up, and
strongly thatched with palm-leaves. One portion was walled in with a
division forming two apartments. The larger was devoted to the
accommodation of Ellen and her sable attendant. In the other, our goods
were stored; while the rest of us slung our hammocks in a large open
verandah, which formed, indeed, the greater part of the building. It
was completed before nightfall. In front, between us and the river, a
large fire was made up, which, fed by a peculiar kind of wood growing
near, kept alight for many hours without being replenished.

We were seated at our evening meal, when we heard footsteps rapidly
approaching, and an Indian appeared and saluted Don Jose. He was a
stranger, and had evidently been travelling rapidly. Presenting a
packet, he sank down on the ground with fatigue. A cup of _guayusa_ tea
soon revived him. Don Jose meantime opened his packet, and hastily read
the contents.

"My young friends," he said, "I regret that I must immediately bid you
farewell. I cannot longer be absent from my people. I know not what
may occur; but if their leaders are away, they will have no hope of
obtaining their freedom. Your father, however, was right to escape from
the country. I am thankful to say that I can give you tidings of him.
He has reached the mouth of the Napo in safety, and is there encamped,
awaiting your arrival. Here, John, is a missive your father desires me
to deliver to you."

Our friend handed my brother a note written hurriedly in pencil. It ran
thus: "The messenger is about to leave, so I must be brief. We are all
well, and purpose waiting your arrival on this healthy spot, near the
mouth of the Napo. You will without difficulty find it, though we shall
be on the watch for all canoes coming down the stream. Pass two rivers
on your left hand, then a high bluff of red clay interspersed with
stripes of orange, yellow, grey, and white. Proceed another league,
till you pass, on a low point, a grove of bamboos. Rounding it, you
will find a clear spot on a low hill overlooking the stream. It is
there I have fixed our temporary abode."

"Oh, surely there will be no difficulty in finding them!" exclaimed
Ellen. "I wish that the canoes were ready--or could we not set off by
land?"

"I fear that you would have to encounter many difficulties," observed
Don Jose, "if you were to make the attempt. I must counsel patience,
the most difficult of all virtues. I wish that I could ac