don’t know what gold is. They
+are the most ignorant Indians in all Peru.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This whispered conversation was suddenly brought
+to an end by Ferguson, who placed his fingers on his
+lips, to enjoin silence, and pointed through the opening
+nearest the river. They looked in the direction,
+and saw a head projecting beyond a rock. It was
+the head of a Majerona, long black hair, and skin a
+light copper color. The savage looked up and down
+stream, then was lost to sight for a moment, and
+soon stood out in the open, where he was joined by
+several others.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were naked, save for strips of hide that
+served as loin cloths. They were tall, well-formed
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>men, straight and muscular: each held a long bow,
+and dependent from the belt of hide, instead of
+swung over the shoulder, was a quiver filled with
+arrows. The cannibal who had first thrust out his
+head had done so cautiously, as if to survey the
+country, but they soon became bold, evidently convinced
+that they were alone. First, they took a
+few steps up stream, at which the white men tightened
+their grips on the weapons, and then, for some
+reason, they turned about and hurried away.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Whew! that was a narrow escape!” muttered
+Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; and I fear it will prove no escape after all.
+They were sent out to scout, and another band undoubtedly
+will be despatched in a little while. The
+chances are against our not being seen, and as the
+probability is that we will have to fight, I propose
+that we make our fort better suited for defence.
+Harvey, fill every pot, pan, and cup we have with
+water. Don’t try to crawl; only step as softly as
+possible so as not to cause stones to roll and dry
+branches to break. Hope-Jones and Ferguson, I
+wish you would go to that drift pile over there, and
+bring me all the branches and wood possible. You
+cannot bring too much.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They at once commenced their allotted tasks, and
+the señor remained behind the boulders, keeping an
+eye down stream, and at the same time directing
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>where the wood should be placed as it was brought
+in. First, he had the openings between the rocks
+carefully filled, to the height of his shoulders, the
+pieces of wood interlaced in the same manner that
+log fences are built in the American farming country.
+This done, he gave orders for wood to be piled at
+the rear of their position. It will be remembered
+that the boulders formed a shelter on three sides,
+and Ferguson and Hope-Jones, seeing at once that
+the Peruvian’s idea was to close the fourth, redoubled
+their efforts, and within a half hour they had brought
+in what they deemed sufficient material to erect the
+barricade.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“More!” the captain said, when they asked him if
+that would do. “Bring all of that pile if you can.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey had finished his task by this time, and
+placing him on guard, Señor Cisneros turned his
+attention to shaping the rear defence. He constructed
+the wall V-shaped, the angle outward, explaining
+to the boy that in this form it could better
+withstand the force of an attack, should the Indians
+try to rush the position. But the longest boughs he
+placed slanting against the high boulders, so that
+they formed a roof over half the space. These he
+wove in and out with a tough young vine that he
+had directed Ferguson to bring from a tree near by,
+and which had fallen in a mass when a slight pull
+had been given.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>An hour after they had commenced their task, the
+captain said there was sufficient wood on hand, and
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson, tired, red of face, and perspiring
+profusely, pushed in through the narrow
+opening that had been left for their entrance, which
+the Peruvian at once closed with some branches that
+he had placed to one side for that purpose.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson had cut his left hand, and the handkerchief
+which he had wound around the injured member
+was blood stained. When he was asked if the
+cut was a deep one, he replied by saying that it was
+lucky it had not happened to the other, or he would
+have trouble holding his rifle. Then he questioned
+Señor Cisneros why he had formed a roof over part
+of the enclosure.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“To be sure it’s nice to have shade,” he said, “but I
+should have thought you too tired to attend to that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And might have had mercy on you two and not
+have asked you to carry in more boughs than absolutely
+necessary, eh?” responded the captain, smiling.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I didn’t say that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No; but I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it.
+However, this little roof will probably prove more
+valuable than any defence we have constructed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How so?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did you ever see a Peruvian Indian shoot an
+arrow? an Ayuli, or a man of any other tribe?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>No. They had not.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I have watched them many times; and I have
+seen them kill a deer and not aim at it at all; only
+shoot up in the air.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And the arrow would describe a parabola and
+fall on the animal?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Its flight would rather be the sides of a triangle,
+and it would turn in mid air at the apex, then falling
+at the same angle on the other side, would strike the
+deer in the back.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Have you seen this done?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; and not once, but several times.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I can understand why you built the covering!”
+exclaimed Hope-Jones; and so did the others.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As the three men were quite tired, the captain let
+Harvey stand guard, and they lay down in the shade.
+Thus another hour passed, and not a sight of an Indian
+was had, nor did a sound come from down the
+river.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Toward noon the rations of dried meat were passed
+around, and so was water, sparingly. After that they
+talked and waited, relieving each other at the opening
+near the river every half hour, in order that all
+might be in good condition should an attack occur.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>One o’clock came, two, then three, and the little
+garrison commenced to speculate on the probability
+of danger having passed. Perhaps the band had
+gone away; it might be that the savages they had
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>seen in the morning had been recalled to camp in
+order to resume the march; or, perhaps all were
+resting, and no further attempt was being made to
+reconnoitre the surrounding country. In that event
+they would undoubtedly leave early the next morning.
+But even after the Majeronas had departed,
+how long would they have to remain quiet and on
+the defensive before they dared approach the location
+of the mine?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I would almost rather have a fight with them;
+that is, if we could give them such a taste of modern
+firearms that they would leave the country,”
+said Señor Cisneros, rising from the place where he
+had been resting in the shade.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He approached the opening that faced the thinly
+grown forest, and gazed over the brushwood that
+was piled as a protection, in the direction of the
+trees. They saw him bend forward, as one is apt to
+do when looking intently at something, and then,
+turning, he beckoned Ferguson to his side.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Look,” he whispered. “Do you see that long
+grass waving over there, under that ironwood
+tree?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. I guess it is wind blown.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But there isn’t a particle of wind. Wet your
+finger and hold your hand up high.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The American did so. “No,” he said. “There’s
+no breeze. What makes the grass wave, then?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>“One of those copper-skinned rascals is crawling
+through it,” said the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Shall I pick him off?” and Ferguson reached
+for his rifle.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“By no means.” The señor reached out his hand
+and caught the barrel. “We are not sure that they
+have seen us, although such is probably the case.
+Aside from that, I would rather not be the first to
+engage. But a better reason than all is that we
+should reserve our fire, if firing be necessary, until
+we can let go a volley into their midst. It might
+stampede them.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Ah! see!” he exclaimed a moment later. “My
+first surmise was correct.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Indian had risen suddenly from the grass
+and had bent his bow. But the arrow was not
+aimed in their direction; it was pointed toward the
+woods, away from the river bank, and that moment
+Ferguson saw a young deer near a dwarf palm.
+Sharp and clear they heard the twang of the hide-string
+and the whistle of the dart, so near was the
+savage to them; and the animal fell dead in its
+tracks. The Majerona walked leisurely over to
+where his prey had dropped, and lifting it on his
+broad shoulders, he started back to camp.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He is a hunter for the band,” said the captain.
+“There are probably others out. His actions are
+proof that they do not even suspect we are in the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>vicinity. I suppose they think that my trail, which
+they followed for a short distance this morning, was
+that of a wild animal. Now I believe that we are
+going to get out of this without even a brush with
+them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>All breathed easier at these reassuring words; all
+except Harvey, who said, “But there is a chance
+they may come, is there not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, from your tone, I really believe you wish
+they would,” said the señor. “But,” he added,
+“that chance and a remark which I made to Mr.
+Ferguson have reminded me of something. I believe
+I said that a volley might have a demoralizing effect,
+did I not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; I think you did.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I shall endeavor to increase the effect.
+Didn’t I see a gourd in camp?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Harvey has one which Señora Cisneros gave him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let me have it, Harvey. I can’t promise to
+return it, but I may make it of use.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He emptied some powder into the receptacle,
+then asked for a contribution of loaded shells,
+which he put with the black grains. With some
+shreds of cotton, which he twisted into shape, and
+some dampened powder he made a fuse and placed
+it in the opening of the gourd, then sealed it with
+moist clay made from the soil underfoot, dampened
+with water.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>“There!” he exclaimed, “there’s a bomb! It
+may fail to ignite, and it will have to be handled
+quickly, but if it ever does go off in the midst of
+the copper-skins there will be a foot-race down the
+river that will prove interesting.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He had been an hour making this weapon of
+defence. The hands of their watches pointed to
+four o’clock, and the shadows to the east of them
+commenced to grow long. Ferguson was on watch.
+The others were lolling about on the ground, thinking
+more of other matters than they had at any time
+since the evening before, when they were suddenly
+startled by a rifle shot.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>An answering scream came from above their heads,
+and a wounded Majerona, who had crawled to the top
+of the lowest boulder and was peering into the camp,
+came rolling down upon them.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IX.<br /> <span class='large'>ATTACKED BY CANNIBALS.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>In his descent the savage struck Harvey, who was
+crawling from under the shelter, and the lad was
+sent sprawling to the other side of the little enclosure.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hold him! Keep him down!” called the señor
+to Hope-Jones, who with great presence of mind had
+fallen upon the struggling Majerona. But there was
+little use for the Peruvian to urge, or the Englishman
+to use his strength, for the Indian was mortally
+wounded; his struggles were death throes, not efforts
+to give combat, and in a few seconds he rolled over,
+dead. The rifle ball had pierced his brain. Two
+shots had rung out from the opening while this was
+going on, and howls and cries answered them. Ferguson
+was busily pumping lead into others of the
+cannibals, and when his companions hurried to his
+side, they saw one man stretched out not fifty feet
+from the enclosure, and another, evidently wounded,
+was being assisted away in the direction of the
+encampment by a half dozen fellow-tribesmen.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>“Now we are in for it!” said Señor Cisneros.
+“But first, my friend,” he said warmly, offering his
+hand to Ferguson, “I want to tell you that you have
+saved our lives. Another minute and all those reptiles
+would have been in here, and we should have
+been massacred. How did you happen to see
+him?” pointing to the dead savage, lying against
+the brush heap—“and how did you happen to act
+so promptly?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson’s cheeks were red and his eyes were
+snapping in a manner they had, when he was
+excited. He was also breathing quickly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It was only good fortune; that’s all,” he replied.
+“I grew tired standing stock still while you were
+loafing in the shade, and to amuse myself I had
+lifted my rifle to my shoulder and was taking aim
+around at different objects. I suppose that while
+doing this I neglected to watch the opening as
+closely as I should, and one of the Indians sneaked
+up in the grass, like that fellow did this morning.
+But it happened that when he put his head over
+the rock, I was aiming at a spot near where his
+black hair appeared; so all I had to do was to pull
+the trigger.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They all congratulated him—all, including Harvey,
+who had picked himself up and was rubbing his
+head where a lump the size of a hickory nut testified
+to his having struck against a stone after being
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>given momentum by the wounded savage; then they
+hastened to make such preparations as were necessary
+before the attack which they now knew must
+come.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“First, let’s get rid of this body,” said the captain,
+and taking down some of the brush at the rear,
+they dragged the corpse out and toward the river.
+Returning, they made everything snug again, and
+the captain disposed of the forces for the fray.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My plan of reserving the fire for a volley has
+been spoiled,” he said, “so the next best thing will
+have to be done. Ferguson, you’re a splendid shot.
+Do you think that with a boost you can get up on
+the rock, in about the place where your friend, the
+Majerona, was lying?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, I guess so,” replied the American, surveying
+the steep boulder.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then it would be well for you to do so and commence
+picking them off with your rifle as soon as
+they come in sight. We have only two openings
+down here that command their approach, and there
+won’t be an opportunity for us all. We must kill
+and wound as many as possible before they get near.
+That’s our only hope.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What am I going to do?” asked Harvey.
+“There are only two openings, and I suppose you
+and Mr. Hope-Jones will want to cover those.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You can alternate with me, my boy. My rifle,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>unfortunately, is a muzzle-loader, and while I am
+ramming in a charge you can step to the peep-hole
+and use your shot-gun. Of course,” he continued,
+“the shot-guns will not carry as far as the rifles
+and will not be serviceable as soon, but we have
+plenty of ammunition, and I think it would be wise
+to blaze away with all pieces as often as possible
+during the first five minutes and make plenty
+of noise.” Then turning to Ferguson again he
+said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t stay up there a second after it seems dangerous.
+You can slide down, can you not, without
+assistance?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Of course.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How many cartridges does your rifle carry in
+the chamber?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Eight.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then don’t take any more with you. They will
+be sufficient until the arrows commence to fly, and
+then I want you with us here. That reminds me,
+I told Hope-Jones and Harvey to blaze away,
+regardless of aim, with their shot-guns for a time,
+but I suppose you understand the same does not
+apply to the rifles. We must make every shot
+count.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Never fear for that. Will you give me a boost
+now, sir? They will be coming any minute.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. Help me, Hope-Jones. Steady me a bit,”
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>and the Peruvian stood upright against the rock
+and told the Englishman to press against his back.
+“Leave your rifle, Ferguson, and we will pass it up
+to you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>By stepping on a stone the American obtained a
+foothold on the señor’s shoulders, then reaching up,
+he caught a ledge of rock and bringing into practice
+an exercise he had learned on the horizontal bars,
+he drew himself with ease to the ledge, from which
+he scrambled to the surface.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Quick!” he exclaimed, the moment he looked
+around. “Pass me my rifle. They are coming!
+I can see them down the river! Gracious, what a
+band of them!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the captain’s direction, Harvey jumped on his
+shoulders as Ferguson had done and passed the repeating
+rifle to his companion, then the Peruvian
+and the Englishman took positions at the peep-holes,
+while the lad stood back, waiting.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>If the truth be told his heart was beating like it
+had on days after a boat race, and he felt the blood
+surging to his temples. There was an instant after
+Ferguson said that the Indians were coming that he
+felt dizzy. But it passed almost as soon as it had
+come, and he bit his lip until it bled, for he was
+angry that any alarm should have seized him. The
+moment this feeling of anger came, he was surprised
+to note that his heart commenced to beat normally,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>that the fever left his cheeks, and that he became
+self-possessed. And from that moment he became
+as cool and collected as any one in the little fort.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How far are they off?” called out Señor
+Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“A half mile, sir,” answered the voice from above.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you think there are more than forty?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I dare say not; but they seemed to number two
+or three hundred when they first came in sight.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I counted forty when I reconnoitred their camp
+last night, and they must have all been within the
+vicinity of the fire, for there would have been no
+object in their scattering at that hour. Therefore,
+with two dead and one wounded we have thirty-seven
+to fight. How are they coming? In a
+body?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; close together; all in a bunch.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So much the better.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This conversation had been carried on in loud
+tones, that Ferguson might hear and be heard, for
+he was lying on the far side of the boulder. It
+seemed strange to speak in this manner after the
+enforced whispers that had been the rule for twenty-four
+hours.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now I can see them,” said the captain, and he
+rested his rifle on the ledge. A sharp report
+sounded above.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did you bring another down?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>“No,” called back Ferguson. “I missed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You’re honest, that’s sure. Most persons would
+have said they didn’t know, but thought so. Better
+reserve your fire a few minutes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The American did as he was advised, but before
+any of them below had an opportunity to take effective
+aim, his rifle spoke again and the captain called:
+“How now?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I saw a copper-colored rascal whirl ‘round and
+‘round and then drop.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Bravo! That makes thirty-six!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A minute later the Peruvian’s weapon sounded,
+and without waiting to notice the result, he darted
+back and commenced to reload, saying:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now blaze away, my lad!” and Harvey rushed
+to the opening. Hope-Jones in the meantime had
+discharged one barrel, then another, of his shot-gun
+and had thrown back the breech to press in fresh
+shells, while the sharp report of Ferguson’s rifle came
+from above, once, twice, thrice, and the American
+was heard to call above the din:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They’re getting it! You struck one, Cisneros,
+and I have fetched two more.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Thirty-three,” said the Peruvian, and he crowded
+Harvey one side as the boy was loading his double-barrelled
+gun, and taking aim once more, he sent
+another bullet into the dark throng that was rapidly
+approaching, for the Indians were running.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>After that there was no opportunity to keep count.
+Ferguson came sliding down from his altitudinous
+perch, having exhausted all the cartridges in his
+rifle; and ejecting the worthless shells, he loaded
+again, then stood behind Hope-Jones, to alternate
+with him at the peep-hole, and after the Englishman
+had fired both barrels point-blank, the American
+jumped to the opening and pumped eight shots in
+the direction of the enemy, as fast as the mechanism
+of the modern arm would work.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey, the while, had been loading with feverish
+haste, running toward his peep-hole the moment it
+was left by the Peruvian and discharging his weapon.
+He took aim, and after the third discharge, he saw an
+Indian fall, evidently from shot he had sent speeding,
+for the man was somewhat detached from the
+others and the boy had tried to bring him down.
+The little enclosure became filled with smoke, and
+their faces and arms were streaked with dirt. All
+were more or less powder-burned, but of this they
+did not know till afterwards.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What now?” suddenly said the captain, for the
+Majeronas had halted. “They are bending their
+bows! Watch out, all! Down on your faces!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The warning was not a second too soon. Whistling
+like a wind that scurries around the gable of
+a house in winter, a flight of arrows poured into and
+over the little fort, and others could be heard striking
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>against the front boulder. Several of the darts
+came through the openings and rattled against the
+stones, and one transfixed Ferguson’s knapsack,
+which was in a corner.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now, at them once more!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>And the men and boy jumped to their places as
+before.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The target was not nearly so good. The Indians
+had separated and were spreading out. They could
+be seen running in different directions, evidently
+carrying out some command of their chief, and a few
+minutes later a dozen commenced climbing trees,
+keeping their bodies on the side opposite the fort.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This is different,” exclaimed the señor. “Pick
+off all you can while you have the opportunity, for
+we shall soon be compelled to seek shelter.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The guns were kept busy until the barrels were so
+hot that they burned the hands, but only one Majerona
+fell—a bold fellow who had run forward of
+the others, and whom it was Harvey’s lot to make
+bite the dust, at which the captain patted the boy on
+the shoulder and said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I wish I had a lad like you. If God spares me,
+I am going to make it my business to tell Señor
+Dartmoor what a son he has.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A little later he called, “Under cover, all of you!”
+and they darted beneath the thick mass of boughs
+that he had placed against the side of the boulder.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>Then they knew with what wisdom he had constructed
+this protection, for arrows commenced to
+rain into the enclosure from all sides, some whistling
+low over the boulders, others dropping as if from
+the skies. They came with such force that those
+which fell without stood upright in the ground, and
+although others penetrated the protecting branches,
+they lost their force and none of the defenders of the
+fort was harmed. However, as a further protection,
+they lay flat on their faces. This lasted for full five
+minutes; then there was a lull, and Señor Cisneros,
+creeping to an opening, said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are forming again. No, don’t fire,” and he
+restrained Hope-Jones. “I have an idea.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is it?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If we withhold our fire, they will think we are
+all dead or so grievously wounded as not to be able
+to resist. You see, they don’t know anything about
+our roof. The fellow who got a view inside was
+placed in a position where he could not relate the
+result of his observations. Yes, they are forming in
+a body for a rush. Now wait, everybody, until I
+give the word!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He darted under the boughs to the furthermost
+corner and at once reappeared with the gourd
+which, earlier in the afternoon, he had fashioned
+into a bomb.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Who has a match?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey gave him some.</p>
+
+<div id='p135'  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/i_139.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>“Angry copper-colored faces showed at the opening.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Here, Hope-Jones, take my rifle! You can use
+it and your shot-gun as well, for I shall be busy
+with this thing. Harvey, don’t try to fire, but have
+your gun handy. When I give the word, pull away
+as fast as you can at the brush in the opening nearest
+the Indians, so that I may have room in which to
+throw.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>These directions were no sooner given than the
+band of Majeronas, yelling, sprang toward the stone
+fort. The four defenders bent down low, that they
+might not be seen. The Indians ran with great
+speed, brandishing bludgeons; they had cast their
+bows one side, evidently believing the victory
+won. Señor Cisneros let them come to within a
+stone’s throw, then he called:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now let drive!” and Ferguson and Hope-Jones,
+jumping to the opening, discharged three shots simultaneously,
+and the repeating-rifle of the former
+was worked as it never had been worked before.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Pull down the brush! Use both hands! Quick
+now!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey sprang to his task and tore away the small
+branches. The crackle of a match was heard, and,
+just as angry, copper-colored faces showed at the
+opening, the captain called out:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Duck down, everybody!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The next instant a report as of a cannon was
+heard, followed by screeches and howls; and a
+cloud of white smoke drifted away before a light
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>breeze that had sprung up, while a crackle as of
+giant fire-crackers told of the exploding cartridges
+with which the gourd had been loaded.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Out and after them!” screamed the señor, seizing
+his rifle and pushing his way through the opening,
+in which act he was followed by the three
+companions.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But they met none in combat. The Indians were
+fleeing, running in a confused mass along the river
+bank, shrieking in their fear. Two or three picked
+up their bows as they sped, and turning, let fly each
+an arrow, then joined the others; but the majority
+never turned. The defenders of the little fort followed
+for several hundred yards, firing as they went,
+not in endeavor to kill more, for they did not stop
+to take aim, but to spread the alarm; until at last
+loss of breath caused a halt. But the Majeronas,
+greatly reduced in numbers, kept on, their howls
+growing fainter and fainter, until they were heard
+no more, and the last of the savages disappeared
+down the river.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you think they will come back?” panted
+Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. They believe they attacked a band of
+devils. There is no longer danger.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where’s Harvey?” It was Ferguson who asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They looked around, and their cheeks blanched.
+The boy was not with them.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER X.<br /> <span class='large'>NEAR TO DEATH’S DOOR.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>For a minute none of the three said a word, then
+Señor Cisneros suggested that perhaps the lad
+had remained behind.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. That’s not his way. He would be with us
+unless hurt, or——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones could not find the word for the alternative;
+his voice choked. “Let’s hurry back,” he
+added.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They did so, going as fast as when in pursuit of
+the enemy, and not stopping until they had reached
+the fort. Outside they saw their boy companion
+lying beside a large stone not a hundred yards from
+the opening. An arrow was fastened in his breast.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones dropped on his knees. Ferguson
+reached over to pull out the arrow, but was restrained
+by the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t,” he said. “It might cause a fatal hemorrhage
+if there is not one already. Wait until we
+see how far it has entered;” and he commenced
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>unfastening Harvey’s coat, which had been buttoned
+close, that it might not impede his action.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I fear it has reached his heart,” said the Englishman,
+in a whisper. “See, it penetrated the left
+side.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“His hands are cold,” Ferguson added. “I cannot
+feel the pulse.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>All three were quite pale and were trembling. It
+seemed probable that life had left the boy’s body.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Bring some water, quickly,” said the captain.
+“I will do the best I can.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson darted off to the fort and returned at
+once with the skin bag filled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Help me turn him over. There, that’s right;
+not too much,” and the captain loosened another
+button, then carefully inserted his hand beneath the
+coat. He felt in the region where the arrow had
+penetrated, and touching the shaft moved his fingers
+cautiously downward. Then a puzzled expression
+came over his face, and he muttered: “Something
+hard. I don’t quite understand. There isn’t any
+blood.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He withdrew his hand, looked at it, then inserted
+it again and caught the shaft firmly. The dart
+turned to one side, but did not come out. The captain
+jumped to his feet.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That arrow isn’t in Harvey’s body!” he exclaimed.
+“It’s fast in something that he has in the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>pocket of his flannel shirt. He’s fainted; got a
+knock on his head or something. Throw some
+water on his face!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson did as directed, and Harvey immediately
+sat upright, then began pawing the air, as if warding
+off a blow, and tried to rise to his feet. Desisting
+suddenly from this effort he exclaimed: “What’s all
+the rumpus about? And—and—where are the
+Majeronas?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson and Hope-Jones were too overjoyed to
+speak. They clapped the boy on the back, rubbed
+his arms, and asked him where he was hurt. For
+reply he put his hand to his head, and they found
+there another lump.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I stumbled, I guess, and struck my head,” he
+said. “I can remember falling, and I saw a lot of
+stars and—but say, where are the savages?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes; and when you were falling, this was shot
+into you.” The captain pointed to the arrow, which
+was drooping, but still was held firmly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey looked at it in surprise, then reached
+under his coat. As he touched the shaft his cheeks
+turned a fiery red. He endeavored to withdraw the
+dart by pulling at it from the outside, but it would
+not come, so Ferguson bent down and helped him
+unfasten the remaining buttons of his coat and remove
+the garment. But even with the weight of
+that on the shaft, the arrow held firmly to the something
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>that was in Harvey’s pocket, and he was at
+last compelled to cut the flannel. Then all saw that
+the point was embedded firmly in a pincushion, no
+larger than a plum, a pincushion well stuffed with
+cotton and which had barred the way to the boy’s
+heart.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How on earth did you happen to be carrying
+such a thing in your pocket?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He did not answer. He was looking at the little
+article, and his face turned pale as he thought of his
+narrow escape from death; and at the same time he
+thought of those he had left behind and of the giver
+of that which had so strangely saved his life, Señorita
+Bella Caceras, niece of the famous Captain Grau,
+who, the evening before the departure of the three
+from Callao, had made this little present to the lad,
+that he might have some token to carry with him
+into the wilds of Peru. Thus a girl’s thoughtful
+gift and a boy’s romantic manner of carrying the
+keepsake had resulted in the arrest of a Majerona
+arrow, aimed at the heart.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He did not explain all this to his companions, who
+pressed closer, congratulating him and patting him
+on the back, for every moment they realized more
+and more what a narrow escape he had had; no, he
+kept his secret and later he sewed up the pocket,
+replaced the little pincushion, and vowed that he
+would carry it with him so long as he lived. He
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>also saved the arrow, so that when he returned to
+Callao he could present it to the señorita.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The men attempted to assist him into the fort, but
+Harvey protested that he was as well and as able to
+be about as ever in his life.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then let’s start for the white rock,” said Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, indeed,” was Señor Cisneros’s rejoinder. “I
+for one favor a good rest.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps that would be a better plan.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Indeed it would,” assented Hope-Jones. “I
+confess that I am played out.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“First, let’s give these bodies some sort of burial,”
+said the Peruvian, and he pointed to the corpses
+that were strewn over the ground.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They dug a trench with their picks, and gathering
+the dead Majeronas from near the fort and from
+several hundred yards away, they placed them in
+the shallow opening and covered them with earth.
