you can give me before we
land."

"Certainly," answered the stranger; "I shall be very pleased indeed to
give you all the information that I possibly can, and I fancy there are
very few people on board this ship who know more about Peru than I do."

And therewith Escombe's new acquaintance proceeded to hold forth upon
the good and the bad points of the country to which they were both
bound, describing in very graphic language the extraordinary varieties
of climate to be met with on a journey inland from the coast, the
grandeur of its mountain scenery, the astonishing variety of its
products, its interesting historical remains; the character of the
aboriginal Indians, the beliefs they cherish, and the legends which have
been preserved and handed down by them from father to son through many
generations; the character and abundance of its mineral wealth, and a
variety of other interesting information; so that by the time that Harry
went down below to luncheon, he had already become possessed of the
feeling that to him Peru was no longer a strange and unknown land.

CHAPTER TWO.

THE CHIEF OFFICER'S YARN.

Upon entering the saloon and searching for his place, Harry found that,
much to his satisfaction, he had been stationed at the second table,
presided over by the chief officer of the ship--a very genial individual
named O'Toole, hailing from the Emerald Isle--and between that important
personage and his recently-made Peruvian acquaintance, whose name he now
discovered to be John Firmin; while Mr Butler, it appeared, had
contrived to get himself placed at the captain's table, which was
understood to be occupied by the elite of the passengers. With the
serving of the soup Escombe was given a small printed form, which he
examined rather curiously, not quite understanding for the moment what
it meant.

Mr Firmin volunteered enlightenment. "That," he explained, "is an
order form, upon which you write the particular kind of liquid
refreshment--apart from pure water--with which you wish to be served.
You fill it in and hand it to your own particular table steward, who
brings you what you have ordered, and at the end of each week he
presents you with the orders which you have issued, and you are expected
to settle up in spot cash. Very simple, isn't it?"

"Perfectly," agreed Harry. "But supposing that one does not wish to
order anything, what then?"

"You leave the order blank, that is all," answered Firmin. Th