g to herself,
and as I bend down to listen I can catch the words: 'Dearie me! Dearie me!
When'll ever we reach the Land o' Promise? Egyptian darkness! Showers of
golochs! Chariots and horsemen! Dearie me! Dearie me!'

But we are over at last, and our whole cavalcade looks sweeter and fresher
for the bath.

Presently we reach a corral, where two men beckon to Moncrieff. They are
wild and uncouth enough in all conscience; their baggy breeches and
ponchos are in sad need of repair, and a visit to a barber would add to
the respectability of their appearance. They look excited, wave their
arms, and point southwards. But they talk in a strange jargon, and there
are but two words intelligible to me. These, however, are enough to set my
heart throbbing with a strange feeling of uneasiness I never felt before.

'_Los Indios! Los Indios!_'

Moncrieff points significantly to his armed men and smiles. The Gauchos
wave their arms in the air, rapidly opening and shutting their hands in a
way that to me is very mysterious. And so they disappear.

CHAPTER XI.

THE TRAGEDY AT THE FONDA.

I could not help wondering, as I glanced at aunt whether she had heard and
understood the meaning of those wild Gauchos' warning. If she did she made
no sign. But aunt is a M'Crimman, and the sister of a bold Highland chief.
She would not _show_ fear even if she _felt_ it. Yes, the brave may feel
fear, but the coward alone is influenced by it.

Old Jenny had gone to sleep, so I said good-bye to aunt, nodded to Aileen,
and went back to my waggon once more.

We made good progress that day, though we did not hurry. We stopped to
feed our cattle, and to rest and feed ourselves. The jolting had been
terrible on some parts of the road. But now the sun was getting very low
indeed, and as we soon came to a piece of high, hard ground, with a view
of the country round us for miles, we determined to bivouac for the
night.

The horses and mules were hobbled and turned off to graze under the charge
of sentry Gauchos. No fear of their wandering off far. They were watered
not an hour ago, and would be fresh by daybreak.

Now, Moncrieff had been too long in the wilds to neglect precautions while
camping out. I had taken an early opportunity to-day to interview our
leader concerning the report that Indians were abroad.

'Ah!' he answered, 'you heard and understood what that half-breed said,
then?'

'Just a word or two. He appeared to give us a wa