A HARD STRUGGLE 215 



fore-hatch. We were too tired to dream of eating anything, and, 

 in spite of our close quarters and the cold, we did not wake till 

 mornincf. 



" The 23rd dawned calm and fine, and the first view of the spot 



WHERE THE SQUALLS CAME FROM 



in which we were anchored made me think that something more 

 than mere luck had been with us during our entry upon the previous 

 night. The mouth of the bay was dotted with an outcrop of tooth- 

 like rocks. 



" The dawn developed into a morning with strong sun, and we 

 were off early. For two hours all went well. Then came a shiver 

 creeping across the glassy surface of the lake, after that a swell, and 

 in a matter of twenty minutes the quiet lake had become as nasty 

 and as angry a piece of water as can be imagined. This change is 

 eminently typical of the temper of the Andean lakes ; they cannot 

 be depended upon from hour to hour. In the present instance at 

 7.45 A.M. we were steaming, as I have said, through calm water, 

 yet at 8. 1 5 one sea of every four was dashing in a cloud of spray 



