nion with each other.

"I don't want to see any more of them," Bertie said after they had
spent three hours in their investigations; "this sort of thing is
enough to give one a fit of the blues."

Beyond Chosica civilization almost ceased. The road became little more
than a mule track, and was in many places almost impassable by vehicles
of any kind. Nothing could be wilder than the scenery they passed. At
times rivers ran through perpendicular gorges, and the track wound up
and down steep ravines. Sometimes they would all dismount, though Dias
assured them it was not necessary; still, it made a change from the
monotonous pace of little over two miles an hour at which the mules
breasted the steep incline.

Jose rode on the first of the baggage mules, which was very lightly
loaded; he generally sang the whole time. When on foot, Donna Maria
stepped gaily along and Bertie had hard work to keep pace with her. He
was making rapid progress with the language, though occasionally a peal
of laughter from his companion told of some egregious error.

There were villages every few miles, but now when they halted they did
so as a rule a mile before they got to one of these. Dinner was cooked
over a fire of dead sticks, and after the meal Harry's tent was erected
and the bed spread in it. The Indians went on to the village for the
night, while Harry and his brother sat and smoked for a time by the
fire and then turned in. At daybreak Dias rode back leading their
riding mules and a baggage animal; the tent, beds, and the cooking
utensils were packed up, and they rode in to the village and passed on
at a trot until they overtook Maria and Jose, who had started with the
other four mules when Dias rode away. At last they reached the head of
the pass, and two days' journey took them to Oroya, standing on an
elevated plateau some ten thousand feet above the sea, and five
thousand below the highest point of the road.

The scenery had now completely changed. Villages were scattered thickly
over the plain, cultivation was general. The