f the room stood an
ox-goad hugely fashioned. But it was a bed, and she slept as soundly in
it as its numerous insect occupants would allow. The others were not so
fortunate: they had the insects indeed, but no bed.

Again the morning came, wet, miserable, and misty, and through the mist
and rain they pursued their course, whither they knew not. All day they
wandered on by the banks of the river till night fell and they
camped, this time without shelter. Now they had reached the extreme of
wretchedness, for they had little or no food left, and could not find
fuel to make a fire. Leonard took Soa aside and questioned her, for he
saw clearly that a couple more days of this suffering would put an end
to all of them.

"You say these people of yours have a city, Soa?"

"They have a city, Deliverer," she answered, "but whether they will
allow you to enter it, except as a victim for sacrifice, is another
matter."

"None of us will enter it unless we find shelter soon," he answered.
"How far is the place away?"

"It should be a day's journey, Deliverer. Were the mist gone you could
see it now. The city is built at the foot of great mountains, there are
none higher, but the fog hides everything. To-morrow, if it lifts, you
will see that I speak truth."

"Are there any houses near where we can shelter?" he asked again.

"How can I tell?" she answered. "It is forty years since I passed
this road, and here, where the land is barren, none dwell except the
herdsmen. Perhaps there is a house at hand, or perhaps there is none for
many miles. Who can say?"

Finding that Soa could give no further information, Leonard returned to
the others, and they huddled themselves together for warmth on the
wet ground as best they might, and sat out the hours in silence, not
attempting to sleep. The Settlement men were numb with cold, and Juanna
also was overcome for the first time, though she tried hard to be
cheerful. Francisco and Leonard heaped their own blankets on her,
pretending that they had found spare ones, but the wraps were wringing
wet, and gave her little comfort. Soa alone did not appear to suffer,
perhaps because it was her native climate, and Otter kept his spirits,
which neither heat, nor cold, nor hunger seemed to affect.

"While my heart is warm I am warm," he said cheerfully, when Leonard
asked him how he fared. As for Leonard himself, he sat silent listening
to the moans of the Settlement men, and reflecting that twen