ndians. The path was steep, rugged, and stony;
and seemed, at first, to defy any attempt to scale it. Notwithstanding
the measured pace at which we were walking, we were obliged to stop
every minute to recover our breath. Lucien followed us so eagerly that I
was obliged to check him several times. He was surprised at not seeing
any living creature, not even those beautiful golden flies which, in
Mexico, flutter round every bush. But the north wind was blowing, and
the sun was hidden behind the clouds, so that both the insects and birds
kept in the deepest recesses of their hiding-places. As we advanced, our
road became much steeper, and we were obliged to cling to the shrubs for
support. L'Encuerado, who was impeded by the weight of his load, pulled
himself up with his hands, so had hard work to keep his balance. Soon it
became impossible for him to go farther; but, fortunately, we had
foreseen ascents of this kind. So I gave the child into Sumichrast's
charge, for if he had been left to climb by himself, he would most
likely have rolled over and hurt himself against the stumps or sharp
rocks.

I made my way into a copse, and with my _machete_ I cut down a
moderately-sized branch, the end of which I sharpened to a point. Then,
going forward and unrolling a leathern thong, thirty feet in length, and
commonly called by us a _lasso_, I fastened it to the stake, which I
drove firmly into the ground. By means of this support, which served as
a sort of hand-rail, l'Encuerado could clamber up to me, thanks to the
strength of his wrists. Ten times this awkward job had to be repeated,
and the path, instead of getting better, became worse. We then shifted
our work, and I took charge of the load, while the tired Indian fixed
the _lasso_. I was just making my third ascent, when Sumichrast, who had
gone on before us to reconnoitre the ground, made his appearance above.
When he saw me stumbling and twisting about, falling now on my side, and
now on my knees, toiling to advance a single step, my companion burst
into a fit of laughter. I had then neither time nor will to do as he
did, and his ill-timed mirth vexed me. At last I caught hold of the
stake, bruised and exhausted, and ready to wish there was no such thing
as travelling. Sumichrast told us that we had scarcely three hundred
feet more to ascend, and shouldered the basket himself. Now that I was
a mere spectator, I could readily forgive him his fit of merriment.
Nothing, in fa