IO2 Idle Days in Patagonia. 



yards from the river, but miles away from any 

 habitation. They drove their animals into the 

 corral, and, after unsaddling and turning loose the 

 beasts they had ridden, were about to catch fresh 

 horses, when a troop of Indians was spied charging 

 down upon them. " Follow me, boys ! " shouted 

 Marcos, for there was no time to lose, and away 

 they rushed to the river, throwing off their clothes 

 as they ran. In a few moments they were in the 

 water swimming for life, the shouts of the savages 

 ringing in their ears. The river at this point was 

 about eight hundred feet broad, with a strong current, 

 and two of the lads dared not venture across, but 

 escaped, diving and swimming along under the 

 shadow of the bank like a couple of water-rats or 

 wounded ducks, and finally concealed themselves 

 in a reed bed at some distance. The others, led 

 by Marcos, being good swimmers like most of the 

 Patagonians, struck boldly out for the opposite 

 shore. But when they approached it and were 

 beginning to congratulate themselves on their 

 escape, they were suddenly confronted with another 

 party of mounted Indians, standing a few yards 

 back from the margin and quietly waiting their 

 arrival. They turned and swam away to the middle 

 of the stream once more : here one of them, a youth 

 named Damian, began to exclaim that he was 

 getting tired, and would sink unless Marcos would 

 save him. Marcos told him to save himself if he 

 could ; then Damian, bitterly reproaching him for 

 his selfishness, declared that he would swim back to 



