IN PANAMA 



225 



panied by an Indian whom he had hypnotized by the gift of a real. 

 They took a bee line for the shore, forded the Mariato, and on a little 

 island that is half covered by the tide, hunted up a certain tree, strode 

 away so many paces by compass, and started to dig. 



It was exciting to see how eagerly they plied pick and shovel, 

 and how they started with joy when the pick struck a tree root. And 

 they dug and dug until they suddenly awoke to the fact that they were 

 cut off from the main land by the tide. Then the Indian went all to 

 pieces and wept and called upon the saints, while the Prospector uttered 

 words unfit for publication. There \vas no danger unless an alligator 



JUANCHO IN GROVE OF CASTILLOA PLANTED BY INDIANS. 



or a jaguar got them, and as there was no boat the best thing would 

 have been to wait for the ebb. Instead of that, they went further into 

 the thicket, and a few minutes later appeared, each with a pole, and 

 stepping into the swiftly running water started to cross. Very slowly, 

 bracing themselves at every step, they waded, the water up to their 

 breasts, and finally emerged into the shallows and were ashore. Neither 

 of them went back, and thus ended our only treasure hunt. 



The "gusano del monte," or grub fly, was quite in evidence at the 

 llanos. I got three, the scout seven, and the rest their share just how 



