s as to its
trustworthiness as a guide. After all, it was not in the least a map in
the true meaning of the word; and that it should show us rightly our way
depended not only upon our having interpreted correctly its curious
symbolism, but also upon the correctness of the interpretation that
Mexican archaeologists had given to the map of the first Aztec
migration--of which map, as we believed, our map was a reserved and
secret part. If either interpretation were wrong, then we might be
hundreds of miles distant from the region in which the way marked by
gravings of the King's symbol should be sought.

Four or five hours of daylight still remained to us after we had dug our
well, and with the delicious water flowing into it had satisfied our
thirst; but we had no intention of going farther that day. We had no
need to hobble the animals, for they could be trusted to stay near the
water-hole while they feasted on the grass, and we needed food and rest
quite as much as they did. Young and Dennis together got us up a famous
meal, and when it was ended we lighted our pipes and held a sort of
council of war. That we might talk the more freely, in both English and
Spanish, we drew away a little from where the two Otomi Indians and
Pablo were stretched out upon the grass together; and we bade Dennis
take a look around the shoulder of the first hill, so that we might know
something of what our way would be like when we started in the morning;
for we were not as yet ready that the minor members of the expedition
should know the purpose that we had in mind. We had decided that when,
by the finding of the course indicated by the gravings of the King's
symbol, our quest fairly had a beginning, being no longer a matter of
mere hope and conjecture, we then would give Dennis and Pablo and the
two Indians some notion of what we intended doing; with the option of
deciding for themselves whether or not they would have a part in it. And
the thought never once occurred to our minds that circumstances might
arise of such a nature that neither they nor we would have any choice in
the matter at all.

As we consulted together we had spread out before us a map of Mexico,
and with this the map that the Cacique had given me, and a copy of the
map showing the great Aztec march. Yet the more that we councilled the
less could we come to any reasonable conclusion as to what was best for
us to do. As nearly as we could tell from the strange guides that