322 TRE ADVENTURES OF 



human dwelling, would have amused ; but, so far from do- 

 ing so now, we listened anxiously for the least sound. 



At last we heard 1'Encuerado's loud and welcome " Hiou ! 

 hiou !" The hut was perfectly empty. 



After an hour's rest, passed by the boy in rambling 

 round it, I gave the word for starting again. The Indian 

 took the lead, following the still visible traces of a footpath. 

 The hut, hardly large enough to hold three persons, seem- 

 ed more like a temporary shelter than a settled dwelling ; 

 1'Encuerado, who was a great authority in such matters, 

 was of opinion that it was only an offshoot to a larger set- 

 tlement. After a tolerably long walk, another footpath cross- 

 ed the one we were following; on its surface we noticed 

 prints of naked feet even those of women and children. 

 But although we carefully examined the horizon, nothing 

 but the immense white uninterrupted plain bathed in sun- 

 shine greeted our vision. ^ 



This prospect somewhat damped our ardor. Ever since 

 the morning, we had been walking on in the hopes of meet- 

 ing with a human dwelling. We had scarcely eaten any 

 thing, and hunger and thirst were added to the disappoint- 

 ment we had met with. Lucien proposed to hollow out a 

 viznaga to sleep in a project in which he was encouraged 

 by 1'Encuerado's telling him that we might have the luxury 

 of a window, and could keep off wild beasts by filling up 

 the entrance with thorny cierges. It may readily be under- 

 stood how much the idea of bivouacking inside a plant 

 pleased the fancy of our young companion; and perhaps 

 we should have assisted in realizing his wish, if the bark- 

 ing of a dog had not attracted our attention ; so we recom- 

 menced our march in better spirits. A rapid descent 

 brought us near a number of tree-ferns, a change of vege- 

 tation which we looked upon as a good omen. L'Encuera- 

 do continued to follow the footpath, until he suddenly stop- 