+Fourteen were thus interred. How many savages
+had been wounded they never knew. A few of
+those who had been struck by bullets and not killed
+during the battle, had been helped away by their
+comrades; others, who were mortally wounded, had
+been killed, as was the custom of the tribe.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XI.<br /> <span class='large'>BEYOND THE WHITE ROCK.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>The grewsome work of burial completed, they
+reëntered the little fort and made preparations
+for the night. First, they went to the river bank
+and enjoyed a bath in the cool, crystal waters; and
+there for the first time they discovered many bruises
+on their bodies, caused by bumps and knocks received
+during the quick action of the afternoon.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson had scraped one of his shins while sliding
+down the rock after emptying his rifle at the
+approaching Majeronas, and the cut on his left hand
+pained him greatly. Hope-Jones found a black and
+blue spot on his right shoulder, which he could not
+account for until he remembered that in his excitement
+he had several times neglected to press his shot-gun
+close when firing; and a little later he discovered
+that the lobe of his right ear was torn.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“An arrow struck there,” said the captain, after
+examining the wound. “You had as narrow an
+escape as had Harvey.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then the captain looked at his own physical condition
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>and reported that the tendons of his left ankle
+had been strained, and that a long powder burn on
+his right cheek marked where a flash had sprung
+upward from an imperfect cap on his old-fashioned
+rifle.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But of them all Harvey showed more marks of
+battle. A very painful black and blue spot on his
+side told where the foot of the Majerona had struck
+him after the drop from the rock, and two bruises on
+the back of the head marked his contact with stones
+on the occasions of his falling. His hands were
+scratched and torn in several places, but he could not
+tell how these minor wounds had been received until
+the captain remarked that he had never seen a brush-heap
+disappear so rapidly as when the boy pulled
+away branches from the opening, to make room for
+the bomb; and then the lad recalled that at the time
+he had felt the sharp prick of thorns.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Although they were refreshed after the bath, they
+limped more or less on their return to camp.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Is that due to the fact that we have just seen
+where we have been hurt?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Partly that and partly because the excitement is
+over,” said the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It will be good to have a hot supper,” the elder
+American remarked, changing the subject; “but I’ll
+be switched if I feel much like making a fire and
+cooking.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>“What have we to cook, anyway? There’s not a
+bit of fresh meat in the camp, and I’d rather go to
+bed hungry than hunt for anything,” interposed
+Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Go to bed?” queried Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, turn in, lie down, go to sleep, or whatever
+you call it; but it’s going to be ‘go to bed’ for me,
+because I shall pile up some of that dried moss over
+there and make a couch.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“A good idea,” said the señor. “We will all do
+it. As for supper, I for one propose to eat my last
+ration of dried meat and not try for any game to-night.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The others did not demur, and although the sun
+was not yet set, they proceeded to bring in the moss
+and distribute it under the boughs that had sheltered
+them from dropping arrows. But as the three adventurers
+from Callao were spreading their blankets and
+kicking off their shoes, Señor Cisneros interrupted them
+with, “Not so fast there! What about a watch?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“A watch to-night? Is one necessary?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly, and every night, so long as we are in
+this region. The Majeronas are probably gone for
+good, but some of them might return. Yes, sirs, we
+will take our turns, above and below, as they say on
+shipboard.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Who first?” asked Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Suppose we draw lots. Better still, let Harvey
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>choose which watch he will stand, as he is the one
+most used up, and we men will draw straws!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey decided that he would prefer to be sentinel
+from six till eight o’clock, then have a night’s
+rest through, so the others lay down under the
+shelter, and he stationed himself in the opening, near
+the river, with Ferguson’s rifle in hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A heavy rain fell on the following day, and they
+were only too glad to remain under the shelter of
+the boughs which, reënforced with the canvas of the
+shelter-tent, made an almost perfect watershed.
+Harvey was somewhat feverish in the morning, and
+the others felt even more wearied than on the night
+before, so all were rather pleased than vexed that
+the elements had conspired to delay their journey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Lest the younger member of the party should fall
+ill, Señor Cisneros early set about administering the
+remedies which were at hand, the first of which was
+quinine, and he gave Harvey ten grains. Then,
+believing that a hot foot-bath would prove beneficial,
+he cast about for a utensil that could be improvised
+as a tub, and finding none, he dug a hole, two feet
+deep and about two feet square, into which he
+poured water heated by Hope-Jones over a brisk fire
+built in a corner of the fort, where a ledge of rock
+sheltered the crackling wood from the rain. This
+novel bath was at the edge of the lean-to of boughs,
+and when Harvey, following the captain’s directions,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>plunged his lower limbs into it, raindrops fell on
+his knees, but these and his body to the waist were
+covered with moss, and the lad was compelled to
+stay in that posture for ten minutes and “steam,”
+while the captain added hot water until the patient
+yelled out that he was being scalded.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I dare say you think you are,” said the Peruvian,
+as he desisted, “but I can bear my hand in here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Notwithstanding a demonstration to this effect,
+Harvey protested against the temperature being increased,
+and at last was permitted again to roll over
+on his moss couch, where, covered with blankets, he
+soon fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was three o’clock in the afternoon when he
+awakened. The fever had passed, the aches had
+disappeared from the muscles, and he said that he
+felt somewhat better, though a trifle weak. To
+prove there was at hand a remedy for this condition,
+Señor Cisneros pointed to Ferguson, who was busy
+in the far corner, turning ‘round and ‘round, over
+the glowing heat of embers, the ramrod of the captain’s
+rifle, on which were spitted a dozen little
+birds; and from the broilers came a savory odor that
+caused Harvey to smack his lips in expectation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are plovers,” said the señor. “Hope-Jones
+went out about ten o’clock to find you a delicacy,
+and he succeeded in bagging enough for us all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The wild birds, reënforced by one of the captain’s
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>palm-shoot vegetables, furnished a most edible repast,
+and it was not long thereafter before Hope-Jones,
+Ferguson, and the youngest member of the
+party turned in, the captain taking the first watch.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When Harvey awoke in the morning, he reported
+himself fit for any task, and the others, having recovered
+from strains and bruises, agreed to start as
+soon after breakfast as the packing of the camp
+equipment would permit. Before the departure,
+Señor Cisneros fastened a pole firmly between two
+of the rocks and attached thereto a handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s possible, though not probable, that hostile
+Indians may appear again,” he said. “In that event
+it would be well for us to retreat to this position,
+which is naturally fitted for defence, and which we
+have rendered even more impregnable. As the
+boulders do not show their peculiar form from down
+stream, we might pass the place by in our haste to
+seek shelter, but with that flagstaff set I don’t believe
+we could miss it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hadn’t we better give our little fort a name?”
+asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“To be sure we had,” said Ferguson. “Victory
+do?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I would suggest Majerona Hill,” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Would not Fort Pincushion be more appropriate?”
+asked the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>“Capital! Capital!” exclaimed the two men,
+and the boy blushed as he had done on the occasion
+when he felt the object in his pocket which had been
+pierced by the arrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Although the white rock, which had been their
+goal since leaving Callao, had seemed only a short
+distance from the fort, yet they were nearly half
+an hour reaching a point beneath its strange formation,
+and all four expressed astonishment at the
+brilliant, pearly white lustre. Ferguson was the
+first to touch the stone, and in passing his hand
+over the surface, he noticed that his finger nail left
+a mark.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My, how soft it is! Almost as soft as soapstone!
+Can you tell us, Mr. Geologist, what manner
+of outcropping the Earth has given us here?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey, thus appealed to, took from his knapsack
+the little hammer which he had brought for such
+purpose, and knocking off a fragment, he examined
+it critically, then said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It looks very much like alabaster.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Alabaster in these regions?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, and it is not unusual. The stone is found
+near Cuzco, and it abounds in the Cordilleras of
+Chile. To be sure, the best quality comes from Tuscany,
+but excellent specimens abound in this interior
+region, and we have found an unusually large
+deposit.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>“It seems to me that I perceive a faint odor of
+lime,” said Hope-Jones.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I am correct in saying that this is alabaster,”
+the boy answered; “for alabaster is a
+compact variety of sulphate of lime.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now for the mine!” exclaimed Ferguson, and
+they at once turned from the shaft and made ready
+to continue the journey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Old Huayno directed you to proceed farther
+north for a half mile, until you should see another
+white rock, did he not?” asked the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then put your compass on something level,
+Hope-Jones, and give us the bearings.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Englishman did so, and the needle pointed in a
+direction that took them away from the stream, into
+the light growth of woods. They tightened their belts
+and started, pushing forward rapidly and eagerly.
+Months afterward Harvey said that no stage or event
+of the journey, not even the encounter with the savages,
+was so firmly impressed on his mind as was this
+period after they swung to the left from the bank of
+the river Marañon.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I had a stuffy feeling,” he explained; “all
+choked up, and didn’t know whether I should cry
+like a baby when I reached the mine, or shout like a
+man. I thought all the time of mother, father,
+Rosita, and Louis, of what riches would do for them.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>Yes, to be sure, I thought of myself as well, but to
+tell the honest truth, it was not so much with the
+idea of having great riches at hand, as it was to be
+able to purchase some books that I wanted, and a
+sail-boat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>These thoughts of the boy were shared in their
+intensity by the other members of the party. Hope-Jones
+had left an aged mother in England, who,
+though not in want, would be none the less a sharer
+in any good fortune that might come to her son;
+Ferguson built air-castles for his sister, who was
+studying music in Boston, and who had written him
+only by the last mail that she would be perfectly
+happy, could she but go abroad. As for the captain,
+he had long wished that six months might be passed
+in Lima and the remaining period of the year in their
+home in Huari. Thus busied they said little or
+nothing during the first ten minutes after leaving
+the Marañon, but kept on diligently, making
+as much speed as was possible over the rough
+country.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Their speculating reveries were interrupted by the
+captain, who called a halt for a conference.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Your old Indian friend said something about
+trees having been felled across the path from the
+river to the mine, did he not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then it is about time for us to meet with them
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>in quantity. There are a few here and there, but
+not enough as yet to indicate that we have reached
+the region where the Ayulis placed obstructions.
+Another matter to consider is that a white rock hereabouts,
+although the timber is sparse, would not be
+so readily seen as the pile of alabaster on the river
+bank. And again, it must be remembered that the
+Ayulis did not use a compass in determining the
+course of their journeys; they judged such a direction
+to be north, and another south, by the relative
+bearing of the sun. Therefore, although Huayno
+said to go north from the river, yet his ‘north’ might
+have been northeast or northwest.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What then do you propose to do, sir?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I believe it would be wise to spread out. You,
+Hope-Jones and Harvey, walk over to the right
+until you are within easy calling distance of one
+another, and Ferguson and I will do the same on
+the left. We will then move forward in a fan-shape
+and cover the country closely, watching out for a
+white rock and for fallen trees that seem to have
+been felled systematically. Everybody move slowly,”
+he added. “About like this,” and he took several
+paces, to give them an example.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Fifteen minutes later not one was in sight of the
+other, and then they commenced the slow forward
+journey, “beating the country,” one might say, not
+for animals or birds, but for signs that a century
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>before had marked for the aborigines of Peru the
+place where great treasure lay buried.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey, between the captain and Hope-Jones,
+could hear the swish of the latter’s walking-stick as
+he cut the plants through which he moved, but not
+a sound came from his left. Occasionally a little
+animal darted from a decayed log; or, with a whir,
+a bird, startled from the undergrowth, would fly
+ahead, slanting upwards. But he saw nothing else.
+The trees were not much nearer together than in an
+orchard. Of course they were large of trunk and
+branch, and the shade was almost continual. Here
+and there one had fallen, but the boy saw no signs
+of a number having been felled by man. After
+fifteen minutes had passed he heard Hope-Jones
+call: “Anything in sight, Harvey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Nothing.” Then he repeated the question, turning
+to the left.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Not a sight that is cheering, my boy,” was the
+captain’s answer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Peruvian’s voice was quite indistinct, and
+Harvey, believing he had borne too far to the right,
+altered his direction somewhat. Then time commenced
+to hang heavy, and the minutes dragged
+like hours as he moved on, but ahead he saw an
+interminable succession of giant trees, interspersed
+here and there with immense heliotrope bushes, but
+never a rock of prominence or a number of trees
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>felled as if to offer a bar to progress. Finally there
+came a call that set his blood tingling.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Come on, Harvey, and bring Hope-Jones with
+you!” shouted the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The lad repeated the cheerful words, and soon the
+crackling of underbrush announced the approach of
+the Englishman, who, panting from his exertions,
+joined the boy, and then the two made equal haste to
+the side of the Peruvian, who guided them by frequent
+shouts.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is it?” both asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Ferguson has seen something and is waiting,”
+he answered, then called out: “Give us a word,
+over there!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A shout came in reply, and going in the direction
+of the sound, the three made the most haste possible.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They found the elder American standing near a
+mass that resembled a mound, and in every direction
+ahead of him were similar curious shapes.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t you think these have been formed by heaps
+of fallen trees, covered in time with vegetation?”
+he inquired.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You may be right. Here, lend me your pick-axe,
+Hope-Jones;” and taking the tool the captain
+commenced vigorously to make an opening. The
+mound yielded beneath the blows and proved to be
+little more than a mass of foliage supported by soil
+that had been formed of dead timber. Within were
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>gray, shrivelled pieces of wood, some of which Harvey
+drew forth and eagerly examined.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes,” he exclaimed, “these are pieces of trees,
+almost fossilized.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then we are in the right path,” said Hope-Jones.
+“But where is the white rock?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That remains to be found. Let’s push onward,”
+said the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As all the mounds seemed to be within reach of
+the eye on both sides, and to extend in a line straight
+ahead, they continued their way together and
+travelled through the strange land that spoke of the
+Ayulis’ anger and the efforts of the aborigines to
+prevent their treasure falling into the intruders’
+hands.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Cisneros remarked that the trees were
+not so tall as those they had left behind, which, he
+said, was conclusive evidence that the primeval
+growth had been cut down, and that this thin forest
+had sprung into being since that day. It was
+noticed that the ground sloped somewhat from both
+right and left; they were, in fact, in a little valley,
+through which, as Ferguson remarked, a stream once
+flowed and probably still flowed during the rainy
+season.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For nearly fifteen minutes they kept on, and then
+as suddenly as the mounds had commenced, they
+came to an end, and beyond them the trees were of
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>ancient growth once more. They looked at one
+another quizzically, as if to say: “We have passed
+the obstructions. Where is the white rock that
+marks the mine?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We’ve missed it somehow,” said the captain.
+“Perhaps it’s to the right, or the left. Hope-Jones,
+you and Harvey go around the mounds on one side,
+and Ferguson and I will go on the other.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They separated, as proposed, and carefully surveyed
+the country for the landmark which meant
+fortunes to them. The two parties were an hour
+making the detour, and when they met again at the
+point where Ferguson had first called their attention
+to the curious earth formations, neither had any
+encouraging report to make. All were puzzled.
+What could it mean? Had old Huayno hoaxed
+them, and thus vented his wrath against white men?
+The captain asked this question and was assured by
+both Hope-Jones and Ferguson that they, who had
+known the old Indian, could not entertain the
+thought for a minute. Could he have been mistaken
+concerning the location of the second white
+rock? That was possible, but where could they
+search for it, if not among these mounds? Huayno’s
+estimate of distances had proved different from
+theirs; still the general direction had been correct,
+and they had found all the landmarks that he had
+named—all save the last and the most important.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>While discussing what had better be done, they
+unstrapped their knapsacks and ate the noonday
+meal, for the morning had passed. This done, the
+captain said that he would keep on some distance in
+the general direction they had followed since leaving
+the river, and while he was gone the others could
+explore the mound region more thoroughly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was four o’clock when they met again, weary
+and discouraged, for not one had seen aught that led
+him to believe they had located the mine.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I thought I had the rock in sight once, boys,
+but it turned out to be a tree with white blossoms,”
+said the captain.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As the shades were lengthening in the woods, the
+explorers turned back to the river, and once arrived
+at the white rock on the bank, they decided to camp
+there for the night and not walk to Fort Pincushion.
+So they pitched the shelter-tent, built a fire
+and cooked some game which they had killed on the
+return trip. Then, after arranging for the watch,
+those who could “turn in” went to sleep immediately,
+for their brains were fatigued by the disappointment,
+even as their bodies were by the physical
+exertion.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XII.<br /> <span class='large'>HARVEY AS A SENTRY.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>Harvey was called at two o’clock in the morning,
+and he posted himself as sentinel under a
+small tree that grew near the shelter-tent. He had
+become somewhat accustomed to being rudely awakened
+and to being alone while the others slept, and
+now that an attack by Indians was improbable, and
+it was no longer necessary to strain his sense of hearing
+that he might note the slightest sound, the novelty
+of the situation appealed to him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This night the moon in its third quarter shone
+from out a cloudless sky, and at the altitude of the
+great intermontane valley in which they rested, the
+rays were brighter than at points nearer the sea
+level, so the river bank and the open country were
+visible with nearly the distinctness of day.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As the boy walked a few times back and forth, a
+rifle on his shoulder, then paused for a short rest
+under the tree, he puzzled his brain to account for
+their not having found the second white rock. He
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>believed implicitly in the truth of all that Huayno
+had said, and was confident that not far from where
+he stood great riches were stored in the ground.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But could they ever locate the mine? It would
+be a task of years to demolish all those mounds and
+ascertain which hid the entrance to the old workings;
+and should it be attempted, others must learn
+what they were doing on the banks of the Marañon,
+others would flock to the place with picks and
+shovels, and among these others some one or two
+might first find the store of yellow metal.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Thus cogitating he walked closer to the river and
+stood beneath the great white rock, which shone
+resplendent in the moonlight, glistening and seeming
+to be translucent. Studying the strange geological
+formation attentively, he noticed for the first
+time that only the side facing up stream and the side
+facing the woods were white; those facing down
+stream and the opposite shore were much darker,
+almost a slate color. This peculiarity had not been
+remarked, because no member of the party had gone
+farther down stream. The boy also saw that the
+rock was several feet from the river and that its
+lower portion, where the water washed, had turned
+this same slate color.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He paced slowly back to the tree, meditating on
+these observations, and endeavoring to solve the
+reason for the varying of the physical features of
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>the unique landmark. In the midst of this his mind
+strangely reverted to the time of a dinner party that
+had been given at his father’s home in Chucuito
+about six months before, and try as he might he
+could think of nothing else than this entertainment
+and the people who were present; then of the conversation
+that had occurred—and the moment the
+mind cell that contained the impression left by that
+conversation opened, he had the solution of the problem
+which confronted them.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At this dinner Don Isaac Lawton, editor of the
+<cite>South Pacific Times</cite>, had been asked to explain the
+absence of rain on the Peruvian coast-line. He had
+done so in these words:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The absence of rain on the coast is caused by the
+action of the lofty uplands of the Andes on the trade-wind.
+The southeast trade-wind blows obliquely
+across the Atlantic Ocean until it reaches Brazil.
+By this time it is heavily laden with vapor, which
+it continues to bear along across the continent,
+depositing it and supplying the sources of the
+Amazon and the La Plata. Finally, the trade-wind
+arrives at the snow-capped Andes, and here the last
+particle of moisture is wrung from it that the very
+low temperature can extract. Coming to the summit
+of that range, it rushes down as a cool and dry wind
+on the Pacific slopes below. Meeting with no evaporating
+surface, and with no temperature colder than
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>that to which it is subjected on the mountain tops,
+this wind joins the south trades and reaches the ocean
+before it becomes charged with fresh moisture.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey, recalling this conversation, for it had been
+imprinted upon his mind, because it was the first
+explanation he had heard of this Pacific coast
+phenomenon, began to reason that if the trade-winds
+blew in a certain direction over Brazil and in a
+certain direction on the coast, there was undoubtedly
+a regularity of the wind currents in this intermontane
+valley. He had noticed since leaving
+Huari that what breeze stirred, blew in their faces;
+therefore the general direction of the wind was up
+stream, or toward the southwest.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That being true, the reason why a portion of the
+great white rock had turned a slate color was evident—it
+was weather-stained, and the remaining
+portion, sheltered from the winds, retained its lustre.
+At this stage in his reflections he recalled a sentence
+from his geology: “Alabaster is soluble to a certain
+extent in water.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This white rock was high above the river and had
+not been dissolved by the stream. Its northern portion
+had undoubtedly been worn by rains, and it was
+probably not so high as when old Huayno was a
+young man; still it had been better preserved than
+if the full force of the stream had been brought to
+bear upon it.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>“What if conditions had been different and the
+rock had been wave-washed all these years?”
+Harvey asked, and then answered himself: “It
+would have been worn down and all sides would
+have been weather-stained, even as the more exposed
+portions are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In the region of the peculiar mounds they had
+noticed a depression, and all had agreed that it probably
+formed the course of a stream during the
+rainy season. Perhaps the second white rock had
+stood in this depression; it was undoubtedly not so
+high as that which was nearer the river, even in old
+Huayno’s day. What then would have been the
+natural result of a low rock of alabaster, washed five
+and six months in the year by swiftly running
+waters?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Again he answered himself, to the effect that
+under such circumstances a rock of this description
+would have been worn down in the eighty years,
+perhaps almost to a level with the country, and
+its entire surface would be slate-colored, like
+the weather-beaten sides of the landmark on the
+Marañon.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Five minutes later Harvey entered the shelter-tent
+and awakened Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“My turn to stand guard, eh?” said the elder
+American, as he threw off the blankets and commenced
+putting on his clothing.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>The boy made no answer until he was joined on
+the outside by the young man; then he said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, it isn’t your turn, and it won’t be for an
+hour, but I would like to go into the woods for a
+little while and don’t wish to leave the camp unguarded.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Go into the woods! Are you crazy, lad? Has
+the moon affected you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I have an idea that I can find the second rock.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You have, have you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.” And then he explained his chain of
+reasoning.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now I call that clever,” said Ferguson, “and I
+believe you have hit the nail on the head. Don’t
+you want somebody to go with you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. There’s no danger. I shall carry my shot-gun.
+Besides, the camp must be guarded, and I
+don’t want to awaken the other two.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They’ve had their watch; and besides, if I fail,
+there won’t be so many persons disappointed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sensible precaution, that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I wish I had Mr. Hope-Jones’s compass.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Here it is. He gave it to me in the woods because
+his pocket is torn.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let me have it, please. Mr. Ferguson, 5280
+feet make a mile, do they not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>“And one-half of 5280 is 2640?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I cover about two feet at every step through
+this broken country, do I not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“About that. But what are you driving at?
+You are the greatest boy to fire questions at one that
+I ever met.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, I want to go in the direction old Huayno
+gave for exactly a half mile, or as near that as
+possible, and then investigate.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, take care of yourself, and if anything
+happens fire a shot and I will hurry to your aid.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Good-by.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Good luck.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>And the boy disappeared in the timber. “One,
+two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,”
+Harvey counted, and then into the twenties and into
+the hundreds, thus numbering the steps as he took
+them in a north direction, guided by the compass
+needle. He soon lost sight of the camp and of the
+white rock and was well in the region of the tall
+trees. He had carried only his shot-gun, the little
+iron hammer, and the compass. The early morning
+was cool, the air bracing, and as the moon’s rays
+gave plenty of light, he made quick progress; but
+from the start he so regulated his steps that they
+would not be much over two feet each in length.
+Whatever addition there might be to that measure
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>he thought would in the total correspond with old
+Huayno’s idea of a half mile, for the Indian’s estimate
+had invariably been less than the actual
+distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He had counted one thousand before he stopped
+to rest; and then the halt was but momentary,
+more to tighten his belt and shift his shot-gun from
+one shoulder to the other, than because he was
+tired. Soon after starting again, he noticed to his
+satisfaction that he had entered the slight depression
+which they had observed in the afternoon, and
+through which it was believed a river ran during
+the rainy season. Its course there was north to
+south, where it entered the Marañon. Thus the
+strength of one link in his theoretical chain had
+been proven; if the second white rock was directly
+north from the main river, it undoubtedly stood in
+the bed of this periodical waterway.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>About this time he entered the region of the
+curious mounds and was able to remain in the
+little valley, for the waters had washed a way
+around each, not so deep as the channel, however,
+proving that a portion of the flow had soaked
+through the strangely formed hillocks.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At his two-thousandth step the boy noticed that
+the mounds had increased in size and were closer
+together. A hundred yards farther they appeared
+to be merged into one, which was several hundred
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>feet in circumference, and which appeared to be a
+little table-land, indented by the depression across
+its surface. At the opposite end from where he
+had entered the table-land, or rather on the opposite
+side of the circle, the river-bed swept in an angle to
+the east.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Perspiration stood in beads on his forehead; his
+heart beat wildly. Was he right? Was this little
+table-land, this mound larger than all the others, an
+elevation at the mouth of the mine? Was the decomposed
+wood under his feet the remains of trees
+which had been felled in the greatest number by the
+Ayulis, because of proximity to the treasure? If
+these facts were true, then where had the white rock
+stood? Why, at the point where the river of winter
+changed its course to the east; that was the most
+probable point, if the pillar that marked the mine
+opening bore north from the Marañon, as old Huayno
+had said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It took him but a minute to reach this point, and
+once there he put down his rifle, then commenced
+to crawl on all fours over the little hillocks with
+which the big mound was dotted, striking the
+ground hard blows with his hammer. After having
+done this for a quarter of an hour or so he stopped,
+for he was almost out of breath, then when rested
+he moved to the other side of the depression, at a
+point a few yards beyond, where it turned east at
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>right angles. There his foot encountered something
+hard, and throwing himself down, he commenced
+feverishly to tear aside the vines and
+creepers that formed a covering. When they were
+removed he saw a dark brown rock that was covered
+over with decayed vegetable matter. Scraping this
+off, the lad made use of his little hammer, and after
+three or four blows a wonderful thing happened.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As the dirty brown shells of an oyster open and
+reveal an interior of pearly white, so the breaking of
+the rock showed a seam that was the color of milk.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ferguson, standing guard near the Marañon, was
+wondering what kept Harvey so long and was blaming
+himself for permitting the lad to enter the
+woods unaccompanied at such an hour, when his
+attention was attracted by the crackling of underbrush
+some distance away, and then the sound of
+footfalls nearing him rapidly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Harvey’s on the run!” he ejaculated. “Wonder
+if it’s a puma this time, or what?” and swinging his
+rifle on his shoulder, he started at a double quick to
+the forest, where he met the boy, hatless and minus
+his shot-gun, just beyond the first line of trees.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He had no opportunity to make inquiries, for the
+lad waved a piece of rock the instant he caught sight
+of him and screamed:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ve found it! I’ve found it! Look at this!
