g through the opening in our woody bower towards the
east, aroused us from our slumbers. We were all very hungry, for we had
taken but a small amount of food the previous evening; but we were
afraid of lighting a fire, lest the smoke might betray us, should our
enemies by any chance be in the neighbourhood. We were obliged to
content ourselves, therefore, with our cold provisions, and a draught of
water, which Camo brought from the neighbouring stream. Marian somewhat
recovered her spirits, but we all felt very anxious about my father, and
wondered how he might be treated when the inquisitors found that we had
made our escape.

The district we had reached was wild in the extreme; the footsteps of
civilised men appeared never to have reached it, and the natives who
once had their quiet homes in this part of the country had long since
been carried off to labour for the ruthless Spaniards, who had already
destroyed nearly nine-tenths of the original population. Our native
attendants, from the kind way in which my father had treated them, were
warmly attached to us, and proportionately hated the Spaniards, and we
knew that we were perfectly safe under their care.

We were afraid of moving out during the day, though Camo and the other
natives made several exploring expeditions, and at length came back with
the satisfactory intelligence that our pursuers were nowhere in the
neighbourhood. They brought also a couple of ducks which they had
killed with their arrows; and they assured us that there would be no
danger in lighting a fire to cook them. We soon gathered a sufficient
supply of broken branches and twigs to begin with; and while the natives
were collecting more fuel from the neighbouring trees, and blowing up
the fire, I sat down to pluck one of the ducks--Uncle Paul, with Arthur
and Marian kneeling by his side, watching the process. We quickly had
the ducks roasting on spits before the fire, supported by two forked
sticks stuck in the ground. With these, when cooked, and some hot tea
which was made in a tin kettle Tim had brought with him, with a small
quantity of sugar which he had put up, as he said, for the young
mistress--though we had no milk to drink with it--we made an excellent
supper. It was a scene which to our eyes, unaccustomed to anything of
the sort, was wild in the extreme; but we were destined to become
acquainted with many even wilder and more romantic. That night was
passed much as the prec