-off
of steam, and the clank of coupling-chains, announced that the train was
being drawn up.

Presently it came in sight round a curve, bumping and jolting over the
points, and Jim saw that it was made up of a number of goods-trucks, to
which no covering whatever had been attached, so that the unhappy
prisoners would be exposed, during the whole of their journey, to the
fierce rays of an almost vertical sun, and, as some of the men had
already been without water for twelve hours, and there seemed to be no
prospect of getting any before their arrival at Lima, it looked as
though their journey, short as it was to be, would prove a never-to-be-
forgotten one.

The Chilians were now formed up in two long lines, one on each side of
the set of metals on which the train was approaching; and, as soon as it
steamed into its place, they were ordered to get on board. Manacled as
they were in groups of twelve, this was necessarily a very tedious
process, and two hours elapsed before the prisoners were all stowed
away. It was then found that too few wagons had been provided, and, as
there were no more procurable, the consequent crushing was terrible.
But it had one advantage, which was, that the Peruvians were obliged to
send a much smaller guard of soldiers than they would otherwise have
done, for the simple reason that there was no room for more; and, as all
the Chilians had now stowed themselves away and it would have taken too
long a time to rearrange them, all the guards had to go in the last
truck, instead of being distributed all over the train. This gave the
prisoners the opportunity that some of them were looking for to have a
little private conversation; but there was no present chance of escape;
for the Peruvians with their rifles could fire from one end of the train
to the other, and thus speedily put an end to any attempts of the sort.

The train was on the point of starting when one poor thirsty wretch
began to cry out most piteously for a drink of water; and in a second
all the others were also clamouring for some. But the Peruvians merely
laughed at their entreaties, telling them that it would do them good to
be without for a while, and that they would appreciate their drink all
the more when they got to Lima. The signal was then given, the whistle
blew, and the melancholy procession moved out of Callao station, to the
accompaniment of ironical cheers and wishes for a safe and happy journey
from the soldiery