stancias_
bringing evil tidings. The poor men whom I found in the drawing-room with
Moncrieff had indeed brought dreadful news. They had escaped from their
burned _estancias_ after seeing their people massacred by savages before
their eyes. They had seen others on the road who had suffered even worse,
and did not know what to do or where to fly. Many had been hunted into the
bush and killed there. Forts had been attacked further south, and even the
soldiers of the republic in some instances had been defeated and scattered
over the country.

The year, indeed, was one that will be long remembered by the citizens of
the Argentine Republic. Happily things have now changed for the better,
and the Indians have been driven back south of the Rio Negro, which will
for ever form a boundary which they must not cross on pain of death.

More fugitives dropped in that day, and all had pitiful, heartrending
stories to tell.

Moncrieff made every one welcome, and so did we all, trying our very best
to soothe the grief and anguish they felt for those dear ones they would
never see more on earth.

And now hardly a day passed that did not bring news of some kind of the
doings of the Indians. Success had rendered them bold, while it appeared
to have cowed for a time the Government of this noble republic, or, at
all events, had confused and paralyzed all its action. Forts were overcome
almost without resistance. Indeed, some of them were destitute of the
means of resisting, the men having no proper supply of ammunition.
_Estancia_ after _estancia_ on the frontier had been raided and burned,
with the usual shocking barbarities that make one shudder even to think
of.

It was but little likely that our small but wealthy colony would escape,
for the fact that we were now possessed of the long-buried treasure--many
thousands of pounds in value--must have spread like wild-fire.

One morning Moncrieff and I started early, and rode to a distant
_estancia_, which we were told had been attacked and utterly destroyed,
not a creature being left alive about the place with the exception of the
cattle and horses, which the Indians had captured. We had known this
family. They had often attended Moncrieff's happy little evening parties,
and the children had played in our garden and rowed with us in the
gondola.

Heaven forbid I should attempt to draw a graphic picture of all we saw!
Let it be sufficient to say that the rumours which had reached us w