proved to be, that they were quite
oblivious of the presence of the two Englishmen; but suddenly the piache
caught sight of them and stopped short in his leapings and howlings, and
glared, open-mouthed, at the strangers for a second or two before, with
a yell of dismay, he turned tail and, leaping right through the blazing
fire in his panic, dashed into a hut and violently drew across the mat
which served as a door. This extraordinary behaviour on the part of the
medicine man naturally excited the wonder of his audience, and also
aroused in them a feeling of consternation which caused them to spring
to their feet and look about them apprehensively. Then they, too,
caught sight of the Englishmen, and, like their piache, made a mad dash
for their huts, yelling as they went. Thus, in the course of a couple
of minutes, the two young Devonians were left in complete, undisputed
possession of the village, although they were conscious of being
stealthily observed from practically every hut in the place.

"Well," exclaimed Dick, as he stared about him in astonishment, "this
beats everything! Men and women, big and little, there must have been
close upon two hundred of them, and not one had the courage to stay and
face us!"

"They probably took us for Spaniards," answered Stukely, "and may have
thought that we were merely the advance guard of a considerable force.
Hence their terror. I only hope that when they discover their mistake
they may not revenge themselves upon us for the fright which we have
given them. I would that one or the other of us possessed a smattering
of their lingo, sufficient to make ourselves understood; I am afraid
that we shall find our ignorance in that respect a very serious
hindrance as we penetrate farther into the interior; and we must do our
best to remedy the--hallo! what on earth is in that bundle? Did you see
it move?"

Phil referred to the bundle over which the piache had been performing
his extraordinary dance when they interrupted him, and which had the
appearance of being simply a bundle of ordinary matting. But Stukely's
eye happened to have been resting upon it while he spoke, and he had
distinctly seen it move.

"No, I didn't," answered Chichester, in reply to his friend's question,
"for the simple reason that I wasn't looking at it. But we'll look at
it now, if you like." And striding over to where the bundle lay upon
the ground, he drew his knife, severed the thongs that bo