+will you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>It happened that the shelter-tent had not been
+erected in a very secure manner the evening before,
+for all hands had been too tired and discouraged;
+they had used a very thin piece of wood for a centre-pole.
+Therefore the result of a wild rush under the
+canvas by Ferguson and Harvey, both anxious to
+tell the cheering news, was the collapse of the cloth
+structure, and in the entangling folds three men and
+a boy were soon struggling. To add to the confusion,
+Hope-Jones, who had been dreaming of the
+Majeronas, imagined an attack was on, and reaching
+out for the fancied opponent nearest him, he commenced
+pommelling Ferguson lustily. The elder
+American, who was so imprisoned by the canvas that
+he could not defend himself, might have been seriously
+injured had not Señor Cisneros rolled himself
+free, and dragged the bellicose Englishman away.
+He then freed the others, and as Harvey was still
+breathing heavily, after the wild dash through the
+woods, he drew the boy to him, believing he had
+been injured.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, I’m not hurt,” exclaimed the lad, panting.
+“Look, I have found the white rock over there in
+the woods! Here’s a piece that I chipped off,”
+and he exhibited the specimen of alabaster, to which
+he had held firmly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hope-Jones, who by this time had come to his
+senses, gave a yell of joy, and the captain, jumping
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>to his feet, caught Harvey by the shoulders in an
+embrace, then urged him to relate the details of his
+exploration.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Of course there was no thought of attempting to
+sleep again that night; they did not even straighten
+up the shelter-tent. Hope-Jones and Ferguson
+favored starting at once in search of the treasure,
+but the captain said it would be wiser first to eat
+breakfast. “Besides,” he added, “Harvey needs
+some rest.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>So they built a fire and soon were enjoying tin cups
+of hot coffee and some broiled duck’s meat—for the
+captain had snared wild fowl the evening before
+and had prepared it while on watch.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Although the moon was setting when the start
+was made from the camp, they pushed on quickly,
+for their watches told them that in another half
+hour dawn would come; and when at last they
+reached the large centre mound and the point where
+Harvey had found the second white rock, a gray
+light was penetrating the woods.</p>
+
+<hr class='c013' />
+
+<p class='c000'>Three happy men, and a boy who was even
+happier, sat around the camp-fire on the banks of
+the river Marañon that evening.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You say the quartz is the richest you ever saw?”
+asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>“Yes, it is,” and the captain lifted one of the
+many pieces they had brought from the mine as
+samples, and all looked at it for perhaps the hundredth
+time that day.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How long do you think we had better remain
+here?” Ferguson inquired.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps a fortnight. That will give us ample
+time in which to explore the property and stake it
+off.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Another member of the camp was a friendly
+Ayuli Indian, who had appeared on the bank as
+they emerged from the wood. He with others had
+been driven far from his village by the marauding
+band of Majeronas before the latter’s encounter
+with the white men, and he was making a long
+detour on his return. They had detained him
+over night and on the morrow intended sending
+him with letters to Huari, from where they would
+be forwarded to Chicla and then to Callao.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> <span class='large'>BELLA CACERAS RECOGNIZES A VOICE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>One evening early in November, 1879, several
+persons met at the home of John Dartmoor
+in Chucuito, a suburb in Callao.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From La Punta, a seaside resort, had come Captain
+and Mrs. Saunders, with their sons, Carl and
+Harold, the first-named a boy who was just graduating
+from his teens and the latter a much younger
+lad. Carl was the chum of Louis Dartmoor, Harvey’s
+elder brother; and these three, Carl, Louis,
+and Harvey, had experienced many adventures in
+Callao Bay together. Another adult guest was
+Don Isaac Lawton, a courtly British colonial, editor
+of the <em>South Pacific Times</em>, a man greatly esteemed
+by both Mr. Dartmoor and Captain Saunders, indeed
+by all the American and English residents of
+Peru.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A younger visitor was Bella Caceras, whose
+name has appeared in earlier chapters. Seated
+beside her on a couch in the little parlor this evening
+was Rosita Dartmoor, whose strong resemblance
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>to her Peruvian mother was as marked as was her
+younger brother’s resemblance to his American
+father.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A dinner had preceded the social evening, and the
+occasion of the gathering was to celebrate Rosita’s
+fifteenth birthday. One who did not know how
+rapidly girls mature in these South American countries
+would have thought her several years older;
+indeed, in the United States she would readily have
+passed for a miss of eighteen or nineteen, and so
+would Bella Caceras, who was Rosita’s age. Both
+girls wore long skirts, and in Peru they were considered
+old enough to enter society. This winter
+would have witnessed their <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</span>, had it not been
+for the circumstances of the times preventing the
+social entertainments that for years had marked
+Lima and Callao as gay cities of the West Coast.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Peru, in this November of 1879, was a nation of
+mourning, a country plunged in despair. Eight
+months before she had taken up arms against Chile,
+to prevent the latter’s seizure of land to the south
+which was rich in nitrate of soda. Entering the
+contest with a well-equipped army and with a navy
+that was deemed by many the equal of the enemy’s,
+she had met a series of reverses that were disheartening,
+and in this early summer month—the seasons
+below the equator are the reverse of those to
+the north—it was evident that the country’s doom
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>was sealed, and that any day a conquering army
+might move from the south and besiege the capital.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Fate had been unkind to the northern republic.
+One month after hostilities had commenced, the
+largest war-ship, the <em>Independencia</em>, had been lost
+on a reef near Iquique while in pursuit of a little
+Chilean gunboat that was hardly worthy the capture.
+In October, the <em>Huascar</em>, a turret-ship of great
+power, had been surrounded off Point Angamos,
+while steaming north, by nearly all the ships of the
+Chilean fleet and had been captured after a bitter
+engagement, but not until nearly one-half of her
+crew had been killed and she had been set on fire
+in several places.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was during this engagement that Grau, admiral
+of the Peruvian navy, had been killed; and that
+is why Bella Caceras was in mourning, for he was
+her uncle. The loss of the <em>Huascar</em> had cast a
+gloom over all Peru, and the despair was heightened
+a few weeks later by the news that the gunboat <em>Pilcomayo</em>
+had been captured.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Meanwhile revolution had left its scar upon the
+country. Prado, the president, had fled to Europe,
+and an attempt by his ministers to form a government
+had been resisted by Don Nicolas de Pierola,
+who with a force of mountain men and some army
+and navy officers, who flocked to his standard, had
+attacked the palace in Lima, which they had captured
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>after a bitter struggle; and as a result, Pierola
+was at this time dictator of Peru. The land
+forces had not been more successful than had the
+maritime. Reverses had been met in the south, and
+orders had been given to concentrate troops in the
+vicinity of Lima, to take part in the defence of the
+capital; for now that the Peruvian navy had been
+nearly annihilated, the ocean highway was clear, and
+it was possible for Chile to move transports as she
+wished.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Callao was the one strong point in the country.
+Defended by large modern guns in the castles, in
+the Chucuito forts, at Los Baños and at La Punta,
+the city was pronounced able to withstand any bombardment.
+But a blockade! That was what the
+residents feared, for with a cordon of ships in the
+offing commerce could not be maintained; supplies
+of food from the north and south and supplies from
+Europe, upon which the residents greatly depended,
+would cease.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As yet no Chilean ships had appeared off the port,
+except to reconnoitre, but rumors came from the
+enemy’s country that a squadron for blockade duty
+was forming, and more heartrending than all was
+the report that machinists were busy on the <em>Huascar</em>,
+putting her in trim, and that she would form one of
+the fleet. At this news Peruvians gnashed their
+teeth with rage.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>It would be bad enough to have the ironclads
+<em>Blanco Encalada</em> and <em>Almirante Cochrane</em> dominate
+the sea within their sight, but to be compelled to
+witness a little turret-ship, once the pride of the
+Peruvian navy, steam near San Lorenzo island at
+the entrance to the harbor, flying the lone star flag
+of the enemy, would be the last drop in the bitter cup.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The gloom which overspread the country had
+little part in John Dartmoor’s home on this evening.
+They were all very happy, for any day they were expecting
+the return of Harvey from the interior, and
+a letter received from him had told them that his
+mission had been successful, even beyond their most
+fanciful expectations.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was only the extreme of circumstances that had
+influenced Mr. Dartmoor to let his younger son
+undertake this hazardous trip. At the time of the
+lad’s departure he had believed he could postpone
+the evil day for several months, but a few weeks
+later came the news of the naval engagement off
+Point Angamos and the defeat of the <em>Huascar</em>, which
+caused a financial panic in Callao and Lima, and
+among the many forced to the wall was the American
+iron merchant.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He bravely faced the storm and was ably assisted
+by his wife and children, who cheerfully accustomed
+themselves to the new life that was made necessary.
+They gave up their handsome home and moved into
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>a little cottage; Mrs. Dartmoor yielded her jewels,
+that more money might be paid their creditors;
+Rosita denied herself the pleasures which her father’s
+wealth in former years had enabled her to enjoy, and
+Louis, believing that he should no longer be a burden
+at home, secured a position as purser’s clerk on one
+of the steamers of the Pacific Steam Navigation
+Company.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A fortnight before this evening the same persons
+had met at Mr. Dartmoor’s home to bid good-by to
+Louis, who had planned to sail on the morrow, and
+while they were gathered in the little parlor a clerk
+had arrived from the ship chandler’s, where Mr.
+Dartmoor had found temporary employment, and had
+brought a letter received late in the afternoon. It
+was from Harvey, and the lad had written:—</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>“<span class='sc'>Dear Ones at Home</span>: I have found it, or
+rather we have found it. The mine is here, just
+where the old Inca said it would be found. Mr. Ferguson,
+who is somewhat versed in such matters, says
+that millions are buried. From the study that I have
+had, I know that our assays have shown twenty-five
+per cent gold to seventy-five per cent gross.</p>
+
+<p class='c014'>“Of course it is difficult to work this mine, because
+no means of transportation exist, but as Mr. Hope-Jones
+says, ‘Gold is gold,’ and there will be no lack
+of capital to exploit what we have found. This
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>letter I have written with the stub of a pencil,
+seated on the side of an ironwood tree. It is sent
+by a native, who has promised to take it to Chicla,
+from where it will be forwarded by post. We shall
+start home in about two weeks, after we have collected
+sufficient samples. My love for everybody, and I
+hope this letter will not arrive too late.</p>
+
+<div class='lg-container-r c012'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Harvey.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c014'>“P.S. Please ask Rosita to tell Bella Caceras,
+the next time she sees her, that I have appreciated
+her gift very much. It has been a constant companion.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The joy which the receipt of this letter had given
+them all can well be imagined. John Dartmoor saw
+the rehabilitation of his fortunes at no distant day,
+and the reinstatement of his wife and children in the
+life to which they had been accustomed. The letter
+had also made it unnecessary for Louis to go to sea,
+but as he had promised the superintendent of the
+steamship company to take the position, and as it
+would have been difficult to find another person competent
+for the place on such short notice, he had
+made one voyage to Panama, returning the evening
+before this entertainment in honor of his sister’s
+birthday.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>To another member of this party Harvey’s news
+had also brought happiness and relief from worry.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>Mr. Lawton had felt the burden of financial depression
+almost as much as had Mr. Dartmoor, and
+although he had weathered the first storm, yet every
+one knew that it was but the matter of a month or
+two before his publishing house would be compelled
+to close. The very day after the boy’s letter came
+to Chucuito, Harvey’s father had entered the editorial
+rooms and had said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don Isaac, can you hold out for a little while
+longer?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, I think I can,” was the reply. “But what
+is the use? The end must come, and might as well
+happen now as later. Advertisers simply cannot
+pay their contracts, for all business is at a standstill,
+and there is a straight loss in the circulation
+with the currency so depreciated.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, I wish you to hold on until Harvey
+returns.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why so, my friend?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because I know that nothing would give my son
+more pleasure, after caring for his mother and sister,
+than advancing you all the money necessary to tide
+you over.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you think so, Dartmoor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Indeed I know it, and can promise it for him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Thank God!” exclaimed the Britisher fervently,
+but in a choking voice. His eyes were unusually
+brilliant, for they had grown moist. He was a
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>bachelor, all his relatives were dead, and his newspaper
+was the one object that made life dear to him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That evening Mr. Dartmoor said to his wife: “It
+seemed so strange for me to speak of Harvey lending
+money. But it is a fact, and he will really be
+lending it to us, for it will be his.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I am certain you know Harvey better than that,”
+Mrs. Dartmoor had replied. “You see if his very
+first act is not to insist that his interest be transferred
+to you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But I would not accept it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Nor should I wish you to. But he will have it
+arranged in some manner, that I know.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Although Captain Saunders was not in financial
+distress, for he was paid in gold by the American
+Board of Marine Underwriters, for whom he was
+agent on the West Coast, yet the letter from the
+interior had made him none the less happy than it
+had the others, for John Dartmoor was not only a
+close friend of his Peruvian life, but they had been
+chums in boyhood, even as their sons were at this
+time; and for Don Isaac he had the same regard.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>None of them in Chucuito permitted the news to
+alter their mode of living. Mr. Dartmoor remained
+at the desk in a ship chandler’s, and with his wife
+and Rosita lived in the little cottage, waiting until
+the adventurers should return from the interior.
+The good news had been noised about in Callao and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>Lima, and several offers had been made Mr. Dartmoor
+by persons anxious to advance money and
+secure a promise of an interest in the wonderful
+mine. But all these the American refused, saying
+that the property was not his, but his son’s, and he
+did not wish to make any arrangements until the lad
+should return.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It will be noticed that Harvey in writing had
+refrained from making mention of the encounter
+with the Majeronas. He had done this so that his
+parents might not be alarmed. And he had said
+nothing concerning Señor Cisneros. So that all they
+knew was that the mine had been located, that it was
+rich in gold, and that the boy was well.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let’s see, it’s a little over two weeks since the
+letter came, is it not?” asked Captain Saunders on
+the occasion of this birthday entertainment.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, two weeks ago Tuesday.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He said that they expected to leave within a
+fortnight?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then he is due now at any time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I hardly expect him so soon,” said Mr. Dartmoor.
+“The Indian runner, accustomed to the country, and
+having nothing to carry, would be able to make
+much better time through the mountains than Hope-Jones,
+Ferguson, and my son, burdened with their
+camp utensils, and with the samples of ore. So I
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>would not be surprised should another week elapse
+before their arrival.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You are doubtless correct. I had not thought of
+those matters.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Wouldn’t it be jolly though if they should arrive
+unexpectedly to-night!” exclaimed Carl Saunders,
+and Louis added, “I should say so.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were interrupted by a loud ring at the bell.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I wonder if it can be possible!” exclaimed the
+elder Dartmoor boy, springing to his feet and rushing
+out into the hall. All conversation ceased, and
+they listened intently. But it was not the voice of
+Harvey that sounded when the door was opened.
+The tones, however, they recognized as those of
+a very dear friend, General Matajente, the smallest
+officer in the Peruvian army, a man who had been a
+captain in the navy during the administration of
+President Prado, but who had joined the land forces
+of Pierola and had rendered that leader such signal
+service that he had been rapidly promoted.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are your parents in?” they heard the general
+ask Louis, and the next minute he came hurriedly
+into the room, apologizing for having called at such
+a late hour, and expressing himself overjoyed at meeting
+so many of his friends at one time.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The general was an exquisite in the matter of dress,
+and wore black mustachios that were so long and
+stood out so prominently that he gave a person the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>idea of a walking cross. Although he was much
+undersized, yet those who knew him never gave the
+matter of his height any thought, for he was a most
+courageous and pugnacious personage. Both Carl and
+Louis had seen him facing an enemy, and had marvelled
+at his quickness and his dexterity. They had
+been present on the <em>Pilcomayo</em>, which he once commanded,
+when the captain had fought a duel with a
+naval officer who was much his superior in physique,
+yet who had been in the hands of the little man as a
+mouse in the paws of a kitten. They had also seen
+him lead the famous cavalry charge in Lima, and
+sweep right into a battery of guns, sabring the
+artillerists until all the pieces were silenced. When
+they thought of these things, Captain Matajente, as
+they always called him to one another, appeared
+as a giant, rather than a dwarf, which he was in
+reality.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Had we known that you were in the city, general,
+we should have sent you an invitation on behalf
+of Rosita,” said Mr. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I know you would, and I am delighted that I
+happened in. The fact is I came from Lima only on
+the last train.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are you going to remain long?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Only over night,” he replied. “I came to listen
+in detail to some remarkable adventures; as remarkable,
+I am sure, as any that ever happened to three
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>young men; and I came also, Mr. Dartmoor, to
+introduce my cousin, Anton Cisneros, a resident of
+Huari, who has journeyed to the coast on a business
+trip.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should be delighted——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor was cut short by the entrance from
+the hallway of a tall, dark-featured Peruvian, clad
+in a long poncho and wearing heavy top-boots,
+who was presented to those who were in the parlor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Rosita,” whispered Bella Caceras, “I believe that
+Harvey has returned. Look at the general. Don’t
+you notice a twinkle in his eyes? And what is
+Louis waiting out in the hall for? I hear voices,
+Rosita! I tell you, it’s your brother!” and the
+vivacious Peruvian girl darted from the room. A
+second later she gave a little scream of delight, then
+was heard to say: “I knew it! I knew it! Rosita,
+come here!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Ah! the little minx has spoiled my surprise!”
+said General Matajente to those in the parlor. “Harvey,
+come in and bring your friends!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Harvey here!” exclaimed Mrs. Dartmoor, rising
+quickly, and she ran to the door, followed by her
+husband.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Yes, Harvey was there, and so were Hope-Jones
+and Ferguson.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, you have grown nearly a foot!” said
+Mr. Dartmoor, holding him off at arm’s length after
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>the first welcome was over. “And you are almost
+black.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then all fell to talking at once, as is usual on such
+occasions. General Matajente explained that he had
+met the travellers by chance as they were leaving the
+Oroya Railroad station in Lima, after coming in
+from Chicla. That was at five o’clock in the afternoon,
+and he had taken them to his home, where they
+had removed the stains of travel. He had been
+pleasantly surprised to find that the companion of
+their interior journey had been his cousin from
+Huari, and from him he had learned something of
+the adventures of the four. Anxious to hear the
+story in detail, and also to be a witness to the joyful
+reunion, he had accompanied them to Callao and on
+to Chucuito. He had planned that Harvey’s entrance
+should be a surprise, but the keen ears of
+Bella Caceras had enabled her somewhat to turn the
+tables.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The five had dined in Lima, but were nothing
+loath to again sitting down at the board, and at ten
+o’clock all drew up chairs. Then, as every one
+insisted that the story of the adventures be told
+that night, Hope-Jones described their experience
+from Lima to Huari, and the captain took up the
+thread of the story from the time of their departure
+from the mountain town. Mrs. Dartmoor shuddered
+when the adventure with the puma was related,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>and the girls turned pale. But when it came to the
+battle with the Majeronas, the details were listened
+to with breathless eagerness, and Harvey felt his
+mother’s arm press him closer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>There were two scarlet faces in the room as the
+captain detailed the sequel to this fight and Harvey’s
+narrow escape from death; and then, for the first
+time, the men learned who had been the donor of
+the pincushion that had stayed the arrow’s flight,
+for Bella Caceras had jumped to her feet, and had
+run over to the boy’s side when she heard how he
+had carried her little gift, and what it had done for
+him. The two were for several minutes the objects
+of many good-natured jests, but they bore them
+bravely, and, all being interested in hearing of the
+further discoveries, the narrative was resumed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was after midnight before everything had been
+told, and before they thought of rest. Mr. Dartmoor
+insisted that Señor Cisneros should remain
+with him, and that Hope-Jones and Ferguson also
+should stay. As the house was too small to accommodate
+all whom the genial American wished to
+accommodate, Captain Saunders invited General
+Matajente to go with him to La Punta, and he also
+urged that Louis join them as Carl’s guest. This
+arrangement was finally agreed upon, and the party
+for La Punta withdrew, being accompanied as far as
+the little railway station by Don Isaac, who had
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>refused all invitations and had said that he would
+prefer to walk to his rooms in Callao.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“For,” he explained to Captain Saunders, “I feel
+a strange buoyancy to-night; even as if I were a
+boy again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The editor had good cause for this. A few minutes
+before good nights were said, he had been taken
+to<a id='p185'></a> one side by Mr. Dartmoor, who had whispered:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I spoke to Harvey of my wish that you should
+share our good fortune, and he is enthusiastic at the
+idea.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> <span class='large'>BLOCKADE OF CALLAO HARBOR.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>Louis Dartmoor and Carl Saunders were
+early astir at the home of the latter’s parents
+in La Punta the next morning. The Peruvian residence
+of the American captain was a suite of rooms
+in a large, rambling hotel, situated at the extreme
+tip of the narrow peninsula that juts into the Pacific
+west of Callao, and forms, with San Lorenzo Island,
+three miles distant, a shelter for the bay.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was only a stone’s throw from the hotel to the
+beach, and as was their frequent practice, the boys
+donned their bathing suits in the bedrooms, and
+running down the rear stairs, took a dip in the
+ocean before breakfast, diving through the inrushing
+breakers and swimming out some distance from
+the shore. They were in the water about a half
+hour and had returned to the rooms by half-past six.
+Faustina, Mrs. Saunders’s cook,—the suite occupied
+by the Americans resembled in many respects the
+apartment house of the United States, inasmuch as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>they had their independent kitchen and dining room,—had
+just arrived from Callao, and had put the
+water for the coffee over to boil. So the boys, having
+plenty of time on their hands before breakfast
+could be ready, dressed at their leisure, after a brisk
+rub-down with coarse towels, then went out on the
+broad veranda, where Louis told Carl of some of his
+experiences while on his one voyage as purser’s clerk;
+then they began discussing the return of Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The veranda was unusually wide, even for a South
+American country, and ran the entire length of the
+hotel. From the north end it commanded a view of
+the bay and also of the entrance to the harbor, which
+was past the north end of San Lorenzo. The channel
+between that island and La Punta was so strewn
+with reefs as to be dangerous for any except very
+light-draught vessels. When they had reached the
+end of the veranda, a light mist had obscured most
+of the bay, and it was quite dense to seaward; but
+while they were talking this mist gradually disappeared
+under the influence of the sun’s rays, and a
+breeze had commenced blowing from the south, so
+that within a quarter of an hour the waves had
+turned from a dull gray to bright indigo, except
+close in shore, where they broke in white foam before
+dashing on the stony beach.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Louis, happening to glance toward the end of San
+Lorenzo soon after this transformation was wrought,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>seized Carl’s arm and gave a yell as he pointed in the
+direction where ships round the headland to enter
+port. “Look! Look!” he said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Carl did so, then gasped, “The Chileans!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, the Chileans! The blockading fleet! One,
+two, three, four, five ships!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Oh, Louis!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, Carl!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Isn’t that the <em>Huascar</em>?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Great Scott! I believe it is! Our little <em>Huascar</em>,
+with the lone star flag at her gaff! Isn’t that
+terrible!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And there’s the <em>Pilcomayo</em> too. Think of it.
+The gunboat that Captain Matajente once commanded;
+and now he is perhaps asleep in our guest
+room. We must tell him and also tell father.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Wait a minute, Carl. That’s one of the big ironclads,
+I guess; that one to the right of the <em>Huascar</em>,
+Wonder whether it’s the <em>Blanco</em> or the <em>Cochrane</em>?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I don’t suppose anybody can tell at this distance.
+They are sister ships, you know, and I heard father
+say they differed only in their superstructure.
+Whichever she is, she is the flagship, for I can make
+out the admiral’s pennant at the fore truck. And
+look, a steam launch is putting off from her side and
+making for shore! Perhaps they are sending notice
+of a bombardment!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys then hurriedly left the end of the veranda
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>and ran into the little parlor, then into the first bedroom,
+where they found Captain Saunders shaving.
+Both were too excited to say anything for a full
+minute, and the American, somewhat vexed at the
+intrusion, exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Carl, you should not bring your friend in here,
+for I am not yet dressed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But father—the Chileans—the Chileans—are—in
+the offing.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The Chileans! Who said so? It must be a
+bola!”<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c011'><sup>[2]</sup></a></p>
+
+<div class='footnote' id='f2'>
+<p class='c000'><span class='label'><a href='#r2'>2</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Many false rumors and many grossly exaggerated reports were
+current up and down the coast during the Chile-Peruvian war, and
+these were designated by the term “bola.”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But it’s not a bola, father. We have seen them
+ourselves. There are five ships—one of the big
+ironclads, the <em>Huascar</em>, the <em>Pilcomayo</em>, and two
+other vessels; all are steaming up and down.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders placed the razor on the dresser,
+hurriedly washed his face, and went with the boys to
+the point from where they had viewed the fleet.
