The Pearl of Lima: A Story of True Love

ey among the Cordilleras; the two men mounted them, wrapped in their ponchos; large gaiters were attached by thongs above their knees; immense stirrups, armed with long spurs, surrounded

h his lasso, one extremity of which

eaving the walls of the city they were joined by an Indian equipped like themselves. It wa

ew among what savage tribes, into what desert country the Sambo had conveyed his betr

atter, "have you any

hatred and

in becoming my blood, ha

n!" hastily rep

nchos amid the mountains. The defection of Martin Paz had been followed by defeat.

fficult pathways circulated through these reddish masses, planted here and there with cocoanut and pine trees; the cedars, cotton-trees, and aloes were left be

the sun of June often made unforeseen cataracts spout from beneath the steps of the traveler; often frightf

t, finding neither cities nor dwellings where they might for a moment repose; happy if in some deserted hut they found a mat o

the afternoon, they were enveloped in those formidable storms of the Cordilleras, which raise whirlwinds of snow from the loftiest summits. Don Vegal sometimes paused, unaccustomed to these frightful perils. Martin Paz t

f his courage and his strength. A superhuman will is then necessary to keep one from falling motionless on the stones of the road, and being devoured by tho

e traveled on, and were at last descending the chain of mountains; but the Andes are composed of a

thin grass, announced the neighborhood of men. Sometimes they met gauchos conducting their arias of m

ween Peru and Brazil; they began thenceforth to recover traces of the captors; and it was

fire and prints of footsteps proved the proximity of their enemies. Martin Paz noted

h indicated the pressure of an animal's foot; above, branches had been pushed aside in the same direction, which could have been reached only by a person on horseback. The poor father co

he horizon around them, and trees multipl

y had reached the banks of a river; it was the river Madeira, which the Indian recognized perfectly; immense mangrove trees bent above the sleepin

ound him no proof of the construction of a canoe; he knew that the Sambo might have cut down some tree in the middle of the forest, and having spoiled it of its bark, made of it a boat, which could have been carried on the arms of men to the shores of the Madeira. Nevertheless, he was still hesitating, when he saw a sort of black mass move near a thicket; he quickly prepared his lasso and made ready for an attack; he advanced a few paces, and perceived an animal lying on the ground, a

e shall see the young

nstant," said the Spaniard; "I am no longer fat

ver, and we cannot lose ti

l swim

ther! Liberta and mys

his head; and all three glided silently into the water, for fear of awakening

cover nothing; as the rapid current had carried them down in crossing, he ascended the bank of the river to the spot opposite that where he had found the mule, but nothing indicated the directio

ars; he said not even a word to Don Vegal respecting the mule, for fear of saddening him sti

im; a little sleep might do him much good; but, while he himself watched, resting the head of Don Vegal on his knees and piercing with his qu

erpent between the high brush with which the shores were bristli

d was sleeping peacefully; the names of his daughter and the Indian sometimes

ee miles, then had landed with the young girl and his numerous companions,

on learning the failure of their brethren, they fell a prey to a gloomy despair; hearing that they had been betrayed by Martin Paz, they uttered yells o

betrothed, the beloved of Martin Paz whom they were about to put to death; abuse was heaped upon her, and

of these great solitudes-she could not have taken a step to have escaped death. Sometimes the remembrance of her father and of the young Indian passed before her eyes, but like a gleam of lightning bewildering her; then she fell again an inert mass on the neck of the

he direction he had taken-he was approaching the termination of his journey, and soon the

terlaced and clay; at their approach, a multitude of women and children darted toward them with loud cries

adness was transformed into rage on learning the defection

s faces were making grimaces around her, and the most terrific threats were uttered in her ears-t

d one; "it is thou who has

thou done with him? Death! death! Let each of us have a piece of her

, waving flaming brands, bearing enormous stones, approach

chiefs! This girl must disarm the anger of the Great Spirit, which has r

frightful glances on the young girl; the latter, cov

arp rocks; the Madeira, contracted into a deep bed, precipitates this dense mass of water with frightful rapidity;

o die; at the first rays of the sun, exposed in a bark canoe above the cataract, she was t

yed until the morrow the punishment of their victim, to

cries of joy welcomed it, and a fu

lls, surrounded the young girl, and wound their fantastic chains about the stake to which she was fastened. Sometimes the circle narrowed, and enlace

l was detached from the stake, and a hundred arms were stretched out to drag her to execution, when t

l of the river, and the victim arrived there all bloody; a canoe of bark awaited her a hundred

" exclaimed the whole

n with increasing rapid

osite shore- It is Martin Paz! Bes

er!" exclaims the fathe

ah, raising herself up w

was rapidly hastening to the cataract,

. At the instant the boat was about to be precipitated, the long leathern thong u

daughter!" excl

my beloved!" cr

led the sava

byss; the current cannot prevail over the strength of the young Indian; the canoe

z. He falls forward in the bark of the victim; and, re-descending the current

s heard above the s

ard amid a cloud of arrows

ma, where he died wit

mong his sanguinary tribe

asters he had received, and continued his u

n their brief and final re-u