rmit
Harry to land until the latter had personally supervised the
disembarkation of every item of their somewhat extensive baggage; and
when this was at length done he insisted that Escombe should in like
manner oversee the loading of them into a railway wagon for Lima, make
the journey thither in the same truck with them--ostensibly to ensure
that nothing was stolen on the way--and finally, upon their arrival in
Lima, he compelled Harry to remain by the truck and mount guard over it
until it was coupled to the train for Palpa, and then to proceed to that
town in the same truck without seeing anything more of the capital city
than could be seen from the station yard. Then, again, at Palpa he
insisted that Harry should remain by the truck and supervise the
unloading of the baggage and its transference to a lock-up store, giving
the lad to understand that he would be held responsible for any loss or
damage that might occur during the operation; so that by the time that
all this was done poor Escombe was more dead than alive, so utterly
exhausted was he from long exposure to the enervating heat, and lack of
proper food.

But Harry breathed no word of expostulation or complaint. He regarded
everything that he now did as in the way of duty and merely as somewhat
unpleasant incidents in the execution of the great task that lay before
him, and he was content, if not quite as happy and comfortable as he
might have been under a more congenial and considerate leader. Besides,
he was learning something every minute of the day, learning how to do
things and also how not to do them, for he very quickly recognised that
although Butler might possibly be an excellent surveyor, he was but a
very poor hand at organisation. Then, too, Butler had
characteristically neglected the acquisition of any foreign language,
consequently they had no sooner arrived at Palpa than he found himself
absolutely dependent upon Harry's knowledge of Spanish; and this
advantage on Escombe's part served in a great measure to place the two
upon a somewhat more equal footing, and gradually to suppress those acts
of petty tyranny which Butler had at first evinced a disposition to
indulge in.

Palpa was the place at which their labours were to begin, and here it
became necessary for them to engage a complete staff of assistants,
comprising tent bearers, grooms, bush cutters, porters, cooks, and all
the other attendants needed for their comfort and convenienc