+They had no more than reached the end of the veranda
+than they heard the pattering of bare feet on
+the wood floor, and turning, saw General Matajente
+running toward them, exclaiming at the top of his
+voice: “What’s that I heard? The Chileños? Did
+any one say the Chileños were in sight?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was well for the boys that they had frequently
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>been impressed with the little general’s prowess, else
+they might not have restrained their laughter at the
+sight which he had presented. Hearing their report
+of the enemy, he had jumped from his bed and had
+run without stopping to dress. The evening before,
+Captain Saunders had given him a pair of his pyjamas,
+and these the little general had been compelled
+to turn up both at the legs and arms, until the fold
+of the former reached to his knees and of the latter
+to his elbows. He was evidently accustomed to
+wearing a nightcap when at home, and such an article
+not being in the American’s wardrobe, the Peruvian
+had tied his handkerchief over his head.
+Beneath this band of white his long, black mustachios
+stood out straight and his shaggy eyebrows protruded.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In his haste and excitement he pushed Carl and
+Louis one side, and to see the better, when he reached
+the place that commanded a view of the harbor
+entrance, he stood up on the foot-board of the rail.
+Then he broke out into violent exclamations.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“C-a-r-a-m-ba!” he hissed, “the audacity of
+them! To bring the <em>Huascar</em> here with their abominable
+flag flying! And my little <em>Pilcomayo</em>! My
+pride! My treasure! With dirty Chileños on her
+decks! C-a-r-a-m-b-a! It is too much! It is too
+much!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Tears commenced to roll down his face, and he became
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>almost hysterical. The man who, during his
+lifetime, had faced death perhaps a hundred times
+without flinching, the man who, in the streets of
+Lima, had led a cavalry squadron right into the very
+centre of a battery, was sobbing like a child. But
+they understood those tears and also the convulsive
+chokings. They knew that not only sorrow, but
+anger, was struggling for utterance, and in addition
+to all was humiliation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are coming ashore, coming to give notice!”
+he explained, noticing for the first time the little
+steam launch that was now some distance from the
+largest ship. “I hope that notice will be of a bombardment;
+that they will engage the forts like men,
+and not skulk in the offing and destroy ships that
+cannot fight. O for one shot at them with the
+castle guns!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He darted away from the railing and started for
+the stairs that led from the veranda to the main
+floor beneath.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where are you going, general?” asked Captain
+Saunders, catching the little officer by the sleeve of
+his pyjamas.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“To the castles,” he replied.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But you cannot go in this attire. Remember,
+you are not yet dressed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Peruvian officer then realized for the first
+time that he had appeared in his night clothes, and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>his one fault being his vanity, he became as humble
+as a reprimanded child when he appreciated what a
+sorry figure he had cut. To add to his confusion,
+Mrs. Saunders came from her rooms at that moment,
+and before her husband could reach her side and
+ask her to withdraw, she had taken a dozen steps
+in their direction. In his anxiety not to be seen,
+the general had stepped behind Carl, and had whispered
+to the boy: “Shield me! Shield me, I beg
+you!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That was easy to do, for the youth was much taller
+than the officer, and considerably broader, so that,
+standing still, he completely hid the diminutive
+general, who remained quiet until Mrs. Saunders had
+left the balcony. Then, darting from behind his
+human barrier, he made haste by a side door to the
+room where he had passed the night.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A few minutes later Faustina announced that
+breakfast was on the table, and Carl and Louis at
+once sat down with Captain and Mrs. Saunders.
+Although the latter was much interested in the news
+of the advent of the Chilean fleet, she asked if General
+Matajente had been awakened, and suggested
+that they await his arrival. But Captain Saunders
+understood the officer so well that he knew he would
+not wish to present himself before the boys after his
+peculiar appearance, and he also realized that the
+Peruvian wished to reach Callao with all haste; so
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>he made excuses for him, and with his own hands
+carried a tray laden with edibles to his room.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I shall go to Callao with our friend,” he said,
+on his return. “It is necessary that I know at
+once what course the Chileans have decided to
+take.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“May we go with you?” Carl asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, if you hurry, for I shall not detain the general.
+The next dummy leaves in ten minutes. If
+you can catch that, you may go. But not so fast
+with your coffee, Carl. You will choke.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What do you think they will do?” asked Mrs.
+Saunders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I hardly think they will bombard,” he replied,
+“for they know the range of the guns in Callao, and
+they could not approach near enough to do any
+damage without exposing themselves to the Peruvians’
+fire. So I expect they will send notice of a
+blockade. However, it may be of a bombardment,
+and in that event, Louise, we shall have to move to
+Lima to-night. So immediately after breakfast, you
+had better call in Faustina and pack the trunks;
+then we shall be ready for any emergency.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What if they declare a blockade?” his wife
+asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then our future actions will depend greatly upon
+its nature. If a close blockade be declared, one that
+will prevent the entry of any vessels until the war is
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>ended, I believe it would be wise for you to leave at
+once for the States with the children.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Oh, father, please don’t send me. Let me remain
+with you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Would you not wish to go with your mother,
+Carl?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, of course, but——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If I should have to go, let him stay with you,”
+Mrs. Saunders said. “I can understand exactly how
+he feels about leaving now. He would be a companion
+for you, dear; and besides, the experience would
+be valuable.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, well, we shall see about it later. Matters
+may not come to such a pass that it will be necessary
+for anybody to go. Are you ready, boys? Then
+join me at the dummy, and I will walk over with the
+general. Pardon him, Louise, if he does not come in
+to say good-by; he is quite put out by the course of
+events.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A half hour later the four had reached Callao, and
+Captain Saunders, with Carl and Louis, went direct
+to the editorial rooms of the <em>South Pacific Times</em>,
+knowing that there they would hear the first reliable
+news; and General Matajente went to the office of
+the captain of the port. In Mr. Lawton’s apartments
+they found Mr. Dartmoor and Harvey, and
+several other American and English residents of
+Callao, all assembled for the same purpose. Harvey
+at once joined his brother and their chum.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>“Where are Hope-Jones and Ferguson?” asked
+Louis.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They left early this morning for Lima, by the
+first train, I believe; before we knew the Chileans
+had been sighted. And I want to know, Louis, why
+you didn’t tell me last night that the <em>Huascar</em> and
+the <em>Pilcomayo</em> had been captured while I was in the
+interior? It came as a great shock this morning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’s so, Harvey. I confess I had completely
+forgotten that you were not as well posted as we.
+But tell me, does father think that this will make
+any difference with your mine?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t call it <em>my</em> mine, Louis. It belongs to us
+all; or rather, it is father’s, and that is just the same
+thing.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, does he think the arrival will interfere
+much with your plans?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. He is rather glad than otherwise that the
+fleet has come, for he believes it will hasten the end.
+Of course, it will be impossible for us to do anything
+until peace shall be declared, that is, to commence
+any mining; so the sooner Peru yields the better.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“In the meantime, what are you going to do?”
+asked Carl.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Señor Cisneros will return to the interior this
+week with a surveyor and a deputy from the mining
+bureau, so as to comply with the law and perfect our
+claim, and some one will go to either New York or
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>London and interest capital, in order that we may
+have the ready money with which to secure machinery
+and bring the ore to the coast. In the meantime,
+we shall be able to borrow sufficient from one
+of the banks here to pay all preliminary expenses.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Who will go to New York?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That I don’t know. We have arranged to
+hold another meeting to-night at Chucuito and
+decide.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Their attention was attracted by the entrance of
+an officer in the service of the Pacific Steam Navigation
+Company, who had come from the office of the
+captain of the port.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Has the Chilean launch arrived at the mole?”
+asked Don Isaac, eagerly; and the others pressed
+near.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It has. And the admiral has served notice on
+all interests that he intends maintaining a close
+blockade. Non-combatants will be allowed forty-eight
+hours in which to leave; after that no vessel,
+sail or steam, will be permitted to enter port or
+depart. So my ship, gentlemen, will be the last
+to leave.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Hearing this, Captain Saunders jumped to his feet,
+and beckoning Carl to his side, bade him come, and
+the two hurriedly left the room.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What’s the matter, father?” the boy asked, as
+they walked rapidly across the plaza.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>“Didn’t you hear Captain Brown say that his ship
+would be the last to leave Callao?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, sir.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I have no time to lose in securing a passage
+for your mother, Harold, and yourself. The
+boat will be crowded; hundreds will apply who will
+not even be able to get berths. By going to the
+office at once, I can perhaps reserve a stateroom.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Father, I wish you would let me remain with
+you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you know what it means, Carl, to be in a
+blockaded city with all supplies cut off?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I can imagine, father; but I should like very
+much to stay with you. Besides, I am some little
+help in the office, am I not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. But with a blockade established, no ships
+will come in, and I shall have nothing to do.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then, isn’t that a reason for my remaining?
+You will be very lonely, and should have one of
+your sons by your side.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders smiled. “Very well put, Carl,”
+he said, “but I wonder how much Louis and Harvey
+have to do with your anxiety to remain? But you
+may do as you wish, and I shall reserve a stateroom
+for your mother and Harold. Now that this is
+settled, I wish you to take the next dummy back to
+La Punta, and tell your mother what has occurred;
+then help her all you can with the packing. I shall
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>be home early this afternoon,” and he turned in the
+direction of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s
+offices, while his son kept on to the railroad station.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As Captain Saunders was leaving, after having
+secured the quarters on the Panama steamer, he met
+John Dartmoor and Señor Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are you going to send Mrs. Dartmoor to the
+States?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. I should like to, but she and Rosita would
+prefer to remain and move to Lima in the event of
+open hostilities. The señor and I are about to
+engage a berth for some one who must go to the
+States and arrange to secure working capital for
+our mine. Saturday’s boat will be the last out, you
+know.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, so I heard Captain Brown say, and I came
+here at once to engage passage for Mrs. Saunders.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I am very sorry to learn that she is going, but I
+think you are wise. We may see some pretty tight
+times here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There’s little doubt of it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are both boys going?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, Carl remains with me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That will delight Louis and Harvey. And by
+the way, Saunders, I am going to move back to my
+old home in Chucuito this week. Suppose you and
+Carl come and live with us after Mrs. Saunders and
+Harold leave; or at least make us a visit.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>“I should be very pleased, Dartmoor; that is, to
+visit until I can find suitable quarters.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do so, then.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That evening a meeting was held of those interested
+in the Bella mine—for so Captain Cisneros
+had insisted upon naming the property after he had
+learned the true story of the pincushion in Harvey’s
+pocket. It was decided that both Hope-Jones and
+Ferguson should go to New York, for the purpose of
+interesting capitalists; that Señor Cisneros should
+return to the interior, and that Mr. Dartmoor should
+attend to the company’s interests in Callao and
+Lima.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>So it happened that when the last steamship sailed
+from Callao before the blockade commenced, Harvey
+waved an adieu from a small boat to the two young
+men with whom he had passed such adventurous
+times in the interior; and from another boat Captain
+Saunders and Carl fluttered handkerchiefs and were
+answered with love signals waved by Mrs. Saunders
+and Harold.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XV.<br /> <span class='large'>DARNING THE NEEDLE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>The darkest period in Peruvian history was the
+year 1880. Defeated on sea and on land, the
+nation had drawn its forces toward the centre and
+awaited a final struggle near historic Lima, the City
+of the Kings.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But the Chileans, triumphant, were in no haste to
+follow up the victories of Tarapacá, Tacna, Arica, and
+Point Angamos; they realized the enervating influences
+that always are at work in an army that is
+inactive and on the defensive; and although as early
+as January nothing hindered the northward movement
+of their land forces, they refrained from striking
+the decisive blow, and passed the time perfecting
+the transport service, increasing the efficiency of the
+troops and laying by stores of munitions of war.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The blockade of Callao, established toward the
+close of 1879, was maintained without interruption,
+and the harbor, which only two years before had
+been second only to San Francisco in commercial
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>importance on the west coast of the Americas, became
+a drear waste of water, for not a vessel, of sail
+or steam, was permitted to enter, unless it might be
+an occasional war-ship of a neutral power; nor could
+any craft depart after the expiration of the forty-eight
+hours which the Chilean admiral had given
+as notification.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>During those two days and two nights, craft of all
+description and flying flags of all nations prominent
+in the maritime world put to sea and sailed north
+or south, some laden, but the majority in ballast;
+and when the last one had departed and the enemy’s
+cordon was close drawn in the offing, the Bay of
+Callao reflected only one story—the death of commerce.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Where two hundred ships had swung at anchor, a
+Peruvian sloop or an abandoned bark rose sluggishly
+with the ground swell; where once was seen the men-of-war
+of the Peruvian navy, awaiting the word from
+Lima to dash south, now appeared only the wooden
+corvette <em>Union</em>, the obsolete coast defence monitor
+<em>Atahuallpa</em>, and the school-ship <em>Maria Theresa</em>; once
+there was constant danger of collision in the harbor,
+because of the press of small boats—cutters, gigs,
+and barges, propelled by oars; steam launches darting
+here and there, whistles blowing lustily; lighters
+moving slowly as long sweeps were pushed, and sailboats
+gliding with white wings outstretched,—now
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>the appearance of even a rowboat caused conjecture.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Before Harvey’s departure for the interior, the
+bay had been a never ending source of delight to the
+three boys; indeed, it had appealed to all foreign
+residents, as well as to the natives, but to none more
+than to the members of the Callao Rowing Club, for
+the placid waters permitted their going some distance
+from the shore, even in the racing shells, and
+the trade wind not reaching the water near the
+beach line, and the surface not being ruffled, it was
+possible to feather the spoon oars by sliding them,
+even as is done on pond and river. After the
+blockade was established, Carl, Louis, and Harvey
+occasionally went out for spins; but the wide waste
+of harbor had little attraction, and they soon abandoned
+visits to the boat-house at Los Baños, preferring
+to take their recreation in the fields, on
+horseback, or in some of the games that had been
+introduced from the United States and England.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Other members of the club felt the same about
+rowing in the bay; and a fortnight after the Chilean
+vessels appeared in the offing, the governing board
+decided to close the boat-house until peace should
+be declared and normal conditions be restored in
+Callao. So the shells, practice boats, canoes, and
+the sail-boat were carefully housed in the large covered
+barge that was anchored a short distance from
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>shore; the doors were securely fastened, and Pedro,
+the keeper, was told he would have to seek other
+employment. The members removed their effects
+from the lockers in the apartments which had been
+rented from the owner of the Baños del Oroya, and
+the lease to these shore quarters was surrendered.
+But the Callao Rowing Club did not disband. The
+organization was maintained, and to-day it is a flourishing
+athletic association, famous up and down the
+West Coast.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In naval parlance ships are “darning the needle”
+when they steam back and forth before a harbor,
+out of the reach of shore batteries, yet near enough
+to prevent entrance and departure of vessels. This
+is what the Chileans did day after day, week after
+week, and month after month, and it became an
+accustomed sight to see their low, black hulls in the
+offing, steam rising lazily from the funnels.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The vessels first on blockade duty were the <em>Blanco
+Encalada</em>, which flew the admiral’s pennant, the
+<em>Huascar</em>, the <em>Angamos</em>, the <em>Pilcomayo</em>, and the
+<em>Mathias Cousino</em>. Others were added after a time,
+and there were frequent changes in the squadron;
+but the little <em>Huascar</em> was kept on the station as
+an aggravation to the Peruvians. The <em>Angamos</em>
+was a cruiser of a modern type and armed with one
+rifle gun, which, reports said, could throw a shell
+from Callao to Lima—eight miles.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>The monotony of the blockade was broken after
+the first month by a short bombardment of Callao,
+which was brought about by the Chucuito forts
+opening upon a steam launch from the <em>Blanco
+Encalada</em>, that ran in close to La Punta, evidently
+to reconnoitre the shore battery there. The shots
+from the land guns were fired at six o’clock in the
+evening, and the Chilean squadron steamed into the
+harbor one hour later. The first broadside from
+out in the bay was followed by a panic in the seacoast
+city and a wild rush of the residents to escape
+into the environs. Among the thousands who fled
+from their homes were Mr. Dartmoor and the members
+of his family and Captain Saunders and Carl.
+After that exciting night, most of which was passed
+in the fields, they and many others moved to Lima
+and only visited Callao during the day.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Little damage was done by the bombardment;
+only a few houses were destroyed, and no loss of life
+was reported. But the brief engagement was signalled
+by as remarkable an incident as any ever
+related concerning war times, and the story thereof
+is told in Callao to this day. Immediately after
+dinner that evening the daughter of an American
+bookseller sat down before the piano in the parlor
+of her father’s home and commenced playing. After
+rendering one of Mozart’s compositions she swung
+around on the stool, in order that she might easily
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>reach for more sheet music, and the motion brought
+her feet and lower limbs from beneath the instrument.
+At that instant the <em>Blanco Encalada</em> opened
+fire out in the bay, and a shot from one of her guns,
+flying shoreward, pierced the side of this residence,
+cut through the piano stool, as neatly as would a
+buzz-saw, crushed the lower part of the piano, and
+made its exit through another wall. The young
+woman fell upon the floor unharmed. Had she not
+swung partly around her legs would have been shot
+away. No other residence of any consequence was
+struck that night, the dwellings destroyed being
+ramshackle structures.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>One week later an attempt was made at midnight
+to destroy the monitor <em>Atahuallpa</em> with a torpedo,
+but side-nets had been lowered around the war-ship,
+and the submarine engine was caught in the meshes,
+where it exploded, throwing water on board. The
+report caused alarm in the city, but investigation
+proved that no damage had been done. Attempts
+were made later in January to destroy the <em>Union</em>,
+and they also failed. Short bombardments became
+of more frequency, and those who remained in
+Callao grew accustomed to the gun-fire and the
+whistling of shot and shell.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Thus passed the late summer and early spring of
+1880. With each succeeding week the value of food
+products increased, for no supplies came into port,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>and the irrigated lands were not of sufficient area to
+furnish all vegetable products that were required.
+Demand was made on the interior, but the means
+of transportation were so poor that articles thus
+brought commanded almost prohibitive prices. Eggs
+were sold for two and three dollars a dozen, and
+meat became worth almost that sum per pound;
+potatoes, even in the land of their birth, brought
+fancy prices, and milk and butter were soon not
+obtainable. But rice and corn were in plenty, so
+that, although the majority were compelled to deny
+themselves a variety of diet, there was no fear of
+starvation.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> <span class='large'>JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>Señor Cisneros returned from the interior
+toward the latter end of January, and immediately
+after the report of the surveyor and the deputy
+inspector had been filed, a patent was issued to the
+Bella Mining Company of Callao and New York, to
+dig ores from the district which had been chartered
+and to extract precious metals therefrom.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Beyond this action, which secured the claim, nothing
+could be done until peace should be declared.
+Hope-Jones and Ferguson undoubtedly had interested
+capitalists of the United States, but it was
+impossible for the Englishman and American to reenter
+Callao; and it was equally impossible for them
+to communicate with their associates in Peru, because
+all mail service had ceased with the establishment of
+the blockade.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The fact that mining operations had been delayed
+did not greatly inconvenience the Dartmoors, for the
+banks of Lima were only too glad to come to their
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>assistance. And at that period occurred a demand
+for agricultural implements, so great that the receiver
+who had control of the bankrupt hardware store
+reported rapidly increasing business, notwithstanding
+the fact that Callao was often under fire; and
+with the consent of local creditors he engaged the
+former owner of the establishment to conduct the
+new trade, which promised soon to pay all indebtedness
+and leave a profit.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor regretted that he had not sent his
+wife and children to the States, when he saw how
+the war promised to drag along; and Captain Saunders
+was sorry that he had not insisted upon Carl
+going north with his mother. But the boys were
+very well satisfied to remain. Not a day passed
+without some excitement—the firing upon forts
+and the attacks on war-ships at anchor, and the
+kaleidoscopic panorama of Lima, which was the
+centre of a brilliant army corps.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Dartmoors lived in the capital until the latter
+part of June, when the bombardments having practically
+ceased, they reopened the house at Chucuito
+and lived there part of the time. Mrs. Dartmoor and
+Rosita would pass several days in each week in the
+spacious suburban home, returning to Lima in the
+evening; but Louis and Harvey would frequently remain
+all night, and usually Carl Saunders was with
+them. Although the boys enjoyed life in Lima for
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>a season, they were happier near the ocean, for all
+three were splendid swimmers, and every morning
+they could run over to the Santa Rosa beach and
+have a dip before breakfast.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>On one of these occasions—it was the morning
+of July 3—they left home somewhat earlier than
+usual; indeed, it was a half hour before dawn, for
+they had been asked to go to Callao immediately
+after breakfast and assist on their father’s books.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Whew!” exclaimed Louis, as they emerged from
+the house. “It’s rather cold for a dip, isn’t it?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The water is warmer than the air, fortunately,”
+said Carl, who had been a visitor for nearly a fortnight
+with his chums.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And a brisk run will put us in condition,” added
+Harvey. “So let’s be off!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They started at a swinging pace to cover the quarter
+mile, which was the width of the peninsula at
+this point, and leaving behind them the rough breakers
+of Mar Bravo, in which no man could live, they
+rapidly neared the more peaceful shore on the bay
+side, where bathing was safe for those who could
+swim.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But they did not take a “dip” on this morning;
+instead they became witnesses to a tragedy, one of
+the tragedies of history.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For, as the lads swung down beneath the Santa
+Rosa fort, toward the line where the rollers break,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>they saw a number of forms gathered on the beach,
+and a sentinel’s call to “halt” brought them to a
+sudden stand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>An officer came running up, a very small officer,
+who, as soon as he saw who the intruders were,
+exclaimed, “Good morning, boys”; and recognizing
+General Matajente, they at once felt at their
+ease.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You are out rather early, are you not?” he asked.
+“But you are in time to witness something that I
+am sure will interest you. How would you like to
+see the <em>Blanco Encalada</em> blown out of water?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This question was asked in a whisper; and without
+waiting for it to be answered, the diminutive general
+turned and walked down to the beach, closely followed
+by the three thoroughly astonished and interested
+lads.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A dozen officers and a score of soldiers and sailors
+were gathered near the water line; but towering
+above them all was a figure that the boys at once
+recognized in the growing light, and Harvey, exclaiming:
+“Why that’s John Longmore! I haven’t
+seen him since the <em>Huascar</em> was captured!” darted
+forward and seized his old-time friend by the hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The man thus addressed had once been a recluse
+on San Lorenzo Island, having lived there in solitude
+from the time of his wife’s death until the outbreak
+of the war with Chile. He was an American by
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>birth, but he had so loved his Peruvian wife, for
+whom he had abandoned the sea, that for her sake
+he had sworn allegiance to this South American
+country.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When war had been declared he enlisted on board
+the <em>Huascar</em> and was one of the crew during all her
+famous engagements. Wounded during the fight off
+Point Angamos, he was sent home; and soon thereafter
+he followed Captain Matajente into the ranks
+of Pierola’s forces, and took part in the famous charge
+upon the artillery in Lima.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys had known him while he lived on San
+Lorenzo Island, frequently rowing over to the
+rugged place where his hermit’s hut was perched;
+they had been with him during some of the exciting
+scenes of the early war and had witnessed his daring
+in Lima. But since old John had become a captain
+in the Peruvian army they had not met him as frequently,
+and a week before Harvey’s return he had
+been sent north on recruiting duty; so the lad had
+not been able to greet him until this morning.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He grasped Harvey cordially by the hand,
+exchanged a few words with him, then with Carl
+and Louis, and finally saying, “You are just in
+time,” he left them to attend to the work in hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A remarkable sight met their gaze when they
+turned from greeting their old-time friend to learn
+what was going forward. For a space of several
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>yards the beach appeared to have been transformed
+into a market stall. The sand and stones were covered
+with meats and fresh vegetables, of a quality
+that would have made them tempting even before
+the blockade had transformed ordinary food products
+into delicacies, and of a quantity that bespoke
+a large outlay of money. Rich red shoulders of
+beef, the fat white and firm, told of the slaughter of
+a young Andean bull; rounded joints of lamb and
+mutton spoke of importations from the fertile grazing
+lands of the interior. Quail, snipe, and plover,
+which all knew must have come from the mountain
+valleys, were piled promiscuously, and so were barnyard
+fowl of the western slope. There was much
+green stuff in sight—corn, sweet potatoes, cauliflower,
+and beans; baskets were filled with tomatoes,
+paltas, and the tempting chirimoyas.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys looked upon all this in astonishment,
+marvelling equally concerning the use to which it
+was about to be put, and the means by which it had
+been procured. In the rapidly growing light, they
+saw other strange sights—articles in marked contrast
+with the wealth of edibles: barrels marked
+“gunpowder” and kegs filled with even more powerful
+explosives. Near these was a peculiar machine,
+resembling druggists’ scales inverted, and
+minus the weighing pans. Drawn up on the beach,
+so that only the stern rested in the water, was a
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>large lighter. A number of sentinels surrounded
+this strange conglomeration and also the soldiers,
+sailors, and officers of both army and navy, who
+were gathered near.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Harvey,” said General Matajente, approaching
+the boys, “it’s lucky you came. Can you tell us
+what time the tide turns? Since Captain Longmore
+and I left the navy, to join the land forces, we have
+not kept posted on such matters.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was not unusual for persons to appeal to the
+younger Dartmoor boy for information concerning
+conditions in the bay. For three years before going
+into the interior, he had made them a special study,
+and had found that the information so gained aided
+him greatly when acting as coxswain in regattas.
+After removing from Lima to Chucuito, he had
+resumed these observations, probably more from
+force of habit than other reason, and so he was able
+to answer promptly, “At twenty-nine minutes after
+six, sir.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then we have no time to lose. Captain, as this
+is your idea, I wish you to take command here and
+carry out your plans.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the order from General Matajente, Old John—the
+boys could not think of him save as Old
+John, the sailor, although he was now an artillery
+officer—stepped forward, and by his command work
+was begun. The object of their endeavor at first
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>puzzled the lads, but in a few minutes all became
+quite clear.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Sailors and soldiers rolled the barrels and kegs of
+explosives to the side of the lighter, and the larger
+ones were lifted into the hull and placed amidships.
