The Wanderers | Page 7

along the coast till we
reached a place of concealment, which he said we should find some
way further on; he himself proposing to accompany the horses, and to
rejoin us when he had conveyed them to a place of safety, where the
officials of the Inquisition were not likely to find them.
CHAPTER TWO.

OUR JOURNEY--THE PASSAGE OF THE STREAM--OUR
FLIGHT DISCOVERED--ARRIVAL AT THE RETREAT--OUR
FIRST NIGHT IN THE WILDS--CAMO'S ARRIVAL--THE
SPIDER-MONKEYS--A CURIOUS SCENE--THE MONKEYS
CROSSING A RIVER.
We had now a toilsome journey to perform, partly along the coast and
partly inland, where the rocks which jutted into the sea, were so
precipitous that we were unable to climb over them. Still, though
Marian was already much fatigued, we pushed forward, as it was of the
greatest importance that we should reach a place of concealment before
the officials of the dreaded Inquisition had discovered our flight. Even
should they pursue us, and take natives with them as guides, we hoped
that they might be deceived by our having sent the horses into the
interior, and would follow their footsteps, supposing that we were still
upon them, instead of continuing along the shore in the direction we
were taking. The rocky character of the ground over which we passed
after dismounting would, we believed, prevent any traces which even
the keen eyes of Indians could discover, and we were careful not to
break any branches or twigs as we passed along. When on the seashore,
we kept either in the water or on the hard sand, which the tide, as it rose,
would soon cover. But as we thus proceeded along the shore, or
climbed over the rocks, where we could obtain no shelter from the sun's
rays, we found the heat at times almost overpowering.
To relieve Marian, Uncle Paul and Arthur joined their hands and
insisted on carrying her between them. She soon begged to be put down,
however, as she saw that the task much increased their fatigue.
Having reached the north-eastern end of the island, the rocky range of
mountains which extends along the northern shore terminated, and we
entered a region covered with a dense and tangled forest. Uncle Paul
and Tim had brought their guns and some ammunition with them, that
we might kill game when the small stock of provisions we had been
able to carry was exhausted. The larger portion of these provisions,
with some cooking utensils, had been placed on the backs of the horses,
and our native guides had promised to bring it on to us as soon as they

had left the steeds in a place of safety. We were, however, likely to be
somewhat badly off in the meantime; and as a considerable period
might elapse before we could get on board a vessel, we should probably
have to depend on our own exertions for obtaining a fresh supply. The
two vessels we had seen when we were on the side of the mountain had
tacked and stood away from the island, so that we had to abandon the
expectation of getting on board either of them.
I could not help expressing my doubts about the fidelity of the Indians;
but Uncle Paul, who knew them better than I did, was convinced that
they were honest, and would follow us as soon as they had secured the
horses in a place of safety.
We were now travelling southward along the coast, and at some little
distance from the shore. We had the mountains rising above us on the
right, while the lower ground was covered with a dense vegetation,
through which it was often difficult to force our way. At length we
reached a small river, the most northern of several which ran into the
ocean on the eastern side of the island. Our guides had told us that we
should find a secure place of concealment on the banks of another
stream about a couple of miles beyond this, but without their assistance
we had little hope of discovering it. However, we were unwilling to
wait, and accordingly prepared to cross the river; Tim volunteering to
go first, in order to ascertain the depth. We watched him anxiously. He
sank deeper and deeper, till the water reached his armpits, and we
began to fear that we should be unable to carry Marian over without
wetting her. Still Tim went bravely on, feeling his way with a long
stick which he carried, till once more he began to get higher and higher
out of the water, and soon reached the opposite bank in safety. Unable,
however, to divest myself of the idea that there might be sharks, or
even alligators, in the river, I, imitating Tim's example, cut a long pole,
which would enable me to defend my