VICTIMS TO FEVER. 



259 



ders frequently, they never stopped till they carried 

 me into Ticul, three leagues or nine miles distant, 

 and laid me down on the floor of the convent. The 

 cura was waiting to receive me. Albino had arrived 

 with my catre, which was already set up, and in a 

 few minutes I w^as in bed. The bells were ringing 

 for a village fiesta, rockets and fireworks were whiz- 

 zing and exploding, and from a distance the shrill 

 voice of a boy screeching out the numbers of the 

 loteria pierced my ears. The sounds were mur- 

 derous, but the kindness of the cura, and the satis- 

 faction of being away from an infected atmosphere, 

 were so grateful that I fell asleep. 



For three days I did not leave my bed ; but on the 

 fourth I breathed the air from the balcony of the 

 convent. It was fresh, pure, balmy, and invigo- 

 rating. 



In the afternoon of the next day I set out with 

 the cura for a stroll. We had gone but a short dis- 

 tance, when an Indian came running after us to in- 

 form us that another of the caballeros had arrived 

 sick from the ruins. We hurried back, and found 

 Doctor Cabot lying in a coche on the floor of the 

 corridor at the door of the convent. He crawled 

 out labouring under a violent fever, increased by the 

 motion and fatigue of his ride, and I was startled by 

 the extraordinary change a few days had made in 

 his appearance. His face was flushed, his eyes were 

 wild, his figure lank ; and he had not strength to 

 support himself, but pitched against me, who could 



