322 



THE ADVENTURES OF 



human dwelling, would have amused ; but, so far from do- 

 ing so now, we listened anxiously for the least sound. 



At last we heard PEncuerado's loud and welcome " Hiou ! 

 hiou !" The hut was perfectly empty. 



After an hour's rest, passed by the boy in rambling 

 round it, I gave the word for starting again. The Indian 

 took the lead, following the still visible traces of a footpath. 

 The hut, hardly large enough to hold three persons, seem- 

 ed more like a temporary shelter than a settled dwelling ; 

 PEncuerado, who was a great authority in such matters, 

 was of opinion that it was only an offshoot to a larger set- 

 tlement. After a tolerably long walk, another footpath cross- 

 ed the one we were following; on its surface we noticed 

 prints of naked feet — even those of women and children. 

 But although we carefully examined the horizon, nothing 

 but the immense white uninterrupted plain bathed in sun- 

 shine greeted our vision. 



This prospect somewhat damped our ardor. Ever since 

 the morning, we had been walking on in the hopes of meet- 

 ing with a human dwelling. We had scarcely eaten any 

 thing, and hunger and thirst were added to the disappoint- 

 ment we had met with. Lucien proposed to hollow out a 

 viznaga to sleep in — a project in which he was encouraged 

 by PEncuerado's telling him that we might have the luxury 

 of a window, and could keep off wild beasts by filling up 

 the entrance with thorny cierges. It may readily be under- 

 stood how much the idea of bivouacking inside a plant 

 pleased the fancy of our young companion; and perhaps 

 we should have assisted in realizing his wish, if the bark- 

 ing of a dog had not attracted our attention ; so we recom- 

 menced our march in better spirits. A rapid descent 

 brought us near a number of tree-ferns, a change of vege- 

 tation which we looked upon as a good omen. L'Encuera- 

 <lo continued to follow the footpath, until he suddenly stop- 



