244 



THE ADVENTURES OF 



Rio Blanco the water is almost like milk, and that it leaves 

 a whitish coating on the branches, and even on the leaves 

 with which it comes in contact." 



" That's true enough," replied the Indian, who had often 

 wondered at the petrifactions with which the banks of the 

 White River abound. 



" But the water that falls down here is quite clear," urged 

 Lucien, holding his torch close to a natural basin. 



" But, nevertheless, it contains salts of lime in solution, 

 the same, in fact, as all water, particularly that from wells. 

 And it is for this reason that housekeepers will not use it ; 

 for it will not dissolve soap, and hardens the vegetables that 

 are cooked in it." 



" Now do you understand this ?" asked FEncuerado, ad- 

 dressing Lucien ; "I don't." 



" Yes, I do, a little." 



" Well, you are very fortunate ! The other day stones 

 w T ere said to come from the sun or moon, and fly about all 

 covered with fire ; now, they are formed by water. Per- 

 haps M. Sumichrast will tell us to-morrow that they come 

 from the wind." 



The Indian then walked away, quite indignant ; we fol- 

 lowed him, smiling at his anger, becoming more and more 

 enchanted by the spectacle which met our eyes. Unfortu- 

 nately, our torches gave a very insufficient light, and the 

 thick smoke rapidly blackened the arches abov^e us. A 

 great polished stone now impeded our passage, and com- 

 pelled us to crawl. I took the lead, and, passing through a 

 kind of narrow corridor, made my way into a small cham- 

 ber. I raised a sudden exclamation ; for five or six skulls, 

 symmetrically arranged, seemed to glare at me through their 

 empty orbits. 



" Oh father!" cried Lucien, "are we in a cemetery?" 

 " Yes, my boy ; I think this must be a Chichimec burial- 