+Also into the hull went Old John, who was handed
+the peculiar mechanical contrivance, and the boys,
+who were permitted to peer over the sides, saw him
+make fast the base to the floor of the craft, then busy
+himself adjusting the arms, to one of which they saw
+a spring had been attached. The kegs of explosives
+were now passed in and placed nearer the peculiar
+machine than had been the barrels, then Captain
+Longmore, still remaining within the lighter, directed
+that the provisions be handed to him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The more bulky of these, such as the shoulders of
+beef, were distributed on the bottom of the boat, but
+arranged in such a manner that portions of their surface
+would show above the mass of green stuff that
+was soon thrown in. Although the beef, mutton,
+potatoes, cauliflower, and the other vegetables were
+stowed away in bow and stern with apparent carelessness,
+more attention was given to the placing of
+the products amidships, in the vicinity of the explosives,
+and above the mechanism a space about a foot
+in diameter was kept open.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The game, the fruit, and the smaller vegetables
+were placed in tempting array on top of the coarser
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>products, and after adjusting the edibles to his satisfaction,
+John Longmore sprang out and called all the
+sailors round him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now, in with her, men! But carefully, so as not
+to dislodge the cargo! Wade out beyond the line
+of breakers and hold her there, steady, until I come.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They formed ten deep on each side of the craft, and
+slowly pushed her down the beach and into the water;
+then, following orders, they waded out until the bow
+was about ten feet from shore. The big boat rose
+and fell on the glassy rollers, and was kept in place by
+the sailors, who held firmly to the gunwales.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What time is it, sir?” asked Old John.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Exactly half-past six,” replied General Matajente.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then the tide has turned and is on the ebb.
+Shall I let her go, sir?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, if all is in readiness.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“In a moment, sir, as soon as I attach this,” and
+he held up a percussion cap; “and this,” and he
+displayed a small shoulder of lamb.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Strange combination! thought the boys as they saw
+these last articles needed to complete the engine of
+death that was about to be set sailing under the most
+alluring flag of peace—agriculture; and they
+watched intently as the gaunt seaman strode through
+the surf to the side of the lighter, then climbed on
+board.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>The morning was misty, but at such a short distance
+from shore he was easily discernible, bending
+over and moving his hands and arms. He was not
+engaged in this for more than two minutes, then he
+dropped over the side, and called out, “Push her
+off, men!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Old John waded ashore, and the lighter, loaded
+with explosives and disguised with market gardeners’
+truck, with the choice from butchers’ stalls, with
+delicacies from the fruiterers; yes, even with a few
+flowers, which were strewn carelessly on top, as if
+placed there by some one who had given them
+as a memento to the owner of the cargo—this engine
+of death drifted slowly into the mist, out toward the
+sea, borne by the ebb tide.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The artillery captain spoke for a moment with
+General Matajente, then turned to the boys and bade
+them good-by, saying that he must go to the castles.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But first, won’t you please tell us what you did
+when you went on the lighter while the men were
+holding her?” asked Harvey. “We saw what was
+done on shore, but cannot understand what followed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly, my lad. You noticed that I carried
+a percussion cap and a shoulder of lamb?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I placed the meat on the arm of the machine to
+which the spring is made fast, and the percussion cap
+upon an open keg of powder, beneath the other arm.
+Do you understand?”</p>
+
+<div id='p216'  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/i_223.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>“The engine of death drifted slowly into the mist.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>“Yes, I think so. When the piece of lamb is lifted
+the spring will fly up, the opposite arm will descend,
+explode the cap, and——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Exactly,” the captain said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But could not a person see all this arrangement
+and suspect something?” asked Louis. “You left
+quite a space there.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That is all filled in, and I put the most tempting
+game and fruit right above the powder.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then,” said Carl, slowly, “you expect the boat
+will drift far out in the bay; will be sighted by one
+of the ships on blockade; that an attempt will be
+made to take the stuff on board, and all hands will
+be blown to kingdom come?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That is what I hope, my lad.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s horrible!” said Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Old John laughed in a peculiar manner and walked
+away.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As the boys were going slowly up the beach, Carl
+said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did you notice the change in Old John? I
+believe he’s insane.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So do I,” said Louis.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And I,” echoed Harvey. “The old whaler we
+once knew on San Lorenzo couldn’t have planned
+such a trick.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>They had not gone far before they were joined by
+General Matajente. He walked on in silence until
+they reached the La Punta road, then they heard
+him mutter:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I don’t like it one bit, boys; I don’t like it one
+bit.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t like what, general?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That business down on the beach.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why then did you permit it, sir?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Orders, my boy, orders. It was not the old
+boatswain who suggested the plan to a naval officer,
+but a captain in the artillery arm who went to headquarters.
+John Longmore told the people in the
+palace at Lima of his plan, and I was sent down here
+to oversee the operations.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then you do not approve of what has been
+done?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Orders, my boy, orders,” was his only reply.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> <span class='large'>JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE (<em>continued</em>).</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>When the sun was an hour high the mist faded
+away; the gray mantle disappeared, and
+Callao Bay became of two colors, a green within the
+space of an imaginary arc extending from the tip of
+La Punta to Los Baños, and a blue beyond, as far as
+San Lorenzo, where it merged into the indigo of the
+immensity of waters.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Upon the surface of the green, circling around
+occasionally when caught by a surface current, but
+steadily moving with the tide, was a market gardener’s
+lighter, crowded from keel to gunwales with
+every variety of produce. Such a sight had not been
+witnessed for more than six months, not since those
+ships, discernible far in the offing, had enforced the
+closing of the port. Before that time these lighters
+had been frequently rowed and sailed over the bay,
+moving toward the heart of the city from the fertile
+region of the Rimac on the north.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When men saw what manner of craft was adrift
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>they rubbed their eyes, to make sure that sleep was
+not with them and conjuring a fanciful vision in
+a dream. No, the boat was still there, rising and
+falling on the slowly undulating rollers and moving
+ever toward the open. Then between La Punta’s
+tip and the northern shore perhaps a dozen persons
+sprang into skiffs, whitehalls, and wherries, and let
+fall oars to race for the prize.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Halt!” called a soldier standing on the beach
+near the big, smooth guns on The Point.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Halt!” An infantryman levelled his rifle beneath
+the forts at Chucuito.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Halt!” yelled a red-uniformed guard, stationed
+on the mole in Callao.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Halt!” A boatman who was pushing off from
+Los Baños dropped his oars and came back on shore.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Halt! Halt! Halt!” was heard at intermediary
+points, for around all the sweep of land bordering
+the bay stood sentinels, and their orders were to
+permit no man’s interference with the progress seaward
+of that lighter laden with garden truck.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From these guardsmen was learned the nature of
+the craft that was so jealously watched, and the news
+spread with lightning rapidity over the city of Callao,
+to Bella Vista and haciendas adjoining, to Miraflores,
+to Chorillas, and all over Lima; and from there
+it was wafted up the mountains to Chosica and even
+to Matucana.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>Peru was to be revenged! That was the keynote
+of the message, and then followed in more or less exaggerated
+form an account of what had been done
+and what was the expected sequel. Revenge! After
+having been humiliated in the south by many defeats,
+after suffering from blockade—which is a
+thumb-screw torture inflicted by one nation upon
+another—and after being insulted by the flaunting
+in their face of the lone star flags hoisted on the
+<em>Huascar</em> and the <em>Pilcomayo</em>; after all these had occurred
+and all this time had elapsed, Peru was at last
+to be revenged!</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Chilean fleet would be blown out of the water
+before noon! This was the word which was sent
+from mouth to mouth.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Early risers, who were on the streets soon after
+dawn,—venders of water and venders of such scant
+green stuff as could be obtained,—hurried to the
+shore and dotted the beach here and there, gazing
+seaward expectantly. All that day jackasses wandered
+unattended around the streets of Callao, braying
+mournfully, and bearing on their backs casks
+that had been filled from the river Rimac, or baskets
+that contained plantains and coarse vegetables.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In a few minutes these hucksters and providers
+of the day’s drinking supply were joined by other
+men, persons who lived near the beach and had run
+from breakfast tables when the news had reached
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>them; some were only half dressed, for they had
+jumped from their beds at the summons. Then
+from out all the streets of the seacoast city poured
+a throng, and men were joined by women and children.
+A solid human line marked the entire water-front,
+and behind it formed others. Balconies of
+buildings that faced the sea were rented that morning,
+and then space in windows was sold. Callao’s
+shore line was the tier of a gigantic amphitheatre;
+the bay was the arena.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A severe earthquake shock is followed by an exodus
+from the seacoast to Lima, which is on high
+ground and beyond reach of a tidal wave. At such
+times all manner of equipages are pressed into service;
+railroad trains are overcrowded, and those who
+cannot ride in car or carriage, on horses or mules, run
+or walk along the road. But no flight from the
+coast to Lima ever equalled the outpouring from the
+City of the Kings toward Callao on this morning of
+July 3, 1880; and within two hours after the
+lighter had been pushed from the Chucuito beach
+the depopulation of the capital commenced, and a
+wave of humanity swept down the highway and
+spread out over the pampas country.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After taking leave of General Matajente, the boys
+had directed their steps toward the Dartmoor residence
+on the Mar Bravo side of the peninsula, and
+realizing each minute more and more vividly the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>stupendousness of the impending tragedy, they increased
+their speed accordingly, until, when the
+house was reached, they were running as fast as
+they could; and bounding up the stairs, two and
+three at a time, they burst into the dining room,
+reaching there nearly out of breath.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor was at breakfast, and with him at
+table was Captain Saunders, who had been his guest
+over night. The men listened in astonishment to
+the recital, and at its conclusion the iron merchant
+said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No business can be transacted this day. We
+may as well go to Callao and witness this deplorable
+attempt at destruction of life and property.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You may well say deplorable,” remarked Captain
+Saunders. “Torpedo warfare is to be regretted
+under any circumstances. But against the modern
+engines of destruction, which are projected beneath
+the water, the enemy has some means of defence.
+He may let down nets at the sides and entangle the
+projectile, or by continual vigilance keep his ship
+from being struck. Against this bomb-laden market
+boat there is no defence, except accidental discovery
+of its true character. It is an abominable
+trap, and if any one is killed thereby, it will be coldblooded
+murder.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You say that General Matajente did not approve
+the action?” asked Mr. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>“Indeed he did not, sir. His expression told us
+more than did his words, however. He seemed to
+be thoroughly disgusted.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should expect as much from him, and I believe
+that Peru as a nation will not approve such methods
+of warfare. Let us hope this attempt will not succeed.
+I am surprised, though, boys, that your old
+friend should have conceived such a plot.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That man, John Longmore, is insane,” said Captain
+Saunders, with emphasis. “He has been insane
+ever since he received that sabre cut on board
+the <em>Huascar</em>. He is a monomaniac in his hatred of
+Chileans.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We noticed his peculiar actions this morning,
+father,” said Carl.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys were hastening their breakfast while
+this conversation was taking place, and announced
+themselves ready for departure as soon as their
+fathers pushed back chairs from the table.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If this succeeds, it will be deplorable for another
+reason than the immediate loss of life,” said the captain,
+rising.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You mean because of a postponement of peace
+negotiations?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I fear you are correct.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How will it affect the peace negotiations, sir?”
+Louis asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>“Because the Chileans will become so incensed that
+they will not listen to the propositions for arbitration
+which have recently been made by commissioners
+sent from Washington. Not only that,” said Captain
+Saunders, “but any hope of Chile abandoning
+her idea of territorial annexation will be gone. I
+prophesy that if this lighter, armed and equipped
+by John Longmore, does any considerable damage
+in the Chilean fleet, that Peru will pay for it with
+the province of Tarapacá.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The richest province?” said Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, my lad, the richest nitrate of soda country
+in the world.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>By this time they were on the plank road that
+leads from Chucuito to Callao, and after a brisk
+walk of fifteen minutes reached the business section.
+They were too early to meet the mass of humanity
+that later surged through all the streets; but they
+encountered some hundreds of persons who were
+rushing toward the water-front.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This will be a gala day,” remarked Captain
+Saunders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, until the truth is known,” was Mr. Dartmoor’s
+reply. “Then you will see a reaction and
+genuine sorrow. I know these people, I have lived
+among them since we parted company in the States,
+immediately after the war—and,” he added in a
+low tone, “I married one of them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>“Pardon me, my old friend,” said Captain Saunders,
+“I did not intend to wound your feelings. I
+was not speaking bitterly of the Peruvians as a
+people, but of those who are responsible for this
+action to-day.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You must remember that an American suggested
+it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That is true, John, but he is insane, I am certain.
+Those who gave it the stamp of approval are the
+guilty ones.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They had reached the large building owned by
+the English Railroad Company, and the boys, who
+had walked somewhat in advance, stopped in front
+of the entrance to the flight of steps and looked
+back inquiringly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes,” said Captain Saunders, in reply, “go
+ahead.” Then he added, “There’s no better place,
+is there?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. We may as well go up here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The railroad building was situated on the beach,
+and a broad balcony on the second floor jutted out
+over the water. This veranda and nearly all the
+rooms on the floor were leased by the English Club.
+From no place, except the tip of La Punta, could a
+better view be obtained of the bay.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mounted on tripods at both ends of this open space
+were two large telescopes; numerous marine glasses
+were on tables. For years, until 1880, these clubrooms
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>had been a favorite place for captains of the
+merchant marine and naval officers to lounge during
+afternoons, and they had been no less enjoyed by
+the Anglo-Saxon residents of Callao and Lima.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys hurried to the railing as soon as they
+had reached the veranda and looked seaward. Out
+in the offing, darning the needle, were six ships on
+blockade duty. About a mile from shore, heading
+well out from the Chucuito beach, was what appeared
+to be a small boat. They knew it was the lighter,
+and glances which each in turn took through one of
+the telescopes showed that the cargo of vegetables
+and meats had not been disturbed. It was the only
+craft moving on the bay. At anchor, but safe under
+the forts, were the monitor <em>Atahuallpa</em>, the corvette
+<em>Union</em>, and the training ship <em>Maria Theresa</em>, remnants
+of the Peruvian navy. Within the new pier were
+perhaps a score of vessels, tied up until the blockade
+should be over. Nothing else was on all that broad
+expanse of beautiful harbor, except a little schooner,
+moored at a buoy, and an abandoned, unseaworthy
+bark.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For several weeks after the blockade had been
+established, the members thronged the club-house
+and waited their turn to gaze through the powerful
+lenses at the ships flying the lone star flag; but long
+before July, 1880, came around, the enemy’s fleet had
+ceased to attract attention; and as nothing stirred
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>in the bay, the men shunned the balcony because the
+view it commanded was disheartening. It told of a
+dead commerce, of stagnant trade. But this morning
+all those who possessed the little blue membership
+tickets hastened to the quarters, and many
+brought friends, so that within an hour after the
+arrival of Captain Saunders, Mr. Dartmoor, and the
+boys, the place was overcrowded, and late comers
+were compelled to go higher and seek vantage points
+in windows of the railway company’s offices.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Chucuito party was fortunate, both in arriving
+early and in being joined by a number of intimate
+friends, for they were enabled to take possession
+of one of the large telescopes, and hold it for the
+morning.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Don Isaac was the first to come, and he listened
+attentively to the recital by the boys, who told again,
+for his benefit, of the strange doings at the break of
+day on the Chucuito beach. They had hardly finished
+when Señor Cisneros appeared.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is this I hear? Are they going to use a
+torpedo in broad daylight? I fear it will prove certain
+death for the crew that attempts to approach
+those ships,” and he pointed seaward.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders explained that the torpedo was
+not of the kind generally launched from war vessels,
+or sent from shore, and he briefly described the construction
+of John Longmore’s engine of death. The
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>Peruvian’s face flushed while he listened to the recital,
+and his eyebrows contracted.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This should not be allowed!” he exclaimed.
+“It is a crime! Pierola should be appealed to and
+asked to stop this slaughter.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At these words Mr. Dartmoor looked at Captain
+Saunders triumphantly. He had been correct in his
+estimate of the people. First, the officer who had
+been ordered to oversee the details of launching the
+lighter had denounced the work to which he had
+been assigned; and now a representative citizen from
+the interior deplored the event in even more energetic
+terms.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was too late to stop the enactment of the
+tragedy, too late to appeal to Pierola. The fiendish
+plot, hatched in the crazed brain of the old whaler,
+and approved by a hot-headed official in Lima, must
+go forward. The boat which was laden with market
+produce had drifted two miles from shore, and
+was nearing the line where the green water of the
+harbor merged into the blue beyond; as it passed
+from one colored surface to the other events began
+to move rapidly—and all the while, from along the
+shore, came the buzz of the many thousands who had
+crowded as near as was possible to the water’s edge.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Look!” suddenly exclaimed Louis. “A boat
+is putting off from the mole!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s the state barge,” said Harvey, after a glance
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>through the marine glasses. “I wonder what’s up
+now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The question was soon answered by the craft itself,
+which was rowed alongside the <em>Union</em>. Believing it
+had been sent out only to carry an officer back to his
+ship, they paid no more attention to this section of
+the harbor until Carl called attention again to the
+corvette, by saying that a steam launch had put
+off from her side. Puffs of smoke came from the
+short stack on this small vessel, and after swinging
+under the stern of the <em>Union</em> she shaped a course
+out toward the open.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The foreigners on the club veranda looked at one
+another in amazement; the natives on the beach set
+up a shout.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Thank God!” fervently exclaimed Señor Cisneros.
+“They are going to tow that lighter back to
+the shore.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Out steamed the launch, at full speed, sending
+spray flying at the sides of her stem, and leaving
+astern a narrow path of white that marked where
+her propeller had churned the water.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Until this small craft appeared in the bay, the
+Chileans had evidently given no heed to the lighter
+that, by this time, had well entered the blue; if it
+had been sighted by them, no sign to that effect had
+been made; they continued to steam slowly backward
+and forward, patrolling the entrance. But when the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>launch had covered half the distance between the
+shore and the provision-laden barge, the cruiser
+<em>Mathias Cousino</em>, which at that time happened to be
+the nearest to La Punta, changed her course and
+made toward the harbor. Ten minutes later she
+fired a bow gun, and the shot plunged into the water
+not far from the launch.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Peruvian boat at once put about and made for
+the <em>Union</em>. A dense cloud of smoke from her stack
+told that the stoker on board was using all his
+energy, and that the boiler had been called upon for
+the highest pressure it could stand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>An expression of disappointment could be seen on
+the faces of Mr. Dartmoor and Señor Cisneros. The
+crowd shouted again, and the noise made by the
+many thousands was like the roar of a train, or the
+rasping of stones over stones on a beach when the undertow
+sucks them back. One could not tell whether
+this shout was in approval or disappointment.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I do not believe it was ever the intention to have
+that launch tow the lighter back to port,” said Captain
+Saunders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You do not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why did she go out, then?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It was a ruse.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But what could have been the object?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That ship’s manœuvre answers your question,” and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>the captain pointed to the <em>Mathias Cousino</em>, which
+was moving slowly toward the provision-laden craft.
+“The Chileans had not noticed Old John’s floating
+mine, or having noticed it were suspicious,” he added.
+“The launch was sent to attract their attention, or to
+lull their fears by an apparent anxiety to tow the
+lighter inshore.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Whether Captain Saunders had surmised correctly
+or not was never known in Callao; the instructions
+given the officer in command of the launch were not
+made public.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Every eye had been turned in the direction of the
+Chilean cruiser that had left her station, and as she
+came within a mile of the barge, men on the club
+balcony climbed on the railings and on tables, that
+they might see the better, expecting that she would
+prove a victim to the floating mine. But after a few
+minutes the <em>Mathias Cousino</em> altered her course, and
+describing a broad semicircle, returned to her position
+in the squadron.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“She has set signals!” said Captain Saunders, who
+had been looking through the telescope.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And the <em>Blanco</em> is answering!” remarked Señor
+Cisneros, after sweeping his marine glasses to the
+right, where the flagship formed one of the wings of
+the fleet.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“She’s shaping a course for the lighter!” exclaimed
+the captain, who had swung his telescope around; and
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>then every one looked toward the north, from which
+point of the compass the big ironclad was lumbering
+shoreward.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A breeze from the south, blowing somewhat earlier
+in the day than was usual, had cleared the last
+shadow of mist away, a cool temperature had prevented
+the forming of a heat haze, and the eye could
+discern even trees on San Lorenzo Island.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the time of exchanging signals the <em>Blanco</em> was
+about six miles distant from the <em>Mathias Cousino</em>.
+She moved sluggishly, not over eight knots an hour,
+for her hull had become foul with the marine growth
+of the South Pacific; and it was a half hour from the
+time she left the line before she reached the spot
+where the cruiser had been. The lighter had moved
+some two and a half miles from shore, and was still
+drifting. To reach this craft the big man-of-war had
+approached so near that even those who had no marine
+glasses could make out features of her superstructure;
+while persons sitting at the telescopes
+counted the number of men stationed on the bridge
+and on other elevated deck works.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>By approaching this close the flagship came within
+easy range of the shore guns, and when she was only
+a few cables’ length distant from the lighter, a shell
+was sent screeching over the water from one of the
+rifled pieces in the castle. It struck to the south of
+her, fully a quarter of a mile.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>“That bluff is so poor that I should think her
+commander would see through it,” said Captain
+Saunders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What do you mean by a bluff, father?” asked
+Carl.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, that gun-fire, evidently ordered to lull the
+suspicions of the Chileans, who might wonder if no
+shots were let fly.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Didn’t they aim at her, then?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly not, son.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At that moment a shell flew from the Chucuito
+fort, and it went as wild as had that from the castle.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then everybody bent forward breathlessly, looked
+out over the bay with staring eyes, and not a word
+was spoken; a silence as of death had fallen upon
+the multitude that thronged the shore lines. For
+the <em>Blanco Encalada</em> had slowly passed between the
+lighter and the land, had reversed her propeller, and
+had come to a stop with the lighter alongside. None
+could see this boat that was crowded with food-stuffs
+and undermined with sufficient explosives to destroy
+every ship out there in the offing, but they knew
+that it had been made fast, and that greedy eyes of
+half-famished sailors were spying the wealth of edibles—enough
+food to put new life into every man
+in the fleet, even as there was sufficient material,
+hidden by the green, to insure every man a horrible
+death.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>Minutes passed like hours; the ticking of watches
+could be heard. What could they be about on the
+ironclad? Why the delay? Why did the crash
+not come and be over with?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey was watching as were the others, but all
+at once he buried his face in his hands and covered
+his eyes. The boy who had stood before the Majeronas
+so bravely became dizzy when he thought of
+the awful scene that might spring into being any
+moment out in the bay; a lump was in his throat.
+Carl and Louis also turned away at times. Strong
+men were affected and nervously twitched their
+fingers, tapped the floor with their feet, or bit the
+ends of their mustaches.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“She’s away! She’s safe!” suddenly exclaimed
+the captain. “She’s made out the trap and is putting
+out to sea again!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then everybody saw the lighter reappear under
+the war-ship’s counter, and gradually the water and
+sky line broadened between the big ship and the
+boat.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> <span class='large'>JOHN LONGMORE’S REVENGE (<em>concluded</em>).</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>Señor Cisneros gave vent to a sigh of
+relief; so did Mr. Dartmoor. The boys were
+both disappointed and pleased. If they could have
+seen a war-ship destroyed without loss of life, the
+spectacle would have thrilled them; or could they
+have been eyewitness to a naval engagement in which
+both sides had warning, they would have enjoyed
+nothing better. They understood perfectly the
+attitude taken by their seniors, and their love of fair
+play told them that such methods of warfare as that
+employed by John Longmore could have no honest
+approval.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders picked up his hat from a table,
+and, rising from the chair where he had ensconced
+himself so as to look the better through the telescope,
+he prepared to leave the veranda, and waited a
+minute until the others could make ready. Several
+club members had hurriedly taken their departure,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>anxious to avoid the crowd that would throng the
+streets.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Come, boys,” Mr. Dartmoor said, and he started
+toward the stairs.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Just a minute, please, father?” asked Louis, who
+had taken a seat at the telescope. Then he added,
+“I wonder what the <em>Blanco</em> is signalling for?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“She is signalling, that’s a fact,” said Carl, who
+had taken up a pair of marine glasses and was looking
+seaward.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hurry! Don’t you see you are keeping us all
+waiting?” insisted Mr. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“One second, please, one second! Oh, father,
+look! There’s another ship coming up. See, that
+one to the south is leaving the line!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor turned and took the marine glasses
+which Carl handed to him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Take a look, captain,” he said, after a minute.
+“I do believe another ship is planning to take the
+cargo on board.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders put his eye to the telescope and
+was heard to mutter:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You’re right, Dartmoor.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He gazed at the oncoming vessel some few minutes
+longer, then added: “Yes, sir; one of the
+transports is making in this direction. And I think
+that I can understand the reason.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are we still in doubt as to the outcome?” asked
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>Don Isaac, who with Señor Cisneros had returned to
+the corner.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. And if I am correct in my surmise, the plot
+will now succeed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How so? Don’t you think that the <em>Blanco’s</em>
+officers guessed the nature of that cargo?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. I don’t believe they did. If they had, she
+would probably have stood off a short distance and
+put a shell into it, to test the correctness of the suspicion.
+Instead of that, the admiral has signalled
+another ship to approach. My strongest grounds for
+believing that the ruse has succeeded are based on
+the nature of the vessel that has been called from the
+line.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“In what respect?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“She’s a transport. Moreover, she was formerly
+in the coast service.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If I am not mistaken, she is the <em>Loa</em>, formerly one
+of the Chilean Transportation Company’s vessels.
+You will remember her. She was on the Callao-Valparaiso
+run a year or so ago.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I remember her well,” said Mr. Dartmoor. “I
+once took passage on her to Arica. Why has she
+been called?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because she has machinery on board that can be
+used for lifting the provisions from the lighter.
