tand no more, Rosendo, who had long been
straining his ears in the direction straight ahead, announced that the
singing noise which floated to them as they descended a low hill and
plunged into a thicket of tall lush grass, undoubtedly came from the
river Tigui. Another hour of straining and plunging through the dense
growth followed; and then, with a final effort, which manifested in a
sort of frenzied rush, the little band emerged suddenly upon the east
bank of the crystal stream, glittering and shimmering in the bright
morning sun as it sang and rippled on its solitary way through the
great jungle.

The men threw off their packs and sprawled full length upon the
ground. Rosendo pointed across the river.

"La Colorado," he said, indicating what the Americans at length made
out to be a frame house, looming above the high grass. "And there,"
pointing to the north, "is _Pozo Cayman_, where the trail begins that
leads to La Libertad."

That night, as they lay on the rough board floor of the house at La
Colorado, Rosendo told them the story of the misguided Frenchmen who,
years before, had penetrated this wild region, located a barren quartz
vein, then floated a company and begun developments. A considerable
colony settled here. The soil was fertile; the undeveloped country
ceaselessly rich in every resource, the water pure and sparkling, and
abounding in fish. The climate, too, was moderate and agreeable. It
seemed to the foreigners a terrestrial paradise. But then came the
insidious fever. It crept out of the jungle like a thief in the night.
One by one the Frenchmen fell sick and died. Panic seized upon them.
Those unafflicted fled--all but one. He remained to protect the
company's property. But he, too, fell a victim to the plague. One day,
as he lay burning upon his bed, he called feebly to his one remaining
servant, the native cook, to bring him the little package of quinine.
She hastened to comply; but, alas! she brought the packet of
strychnine instead, and soon he, too, had joined his companions in
that unknown country which awaits us all. The old woman fled in
terror; and the evil spirits descended upon the place. They haunt it
yet, and no man approaches it but with trembling.

Reed and Harris listened to the weird story with strange sensations.
The clouds above had broken, and the late moon streamed through the
night vapor, and poured through the bamboo walls of the house. The
giant frogs in the nearby cree