inclination to bolt off either
on one side or the other, as though they thought they could make their
way down to the spots from whence the tantalising sound arose.

Our guide cheered us on. "We shall reach a valley before sunset; and I
have no fear but we shall there find water enough to quench the thirst
of us all," he observed.

All this time my mother and Norah exhibited wonderful powers of
endurance, and never complained of the steepness or dangerous nature of
the road; nor did they now of the thirst from which they, in common with
us all, were suffering. I was surprised that our guide had not warned
us; but, accustomed as he was to go for hours together without eating or
drinking, it had not occurred to him that we should suffer any
inconvenience.

At length we came to the end of the ridge. As we began to descend by
one of the most rugged of paths, the sound of a waterfall reached our
ears; and in the course of a few minutes, on going to the edge of a
rock, we caught sight of a magnificent cascade issuing from the
mountain-side, and dashing down into a large basin in the valley below.

"Hoch! hurrah! there's the water; and I hope before long to have a
gallon down my throat," cried the doctor; and, unable longer to restrain
himself, he set off to run down the steep descent. The padre, excited
by the same feeling, rushed after him; while I followed in a somewhat
more cautious way, not without considerable fear that my friends, in
their eagerness, might tumble over the precipice before they reached the
bottom. My father and the rest of the men held back the horses and
mules, to prevent them following the doctor's example, and maybe sending
their riders over their heads. Happily, no harm occurred, and we all
reached the side of a sparkling stream of considerable volume, which
went bounding and foaming away amid the hills, ultimately taking an
easterly course and falling into the plain we had left. A hollow in the
side of the hill, only a little above the water, afforded us ample
camping-ground; and from the numerous luxuriant shrubs which grew around
we were able to build some comfortable huts, as well as to cut a
sufficient supply of firewood.

"You may remain here without much fear of interruption, my friends,"
observed Kanimapo. "But, at the same time, the spot could easily be
reached by those in search of you, so I wish to conduct you to a place
in which no enemy can find you."

My father at once ag