The Wanderers | Page 9

not to drop down on the ground; but a sense of duty triumphed
over his natural desire for rest, and he kept pacing up and down with
his stout shillelagh in his hand, ready to do battle with any foes, either

human or four-footed, which might approach our retreat. We also kept
the guns ready, not to defend ourselves against our pursuers, for that
would have been madness, but to shoot any wild beast which might
approach us.
"It's as well to be prepared," observed Arthur. "But though there are
jaguars and pumas on the mainland, I am doubtful whether they exist in
Trinidad."
"I have heard that most of the animals on the opposite shore of South
America are to be found in this island," I answered. "Both the jaguar
and puma steal silently on their prey; and if one of them were to find us
out, it might pounce down into our midst before we were prepared to
defend ourselves. It will not do to risk the chance of there being no
such animals in the island. Should we arrive at the conclusion that there
are none, I should be very sorry to find, by positive proof, that we were
wrong!"
"Well, at all events, we will act on the safe side," observed Arthur. "It
is wise to be prepared, even though we may find that our care has been
unnecessary."
An hour or more might have passed, when we heard a rustling in the
neighbouring bushes. Arthur and I started to our feet, and Tim clutched
his shillelagh more firmly. We listened. The sound came from the
bottom of the path leading up to our hiding-place. We waited in perfect
silence, for it was too dark to observe anything; but presently our ears
caught the sound of light footsteps approaching, and, much to our relief,
we heard Camo's voice.
"All right!" he exclaimed. "The alguazils have turned back, afraid of
trusting themselves to this part of the country in the dark. We may now
all rest in quiet, for no one is likely to come near us--for some hours, at
all events."
This was satisfactory, and honest Camo and his two followers assured
us that they would keep the necessary watch while we rested. Scarcely
had a minute elapsed after this when Arthur and I were fast asleep; and

I suspect that Tim was not long in following our example.
Daylight streaming through the opening in our woody bower towards
the east, aroused us from our slumbers. We were all very hungry, for
we had taken but a small amount of food the previous evening; but we
were afraid of lighting a fire, lest the smoke might betray us, should our
enemies by any chance be in the neighbourhood. We were obliged to
content ourselves, therefore, with our cold provisions, and a draught of
water, which Camo brought from the neighbouring stream. Marian
somewhat recovered her spirits, but we all felt very anxious about my
father, and wondered how he might be treated when the inquisitors
found that we had made our escape.
The district we had reached was wild in the extreme; the footsteps of
civilised men appeared never to have reached it, and the natives who
once had their quiet homes in this part of the country had long since
been carried off to labour for the ruthless Spaniards, who had already
destroyed nearly nine-tenths of the original population. Our native
attendants, from the kind way in which my father had treated them,
were warmly attached to us, and proportionately hated the Spaniards,
and we knew that we were perfectly safe under their care.
We were afraid of moving out during the day, though Camo and the
other natives made several exploring expeditions, and at length came
back with the satisfactory intelligence that our pursuers were nowhere
in the neighbourhood. They brought also a couple of ducks which they
had killed with their arrows; and they assured us that there would be no
danger in lighting a fire to cook them. We soon gathered a sufficient
supply of broken branches and twigs to begin with; and while the
natives were collecting more fuel from the neighbouring trees, and
blowing up the fire, I sat down to pluck one of the ducks--Uncle Paul,
with Arthur and Marian kneeling by his side, watching the process. We
quickly had the ducks roasting on spits before the fire, supported by
two forked sticks stuck in the ground. With these, when cooked, and
some hot tea which was made in a tin kettle Tim had brought with him,
with a small quantity of sugar which he had put up, as he said, for the
young mistress--though we had no milk to drink with it--we made an

excellent supper. It was a scene which