+There is a heavy swell outside, and the <em>Blanco</em> could
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>not bring the small boat close enough to transfer the
+green stuff; so the former coaster has been ordered
+to do it. She is especially equipped, with steam
+winches and swinging cranes, which have been used
+for that purpose for many years, up and down the
+coast. Watch, and you will see that I am correct,”
+and he settled himself firmly in the chair, convinced
+that the tragedy had been postponed, not
+avoided.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Other club members had noticed the manœuvre
+out in the open, and had returned to their seats and
+positions near the railing; and still others, who were
+descending the stairs, had been called back by their
+friends. A movement had been noticed in the crowd
+on the beach, a wave of humanity had receded toward
+the city when the <em>Blanco</em> put out to sea again; now the
+wave was sweeping back, for keen eyes all along the
+water-front had noticed that change in position by
+ships of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The <em>Loa</em>, one of the largest passenger steamers on
+the Pacific in that day, had been bought by the Chilean
+government for the purpose of carrying troops
+from Valparaiso to the Peruvian seaports. Pending
+the embarkation of the large force that was ultimately
+to march on Lima, she had been sent to the
+blockading fleet with supplies. The vessel was
+almost new, her engines were of a late pattern, and
+she could steam a good fourteen knots. Therefore
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>her progress from the line was much more swift than
+had been that of the <em>Blanco Encalada</em>. On she came,
+parting the glassy rollers, throwing a curved wave to
+port and another to starboard, smoke belching from
+the stack, and steam flying in gray tangles from the
+escape pipe.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What a shame!” remarked Señor Cisneros, as
+they watched her approach. “I have heard that the
+poor fellows out there have been attacked with
+scurvy. Think what a treat those vegetables would
+be to them after these long months of salt pork and
+dry bread!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We can only hope that they will discover the
+plot,” said Mr. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>For ten minutes little was said by those on the
+veranda; then Captain Saunders, who remained with
+his eye glued to the object glass, exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“She’s shifted her helm and will bring the lighter
+on the shore side of her.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They noticed that she had altered her course; then
+she slowed down perceptibly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Five minutes later the <em>Loa</em> appeared to be motionless;
+if she was moving, it was very slowly; the
+lighter had been brought abeam. Observers who
+had no glasses could tell the relative position of the
+two craft, so clear was the air; those with marine
+glasses could see that preparations were going forward
+to make the provision boat fast; through the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>powerful telescopes every movement of persons on
+the deck and bridge could be watched.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders commenced to describe rapidly
+what was happening, for the benefit of those who
+had no lenses to aid their vision.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The lighter is abreast the <em>Loa</em>,” he said. “They
+have let a rope down over the side, and a sailor is
+descending to the boat. There! he has found a
+footing and is making the rope fast to the bow.
+Another rope has been thrown him, which he is
+making fast to the stern. Down this comes another
+fellow, to help him, and another. Three of them are
+now on board. Fenders are being thrown them to
+place between the sides, for she is bumping heavily.
+Ah! nearly over!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What was nearly over?” Mr. Dartmoor asked.
+“The lighter?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes. She was almost swamped. I wish she had
+been. Perhaps that wrench has dislodged the machinery
+of the mine. Now they are passing down
+poles and these are being used between the sides,
+instead of fenders, so as to keep her farther off.
+More men are going on board; there are fully a
+score of them among the green stuff. I can make
+out a number of them eating fruit. Poor fellows,
+what a treat all that does seem! Little do they
+know that they are enjoying chirimoyas, paltas, and
+oranges while standing on the brink of death! Now
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>we shall be able to tell. The suspense won’t last
+much longer!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What has happened?” asked Don Isaac.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They have swung the crane around and are
+lowering the chain with a basket attached.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That means they are loading with the green
+stuff first, I believe. You said that was on top, did
+you not, Carl?” asked the editor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, sir,” the boy replied, in a choking voice.
+“The fruits, the lettuce, beans, and such things are
+scattered about over the meat and larger vegetables.
+And flowers too.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Flowers?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“An armful of them, sir,” Harvey said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then that accounts for the bunch of red which
+I saw one of the men throw on board just now,”
+said Captain Saunders. “There goes the first basketful.
+It is going up rapidly; the crane is swinging
+inboard; it is being dumped on deck. Now the
+crane is travelling back and the basket is lowered
+again. The men fall to. They are loading with a
+will, for an officer has gone down among them and
+is directing. I suppose the poor devils stopped too
+often to taste the fruit. The second basketful is
+going up! up! up! That also is dumped. What’s
+this? The basket is not coming back! No, hooks
+are being lowered on the end of the chain. They
+must have put in all the vegetables that were on top
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>and have reached the meat. Ah, they are commencing
+at the bow and not amidships. There goes a
+shoulder of beef! Inboard with it! Out comes
+the crane arm again and down go the hooks! Another
+shoulder of beef! Those fellows are working
+like mad. Why, Dartmoor, they must be nearly
+famished. I suppose they didn’t appreciate what a
+rich haul they had come across. Merciful God, if
+Thou wilt but stay Thine hand!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The brief, fervent prayer was echoed by all who
+heard. The faces of men and boys had become
+ashen pale. Two hundred men were on the transport
+<em>Loa</em>, two hundred hungry men, and there were
+thousands of others in the fleet. The launch contained
+enough fresh provisions to give them all a
+treat for at least one day.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The <em>Blanco Encalada</em> had steamed only a short
+distance away, and then had swung around and lay
+rolling in the trough, waiting, her crew evidently
+watching the work that was being pushed forward.
+Other ships of the fleet, realizing from the signals
+what was happening, had edged closer in.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They are working their way aft,” continued
+Captain Saunders. “Some smaller pieces are being
+sent up the side. You say the infernal machine is
+located exactly amidships?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, sir,” answered Harvey, in a whisper.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There, there!” The captain held his hand out,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>as if in a warning. “The officer is bending over;
+a sailor bends over with him. The hook is being
+made——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The sentence was never finished.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A blinding flash sprang from the side of the transport,
+a flash that dazzled the eye even in the bright
+day, and for one infinitesimal measurement of time
+everything stood out plainly—the side of the ship,
+the lighter, the men bending over, the men grouped
+among the provisions, and those who had manned
+the chains. Then, in contrast with the lightning-like
+movement of the great glare was the slow movement
+of the steamship, parting in twain. She
+opened as though a giant wedge had cleft her in
+two; she had been rent asunder by a force that was
+titanic. And as she thus divided, a roar the like of
+which no man in Callao had ever heard came thundering
+over the water. The great sound waves
+threw themselves upon buildings, causing them to
+tremble to their foundations, and thrust upon sensitive
+ear-drums with deafening force. Then they
+swept on, over the seacoast city, over the pampas
+country, up to Lima, rattling windows there, and
+passed from the City of the Kings to the spurs of
+the Andes, which threw them back in a prolonged
+echo, so that all the valley seemed filled with sound.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>While the roar was spreading, a column of water
+had sprung into being out in the bay, and spurting
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>through it was a writhing mass of steam. This
+vaporous geyser bore in its embrace fragments of
+men and fragments of iron, steel, and wood; it
+carried dismembered human beings aloft in its gray
+fantastic flight, and it also bore piston rods, segments
+of crank shafts, plates, torn and twisted from
+the hull, hatch coverings, deck railings, and sides of
+superstructures; it enveloped a medley of wrought
+metals and rough wood, and a medley of quivering
+bodies. It bore upward also the ragged ends of the
+transport <em>Loa</em>, lifting the segments that had been
+torn asunder, so that the bow of the ship dipped
+down, and the stern did likewise. Then these two
+parts plunged beneath the surface, going in opposite
+directions, and as they went, the spout of water fell,
+and the steam settled down over all. This steam
+could be seen whirling and eddying, and when the
+light wind threw it to one side, the water was seen
+to be whirling and eddying even as had done the
+vapor, throwing up pieces of wood in places, and
+also black objects, which those who still looked—and
+they were not many, for the great majority had
+turned their heads because of the horror—knew to
+be the bodies of men.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From the sides of the <em>Blanco Encalada</em> boats commenced
+to creep; from farther out in the bay other
+vessels of the fleet cast great columns of smoke into
+the air as they made haste to the rescue.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>The many persons on the veranda of the English
+Club said nothing for fully five minutes, so struck
+with awe were they. Then Captain Saunders found
+voice to call the boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We had better go now,” he said. “You have
+witnessed what will go down into history as the
+crime of the Chile-Peruvian War.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>His prophecy was true. That which Mr. Dartmoor
+and Señor Cisneros had said also came to pass, for
+Peru as a nation mourned what had been done, and
+the blush of shame came to the cheeks of many
+whenever the sinking of the <em>Loa</em> was mentioned.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Months later those in Callao who had watched
+this spectacle learned that one hundred Chileans
+had been killed and fifty wounded by Old John’s
+infernal machine.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We had better go to Lima,” added the captain,
+when they had left the veranda and had mingled
+with the thousands who were slowly leaving the
+beach.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why? Do you think there will be a bombardment?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Assuredly there will be. The Chileans will be
+avenged to-night.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They went to the capital, and so did thousands of
+other residents of the seacoast city.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At sunset the Chilean fleet steamed in close under
+the guns, and paying no heed to the fire from the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>forts, poured shot and shell into Callao until morning
+came. Houses were destroyed, large buildings
+were lacked through and through, and many fires
+were started. There was a death list among those
+who remained in the town, and many persons were
+wounded.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> <span class='large'>A STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>News filtered through the lines from the south
+of serious reverses to Peruvian arms. It came
+overland, for there was no communication by sea.
+The word was to the effect that Arica had been
+taken by assault on June 7, and that there had been
+great loss of life in the Peruvian army.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>No man doubted that the Peruvian city had
+fallen, but as for the particulars, so many rumors
+were afloat that no credence was given any of them,
+and every one anxiously awaited definite information.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Much lawlessness prevailed about this time, both
+in the cities and in the surrounding country. Nearly
+half the population was under arms in Lima and
+Callao, and these many thousand soldiers, inactive
+save for the daily drills, became restless, and when
+given liberty they resorted to deeds of violence.
+Day after day reports reached the towns of country
+haciendas having been pillaged, and the occupants
+forced to pay tribute to marauding bands; citizens,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>out late at night, were frequently robbed; and a
+prominent English physician of Callao was attacked
+while walking on the plank road leading from
+Chucuito, and was killed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The army as a whole deplored this reign of terror,
+and officers did their best to check the wave of
+crime. Courts-martial were frequent; the guilty
+were ranged against a wall and shot, but, despite
+this energetic action, deeds of violence continued.
+Some of the worst characters in Peru had volunteered
+for the ranks, and as they were known as
+desperate fighters, their services had been accepted.
+All would have been well could they have been led
+at once against the enemy, but retained in camp, and
+months passing without action, their worst natures
+came to the surface.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>When the reign of terror had become recognized
+as beyond the power of the authorities entirely to
+subdue, Mr. Dartmoor regretted more than ever that
+he had not sent his family to the United States;
+indeed, he regretted that he had not left the country
+with them before the enemy’s ships had closed
+the port.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders, convinced that no vessels could
+enter the harbor for many more months, and realizing
+that in their absence his presence in Peru was of
+no benefit to the American Board of Marine Underwriters,
+decided upon an overland journey, with Carl,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>to one of the northern cities, from where they could
+take passage for Panama. He spoke of the plan to
+Mr. Dartmoor, and the iron merchant decided to
+accompany him. Mr. Lawton, hearing of their proposed
+trip, and having arranged his affairs in a satisfactory
+manner, said that he also would go.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But your newspaper?” asked Captain Saunders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I shall suspend publication. All my obligations
+have been met, thanks to Harvey and his father, and
+I am in a position where I can close the plant and
+reopen it when peace shall be declared and business
+resume.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I think it would be wise for us all to go,”
+declared Mr. Dartmoor. “Nothing can be done
+with the mine until this unfortunate war shall come
+to an end, and we are constantly exposing our lives
+here. What will you do?” he asked, turning to
+Señor Cisneros, who had remained in Callao, hoping
+that the clouds of depression might lift.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I shall return to Huari and wait for peace,” he
+replied. “We are safe in the mountains. I wish
+you all could go with me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They thanked him, but declined. Mr. Dartmoor
+had not been home save for a brief period since the
+Civil War; he wished his children to become better
+acquainted with the great republic to the north, and
+he was anxious that Mrs. Dartmoor should see more
+of the United States.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>Plans were formed to travel overland to Payta,
+and some forty or fifty other Americans and English
+decided to accompany them. The day for departure
+had been set when two events occurred, the first of
+which put a temporary stop to preparations, and the
+second altered their arrangements materially.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>One evening, during the last week in July, five
+young persons were gathered in the parlor of Mr.
+Dartmoor’s Chucuito residence—Carl Saunders,
+Louis and Harvey Dartmoor and their sister Rosita,
+and Bella Caceras. The presence of the girls in
+the Callao suburb was due to a temporary truce that
+had been agreed to by the commander-in-chief of
+the land forces and the admiral of the Chilean fleet,
+whereby it was agreed not to exchange shots for a
+fortnight.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This had no effect upon the blockade, but it made
+Callao a safe place to live in so far as the element
+of bombardment was eliminated, and, taking advantage
+of the lull in hostilities, those who had homes
+near the sea removed from Lima, so as to enjoy
+the bracing salt-laden air and have a brief respite
+from the crowded, soldier-burdened life of the
+capital.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The evening had been prefaced by one of those
+dinners for which John Dartmoor’s home had been
+noted before his financial difficulties had embarrassed
+him. To be sure, this day the dishes were not as
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>numerous as they had been before the blockade, and
+that which was served cost four and five times the
+price of edibles in the olden times, but steaming
+pucharo was there, as of yore, and there was no
+lack of paltas and other fruit.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>After the enjoyable hour at table, Mr. Dartmoor,
+Captain Saunders, and Señor Cisneros went to the
+billiard room, and Mrs. Dartmoor accompanied the
+young people to the parlor, from where, after a few
+minutes’ conversation, she went to her bedroom,
+having some sewing to do—for these days of preparations
+were busy ones, and, as all women know,
+it was upon the mother that the greatest burdens
+fell.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Toward eight o’clock, Harvey, who had stepped
+out on the balcony for a minute, suggested that
+they stroll over to Mar Bravo beach.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It’s a perfect night,” he said. “The moon is
+full and there’s hardly a cloud to be seen; only a
+few of fleecy white that scud along as if ashamed
+to interrupt the light.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Do you realize, sir, that if you should change
+that sentence a trifle you would have a verse for a
+poem?” laughingly said Bella Caceras. “But you
+are right. It is lovely. Let’s all go. The evening
+is warm and we do not need any wraps, do we,
+Rosita?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I think not,” and rising, Miss Dartmoor joined
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>her friend, then all passed out the door and down
+the stairs.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where are you going?” called Mr. Dartmoor,
+from the billiard room.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“To the beach, father,” answered Louis.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Don’t be gone long.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, sir; not over a half hour.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was the first time the five had visited Mar
+Bravo beach since the happy days preceding the
+blockade, when these evenings at Chucuito were of
+frequent occurrence.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This does seem good!” exclaimed Harvey, as
+he sat down on a circular, flat-topped stone, as near
+the line where spray dashed as he could venture
+without being wet.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What did you say?” called Bella Caceras, who
+was seated somewhat above him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I said that this seems good,” he called back.
+For, although they were almost within touch, the
+roar of the breakers and their accompanied undertow
+was so loud as to drown conversation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Better than fighting Majeronas with pincushions?”
+he heard her mischievously ask.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At this he followed a receding breaker, and snatching
+a clump of seaweed from the swirl, he returned
+and threatened to crown the Peruvian with the dripping
+mass unless she offered an apology.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’ll be good! I’ll be good!” she shouted, endeavoring
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>to rise. “Oh, look at the beautiful starfish
+you have in the bunch!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey deposited the seaweed at her feet, and
+Rosita came over with Carl and Louis, to examine
+closely the red stellerid that had been so unexpectedly
+captured. The time passed only too quickly, and all
+were surprised when Louis, looking at his watch,
+and recalling the remark he had made to his father,
+said they must hasten home, for they had been absent
+from the house nearly an hour.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>On the return, when halfway between the beach
+and the Dartmoor Row, as the house owned by the
+boys’ father and those adjacent to it were called,
+Carl proposed a race.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I can’t run,” protested Bella Caceras.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Oh, try,” urged Louis.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let me whisper in your ear,” said Rosita, and then
+exclaiming, “Pardon me, boys,” she said to her friend,
+very low, “Let’s start with them, then you and I
+stop suddenly, and walk on. We will have a nice talk
+all alone and they’ll never notice it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Very well.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Will you race?” asked Carl.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, we’ll race.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then all in line,” said Louis. “One, two, three,
+and off!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Great rivalry had always existed between the boys,
+and once started they strained every muscle to call
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>forth speed. Before his trip into the interior Harvey
+had never been able to keep up with his brother and
+chum; but that journey had toughened him greatly,
+made him more agile, and this evening he surprised
+the other two by taking the lead and keeping it. So
+intent were all three, that they never looked around
+until the house was reached, nor even then, for Harvey
+dashed in at the front door, the others after him,
+and all sat down on the steps, panting and out of
+breath.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, that’s the jolliest sprint we’ve had for a
+long time,” said Louis, when he had recovered sufficiently
+to form the words.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I believe it is the first time we have tried to see
+who could beat since we used to run from Chucuito
+to La Punta in the old days of the Rowing Club,” replied
+Carl. “And say, Louis, what do you think of
+your young brother here? Beating us square and fair
+by three feet or more in a three hundred yard dash!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sh!” exclaimed the boy whom they were complimenting.
+“Listen! What’s the row in the yard?
+And, Louis, mother is screaming, calling out, or
+something. Come on! Come on, Carl!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They needed no urging, but dashed up the stairs,
+two and three steps at a time, then through the
+house to the rear balcony, which overlooked a large
+court. There they met Mrs. Dartmoor, who was
+crying hysterically.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>“What’s the matter, mother?” asked Louis and
+Harvey, at the same instant.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I don’t know,” she sobbed. “There was a noise
+in the stables and your father went down. I heard
+some terrible sounds, and then he called for Carl’s
+father and Señor Cisneros. They were already on
+the way to him, and the three must have had an encounter
+with some one. It seemed as if all the
+horses had been turned loose. Oh, I don’t know
+what has happened!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At that moment a voice came from below, calling:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Have the boys returned?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, father,” replied Louis. “We are here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Come down.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“All right, sir,” he replied, and the lads obeyed
+only too willingly. Mrs. Dartmoor, reassured at
+hearing her husband’s voice, returned to her room.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Dartmoor Row, which included the house occupied
+by John Dartmoor before his failure, and to
+which he had removed since the discovery of the
+gold mine, and the advance to him of money by capitalists
+of Lima, consisted of a number of fine residences,
+built in a semicircle in the heart of Chucuito
+suburb. They were, in fact, the most pretentious
+structures in this little place, and because of the prominence
+in diplomatic and business life of the tenants,
+they were known by foreigners all up and down the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>West Coast. Back of the houses was a high fence,
+which completed the circle, and which enclosed a
+large court. Within the enclosure were the stables
+and other outbuildings, arranged so that the whole
+somewhat resembled an English country residence;
+indeed, it was said to have been patterned from an
+estate near London. Flights of stairs connected the
+court with the different houses, and it was down one
+of these that the boys ran. At the bottom they met
+Mr. Dartmoor, Señor Cisneros, and Captain Saunders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We had a little brush with them,” said Louis’s
+father.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“With whom, sir?” the lads asked, and they saw
+that the iron merchant was holding a handkerchief
+to the side of his head and that the Peruvian was
+limping as if his leg pained him.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“With a rascally band of soldiers,” replied Mr.
+Dartmoor. “But they were not half so bad as their
+leader. Louis, who do you think he was?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But, father, are you hurt?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Nothing to speak of. Tell me, who do you think
+led the soldiers into the court?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Alfred?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, Alfred.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The scoundrel!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor spoke of a young Englishman to
+whom they had given employment about the place.
+He had deserted from an English man-of-war, and,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>believing his story to be true, that harsh treatment
+had caused him to run away from the ship, the iron
+merchant had found work for him. But he soon
+learned that the young man was addicted to the use
+of strong liquors, and after repeated warnings he was
+compelled to discharge him. The notification that
+he was no longer needed had brought bitter words
+from the former sailor boy, who had denounced Mr.
+Dartmoor and had threatened to “get even.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What did he try to do, father?” asked Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Try to do! He has done it. He and his band
+have taken all the horses!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The horses?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, every one that was in the stables. Yours
+and Louis’s, mine, and two that belonged to Mr.
+Dartnell. I heard the noise and ran down the stairs.
+There were fully twenty of them, and I could do
+nothing, so called Captain Saunders and the señor,
+but they got away.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>While this conversation was taking place they had
+walked from the centre of the court to the stairs,
+which they soon commenced to mount. At the top
+they were met by Mrs. Dartmoor, who asked:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did Rosita go into the court with you, boys?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Rosita? No,” said Harvey. “Is she not in the
+house with Bella Caceras?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. I have called her several times.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, that is strange. They came back with us
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>from Mar Bravo. That is, they followed close
+behind.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy ran into the house and called “Rosita!
+Rosita! Rosita!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>No answer came.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Louis and Carl hurried after him. “They are hiding
+downstairs,” said the latter. “They are playing
+a joke on us because we ran away from them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They shouldn’t do that,” said Harvey. “They
+must have heard mother call. A joke is a joke, but
+they ought not to worry her.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys ran down the steps and out in front.
+The girls were not in sight. They looked in the
+doorways of the neighboring houses. No one could
+be seen.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Rosita! Rosita!” called Harvey and Louis.
+“Don’t try to hide any longer. We know where
+you are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>There was no answer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where do you suppose they are?” asked Harvey,
+and his voice trembled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I think we should tell father,” said Louis, and
+running to the foot of the stairs he called to Mr.
+Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is it, Louis?” asked the iron merchant.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We can’t find Rosita and Bella Caceras.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Can’t find Rosita! Why, what do you mean?
+Rosita!” he called.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>No reply came.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where were they, boys, when you saw them
+last?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Following us from Mar Bravo. We all started
+on a foot race, and the girls were with us. They
+couldn’t have been more than a dozen steps in the
+rear.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Perhaps they are hiding behind the stones. Run
+over to the beach and see if they are not.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boys did as they were bid and returned in five
+minutes. No sign of the girls had been seen. All
+called again. There was no answer. Mrs. Dartmoor
+came downstairs and added her cries to those
+of the men and the boys. Not a voice was heard in
+reply.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Rosita Dartmoor and Bella Caceras had disappeared.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XX.<br /> <span class='large'>A CHASE INTO THE PAMPAS COUNTRY.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>They formed a startled group out in front of
+the Dartmoor Row, standing in the white of
+the moonlight, and for fully a minute not a sound
+came from them, except low moans from Mrs. Dartmoor’s
+lips. These, too, suddenly ceased, and the
+woman fell toward her husband.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Quick, Louis! Help me! Your mother has
+fainted!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy sprang to his father’s side.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We must carry her upstairs.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders also hurried to assist, and the
+three bore the deathlike mother to her bedroom,
+where restoratives were applied, and she soon regained
+consciousness.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There, I am better now,” she said, as soon as she
+could sit upright. “I must go down and look for
+Rosita,” and she tried to struggle to her feet.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No. Please don’t try to do that,” urged her
+husband. “Louis will go, and so will the captain,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>and with Señor Cisneros, Carl, and Harvey they will
+do all that is possible. I shall remain by your side
+until you are much better.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then he stepped over to Captain Saunders and
+whispered, “For God’s sake do what you can!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Rest assured that I will,” was the reply, and he
+left the room with the boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Below they saw Señor Cisneros walking slowly up
+and down the road, near the end of the row. He
+was bent nearly double, and was carefully examining
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Come here,” he finally called to those who were
+gathered near the door, and when they had approached,
+he added, “Do you see these hoof prints,
+rounding from the stables.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes,” they all exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Notice that they continue on in front of the
+houses about a hundred feet and then stop.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He had walked along while calling their attention
+to the marks that were plain in the light-colored,
+sandy soil of the roadway.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You are correct,” said Captain Saunders. “What
+does it mean?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“First, let’s ascertain if they continue up the
+main road,” and turning, he walked in the direction
+of Callao again.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes,” he added, “they doubled over this stretch.
+Notice how confused the imprints are, and now,”
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>when they had passed the corner, “see, they are
+plain again on the way to the city! Those girls,
+Rosita and Bella, have been kidnapped.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Kidnapped? By whom?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“By that scoundrelly Englishman and his ruffianly
+band. After leaving the stables they made for the
+main road. At the corner they saw the girls, and
+as they were only a few feet away, they picked them
+up and dashed off again. We did not hear them
+nor the cries of the girls, which of course were soon
+stifled, because we were so occupied in the court.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I <em>did</em> hear a scream,” said Captain Saunders,
+“but paid no particular attention, thinking one of
+the women servants had cried in alarm because of
+the uproar in the stables. But, señor, for what reason
+would they kidnap the girls?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“For a ransom. That English renegade knows
+about the gold mine, and the thought came to him
+at once to extort money. Here, Harvey, come
+back!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy, who had started on a run, came to a
+halt.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where are you going?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“After them,” he replied.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You can do nothing alone and on foot. We’ll
+all start. Louis, are there any horses in the neighborhood?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He shook his head in negation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>“Oh, yes there are!” exclaimed Harvey, who had
+quickly returned. “There are some at the fort.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then hurry over there as fast as you can, explain
+to the commandante what has happened, and ask
+him if he will lend us mounts. Louis, you go with
+him, and Captain Saunders, let your son go also. It
+will take three of them to bring back the horses.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Certainly. Make haste, Carl!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The lads disappeared around the corner, and their
+footfalls could be heard as they started to cross the
+peninsula.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The señor at once went upstairs, and returned with
+Mr. Dartmoor, who looked over the ground as the
+others had done, and became convinced that the
+Peruvian’s theory was correct.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Mrs. Dartmoor is better,” he said, returning to
+the door. “Captain, will you do me a favor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Anything you ask.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then remain with my wife, for I must join in
+this chase.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I shall do so willingly, if she needs any one.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, she does; for her nerves are completely
+shattered, and I dare not trust her alone.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Very well, I will remain. Would you like to
+have Carl accompany you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“By all means. We need as large a force as can
+be quickly mustered.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They were upstairs again before this conversation
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>was ended, and Mr. Dartmoor, hastening to his wife,
+reassured her the best he could.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I do not apprehend any harm will befall the girls,
+aside from a rough ride,” he said. “Those marauders
+want money, that’s all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You will pay them?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, of course I will, should it be necessary; but
+I don’t think it will be.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hurry, then; oh, do hurry!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We will be off as soon as the horses come. It
+will be all right then for me to go and leave Captain
+Saunders with you, dear?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, yes. I really do not need any one—but
+if the captain could stay, I should like to have
+him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I am very glad that I can be of any service,”
+said Carl’s father. “And let me assure you, Mrs.
