AN ADVENTURE. 101 



witli organic matter, yield the sulphur and ultimate- 

 ly the sulphuric acid ? 



Two days afterwards I again rode to the har- 

 bour : when not far from our destination, my com- 

 panion, the same man as before, spied tlu'ee people 

 hunting on horseback. He immediately dismount- 

 ed, and watching them intently, said, " They don't 

 ride like Christians, and nobody can leave the 

 fort." The three hunters joined company, and like- 

 wise dismounted from their horses. At last one 

 mounted again and rode over the hill out of sight. 

 My companion said, " We must now get on our 

 horses : load your pistol ;" and he looked to his 

 own sword. I asked, " Are they Indians V — 

 " Q,uien sabe ] (who knows ?) if there are no more 

 than three, it does not signify." It then struck me 

 that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch 

 the rest of his tribe. I suggested this, but all the 

 answer I could extort was, " Quien sabe V His 

 head and eye never for a minute ceased scanning 

 slowly the distant horizon. I thought his uncom- 

 mon coolness too good a joke, and asked him why 

 he did not return home. I was startled when he 

 answered, " We are returning, but in a line so as 

 to pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop 

 the horses as far as they can go, and then trust to 

 our own legs ; so that there is no danger." I did 

 not feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to 

 increase our pace. He said, "No, not until they 

 do." Wlien any little inequality concealed us, we 

 galloped; but when in sight, continued walking. 

 At last we reached a valley, and turning to the 

 left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill ; he gave 

 me his horse to hold, made the dogs lie down, and 

 then crawled on his hands and knees to reconnoi- 

 tre. He remained in this position for some time, 



