ouglas agreed, "that time will suit me very well, Senor Montt;
and I shall look forward to our expedition with great interest."

The conversation then turned upon other matters, and the subject was
dropped; but the next evening, after dinner, Douglas reminded Montt of
their arrangement; and the two men, dressing themselves in mufti,
stepped off the _Covadonga_ on to the wharf, and made their way up into
the town.

They walked along the sea-front, where the horse-trams were wont to ply
before the electric cars were introduced, right away up to the north end
of the promenade, until they came to the Hotel de Sucre, where they
turned off to the right, up a very narrow and badly-lighted side-street,
which conducted them into a part of the city very much resembling the
place in Iquique into which Jim had been inveigled. Indeed Jim began to
have some doubts as to the wisdom of their little adventure when he saw
the evil glances and scowls of hatred which everywhere met them on their
progress; for it was not so very long that the Chilians had occupied the
place.

However, Montt betrayed not the slightest uneasiness, and assured his
friend that the Bolivians always looked askance at strangers in the
city, and as they were both dressed in mufti, so that their connection
with the Chilians was not apparent, the young Englishman decided not to
worry himself about the matter, but to trust entirely to his companion's
discretion.

They traversed a number of narrow side-streets and gloomy alleys, and
presently came out in the broad _Plaza de la Libertad_, where some
patriotic orator was volubly holding forth about the rights of man and
the iniquity of the Chilian invasion. Montt hurriedly seized Jim's arm
as the Englishman was on the point of crossing the road to hear what the
orator had to say, and guided him away to the left, so that they skirted
the _plaza_ instead of crossing it.

"The people seem in rather an excitable mood to-night," said the
lieutenant; "we had therefore better make ourselves as inconspicuous as
possible. I wonder what has occurred? Possibly there may have been
some battle, in which the Bolivians have been defeated. I would not
have come ashore had I thought that the city was likely to be in this
state of unrest. However, as we are here we may as well go forward; so
come along, and let us get away from this frothing volcano as soon as we
can. We will turn down this side-street; it is not very much out