eep forward, making as little noise as possible, and being
particularly careful to avoid disturbing the bushes any more than he
could help. The soldiers, luckily for him, kept up an incessant
shouting, so that he was able to guess pretty well their relative
positions; and, after about five minutes' slow progress through the
brushwood, he came to the conclusion that he had at last got out of
their way. There was, too, a nice little open space wherein he could
lie hidden without being in momentary fear of being bitten by a snake, a
particularly deadly species of which was known to swarm in that
locality.

By this time Jim had recovered his breath, and was eagerly awaiting the
moment when it would be safe to move, wondering whether or not he had
better remain where he was until darkness set in, when he was
dumbfounded to hear some one come crashing through the brake, apparently
quite close by, and making straight toward him. It could not be the
Chilian, for he would never be making all that disturbance--unless
indeed he had gone mad under the stress of being hunted--so it must
necessarily be a stray Peruvian soldier. Jim at once sprang to his feet
and began to poke about among the bushes with the muzzle of his carbine,
as though searching for somebody who might possibly be hidden among
them, at the same time turning his back on the approaching man, who was
still pushing his way through the bush and singing softly to himself as
he came.

Presently the noise sounded very close indeed, then still closer, when
suddenly it stopped altogether. Jim knew that the other had seen him,
and was doubtless wondering what he was doing there; but he dared not
turn round for fear of being recognised; so he continued to poke about
among the bushes, as though unaware that any one was present. Then a
rough voice, which Jim at once recognised as that of his old enemy,
Captain Garcia-y-Garcia, broke the silence with an explosion of Spanish
profanity and a desire to be informed why this particular unit of the
forces should be thus wasting his time instead of joining in the pursuit
of the fugitive.

Douglas at once realised that the captain must have come along some time
after his men, and that he had probably only just entered the wood. He
also realised that, directly he turned round, Garcia-y-Garcia would
infallibly recognise him, in spite of the Peruvian private's uniform
which he was wearing. He could also see, out of the tail of h