The Treasure of the Incas A Story of Adventure in Peru

a plateau thickly dotted with villages and small towns, and everywhere richly cultivated. Near the summit of the mountains large flocks of alpacas were grazing, and lower down herd

in the deeper ravines cotton was grown in abundance for the wants of the population. Here, in fact, were all var

the coast, the cost of carriage would have been immense, and the long sea journey would have rendered the exportation of the natural products of the country impossible. Some of the more sober-minded of the Dons might have settled down here and taken wives from among the daughters of the nobles, and, bringing with them the civilization of Spain, become valu

o give up treasure-hunting and to remain poor, for the

a laudable purpose that I seek the gold. However, if you have any scruples on th

; though certainly at present I don't see what

anish rule no one dared, by the size of his house or by his mode of living, to show signs of wealth above his fellows, for to do so would be to expose himself to the cruel exactions of the tax-c

ay. They always slept in their tents now, and preferred Donna Maria's cooking to

ring events of the war of independence and the subsequent struggles, sometimes about life in England, its ways and customs, concerning which neither Maria nor José had any knowledge whatever. Bertie also endeavoured to gain some i

d not be so much regretted," Maria said. "I don't wear the apron, because both Dias and I are of mixed blood, descendants on one side of natives, and on the other of Creoles, that is of Spaniards

side of the valley by two deep ravines, in which flowed little streams that ran through the city. The appearance of the town was striking. There were numerous churches, its streets ran at right angles to each other, and the massive stone houses dated from the ea

ing to people who understand all about the Incas; but as I know nothing about them, I don't see how you can expect me to get up any interest in an old wall because you tell me that it is

resting cities of the world, a place that thousands and thousands of people would travel any distance to investigate, and in for

are not aware that these peoples or tribes had no connection with each other. Your education in mat

p, youn

t. You are not even the leader of a small caravan on the march. We are in this locanda on terms of p

y la

I am really just as anxious as you are to be on the move. I was speaking to Dias half an hour ago, and he says that in two more days we shall be able to start again. We have been discussing how much flour and other things i

would be necessary to take with us one or two natives accustomed to their ways, and this would not suit us at all. However, I do think that it would be worth while to take two or three of these animals with us. They can carry a hundred pounds apiece; but as we may be going over extraordinarily rough country, fifty pounds woul

they go in

sure that that is as much as we can

very useful. I suppose there will

to the market every day. Of course it would be nec

leads down into the plains. Between this town and the Carabaya range, a hundred and fifty miles to the south, was to be found the rich gold deposit to which Dias had referred. So far, however, as the traditions he had received informed him, it was situated n

re you will find fields of maize still growing, sugar-cane, cacao, and rice. One after another the estates have been abandoned; at some of them the whole of the people on the farms were massacred, and in all the danger was so great that the proprietors found it impossible to work them. The one drawback to that road is that we may fall in with the Chincas,

e some of our mules it would be impossible to replace them, and

Three days' travelling brought them to the little town, which lay very high up in the hills. The cold here was bitter, and the party needed all their wraps, and were glad to get in motion as soon as it was light. Passing over a range of mountains above Paucartambo, where a thin layer of sn

t trees grew wherever their roots could find a hold. Splendid butterflies of immense size flitted about; birds of many kinds and beautiful plumage flew hither and thither among the trees; humming-birds sucked the honey from the bright flowers; parrots chattered and screamed in the

l the way from England

s I sha'n't mind how long Dias takes

A place was cleared for the tents. When these had been erected José collecte

healthy h

es, and the air is thick and heavy. We shall not go down there until we need. When we must descend we shall find an abundance of maize, and fruits of all sorts. The savages kill the people they find on the estates, bu

early to make

must be felled so that they fall across it; then we shall have to chop off the branches, lay them flat side by side, and make a bridge over w

ght four good axes and

ry

ers, which eventually combine to make the Madre de Dios. So far as is known boats can descend the river to the Amazon without meeting with any obstacle, from a point only a few miles from the head

aniards ever conquer the Chincas an

ome leagues from the foot of the mountains, as did the Spaniards, and it was considered the most fertile part of the Monta?a, as their possessions this si

fter the meal they sat smoking for half an hour,

said as he rose to his feet, "or we sha

trees growing close to each other near the edge of th

e hands than rowing for tw

"but it has got to be done, and th

f my flannel shi

ou, and the bites of some of them swell up and turn into sores. Now, se?or, I will take this tree. The next is not quite so la

ot. Dias had felled his before the others had cut half-way through, a

u will manage better when you have had t

his work. "Jaguars and alligators, Indians and bandits, and hard climbing I was prepared f

