Here, where the gates of his
kingdom should be, no man had heard either of king or country. Months
of hardship and privation, the facing of death a hundred times in
almost as many forms, had brought the intrepid band to--nothing!

On this particular occasion every man was admitted to the council, and
the words of the common soldier and sailor were listened to as
attentively as the words of any of the gentlemen. An onlooker would
have been sorely puzzled to decide from outward appearance which of the
battered, travel-worn band was its leader. The fire lighted up a ring
of gaunt, brown, bearded faces, and the pairs of eyes that centred on
each speaker's face in turn had little of hope or animation in them.
The conference began after the evening meal, and extended far into the
night. All seemed to realize the hopelessness of pursuing the quest
any farther, yet none cared to face the ordeal of turning the boats
seaward again. They compromised the matter. A last attempt should be
made to acquire guides and information. If the attempt failed, the
search would be abandoned.

Chapter XXXVIII.

THE WAY BACK.

Yacamo, out searching for signs of human occupation, came upon the
entrance to the upland valley, and espied the Indian town. He went
back to the camp and reported. A deputation was sent to wait upon the
chief; a body of men met them in the pass, and refused to allow them to
proceed a step farther. Then some of the adventurers themselves
climbed through the gorge, and were met with a shower of arrows that
wounded three of them. Finally, Captain Drake himself, under the
guidance of Yacamo, worked his way into the valley, and reconnoitred.
He calculated the town at a strength of about fifteen hundred to two
thousand warriors. It was not fortified; but no force could get up the
gorge if reasonable opposition were offered. His own band could be
ambushed in a score of places. He decided it was impossible to attack
the place with any chance of success.

Scouting parties were sent farther along the river. In every case they
were assailed. The Englishmen themselves were shot at again and again
if they ventured out hunting, and at night arrows dropped at intervals
into the camp. The adventurers were in a hornets' nest, and the
hornets were always stinging. These attacks, which argued the
existence of a host of enemies, were all the work of the escaped
chieftain and his twoscore of followers. Divided i