made a violent effort, and
rose to his feet. When up he could scarcely stand. He felt as though he
had swallowed a powerful opiate.

"It must be so, good Guapo. Perhaps there is some truth in what you have
said. O, heavens!" exclaimed he, suddenly recollecting himself,--"the
others--my wife and children!"

This thought had fully awakened Don Pablo; and Guapo and he proceeded at
once to arouse the others, which they effected after much shouting and
shaking. All were still heavy with sleep, and felt as did Don Pablo
himself.

"Surely there is some narcotic power in the aroma of these trees,"
muttered Don Pablo. "Come, wife, let us be gone! We must remain under
its influence no longer, else what Guapo has said may prove too true.
Saddle up--we must eat our breakfasts farther on. To the road!--to the
road!"

Guapo soon had the horses ready, and all hurried from the spot, and were
once more climbing up the mountain-path. Even the animals seemed to move
slowly and lazily, as though they, too, had been under the influence of
some soporific. But the pure cold air of the mountain soon produced its
effect. All gradually recovered, and after cooking some _charqui_ and
ocas in the ravine, and making their breakfast upon these, they again
felt light and fresh, and pursued their journey with renewed vigour.

The road kept on up the ravine, and in some places the banks rose almost
perpendicularly from the bed of the dry torrent, presenting on both
sides vast walls of black porphyry--for this is the principal rock
composing the giant chain of the Andes. Above their heads screamed small
parrots of rich plumage of the species _Conurus rupicola_, which make
their nestling places, and dwell upon these rocky cliffs. This is a
singular fact, as all other parrots known are dwellers among trees and
are found in the forest at all times, except when on their passage from
place to place.

But even the squirrel, which is an animal peculiarly delighting in
tree-life, has its representative in several species of
ground-squirrels, that never ascend a tree; and, among the monkeys,
there exists the troglodyte or cave-dwelling chimpanzee. No doubt
squirrels or monkeys of any kind, transported to an open or treeless
country, would soon habituate themselves to their new situation,--for
Nature affords many illustrations of this power of adaptation on the
part of her creatures.

It was near sunset when our travellers reached the highest point of