The Motor Scout

ed forward eagerly to the time, now drawing very near, when he would return to England and enter an engineering college. His most intimate friend in Peru

fair batsman, he sometimes joined Tim in getting up a

as only a rough track; it was indeed not a public thoroughfare at all, but was maintained by Se?or Durand and Mr. O'Hagan f

m the path. Thinking that they were peons of Se?or Durand he gave them only a fleeting glance and passed by. He reached his friend's house a

ts had been made, "I wish I had seen your performance

ways used Engli

"The pater was in a bit of a fizz: he

He should do as m

t's

gives them a regu

isn't it? The Prefect woul

life, and would rather pay than be worried. He subscribes to the Mollendists' funds for the same reason; they leave him alone. He says that old Molle

he curse of this country, and he won't have

tish, but it won't pay.... Have

ave him the sack yesterday. He resigned, but only to avoid a sacking. I'm not sorry..

f hours before. He dismounted, resting his bicycle against the trunk. The tree was obviously too heavy to be lifted, and he was looking for a way round it when a number of men

e?or Inglés," said the man, laughin

he woods on the left, not returning to the track until they were some distance beyond, at a wooden bridge over a ravine. The district to the north had a bad name. It was the immemorial haunt of outlaws, whether r

they were not used to wheeling so heavy and cumbersome an object, and in the rougher places it was difficult to balance. Every

white gull-like mountain birds flew screaming in front of the party; hundreds of squirrels were disporting on the rocky ramparts, darting among the trees that clothed the ravines when they saw the intruders upon their solitudes. They marched on

he said. "I can

s pleasant as he could. The men bivouacked, making a supper of parched maize, which they took from their wallets, and weak spirits from th

upland region. He slept fitfully, wondering in the wakeful intervals what was going to happen to him, and thinking of the distress his parents must

two tall rocks like gate-pillars on either side of the track, found themselves suddenly in an encampment of considerable size. Two or three hundred men were assembled in a sort of courtyard surrounded by tumble-down buildings of unworked stone. Tim knew at a glance that he wa

was led through the excited throng to an angle of the courtyard, where, in a little recess, a Peruvian between f

party, "this is the young Ingl

ose and made a c

of you and your respected father. It gives me the gre

n at once by releasing me

e him an ind

this oppressed region. Your offence could scarcely be more serious. It is dangerous for a foreigner to interfere in our domestic affairs; especially is it unbecoming in an Englishman, a citizen of that glorious land of freedom, a lover of liberty and of equal laws, to associate himself with the agents of a corrupt and shameless tyranny. It is necessary to signalise

ith a few sharp words and half a dozen swishes--infinitely preferable to such a lot of "jaw." He fel

dinner consisting of mutton boiled with vegetables, and toasted maize, with water from a stream, almost dried up by the

the east he could see the track by which he had come, winding east and south-east through the hills. On the west a few steps cut in the rock led to what had once been an Inca road, running into th

They were good horsemen, no doubt; but Tim soon came to the conclusion that they would never make motor-cyclists. He watched with amusement their first attempts in the middle of the courtyard. One man tried to mount the bicycle when stationary, and became violently angry at each failure to maintain his balance. Then h

, another happened to discover the petrol tap, and turned it on. The supporters pushed the bicycle for a few feet, the engine began to fire, and the rider chancing to move the throttle switch, the machine started forward with a suddenness that caused the two men at the sides to lose their grip. There were sho

pproval, and Tim spent several hours of that day and the next in teaching the younger members of the party how to ride. They had no personal feeling against him; and with the

ht raiders had been received at Mr. O'Hagan's house. That they were part of the Prefect's escort was an open secret. Mollendo called Tim to him and asked if the story was

. He has sent the money; you are free. And as a mark of my appreciation of your service to the cause of liberty by discommoding the usurper's minions, I have much pleasure in returning"--("How much?" wondered Tim in excitement

breast, and with a polite a reveder, the Spanish