who did not know it thoroughly. Occasionally
they seemed to be following obscure paths, but as often there was no
sign of a track, and the thick, tropical vegetation made progress
difficult. For an hour or two they climbed up the half-dry bed of a
mountain torrent, and more than once they were ankle-deep in swampy
ground. The Moritos passed through the jungle with the agility and
noiselessness of cats, but the three white men floundered along as best
they could. Their captors uttered never a word and would not allow them
to speak.

The sun was just rising over a wilderness of mountains when they came
to a small clearing in the woods, apparently upon a plateau near the
top of a mountain. In this clearing there were a number of isolated
trees, in each one of which, at about twenty feet above the ground,
was a native hut, looking like a huge bird's nest. A small crowd of
natives, including women and children, ran toward them shouting, and
now for the first time the men of the returning party began to talk
too. Some of them tied the legs of their prisoners again and sat them
down on the ground, while the others rehearsed the history of their
exploit. It was a curious scene to witness. The men as well as the
women wore their long, coarse hair loose to the waist. Some of the
men had feathers stuck in their hair, and all of them were grotesquely
tattooed.

"I wonder if they're cannibals?" said Cleary, for there seemed to be an
opportunity now for conversation.

"I don't think there are any in this part of the country," said Colonel
James. "Here comes our breakfast anyway."

All the inhabitants of the village had been inspecting the captives
with great interest, especially the women and children. Two women now
came running from the group of tree-houses with platters of meat, and
the crowd opened to let them approach.

"Don't ask what it is," said Cleary, as he gulped down his rations.

"I can't eat it!" cried Sam.

"Oh, you must, or you'll offend them," said Colonel James.

And they completed their repast with wry faces. When they had finished,
one of the warriors, whom they had noticed before on account of his
comparative height and the magnificence of his decorations, came up to
them and addressed them, to their great surprise, in Castalian. He
explained to them that he was the famous savage chief, Carlos, who as
head of the Moritos ruled the entire region, and that they were
p