to grumble, and, as Dias says, we shall beco

a groan; "my hands are regularly blistered a

he has hardly turned a hair. I don't suppose that he has had much

tors have, and I suppose it is hereditary. Anyh

rope, crossed the torrent by the tree he had felled, and when José had come down and Harry had given a few more cuts with the axe, he was able to guide the tree in its fall almost directly across the stream. Then he took Bertie's tree in hand. In ten minutes this was lying beside the others. It took three hours' more work to

said, when he and his brother threw the

month rather than do another day's work like this. The palms of my hands feel as if they had been handling a red-hot iron,

y la

eel, Bert. It is the work of every wood-cutter and charcoal-burner; it is a goo

ime I have heard that the life of an apprentice on board a shi

hat, of the two, I am rather the worse, for my bones and muscles are more set

inute or two, and then sa

o it gradually, instead of having six hours on end; and I expect that the backwoods settler you were talking about does not work for very long when he first begins. If he did he would be a foo

been satisfied with felling the trees to-day, and cutting off the branches and getting them into place

I think we had better eat it at once, for the

I will picket the mules and hobble the llamas. If they were

d. Masses of cloud hung on the tops of

n plates, knives, and forks beside Harry and hi

Harry said to her. "The rain will be

up a large can of water from the stream. They had just fin

leapt to his feet. "Crawl under shelter

time, for the rain began to fall in torrents, and a peal o

ising ground, which did not look so soft or tempting as the level; but I see now that he acted very wisely, for we should have been flooded in no time if we had been lower down. As it is, I am by no means sure that w

ed up all round, so that the water cannot run over them. By J

ance to the tent

a candle,

own tent, which was but a few yards away, bef

pitch-dark now. What with the sun going down and the clouds over

and stuck it in between his shoes,

ore cheerf

what i

der, rose from the woods. It was answered

ould not mind if it were daylight, for it is not pleasant to know that there are at least half a dozen of these beasts in the neighbourhood. We may as

eded by roars, snarls, and hissing, and with strange cr

these beasts attacking

htened by the thunder and lig

ll those cr

frightened both by the storm and by

ger, Harry, the p

build like the lion, but has no mane. Both prey on animals of all kinds. The natives say they catch turtles, turn them over on their backs as a man would do, and tear the shells apart. They will also eat fish; but they are both scourges to the Indians and white planters, as they will kill sheep, horses, and cattle.

at I have done, but what with the thunder and the patter of the rain, and

the middle of a travelling menagerie which had been caught in a thunderstorm. It is curious that

anion into the cabin, and they would crouch in some dark corner in a state of absolute terror. They would do ju

off to sleep before long, being thoroughly worn out by the day's wo

g after the storm. Maria has got coffee ready,

rectly. We will first run up the ba

The bed of the torrent is full, and

! we will

they went down to the str

st ahead it has overflowed its banks. We can have a bath

urned to the camp, completed their

ghtful noises, Dias? Wer

in the sounds they make. The jaguar's is between a roar a

them a feed all round an hour before. The course they should take had been already agreed upon; they

e next seventy or eighty miles the search need not be so careful as it must be afterwards. The place canno

you mean

seen only in the valley in which the stream that contains the gold runs down. This is what my father taught me; therefore

t the time, Dias, but it would not help us in the slightest if we were in any

marks on rocks in other valleys, so that these should not be distinguished b

as, the star would not

ave been handed down from the time when the Spaniards arrived, it

the star, it will be hard if we cannot find it. I suppose

uipping an army or on some special occasion. At such a time it would be worked for one month, and then closed until gold was again required. However, as we go that wa

fail, with the star and those

usand of the Incas' people left Cuzco and the neighbouring towns, and journeyed away down the mountains and out to the west. Since then no reliable news concerning them has been heard, but rumours have from time to time come from that direction to the effect that there is a great and wealthy city there. I say not that if we failed here we should attempt to find it. The dangers from the

adness to attempt to search for it. I want gold badly, but I do not propose that we should all throw away our lives in what would be

tangle of creepers. But at noon they reached level ground. The heat was now intense, even under the trees, and the air close and oppressive. On the way down

o set a guard?"

n if the mules should not give us a warning of any man or beast approaching, the llamas will d

far as they could be ascended. Samples were frequently taken from sand and gravel and washed, but though part

ll-that is to say, to cover all expenses and leave an ounce or two of profit to every eigh

hey had brought hooks and lines with them, fish were frequently caught in the streams. These were of small size, but very good eating

getting these down was comparatively slight. Sometimes these stood a little way from the stream, but after they were felled two mules could easily drag them to the site of the bridge. When on the march, Harry and his brother carried their double-barrelled guns, each with one barrel charge