+Dartmoor, that I feel convinced your daughter and
+Señorita Caceras will soon be recovered.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Meanwhile the men who were to go were making
+hurried preparations, casting aside coats and vests,
+and donning flowing ponchos; also exchanging shoes
+for high boots. Mr. Dartmoor went into the boys’
+room and gathered an armful of articles, which he
+thought his sons would need, and which he carried
+downstairs so they might lose no time in getting
+ready for the road.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“We’ll leave what we don’t want on the sidewalk,”
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>he called to Captain Saunders. “Please have one of
+the servants take them in.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The clatter of hoofs sounded, and four horsemen
+dashed around the corner and came to a sharp halt
+in a cloud of dust. Four other horses were being
+led. The first to dismount was a little man clad in
+a brilliant uniform of red and gold braid.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“General Matajente!” exclaimed Mr. Dartmoor,
+and he grasped the soldier fiercely by the hand.
+“Thank God you have come!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Rosita and Bella kidnapped!” replied the officer.
+“Never fear, we will soon be up with them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Hurry, boys! dismount and make ready!” and
+Mr. Dartmoor pointed to the clothing that lay on the
+pavement.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>So expeditious were the lads that they were fully
+equipped by the time the men had tightened their
+saddle girths.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Have you weapons?” asked the general, as they
+all prepared to mount.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor made an affirmative gesture.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And the boys?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Each has a revolver. I have permitted them to
+carry firearms since these dangerous times began.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then let’s be off!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They started at a canter up the road to Callao,
+knowing the wisdom of not urging the horses at the
+start. As for the course they pursued, the topography
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>of the land was such that the marauders could
+have taken no other. In the city they received
+information that directed them still farther. A
+policeman near the English railway station had seen
+the soldiers going rapidly to the northeast. Yes, he
+had noticed two señoritas in the party, and he had
+believed the troops were escorting them. Did they
+call out? No.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then,” said General Matajente, “they must have
+been gagged, or else the scoundrels rode close and
+threatened them. Tell me,” he inquired of the
+policeman, “were the señoritas mounted—each on a
+horse by herself?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, señor commandante.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Forward, then!” And the party started across
+the city in the direction indicated. At the farther
+end, not far from the Baños del Oroya, they came
+upon a sentinel on guard near an artillery camp, and
+from him they also secured information. The kidnappers
+had passed on beyond Callao, going in the
+same general direction.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They have taken the road to Bella Vista, that’s
+certain. Now we can go faster.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Spurs were pressed to flanks, whips were let fall,
+and the horses dashed forward on a run. The three
+men were in front and the boys close behind.
+The animals that had been brought from the Santa
+Rosa fort were the best in the stables, for General
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>Matajente, who had been the guest, during the evening,
+of the commanding officer, and had heard Louis’s
+and Harvey’s petition for steeds, had warmly
+seconded their request and finally had selected the
+mounts himself. Accustomed to command, the little
+officer had unconsciously taken the head of the party;
+and Mr. Dartmoor was rejoiced thereat, for the
+courage and ability of the general had been tested
+many times, and was known to equal that of any man
+in the service of Peru.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It is two miles from Callao to Bella Vista, and
+within five minutes after leaving the city they drew
+rein in the little settlement, their horses snorting,
+with heads uplifted, necks arched, flecks of foam
+dropping from their mouths, and sweat commencing
+to show on their shoulders.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Two roads branch from here,” said the general,
+“and we must decide quickly which to take. Señor
+Cisneros, perhaps you can aid us again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The resident of Huari had already dismounted, and
+he went at once to the fork, then walked rapidly in
+a stooping posture along the highway to the right.
+It was still bright moonlight and would be for several
+hours, so that he had little difficulty in scanning the
+ground. After going a hundred feet or so, he returned
+with the information that no one had recently
+passed that way, except a party of two or three, and
+they had moved at a walk. Then he moved over
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>the left branch, going even farther this time, and
+upon returning he said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Not a person has passed over this road on horseback
+in the last twenty-four hours.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They looked at one another in alarm. Had a
+mistake been made and all this time wasted? Who
+had given the wrong direction, the policeman or the
+soldier?</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But suddenly the general exclaimed: “There
+may be a clever rogue in that party. To horse,
+señor! I have a plan,” and riding forward, he
+led them along the road that branched to the
+left.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Where can he be going?” asked Mr. Dartmoor.
+“He must realize that every moment
+counts.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He believes they made a detour, and so do I,”
+replied Señor Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The general rode at a rapid gait full a quarter of
+a mile, bending down close to the saddle, his head
+almost on a level with his horse’s neck, scanning the
+white roadway; then, drawing rein suddenly, he
+exclaimed in a triumphant tone:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Try it again, señor, at this point.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Señor Cisneros was no sooner on his feet than he
+said: “Yes, here are the tracks! They came out of
+the short grass at this point.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And they entered it below Bella Vista, believing
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>they could throw us off the trail!” added General
+Matajente. “Now I think we have them. The
+road is straight to the Rimac, then follows along its
+bank for ten miles, and after that comes a bridle-path
+up the hills. Forward! Not too fast, señores!
+Easy with the horses for a few minutes, then we’ll
+let them out!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They rode close. No words were exchanged; the
+only sounds were the hoof-beats and the hoarse
+breathing of the horses. The speed was increased
+gradually, General Matajente setting the pace, and
+soon the gnarled cacti and dwarf shrubs of the
+pampas country seemed to pass them by as do objects
+seen from the window of a train. A half hour
+of this riding brought a mass of vegetation in sight
+ahead: rows of bamboos, palms, and willows. The
+soil became more fertile; thick, heavy grass, dotted
+here and there with yellow lilies, took the place of
+the dry vegetation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They had reached the valley of the Rimac. From
+the dense underbrush on each side darted birds; the
+cries of others sounded. A silver thread shone between
+an opening in the woods ahead, and in another
+minute the road turned more to the east, commenced
+to follow the wanderings of the river, and became
+no longer level but slightly up grade.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Halt!” said General Matajente, and when they
+had drawn rein he added: “A five minutes’ rest
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>now may be worth a mile of extra speed later.
+Everybody dismount! Now let’s lead the animals
+to the bank and let them drink. But only a little.
+Remember, boys, only a swallow or two. Beat them
+back if you have to.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They did as he directed, and had no little trouble
+restraining the heated, panting animals; then returned
+to the road again and waited by the horses’
+sides until the word was given to mount, when they
+started once more, convinced that they were on the
+right track, for all had been able to see the imprints
+of hoofs on the roadway.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The scoundrels didn’t stop to water here,” said
+General Matajente to Mr. Dartmoor, when they were
+riding again. “They probably tried it farther along
+and failed, for the banks are too high. I tell you,
+my friend, we’ve got them!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The iron merchant reached out his hand and
+grasped that which the little officer had extended.
+No further words were exchanged, for the father
+was too choked for utterance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Fragrance from heliotrope bushes came to them,
+borne on the light wind that swept down from the
+mountains. The road turned frequently, and at no
+time could they see far ahead; it was thrown into
+shadow in places by dense grasses, and in others
+stretched away in clear moonlight. On they rode,
+faster and faster, the horses needing very little
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>urging, for they sprang forward gladly in the clear,
+cool night. An hour passed without a word being
+said by any one, then the silence was broken by
+the general.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They should not be far off now. I don’t believe
+they had over a half hour’s start, and they do not
+know how to save their horses. Besides, the most
+of the animals they have cannot compare with these.
+Of course those which they took from your stables
+are runners, but all the others must be ordinary
+cavalry mounts.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor nodded his head, to signify that he
+understood, but he did not speak.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Still they rode on, sweeping under willows that
+touched their heads and shoulders, curving in and
+out between the bamboo rows, at times near the
+river, again several rods from the bank, following
+the winding road that by this time had narrowed so
+that only two could ride abreast, and was increasing
+in up grade. They had passed through an unusually
+long stretch of forest and had emerged into an equally
+long reach of roadway, lighted by the moon, which
+was still about two hours high—for it was nearly
+midnight—when General Matajente yelled:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There they are!” and pointed to markings
+straight ahead that at first looked like tall bushes,
+indicating another turn, but which a second glance
+told were moving.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>A burst of speed followed his exclamation, for
+reins had been loosened, rowels dug into the horses
+feverishly, and whips let fall. The pursued were
+not a quarter of a mile distant and the pursuers
+were rapidly nearing them, for the shadows grew in
+size. Indeed, they grew so rapidly that the general
+looked with care, and then cried sharply, “Halt!”
+catching Mr. Dartmoor’s horse by the bridle, throwing
+both the front animals almost on their haunches
+and bringing those behind to a stand.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What do you mean?” exclaimed the iron merchant,
+angrily. He had drawn his revolver.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You must not fire. Remember the girls are
+with them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Dartmoor replaced the weapon in his pocket.
+“But why do we stop?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They have stopped. And see, one of the band
+is coming to meet us. They want to parley. Let
+me speak with him, will you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, yes, and pardon me, general.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The little officer rode ahead a few paces, and
+Señor Cisneros moved up to Mr. Dartmoor’s side,
+then all pressed closer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A man clad in a ragged uniform came riding
+slowly from the group beyond.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, what is it, fellow?” said the officer.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“General Matajente!” The tone showed the
+surprise felt by the bandit, but noticing the small
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>numbers behind the intrepid warrior, he regained
+courage and said insolently:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Our captain wants money.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Who, pray, is your captain?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Captain Alfred. He sends word that the señoritas
+must be paid for.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“If I did right, I would shoot you down, you dog.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then they would kill the señoritas.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And what would happen to the murderers?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The bandit shrugged his shoulders. “We are
+forty and you are six,” he said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So many as that!” General Matajente was heard
+to murmur; then aloud he said, “What do you
+propose?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The captain wants twenty thousand pesos (dollars),
+señor commandante, and he will release the
+señoritas unharmed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And if he is refused?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The bandit drew his hand across his throat significantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Stop!” implored Señor Cisneros, seizing Mr.
+Dartmoor’s bridle rein.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Twenty thousand dollars! You don’t suppose
+we’ve anywhere near that sum at our command!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Our captain says that you can get it, señor commandante.
+He knows of the gold mine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But even if we could get the money, it would
+take a long time. Will you return the señoritas to
+us if we promise to pay?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>“I will ask the captain,” was the answer, and the
+man rode back. He soon returned. “No, señor
+commandante. The captain will keep the señoritas,
+and they will be taken to our camp near Chosica.
+He promises they will be unharmed if you will do
+what he says.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What is that?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Return to Callao, secure the money, then two of
+you, not more, come to Chosica twenty-four hours
+from now. We shall be able to see you approaching
+a mile away. If more than two come, it will be useless,
+for no one will appear; but if you do as the
+captain says, the señoritas will be delivered to you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That can never be!” exclaimed Mr. Dartmoor.
+“Twenty-four hours in those rascals’ hands! The
+girls had better be dead. Let’s advance, general.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Please don’t interfere,” urged the officer. Then
+to the bandit he said, “What do you suppose will
+happen to you later?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“<i><span lang="es" xml:lang="es">Quien sabe?</span></i>” (who knows) and he shrugged his
+shoulders again. “We shall have the money.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey pushed forward his horse just then to the
+side of General Matajente, and began to whisper
+earnestly in his ear. After a few minutes the
+officer said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This young man wishes to return with you and
+reassure his sister and her companion. Will you
+take him?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>“What answer shall I give the captain?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That depends upon whether the señoritas are
+unharmed and whether you do what we ask. When
+the boy returns you come with him and we will
+give the reply.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Very well, señor commandante. I can see no
+harm in that,” and wheeling his horse he went back
+over the road, with the boy following.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As soon as they were out of earshot General
+Matajente said earnestly:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“When they return, hold your horses ready for a
+sudden dash. Draw your revolvers, but keep them
+concealed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“What do you propose?” asked Señor Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I do not understand clearly myself, as yet.
+Harvey has formed some plan, and will tell more
+when he has seen his sister and Señorita Caceras!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The lad had indeed thought of a way to outwit
+the bandits. It came to him suddenly, and was not
+fully matured even when he started from General
+Matajente’s side, but as he rode on he saw more
+clearly, and his heart beat fast and the blood surged
+to his cheeks. “If they are only mounted on Nigger
+and Tom,” he thought. “If they only——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>His guide stopped further reflection by the sharp
+command, “Wait here, while I ride on,” and Harvey
+reined in his horse under an ironwood tree, about
+fifty yards from the group, which could now be seen
+distinctly ahead.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>The envoy evidently conferred with the leader,
+for after a few minutes another voice called out,
+“Ride up! quick now!” and the boy urged his
+horse forward. He was permitted to approach
+within a few feet, and there he saw his sister
+and her friend, both mounted on horses and seated
+astride.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Thank God!” he thought, “Rosita is on Nigger
+and Bella is on Tom.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The girls were not bound, nor were they gagged,
+but forming a semicircle behind and at the sides of
+them, partly in the road and partly in the long grass,
+were a dozen mounted bandits, revolvers shining in
+their hands. The girls were very pale, but did not
+appear to have been injured in any way. They
+looked like ghosts there in the moonlight, clad in
+the white dresses they had donned for the evening
+at Chucuito. They were strangely silent, and the
+only greeting given Harvey was with their wild,
+staring eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The man who had called out rode from the centre,
+and Harvey saw that he was Alfred, the discharged
+servant.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Want to speak with your sister, eh, boy? Well,
+you can. They’re all right. Yes, you may answer,”
+he added, turning to the girls. “You see, we told
+them we’d blow their brains out if they said anything.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>“Oh, Harvey! Save us! Save us! Isn’t papa
+coming?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It will be all right, Rosita,” the boy answered
+nervously. “Have you been hurt?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, not much. My side pains me, for I was
+lifted suddenly into the saddle.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How are you, Bella?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The Peruvian girl, who had not yet spoken, answered
+hurriedly and somewhat wildly, “It’s horrible!
+horrible!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey gained control of himself by an effort, and
+said: “We’re going to get you out of this all right.
+Don’t worry any more. I’ve got to go now. Keep
+up your courage.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>As he turned his horse, the bandit who had been
+an envoy rode out from the bushes to his side.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“One moment,” said the leader, and Harvey drew
+rein.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You can tell your father and the others that the
+girls are in front and we propose to keep them there.
+If any of you fire, they will be hit first. Now go
+back, and I think you will advise the old gentleman
+to pay.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>On the return trip Harvey continued saying to
+himself, “Rosita is on Nigger and Bella on Tom.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How are they, my son?” called Mr. Dartmoor,
+as soon as the two were within hailing distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“They have not been hurt,” replied the boy,
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>who then rode rapidly to the side of General Matajente.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The captain wants his answer, señor commandante,”
+exclaimed the bandit.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Just a minute; wait till I hear the lad’s report.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Meanwhile Harvey had been whispering rapidly:
+“The girls are on our horses, Rosita on Louis’s and
+Bella on mine. They are the swiftest horses in Chucuito.
+Both are several steps in advance of the men,
+and no one is touching them. They are good riders.
+Shall I do it?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, and God help you. Quick now!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The boy swung his horse round, and rising from
+his saddle yelled at the top of his voice:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“<em>Coo-ee! Coo-ee!</em>”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was a call used by brothers and sister. When
+out riding, if they became separated and wished to
+attract one another’s attention, this was their signal.
+It meant to hurry as well.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“<em>Coo-ee! Coo-ee!</em>”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Horses had learned the call, as well as the boys
+and the girl. The animals always pricked their
+ears and started toward the sound when it rang
+out.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“<em>Coo-ee! Coo-ee!</em>”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A sharp ring of hoofs; a scream from up the
+road—a scream, the intonation of which showed
+that the one who gave vent to it understood.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>Quick as a flash General Matajente wheeled his
+horse, dashed up to the solitary bandit, and gave
+him a blow on the head with the butt of his revolver
+that caused the man to reel and fall from his saddle.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Open ranks there!” called the general. “Let
+the girls through!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Two black streaks, bearing fluffy burdens of white,
+were moving swiftly down the moonlit road, followed
+several yards behind by a dense mass, from
+which came cries and yells.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Close in after the girls, Dartmoor and Cisneros!”
+ordered the little officer. “Carl and Louis go next!
+Harvey, stay with me!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>On came Nigger and Tom, gaining with every
+stride of their magnificent limbs; on into their
+midst and through them, down the road, and as they
+went the two men and two boys followed and covered
+the retreat.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Fire!” called General Matajente, who had taken
+his revolver from a saddle pouch. Two shots rang
+out, one from his weapon and one discharged by
+Harvey. A man fell from the front rank of those
+who pursued, a horse toppled over, and there was
+confusion in the mass.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Now ride for it!” called the general, and off the
+two started, down the road, following the others.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Soon cries came again from the rear, horses at a
+gallop were heard, and an intermittent firing began.
+But the bandits were riding hard and their aim was
+poor.</p>
+
+<div id='p280'  class='figcenter id001'>
+<img src='images/i_289.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+<div class='ic001'>
+<p>“Two black streaks, bearing fluffy burdens of white, were moving swiftly down the moonlit road.”</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>“On with you!” exclaimed General Matajente,
+digging spurs into his horse. “Ah! What’s
+that?” and he pointed to a dense mass ahead of
+them, ahead even of the girls and their escorts, a
+mass that was coming forward swiftly. “Cavalry!
+The commandante of Santa Rosa fort! He said that
+he would follow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was indeed a squadron, and the ranks opened
+to let the fugitives pass through, then re-formed with
+General Matajente at the head. The bandits, not
+seeing the increased force because of a turn in the
+road, came on wildly, and were met by a withering
+volley from carbines. There was a short, sharp
+struggle, and in five minutes twenty men lay dead
+or wounded on the ground, and a score more had
+been made prisoners.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Then all rode back to Callao, Rosita still on
+Nigger, close by her father’s side, while Bella Caceras,
+on Tom, had Louis and Harvey as escorts.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> <span class='large'>OLD GLORY IN THE BAY.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class='lg-container-b c015'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'>“The star-spangled banner,</div>
+      <div class='line'>O long may it wave!</div>
+      <div class='line'>O’er the land of the free</div>
+      <div class='line'>And the home of the brave.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>General Matajente and Señor Cisneros
+acted as hosts one afternoon, a week after the
+stirring events related in the last two chapters, and
+entertained as guests at luncheon those who were
+about to undertake the overland journey north. The
+tables were set in the grand salle of the big hotel on
+the tip of La Punta.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The truce agreed upon by the commanders of the
+land and sea forces would end with the going down
+of the sun on the morrow, and it was expected that
+warlike operations would be renewed with vigor.
+This meant active work for the general, and as his
+friends would leave for the States within twenty-four
+hours, he had suggested this means of bidding farewell.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>Don Isaac was also there, and so were Señor and
+Señora Caceras and Bella. The latter would, of
+course, remain in Peru; at least everybody thought
+they would remain, until, immediately after rising
+from the table, Mr. Dartmoor announced that he had
+persuaded Señor Caceras to send his wife and
+daughter to the States with them. There was much
+rejoicing among the young people at this, for they
+had been drawn very close by the perils through
+which they had passed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I don’t see how it is possible for me to get ready,”
+said the señora.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Try,” urged Mrs. Dartmoor. “I will help you
+to-night and to-morrow morning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I would advise you to make the journey, madam,”
+said Don Isaac “Your daughter does not seem to
+have been well since her exciting experience.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No, she has not, and I suppose the journey, especially
+the sea voyage, would be of great benefit.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Indeed it will,” assented Mrs. Dartmoor. “Rosita
+also needs a change. She has become very
+nervous. For that matter, I think we have all been
+somewhat upset by these trying times. I wish your
+husband could accompany us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I may be able to do so, at least as far as Panama,”
+he said.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I shall go,” said Señora Caceras.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Bella brightened at this, and Harvey, who had
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>appeared somewhat worried when the conversation
+had taken a doubtful tone, exclaimed in unromantic,
+but no less hearty, tones, “Isn’t that bully!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“General Matajente, I wish that you could go,”
+said Mrs. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Duty, señora, compels me to remain.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And you, Señor Cisneros?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I must return to Huari.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>From the large salle in which luncheon had been
+served they went to the broad veranda above, where
+there were many chairs, and from where they could
+enjoy the beautiful view of the bay, the seacoast city
+beyond, and Lima in the distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Both Carl and his father felt a twinge of sadness
+when they saw the suite of rooms where they had
+passed so many happy months before Mrs. Saunders
+had returned to the States with Harold, but this was
+followed by the glad thought that they would soon
+be speeding north, homeward bound.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>While the adults drew chairs near the centre of the
+broad balcony, the young people walked to the end,
+from where they could command a better view of the
+bay and also of San Lorenzo.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Oh, those were happy days when we could row
+over there in the practice boats!” exclaimed Louis,
+pointing to the big island.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Are not these days happy, sir?” asked Bella
+Caceras.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>“Y-e-s,” he stammered, somewhat confused.
+“You know, I meant——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Well, what did you mean?” she demanded
+laughingly.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It was a different kind of happiness,” said Harvey,
+coming to the rescue.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You said that very prettily; didn’t he, Rosita?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, he did. But tell the honest truth, boys,
+where would you rather be—out in the bay, or talking
+with us here, on the veranda?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Here,” replied Carl.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“So I say,” Louis replied.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And you, Harvey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I would rather be out in the bay, and have you
+girls with us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At this they all laughed heartily.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Look, there’s another ship coming to join the
+fleet!” exclaimed the youngest lad, pointing seaward;
+and they saw a seventh vessel farther out,
+heading toward the six that composed the blockading
+squadron.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“It was there that you were capsized, was it not?”
+asked Bella of Louis.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, just off the end of San Lorenzo, near where
+the <em>Blanco Encalada</em> is cruising. My! Carl, but
+that was an anxious evening! I don’t believe I ever
+told you how frightened I was during the hours that
+we clung to the overturned cat-boat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>“No, and I never told you. I think we kept one
+another’s courage up, don’t you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes I’m sure we did.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Let’s leave this place,” said Harvey, “and go
+where the others are. It makes me homesick to
+look out over the bay.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why?” asked the girls.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Because the ships are all gone. It’s like going
+through a house where everybody is dead.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Ugh! what a comparison!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Captain Saunders was talking when they came
+near, and they drew up chairs and listened. He
+had been telling those near him of a lonely six
+months he had passed in Nicaragua, soon after the
+close of the war, when he had been compelled to
+remain in that country as an <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">attaché</span> to the United
+States legation.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I had not been long married,” he was saying,
+“and had left Mrs. Saunders and Carl in the
+States, for there was no steamship communication
+then, and the voyage to many parts of the Central
+American coast was made in sailing vessels. It was
+a very lonely life, there were few congenial spirits,
+and the one or two who were companionable were
+as homesick as I. On three occasions I was sorely
+tempted to go on board a steamer and sail for New
+York, and it is curious to note how old associations
+influenced me at such times.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>“How was that?” inquired Don Isaac.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The first,” said the captain, “occurred one hot
+afternoon while I was lying in a hammock under a
+cypress tree. It was a very oppressive day and I
+was endeavoring to sleep, when suddenly from somewhere
+came the notes of violin music. Somebody
+was playing, ‘Maryland, my Maryland.’ The air
+at once brought before my mind the two years I had
+passed at college in northern Ohio, for one of my
+old fraternity songs had been set to this music. I
+saw the fresh green campus, bordered with maples,
+the gray weather-stained dormitories, the red brick
+gymnasium, and before me passed one after another
+of my old college friends. An irresistible longing
+came to rise and hurry to the land where they lived,
+away from that land of strangers.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And the second time?” asked Señor Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Was one night while lying awake and tortured
+with fever I heard the strains of ‘Home, Sweet
+Home.’ Then came a picture of my wife and child,
+of the wooden house, opposite the Episcopal church,
+in the little village where I had left them. I could
+see the yard, the well-sweep, yes, and I could hear
+the wooden roller creak as the bucket was hauled
+from the cool depths; and in my longing I believe
+I called out for some of that cold, crystal water
+which I had drunk when a boy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>“The third?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The third,” said Captain Saunders, sitting upright,
+“was at Greytown, or San Juan del Norte,
+on a Christmas day. I was looking out into the
+bay when there rounded a cape and steamed in full
+view a ship of graceful lines, and I saw fluttering
+from her gaff——”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Oh, father!” interrupted Carl. “A man-of-war
+is coming into the harbor!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They all jumped to their feet, and hastened to the
+end of the veranda.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“There,” said the captain, “there’s the picture
+I saw. Look! The stars and stripes! An American
+war-ship has arrived.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>It was so. A cruiser, of graceful lines and tapering
+masts, was moving slowly over the passive waters
+of the bay, and streaming from her halyards was
+Old Glory. They watched her in silence as she
+steamed to a point opposite Chucuito, where the
+anchor was let go, and then the stillness of the afternoon
+was broken by the discharge of cannon as her
+forward guns fired a salute to the Peruvian flag that
+had been broken at the fore truck.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That must be the <em>Pensacola</em>,” said Harvey.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, and Brown is her captain,” Captain Saunders
+exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why has she come here, do you suppose?” asked
+Mr. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>“To take Americans and other foreigners to the
+north before a general bombardment is begun.
