soon starve here as
elsewhere. I'm getting used to it."

"And I don't know," remarked Cordova, "that forcing a fight will be so
very brilliant for us. We have had one sample to-day."

"Oh, go to sleep! You might be a raven as far as croaking's concerned.
One would think we were in a hole and couldn't get out. Trust to Sucre
and Miller; they'll pull us through all right."

"I'm going to sleep," announced Alzura gravely. "I had a beautiful
dream last night, and want to go on where reveille interrupted it. I
dreamed we were in Lima, at a banquet given by the city to the Patriot
officers. There was a band to play during the feast; the hall was
brilliantly lit; the table was laden with all kinds of good things. We
were just beginning when the band struck up, and I woke to hear
Crawford saying, 'Are you going to sleep all day?' It was a splendid
feast, though. Such a quantity of--"

"Sit on him, Juan! stifle him with his own poncho! Fancy talking of
banquets now! Cruelty to animals I call it."

"Why, I thought you'd be delighted," grumbled Alzura.

In a very short time we were all asleep. We rose at dawn, hungry and
shivering, to resume our journey. On this day the enemy marched
parallel with us, but on the other side of a deep gorge, and General
Sucre tried in vain to draw them into an engagement. Their leader was
too crafty. Why need he sacrifice his men?

"It's a pity from our point of view," remarked Plaza, as we toiled
along, "but they are playing the proper game. We're like fruit
ripening on a tree. When thoroughly fit we shall just drop and be
gathered without difficulty."

"Who's croaking now?" asked Cordova,

"I'm simply stating facts," replied Plaza. "Look at the road."

"Thanks; I've seen more than enough of it already."

"We're half starved."

"That's less than a fact," laughed Alzura. "You can put me down as
three-quarters. If decent food were set before me, I shouldn't know
how to eat it."

"We're losing hundreds of men," continued Plaza quietly, "and we've one
miserable field-gun."

"Take a dose of your own medicine," said I, laughing. "Trust to Sucre
and Miller; they'll pull us through."

The captain's gloomy fit soon passed off, and he was as cheerful as
ever; but there was no doubt of our being in a very awkward position.
As far as fighting went, we could hold our own till doomsday; but we
were bound to eat, and food did not grow on the mountains.

Bolivar was worki