d or fallen from fatigue, and she lay a white heap, upon
the ground. The drapery of the other was in the clutch of one of the
spectres, or devils, or whatever they were, when Rowley, with a cry of
horror, rushed forward and struck a furious blow at the monster with
his _machetto_. At the same time, and almost without knowing how, I
found myself engaged with another of the creatures. But the contest
was no equal one. In vain did we stab and strike with our machettos;
our antagonists were covered and defended with a hard bristly hide,
which our knives, although keen and pointed, had great difficulty in
penetrating; and on the other hand we found ourselves clutched in long
sinewy arms, terminating in hands and fingers, of which the nails were
as sharp and strong as an eagle's talons. I felt these horrible claws
strike into my shoulders as the creature seized me, and, drawing me
towards him, pressed me as in the hug of a bear; while his hideous
half man half brute visage was grinning and snarling at me, and his
long keen white teeth were snapping and gnashing within six inches of
my face.

"God of heaven! This is horrible! Rowley! Help me!"

But Rowley, in spite of his gigantic strength, was powerless as an
infant in the grasp of these terrible opponents. He was within a few
paces of me, struggling with two of them, and making superhuman
efforts to regain possession of his knife, which had dropped or been
wrenched from his hand. And all this time, where were our arrieros?
Were they attacked likewise? Why didn't they come and help us? All
this time!--pshaw! it was no time: it all passed in the space of a few
seconds, in the circumference of a few yards, and in the feeble
glimmering light of the stars, and of the smouldering embers of our
fire, which was at some distance from us.

"Ha! That has told!" A stab, dealt with all the energy of despair, had
entered my antagonist's side. But I was like to pay dearly for it.
Uttering a deafening yell of pain and fury, the monster clasped me
closer to his foul and loathsome body; his sharp claws, dug deeper
into my back, seemed to tear up my flesh: the agony was
insupportable--my eyes began to swim, and my senses to leave me. Just
then--Crack! crack! Two--four--a dozen musket and pistol shots,
followed by such a chorus of yellings and howlings and unearthly
laughter! The creature that held me seemed startled--relaxed his grasp
slightly. At that moment a dark arm was passed before my