, which was about three feet wide. He made several
efforts to climb up to it, but failed. The bats hung thickly from every
projecting point in the rocks. He hurt himself badly in one of the
attempts to get up, and twisted his foot. All day he lay there. Then
the idea struck him that he would kill a bat, cut it open, and use it
as a poultice to his foot. The creatures did not move when he touched
them, and he cut off the head of one of them and split it open. He did
this three or four times during the day, and felt that the application
was easing the pain of his ankle.

"When it became dusk the bats flew out again, and he knew his only
chance was to keep his ankle perfectly rested. In the morning he killed
some more bats. He was by this time tortured with thirst, and sucked
the blood of one of them, and in the afternoon ate one raw. Another
night passed, and in the morning he felt so much better that he could
make another trial. He ate another bat to give him strength, and in the
middle of the day made a fresh attempt. He had while lying there
carefully examined the wall of rock, at the top of which was the
opening, and had made up his mind at what point would be best to try.
This time he succeeded. He made his way down the hillside, and found
that he was a quarter of a mile higher up the pass than the spot at
which he had left the mules. He hobbled down, and to his delight found
his animals still in the cavern.

"He had when he first got there opened their sack of grain in order to
ensure their keeping quiet. There was still some remaining at the
bottom. He lost no time in loading them and leading them out, and made
his way down the pass without seeing anything of the robbers.
Afterwards he went back there with a good supply of torches, found his
way to the cave, and brought down two mule-loads of silver. Gradually
he brought the rest of the goods down, and today he is a rich man."

"Well, I think under those circumstances, Dias, I would have eaten bats
myself. It was certainly a clever idea of his to convert the