lution which
has brought us two, all alone, from Cartagena to this spot, will not
fail us when the time comes for us to decide how we will transport our
treasure to England; so don't you worry either, lad. And now, good
night; I am tired to death, for I have scarcely slept a wink during the
last five or six nights."

The expedition which set out from Huancane on the following morning was
unexpectedly imposing from the point of view of the two Englishmen; for,
in addition to the thirty labourers promised by the authorities, there
were half a dozen llamas, four of which were harnessed to a couple of
vehicles somewhat resembling hammocks suspended from long poles, these
being intended for the accommodation of the Englishmen, while the other
two were loaded with food for the expedition, each labourer carrying his
own tools. Each llama had its own driver; the expedition therefore
consisted of thirty-eight people, all told, including the two white men.
Its route lay along the eastern side of the lake; and it covered a
distance of twenty-five miles before camping for the night. On the
following day, when the afternoon was well advanced, the party arrived
at a point where at a distance of some three miles from the shore, a
small islet rose out of the bosom of the lake, the highest point of
which was crowned with a group of extensive and very imposing-looking
ruins. This islet the guide in charge of the expedition declared to be
the Sacred Isle; and Phil, strong in the assurance springing from the
knowledge of which he was so mysteriously possessed, agreed with him.

The next question was, how to reach the islet, for there were no boats
or craft of any kind upon the lake; but that difficulty was quickly met
by the labourers, who at once set to work to cut a large quantity of
reeds, which they bound together in such a fashion that they formed a
commodious and exceedingly buoyant raft, upon which the entire party,
with the exception of the llamas and their drivers, crossed over the
first thing on the following morning.

The passage of the raft from the mainland to the island, propelled as
she was by paddles only, occupied about an hour and a half; and as the
unwieldy craft gradually approached her destination the two white
passengers on board her began to realise that the island ahead was
considerably larger than they had first imagined, being fully a hundred
acres in extent; while the character of the ruins made it clear th