im, for that very purpose.

It was necessary, however, to get away from the farm before daylight; so
we skirted along the wall, and once more found ourselves on wild ground.
The whole eastern sky was covered with a mass of flame, a sign that the
sun himself was about to appear, when we caught sight of a forest
spreading out before us. We pushed on much faster than we had been able
to do during the darkness, and had just concealed ourselves among the
trees, as the sun, rushing from among the mountains, cast a bright glow
of light over the plains we had just passed. The first thing Ned Gale
did, was to climb up one of the tallest trees on the outskirts of the
forest, to take a look round and see what was in sight, as, he observed,
a good seaman always does the first thing in the morning. When he came
down, he reported that he had observed in the far distance some smoke,
which he supposed arose from the farmhouse we had passed in the night;
but that he had discovered no other human habitation while as far as the
eye could discern there appeared to be only an uncultivated plain.
Having eaten nothing since our last meal in the prison, Pedro and I were
very glad when Ned Gale opened his wallet, and produced some dried meat
and bread and cheese, and what was almost of greater value, a good
supply of cocoa. He had a flint and steel with him, and a tin cup for
boiling water; so we collected some sticks and lighted a small fire,
sufficient to cook our cocoa and to parch some peas. On looking over
our provisions, we found that we had already ample to last us a week, so
that we might venture to push across the mountains towards Cuzco, where,
Manco had told me, he expected about this time the Indians would be
collected in great force. We had, however, more than a day's journey
before we could reach the foot of the mountains, which were upwards of
thirty miles off.

On hunting about, we discovered a spring of bright water bubbling up
close to the roots of an enormous tree, which it evidently very much
assisted to nourish. We ate a good meal, and then Gale insisted that
Pedro and I should lie down and rest, while he watched. As we both of
us very much required sleep, we were not sorry to follow his advice; and
in about two hours we awoke much refreshed.

I have not yet described Ned Gale. He was about five feet six in
height, and very strongly built, with rather a large head, covered with
a profusion of light hair. He wore