e and of advanced rank, and they and he had come to the
conclusion that the escape should be attempted that very night, should
they fail to reach Cuzco, or the night after leaving that city, should
they happen to arrive there that day. These few were the only men who
had retained their courage unimpaired, and Jim felt that he could rely
upon them. It would not do, they all decided, to wait any longer; and
although Cuzco itself lay among the mountains, it would be better to
make the attempt there, and trust to being able to get away to the sea-
coast, than be obliged to defer it indefinitely.

The word to be on the watch and ready was therefore passed round
immediately after the mid-day halt; and it was astonishing to see how
the news brightened up the weary men and made new beings of them.
Indeed, Jim almost felt sorry that he had not delayed the message until
the evening, for he felt alarmed lest the guards should observe the
change and guess at its cause. They seemed, however, to take no notice
of it, and the forlorn procession moved forward slowly along the great,
dusty road, which had not been repaired since the time of Pizarro's
conquest. Hour after hour went by and there was still no sign of the
City of the Sun; so that, by the time that four o'clock arrived, Douglas
decided that the escape would have to be attempted that very night.
Just before dusk the clouds, which had been covering the heavens all day
long, broke; the glorious setting sun shone out in all his majesty; and
there before them in the distance, some fifteen miles away, his beams
fell on the city of Cuzco, gilding and glorifying it until it actually
did present the appearance of a city of gold. It was a magnificent
sight, and drew an exclamation of admiration and delight from the
Chilians, weary as they all were; but they hoped that the view which
they had just obtained of the place was all that they would ever see of
it--as it would be, if fortune would but favour them that night.

It was now perfectly evident that they would not be able to reach Cuzco
that evening, and as the darkness was fast coming on the Peruvians began
to look about them for a suitable place in which to camp for the night.
About half a mile farther on could be seen, through the gathering gloom,
a small hillock, crowned with great rocks and boulders, apparently the
remains of some ancient Inca fortification. This struck Douglas as a
place that might have been made on purp