DEPARTURE FOR GUATIMALA. 97 



admiration ; and as our little guide seemed at fault, we 

 stopped at a hut to inquire the road. The people were 

 afraid to answer any questions. Figoroa's soldiers and 

 Morazan's had passed by, but they did not know it ; 

 they could not tell whether any fugitive soldiers had 

 passed, and only knew the road to the Rio Paz. It 

 was easy to see that they thought of nothing else ; but 

 they said they were poor people, and at work all the 

 time, and did not know what was going on. In half 

 an hour we met three Indians, with loads of pottery on 

 their backs. The poor fellows pulled off their hats, and 

 trembled when we inquired if there were any routed 

 soldiers on before. It occurred to us that this inquiry 

 would expose us to the suspicion of being officers of 

 Morazan in pursuit, and that, if we met any one, we had 

 better ask no questions. Beyond this there were many 

 roads, all of which, the boy said, led to the Rio Paz ; 

 but he had never been there before, and did not know 

 the right one. We followed one which took us into the 

 woods, and soon commenced descending. The road 

 was broken, stony, and very steep ; we descended rap- 

 idly, and soon it was manifest no horses had passed on 

 this road for a long time before. Trees lay across it so 

 low that we dismounted, and were obliged to slip our 

 high-peaked saddles to pass under them. It was evi- 

 dently an old cattle-path, now disused even by cattle. 

 We descended some distance farther, and I proposed 

 to return. My only argument was that it was safer ; 

 we knew we were wrong, and might get down so low 

 that our physical strength would not carry us back. 

 The captain said that I had chosen this path ; if we had 

 followed his advice, we should have been safe, and that 

 now it was impossible to return. We had an angry 

 quarrel, and, fortunately, in consideration of my having 

 Vol. II.— N 9 