+Brown has probably received word that Chile contemplates
+aggressive action, and he has come to our
+rescue. Dartmoor, our overland journey need not
+be undertaken. We can sail north in an American
+man-of-war.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A half hour later they left the hotel and went by
+the little train, some to Chucuito and others to Callao.
+While walking to the station, Bella Caceras,
+who had been very quiet ever since the advent of
+the <em>Pensacola</em>, stepped to Captain Saunders’s side
+and said to him:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I’m so sorry. No, not exactly sorry, because
+I’m glad for your sake, but I’m sorry for ours.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Sorry about what, young lady?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That mamma and I cannot go to the United
+States.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But why can’t you go?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You said, didn’t you, that the war vessel would
+take away Americans and other foreigners? We
+are Peruvians.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Bless my heart!” ejaculated the captain, “if
+you look at old Brown only half as wistfully as you
+do at me, he will not only take you, but will surrender
+his cabin for your occupancy. Of course
+you will go, if any of us do. I promise that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Whereat Bella became happy again, and ran to the
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>side of her mother and father, to whom she told the
+good news.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>That evening the American consul sent word to
+the members of the foreign colony that Captain
+Brown of the <em>Pensacola</em> would take all citizens of
+the United States on board the <em>Pensacola</em> on the
+morrow and carry them to Panama, and that he
+extended like invitations to other non-combatants
+who wished to escape from the beleaguered city.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The word ‘non-combatant’ applies to you, Miss
+Bella,” said Captain Saunders, smiling at the young
+Peruvian.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He was right. The commander of the cruiser was
+glad that he could grant passage to the friends of
+the Saunders and Dartmoors, and by three o’clock
+the next day those who had planned the overland
+trip were stowed away, bag and baggage, on the
+American man-of-war. As she steamed out of port
+an hour later, two persons waved good-bys from
+the Peruvian state barge, that had been pulled out
+into the harbor. One was General Matajente and
+the other Señor Cisneros.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The war-ship steamed near the <em>Blanco Encalada</em>,
+and through a speaking-trumpet Captain Brown
+thanked the admiral for permitting his entrance into
+the harbor. Then the course was shaped for the
+north.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At five o’clock the land was but a blue haze in
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>the distance. Carl, Louis, and Harvey stood at the
+stern rail and watched the fading outlines.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Good-by, Peru,” said Carl, finally. “I suppose
+I shall never see you again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Poor Peru!” exclaimed Louis. “She has been
+kind to us. I wonder what her future will be?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey said nothing, but to him the shore line
+was even more dim than to the others, for a mist
+had formed in his eyes.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> <span class='large'>DARK DAYS IN INCALAND.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>The exodus from Callao was none too soon.
+The day following the departure of the <em>Pensacola</em>,
+the Chilean ships steamed close in, and for
+forty-eight hours rained shot and shell into Callao.
+Houses were set on fire in many quarters, and had it
+not been for the non-combustible property of adobe,
+out of which nearly all buildings were constructed,
+the seaport would have been laid in ashes. As it
+was, some of the finest residences were riddled, and
+General Matajente learned with sorrow that the
+Dartmoor Row had been partly destroyed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The castles, the Santa Rosa fort, the guns at Los
+Baños and those at La Punta, replied vigorously to
+the fire, striking the enemy repeatedly and ultimately
+driving them out of range. But the cruiser
+<em>Angamos</em>, armed with her powerful rifle, could stand
+out in the harbor where no shot could reach her, and
+throw shell after shell into the town. The screech
+of these missiles was heard night and day; it became
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>horrible but familiar music, and men, yes even
+women, slept of nights while the projectiles were
+speeding on their way to give destruction and perhaps
+death at their journey’s end.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>August, September, and October of 1880 passed,
+and no move to the north was made by the Chilean
+land forces. Envoys from the United States had
+arrived in Callao, and others had gone on to Chile.
+They came with proposals of arbitration and the
+expression of hope that peace would ultimately
+result. They came instructed to do all in their
+power to settle the difficulties between the republics,
+and they also told Chile that she must not demand
+territory from Peru as the price of peace. While
+these negotiations were pending aggressive operations
+ceased, and although the blockade of Callao
+was maintained, there were no bombardments.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But Chile resented interference by the United
+States, and particularly the insistence that no territory
+should be demanded from Peru. For years she
+had had eyes fixed on the rich nitrate beds of the
+Tarapacá Province—the richest in the world, and
+finally the government of the southern republic
+announced that Peru and her ally, Bolivia, must
+yield this district or Chilean armies would march on
+Lima.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Protests were in vain. November brought the
+news that army corps were being mobilized in Valparaiso
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>and in the captured city, Arica. Early in
+December came the information that three great
+divisions, numbering twenty-five thousand men in
+all, had embarked on transports and were sailing
+north. A week later a fleet of nearly fifty ships
+appeared off the Peruvian coast, a few miles south of
+Callao, and under cover of the guns of all the vessels
+of Chile’s navy, men-of war coming from the south
+and the others being withdrawn from blockade duty,
+this great force was landed.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Peru met the blow as best she could. Her army,
+which had deteriorated during the long inactivity,
+went into line with forebodings of disaster. The
+troops under the red, white, and red disputed every
+foot of ground between the capital and the sea, fighting
+fiercely at Chorillos, Miraflores, and San Juan,
+but they could not beat back the enemy; they were
+defeated and routed, and Christmas day saw the
+Chileans in Lima.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>But the Peruvian army had not yet yielded, although
+the enemy had taken possession of the capital;
+the troops had withdrawn to the north, and from there
+they continued to wage war. Several attempts were
+made by the United States to bring about a peace,
+overtures to arbitrate were frequently advanced;
+but to all Chile turned a deaf ear, and insisted that
+the demands made in 1880, that the nitrate provinces
+be surrendered, must be met before the troops would
+be withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>For three years this desperate, one-sided struggle
+continued, and then Peru, compelled to purchase
+peace at any price or lose her individuality as a
+nation, made the best terms she could. Bolivia
+yielded all her rights on the seacoast, and Chile
+secured the port of Antofogasta forever. Peru
+yielded the province of Tarapacá, and by the final
+treaty, signed in 1884, she gave to Chile for a term
+of years the provinces of Arica and Tacna, it being
+agreed that in 1893 a vote of the people should be
+taken, to determine to what power they wished
+ultimately to belong.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Thus the land of the Incas emerged from its second
+overwhelming defeat—the first at the hands of
+Pizarro’s forces; the second at the hands of the
+Chileans.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> <span class='large'>AN APPEAL TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='drop-capa0_0_4 c006'>The dawn of the twentieth century found Peru
+recovering from the financial depression which
+had followed the war, but still far from the position
+which she had held before 1879. It also found
+her knocking at the door of the great republic of the
+north, and asking that a protecting arm be extended
+below the equator, and that certain promises made
+years before be fulfilled.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>In the whirl that marked the last days of the
+nineteen-hundredth term, the land of the Incas had
+been lost temporarily from view. Peru’s ancient
+enemy, Spain, had occupied the central position, and
+at the hands of the vigorous northern country had
+received even a more bitter defeat than that given
+her on the west coast of South America when the
+countries there had wrested their independence.
+The Philippine Islands had changed in their allegiance,
+so had Porto Rico, Guam, Tutuila, and Hawaii,
+and Cuba had become independent.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>All these events had overshadowed that which had
+happened and was happening on the Western Hemisphere
+to the south. But when the clouds of conflict
+cleared away, there came into view a shade on the
+southern horizon that told of trouble there. Peru
+was seen gesturing and asking to be heard. Permission
+granted, this is what she said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Twenty years ago we were at war with Chile,
+not through any fault of ours, but to save our southern
+provinces from being taken away from us. Several
+times during the early stages of that conflict we
+had opportunity to make honorable peace, and each
+time we were deterred because of the word that you
+sent us, to the effect that exorbitant terms made by
+the enemy should not be listened to, and that you,
+with your great force, would prevent any seizure of
+our territory. We listened and took heart. We
+continued the struggle and waited. Internal affairs
+withdrew your attention from us, and we were left
+to do the best that we could. The best proved the
+worst. Our richest lands were seized, and other land,
+almost as valuable, was taken for a number of years,
+upon a promise made that it would be returned.
+That promise has not been kept. We have paid
+Chile more indemnity than was paid by France after
+the Franco-German War, and still our southern neighbor
+insists upon the pound of flesh and demands complete
+cession of the provinces of Arica and Tacna in
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>addition to Tarapacá. Therefore, we appeal to you,
+to the United States of America, the mother of all
+republics, and ask that you insist that justice be
+done.”</p>
+
+<hr class='c013' />
+
+<p class='c000'>It was a beautiful afternoon in early spring of the
+year that was the most prosperous in United States
+history. A man of about thirty-six or seven years
+of age was hurrying along Pennsylvania Avenue,
+not looking carefully to his steps, nor minding how
+carriages might be approaching at street crossings,
+so occupied was he with his thoughts. He was
+warned by several coachmen and hailed by one or
+more bicyclists, while the driver of an automobile
+rang his gong loudly before he dodged from in front
+of the rubber-tired wheels. Finally he ran squarely
+into another man, and then came to a sudden stop,
+for he must needs beg pardon. But as he lifted his
+hat he caught sight of the person’s face and
+exclaimed:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Carl Saunders!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Harvey Dartmoor!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They grasped hands warmly. “Why, we have
+not met since we left the steamer at New York
+in 1880.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’s so. More than twenty years ago. In
+many things it seems like yesterday and in others
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>a century. What are you doing in Washington,
+Carl?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I came on for a day, to attend to some business
+for father. And you, Harvey?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I live here. At least I have a home here, and
+pass half the time; the remainder of each year I am
+in Peru. In fact, I am returning the day after to-morrow.
+That reminds me, Carl, I have a very
+important engagement at the White House.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“With the President?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, with the President. He has appointed two
+o’clock as the hour when I may see him, and it now
+lacks but five minutes of that time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Then I must not detain you. Come and see me
+when you have finished.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I will. Where?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Mr. Saunders named a hotel, and after a brief
+hand clasp they parted.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Ten minutes later, in the White House, a dignified,
+courtly gentleman asked the hurrying pedestrian
+of Pennsylvania Avenue to be seated, and then
+he said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Dartmoor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, your Excellency.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“The Peruvian minister has spoken very highly
+of you, sir, as one of the leading business men of his
+country. He also informs me that you are a citizen
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>of the United States, and despite your love for the
+sub-equatorial country you have never forsworn
+your allegiance.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I have not, sir; nor shall I ever do so.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That I am glad to hear. It should not be an
+easy matter for a citizen of this nation to relinquish
+the ties. And now, sir, what may I do for you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I have called, your Excellency, to place before
+you briefly the conditions that exist in Peru, and the
+causes that have led to the present state of affairs,
+and to enlist your sympathy, if possible. I was a
+spectator of many events of the war that began in
+1879, and, since then, half my time has been passed
+in Lima and in Callao. If you will grant me a few
+minutes of your valuable time, I will say in as few
+words as possible that which appeals to me as the
+meat of this momentous question.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Proceed, sir.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I thank you. I will not burden you with the
+events that led to the declaration of war, nor with
+an account of the war itself, for that is not germane,
+but I shall come at once to the time when the United
+States entered upon the scene.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“In 1880 President Hayes offered the mediation
+of the United States to the belligerents, and the
+same being accepted, conferences were held in Arica
+under the auspices of the representatives of the
+United States in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, Thomas A.
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>Osborne, J. P. Christiancy, and General Charles
+Adams. Mr. Osborne declared, in his opening
+speech, that the independence of the United States
+was the origin of republican institutions in America,
+and that the United States considered themselves in
+a manner responsible for the existence of the institutions;
+that the independence of the South American
+republics was acknowledged, first of all, by the United
+States, and the stability of the institutions founded
+upon the independence, being put to a severe test
+by the war, he hoped the belligerent republics, impelled
+by the same wish that animated the United
+States, would endeavor, by every means in their
+power, to put an end to the war, by an honorable
+and lasting peace. To this Chile replied haughtily,
+that the province of Tarapacá must be ceded to her;
+and the first conference came to an end.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“On June 15, 1881, new ministers were chosen to
+represent the United States in the belligerent republics,
+General Stephen A. Hurlbut in Peru and
+General Judson Kilpatrick in Chile. To General
+Hurlbut, Secretary of State James G. Blaine gave
+the following instructions:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“’It will be difficult, perhaps, to obtain from
+Chile a relinquishment of claims to territory, but, as
+the Chilean Government has distinctly repudiated
+the idea that this war was a war of conquest, the
+Government of Peru may fairly claim the opportunity
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>to make proposals of indemnity and guarantee
+before submitting to a cession of territory.
+If you can aid the Government of Peru in securing
+such a result, you will have rendered the service
+which seems most pressing.’</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“On August 25, 1881, General Hurlbut said, in
+the course of his reception speech at Lima:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“’I wish to state further, that while the United
+States recognize all rights which the conqueror
+gains under the laws of civilized war, they do not
+approve of war for the purpose of territorial aggrandizement,
+nor of the violent dismemberment of a nation
+except as a last resort, in extreme emergencies.’</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“But, your Excellency, the efforts of General
+Hurlbut and General Kilpatrick came to naught, and
+on November 1, 1881, Mr. William Henry Trescot
+was sent to Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, as a special
+envoy. To him, in the course of his instructions,
+Mr. Blaine said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“’Already by force of its occupation, the Chilean
+Government has collected great sums from Peru;
+and it has been openly and officially asserted in the
+Chilean Congress that these military impositions
+have furnished a surplus beyond the cost of maintaining
+its armies of occupation. The annexation
+of Tarapacá, which, under proper administration,
+would yield annually a sufficient sum to pay a large
+indemnity, seems to us inconsistent with the execution
+of justice.’</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>“Mr. Trescot’s mission failed as had the others,
+but, your Excellency, it did not fail through any
+fault of his: it failed because of the change in the
+policy at Washington. While this special envoy
+was absent upon his delicate mission, the assassination
+of President Garfield occurred and Mr. Arthur
+became President. With his advent there came
+into office a new Secretary of State, Mr. Frelinghuysen,
+who at once altered the policy of his predecessor,
+and Mr. Trescot’s instructions were changed by
+wire. In the meanwhile, your Excellency, Peru, not
+knowing of a change of heart at Washington, had
+continued the struggle, believing that this great
+country would continue upon the lines which it had
+laid down and not permit the seizure of territory by
+Chile. Not content with modifying Mr. Trescot’s
+instructions, Mr. Frelinghuysen recalled that gentleman
+to Washington. Fully appreciating the gravity
+of the situation, although he was no longer an envoy,
+Mr. Trescot, on June 5, 1882, wrote Mr. Frelinghuysen
+as follows:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“’If the United States intend to intervene effectively
+to prevent the disintegration of Peru, the
+time has come when that intention should be
+avowed. If it does not intend to do so, still more
+urgent is the necessity that Chile and Peru should
+understand exactly where the action of the United
+States ends. It would be entirely beyond my duty
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>to discuss the character of the consequences of
+either line of conduct; but I trust that you will not
+deem that I am going beyond that duty in impressing
+upon the government that the present position
+of the United States is an embarrassment to all the
+belligerents, and that it should be terminated as
+promptly as possible.’</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Two weeks later, your Excellency, newly accredited
+envoys were sent to Peru and Chile, Dr.
+Cornelius A. Logan to the latter nation and Mr.
+James R. Partridge to Peru. The instructions of
+these gentlemen, your Excellency, were no longer
+declarative that Chile had no moral right to demand
+territory of Peru, but they contained the recommendation
+that Peru be urged to make the best
+terms possible, in order that the war might be
+brought to an end.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Mr. President, the good offices of the United
+States produced the sole effect of encouraging Peru
+in her resistance, confident, as she was, of their
+efficacy, thus greatly aggravating the condition of
+the vanquished nation, only to find herself forsaken
+in the end and defenceless in the hands of her
+implacable enemy. In this regard, Mr. President, I
+should like to repeat the words of Mr. Hurlbut. In
+his official note to Mr. Blaine, dated Lima, October
+26, 1881, he wrote:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“’If the United States, after denying to these
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>people every application for aid from any European
+state, shall themselves refuse any help in their
+desperate situation, it would seem to be almost a
+breach of national faith. I myself am a profound
+believer in the right and duty of the United States
+to control the political questions of this continent, to
+the exclusion of any and all European dictation.
+This I understand to be the opinion held also by the
+American people and to have been asserted by Congress.
+This I also understand to be the doctrine of
+the administration which sent me to this place.’”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The President was silent for several minutes after
+Mr. Dartmoor had finished, then he said:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“You have placed the matter before me very concisely,
+sir. I am of course familiar with the details,
+but I never had my attention called to them in such
+a brief yet forceful manner.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Thank you, your Excellency,” said Mr. Dartmoor.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Your position,” continued the President, “is that
+the United States, by interfering in the Chile-Peruvian
+War, gave the last-named nation undue encouragement,
+and because of a change in policy, failed
+to impress Chile with the firmness of its position.
+Because of this, you believe the United States should
+now interfere and prevent Chile’s retention of the
+provinces of Arica and Tacna?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, your Excellency.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>“Mr. Dartmoor, I will place the matter before
+Congress with the recommendation which you have
+urged.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>He rose from his seat, and the conference was at an
+end.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Harvey left the White House very much pleased
+with the result of his call, and hurried to the hotel
+where he had promised to meet his old friend, Carl
+Saunders; and arrived there, he related in detail the
+conversation with the President, and received the
+congratulations of his chum of the Callao Rowing
+Club days. Then they fell to discussing events that
+had occurred those many years ago, and talked of the
+persons they had then known. Both heard with
+relief that all members of the two families who had
+been so intimately associated were living. Carl was
+delighted to learn that General Matajente was high
+in favor with the government, and as belligerent as
+ever, notwithstanding his advanced years.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And John Longmore?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Poor fellow! he died in an insane asylum.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“How is Señor Cisneros?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“He is very well, and is resident manager of the
+mine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“That’s so, the mine! I forgot to ask about that.
+Then it has paid?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Yes, it has paid beyond our expectations, and
+has made us all wealthy, so far as worldly goods are
+<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>concerned. But what are we doing here? I wish
+to have you visit me at my home.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I should be delighted. Is it far?”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“No; on Q street. Come. Rosita, who is visiting
+me, will be delighted to see you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>On the way Carl asked if Harvey had ever heard
+of their esteemed friend, Don Isaac Lawton.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Why, yes; he is in Jamaica, and is in good
+circumstances.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>They soon entered one of those large, elegantly
+furnished residences for which Washington is
+famous, and after closing the door Harvey called
+out:—</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Rosita, here is an old friend from Callao!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>A tall, handsome woman soon appeared, and
+grasped the visitor’s hand cordially. She was followed
+into the room by one who was not so tall, but
+even more beautiful and graceful.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“This is my wife, Carl. But, how stupid! Why,
+you know her!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Know her? Know Bella Caceras? I should
+say so!”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>At the dinner table the guest remarked a curious
+ornament on the wall.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“Did I never tell you its history?” Harvey asked.
+“To be sure I did. It’s the Majerona arrow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“And the pincushion?” asked Carl.</p>
+
+<p class='c000'>“I still carry that in my pocket.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>
+  <h2 class='c005'>VOCABULARY.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c006'><span class='sc'>Pronunciation.</span>—ā, ē, ī, ō, as in fate, mete, site, rope; ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ,
+as in hat, met, bit, not; ä, ë, ï, ö, as in far, her, fir, nor; ēē, as in
+feet; ôô as in hoot.</p>
+
+  <ul  class='ul_1'>
+    <li>Alma Perdida, Äl’-mä Pār-dēē’-dä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Almirante, Äl-mē-rän’-tē.
+    </li>
+    <li>Antofogasta, An-tō-fō-gäs’-tä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Arica, Ä-rēē’-cä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Arroba, Ä-rō’-bä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Atahuallpa, Ä-tä-wäl’-pä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Ayuli, Ä-yôô’-ly.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Baños, Bän’-yōs.
+    </li>
+    <li>Bella, Bë’-yä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Blanco Encalada, Blän’-cō Ën-cä-lä’-dä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Bola, Bō’-läw.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Caceras, Käs’-ä-räs.
+    </li>
+    <li>Cajamaráca, Kä-hä-mä-rä’-cä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Callao, Käl-yōw’.
+    </li>
+    <li>Cerro de Pasco, Sār’-rō dā Päs’-kō.
+    </li>
+    <li>Chicla, Chēēk’-lä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Chile, Chēē’-lā.
+    </li>
+    <li>Chirimoya, Chēē-rēē-möy’-yä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Chosica, Chō-sēē’-cä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Chucuito, Chôô-quēē’-tō.
+    </li>
+    <li>Cinchona, Sēēn-kō’-nä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Cisneros, Cēēs-nē’-rŏs.
+    </li>
+    <li>Cordillera, Cōr-dēēl-yā’-rä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Covodonga, Kō-vō-dŏn’-gä.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Grau, Gräw.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Huari, Whä’-rēē.
+    </li>
+    <li>Huascar, Wäs’-cär.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Independencia, In-dā-pĕn-dĕn’-cēē-ä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Iquique, Ēē-kēē’-kä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Islay, Ēēs-lī’.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Jivaro, Hēē-vä,’-rō.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>La Punta, Lä Pôôn’-tä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Lima, Lēē’-mä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Llama, Yä’-mä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Logroño, Lō-grōn’-yō.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Majerona, Mä-hā-rō’-nä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Manco Capac, Män’-cō Kä-päc’.
+    </li>
+    <li>Marañon, Mä-rän-yōn’.
+    </li>
+    <li>Matajente, Mä-tä-gĕn’-tā.
+    </li>
+    <li>Matucana, Mä-tôô-kän’-ä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Mirgoso, Mēēr-gō’-sō.
+    </li>
+    <li>Mutista Acuminata, Mu-tēē’-sēē-ä Ä-q-mēē-nä’-tä.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Oroya, Ō-rōw’-yä.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Palo de Sangre, Pä,’-lō dā Sän’-grā.
+    </li>
+    <li>Pedro, Pā’-drō.
+    </li>
+    <li>Peru, Pā-rôô’.
+    </li>
+    <li>Peso, Pā’-sö.
+    </li>
+    <li>Pilcomayo, Pēēl-cō-mī-yō.
+    </li>
+    <li>Prado, Prä’-dō.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Rimac, Rēē’-mäck.
+    </li>
+    <li>Rosita, Rō-sēē’-tä.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Señor, Sĕn-yṓr.
+    </li>
+    <li>Señora, Sĕn-yō’-rä.
+    </li>
+    <li>Señorita, Sĕn-yō-rḗē-tä.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Taruco, Tä-ru’-kō.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Ucalayli, U-cä-lä’-lēē.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Valparaiso, Väl-pä-rī’-sō.
+    </li>
+    <li>Vista, Vēēs’-tä.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Yucahualpa, W-kä-whäl’-pä.
+    </li>
+  </ul>
+
+<div class='lg-container-b c001'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span><em><span class='under'>Fighting Under</span></em></div>
+      <div class='line in6'><em><span class='under'>the Southern Cross.</span></em></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>A Story of the Chile-Peruvian War.</div>
+    <div class='c004'>BY</div>
+    <div class='c004'><em>CLAUDE H. WETMORE</em>.</div>
+    <div class='c004'>335 pages. &#8196;&#8196;&#8196;&#8196; Illustrated. &#8196;&#8196;&#8196;&#8196; 12mo. &#8196;&#8196;&#8196;&#8196; Cloth, $1.50.</div>
+    <div class='c004'><em>CONTAINING PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY AND MAP OF CALLAO BAY</em></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c000'>This is one of the best stories for boys that has been issued, and
+with great pleasure we heartily recommend it.—<cite>Observer.</cite></p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This story is full of thrilling interest and dramatic power. The
+many picturesque descriptions give a real portrayal of the country
+and its people.—<cite>Book News.</cite></p>
+
+<p class='c000'>This volume is so real that one imagines he is in the centre of
+action. This doubtless is due to the author’s thorough acquaintance
+with the customs and conditions of these countries.—<cite>St. Louis Star.</cite></p>
+
+<p class='c000'>Just now when there are so many reminders of the differences
+existing between the South American States, and while the influence
+of the Pan-American Congress in Mexico is being so strongly
+felt, this book is very timely. It is a very vivid picture of the war
+between Chile and Peru in 1879, and a portrayal of the customs and
+manners of these states that is extremely interesting, and that throws
+much light on present problems.—<cite>Christian Endeavor World.</cite></p>
+
+<p class='c000'>The bitter war of conquest waged by Chile against Peru has never
+been given any popular presentation until now. The author is a
+traveler who has covered all of South America and was a resident of
+Peru when the war broke out. His picture of that period is absorbingly
+interesting, and the promised sequel of this volume will be
+awaited with great eagerness.—<cite>The Interior.</cite></p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>W. A. WILDE COMPANY, Boston and Chicago.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='tnotes'>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 class='c005'>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</h2>
+</div>
+ <ol class='ol_1 c003'>
+    <li>Added the missing word ‘to’ on p. <a href='#p185'>185</a>.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Silently corrected typographical errors.
+
+    </li>
+    <li>Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
+    </li>
+  </ol>
+<div class='tnotes covernote'>
+<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-06 10:32:37 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-06 10:32:37 -0800
commit	a6c530e02b1dccc88a547535ba1c7f6ed2474874 (patch)
tree	34c251b3933a852e6f92d4a4ad3c4b95821a22e4