the house. 'Is it true, Mister Charles? Sarah says that the mistress and
Miss Maud are gone quite out of their minds, and that Miss Ethel has
been killed by the Indians!'

'Killed or carried away, Terence; we do not know which yet.'

Terence was a warm-hearted fellow, and he set up a yell of lamentation
which drowned the sobs and curses of the natives.

'Hush, Terence,' Charley said. 'We shall have time to cry for her
afterwards: we must be doing now.'

'I will, Mister Charles; but you will let me go with you to search for
her. Won't you, now, Mister Charles?'

'Yes, Terence; I will take you with us, and leave Lopez in charge. Send
him here.'

Lopez was close. He, too, was really affected at the loss of his young
mistress; for Ethel, by her unvarying sweetness of temper, was a
favourite with every one.

'Lopez, you will remain here in charge. We may be away two days--we may
be away twenty. I know I can trust you to look after the place just as
if we were here.'

The capitaz bowed with his hand on his heart. Even the peasants of South
America preserve the grand manner and graceful carriage of their Spanish
ancestors. 'And now, Lopez, do you know of any of the Guachos in this
part of the country who have ever lived with the Indians, and know their
country at all?'

'Martinez, one of the shepherds at Canterbury, Signor Charles, was with
them for seven months; and Perez, one of Signor Jamieson's men, was
longer still.'

Charles at once wrote notes asking that Perez and Martinez might
accompany the expedition, and despatched them by mounted peons.

'And now, Lopez, what amount of charqui have we in store?'

'A good stock, Signor; enough for fifty men for a fortnight.'

Charqui is meat dried in the sun. In hot climates meat cannot be kept
for many hours in its natural state. When a bullock is killed,
therefore, all the meat which is not required for immediate use is cut
up into thin strips, and hung up in the sun to dry. After this process
it is hard and strong, and by no means palatable; but it will keep for
many months, and is the general food of the people. In large
establishments it is usual to kill several animals at once, so as to lay
in sufficient store of charqui to last for some time.

'Terence, go up to the house and see what biscuit there is. Lopez, get
our horses saddled, and one for Terence,--a good one,--and give them a
feed of maize. Now, Hubert, let us go up to the house, and get our
carbines