kled our fish.

It was a task for half a dozen men, but we dared not remain on the
ledge to skin him and cut him up. After an hour of exertion and toil
that left us completely exhausted, we managed to get him behind a large
boulder to the left of the ledge, but it was impossible to carry him to
the place we had selected, which could be reached only by passing
through a narrow crevice.

The only knives we had were the points of the spears, but they served
after a fashion, and in another hour we had him skinned and pretty well
separated. He was meaty and sweet. We discovered that with the first
opportunity, for we were hungry as wolves. Nor did we waste much time
bewailing our lack of a fire, for we had lived so long on dried stuff
that the opposite extreme was rather pleasant than otherwise.

We tore him into strips as neatly as possible, stowing them away
beneath a ledge, a spot kept cool by the water but a foot below.

"That'll be good for a month," said Harry. "And there's more where
that came from. And now--"

I understood, and I answered simply: "I'm ready."

We had but few preparations to make. The solidest parts of the fish
which we had laid aside we now strapped together with one of the extra
spear-thongs and slung them on our backs. We secreted the oars and
raft and the extra spear as snugly as possible.

Then, having filled ourselves with raw fish and a last hearty drink
from the lake, we each took a spear and started on a search wilder than
any ever undertaken by Amadis of Gaul or Don Quixote himself. Even the
Bachelor of Salamanca, in his saddest plight, did not present so
outrageous an appearance to the eye as we. We wore more clothing than
the Incas, which is the most that can be said for us.

We were unable to even guess at the direction we should take; but that
was settled for us when we found that there were but two exits from the
cavern. One led through the boulders and crevices to a passage full of
twists and turns and strewn with rocks, almost impassable; the other
was that through which the Incas had entered. We chose the latter.

Fifty feet from the cavern we found ourselves in darkness. I stopped
short.

"Harry, this is impossible. We cannot mark our way."

"But what can we do?"

"Carry one of those urns."

"Likely! They'd spot us before we even got started."

"Well--let them."

"No. You're in for the finish. I know that. I want to find Desiree.
And we'll find h