es. They followed
every lineament of the faces with their fingers to the very point of the
beard, and soon uttered an exclamation of astonishment: "_Thou!_
_here!_" and slowly scanned again the features sculptured on the stone
and my own.

"_So, so,_" they said, "_thou too art one of our great men, who has been
disenchanted. Thou, too, wert a companion of the great Lord Chaacmol.
That is why thou didst know where he was hidden; and thou hast come to
disenchant him also. His time to live again on earth has then arrived._"

From that moment every word of mine was implicitly obeyed. They returned
to the excavation, and worked with such a good will, that they soon
brought up the ponderous statue to the surface.

A few days later some strange people made their appearance suddenly and
noiselessly in our midst. They emerged from the thicket one by one.
Colonel _Don_ Felipe Diaz, then commander of the troops covering the
eastern frontier, had sent me, a couple of days previous, a written
notice, that I still preserve in my power, that tracks of hostile
Indians had been discovered by his scouts, advising me to keep a sharp
look out, lest they should surprise us. Now, to be on the look out in
the midst of a thick, well-nigh impenetrable forest, is a rather
difficult thing to do, particularly with only a few men, and where there
is no road; yet all being a road for the enemy. Warning my men that
danger was near, and to keep their loaded rifles at hand, we continued
our work as usual, leaving the rest to destiny.

On seeing the strangers, my men rushed on their weapons, but noticing
that the visitors had no guns, but only their _machetes_, I gave orders
not to hurt them. At their head was a very old man: his hair was gray,
his eyes blue with age. He would not come near the statue, but stood at
a distance as if awe-struck, hat in hand, looking at it. After a long
time he broke out, speaking to his own people: "This, boys, is one of
the great men we speak to you about." Then the young men came forward,
with great respect kneeled at the feet of the statue, and pressed their
lips against them.

Putting aside my own weapons, being consequently unarmed, I went to the
old man, and asked him to accompany me up to the castle, offering my arm
to ascend the 100 steep and crumbling stairs. I again placed my face
near that of my stone _Sosis_, and again the same scene was enacted as
with my own men, with this difference, that the strangers