enemy have been tracking us, I find; but I trust that your
father has escaped them, and will ere long gain the banks of the Napo,
down which he may voyage to the Amazon. We shall be able to reach the
same river by a longer route, along which there will be less fear of
being followed."

He made these remarks as we were throwing our wallets over our backs.
Taking our staves, he leading, we hurried from the hut, following a
narrow path which led up the side of the mountain. We had approached
the hut by a lower and more frequented path than we were now taking; but
we were, I found, going in the direction from which we had come on the
previous day. Don Jose went first, I followed, and Isoro brought up the
rear. Though I exerted all my strength, I had some difficulty in
keeping up with my friend. Anxious as I was to obtain more particulars
of what had occurred, we could not exchange words at the rate we were
going. Every now and then, as we were climbing the cliffs, whenever I
happened to look back I saw Isoro turning an uneasy glance over his
shoulder. It was evident that we were pursued. We reached the edge of
a deep ravine, which appeared to bar our further progress. Don Jose,
however, without making any remark, continued climbing on along it; and
at length I saw what appeared to be a rope stretched across the chasm.

"Hasten, master! hasten!" I heard Isoro cry out: I knew enough of the
Quichua language to understand him.

We continued on till we reached the end of the rope, fastened to the
stump of a tree, and stretched across the chasm to the opposite side,
where it was secured in the same manner, a platform being raised to the
same elevation as the rock on which we stood.

"Harry," said my friend, turning to me for the first time, "I have seen
your nerves thoroughly tried, and I know your muscles are well-knit, or
I would not ask you to pass along this perilous bridge."

The rope was formed of the tough fibres of the maguey--an osier which
grows in the moist ground of that region. It possesses a great degree
of tenacity and strength.

"Master, let me go first," exclaimed Isoro, springing forward. "If it
breaks with me it will matter little, and you will have still a chance
for life."

Without waiting for Don Jose's answer, Isoro threw himself upon the
rope, and, holding on by hands and feet, began to work himself along. I
watched him anxiously. It was indeed a fearful mode of crossing that
awful gu